Posts tagged ‘nail polish’

Feb 4

Colour Pop! My top 5 teals

Hello chickens! So today it’s time for our second Colour Pop Post. These little posts aim to give you a POP of colour if the thought of colour head to toe still scares you! (It’s ok if it does, summer colour blocking is almost over…. oh but it’s back for winter, but more about that later!)

Today’s colour is TERRIFIC TEAL!

What more can I say – what a great colour, one of my personal favourites. It’s the kind of shade that suits most people, if you choose the right shade for you.

You may also know teal’s younger sister, Tiffany Blue……

Does any girl not recognise this colour

These two colours are closely related so today’s post will be a combination of the two. So here are my top 5 teal to give you a pop of colour!

1. ASOS oversized clutch

I love this clutch, in fact I OWN this clutch! It’s over-sized (the boy thinks it’s ridiculously large, he always asks where I have hidden the kitchen sink when I wear it). A clutch is a GREAT way to add a pop of colour to a simple outfit. This would work well in the day with a pair of jeans and a simple white tee, or match with a LBD and a teal pair of shoes at night.

Asos oversized clutch from asos.com RRP $45

2. This GORGEOUS one piece from Jets swim

I LOVE a 50′s style swimsuit, by far one of the most flattering styles on most bodies! One piece suits are definitely making a comeback and the choices are growing every season. I love the halter-neck and the sweetheart neckline, so Marilyn Munroe! Thow over a sheer white coverup, or a crazy printed kaftan when you are heading off the sand or lying by the pool. The beauty of a block-colour suit is that you CAN wear an amazing printed kaftan or sarong and it won’t clash (now all you need is some sunshine….any time now….still waiting Queensland!)

Jet's one piece swimmers RRP $155. Available at Sunburn.com.au

Button London 'Artful Dodger' RRP $22

3. Butter London ‘Artful Dodger’ nail varnish

This colour is definitely a different look for your nails but I love it! It’s not a dark and dangerous as black but not as girly as fluffy as pink, this nail colour is almost a little too cool for school, but don’t worry, you can totally get away with it!

4. Belinda ballet flats from Sambag

Who doesn’t love a ballet flats? (oh, you don’t, ok you can go – we are no longer friends). Now, the rest of us who love ballet flats and are still reading this, what better way to add some colour but with our shoe-wardrobe staple – the ballet flat!

You will always be able to find a ballet flat in most trend colours of the season, it’s a really easy way for labels to pump a trend colour in a style of shoe that is super-popular!

I love these from Sambag (they do a MEAN ballet flat, they are not cheap but they are a great shape and made from leather, as opposed to synthetic)

You can't go wrong with ballet flats from Sambag RRP $180

5. Statement necklace from Sportsgirl

There is NO easier way to add colour to ANY outfit that with some colourful costume jewellery. There are so many great jewellery brands popping up now like Lovisa, Collette and old faithful, Diva, but don’t be scared to also try Kmart and Target for some great, affordable pieces of jewellery.

This great statement piece is from Sportsgirl, always another great place to check out for fun jewellery. Wear this with a dress or top with a very simple neckline and in a plain colour like black or white – make it all about the necklace!

Inlay bib necklace from Sportsgirl RRP $29.95

So there are five fabulous pieces in TEAL that should add a little colour POP to your wardrobe. Don’t be scared of colour, it’s one of the easiest ways to establish and grow your own sense of style!

It's teal-riffic!

Do you love teal? What other colours would you like to see in the COLOUR POP series?

Nov 9

7 Comments

Colour Pop post: top 5 pinks

I’M BACK!! Only just, man that thesis was almost the end of me! Apologies for not adding a blog post or seven since the due date, I think I used up all the words in my brain writing 30,000 of them to finish my Masters thesis, but now it’s done and I’m all yours again!!!!

So, where were we! Oh yes, it’s summer, my FAVE fashion time of year! Gorgeous summer frocks, wedges galore and no excuses not to wear BRIGHT COLOURS (hey, I am from Queensland after all). Over summer (and into winter if you are lucky) I’m going to write a series of ‘Colour Pop’ posts. Each post will be a ‘top 5′ of my fave clothes and accessories in one, single ‘so-hot-right-now’ colour.

This weeks colour is……

: Pink is so hot right now!

Magenta, raspberry, fuchsia (anybody else have trouble spelling that one!?), hot pink, bright pink, whoa-that-is-pink pink – I love pink! Pink is feminine, it is fun, it is empowering and it can be REALLLY bright. Pink certainly signals the start of the summer months so here are my top 5 pink picks for this season:

1. SACHA DRAKE Maddison Dress in raspberry:

WEll duh! How can I have a top five in summer WITHOUT a Sacha Drake dress. If you don’t have this dress in at least one colour (I have five) go and get one. now. you will thank me as soon as you try it one. Not only is it probably the most flattering dress you will ever try on, it is one of the most versatile.

The Maddison dress is made from a ruffled jersey – the ruffles hide the lumps and bumps on ANYONE, the jersey makes it not so dressed up – pair with a relaxed pair of sandals, chuck your hair in a loose pony, add a belt if you want to and it’s great for a sunday session at the pub (did I mention I love summer?!

Saying that, this dress can be ideal for a black tie event, just add some bling and a killer heel. Click here to get this MUST HAVE dress. Do it now. I’ll wait here…

Ok, enough waffling, here is the frock in this seasons colour:

: Sacha Drake “Maddison Dress” is raspberry RRP $339

2. SHELLAC nail colour in Hot Pop Pink:

I don’t talk about Shellac much right (*cough, cough* see here, and here) So how could I do a pink top five without a Shellac pink! This colour is the colour that I have had the most and it is a fun, bright colour that lights up any outfit (I currently have it on my toes, but you don’t want to see that, my toes are ugly) so here is a snap of my fingers from a little while ago….

You can now get yourself “shellac-ed” at most nail salons – there is also an OPI option due here in Jan next year with an AMAZING range of colours so watch this space for updates on that (and by ‘this space’ I mean my blog, oh you got that? right)

: My fave Shellac colour: Hot Pop Pink

: All your Shellac colour options, with my fave at the front!

3. WITTNER Kyoto sandals

Don’t want to do a whole outfit in pink? That’s cool, use pink to make your accessories POP!!! I love a summer sandal (what else am I going to wear with my wardrobe FULL of maxi dresses and skirts!?!?). Although I am on the lookout for a tan sandal (they go with everything!) I can’t go past these little beauties from Wittner.

I love the simple, streamline shape – there isn’t too much pink, just enough, but here is a tip – don’t match your pedicure to your sandal! Whilst wearing these babies I would go for a soft neutral baby pink, or rock it out with a deep blue or black – hot!

: Wittner Kyoto sandal $99.95

4. M.A.C Girl About Town lipstick

So I’m more of a lipgloss girl myself (remember this?) but I have ventured into the realm of hot pink lippy (not sure the boy likes it though, he just needs to get used to it I think). Hot pink lips are another great way to add a pop of colour to your outfit without actually having to WEAR pink clothes… this one you CAN match with your pedicure (or manicure) to give yourself a real pink pop!

Keep the rest of your makeup clean (foundation, black eyeliner, mascara and a slight blush or illuminator of the cheeks will do) otherwise you will look a little scary in daylight! I often find my pink lips look better with my hair pulled back too, continuing that clean, shape look.

Here is my colour of choice at the mo, but there are plenty of options for all bank balances out there so don’t be scared! Give it a go!

: M.A.C ‘Girl About Town’ Lipstick RRP $36

5. Louenhide “Switch” over-sized bag

I loved a coloured bag – I currently have a red one from QLD label Kinin – but Louenhide are another fab QLD label that are making bright, colourful, durable, affordable bags in all shapes and sizes. My pick of the bunch is this great carry-all bag called the “Switch” bag (there is also a mini version if you don’t have as much stuff as I do to shove into your handbag everyday). This bag also works well as a nappy bag!

Made from a synthetic (but that’s a GOOD thing) but it looks like a leather, it’s easy to clean, and not so easy to get dirty (bonus!) This bag would work really well with the Wittner shoes… or the M.A.C lippy….. or the Shellac …. just sayin’

: Louenhide “Switch” bag in fuchsia RRP $128

So there is my first COLOUR POP TOP 5 – do you love all things pink like moi?? No? What colours would you like to see featured in the next COLOUR POP post? Let me know and ~~I’ll hit the shops~~ start researching……

Jul 10

3 Comments

The nails that changed my life – the follow up

Short and sweet on a Sunday morning – just thought I’d give you an update on the nails that changed my life! (See the original post here)

So it’s been well over a week since I got my nails Shellac-ed. I am in love. I have painted, sanded, packed boxes, done the washing up by hand, vacuumed, showered several times and NO CHIPS OR PEELING!!

I’m totally not sick of the colour either! It’s quite a nice refreshing pop of colour for my mostly black and grey winter wardrobe actually.

One down-side, because my nails grown pretty fast, they have grown out a long way and the bottom of the polish (near my cuticle) is starting to peel off a little, especially when I run my hands through my hair – but that is only one small little downside.

So what do they look like on day 10?……..

Not a mark on them! (Sorry it's a little blurry - no coffee this morning)

Still incredibly happy with the nails that changed my life haha! Thanks again Eagle Nails at Toowong!!

Now the only question is, what colour next??

Jul 5

15 Comments

The one where my nails won’t chip now!

I hate nail polish. No, that is a lie. I love nail polish. All the different colours to choose from. It’s even better when you go to the nail place and someone else does it for you (I was never very good at colouring between the lines, nail polish included). BUT with out a doubt, I would always bump, knock, bang or just generally mess up my brand new manicure. I’m not a patient person, and sitting doing nothing for half an hour waving my fingers around waiting for my nails to dry if often the major deterrent to me even painting my nails in the first place.

Me getting a mani does NOT look like this (but cute isn't she!)

THEN, once my nails are all dry and nice and shiny, I have to actually do something with my hands. Like wash up, or scratch my nose, or you know, like, use them – and bye bye perfectly manicured fingers – worse atm because I am going through a dark-colour phase so chips are noticeable straight away.

Does that sound familiar? Then I have one word for you SHELLAC. Thanks to my lovely cyber-friend Nikki Parkinson of Styling You (well she is a real-life friend too) an a.ma.zing blogger on all things fashion and beauty, Shellac nails have been on my radar for a little while, but I hadn’t really thought twice about it. Then a twitter-buddy (I love social media!) Little Jo ALSO made mention of this wonderful new nail technology in her blog (and the fact that her blog post was called ‘The secret diary of a stingy girl’ I know this is a girl after my own, full-time student, heart!) and the place where she got here’s done was not only reeeeeeally affordable (read cheap) but also just down the road from me!

That sounds awesome Cait, but what on earth IS shellac? Good question, thanks for asking! As far as I understand (and this is how you can tell this is not a sponsored post!) it’s a gel that is applied over your normal nails. The first coat is a clear coat, the a few coats of colour are applied (this is special stuff too, not just normal colour) and then finally another clear coat. Between each coat, the gel is ‘set’ under UV light – this, apparently, is the trick. The lady where I got my nails done (thanks Eagle Nails in Toowong! Sorry @_littlejo_ for giving our secret away!) said that without the special UV light, it would not work and would chip like normal nail polish.

So here is the ad for Shellac, and what is supposed to be like:

And here is what mine look like in real life:

My shellac nails - a summery coral/pink colour (that is me wishing it was summer!)

So what do you think? This is only day 2 (12 to go before they are supposed to chip). The ONLY concern that I have, is that I get bored easily so can I handle the same colour nails for two weeks!! Even when I went to get them done I was wearing red, and I realised straight away that these nails are not going to go with red – since when do you have to match your outfit to your nail colour? Isn’t it normally the other way around? Minor detail though, overall, I am (to quote my dear friend Beck) loving myself sick with these nails – stay tuned and I will let you know how they look on day 14 too!

Have you ever discovered a beauty product that changed your life? (Between this and fake tan, I am in summertime-heaven all year round!) Tell us all about it so we can change our lives too!!