Pastel Paint Palette Nail Art

A while back I read Lily Pebbles' post on paint palette nail art and loved it, promptly recreated it and uploaded a very low quality to instagram. Months later I am bringing what was a quite simple technique (no odd tools required) back but in pastel.

I love pastel polish year round, my nails are the only place I really wear much colour and I think it's a gentle pop amongst my primarily monochrome outfit choices. I'm not big on 'nail trends' so my colour choices are rarely influenced by season but this would be more of a summer choice for some but I'm wearing it in Autumn right now.

With a simple white base (a shade that if you're into a little bit of nail art, you need to have and I recommend buying a decent one, not just the cheapest one from the supermarket like I did) paint over the nail as many coats as required until fully opaque. I used Sally Hanses Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear polish in White On. I did this step the night before so it was fully dry but either use a quick dry top coat to shorten the process or wait an hour so the polish won't move when you paint over it.

I'd personally go with four or five shades but use what you have. I went for Essie's Go Ginza (pastel pink), Essie's Bikini So Teeny (darkest blue), Maybelline Color Show in Green With Envy (the deeper green), L'Oreal Color Riche in French Riviera (very pale blue) and Covergirl's Outlast Stay Brilliant polish in Lav-Endure (pastel purple).

Wipe the majority of polish off the brush so it's going to be slightly streaky and uneven, and gently do a small stroke over the nail. You can place this randomly or strategically depending if you want the art to be uniform on all nails or different. If the colour didn't show up as much as you'd wanted, you can easily go over it again with the same process. It's better to have less and add because you can't take any away without starting over.

Repeat this on every nail, one colour at a time to make it simpler. Because the strokes are thin they'll dry quite quickly and some of the colours don't overlap at all so you can do those at the same time. Repeat this process for all colours on all nails and finish off with a topcoat after a few hours so the colours don't blend together and you're finished!

It's a simple introduction into the nail art world and I really loved the results. Let me know in the comments if you'll be trying the paint palette look.

Playing Favourites

I've always been very unmotivated to do a favourites post on this blog, choosing instead to wrap it into my quarterly mood boards. But for once I had a selection of things that I truly loved, rather than a few I loved and a few I liked that would fill out the post.

I had my eye on this little notebook for weeks before I caved and let myself buy it. Made by The New York Times this notebook is a really practical size with plenty of room to write as many lists as the heart desires (and my heart desires a lot). Online I couldn't find the single paperback version I bought from my newsagent but you can buy a set on the New York Times Store here.

Essie Lilacism has to be on of my favourite nail polishes of all time, it's the perfect not too in your face pastel purple which depending on the lighting sometimes looks blue and other times grey. It goes with my mainly monochrome wardrobe a treat and somehow I think is quite a mature pastel, not to mention the amount of compliments I get on the colour at work is unprecedented out of any of the other colours that I wear (and there is a lot).

Up until now I've never worn a nude lip, as a fair skinned girl I think it's harder to find a great nude to suit me and whenever I go to buy one I always change my mind because they always look like such an older woman's colour when I swatch them. The first one I bought out of excitement for the launch of the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipsticks in Australia. Nottinghill Nude is quite a brown colour but lightly blended over the lip, it looks less like it belongs in the early 2000's and much more like a modern nude. The second is Clarins Rouge Prodige lipstick in Nude, a lighter colour which I blend lightly once again and has the most beautiful packaging out of any other product I own. The downside is the scent, not my taste at all.

These rings have been popping up everywhere recently and I really like them. They're a simple statement piece and quite practical, you can buy them in sets with other rings quite cheaply as well which is the bonus if you want to give one a go without committing to something more expensive.

Washi tape has to go on my list of #essiemademebuyit items. It's overpriced and a complete waste of money but it's pretty and I couldn't resist. I got a set of five but the patterned ones were my favourite and I can't wait to be able to use them (for what, I'm not sure but I'll find something).

What have you been loving of recent? Anything amazing I should be tempted to buy?

First Pay Cheque Haul

I feel like it's a tradition for most to spend their first pay cheque impractically. I've never had a proper job before and so when that amount was deposited in my bank account I got very excited.. and promptly spent it all. I've had a few of these products for a little while so I thought a mini review is in order.

Shu Uemura S Curler is probably my favourite new product. Traditional curlers have always been a struggle for me, never quite reaching my outer or inner lashes and always pinching me to the point where I am holding back tears. In comes this contraption and it's a breeze, curling in sections works for me because it's easier to follow the shape of the eye and it's simplicity means no pinching. It's also under the $20 mark and I have found to be a great investment.

Essie Master Plan is almost a Nails Inc. Porchester Square dupe which I was coveting at the start of the month but for just over half the price on sale. It's a beautiful, sleek neutral with enough taupey tones to eliminate the drab factor. The formula of course is wonderful as per all Essie polishes.

Maybelline Color Show Brocades in Foil Flash 219 - the glitter polish trend has been around for quite some time so I am quite late to this game and I am leaving it pretty quickly. The polish is great, one coat and it's glitter central but for me it was too much. I will get this one out again at Christmas but for everyday use I'm just not a fan. It's also a bit of a pain to get off which doesn't satisfy my lazy desires.

Eyebrow Spooli - I have used one off the back of a failed eyebrow pencil purchase for a while now but it got dusty and yucky so I decided to replace it. Not much to say other than this should be in everyones collection, they're cheap, long lasting and get the job done.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner is one of the best liquid eyeliner pens I have tried with it's precise tip and true jet black colour. I haven't braved the cat flick yet but lining the outer half of my top lash line gives the illusion of thick lashes and works a treat. The waterproof part so far remains untested but I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

Bioderma is probably the most popular cult make up remover that exists in the beauty blogger world and I can see why. It's just so easy to get everything off and it tackles waterproof eye makeup without irritation or excessive effort. The scent is not my favourite but it's not so overpowering that you can't ignore it so I tolerate it. The price for us Aussies is the biggest downfall but I picked this up 20% off which made it much more reasonable.

NYX has expanded to Australian Target stores and the excitement was real, I was very happy when it turned up on the shelves of my local store and treated myself to two products. The first I had spotted online was the Love In Paris, 05 Parisian Chic palette. With four neutral mattes and 5 bronzey shimmers with only one dud shade as far as I was concerned it looked amazing and it's affordable. The quality is lovely and most of the shades are very wearable especially for blue eyed gals like me.

The second product was the Eyebrow Power duo in Blonde. If you're blonde like myself you'll know the struggle to find the right eyebrow shade and I was so happy when this turned out to be the best affordable eyebrow product I've tried. Sadly it's probably too dark for the lighter blondes out there but the grey tones are a perfect match for my brows. I haven't tried the wax yet but I'm pretty content with my clear gel so I'll be sticking with that.

Needless to say that I have very little left from that pay cheque was I was one happy camper and I am much happier with my everyday routine thanks to a few of these products.

What have you splurged on recently? Leave your recommendations in the comments below.

Nailed It!

I don't think it would be an exaggeration to call me a bit nail polish obsessed.. With almost 40 lined up on my mantle in the past few years I have gained quite the collection but I have a few go to colours that I wear year round, no matter the trends.

Ever since they became easier to access in Australia, I have been collecting Essie nail polishes. Every now and again they come out on sale for about $10 and I pick up a shade.. or two. The quality of the polish is great, I can wear them for over 5 days easily with only slight tip wear without a top or base coat and if my nails are buffed and filed it looks very much like I've had a professional gel manicure. I do however wear about five shades in rotation almost constantly.

Bikini So Teeny - the light blue shade that it seems most have in their collection. It adds a perfect pop of colour for a monochrome outfit and is the perfect pastel blue.

Mint Candy Apple - another shade that pops up in a lot of people's nail polish collection and I don't blame them. For a person who hates green, I really love this colour and just for that I put up with it requiring three coats for it to have a perfect finish.

Go Ginza - a lavender/pastel purple that is the most recent colour in circulation of what I put on my nails. It's bright, it's happy and perhaps a little juvenile but the most colour I wear is on my nails so I think it's acceptable. A dupe however which is over half the price is the Covergirl Outlast nail gloss in Lav-endure which is almost identical, just a little bit more lavender than pastel and has reasonably good staying power.

Lapiz of Luxury - not my favourite of the five polishes but still a great colour if pastel polish is not your thing. Again on me this requires three coats but that could just indicate I am rubbish at painting my nails.

Forever Yummy - the perfect red, it's dark without being dull and exclusively wintery and cheery enough to be worn at Christmas time. I wear this on my toe nails almost permanently and if I'm going on holiday this is my shade of choice because it is so versatile (although I wouldn't recommend it if you're going swimming on this holiday, it will chip like nobody's business if in water for too long like most polishes). Pair it with a little black dress or shorts and a t-shirt and it works.

What are your favourite Essie nail polish shades? I think I might have to start keeping a wish list and put away some pennies in preparation for them going on sale.