Poison Ivy Nails!

So when I was playing around with photos for my new manicure and came up with this:

I immediately thought of this:

Isn't she awesome?! Of all the Batman Villains, my most favourite is POISON IVY! She's so sassy, sexy and awesome and I just love how she can kill you with a single kiss!

Originally, I was going to harp on about how this colour looked like Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, but seriously, Poison Ivy wins by a mile :D

Here's me posing with some random flora...

This polish is gel based (cured under UV light). It's a pink based red with red sparkles throughout (even though it photographs golden).

Hope you all enjoyed!

Keep it Haute!

Anni xox

Sparkly "Christmas" Nails!

While the colour of this gel (the kind that gets cured under UV light) doesn't scream "CHRISTMAS", I'm writing it off as such as I never wear sparkles on my nails :D

I chose this colour because it's fun and totally different to what I usually wear (french tips, matte pinks etc) and I'm so glad I did! Only problem is my camera went ballistic trying to capture all the glitter! :( Seriously Nail Bloggers! How do you do it!?

Here it is:

The polish is a sheer baby pink with rainbow glitter. Two coats were applied and the nail line is still ever so slightly visible.

Because it's a gel, it won't chip or crack and will stay fresh looking for WEEKS!! Total win for me as I'm HOPELESS at nails!

Oh and I tried to do an artsy photo of my nails near my face but it turned out stupid... I look like I'm going to sneeze.

LOSER

So how will you all be doing your nails for Christmas? Green? Red? Let me know!

Keep it Haute

Tales of a Nail Novice- The Shocking Pink Manicure

And so another post about my Novice Nails. I've been slowly improving on my skills, but the possibility of me getting acrylics again is like 97.4%.... They always seem to crack and peel and I can't ever grow them :( Any products you guys recommend?

Brights are everywhere this season, and to be honest, I find it a little intimidating.  I mean, I love me some colour but NEONS? That's a whole different story...

What better way to dip my finger into the trend (pun intended) than with nail polish!

I first saw this delightful colour on Diana's "The Girl With a Bow" blog and literally spat my coffee out in awe. I LOVED IT AND HAD TO HAVE IT.

And because Diana is a gorgeous little minx, she gave me the bottle! What a doll! I could just put her under my wing and take her away....

So here it is!

Orly in Flirty!

Orly Flirty

Without Flash

With Flash

Flirty is a bright neon pink with silver micro shimmer throughout. It was a dream to use- two coats and it was completly opaque. It has also lasted two days without chipping- very impressed!

When I first saw this colour I thought of Barbie! EEE! So pretty! I even think it makes my hands look more tanned! WIN!

OH and check out my AWESOME ring I got from Lovisa FOR FREE!!

YAY! I love it!

As always, thanks for reading!

Keep it Haute

White Nail Polish- The Mother Of All Evil, Asian Haul & I LOVE GOLD

How is THAT for a wicked title?!

Vogue, you have my number should you wish to employ me as a "Title Writing Extraordinaire"

So I asked Alberto which colour he would like me to paint my nails (please say Black Pearl please say Black Pearl) and he said "White"... White polish and I are enemies from waaaay back. I mean, I can NEVER get the damn stuff to apply properly or neatly! Is it the polish I use? Is it my technique? Regardless, it always turns out streaky and bubbly.

But I painted them white anyway and this is the result...

I know you can't see it very well here due to my shite house camera but they are bubbly and gross :( Please to have help? I'm using a Revlon polish- two coats and Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat. I just can't get it to work.

I went out to lunch with Yolly in the city to a Korean Restaurant that serves you a raw egg and beef in a sizzling bowl that you cook yourself... it's pretty awesome and delicious. The place is called Madtongsan but I fondly call it "MadKorean"... mostly because I think I'm spelling "Madtongsan" wrong... but let's get back on course...

There's this UBER UBER cute little Asian shop called "Cozy Corner" that is Violet LeBeax in retail shop form... it sells the cutest little shoes, clothes, jewelery, perfume and makeup! Everything is ultra sparkly and cutesy and I basically exploded when I got there.

Here is my haul:

I got three face masks (review to come) and two lipglosses. Please excuse Mr Ulta Polish that wanted some attention- he jumped in without me realizing. NAUGHTY MR ULTA!

Being a Lip Product Fiend, I HAD to get some lipglosses. I got two Castle Dew lipglosses in 33 and 23- that's light pink and dark pink.

"23"- a light baby pink with silver and pink micro shimmer (classy not trashy). The gloss holds nicely on the lips without being too sticky

"33"- a medium based pink also with dark pink and silver micro shimmer. Both glosses have a pleasant sweet smell with no taste. They also have a sweet doe foot applicator aka MY FAVOURITE!

L-R: "33" and "23". As you can see, 23 is significantly sheerer than 33.

And here is a Golden FOTD to show you how I wore them!



Classic black khol eyes with bronzer

Here is a sweeeeet necklace I got from Lovisa for 3 DOLLA! 

 And here it is in flash!

 And here is my new hair colour! It's FINALLY getting blonder! YAY!

And so ends this post.. please give me recs on the white nail polish!!!

Keep it Haute!

Anni xox

Friday Loves NOTD ROTD and Some Good Chi

Please forgive me for the bad photo quality- I left my digital camera cord thing at home :(

I'm so in love with Chi Chi at the moment. It looks like the brand is doing some major re-vamping and improving on the formulas of a lot of their products... very exciting EEEEEE!

I recently purchased four things from Chi Chi (three are being reviewed here) and can honestly say I'm loving them... to the point where I'm thinking it's the best drugstore brand on the market. No. Joke. Yolk.

Pls to observe haul below:

 Beach Babe Eyeshadow Palette-
It's jam packed with gorgeous shimmery browns, golds and bronzes. Perfect for SPRING!

Chi Chi Lipgloss in "ChiChiWood"
This is a delightfully creamy gloss that adds juicy goodness to my lips. It's not sticky with long lasting power. I've been layering it over my lipsticks to give my pout a nice shine. It smells sweet... kind of like strawberries and cream!











See how creamy it is?!

This is such a stunning colour, aptly named "Bombshell".

I think this colour us perfect for the transition from Winter to Spring- it's neutral enough to go with anything, but still has that WOW factor!

Hopefully I look like a Bombshell wearing this!! Marilyn Monroe eat your heart out!

Todays NOTD is Sally Hansen "Pat on the Black"

Again, apologies for the pic quality but you get the idea!

Pat on the Black!













ROTD is a cheapie from DIVA! Can't remember how much it was!



What are you guys loving this Friday? What will you be getting up to?

I'm off with Alberto to do some "business networking" at the Gold Coast.

Champagne is hopefully involved.

Keep it Haute!

Anni xoxox

Tales if a Nail Novice- Shellac Manicure

And so another Tale of the Nail Novice begins.

Last Wednesday when I was getting my hair done, I noticed out of the corner of my eye the bright flash of a UV light... My head turned and I was very pleased to see SHELLAC MANICURES HAD ARRIVED AT MY SALON! HOORAY!

What is Shellac you say? Well, Jacie from You've Got Nail has done an AMAZING tutorial explaining all there is to know about this new phenomenal type of polish.

What Was My Experience like?
After pouring over the colour choices, I chose a deep, sexy red called "Hollywood" with the pretence that it will go with anything I wear. I'm chuffed to say that it does! Here it is:

I've done this nifty colour splash effect so you can see how nice the colour is. You can also see that "WHOOPSIES" that occured :\

In normal light.

I'm not really amazed/impressed/happy with this manicure. I'm not sure if the beauty therapist was just learning and not fully competent at applying the lacquer but it's turned out gloopy, lumpy and uneven. There are splotches around the cuticle which I can't stop staring at- they are mocking me with their imperfection.

AND after one week, I've already got peeling and chipping:

I honestly don't know how this has happened but it has. I'm a little let down and expected better, but maybe the condition of my nails caused the peeling and chipping. If anyone knows please tell me.

I don't think I'll pay the $69 to get this again. If I'm going to spend that much I'd prefer getting my acrylics back on. I also change my mind one million times a minute so two weeks with the same colour polish is driving me insane.

Have any of you had a Shellac manicure? What did you think? Will you get it done?

For all your Shellacing needs, visit the CND Shellac website.

Also, guys, can I file my nails when they have polish on?

Keep it Haute!

Anni xox

Tales of a Nail Novice & NOTD

Tales of a Nail Novice:

I'm hopeless at nails. Completely hopeless. Of all things beauty related, this is my Achilles heel. It all started when I was employed for my first ever after school job (McDonalds Chermside), my first pay check was spent on a set of acrylic nails and since then (a good 8 years) I've worn them non-stop.

Needless to say, my nails are a complete mess. The acrylic has caused them to be weak, peel and crack easily and make the most gorgeous nail polish look like pig's mud. So when my Sally Hansen package arrived jam packed with nail strengthening, cuticle softening goodies I squealed like a.... pig in mud (see what I did there?!). Please see the post below about everything I was grateful enough to win.

So here is a pic of my first ever NOTD. You can see how cracked/short/horrible they are and how much further they need to go. Please also take note of the AH-MAZING Sally Hansen colour "Commander In Chic". I'm worshiping this shade for Autumn/Winter- completely in love.

Commander In Chic



If you have any tips on how I can improve my nail health, please let me know! I really need your wise words and guidance :)

Keep it Haute!

Anni xox