Ombré Nails

I've come across some awesome nail art on Instagram and Tumblr lately , in particular the ombre effect. After searching around online a bit is seemed easy enough so I gave it a go. Here is my first attempt.

With terrible lighting at night.

In natural light.

I have to say I love it! I mean this is only a iPhone quality picture so doesn't really capture the true awesomeness that has me staring at my fingers constantly but you get the idea. 

Here is how I went about it, and I promise it is just too easy!

STEP ONE | Choose a base coat. You can't really tell but I have done two coats of Essie Au Natural which basically looks like 'your nails but better'. Next time I will step up the base coat intensity a notch. Wait for the base coat to be reasonably dry. 

STEP TWO | Choose a colour for the top of your nails. I wanted a sparkly natural/gold effect so I've gone with a BYS fine glitter gold polish which is opaque in one coat. You will need a paper plate ( or similar) and a makeup sponge. Pour a tiny amount of the polish into the paper plate and dab a bit onto the edge of the makeup sponge. At the very tips, gently sponge/ wipe on the polish being sure to make the coat quite thin. Wait for this to dry a little.

STEP THREE | Using the sponge, apply a little more polish further down the nail, covering the tip and extending further down. This will intensify the colour you've already put on the tops of your nails and subtly graduate down to your base coat. 

STEP FOUR | Choose your favourite flaky glitter nail polish. I used BYS Gold Glitter which is clear with gold glitter and flakes. I again poured a little onto the paper plate but only because I wanted to be able to pick up as much flakes as possible for the tips. I simply dabbed into the very tips of my nails and that was it!

See - easy! As this was something I did on a whim I didn't really prep my nails properly ( hello red polish stains) and some of the layers went a little too far down my nails but I already have plans for trying this again next time, possibly with a purple/gold combination. 

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This pretty much sums up the past week for me. 

My head and my heart aren't speaking to each other at the moment and I can't say I am a fan of the situation. 

Absent

It would appear I have been absent from blogging for a little while. I wish I could say I had an incredibly exciting life which impedes my ability to blog but sadly for me , that is not the case!

I did go for a drive up to Leura in the Blue Mountains last week with T, that was actually a really nice day. Being a public holiday it was twice as nice. 

 I'm turning into my mother. I spent an inordinate amount of time repeating "It's just soooooo beautiful here!" to no one in particular. It's hardly my fault it was such a stunning day.

I mean would you look at that view! I love heading out of the 'burbs and getting a temporary hit of fresh air. So rejuvenating.

BAM! I got my hair cut! Fringe galore! My cowlick is causing all sorts of issues but it's nice to have a change.  

How much do I love MAC Russian Red lipstick by the way? Probably sooooo much.

Moustachio continues to be supremely cute. He also nearly gnawed my leg off as I ate pineapple in front of him the other night. We had a repeat performance this morning. The frantic meowing was kind of hilarious. He didn't seem to want to hear that cats probably aren't fans of tropical fruits. CUTE!

In other news that doesn't require me to add a lame speech bubble, I have a new JOB! I finish my current role in two weeks time and then on to bigger and better things. I am equally excited and nervous! I am also glad I do not have to attend any more interviews any time soon. Although they all went well , I am not a fan of rushing from the city to work all before 9am! I really do need to purchase a few new items for my work wardrobe which leads me to ask......

Where are we all obtaining our work appropriate clothes/shoes these days? Please share!

Wine & Cheese Night!

On the weekend I decided to dedicate a night to indulging in two of the things I love most in this world - cheese and wine! Combining the two is ALWAYS a good idea. I felt like hanging out with the girls and having a few drinks without having to organise taxis and outfits ( gah, the worst part of going out!) and I have to say that being in stumbling distance to my bed was a pretty awesome perk ha ha!

Moving on, what is a cheese and wine night without CHEESE?!

Oh sweet lord, so so much cheese. But not too much, because too much cheese doesn't exist in my world. 

I bought a small bunch of these white flowers from the supermarket to spruce up the table but it just wan't enough so I went through a wander out in the garden and picked a whole bunch of jasmine, leaves, and pretty much anything else that had botanical qualities! As you can see I ended up with three vases/ jugs and added some candles to set the scene. 

Brassiere Breads' olive and rosemary loaf, the cheese pictured above ( with little flags marking which was which), quince jelly, fresh figs and sesame sticks for starters! The arrival of my girlfriends saw many other delicious goods added to the table, albeit for a short time before I devoured them!

I of course had wine too, however the stupid picture kept uploading sideways wahhhhh!

My bestie bought along some macarons and mini gelato cones! You can see why she is my BFFE right?

Such an awesome night and the best part was that there was no cooking involved so all the more time to chat , eat and drink the night away!

Do you love wine and cheese? What do you and your friends do when you get together?

The Best Day Of My Life

Yesterday started like any other day. I woke up, battled through traffic to get to work and spent way too long pondering what to have for lunch ( sushi). Little did I know that something was about to happen, something that would change my life forever......

J.CREW NOW SHIPS TO AUSTRALIA! 

Excuse my while I rejoice and plan my assault on my savings as I contemplate whether green or fuchsia capri pants are needed in my life.

Happy shopping!

Delicious Treats

I've been indulging in quite a few yummy things lately!

On the weekend I went out for high tea to celebrate my girlfriends' birthday!

What is it about crustless and cut up sandwiches that makes them so much more delicious? I always wish there were more sandwiches at high tea!

I usually go for the Russian Caravan tea ( I do love a strong brew!) however opted for the traditional Chai and my oh my it was delicious!

A glass of sparkling wine never goes astray! Such a lovely afternoon hanging out with friends and eating to my hearts content!

In fact, I loved it so much that I was equally excited to meet up with Rioters Bloc the very next day for some more scone action! Ohhhhhh they were so delicious! 

We went to The Tea Cosy  at The Rocks and it was great! Big fresh warm scones and lovely thick cream, just as it should be. You could even choose your own jam and I had vanilla and pear which was divine - as was the Madagascan vanilla tea that I paired with my scones. I recommend that you pop in here if you are in the area for perfect scones at a reasonable price.

Sadly I am having to pull back on my scone intake - it was a joy while it lasted!

Who else loves scones? I assume the answer is EVERYBODY!

Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Lady Luck

I saw an advertisements for these new nail polishes recently in a magazine and I was instantly attracted to this colour, so when I needed a bit of a cheap and cheerful pick me up I headed to Priceline for a fix! 

I believe these usually retail for around $10.00 but it was on sale for $6.00 which is pretty reasonable. 

I don't wear much glitter polish as it doesn't tend to 'go' with the outfits I tend to wear and it is super hard to get off but I really liked the look of this colour. 

Unfortunately this isn't a 'two coat and you're good to go' kind of polish which I soon found out after one coat. 

In the end it took FOUR coats for it to look anything like what it looked like in the advertisement. Ahhhh, the power of marketing! 

 PROS:

-Nice colour once you build it up.

-Relatively cheap

-Large brush

- Easy to find in store.
-A bit of fun.

CONS:

- Need a multitude of coats to make this work. 

- The finish doesn't stay glossy at all so I had to add a top coat which didn't really do much, and meant I had 6 coats of polish together with the base coat I put on underneath!

-Thought this was a purple polish with glitter but it's really a clear polish with fine purple glitter and flakies.
-Seems to chip easily.

I think next time I will put a purple base coat of polish underneath and that should fix most of my problems. Overall, I don't hate it but I'm not head over heels for it either. 

Have you tried any of the other colours in this range? Are you a fan of glitter polish?