Plum Nails

I have finally bought my very first Chine Glaze nail polish, I know! I know! What has taken me so long??? Well considering I am only working part time, nail polish sometimes has to come in second in the list of priorities (shocking, I know!). This means that more high end nail polish like Chine Glaze or OPI isn't that easy to come by.

But on my trip to 'Oz Nail and Beauty Supplies' in Sunshine I came across a range of high end polish as really reasonable prices. So I nearly went nuts!! I walked around picking up polish after polish, when finally I had over $60 dollars worth! :S  So I needed to set myself a budget and put a whole bunch back (will go back for them later).

It the 3 polishes I ended up picking up, I got this beautiful China Glaze - Seduce Me. 

And today, I decided to use it for a mani...

China Glaze, what an amazing polish. Glides on well, beautiful coverage, and long lasting. Defiantly the crème de la crème of polishes. 

I started off by painting my nails with this beautiful plum colour and then on my ring finger I used Chi Chi - Just Chillaxin. When they were dry I painted very thin tips to each nail using Sally Hansen - Black Out. 

My only problem with this colour I could not capture the proper colour on film. Even though this mani looks good on camera (above) it looks 10 times better in real life.... :(

So any suggestion out there on how to capture the true colour of a polish?? Need some tips and techniques? HELP!

Mint Manis for Tahlia Joy...

For Tahlia...

My mint mani...

Kiko - Shade 389

Barry M - Foil 

For all the full details on this beautiful day check out Nail Polish Wars blog page.

Mint Mani's for Talia

Hey Guys!

Some of you may be aware of the tragic loss of Talia Joy this week.  She was an amazing 13 year old with a passion for beauty and make-up but tragically lost her battle with cancer on the 16th July 2013.

So we are asking all those out there in the beauty blogger world to pay tribute to this brave and beautiful girl by painting your nails mint.
Her last ever post was of her sporting a beautiful mint coloured polish, so we thought we would all band together and have a Mint Mani day for Talia.

So everyone get involved... grab your favour green/mint colour and get painting. We wanna see those beautiful green nails shine tomorrow!

B xx

Pink Sequins

So a few weeks ago I was given some really pretty Anna Sui nail jewellery. They are these little tiny circle sequins that give off this beautiful rainbow colours when it catches the light.
I originally was going to but it over black or a dark colour, but I think the sequins would be lost with such a strong colour, so I want the complete opposite with a baby pink colour by ChiChi. 

I started off with a few coats of ChiChi - Blonde Ambition (which is my new favourite colour) and then I covered my ring and middle finger with the sequins.
These pictures do not give this manicure any justice, the way the sequins catch the light....so pretty!

Hope you like it!

5 shades of grey...

I decided to do a ombre grey nail art.

I was originally going to do it from black to white (and all the grey shades in between) but then I thought if I mix some of the colours I could make a proper ombre effect. So here it is...

Black: BC & Co - Shade 11

Dark Grey: Maybelline - Impeccable Greys

Light Grey: Kiko - Shade 329

White: 17 - Mini Skirt 

What do you think? 

Guest hands... my aunty Petula!

So today is my Aunty Petula's birthday, I am NOT going to say how old she is because she will kill me...

I will, however, show you the special birthday nails I did for her.
The only requirement I was given is that there had to be 'sparkle'...

I used a dark purple colour for the base and then did the tips in a sparkle purple. They came out great! 

This a pic of my Mum (right), my aunty Petula (left)
and I'm the poser in the front. 

Jowita Photography

Hi All!

So I know all of you are expecting nails today, but instead I am going to share with you something a little bit different. For all you creative, artistic people out there, this one is for you....

Last week I had the privilege to work with an aspiring photographer, Jowita Majewski.

Jowita and I met many years ago when we both started teaching in Sunshine. This reserved but brilliant teacher and I soon became quick friends (probably because we are complete opposites) and began our 'interesting' journey together. A journey which lead us from Melbourne to Essex, from Barcelona to London and back again.

Today, I am still teaching (if you call substitute teaching, the real deal) but Jowita has been brave enough to follow her dreams, and start up her very own glamour photography business.
You may think this is not a big deal, but trust me it is! To give up a stable job, put your money and hopes all on the line like that? It can only really be summed up in one word.... courageous.

So after 'ummming' and 'ahhhing' I finally mustered up my only bit of courage and asked Jowita to take my picture.
Now, I am no stranger to the glamour photography experience, I have had many photos done before but for some reason I was never 100% happy with how I turned out. Granted, each time I went I had changed and evolved, but I guess the only thing I really wanted from this experience was have a little token showing me as a 'grown up', a 'women'. So that was the challenge I set Jowita (no pressure, huh?).

On the day I took my outfit changes and my courage and heading to her home studio.

And what an experience it was!! She created this environment where I could FINALLY be the true me. She was graceful and humble and made me feel at ease. I didn't have some random person snapping at me (like other bigger studios), she took the time to make sure every photo was what I wanted, that I looked beautiful in every frame, whether it be the lowering of the chin or the 'smize'.
Not only did I get to catch up with a true friend that day but I left there feeling beautiful. I left there with a sense of confidence, which is a rarity for me.

The purpose of this post is not just to show off my new pictures (wink wink) but to show that EVERY women deserves to feel beautiful. And that little voice inside you that is so doubtful, be silenced!

So for all those Melbournians out there who have always wanted some 'glamour shots' defiantly consider Jowita.

I have put all her links at the bottom of this post so check out her work, and maybe show her some love??

Website: http://www.jowita.com.au/
Blog: http://jowitaphotography.blogspot.com.au/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jowitaphotographer?fref=ts


 B xox

New look!

Hey Guys!

I think it was about time I changed things up a bit.

Still stuck with the greys and coral colours, but jazzed it up a bit.

So what do you think of my new look?

Inspired by.... Superman!

Is it a bird?? Is it a plane?? NO! It's SUPERMAN!! 

I have been lucky enough to have had many Supermans in my lifetime... for the wholesome Christopher Reeve and Dean Cain to the 'yummy' Henry Cavill (drool), THIS is a tribute to 'Superman'....

I absolutely love these nails!! They took me forever to do, and I think they cam out great.

Enjoy!

-B xx

PS: Just another pic of the hunky Henry Cavill, just because I can! 

Images from:

www.ecuadortimes.net
www.bdlive.co.za
007gentleman.blogspot.com
indy1jones2.deviantart.com 

Give away extended!!!

I have extended the give away for 3 MORE DAYS!!!

The more times you tweet about the give away the more chances to have to enter. Or leave a comment on one of my posts and you can get a second entry. 

SO get sharing!!!!

OK... so here's the deal:

I have 2 different prizes to give away.

Each prize will consist of 2 nail polishes AND a surprise goodie!

Here's how to enter.

There are 2 mandatory requirements for this give away.
1. Follow my blog.
2. 'Like' me on Facebook.

Once you have done this (or if you already have) just click the tabs on Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are also some other ways to add to your chances.

Entries close on the 10th July and winners will be notified by Facebook.

GOOD LUCK!!

- B xx

Happy 4th of July!!!

4 years ago I was lucky enough to celebrate 4th of July in the US... and it was AWESOME!!!
So here is a little shout out to all my American friends....

HAPPY 4TH of JULY!!! 

Enjoy! 

-B xx

Some of my friends in the 4th of July spirit!

Celebrating 4th of July in 2009

Orange and Grey Squares!

Hey Everyone!
So last week someone inspired my next nail art design. She was telling me about this beautiful house that was    mostly white with grey and orange square sections. Now that got thinking... how can I transfer this to my nails. Well, after 3 attempts (yes, I said three) I finally was happy with what I had created... here they are.

I used:

White: Sally Hansen - White On

Orange: Rimmel - Hot and Spicy

Dark Grey: Maybelline - Impeccable Greys

Light Grey: Kiko - Shade 329

I started by painting my thumb, middle and ring finger in the white. On my pointer and my thumb I used label sticker to create this beautiful half moon shape in the dark grey.
Once the white had dried I used nail tape to create these long rectangular shapes and square shapes then, painted them the different colours.

Like I said before this took me 3 goes to get right. And if you look closely at my middle finger the colours have bled into the white a bit which REALLY annoys me. But sometimes you just have to let it go. hehe

Anyway I hope you liked it?

B xx

Just a little bit of sparkle!

Here is a quick mani I did the other day.

You can do this with any nail polish. I thought the beige-y pink colour from Kiko worked perfectly with the silver.

Once you have picked your colour, apply a few coats on your nails and let dry completely. 

Once they are dry add another layer of the SAME nail colour and before it dries (using your finger) dab on some glitter at the base of your nail... and slowly work upwards. 

To get this 'ombre' effect I made sure the base was completely covered with the glitter and just rubbed my fingers together on top of the nail allowed the last remaining glitter pieces fall to the tip of the nail, thus giving you the ombre look. 

Finish with a top coat.

• Try not to use your fingers too much and don't press too hard as you might undo all the layers of polish underneath.
  
• The other tip is you can use a clear nail polish to help stick the glitter on (instead of  the same colour).
  
•  Make sure you check your top coat brush for any stray glitter, because I can guarantee you it will sneak its way onto your next mani and it will annoy the crap outta you! 

That's it... SIMPLE!

Let me know what you think?

-B xx


PS: Check out my GIVE AWAY!

100 'Likes' of Facebook GIVE AWAY!!

Hi Guys!

I am extremely excited about my first EVER giveaway!
I am doing this to celebrate my 100th 'Like' on Facebook and to thank all those lovely people out there who have supported me and like my nail art.

OK... so here's the deal:

I have 2 different prizes to give away.

Each prize will consist of 2 nail polishes AND a surprise goodie!

Here's how to enter.

There are 2 mandatory requirements for this give away.
1. Follow my blog.
2. 'Like' me on Facebook.

Once you have done this (or if you already have) just click the tabs on Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are also some other ways to add to your chances.

Entries close on the 10th July and winners will be notified by Facebook.

GOOD LUCK & THANKS AGAIN!

- B xx

Nails Inc. Glitters

I got given some really lovely glitter polishes from a friend and I thought I would try them out...

I started off with Nails Inc. - Romily Street in the bottle it looks like it is jam packed with magenta flakes but as I used it it seemed that there was a lot of gold and green flakes. I used this glitter polish on top of one of my favourite polishes BC&Co. - Shade 6.  I think using the magenta polish doesn't give the glitter enough time to 'pop' so when I use this polish again I would probably use it on a gold or green polish. So that the magenta stands out.

The other design I came up with is...

For my thumb, ring and pinky nails I used L'Oreal - Opera Ballerina and then used Nails Inc. - Newburgh St. Again I was surprised by these polish, looking at the bottle it looks like there are only bronzey gold glitter flake in there but then as you put it on there were these little black stripe bits. I am not going to lie when I say that I think it ruined this mani. I wanted to have it mostly the cream and the gold but with the touch of black it became way to harsh, I did try and co-ordinate the colours by adding black on the other ombre fingers but it was just too harsh.

Overall these glitters are really pretty but I would have liked a little bit of a heads up about what to expect. I have, however, learnt my lesson and will try the glitter polished before I come with a mani. Just so I know what to expect.
The positive about these polishes is that they are jam packed! When you normally use a glitter polish the glitter bits are usually few and far between, so these were a present surprise.

Enjoy!

B xx

Announcement! Pretty and Polished SALE!

Hey All!

The awesome indie brand 'Pretty and Polished' are having a moving sale...
"A moving sale?" you ask.
"YES A MOVING SALE!!"

They are moving locations and just can't bothered taking all their stock with them so they need people like YOU to buy their awesome products.

On July 1st Pretty and Polished are doing a complete make over and are getting rid of some old stock to make way for the new. Some products will not be available any more so this is your last chance to get them.

So to get your hands on this unbeatable deals,  shop HERE!
And check out all their updates and deals on there Facebook page.... HERE!
And for all you social media nuts check them out on Twitter... HERE or Instagram... HERE!

So everybody get shopping!!

B xx

Inspired by... The Great Gatsby

A few weeks ago I went to go see 'The Great Gatsby' with a good friend of mine. And even though I was never a huge fan of the book, I completely fell in love with the way Baz Luhrmann created this wonderful masterpiece. After the awesomeness of 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Romeo + Juliet' who would expect anything less from Mr. Luhrmann?? 

When I went to see 'Gatsby' I did have this nagging voice in my head that kept saying 'By the end of this you'd better have an idea of a nail design...' and NOTHING was inspiring me. I have done research on all the other beautiful nail designs out there, and a lot the nail art is inspired by the art deco theme of this fantastical era, but I wanted to do something different. 

So I am sitting in the cinema and waiting for inspiration to hit me when the party scene comes on where Joel Edgerton's character takes Tobey Maguire to that little party in NYC....

And for this one little scene we are introduced to Myrtle's sister (In the picture she is the one in the green next to Nick Carraway). And at one point she is sitting on the couch staring out the window and you get a really good shot of her nails... AND I FELL IN LOVE! 

Emerald green, half moon, nude tipped nails. <3 b="" nbsp="">

The rest of the movie was basically a blur as my mind raced to create this design. 

When I finally got it right it was the most wonderful feeling ever... and I have never been so proud of myself. 

I didn't go with the nude nails because my natural half moon didn't look as good, so I made a artificial half moon with a creamy colour. I think it looks better then a nude nail underneath. 

I am pretty proud of these. 

What do YOU think?

B xx

The Best... Top Coats

So yesterday I did a blog about my Base Coats and today I thought I would go to part 2; my top coats.

Top Coats are just as important as base coat. Top coats protect your manicure. No matter what nail polish you use it will help protect it from bump, scratches and all those chores we have to do throughout the day.

And these days a good top coat will also dry your manicure in less than 5 mins, so no sitting around like a loser waiting for the 'paint to dry'.
Ok here we go....

4. Seche Vite - Fast Top Coat

This is the mother load of all top coats. Before I discovered Seche Vite I was that loser sitting around with my fingers out waiting for them to dry. And especially when you are doing a few different layers it is a real pain waiting for them to dry. So along came Seche Vite and made my life a lot easier. 

Pros: It dries so fast. After you put your nail polish on you can on a layer of this stuff and wait 5 minutes and  its done! Pretty amazing. The polish it also really protected under the stuff. You can buy Seche Vita off Ebay for about $5 which is pretty cheap. 

Cons: Over time it gets quite thick and unusable. It also shrinks the polish the older it gets. I have discovered there is a certain technique to stopping Seche Vite shrinking, but I think that is a pain. You can however by a polish thinner to thin it out again and it's good as new. I have just purchased some one if so hopefully I can test that out soon. 

5. Sally Hansen - Diamond Flash Fast Dry Top Coat

I bought this because had run out of Seche Vite, but I am so happy I did. 

Pros: It is a really great product. It is quite thin which means it spreads evenly. It protects the polish so well. I have worn a nail design for over a week and there was minimal chipping, which is extremely rare with other top coats. This is def a 10/10 product. 

Cons: It is quite expensive. You are looking at about $16 from Priceline. I haven't had the top coat for very long so I don't know how it will go in the long run. 

6. Sally Hansen - Dry and Go Drops

I bought this just as an experiment. It is really good if you have a to get out the house quickly and you want your nail to dry super fast. 

Pros: Its good for last minute jobs. It is also good if you have a old top coat that is works well but doesn't dry fast. You can just pop this on top and it will dry super fast. 

Cons: It leaves a oily residue around your nails. You can wash it off, it is not permanent, but it can be a little annoying. It is also a bit expensive, about $15 from Priceline. 

The Best.. Base Coats

A lot of people have been asking lots of questions about what base and top coats I use, so considering I have many of each, I thought I would do a little blog review on the different products I own. 

So here are my many Base Coats. Base coats are really important because they sort of act like a glue between your nail and the polish, therefore helping the polish stay on longer and stops the polish staining your nails. It also smooths out the surface of your nail to make the polish glide on a little better. 

Here are the 3 I have tried and tested:

1. Revlon - Quick Dry Base Coat
Now this is the first base coat I had ever bought and I feel in love instantly.
Pros: The brush is a little wider like so there are less strokes. And it says what it does on the bottle, it dries super quick. I am an impatient person and to have the base coat dry so quickly helps a lot! I also liked how it was a little thicker so that the nail is really well protected and long lasting. It is also pretty cheap when you buy it off Ebay, I got this bottle for about about $7 including shipping. 

Cons: It does get really gunky after a while. The thickness does make it a little difficult to paint on. But in saying this, I had been using the bottle for over 5 months before I noticed a real different in consistently. It also can cost up to $15 from somewhere like Priceline. 

2. Seche Clear - Crystal Clear Base Coat
This is a Base Coat I bought by accident. I thought I was buying Seche Vite but alas, I ended up with this so I gave it a go.

Pros: Super thin and leaves your nails really shiny. I don't know how important a shiny base coat is but it was really shiny. It is thin so it spreads quite thinly so that drying time in minimal too. :) And no stainage!
Cons: I felt that this polish didn't  actually smooth out the surface of my nail as well as the others. Also the brush is quick thin so you end up doing a few strokes which are a pain. 

3. Sally Hansen - Salon Manicure Base Coat

I thought I would give Sally Hansen ago since it is so accessible at the shops around where I live. 

Pros: This product is pretty amazing. It has a large angled brush to glide over your nail easily, and usually takes one stroke. Its a little thicker so that the nail is actually protected by the polish, so no stains. It also leaves the nail smooth so your nail polish glides on perfectly. 

Cons: It is not the fastest drying base. I have only had it for a few weeks too so I don't know how the thickness will change over time. The other con this product has is the price... you are looking at about $16  at Priceline, cheaper at places like Big W or Target.

Even though these all have different pros and cons I tend to use them all at different times. Depending on the design I am doing or the time I have to do it. Or even how long I'm going to wear it. 

If you want any more info about the products above feel free to leave me a comment below. 

Tomorrow I will be doing a similar review on Top Coats.

Enjoy!

B xx

Peach Polka Dots

Just a quick one today...

I painted my nails all the one colour, this beautiful peach colour by Kiko.  But then I thought to myself, 'What the heck are you doing? You never have a single coloured nails!!' So I swiftly changed them to this cute polka dotted design.



Nothing really too it... Just paint your nails a desired colour and polka dotted some dots on the top. I used a dotting tool but you can use the head of a pin, bobby pin, tooth pick or even a old pen/pencil to make your dots.

Enjoy!

B xx