The nail files: April

May 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Nails April 2013

April was a busy month for us — thankfully my happy nails got me through another month.

With just one look at them, I can smile, move on and set my sights on my next lemming.

Working clockwise from the upper left corner, Essie’s Topless & Barefoot and Licorice tickled my talons. It was an eye-catching duo definitely worth repeating.

Next up we have Butter London’s Fiddlesticks, a glittered garnet that lacked staying power. Day four was the beginning of the end for this particular shade.

What Butter London lacks in the glitter department, they certainly make up for in the cream department. Cake-Hole teeters on the bright/neon coral realm — we added a bit of pizazz by accenting both ring fingers with Fairy Cake.

Last, but not least, is Hello Darling’s Wednesday, a yellow based cream pink. It’s so charming, you can’t limit it to only one day ;)

What colour are you wearing on your nails?

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Fun nails for Tough Bloke

March 23, 2013 by 2 Comments
Ombre in blue

Ombre in blue

Tomorrow I’ll be participating in Tough Bloke, a 7km course filled with running, climbing, mud, more climbing and did I mention mud? As a way to boost my spirits and to help quell my fears during the run, I opted to paint varying shades of blue on my digits.

If you’d like to try this look for yourself, here are the colours I used to complete this look:

Here’s to jumping in mud pits and climbing walls twice my height without taking the girl out of Nicole.

Pictures of my journey to follow.

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New Year’s Eve nails with a little help from Essie

December 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment
No More Film (top) and Stroke of Brilliance (bottom)

No More Film (top) and Stroke of Brilliance (bottom)

Earlier today I tasked myself with the challenge of painting my own nails — French Pink and Blonde Tiger, I hope I’ve done you both proud!

Stroke of Brilliance atop No More Film

Stroke of Brilliance atop No More Film

IMG_8953

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After an excruciating amount of nail maintenance, I painted a base coat and one layer of Essie’s No More Film. Once No More Film was dry, I carefully painted on one layer of Essie’s Stroke of Brilliance and finished with a top coat to seal in the glitter. My nail journey was rife with gaffes and because I’m such a perfectionist I had to enlist the help of Scott; he can remove nail polish like a pro!

What are you wearing on your nails for New Year’s Eve? By the way, what are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?

Have a safe and Happy New Year!!

 

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On the road review: Essie’s lil’ boa peep

December 5, 2012 by 4 Comments

Magnetic nail polish is a novelty in my book — read tons of reviews, but never executed the effect on myself until tonight. Let’s just say the experience conjured up memories from the movie Gremlins, you know, “never feed him after midnight!” The polish perked up in some areas of the nail as it gravitated towards the magnet; however, the “effect” was patchy at best. Some nails responded well and the rest fell flat.

Essie’s lil’ boa peep

Opposites attract?

Wearing lil’ boa peep

Essie’s lil’ boa peep leaves a lot of room for improvement. The formula was thick, yet glided on smoothly; it also dried quickly, but failed to perform its magic. I even applied clear nail polish atop two coats of lil’ boa peep in order to reactivate the magnetic polish, but most nails really weren’t having it.

For those who are wondering how the magnet comes into play.. the bulky cover as seen above pops off and reveals the usual Essie cap/applicator. The superficial cover holds the magnet and is meant to hover ever so closely above a freshly painted nail. The experience is scientific at best!

Oh and the Gremlins reference, that had to do with my left index nail; whenever I look at it I think of that moment when the multiplied demonic, furry creatures mutate into torcherous, ankle biting hellions. That sums up the effect on my nail — blech!

In other news: I’ve missed you! Yes, lots and lots of shopping has taken place, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that we haven’t hung out in a while. So, what’s new in your world?  And, what do you think of this polish? I figure if I can’t get it to work, at least I have a pretty metallic copper shade on my hands. Right?!

If you’re interested in a totally newish Essie adventure, get on over to your local CVS and grab one or all six shades. The Repstyle collection retails for approximately $11.99 USD per bottle.

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Essie’s Licorice under Shine of the Times – weekly nail review

November 22, 2012 by 3 Comments

Essie’s Licorice under Shine of the Times

Sparkly/shimmery top coats are transformative. If you ever decide to give them a miss, stop yourself and look again. Do you have a plethora of colours and formulas and are just plain bored of grabbing for the same colours? Instead of buying several on trend colours each season, purchase a sparkly top coat or two.

It’s a budget-friendly solution that can take you from feeling meh to great!

Just when I thought I was getting tired of Essie’s Shine of the Times, I gave it another go last week and had Mira paint it over Licorice. Let’s just say we created quite the nail combination.

In direct sunlight and from another angle

So, what do you think of these “tortoise shell” effect nails?

In other news: have you seen Essie’s repstyle collection?  Oh man!

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Essie’s Flirty Fuchsia – weekly nail review

November 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Fluoro, it’s a thing or a fad, you know. And I really don’t foresee it going anywhere for the rest of this spring or summer. While I know it’s a fleeting moment, I refuse to invest in hot pink or green clothing/accessories, but that doesn’t mean my nails can’t have a little fun. Mira and Janice of French Pink sweetly obliged and treated me to an oldie (circa 2009 or so) but a goodie, Essie’s Flirty Fuchsia — highlighter magenta pink.  So shocking, it glows.

Essie’s Flirty Fuchsia

Close up with flash

This creamy pink is no longer sold via Essie, however I managed to find a few notable dupes.

  • Seed’s Candy - a perfect match
  • Chi Chi’s Bimbo - cheap, retails for $5.00 AUS
  • Illamasqua’s Collide - reminds me of Butter London’s Primrose Hill Picnic
  • Essie’s Lights - not as vibrant, but close enough

If Barbie could speak, she’d definitely give this shade her stamp of approval.

 

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Essie’s Tour de Finance – weekly nail review

November 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Close your eyes and think to yourself, Barbie pink with sophisticated shimmer. It’s sort of like the moment when I spotted the Barbie section inside of FAO Schwartz when I was ten-years-old; they had these illuminated translucent columns filled with water and thousands of Barbie’s pink plastic heels which slowly floated up and down with glitter and bubbles. It was probably one of the most magical experiences for a kid my age, that and crossing the gate into Disney World.

Essie’s Tour de Finance with flash

Without flash

Essie’s Tour de Finance is the type of colour you want to reach out and touch — it’s like a unicorn floating atop cotton candy and sprinkles. Next to Lovie Dovie and Flirty Fuchsia (review to follow), Tour de Finance is my third most favourite pink from Essie.

 

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Essie’s It’s Genius – weekly nail review

October 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

“It’s genius!”

That’s what Einstein would’ve exclaimed if he was A.) into polish and B.) concocted this delicious shade himself.

Essie’s It’s genius is a shade I only just learned about two weeks ago when I set my gaze on this once-hidden gem. What’s old is new to me — It’s genius first made its debut back in 2009. This hue is comprised of cranberry shimmer goodness and a small helping of glints of golden micro glitter.

Essie’s It’s Genius

Looking for a playful colour for this holiday season?  Essie’s it’s Genius is the shade which will get your bells ringing.

 

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Jelly Sandwich Manicure featuring Australis’ Fairy Bread and Essie Marshmallow

October 4, 2012 by 2 Comments

A while back I bought Essie’s Marshmallow since I didn’t have a white nail polish in my stash. I wanted to use it underneath a glitter polish, but I didn’t realise it was a sheer polish which required several coats for full opacity and was a little bit disappointed. I decided to Google the name and see what other people thought and how they were using it – that’s how I discovered Jelly Sandwich Manicures.

For those who aren’t familiar, it’s when you layer a sheer (also known as “jelly”) nail polish in between layers of a glitter nail polish, hence the name “jelly sandwich”. The end result is pretty cool, as the glitter is suspended in the layers of the jelly polish.

Essie Marshmallow & Australis’ Fairy Bread – indirect sunlight

First, I started with two layers of Essie Marshmallow, followed by one layer of Australis’ Fairy Bread, then another layer of Marshmallow, a second layer of Fairy Bread and a final layer of Marshmallow. The end result was quite thick so I probably could’ve gotten away with just one coat of Marshmallow to start with and maybe one thick layer of Fairy Bread. As you can see, by layering the sheer white polish over the glitter polish, it mutes the shine and makes it much more subtle. The glitter particles in Fairy Bread are very bright, colourful and shiny on their own, so layering a sheer on top gives it a different look.

Essie Marshmallow & Australis’ Fairy Bread – direct sunlight

Fairy Bread is a limited edition shade from Australis, if you’re interested I would definitely suggest picking it up sooner rather than later. I didn’t have trouble finding it at Priceline here in Perth – it’s still available on Priceline’s website and is currently out of stock on Australis’ website.

I purchased Essie’s Marshmallow from CVS in the US, check your local Myer if you live in Australia. For those willing to buy online or wanting to buy multiple polishes, I’d suggest finding a retailer who ships to Australia since Myer sells these for $18.95AUD, however, the US RRP is around $8. I looked online and Trans Design, Inc. seems to be a popular choice for ordering nail polishes; Essie polishes are only $5.95USD! I’ve never ordered from them before, so I created a basket with five polishes and the cheapest shipping option was $23USD.

Because of the flammable nature of nail polish combined with shipping, I think this option will always be pricey. I haven’t ordered Essie online, but I’ve ordered China Glaze from Head2Toe Beauty and shipping was $17USD for five bottles (the combined price was still cheaper than any other website I found). My total order cost from Head2Toe Beauty was $34USD and it took about two weeks for delivery.

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NYFW & Essie

September 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Nail art was kept to a minimum and many designers opted to go with light and natural colours for Spring / Summer 2013.  Essie’s formula and eye for finding beauty within the palest shades of pink are probably the reasons why they work so well with fashion.

  • Classic
  • Quiet
  • Refined
  • Soft

Those are just a few reasons why I love Essie so much.

Diane Von Furstenberg & Essies’ Van d’ Go (L) and Allure (R)

 

DKNY model wearing Fed Up

 

Essies’ Chinchilly (grey) and Brooch the Subject (beige)

 

Lela Rose model wearing Good as Gold

 

Like what you see from New York Fashion Week?  Head on over to Essie and try these colours on yourself.

Van d’ Go - a peachy pink

Allure - pale pink

Good as Gold - metallic gold

Fed Up – nude pink

Brooch the Subject - the pink found in your granmother’s cameo

Chinchilly - creamy grey

Images courtesy of Saunders & Co. PR

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