Cosmetic Cupcake

Another day another Christmas mani! This time with a little freehand nail art featuring everyone's favourite red nosed reindeer. For the snowflake nails I used 2 coats of one of my favourite blues Hello Darling Wading Pool (swatched here) and stamped full snowflake design from Moyou London Festive Collection plate 03 using Konad Special polish in white.

For the reindeers I used 2 coats of Cult Nails Tempest as my base and painted a semi circle for the reindeer head using Essie Hot Coco. I used China Glaze Ruby Pumps for the nose and Cult Nails Tempest for the eyes and Kiss nail art striper in black for the eyes, antlers and outline. Topped it all off with a coat of top coat!




Only a week and a bit left til Christmas eek! What are you wearing on your nails at the moment?

I forgot to post this mani from a few weeks ago oops! I wanted to use some of the Barry M Gelly polishes I picked up in London on my honeymoon and thought I'd do a somewhat geometric mani. It didn't really turn out how I wanted it to because my stamping for my accent nail was a huge fail and so are my photos but oh well. Bring on Summer and the long days of beautiful sunshine!


What I used:


Pinky and thumb: I used 2 coats of Barry M Huckleberry and added black studs in a triangular design to the middle and bottom of my nails.

Ring finger: I used 1 coat of Cult Nails Tempest and stamped triangular design from Bundle Monster BM 402 using Konad special polish in black.

Middle finger: I used 3 coats of Essie Ignite the Night (thanks to my sis for this glitter!)

Index finger: I used 2 coats of Barry M Rose Hip and added black studs in a triangular design at the top of my nail.


I find I need to stamp regularly or else I lose my skills and end up with major fails! I also need to update my stamping collection too and get some Moyou plates and also indie plates. Any recommendations?? Thanks for looking as always!

It's cold and rainy in Sydney tonight which is the ideal weather for a lazy night in on the couch. It's also the weather for a sweater manicure! I haven't polished my nails in like 3 weeks and when I don't have time I like to do a tried and tested mani and the cheats way is to stamp. I did this exact same combo when I first hauled my Nailz Craze plates but I never posted it on my blog so it was time to recreate the mani!


I used 2 coats of Cult Nails Tempest as my base and stamped sweater design from Nailz Craze plate NC03 using Scratchers Iron Red stamping polish. I decided to mattify it and and covered it all in a coat of Essie Matte About You. It's by far my favourite matte topcoat but my bottle is soooooooo old I had to I had to add a few drops of Seche Restore to it haha. I think it's about time for a new bottle oops!




I hope you're all having a fab weekend so far! Thanks for looking as always and don't forget to enter my last belated 4th blogiversary giveaway here!

When I'm in a nail art rut Japanese nail magazines always give me that nail boost I need. I haven't bought many nail mags this year actually so I made a trip to Kinokuniya last week to stock up on some mags. Kino has cut back on the number of nail mags they stock which is so disappointing - they didn't even have Nail Up! which is one of my favourites! I still managed to pick up 3 though phew.


I saw this adorable cherry mani in S Cawaii! (which I've never bought before actually) and knew I had to recreate it. I love doing bright summery manis during winter and this is super cute and fun!! Plus it's a fruit mani and you know I adore those! ♥


What I used:


Pinky and index: I used 2 coats of Barry M Gelly nail effects Grapefruit and added a small gold bead to the bottom centre of my nails.

Ring fingers: I used 3 coats of OPI GoldenEye.

Middle and thumbs: I used 2 coats of Essie Where's My Chauffeur? as my base. To create the cherries I used a dotting dipped in Barry M Gelly nail effect Grapefruit and a small brush to paint the stems using Ulta 3 chocolate cake and for the leaves I used Barry M nail paint Mint Green before adding detail to the cherries using Cult Nails Tempest.

I should have chosen a brighter green because you can't really see the leaves unfortunately but oh well!


My NOTDs will be a bit varied at the moment because I've resorted to using flash because I just can't take pics during the day. The hubby bought me a lightbox a little while ago but I haven't worked out my lighting for it yet. Hurry up and come back summer with your beautiful long days and bright light!

What do you think? Did I do the original mani justice? Thanks for looking as always!

Soooooo I've kind of been doing a bit of hauling over the last month and a bit Xp I was relatively good on my spending ban for most of the year but I treated myself to a few things at Christmas hehe. The temptation for Christmas and LE collections was just too much! I also received some awesome gifts too yay! The majority of my haul was nail polish (of course) and in about 1 month I bought about 6months worth of products HAHA. FAIL. Here we go!


HARE POLISHES!!!!! *squeal* I lusted after The First collection for SOOOOOOOOO long and when Nikole reformulated them I knew I had to get my hands on them! They are so gorgeous. I also picked up 2 from The Finders Keepers colleciton. There was a little mix up with my order and my polishes were accidentally sent to Mich from The Polish Well but she very kindly sent them on to me and also included a bottle of her franken Sloth for me too which was so sweet! Thank you Mich again =D

Today I have swatches for you of two of the pretty colours from the Essie Spring 2012 collection - Tour de Finance and Olé Caliente. My parents are both boring finance people so the names in this collection amuse me! A Crewed Interest (accrued interest?!) and To Buy or Not to Buy are particularly cute I think ;) What they say: "This spring, Essie pays tribute to the beautiful, ambitious woman of action. Not content to play it safe and hedge her bets during the wintry economic climate, the change in weather perfectly suits her sunnier outlook. In both fashion and finance, she's ready, willing and able to strike out and try something fresh and new. This supremely feminine collection creates the perfect spring wardrobe for every woman on a mission. With skin-flattering brights and power pastels to suit every occasion, she's always at the top of her game with essie color. For those in the vanguard, blazing a trail of glory to new heights, there's Olé Caliente, for a more gentle touch and soft-sell approach, A Crewed Interest is sure to post serious profits. Whatever your strategy, choose one of six ingenious colors that means business."

Aaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back from my trip! I hope you've all been fab =D 2 weeks seriously is not enough time for a decent holiday, it just went by way too quickly! I spent time with my grandparents and also doing wedding stuff (got so much stuff ordered and organised!) which didn't leave too much time for shopping so my wallet is happy haha. I went over with a specific wishlist as I'm on a tight budget so my haul this time is far less than my usual ones! I have way too many products and I still need to get off my butt and do a blog sale! I bought quite a bit of clothing though this time and also shoes but I can't be bothered taking pics of those oops. Here's my haul!


Polishes!! 3 of the Essie Mirror Metallics, China Glaze Wicked collection and one from the Bohemian collection, innisfree glitters, Deborah Lippmanns, a Jessica and a peripera.


I met up with the lovely Jen as always and she very very kindly gave me a $50 Make Up For Ever voucher! I was only going to get one polish from the Black Tango collection but they were buy 2 get 1 free so of course I couldn't resist and ended up with the whole collection! I also picked up a Aqua Eyes Liner. They are the BEST liners!


Some nail art stuff of course! Fauxnad plates, nail art brushes, nail decals and stickers, fimo, palette and some cabochons.


Yes I indeed did lug home a 1L bottle of Zoya Remove lol. It was on sale and it's so hard to get here! The downfall to polishing my nails all the time is staining so I let myself get talked into getting the Cuccio Sicilian nail whitening paste. Here's hoping it works!


The shu uemura eyelash curler is my HG and I was tossing up between getting the gold or the mon shu girl curler and ended up going with mon shu girl. Karl Lagerfield rocks and I'm a sucker for a charm.


A few misc items! A refill for my Clinique powder, YSL glossy stain, MAC Select Moisturecover concealer, Kiehl's Cryste Marine eye cream and one of the new Clinique Chubby Stick shades.


I've heard so much stuff about the Bioderma I had to try it out. It's so much cheaper in HK!


Of course I got some face masks! I'm kind of obsessed with them lol. I actually bought 4 more boxes but had to leave them behind because my luggage was too heavy. The darn Zoya Remove!


Kracie poppin' cookin' is the bomb so I got a few more kits. If you haven't heard of them I HIGHLY recommend you check out RRcherrypie's blog and YouTube channel! You will be addicted!


My sister got an iphone 4S a while back and nicked some of the cases I got last time so I had to restock my supply haha. The MJ and Kate Spades I got for a bargain at Ladies Market so they're obviously not real xp


So that's my haul! I haven't done a haul post in a while because I've been on no buys. I hope you enjoyed my post!

Thanks for looking as always =)

Hi ladies! I hope you've all had a fantastic week. I don't know about you but I am SO glad it's finally Friday! I have some quick swatches for you of 2 of the shades from the Essie Resort 2012 collection today - She's Picture Perfect and No More Film. Both are gorgeous colours and I highly recommend adding them to your collection!


What they say:

"This apologetically pretty collection takes its cue from screen idols like Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly - women as perfectly suited for 20th Century Fox as they are for 21st century color. With adoring fans at her heels and essie on her toes, she's always on stylish step ahead of the crowd.

This suite of pinks and purples in eye-popping pastels and deep jewel-tones are a charming kiss of color to sire even the sleepiest sleeping beauty. Micro-glitters create a delicaate shimmer, and cream colors defy categorisation with rich undertones that are anything but superficial. This collection lets you dive into colour in a way that distinguishes you from all others, and awards you the starring role. There's no mistaking it, you were born to play this part."

Hi ladies! Just a super quick NOTD for you today. I'm absolutely knackered! I used 2 coats of Orly Sweet Peacock* which is a gorgeous shimmery blue foil. I stamped full floral design from Bundle Monster plate BM-221 using China Glaze Millenium and then added 1 coat of Essie Matte About You. The stamping looks white for some reason but it's silver!




I hope you're all doing well =) Thanks for looking as always!

* Product(s) provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

It's winter here in the land down under so it's the perfect time to break out some gorgeous wintery shades! Today I have my swatches and review of two of the shades from the Essie Winter 2012 collection - Brooch the Subject and Size Matter.


What they say:

"The newest colour collection from Essie is all about Cocktail Bling! Every Essie girl likes to dress up during the holidays and there is no time like the present to adorn yourself with fabulous colour! The collection is inspired by the precious stones and metals that we love to accessorize ourselves with at holiday cocktail parties - think Rubies, Sapphires and Emeralds, oh my!

The winter 2012 collection consists of six luminous shades that evoke the beguiling beauty of the world of gems, which are sure to cause a sensation."

Happy Monday ladies! I hope you've all had a good start to the week =) Yesterday I watched Snow White and the Huntsman with 2 of my lovely girlfriends so I thought I would do a Snow White inspired mani. But it was a massive fail because I didn't know what I wanted to do for each nail and I don't think it gelled properly! ARGH. I hate when that happens. My photos suck as well because my heart wasn't into this mani doh.


What I used:


Pinky: I used 2 coats of BYS Astro Gold and 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me top coat.

Ring finger: I used 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow and used a small brush to freehand the bitten apple using China Glaze Phat Santa, Ulta 3 chocolate cake for the leaf and a green rhinestone for the apple.

Middle finger: I took inspiration from this movie poster and created a gradient nail using BYS Astro Gold, Tom Ford Silver Smoke and China Glaze Jolly Holly.

Index finger: I used 1 coat of Rescue Beauty Lounge Concrete Jungle and stamped the gold crown image from Bundle Monster plate BM08 using China Glaze Passion.


Thumb: I used 2 coats of Glitter Gal Serpent Black* as a black base. For the axe I used a small brush to freehand using China Glaze Devotion for the blade and Essie Brooch the Subject* for the handle with Essie Hot Coco* for the darker wood accents.


I instagrammed this pic on Saturday night halfway through my mani and I thought I'd post it here too xp I like to have everything in reach when I'm doing my mani so my supplies take up about 1/3 of my desk. My routine is to turn on a good DVD and relax while doing my mani!


Have you seen Snow White and the Huntsman? I really enjoyed it and Kirsten Stewart didn't annoy me as much as I thought she would lol. Lots of decent action scenes and a bit of eye candy too!

Thanks for looking as always =)

* Product(s) provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

As you may know I do love my pastels/bows/polka dots and I haven't done a "girlie" mani in AGES so I made time to do one the other night ;) Only problem is I never know what to name these types of manicures each time I do one! Any suggestions?


What I used:

Pinky: 3 coats of OPI Alpine Snow as base colour, I then stamped diagonal full image from Konad plate m65 using China Glaze Millenium.

Ring finger: 2 coats of China Glaze Light as Air and 2 coats of Lynnderella Nosegay. I saw this combo over on The Polish Well and knew I had to try my bottle out ASAP with the combo. (I DO NOT CARE FOR THE LYNNDERELLA DRAMA BTW).

Middle finger: 3 coats of OPI Alpine Snow as base, I then stamped bow image from Konad plate m59 using China Glaze Harmony and added a silver rhinestone.

Index finger: 2 coats of China Glaze Light as Air, I then stamped full polka dot image from Konad plate m79 using Konad Special polish in black

Thumb: 2 coats of Glitter Gal Serpent Black and 1 coat of Essie Luxeffects Set in Stones.




My photos are too yellow here but oh well. I just don't get enough time in to take photos in natural light especially during winter! I really should look into a lightbox but the problem is a) I have no where to put it, b) I'm lazy to make one and c) I'm too cheap to buy one haha!

Hope you like this mani =) Thanks for looking!

Today I have some quick swatches for you from the Essie Fall 2012 collection which was released last month here in Australia. I was very kindly sent Glamour Purse, Lady Like and Power Clutch to try out and show you!


What they say:

"Elegant, sophisticated and mixed with the right amount of fun, this season Essie’s inspiration stems from designer handbags and powerful business women - think Mad Men! The mix of velvety hues and lady like nudes makes Essie’s Fall 2012 Collection an easy choice for those women who mix business and pleasure.

Easy to apply and chip safe, Essie Fall 2012 collection has fingers and toes covered for work, play and everything in between."

Hi ladies! Today I have some quick swatches for you of two polishes from the Essie Braziliant collection that were released for Summer 2011 - Absolutely Shore and Meet Me At Sunset.


What they say:

"This summer, it's all about daring, sexy colour. Cultivate your inner glamazon with colours infused with the seductive beauty of Brazil. The super-chic tropical nation is the ideal setting for a stunning array of six flawless, jewel-tone shades. Bold oranges and risque pinks transport you to paradise with the stroke of a brush.

"When the temperature soars, I embrace the heat as the perfect excuse to play with fiery colours," essie brand colour guru, Essie Weingarten explains. "Summer colour should pop, sizzle and be brazenly alluring." Imagine yourself diving into crystalline azure waters and cavorting on white quartz beaches. Just forget the plane ticket and escape with colour!"