... AN Monday - Hearts ...

It's been awhile since I did one of these ...

Todays theme was heart and I've been wanting to try out the hot technique of using a hole punch to make designs. Glad I did. That stuff is addictive!!

So this is 3 coats of the stunning Mellow Yellow from piCture polish with hearts made from piCture pOlish Ocean, Kryptonite and Shocked.

I was really surprised on how simple and easy this was ... and also surprised that no one came up with this sooner!!! Basically I painted 3 coats of polish onto baking paper [parchment paper] and let it dry. Then cut the heart shapes out with my heart hole punch and then stuck them on [the baking paper just falls off when you cut! YAY!]

I'm really please with how it worked out! I'll definitelly be using this one again in the future!

For more pretty Aussie Nails check us out on Instagram using the tag #anmonday or check out the following ladies!

Elissa - Ten Little Nubs

Bec - Nail Gun XS

Marie - Marie’s Manicure Madhouse

Sarah - Shatter Me Claire

Chantelle - A Polished Prance

Teneil -Shades of Phoenix

Nicole - The Epitome of Superficiality

Bec - Lacquer Dreams

Naomi - NananaisNails

Eboni - Enamoured With Enamel

Adelle - Adelle1985 (Instagram)

Kelly - Kelly's Kolors

Rebecca - Polished Peripherals

Rosemarie - Every Little Polish

Melissa - Mel My Issta

Natalie - Walk In My Eyeshadow

Jennifer - JennLojko (Instagram)

Erin - Erinzi’s Nails

Astrid - Lovessweetas (Instagram)

Jasmyn - Jas’ Blingtastic Nails

Kate - Mckfresh (Instagram)

Jessica - Maedaynails (instagram)

Elizabeth - Lili_Bete (Instagram)

Cassandra - The Reluctant Femme

Tammy - Lacquer and Leather

Julia - Messy Mansion

Ann - Nailovelogy

Ronda

Theresa It's All About The Polish

Katie - Pretty Polish Please

Melissa - polished_off (Instagram)

Jennifer - jennersx (Instagram)

Rachael - thepolishedclaw (Instagram)

Julz - Julzperrinails

Caylah

Tash

Jane - Nails In Oz

Jasmine - Nailed By Jasmine

Sylvia - lilyandjinks (Instagram)

Genna - Eternal Dreamer

Tammy - http://ohmygoshpolish.blogspot.com.au/

Stacey - @staceymeldrum (Instagram)

Jess - radjecca (Instagram)

Shannen - shannen_arrowsmith (Instagram)

Sarah - lilyloveslouise.blogspot.com

Tracy

Kate - Pimped Out Nails

Casey - Drama Queen Nails

Holly - nails_by_holly (Instagram)

... Celestial Cosmetics - Part II ...

I really wanted to put this as a post on it's own as it deserves your full attention. So get comfy!!

Basically ... if you don't already own a dark blue holo ... YOU NEED THIS!!!!

*drools* Isn't it gorgeous!! This is Galactic Holo from Celestial Cosmetics. It's a pretty dark blue ... and it's holo! Do I need to say more?? No?? Have some more pics then!

All these swatches are 3 coats of pure awesomeness. Fast drying and drool worthy. And in fairness here is one pic indoors to show off the beautiful colour!

So the closest I could find out of my vast holo stash was Glitter Gal Marine Blue. Close match but I wouldn't call them 100% true dupes as marine blue is slightly darker. Side by side in their bottles they definitely don't match [esp under artificial light], Galactic Holo is more on the purple side of blue and Marine Blue is more on the green side but hey ... if you aren't too picky I'm sure you won't notice the difference!!!

Left - Celestial Cosmetics Galactic Holo
Right - Glitter Gal Marine Blue

And finally a comparison against other random blue holos I own ....

Colours left to right are ... Glitter Gal Marine Blue, Chemistry 515 [same as Ozotic 515], Celestial Cosmetics Galactic Holo and China Glaze 2Nite.

Sadly I don't own OPI DS Glamour but I'd be interested to see how it compares!!

Currently Nicki doesn't ship outside of Australia but I'm sure if you email and ask nicely something can be worked out [or I'm happy to be the middle man!]   I'll be back soon with a final installment!

Polishes were provided for review but all opinions, Aussie humour and dodgy photography are my own!

... Celestial Cosmetics - Part I ...

Time flies when you are having fun the days are all mushed into one big long continuous mess. This post has been a long time in the making and I apologise for that. Some of you may recognise these photos from Instagram last month. Hopefully my blogging mojo will reappear in full soon as I've missed it. I think I've only painted my nails once (and had someone else do them another time). I really do miss myself. Thank you to those who have been looking out for me.

Today I'm showing you some beautiful polishes from an Aussie Indie called Celestial Cosmetics. Honestly this is well worth a look. Australia is pushing out some fantastic Aussie Indies at the moment.

First up is Cosmic Ray. It's what happens when you combine a dark blue jelly with silver bar glitter and white flakes.

Anyone who knows me, knows that bar glitter and myself are not friends. Well I thought not until I met this. OMG I stand corrected. Honestly it blew me away on how much I truely enjoyed this polish. The blue is awesome but having those little glitter pieces shining through ... wow.

Next is Your so W-Earth it ... HA HA HA ... Love the pun!! This is one of those colours that likes to change depending on the sunlight. Sometimes it's more a pastel blue, sometimes its more of a light mint. Tricky! It's also chock full of green, blue and white glitters! They really compliment the base colour.

Mercury Rising is a pretty silver shimmer with a speckle of blue glitter throughout. I don't own anything like this and it was a real treat and it was something different to the rest of my collection. I totally love the shimmer and while I'm here I'll point out that even though there is a lot of little glitters, this was a breeze to remove! I was expecting to find little bits still on my nail days later! But no! Definitely a big plus.

The Pink Planet is a really pretty pink that is more towards red on the colour spectrum. It's packed full of holographic hex and little micro glitter. The world needs more pink! This was very easy on the eyes.

Martians have landed is such a me colour. Mmmmmm metallic! Look at that shine!! In the bottle it's more red but outdoors in full sun, its more purple. Either way I love it so much!  I really want to revisit this colour soon and make it matte!

Currently Nicki doesn't ship outside of Australia but I'm sure if you email and ask nicely something can be worked out [or I'm happy to be the middle man!]   I'll be back soon with Part II

Polishes were provided for review but all opinions, Aussie humour and dodgy photography are my own!

... Hiatus ...

 

Thank you to the beautiful souls who messaged me to find out why I abruptly disappeared after the launch of my piCture pOlish collabration shade. It should have been a grand time here at SMC but then life decided to change the direction of where I was heading

Originally I was knocked down with my first flu of the winter season ... but then something else picked me up and tossed me around. The death of a family member is never easy and I'm only just getting to a spot where I'm able to express this to those who aren't close. It was very shocking and unexpected and ripped more than one family apart in grief.

Nails and blogging and generally being online has been majorly bumped down my list of priorities. I'm hoping to get published the reviews that I was set to do before this happened and then continue on my break. I would like to thank these people for their patience with me.  I'm sure I'll be back to nails soon but in the meantime I thank you for your positive thoughts.

xxx

... OPI - The Impossible ...

OPI - The Impossible

Gifted but available online

Today I've got one of the OPI Liquid Sands polishes to show you. I brought this really to have my own opinion on it. I don't like textured polishes in general but I like to form my own opinions on things instead of just trusting the internet ... and I don't regret buying this one at all!

This is 3 coats without a top coat and while it was gritty it wasn't "pick at me" gritty. I've definitely worn worse glitters in the past. I was surprised on how much I liked it even though it wasn't silky smooth.

Close up of the glitter goodness. Can you see the star shapes? Hot!!! I always like the hidden surprises and any glitter that isn't the standard ol' hex is loved by me.

These polishes were a part of the Mariah Carey collection and while I'm not a huge fan of hers, I definitely am a huge fan of this colour! It's gorgeous!  Also I must say the wear on this was fantastic! I didn't have any chips or flakes from it in days except for some tip wear which is to be expected.

** Final Verdict **
This really surprised me. I was expecting to hate it since I'm a fan of things that aren't smooth but wow! I don't regret buying this at all and while I totally understand that it's not for everyone, if you want to try for yourself the liquid sand trend then get your hands on this one!

... piCture pOlish - Shocked ...

I'm really excited to have the opportunity to bring this exclusive to you all! Introducing Shocked ... by Shatter Me Claire ;)

IT'S PARTY TIME PEOPLE!!!   Celebrate good times c'mon!!! Oh wait ... wrong song! *changes CDs*

♫ Tell me, I'm only dreaming ... and I'll believe you! ♫ 
♫ Can't see how this could be true!! ♫

I'm sure a lot of you remember the last piCture pOlish blogfest from last July. There were so many pretties showcased that day and  I was very flattered to be given an offer to be included in their collaboration range along with so many well known bloggers who are already listed.

Photo taken in natural sunlight

Anyone who is a long time reader of my blog, knows that I love pink! Also I like things that are full of sparkle and eye catching!  Shocked is all of the above. It's very me and although I didn't physically make it, I'm glad that it turned out to be myself captured into a bottle.

Photo taken in natural sunlight

Obviously "Shocked" is a vibrant pink and it has a hidden gem of holographic glitters through out. These photos are all 3 coats of yummy goodness and like all piCture pOlish polishes, it was fast drying and lump free! Awesome! I found I had a good chip free run aswell with it which is fantastic if you don't want to change your polish every 24 hours.

Photo taken in natural sunlight

And I'm sure there will be people out there confused over the "blurb" which is ...

Rock your nails
With our Kylie

Nope - my name isn't Kylie!! But if you don't get the reference then hopefully this YouTube clip will help explain the motives behind it.

*queue dodgy 90s Australian music clip*

I chose the name "Shocked" because a] I was shocked to even be considered as a finalist and b] I wanted to name it after something Aussie. I like Kylie Minogue and while I was thinking of names, this came on the radio. Really, it worked in well because the piCture pOlish girls thought of Kylie's song Shocked aswell when I submitted the name. It was meant to be!

Photo taken indoors

As I just can't leave things alone, here it is with some pretty heart stamping taken from the Lilic's A02 plate. I thought hearts were appropriate as I love it simply just because it's so me!

Shocked is available from today [woohoo!] from piCture pOlish and other network members.  Currently it's in limited supply so if you'd like a bottle then get onto it sooner rather than later!!

... When acetone is not your friend - Part 4 ...

Continuing on, I found these nail stickers in my collection and I was intrigued so let's give them a whirl. They are called Kiss Nail Dress and this design is called Cocktail.

I'm pretty sure this brand is from the US but I've definitely seem them in Australia at Priceline.

These have raised dots which I thought I'd find annoying as I personally don't like it when my polish isn't smooth but I didn't find it too bad. They didn't catch as much as I thought. I found myself rubbing my finger pads over them but I didn't pick at them which is what I'd usually do with anything that isn't flat.

I won't lie. I was skeptical about these. Especially once I took them out of the packet and realised that the non-pink was clear and my natural nail will show through. You could still see my bruise but from a distance it was covered up pretty well.

The hardest part of application was getting the tip right. Because of the raised gem dots, filing is not easy. In the end I grabbed some scissors to get it super close and then filed the edge.

Pros - Pretty, Easy to remove.

Cons - Not as easy to apply as others I've included in this series, No showers! The slightest bit of water makes them lift around the sides.  Not long lasting but would be great if you are in a rush for a 24 hour period.

Depending on your nail shape this could be a pro or a con ... I found that the stickers in this pack were on the larger side width wise. I don't have the smallest nails but I used up all of the smallest stickers in the packet. Out of a packet of 28 strips I am now left with 18 that I can't use and that also means no spares. Unlike the foils that I reviewed earlier in the week, these are a lot harder to be cut into the right shape if you need them.

But ... If you found that in the past, stickers haven't covered your nails entirely (especially thumbs) then this brand will work for you.

So for now that's the end of this series but I'll be back to visit it in the next 4-8 weeks while this is still going on. If you have any tips or suggestions please let me know!

... When acetone is not your friend - Part 3 ...

Quite a few people have suggested using peel off base on my injured nail. I love the idea that it's able to be removed easily without acetone but I've been trying to use it sparingly because of the deep dent/scratch. I don't want it to seep in or get stuck or cause more injury but if you just have a bruise or a cut on the skin then this would be ideal.

This is Femme Fatale Twilight Meteorite over a base coat of peel off base. Application is really easy on the peel off base, don't be shocked when it comes out white. Just remember the good old days of school and aquadhere! Just be patient and it will dry and become clear before your eyes. Once it's clear you are good to go and paint as normal.

Pros - Easy to remove! No acetone required! You can paint your nails as normal and no one will know

Cons -  If manage to get any peel off base on your skin or catch the polish it may peel off before your eyes in a big piece. This is not always handy when you are out and about.

I'll be back tomorrow with another suggestion! Any tips or hints? Keep them coming!

... When acetone is not your friend - Part 2 ...

If you missed yesterdays post, start there! It'll make more sense ;)

Today I'm just testing out some false nails to see how it goes on my injured nail. These are from the brand Elegant Touch and I found these in Priceline for under $10. I know a lot come with nail glue but as glue will mean I'll need remover, so I went looking for ones that just used those soft adhesive patches that just peel off.

It's been a long time since I picked out some false nails so I was surprised how pretty these actually were.

Elegant Touch seems to be a brand from the UK but I was really taken by their designs. These are pretty peacock feathers! We've come a long way from the standard colour falsies I remember of the mid 90s. I actually can't believe I found it hard to make a decision on which packet to get!

The pack consists of 24 nails, adhesive tabs, the instruction leaflet and a buffer. Very easy to apply. Find which nail works best on each finger, peel off each side off the adhesive tab and press the nail on top, break the little tab off and file smooth. Voila! Really easy and if you are in a rush these would be ideal!

The packaging claims that it could last up to a week but I think unless you are super careful that they would catch before then.  As always my pointer finger isn't quite the right shape so I have ended up with a gap that I found myself picking at.  They still lasted 24 hours while doing all housework and cleaning!

Pros - They are very easy and quick to apply. The hardest part is selecting the right nail for each finger! Also they are really easy to remove. Biggest pro is the design! I mean look at how pretty this one is!! Well worth a look.

Cons - These apparently are the "short" nails and for me they are definitely anything by short. My nails are quite long at the moment and the only one peeking out is my little finger. Also if your nail doesn't shape to the plastic then you'll have gaps.

I'll be back tomorrow with another edition - please keep the comments coming with suggestions on other things to use! I'll be only doing this series til Monday but as my bite is not quite  half way grown out I'll be back for round 2 soon!!

... When acetone is not your friend - Part 1 ...

[Seems I got a bit ranty ... sorry!!]

I've been in a bit of a polish rut lately *sad* I've been unmotivated, unmoved and unexcited about doing a manicure. It's a same as I've had some really great opportunities come my way lately and I've blown them off *mega sad face*

So why the major sadness?? Well cos of this ... (if you are squeamish look away now)

I'm growing out an injury - a cat bite to be exact (lesson learnt - don't hold a frightened kitten!)  While I've done some great growing on my nails (the original was right on the cuticle) and the bruising just seems to be a colour on the nail now, that white mark is a dent. A deep dent. It looks like a crack but I'm not proding around on it. My doctor said it's fine - I'll trust her judgement as originally I thought I'd lose my whole nail.

I naively thought nothing of it after it happened and did my nail removal as usual. Lets just say this happened.

It hurt. A lot. 

I think I even cried. Even the hardcore nail polish addicts would find this hard to bounce back from. Even non-acetone hurt.

So I've been avoiding polish, just so I could avoid removing it. Only painting 9 nails isn't fun and even painting one hand to swatch still means that you have to wear a glove on the other hand when removing to make sure nothing transfers over. Annoying. Too Hard Basket. Frustrating. Depressing. Blah!

Recently I went out to celebrate my birthday with my favourite polish loving friends and my beautiful mate Margie suggested wearing some Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips. Sadly those require remove to get them off but it got me thinking. Surely I'm not the only polish addict with a nail injury. Plus we've all had the ouch acetone feeling when it's gotten near a cut.

So ... here's a small series on suggestions on how to have pretty nails without resorting to swearing like a sailor or painting your nails with sharpies!

Thanks for the friendship acetone ... but it's time to part for us to part ways temporarily.

So first up on the test block are these - Salon Nail Foils from Pretty Woman.

I didn't buy these but I'm pretty sure I've seen them at Woolworths or Coles. The first thing that grabbed me about these is the fact it contains 16 foils. I get having a few spare but 16 just seems like an odd number!  The second thing is that it comes with some spiffy scissors, file and a pusher.

I've had zero luck with foils in the past so let's see how we go this time!! As always I manged to stuff them when putting on the nail but that pusher - man it works magic!!!

Seriously shiny and everything. Removal instructions are to wash hands in warm soapy water and to lift an edge of the foil and peel it off which worked really well.

Pros - Easy to apply, Look good, Easy to cut the right size, Super easy to remove!

Cons - Not long lasting. Can't wear in the shower or doing dishes. You could wear for a day/night but after that it will start to catch. Boo!

I was quite impressed though. I've had no luck with foils in the past and these covered my bite no problems and removal was so easy. Definitely give this a thumbs up.   I'll be back tomorrow with another gem!