A trio of pretties from Femme Fatale Cosmetics + the evil Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Why hello there!

 

It’s been a long time! I had good intentions to keep blogging regularly but then something threw a spanner in the works: I got hand, foot and mouth disease. For anyone who has had this, you are probably cringing right now. HFM is easily the worst sickness I’ve ever had. It started out one Tuesday after a public holiday. I felt tired and achey and had a sore throat. By lunch time I was struggling so I went home. I tried to sleep but I couldn’t get warm. I ended up having to go steal my partner’s warmth because he was on night shift. I didn’t feel too bad after I woke up that afternoon so I was lulled into a false sense of security. That night I woke up every half hour to an hour either freezing cold or boiling hot. It was awful! I barely slept! The next day I went to the doctor’s who said I had “a virus”. Soon after that I started developing spots on my hands. By late that afternoon my hands were covered in large, angry red bumps. I barely slept that night because they were so itchy. The next day I went to the doctor’s again and showed him. I also showed him the ulcers that developed on the roof of my mouth. He said I had “an infection”. I knew he was wrong. From everything I’d read, I knew I had hand, foot and mouth disease. I also knew it was going around the small town I lived in and I work in a hospital soooooo… you do the math!!

 

Spots started popping up on my feet too, and my hands got so sore that I couldn’t even hold my toothbrush to brush my teeth. I couldn’t stand washing my hands. I couldn’t do anything!! The next day I tried to take a shower and my feet were so painful that I physically couldn’t stand on them while I tried to shower! I had to turn the taps on using a towel and it still hurt!! I lasted about 30 seconds in the shower and then gave up and left the shower half running because I couldn’t turn it off properly. I went back to bed for the day. I also got weird crusties around my nose which were painful, red and weeping. Over the next few days the pain got less and less and the rash started disappearing, apart from my poor nose. A week later, it was almost gone. “Great!”, I thought, “The worst is over!”.

 

WRONG! That’s when the peeling started. Oh, the peeling. Over the next week my skin peeled way too many layers off. The poor, new skin underneath was raw. It peeled right under the free edge of my nail and right up close to the sides of my nail bed. This was big, thick chunks (sorry!). It hurt and I looked like a leper. I was so self conscious of it and everyone asked me what was wrong with my skin. Everyone just assumed I had dermatitis. If that’s what dermatitis is like, I never want to experience it.

 

Anyway, it’s over two months later now and I’m still suffering from the lasting effects of HFM. My nails have peeled from the cuticle down towards the free edge. They form a white bubble on the surface of the nail first and then it starts peeling. It is revolting. It could be a lot worse – the whole nail could have lifted! But for someone who is so precious about their nails, it’s fairly cruel.

The whole point of this story was to explain why I am so delayed in sharing these beautiful polishes from Femme Fatale Cosmetics. I actually took these photos when I still had the remnants of the rash but it wasn’t sore anymore. Thanks to some strategic lighting and cropping, you can’t really see the rash. I’ve got loads of pics though, if anyone is interested

 

Cirque Powwow

This is such a stunning Barbie pink holo with an added bonus of purple micro flakies. It is gorgeous! This was two easy coats and it lasted and lasted on my nails!

 

Liquid Sky Lacquer Spring Showers

In the interest of full disclosure and honesty, this polish wasn’t for me It was really, really sheer. This was four coats and I still had VNL. It’s supposed to be a thermal but I always have issues getting thermals to change colour. Maybe it’s because I’m so hot blooded It has a pretty, delicate pale blue, almost silver base. I think it would be great layered over a pale blue or even white, but I’m not really a layering kinda gal!

 

Rainbow Honey Ultimate Weapon

Oooohh this is bootiful! Such a deep, shimmery, shifty polish. A gorgeous deep blue/purple base with purple and blue shimmers. This was almost a one coater! Such easy application and so striking on the nail. I just loved this one.

 

Hope you enjoyed my babbling story about HFM and the pretty pics

Em

Ulta3 goodies

I’ve been absolutely loving nail stamping lately. Well, more so than usual Everyone knows it’s my favourite form of nail art! Stamping never fails to wow people and have them asking how I did it. I then go into an explanation of stamping and how awesome it is and people just stare at me like I’m from another planet. Don’t get me wrong, they’re impressed, but I know a lot of people can’t fathom spending so much time and effort on nails. To me, and most other nail addicts, nails is a form of therapy. If I go more than a few days without painting my nails, I get craaaaanky.

 

Anyway, I got some more goodies from The Heat Group to play with. More Ulta3s – YIPPEEEE  

 

This is Footloose Fuschia:

A perfect, glossy fuschia creme. This is one of their older colours and I luuuuurv it. It’s such a vibrant pink. Formula was absolutely perfect and it was very nearly a one coater! I did two for good measure.

 

I added some Bundle Monster stamping for good measure:

Splatters! I used the Konad Special Polish in Pastel Pink. I am a huuuuge fan of the Konad pastels. They stamp so well and I love the single colour contrast of it over a darker shade!

 

Here we have Sizzling Red:

Yeeoooow! What a sexy shade! I love a good red creme and this one didn’t disappoint. This too was almost a one coater with a perfect formula but I did two coats as per my usual routine. I didn’t want to cover this beautiful shade but my partner loathes red nail polish (he calls every single red “Wh*re Red”) so I had to do something to try and redeem it in his eyes. Enter, stamping!

 

Booyah! I looove this! I can’t remember which plate this was but I looove it. My partner actually really liked it too so that means it’s definitely a winner

 

And last but certainly not least:

A mix n’ match mani with Striking on the pointer and middle fingers and Get Teal on the ring and pinkie fingers with a coat of A Lister on top. Two coats of Striking (although you can see I probably need a third because I have a liiiitle bit of VNL), two coats of Get Teal (which only needed one) and one coat of A Lister. Striking and Get Teal are two of my favourite Ulta3 polishes. Striking packs so much ultra fine glitter and shimmer into it but it remains sooooo smooth. It doesn’t even NEED a top coat! Get Teal is the perfect shade of deep teal and it glides onto the nail. I loved this colour combo!

Here’s another shot to show the glitter properly:

 

What’s your favourite Ulta3?

 

Em

Sea Siren Cosmetics All That Shimmers & All That Glitters collections

Hi all!

I’m back from a short hiatus. I’ve had computer problems and they were finally fixed today so I have my precious computer back *strokes*.

 

Today I have for you the new pretties from Sea Siren Cosmetics, a new Aussie indie. It’s a collection of four glitter toppers, the All That Glitters part, and four shimmers, the All That Shimmers collection!

And away we go, maties!

 

I’ve layered a glitter over the shimmer that I feel best corresponds with it. But there are endless possibilities here

 

Bronzed Siren and Seaduce

This is two coats of Bronzed Siren with a coat of Seaduce on top. The formula of Bronzed Siren was good but I found it quite brush strokey and more frosty than shimmery. It’s not really a shade I’d usually wear but I’m sure it would appeal to a lot of girls who want a bit of metallic bling on their nails! I layered Seaduce on top and had no trouble getting any glitters out, including the big silver holo diamonds which you can see a lot of on my middle and little fingernails.

 

Seas the Day and SeaQuake

First of all, don’t mind my ring finger. I bumped it and didn’t realise it was that bad until I looked at the photos over a week later.

This was two coats of Seas the Day which is a really pretty pink-toned purple shimmer. It is inspired by the Pantone Colour for 2014, Orchid, and it is absolutely spot on in that regard. It’s quite a glowy purple with a lot of depth.

I layered a coat of SeaQuake over it. I’d heard reports of curling in some of the larger glitters but I didn’t experience any difficulty applying it. Looking at my photos, there’s quite a lot of reflective curling happening but I didn’t have any problems applying it!

 

Okay NOW we’re getting to my favourites.

 

Temptress and Enchanted

Um, HELLO gorgeous glowy red with a golden shimmer. This is stunning! I did three coats because I had some pesky nail line showing through, but the formula was great. I am a huge fan of reds but I am really, really picky with them. This one passes the test with flying colours. Formula was great!

I added a coat of Enchanted, a simple gold and black glitter topper which kind of reminds me of a bumblebee! I think I needed a second coat because it just doesn’t look right to me.

 

And now, drumroll please …. my favourite of the collection!

 

Jealosea and Great Barrier Reef

Jealosea is a stunning deep aqua with a lovely delicate shimmer through it. It’s almost a one coater but I did two just to be on the safe side. The formula is amazing. I’m in lurv!!

I added accent nails of Great Barrier Reef, which is my favourite glitter of the collection. I love the vibrant purples, greens and blue glitters. This is just one coat so it’s got a lot of glitter packed into it!

 

You can get these at the Sea Siren Cosmetics website for $6.95 for a 5mL bottle and $15.95 for a huge 15mL bubble.

 

Em

Rainbow Honey Apple Kid and Sakuri Matsuri Cuticle Balm

I have another beauty from Femme Fatale Cosmetics to show you lovely ladies today. She recently sent me Apple Kid and a cuticle balm. I’ve got a cuticle balm already which I love, and I just knew I’d love Apple Kid too. It is the perfect shade for Summer!

 

Firstly, let’s talk about Rainbow Honey’s packaging. It is superb. Take a look at how my samples came:

 

The polish fit snugly in the little sleeve at the bottom. The cuticle balm was also shrink wrapped in plastic to ensure strict hygiene.

The time and effort put into this packaging really shines through. As I work in pre-press production and design at a newspaper and have my own polish brand, I really appreciate good branding and packaging. I also love the mini bottles Rainbow Honey use. A lot of minis have terrible, short brushes and are awkward to hold in photos. I’m happy to report that this bottle had none of those problems. The brush was great to use and the bottle is aesthetically pleasing.

 

Anyway, enough of my babble and onto the polish! This is Apple Kid:

Oh drool. I adore this. This was two easy coats. Application was flawless. Don’t you just love the shimmer through it? This is the type of colour that makes me happy! I’ve never actually used a Rainbow Honey polish before so I didn’t really know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised!

Then I tried the cuticle balm. I already have the Summer Juice scent which I love, and received the Sakuri Matsuri scent from Sophie at Femme Fatale. Rainbow Honey describes the scent as “Bright florals, exotic fruit, tea on Sunday afternoons, and just the right amount of sweetness reminiscent of my favorite lychee rice dumplings.” Spot on!

I took a photo of the balm on my cuticles to show you that it is moisturising, yet non-greasy.

See? I had only just put the balm on but it’s not overly shiny or greasy. It does absorb into the skin fairly quickly too so within five minutes my cuticles looked normal but hydrated.

One of my favourite things about the cuticle balm is, you guessed it, the packaging! It comes in a slimline tube which would fit in even the smallest of purses. I take my Summer Juice balm everywhere with me.

I can’t recommend these products enough! You can grab them both from Femme Fatale Cosmetics. Full sized (15mL – a generous size) polishes retail for AUD$11.85 and the cuticle balm is a measly AUD$5.50. Sophie ships internationally now too which is awesome!

 

Hope you’ve enjoyed my babblings, or at least gotten to the end of this post
Em

Cult Nails Flushed

Ooh do I have a beauty to show you today. Cult Nails is one of my favourite brands (that’s no secret), but this one is a real winner.

 

Flushed, two coats. I just love this beautiful purple with pink shimmer. Cult Nails, I love you. Take my money.

 

 

Some cute stamping with the Nailz Craze plates. I just love the Nailz Craze plates. They have awesome designs and I’ve used them over and over again!

 

Do you love Cult Nails as much as me? How about Nailz Craze?

 

Em

essence Bashful & Sneezy

Okay, so I’m a bit late to the party with this one. I actually got the essence Snow White collection back when it first came out but it took me a while to get around to trying them and even longer to get around to blogging them.

 

There were quite a few polishes in this collection so I tried two at once.

 

Bashful (green) and Sneezy (brown)

Two coats of each. I just loved these. They were so lovely and creamy and the green had gorgeous golden micro flakies through it.

 

Isn’t this ADORABLE!? I used the Bundle Monster plates with a MyOnline Shop gold stamping polish. I just love owls so I was really pleased with this mani.

 

What do you think?

Em

essence I Love Bad Boys

I do love essence polishes but man, they give them some bad names.
This one is called I Love Bad Boys:

Gorgeous, gorgeous blue polish with a touch of green and a lovely shimmer. Two coats.
But the name. Honestly, essence, what were you thinking!?

I’m glad no one asked me the name of this one because it’s embarrassing!! Do you have any polishes you’re embarrassed to talk about?

Em

Love Thy Polish Dreams collection

I’m proud to announce the new Love Thy Polish Dreams collection will be released tomorrow (27th April) at 10am South Australian time.

This collection is inspired by Stevie Nicks and is a collaboration between Love Thy Polish and Tammy from Lacquer and Leather. Thanks so much, Tammy, for coming up with some amazing colours and being truly inspiring. And thanks for keeping me in line and telling me when something isn’t good enough

 

Thanks also to Kristy from The Polish Haven for the amazing swatches and blog post.

 

 

You can buy the new Dreams collection from www.lovethypolish.com … if you live outside Australia please contact me via the website to arrange your order as I will need to do a shipping quote for you.

 

I’m excited! Are you?
Em

Rimmel Night Before

A few months ago I was in Adelaide with the lovely Kristy from The Polish Haven, Sarah Claire from Shatter Me Claire and their other nail-a-holic friend, Margie. We popped into Gloss Cosmetics and Kristy convinced me to try this baby. Oh, I’m so glad she did!

 

Rimmel Night Before. Two coats. This was very nearly a one coater but as I can never bring myself to do just one coat, I did two.

This is such a stunning deep purple with a lighter purple/pink shimmer. It it a real stunner and I wish I could have captured its true beauty.

 

Good job, Rimmel!!

Em

p2 Barbados Punch

I have another p2 polish to show you all today. This is Barbados Punch, from the “Mission Summer Look!” collection. I got this in a swap probably about a year ago and it took me so long to get around to wearing it!

 

It’s a lovely pink, but nothing special really. I have a few pinks just like this. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still pretty! This only took two coats to be opaque.

To jazz it up I decided to do some multi coloured stamping.

 

What do you think?
Em

Pretty Serious Santa’s Sunburn

Hello hello!

 

I have a beauty for you today. This gorgeous polish is from Pretty Serious’ Christmas Without Snow collection. I give you, Santa’s Sunburn:

 

Isn’t this the most perfect red you’ve ever seen!? *drools*. Two coats of a fantastic formula. This polish glows and is just amazing.

 

Look how long my nails were in this photo! I say this because I’ve just chopped them down to be super nubs. I love my nubs but I think this length looks good on me too. Nubs are just easier for me to deal with in my profession (massage) and just feel neater to me.

 

What do you prefer, nubs or long nails?

Em

Pretty Serious Elliot

Have you entered Kristy, Sarah Claire and I’s Pretty Serious Giveaway yet?

No? Here’s another Pretty Serious polish to entice you to go enter:

 

This is Elliot, a beautiful bright blue with a lovely shimmer. Two coats of this baby because it was highly pigmented. I love this colour. DROOL!

 

So what are you waiting for? Enter the giveaway now!

 

Em

Chill Out polishes with french tips

Hi all  

Don’t you just love polish swaps? Last year I did a swap with a lovely lady from The Netherlands and she sent me a couple of “Chill Out” polishes which were promo polishes and had no other details on them. I’ve tried to Google them and couldn’t find any info but here is a pic:

 

 

There was a gorgeous orange shimmer and a lime green shimmer. They are to die for! I wish I could get more of these babies but I’m happy hoarding these two beauties.

I finished the look off with black tips.

 

What do you think?

Em

Catrice spam

Evening, ladies!

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Years. I sure did! I got plenty of polishes as well as a new light box, other beauty goodies and other things. I was thoroughly spoilt!

 

Today I have some Catrice spam for you. These are from a swap I did with a girl in The Netherlands. Without further ado:

 

ACid/DC:

This was a stunning lime green shimmer that I loved. Two coats was all I needed for full coverage and the shimmer was just so pretty and vibrant.

 

Sold Out For Ever:

Another pretty green. This was such a lovely pistachio green creme which really flattered my skin tone. Two coats, awesome formula.

 

Hip Queens Wear Blue Jeans:

I was actually a little disappointed in this colour. The bottle showed a stunning electric blue shimmer but it just didn’t translate onto the nail which made me sad .

Anyway, this was a one-coater polish but I did two coats to be on the safe side. Looking back at this photo makes me want to chop my nails down to nubs again.

 

I added a coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle to jazz it up a bit. The colours go together quite well, don’t you think?

 

I neeeed to get some more Catrices!

Em

p2–Blue Hawaii

This little beauty took me by surprise. I got it in a swap I did with a lovely girl from the Netherlands a few months ago. I thought it was a plain medium mint green creme, but as soon as I put it on, I knew it was something more special.

 

This is p2 Blue Hawaii. Why they call it blue, I will never know. It’s clearly green. A lovely shade of medium mint green with a brilliant shimmer through it.

It’s been a while since I wore this polish but I think it took about four coats to be opaque. The formula was lovely though so it didn’t bother me in the slightest.

 

Do you own any p2 polishes?
Em

Cult Nails–Untamed with OPI Teenage Dream and Cult Nails–Time Traveller with China Glaze White Cap

I’ve been loving Cult Nails lately. The creator of Cult Nails, Maria, has done such a fantastic job at producing unique and wonderful colours.

I was feeling creative so I applied two coats of Cult Nails Untamed:

This is a gorgeous Barbie pink with a lovely micro-shimmer throughout. Two coats gave me great coverage and it wasn’t uneven or patchy at all.

 

I then blinged it up:

I lightly painted some OPI Teenage Dream on the tips in a gradient pattern and stuck rhinestones in a half moon design on my thumbs. I loved it! I felt so, so girly.

 

Next up is Time Traveller:

Such a lovely deep midnight blue creme. Unfortunately the formula was a tad thick and gloopy, but I get the feeling my bottle could have done with some thinner.

 

I couldn’t leave this alone so I added a few things:

With one coat of China Glaze White Cap a gorgeous gold shimmer top coat. Lovely! I stamped some stars from the Cheeky plates on in Konad Yellow.

 

What do you think? Are you as much of a Cultie as I am?

 

Em