Monday Mani by Sportsgirl and Ulta3

I have had nude nails for a while. I picked off my last gel manicure and it has totally ruined my nails. They were horrible! It’s been a few months and they still aren’t great, but they are much better.
Miss 3 also loves nail polish (she calls it nalel poulish) she was given a scented on from Sportsgirl by a family friend (thanks Kate and Erin) and she can’t get enough of it. So that’s what we did. I also wanted to try out one of the new Ulta3 ones we were given. So with the 2 combined, this is what you get.

Ulta3 xoxo and Sportsgirl Jelly Bean

Jelly Bean scented when its dry

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Please excuse my horrible nails and paint job!

 

 

Yellow makes everything brighter…

My Mum tells a story about me when I was in kindy that goes a little something like this..

When I used to do paintings and drawing at school I used A LOT of yellow! It was my favorite color and I could not get enough of the stuff. When my Mum asked me one day why my drawings had so much yellow in them, apparently I came up with a pretty smart answer…Because when you have yellow in a drawing it makes everything brighter. Well done me! This is something that I still believe is true. Over the last few days I have been so sick with the most terrible flu, I had no voice and was coughing so much my ribs started aching. I was pretty down in the dumps and thought it would never go away, with nothing much else to do then feel sorry for myself I decided to paint my nails…YELLOW!

I tell you what, it really lifted my spirits not to mention the great conversation stater with complete strangers…”Soooooo, yellow nails? That’s pretty cool”, that was spoken by my Doctor. Other then lift your spirits, bright bold nails are perfect for this time of year, they go with the summer season and I love it.

The first yellow I grabbed was from Australis and called Acid Rain (I just love that name too bits).  The colour is so eye catching and bright, whenever I catch a glimpse of my nails I smile, which means it must be doing something right.

I applied 2 coats and because it is so high shine I didn’t need to apply a top coat. The application was so easy and just glides over your nails without creating any streaks. I wore this colour for about 2 days without any signs of chipping. Delish!

After day 2 I wanted to try something new but still keep within my yellow theme and lift my spirits. I went for another yellow Australis but this time a crackle version called Tweet Me (another awesome name). For the base colour underneath the crackle polish I used one coat of OPI That’s Hot. With the shatter polishes you need to make sure the colour you use underneath is completely dry before you apply the shatter colour or it wont work as well. You also only need to apply a thin coat of shatter polish for it to work and I find that it looks best without a top coat.

My shatter polish lasted about 4 days before it needed to be taken off. Shatter is great for adding a bit of fun into your outfit, Sunday arvo drinks with the girls or just hanging at the shops.

Check out the Australis website HERE for other cool polishes and products.

RRP: Brights from Australis are $7.95 for 10ml and Shatter polishes are $8.95 for 10ml. Both are available from Priceline, Big W and Kmart.

* These products were sent to The Makeup Case for editorial consideration – Please see our disclosure policy.

Priceline Mini Haul

I thought that because it was such a nice day that it would be a good idea to put Evie in the pram and go for a walk. So I walked, and we ended up at the local shops. I keep meaning to get some hand sanitizer for my nappy bag and some child Nurofen, so we popped into the Priceline Pharmacy.

We walked out with a few other things too, that I needed, of course!

• Maybelline Baby Lips Pink Glow. I don’t really need any more lip products but when I saw this I was suckered in and had to have it.
• Cutex Crystal Glass Nail File. I have been wanting one for ages and my 2 year old may let me do her nails with this. Fingers crossed.
• Rexona Women Naturals. The days are getting hotter and while I am breastfeeding I don’t like to use sprays.
• Dettol Healthy Touch Hand Sanitizer. (what we went in for) To put in the nappy bag for times when there are no taps to wash hands after changes.
• I did also get the Nurofen for kids too

Cant wait to try the Baby Lips, its supposed to give me my perfect pink glow based on my lip chemistry.

Pop Colour Nails

I know the trend has probably passed, but when Bec cleaned out her nail polish collection and asked if I wanted any………stupid question…….I jumped at the offer. Heaps of different colours that I didn’t have already. I thought I would try a pop of colour, but which one? Couldn’t decide, so I
used all 4.

The colours I used; NYC Jelly Bean, Napoleon Perdis (cant read the colour), Rimmel Sunshine and Orly Lucky Duck.

The results. It was a bit tricky because they were all different brands so some took forever to dry and some were really quick. But I think it turned out pretty good.

I must say I am a bit of a fan of multi coloured nails. So keep an eye out for more to come.

A Little Bit Of Elegance

Orly has done it again! I swear this nail polish company are dead set awesome! Each time they create amazing new colours I fall in love and this time I have fallen hard, head over heels, I must have all the time love. A love that I will not be ending anytime soon, if I have it my way.  The polish that I am loving sick is named Artificial Sweetner and is one of 6 new colours in the Cool Romance Collection.

Cool Romance is packed with elegant colours designed for the Autumn months. The range features a muted palette of classy pastels and strong metallics, perfect for Autumn and a wonderful and welcomed change from all the summer brights and bolds. What is so fantastic with Cool Romance is that the colours are so wearable and can easily transition from a night on the town to brunch with the girls.

I like to think of Artificial Sweetner as a grown up girls pink polish. The perfect pink for us girls in our late 20’s and 30’s who still want to whip out our fluro pink but don’t want to look like Lyn Spears. Artificial Sweetner adds that touch of class and elegance to the pink colour palette and because of its dusty pink colour it goes with absolutely any outfit, mega bonus points! I have been wearing this treasure on my fingers for the last 4 days and have had no fading and only a slight amount of chipping, pretty good considering all the house work I have been doing (such a boring thing to admit). I applied two coats of colour and one coat of a clear top coat. I know this is going to be one of my staple colours for this coming Autumn.

One of the things I love about Orly polishes is the out of this world Gripper Cap (its won awards, don’t you know?), it makes applying polish so easy and precise. And another bit of trivia for you, all of Orly colours are ‘3-free’ from harmful chemicals, Formaldehyde / Formaldehyde Resin and Toluene. How rad is that?

RRP: $18.95 for 18ml. Available on shelf from April 2012.

*This product was provided to The Makeup Case for editorial consideration – please see our disclosure policy.

A Passionfruit Affair

Okay so I know we are not yet over Christmas but I am so excited for Valentines Day. All the flowers and love in the air, you cant help but fall in love. And I tell you what I have fallen in love with…Orly Passionfruit Polish. A hot neon pink/orange/coral colour of awesomeness and just the perfect addition to any Valentines Day outfit.

Passionfruit is one of four polishes that make up the new Orly I Heart Nail range which also includes;

Butterflies: A deep Lolly Pink Creme that just screams cuteness.

Forever Crimson: Dark Crimson with a subtle shimmer. Perfect for going from day to-night.

Cotton Candy: A pastel baby pink, perfect for a romantic Valentines date night.

If neon polish scares you, you might find Passionfruit a bit to bright for your liking, I do suggest giving it a go though as you might be pleasantly surprised. You might even fall in love!

I applied a base coat, three coats of colour and then a top coat. I have been wearing Passionfruit for the past 3 days and have not yet had any chipping! I loved the end result of this polish, although I did find that the colour does look slightly different on your fingers then it does in the bottle. Still a very cute colour nevertheless.

In the gloomy weather Sydney has been experiencing of late it is kind of nice having a bright pick me up colour on my fingers. It makes me smile every time I look at it, that’s got to be worth something, right?

RRP: $18.95 for 18ml. On-shelf now and available from pharmacies, salons and spas.

* This product was provided to The Makeup Case for editorial consideration – please see our Disclosure Policy.

Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue, I Love Lanolips and You Should Too..

Have you ever tried Lanolips products before? If not, you do not know what you are missing out on! Lanolips have some of the best lip balms on the planet, and not to mention an amazing hand and nail range. And Hip Hip Hoorah what a funny coincidence I just so happen to be reviewing Lanolips Rose Balm Intense for Very Dry Hands and Nails in this very post, and another Hip Hip Hoorah because this very product celebrated its birthday not so many months ago.

Now for a little background story, Lanolips was created in Australia on a humble farm in South Australia by the lovely Kirsten Carriol. Lanolin is a substance taken from freshly shorn sheep’s wool, natures own moisturizer. Kristen father was a DNA Professor, so add that up with Kristens love of this natural moisturizer ingredient, and Lanoplips was born. Firstly, in the form of high gloss moristurizing lip balms and now hand creams and moisturizers. Lanolips have sure come a long way from that family farm.

 

I don’t know about you but I seem to suffer from dry hands all year round, I blame it on air conditioners, constantly cooling and heating us up that my hands don’t know if they have pink polish on or red. I have tried so many hand creams in my time you would think that my hands would be super moisturized 24/7, unfortunately that is not the case, that is until I tried Lanolips Rose Balm Intense.

After using the balm several times a day for a week I can honestly say my hands have never felt better, it must be the ultra pure grade lanolin in this beauty that does it, see Kirsten Carriol was onto something glorious when she mixed this magical ingredient with Vitamin E and Rose Oil. So beautiful. I just love the scent of roses and the wonderful thing about this balm is that you can be smelling likes roses all day. It has such a wonderful fragrance that reminds me of playing in my front garden when I was younger, filled with my mums red roses.

When you are feeling like a little pick me up, rub some of the Rose Balm on your hands and you will feel that little bit better. A little of this balm goes a long way, and works by creating a protective barrier over your hands and continues to nourish for hours. When you rub the balm in you can actually feel it warming between your hands, I also like to work the balm around my cuticles to make them soft and easy to manicure. It does say that you can also use it on your feet! I have not tried this out yet, may be tonight.

RRP: $15.95 FOR 50ml. Available from David Jones, Myers, Priceline, Terry White Pharmacies or Online.

*This product was sent to The Makeup Case for editorial consideration – please see our disclosure policy.

A Day At The Races And The Colour Purple

What better way to spend a beautiful sunny Saturday then at the races drinking champagne and winning money (ha, winning! Yes we will just call it that).  I am not the type of girl who matches my nails to my outfit, usually I prefer a bold colour that compliments without being to matchy matchy.  This time I jumped out of my comfort zone and went for the opposite, a polish that was the same as my dress colour!

Purple was the choice of the day, purple dress, purple nails.  And a little bit of white, come on, I have to mess it up a little.

The purple polish in question is the one and only OPI A Grape Fit, a very pretty medium matte shade. The white polish is from The Face Shop and smells a lot like Liquid Paper, oh well it does the job. I decided to paint one finger on each hand white and use the purple polish to add some dots over the top.

The first step, and this is the hardest part, you need to decide what fingers to paint white and which to paint purple. Now once this is all sorted and decided you can start painting. For this look I did two coats with the purple and two coats for the white. Another hard part is waiting for your nails to dry, I am so impatient sometimes but it is really important!

Once all your nails are dry you can get set on the creative part of making the cute dots. All you need is a bobby pin, dip the round point into the purple polish and carefully dab the dots over the white polish. You can make the dots as random as you like or more neat, it’s totally up to how you feel. When all the dots are perfectly dry apply a top coat over all you nails.

This is such an easy and funky way to mess up a simple mani and make your nails stand out. Seriously, I have already had like four compliments on these babies. Hows that!?!

RRP: $19.00 OPI A Grape Fit available from David Jones and $3.00 (what a bargain) from The Face Shop.

 

 

The Beauty Panel

Its only been on the shelves for a day or 2 but make sure you get to your nearest newsagent and grab the latest issue of Cleo magazine (it has Miranda Kerr on the cover) Once purchased, please turn straight to page 82 and check out the beauty panel, you’ll notice a familiar face as one of the test subjects.

I was lucky enough to review two great products, Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Reviving Leg and Foot Mist and Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. I wont tell you all about them now but we have reviewed the nails previously and you’ll have to check out Cleo for the foot spray (just quietly, it was really awesome).

Related articles

• Guess who it is?!? (themakeupcase.com.au)
• Lets get a little Animalistic (themakeupcase.com.au)

Lets get a little animalistic!

I know that lately it feels like we have been blogging a lot about nails! There are just so many amazing new products out there, we feel the need to try as many as we can get our little mitts on. I think (and hope) that you like them as much as we do.

The new craze hitting the streets right now is nail art, whether it’s stickers, minx, diamonds or nail pens, there is something our there to suit everyone’s fashion tastes. On a recent outing to Priceline, (I love that shop so much it’s retarded), I found these amazing Sally Hansen nail art polishes, and wait for it, they were in a zebra pattern. I didn’t know if I was fashion forward enough to pull them off, but my sheer want, nay ‘desire’ made me grab a packet as fast as I could and head to the register.

You apply the sheets of polish to your nails in a similar way to Minx. Each sheet contains enough sheets for one application which should last you around 3 weeks. Provided you don’t do any harsh cleaning or anything, who wants to do that? Not me! There are enough sizes in the pack to fit your fingers, if the sheets are a little large you can always trim them.

Removing them from your nails however is not as easy, I’m not sure if it was the pattern I choose or the actual product. On the instructions it tells you to remove like you would a normal polish, with some remover and a few cotton pads. I did this and it took me absolutely forever, the white parts in the pattern were a headache to get off. I found I went through a ton of remover and a few too many cotton pads. I do feel though, that the joy of having that quirky pattern on your nails for a few weeks far out weighs the woes of removal.

If you are heading to a summer party, this pattern is going to nail (hahaha pun intended) you a lot of compliments. If you are a little more modest, there are plenty of not so out there patterns to chose from.

RRP: Around the $15.00 mark. Available from Priceline.