31DC2014: Day 6 - Violet

Hello there! Today I have violet/purple themed nails to show you. When I started these nails I genuinely had no plan for them so I didn't know how they would turn out. I knew I wanted to use striping tape, I just didn't know how. But they turned out pretty cool I think, very geometric and random. I've never done nails these either, so it's a bit fun to try something new.

I used three different purples from Ulta3: Spring Fever, Palette Play and Lilac Bloom.

(Please excuse my already messy cuticles, I haven't had time to properly maintain them this week)

So there you have it! Some random purple geometric nails. I really do like how they turned out, even if it was a slightly tedious process. It was nice to use striping tape again as it had been a while!

31DC2014: Day 5 - Blue

Hello everyone! Today's prompt is one of my favourite days because blue is my absolute favourite colour. And before I get any further I have to thank my mum for helping me pick this design for today, so thanks mum and look, here's your shoutout! Told you I would.

I've never done this design before so I was pretty excited to do it. I had started to film a tutorial for this as well after practising on a nail wheel but I found it was just too difficult to film because I was still working it out for myself. So maybe that will be a tutorial in the future sometime. 

The lines aren't perfect and the size of the colours aren't all the same but I think I did a pretty decent job! I really enjoy the way it turned out. Much better than I thought it would anyway.

I used four Essie colours, from top to bottom:
After School Boy Blazer
Butler Please
Avenue Maintain
Bikini So Teeny

The blues just go really well together and it was easy to work with the same formula for each colour.

I can't wait to try this out with other colours!

That's all for today, check back tomorrow for violet/purple nails!

31DC2014: Day 4 - Green

Hello lovelies! Today's post is very fun in my opinion. I had originally planned to do a Sims 4 mani considering today is the release date and today's prompt is green, the plumbob colour! But I just couldn't get it right, even with help of a tutorial. So I sadly scrapped that design and suddenly came up with this one. Now I've seen this design as tie dye manis in the past with lots of different colours, but I didn't follow a tutorial or anything, just started in the middle and made a spiral outwards.

I think they turned out really cool. It's something I've never done before so that's a bit fun! They're not perfect, but then again, they aren't meant to be. I wanted them messy.

I used Mojito Madness by Essie.

I'd love to try out the proper tie dye mani in the future with the different colours as I reckon that'd be even better than this one. In the meantime though I'm going to play the crap out of The Sims 4!

Thanks for reading!

31DC2014: Day 3 - Yellow

Hi everybody! Today's prompt is yellow and just like with Monday I'm basing these nails off a Marc Jacobs perfume, this one is called Honey. My parents bought this for me while they were on a cruise earlier in the year. It's very similar to the Dot perfume, not in the way it smells, but the design of the bottle.

I started with a base of White On by Sally Hansen as I found the yellow polish I used, Freshly Squeezed by Ulta3, was too thin to look opaque even after a few coats. So on top of the white, I did two coats of yellow and then used a dotting tool for the dots! Very simple and probably a cop out considering it's the yellow version of Monday's mani, but oh well. I was going to do stripes on my ring finger but I didn't have the patience for striping tape. That's why the dots on that nail look a bit funny, because I'd already top coated the nail to make the striping tape process easier but at the last minute I decided not to go with it and proceeded with the dots, forgetting the top coat would still be a bit tacky underneath. Oops.

Tomorrow's prompt is green, so stay tuned for that!

31DC2014: Day 2 - Orange

Today's prompt is orange and just like with red, it's not a favourite colour of mine, but I don't hate it as much as red. I discovered I have quite a few orange polishes though thanks to how often I buy Ulta3 polishes these days.

I started with a base of My Vampire Is Buff by OPI (so happy I finally found this polish!) and the stripes are Bright Me, Tahiti, and Orange Blossom all by Ulta3 and Sun Kissed by Sally Hansen. 

This is a very autumnal mani I think, which wasn't my intention as it's the second day of Spring in Australia, but I still like it, before today I had never thought of doing these stripes with one colour theme.

Tomorrow is yellow and it's very similar to yesterday's mani so don't expect anything awesome.

Thanks for reading!

31DC2014: Day 1 - Red

Hello there and welcome to this year's 31 Day Nail Art Challenge, I'm very excited to be doing this again and I think I'll do a lot better than I did last year now that I've got a year's worth of practice under my belt!

If you've been following me for a year, you'll remember that I hate the colour red. I have never liked it and I very rarely wear it, except on my lips. But this was an easy prompt for me because I was inspired by my bottle of Dot by Marc Jacobs. It's one of my favourite perfumes; my nana gave it to me for my 21st birthday last year.

I used Fame Fatal by Essence and Black Satin by Ulta3. I then top coated with Seche Vite, which I'm trying to get used to again, but as I had done the red dots on the black base twice, they were very bumpy so I top coated those nails twice which didn't do much as it was still bumpy.

So that's it for day 1 of the challenge! I'll be back tomorrow with some orange nails! :)

August Favourites

Hi everyone! This monthly favourites will probably be a quick one as I don't think I've got many favourites to share with you all. So let's jump into it!

My fave designs were my splatter nails, watercolour nails, bright mix 'n match and my blogiversary nails. 

Another favourite of the month, even though I only did it yesterday was the reorganising of my nail collection! I spent about three hours organising all my polishes and I'm so happy with how they are now because I had wanted to sort through them for a while now because I found myself only using the polishes that were on my shelves and not in my draws. Here's how the three draws ended up:

I currently own 178 polishes (not including base/top coats) and I'm sure soon enough I'll reach the 200 mark! I might have to invest in more storage by then.

Other favourites include (in no particular grouping):

• Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze - I've recently gotten into trying to contour my face for nights out and I found the bronzers I had in my collection were too shimmery to pass off as natural shading. I think I first saw this bronzer in one of Lauren Curtis' videos and I loved how it looked because of the it's matte finish. I'm not the best at contouring and I only do it very lightly, but I love this bronzer and the way it changes my face shape, even if I'm the only one who really notices it haha.
• Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn - This book is very different to what I usually read so I was very happy when I ended up loving it. I'm the type of person who enjoys reading the book before I see the movie, not because I think the book is always better but because I like to imagine it all in my mind before having the movie version imprinted into my head every time I read the book after seeing the movie. It was such an amazing book though and I found it very hard to resist reading ahead because there are so many plot twists and turns. 
• Lush's American Cream Conditioner - I've always wanted to try Lush hair products so I picked up the smallest size of this conditioner when I got a gift voucher for my birthday for Lush. My favourite thing about it is how it leaves your hair smelling; exactly like the way it smells in the bottle. It does a decent job of conditioning as well but I'm savouring the product I have left because it's a bit too expensive to buy all the time.
• L'Oreal Paris Elvive Smooth-Intense Shampoo and Conditioner - In saying that I love the American Cream conditioner, I have to back track and talk about my all time favourite shampoo and conditioners. The Lush conditioner is good for the days when you want everyone to be able to smell your hair but the Elvive range is excellent for leaving your hair smooth and shiny. I rediscovered my love for it in August and I'm mad that it's taken me so long to go back to it. I barely use any hair treatment after towel drying because it leaves me hair so smooth and easy to brush through without the extra help from treatment.
• My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking & Going With Your Gut by Hannah Hart - Hannah Hart is one of my favourite YouTubers and so naturally, when she released a book I had to get it. I haven't read through it all, but it's so funny and witty and a really good read so far. And I imagine the rest of the book is the same. I love it; along with advice there are cleverly titled recipes that look a lot of fun to make and eat. I'm very happy she's gotten as far as she has, she deserves all the recognition. 
• Chi Chi Glamorous Eyeshadow Palette in Nudes - I'm not sure if I've ever had this in a favourites before but I skipped July so I don't think I have. I saw so many Australian beauty bloggers on YouTube and Instagram using these palettes so I bought the Nudes one from Target a few months ago. I got the Nudes because I was just starting out with eyeshadow and didn't feel like I'd be any good with the other palettes. But I love this one, it's simple enough to wear during the day and glamorous enough to wear for a night look. Maybe soon I'll expand my range and buy another version.
• Maybelline Express Remover - I posted about this the other week in my swatch post but it's definitely a favourite this month. It's so easy to use and does an excellent job of removing polish. It makes doing a few designs in one day much easier!

I had a few more favourites than I thought but I think that's because I hadn't done a favourites post since June. But there you go, a little insight to the things I've been loving this past month.

Thanks for reading!