The Nail File

There’s something about spring that makes me happy – the sun is shining, the weather is warm, daylight savings has started (sorry, Queensland) and everyone is getting about in bright, bold colours.

To celebrate summer only being 13 days away (counting? moi?) I have been rocking a rainbow manicure. Yellow, orange, coral, pink, purple…four of them are creme and one is slightly shimmery (the orange), but it doesn’t look out of place.

From left to right:

Models Prefer – Love To Shop – $5.99 – Priceline

Essie – Bachelorette Bash – $18.95 – Myer (Note: I bought this in the states for $8 and it’s part of the Essie line at Walmart so I have no idea if it’s available here or not)

Maybelline Mini Colorama – Urban Coral – $5.95 – Priceline

Maybelline Mini Colorama – Urban Orange - $5.95 – Priceline

Maybelline Mini Colorama  - Urban Lemon - $5.95 – Priceline

Cute, no? Nail art without the nail art.

The Models Prefer and Maybelline polishes were offered to The Nail File for editorial consideration in accordance with our disclosure policy

Fact: Sportsgirl polish is awesome.

Fact: Bright nail polish awesome.

You see where I’m going with this, right? Bright Now is not quite a bright coral – it’s almost there, but not as vibrant as a true coral. It’s more of a washed out bright coral, or coral-lite, if you will.

Taken in natural light

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When I have used nail polish pens in the past I haven’t been impressed. I find them to be a bit clumsy, and the brushes aren’t always accurate. That said, I fell in love with the beautiful coral-orange of In The Nic Of Time from Nicole by OPI’s Nic’s Sticks range, and I had to have it (plus I was on holidays and in a spendy-spendy mood.)

Taken in natural light

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This is one of those situations where I show you an amazing nail polish, gush about how beautiful it is, and then tell you that it isn’t available in Australia. I’m really sorry.

Taken in natural light

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Oh Shellac, we are going to have a long and beautiful relationship.

I had my Shellac done on May 24th and took these photos late on June 5, so this is evidence of 12 days wear. The colour is still bright and glossy, there is still lots of shine, and there is only some wear along the tips. The most obvious sign that this mani is almost two weeks old is the insane growth at the cuticles. My nails grow ridiculously fast and they are very ready to be trimmed right now. Alas, the shellac needs to come off first, and that means a trip to the salon for an acetone bath (my cuticles are screaming already).

Taken in natural light

Would I recommend Shellac? Bloody oath. I put my nails to the test – sand every day, ocean every day, lots of shopping, lots of eating, lots of lugging suitcases around and ripping tags off new clothes. Not a scratch on them – they still look shiny and bright without so much as a mark. If you’re going on holidays and want beautiful nails then Shellac is the best option. However, if your nails grow fast like mine, then you probably don’t want to be gone for more than two weeks because it starts to look yucky, like grown-out acrylics.

Taken in natural light

I’ll have my Shellac mani taken off this week, but I’m going to leave my pedicure for as long as I possibly can. It hasn’t grown out at all and still looks as fresh as the day it was done, so I’m going to see just how long I can stretch it out – will report back!

Taken in natural light

Shellac manicures are about $35-$45 at your local salon. You could try doing it yourself but the polishes are kind of expensive and you also have to buy the special UV light. Pay someone else – much easier.

I had my Shellac manicure done for free by a friend who owns a UV light and her own Shellac polishes

I’m heading off on vacation today, so I figured this was the perfect time to try out Shellac. I have been reluctant to try it up until now, purely because I change my polish so frequently and the main drawcard of Shellac is the fact that it lasts two+ weeks. That said, a week in the sun/sand/surf is sure to test out the endurance of this wonder-polish and I’m looking forward to seeing how it handles.

Taken in natural light

For reference these are the before shots. I got Tropix (coral creme) on my fingers and Hot Pop Pink (bright pink creme) on my toes – perfect summer, beach colours.

Taken in natural light

Catch you on the flip side! (that’s code for be back in a week and a half…)

Check out that amazing shine!

This post was originally published on Sassi Sam

I have to admit that when I think about bright and bold nail polishes, Avon isn’t usually a brand that springs to mind. Traditional and conservative, yes – lovely pinks and reds, but certainly not bold corals and glittery purples. Happily, I will eat my words because these three Avon colours have certainly changed my opinion.

Taken in natural light

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Free nail polish! Well, not 100% free because you have to buy the new issue of Shop Til You Drop, but you probably would have done that anyway, right?

The May issue with Keira Knightley is on sale today (April 11) and is $7.80. Even if you skip the nail polish (moron) it’s still worth buying the magazine anyway. But if you buy the issue, tear out page 204, fill in your deets and head to a Kit store or counter, you get the latest polish from the Kit/Shop collaboration range for free. Lucky you.

Taken in natural light

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Kit have outdone themselves with four really awesome colours from their new Capture The Moment collection (due to launch on Monday). This whole makeup collection is hot to trot, but you know I will always have a soft spot for polish (this isn’t theblushfile, or thelipfile now, is it?)

Kit do excellent bright pastels, and these are no exception. We’re talking bright, but still feminine. First firework to explode is High Impact…
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This is the third and final installment of the OPI Texas Collection. We’re looking at the other 6 colours in image only (I only have so many hands and hours in the day to swatch them all).

Truthfully I was a little underwhelmed by the six orange/pink/purple colours in this collection until I learnt that they were the new OPI sorbet formula. In the bottle they all look pretty similar and ‘done before’, but outside the bottle and on the nail is a whole different story.

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