An amazon with flakies

Hello hello!

Ever since swatching OPI Amazon...Amazoff I haven't worn it in a full manicure, so of course, I had to remedy that! I wore two coats of the beautiful green and added Australis Speck-tacular for some flakey goodness.

Mmm, I regret not adding a matte top coat to this!

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

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Pop art is speck-tacular!

Hi everyone. Australian brand Ulta3 never ceases to amaze me with its wide variety of shades, Pop art being one of them :) I love this brilliant raspberry shade and love it even more with Australis Speck-tacular layered over it ♥

Simple and pretty, it's the way I roll :D

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

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Swatches & review: Australis Winter shades 2014

Hi ladies! Here down under, we're slowly settling into our cooler months, so what better time than now to pull out the darker, richer shades of winter? Australian brand Australis has recently released four shades to suit the winter season.

Two coats of Sittin on a cloud. I was a little underwhelmed by this, as I expected an off white shade. Still, it's a simple white shade, which had an easy formula to work with.

Spinnin my candy is a soft pink shade. If you're looking to build the pink in your stash, this one is a nice and safe fairy floss pink. The formula was a little thin and my swatch shows three coats.

Oh my nudie is a beautiful light chocolate brown. It looks horrendous against my skin, but I can see some chocolate nail art being inspired from this :) Love the gorgeous shimmer in this too! Two coats.

Berry in a hurry is a safe, berry shade. Love the squishy jelly in this, but again, nothing special about it. It's a stainer too, so be careful when applying and make sure you use a base coat! Two coats.

These shades are now available nationwide at Priceline Big W and selected pharmacies. Each bottle retails for $7.95.

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Products provided for consideration.

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Of mermaids and the sea

Hello :) I believe my initial inspiration behind this manicure was a mermaid theme, but I got a little carried away and it became more of an ocean inspired look. Never mind, I love this manicure all the same ♥

I started with a coat of OPI Can't find my Czechbook. I then took Can't find my Czechbook, Australis Sky high and Ulta3 Lily white to create the gradient look. Finally, I layered a coat of Ozotic #906 over the gradient. I then took my newly acquired sea shell studs from Born Pretty Store and various other studs and pearls to complete the look.

I am such a huge fan of the current stud trend and can't seem to get enough of it sometimes ;) You can find the beautiful sea shell studs on Born Pretty Store retailing at $2.78 for a pack of 20. The studs I used on my index and pinky nails can also be found on the Born Pretty Store website here.

Besides the free international shipping offered, I also have a 10% discount - simply enter the code PIJ60 when you check out your purchases.

Are you a fan of this stud trend? What do you think of my take on an ocean nail art? :)

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

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Purple & pink gradient stamped

Hello everyone. Today's post is inspired by the amazingly talented Cathy over at More Nail Polish. When I saw her gradient with stamping manicure, I knew I would have to give it a shot myself. I decided to use OPI A grape fit and Australis K-pop for the gradient, before layering with Alanna Renee Milky way. For my ring and middle fingers, I painted A grape fit and K-pop randomly over the nail before stamping with BM-410 and Ulta3 Black satin.

I'm really in love with the gradient look right now, so expect to see some more nail looks featuring this technique ;)

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

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January Nail Art Challenge: Pastel blue

(Oops, this was meant to be up yesterday, but I forgot to post it! Better late than never though :P)

Hi everyone :) Today's prompt is pastel blue and I have to admit, with such a broad theme, I was a little stumped to begin with. I finally decided to go with a skittle look and here is the result!

Pinky & index: Two coats of Australis Sky high layered with Australis Carnivale chaos. I added two coats of Flormar #20 to create a glitter sandwich look.
Ring & thumb: Three coats of Sinful Colors Cinderella.
Middle: Two coats of Sky high. I created a one stroke butterfly look with some acrylic paint.

I love how the rainbow glitter looks like a garden of flowers off in the distance which the butterfly is flying towards :)

Thanks for reading as always!
~Sharon

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Bejewelled nails

Hi ladies! What to do when in the mood for some blinged out nails? Why, dig out all the 3D accessories you own and go to town with them :D

I started this manicure with two coats of Australis Peek-a-boo. It's a very camera shy shade and leans way too blue in photos than it is in real life. It's definitely more of a blurple. On my ring and index fingers, I added a glitter gradient using Nicole by OPI Inner sparkle.

My nails were super bumpy, but definitely blingy ^^ Are you a fan of this type of excessive 3D nail art?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

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Sparkly, cat nails :)

Hi ladies! Here is another manicure I put together using Bundle Monster's newest plate collection. I started with two coats of OPI My vampire is buff - a gorgeous off white shade which I can't stop reaching for! I stamped the design from BM-412 with Ulta3 black satin and then added some glitter using Australis Carnivale chaos. Finish off with some studs and voilà :)

I'm really proud of the way it turned out and adore how the rainbow glitters stood out against the clean base shade. What do you think of this look?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

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Swatches & review: Australis Carnivale collection

Hi ladies :) Australian brand Australis has been releasing some really pretty nail polishes recently. Today, I have the Carnivale collection to share with you ♥ This collection consists of three glitter toppers and they're definitely really stunning!

Rio riot is a gorgeous mixture of glitter. I layered one coat over China Glaze First mate.

Carnivale chaos, what a pretty rainbow glitter you are! ♥ I layered one coat over Orly Ruby.

Frisky feather is one of those bar glitter mixtures which nail polish companies have been releasing recently. I never thought I would actually use them and like them, but Frisky feather may have swayed me! As a topper, it looks so pretty and not too furry.

The Carnivale collection is now available at Priceline, Big W, Kmart and selected pharmacies across Australia. Each bottle retails for $7.95.

It really seems mainstream brands have caught onto the indie craze. What do you think of the glitters from this collection?

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Products provided for consideration.

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Swatches & review: Australis Rockstar collection

Hello hello~ Australian brand Australis recently released a couple of nail polish collections. Today, I will be showing you the Rockstar collection.

Goth rock is a very dark and vampy red shade. In fact, it's so dark by the second coat that you can't really tell it's red unless you look at the edges. Application was fine and it covered in two coats.

Kpop is a pink tinged purple. Normally I wouldn't be drawn to this type of colour because I think they look horrible against my skin tone, but apparently not! It actually looks quite nice and now I'm thinking I need to experiment with more nail polishes in this shade ;) Photos show two easy coats.

Indi is a beautiful bright turquoise which dries semi matte. I added a top coat in the photos to show the glossy side of it. Two coats.

Diva house is a semi matte bright raspberry shade which was completely opaque in two coats. Again, I added a top coat to show it with a glossy finish.

The Rockstar collection has been out for a couple of months, but it is a limited edition. If you love the nail polishes, definitely get your hands on it while you still can!

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Products provided for consideration.

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Shopping the Stash: A for Australis

Hi ladies :) Awhile back, I was in a huge nail slump so I decided to revisit my stash and pull out some polishes to wear as plain notds again. I had the dilemma of where to start though, so in the end I decided to begin with 'A' and work all the way through the alphabet. As a result, I've started a 'Shopping the Stash' tag, which will be put to use when I'm at lost with what to wear on my nails :)

Today's post features Australian brand Australis and the beautiful Vampy. It's a gorgeous raspberry shade with shimmer, giving it lots of depth.

I'm hoping I'll be able to finish Shopping the Stash soon, but at the end of the day, it's only for when I'm lacking inspiration...so maybe not too often! :P

Do you revisit your stash often?

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

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Blue and gold skittles

Hello everyone :) I was in the mood for another blue skittle but wanted to add an accent to it so I went with a blue and gold skittle. And a touch of holographic polish too :P

Pinky & index: Two coats of OPI OPI...Eurso Euro. I then layered two coats of Australis Speck-tacular over it.
Ring: Two coats of A-England Tristam. And of course, there was no sun when I wore this :(
Middle: Three coats of Hello Kitty Golden girl.
Thumb: Two coats of OPI...Eurso Euro. Stamped with BM-311 and Golden girl.

Natural light:

Artificial light:

Do you find that you get cloudy skies whenever you pull out a holographic polish to wear? Or does it only happen to me? :P

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

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Blue for Autism Awareness

Hi ladies. April is the month to especially raise awareness for autism and since I started working with children, I have seen just how common it is. The colour for autism is blue so I decided to set about to create a blue manicure.

Pinky & index: Two coats of Australis Sky high. Gradient was created with Mode Happy snaps. Finally, I layered one thick coat of OPI Which is witch? over it all.
Ring: Two coats of Happy snaps and then two thick coats of Shimmer Polish Maria.
Middle: Two coats of Ulta3 lily white, then stamped with Happy snaps and BM-224.
Thumb: Two coats of Sky high with a glitter gradient using Maria.

Are you wearing blue to raise awareness? :)

Cindy, the creator of Shimmer Polish can be found on her blog, etsy shop and facebook page.

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

A product was provided for consideration.

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A rocker inspired nail look :)

Hi ladies! :) Recently I had the opportunity to sample Australian cosmetic brand Australis' new Perfume Spray collection, which consists of Get your rocks off and Wild at heart.

Australis says:

"Take a walk on the wild side! Wild at heart is a fragrance packed with punchy fruits, flirty florals and touches of lily, violet and mint - a single spritz will make the sense run wild."

"Go crazy and put your hands together as Get your rocks off takes the stage! Boasting a combination of beautiful berry, crazy coconut, mad mango and awesome apricot, this fragrance is the go to scent for all girls naughty and nice." 

Whilst I adore Wild at heart, I have to admit that Get your rocks off is not a scent I would normally be attracted. But after wearing it for awhile, I have found it has grown on me. Not a typical scent but I love it all the same. So I decided to create a rock inspired manicure to match the scent.

Pinky: Two coats of Ulta3 black satin, with a stud added for good measure ;)
Ring & thumb: Three coats of OPI Stay the night.
Middle: Black satin and Picture Polish O'hara gradient
Index: Two coats of O'hara.

Mmmm, I reckon my nails really matched the way I smelt... :P What do you think of this look?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

A product was provided for consideration.

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