NAIL WEEK!! Day 4 : New O.P.I Collections SPOTLIGHT ON GLITTER & SHEER TINTS

O.P.I has two new releases out which have got me super excited - Sheer Tints & Spotlight on Glitter! They are a break from the celebrity collections and are a must for any nail polish addict.

Sheer Tint's are a jelly formula polish, thicker than a standard polish but with only a slightly longer dry time. These were a bit tricky on the first application (as you can see there are a few overlaps and bumps on my nails above.) but I asked one of my favourite nail bloggers Maria from So Nailicious for her advice on the Sheer Tints :
- Always apply a white base coat before the sheer tint.
- Use a small fine tip paint brush to do your sheer tint nail art because the formula is too thick on the brush that comes in the bottle.
I followed these tips and found them very useful - Thanks Maria!
The daisy design worked best because of the white polish peaking through, I love the cute water colour effect it gave to the design. Next I am going to try and do a tartan/plaid design building up opacity, like Maria featured on her blog.

OPI Sheer Tint Nail Polish Colours $19.95each available from www.davidjones.com.au 

From left to right: Chasing Rainbows, Desperately Seeking Sequin, Blush Hour, Rose of Light & I Reached My Gold.

Glitter hasn't slowed down on the nail trend-o-meter, but I have found that the trend has moved to placement glitter. With the most popular being a glitter french tip or gradient glitter moving up from the cuticle base of the nail to the tip, rather than the traditional glitter topcoat look.

OPI Spotlight on Glitter Nail Polish Colours $19.95each available from www.davidjones.com.au 

'I Reached My Gold' - The most chunky of the glitters features gold hexagonal yellow gold glitter with smaller confetti silver and gold pieces.

'You Pink Too Much' - Very pretty small shimmer based rose pink glitter with silver accents.

'Rose of Light' - Rose Gold and light pink shimmer fine glitter, highly reflective.

'Blush Hour' - The only tinted base colour, sheer fuchsia base with purple glitter pieces and silver shimmer accents.

'Chasing Rainbows' - If you didn't get your hands on the coveted 'Rainbow Connection' this is an amazing dupe/update without the hype. It is party confetti on your nails.

'Desperately Seeking Sequin' - If this was a nail polish was a person it would be Diana Ross, an amazing silver streamer shimmer combo which gives amazing rainbow reflection.

xx Nella

Twitter @beautegazette

Facebook HERE!

Instagram @beautegazette

Google +  +Nella van veenendaal 

Bloglovin' HERE

** I was kindly gifted these products for blog consideration. This did not, in any way, influence my opinion on the product. Please refer to my policy and disclaimer for more information.

Nail Week! Day 3 MATCHY-MATCHY! Matching your nails to your eyeliner.....#trendalert!

Becca Ultimate Créme Liner $40.00 available from www.beccacosmetics.com.au and OPI 'I sing in colour' Nail Polish $19.95 available from www.davidjones.com.au 

I woke up this morning (#notlikedis!) and wanted to completely switch it up with my makeup, sick of my regular simple makeup. So searching around my makeup collection I decided to try out a hot new makeup trend: MATCHING MY NAILS TO MY EYELINER! Instead of going with a bright look, I toned it down and went for a warming winter shade of deep plum - purples are so hot right now!

Becca's Ultimate Créme Liner is a deep plum which is amazing at bringing out the blue in my eyes. The liner is very easy to apply, and was deep in colour and didn't take too much tidying up. 

OPI's 'I sing in colour' was a limited edition release as part of the Gwen Stefani collection which is still available online and instore. The shade feels like an update to everyone's favourite 'Linkin Park after dark, a mulberry based dark which looks close to black in most lights but in the sun it is very much a wine based dark red. It is a beautiful colour and would be a great new option if you are a dark polish devotee for you regular mani/pedi.

I love this trend and next time I might even experiment with something a little more on the bright side! Stay tuned. 

Vogue Nippon, Nasty Gal, Barbara Palvin and Kenzo! Lovin' this #trendalert!

xx Nella

Twitter @beautegazette

Facebook HERE!

Instagram @beautegazette

Google +  +Nella van veenendaal 

Bloglovin' HERE

TUMBLR HER

OPI Celebrates THE MUPPETS with a second limted edition collection of nail lacquers.

OPI Celebrates The Muppets, Limited Edition Colours $19.95each, 4 Colour Mini-Pack $24.95, Full-Size Duo Pack $24.95 available from www.davidjones.com.au for all other retail stockists please call 1800 812 663

With the success and frenzy of the first OPI and Muppets collaboration, I was not surprised that a second collection is being released with the sequel ' The Muppets Most Wanted' this April. The first collection created a glitter polish craze with the popularity of 'Rainbow Connection' it was insanely  popular and still sells on eBay for hugely inflated prices, so what is the new 'Rainbow Connection'? Nail trends have moved on since the first collection was released and the multi-coloured glitter trend being been done in every way possible, 2014 is all about the multi dimensional chrome which is on every nail trend hot list right now. 

The second Muppets collection gives 3 amazing duo shade chromes, 2 ladylike pastels and 3 glitter polishes, here are is a description of all the colours:

CHROMES:

Miss Piggy's Big Number - Midnight blue chrome

Kermit Me To Speak - Silver mauve duo chrome

Int'l Crime Caper - Opalescent pink based mother of pearl

GLITTERS:

Muppets World Tour - Silver and Pink small fine rounded glitter

Let's Do Anything We Want - Pink and Rose gold chunky glitter with White confetti

Gainging Mole-Mentum- Rose gold and pink chunky un-even glitter

PASTELS:

Chillin' like a Villan - Sheer apricot nude

I Love Applause - Sheer pink nude

I was most excited about 'Miss Piggy's Big Number' because of my obsession with navy blues, it didn't disappoint. It is the consistency of the chrome polish from the OPI x Gwen Stefani  collection only Navy Blue, within 2 coats it was opaque and it had the usual OPI dry time which is around 30mins. It is definitely an on trend nail colour for winter and the update to a flat navy I have been looking for.

Expect lots of #NOTD (nails of the day) posts on the @beautegazette instagram, so make sure you are following.

How amazing was Amy Adams in the first Muppets movie, I cannot wait to see Tina Fey do her thing in the sequel.

BTW I am constantly having a me party, it's the best way to be!

xxx Nella

Twitter @beautegazette

Facebook HERE!

Instagram @beautegazette

Google +  +Nella van veenendaal 

Bloglovin' HERE

TUMBLR HERE

** I was kindly gifted these products for blog consideration. This did not, in any way, influence my opinion on the product. Please refer to my policy and disclaimer for more information.

It's Valentine's Day! So here are my favourite cheese-ball romantic movies and some products to match: Dirty Dancing, The Notebook & Pretty Woman

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Baby's  Beauty Corner: OPI nail polish in 'Bubble Bath' $19.95 available from www.davidjones.com.au, Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 'Sun Bronze' $15.95 available from www.priceline.com.au, Nars Satin Lip Pencil in 'Lodhi' $39.00 available from www.meccacosmetica.com.au

Dirty Dancing is not just a movie it is a religion, I can recite the whole movie from start to finish like it's my bible. My best friend Josephine and I have seen it so many times I cannot even remember but we watch it as regularly as a moderately religious person would go to church.

Baby is style icon, the way she wore those cute peasant blouses and the most perfect high waisted white jeans -  Classic 80's does 60's vibe. Her makeup was all about the perfect holiday tan (Rimmel Natural Bronzer)  with a pastel peach lip to show she blossoming into a woman. I'm sure that Baby's sister Lisa would have painted Baby's nails a colour very similar to OPI's 'Bubble bath' the perfect nude nail for any budding dancer. After every viewing of Dirty Dancing my reaction is always the same: 'Why the heck did Jennifer Grey get a nose job? She was so freakin' adorable'

The Notebook (2004)

Ally's - All Americana classic beauty products: Clinique Almost Powder Makeup SPF 15  $50.00 available from www.clinique.com.au, Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Stick $21.95 available from www.priceline.com.au

My two very essential essentials for watching The Notebook are kleenex and an endless supply of Lindt 85% Dark Chocolate - I can only watch it with these two items within arms reach at all times. Ally and Noah....If you want to get depressed about that one guy that you had a thing with and he moved away and never called again. Do not watch The Notebook. Let me tell you... In real life your Mum isn't hiding his love letters and he isn't off building you the most perfect house in the world!!! 

Ally has the all American stunning girl next door beauty thang down, pretty with a hint of seduction. Her skin is perfection, never too shiny due to the compact I'm sure she keeps with her at all times, Clinique powders are my favourite packaging, that jade green plastic has been a staple in my makeup bag since I was 16. Ally's lipstick is a mix between a coral and a red, never leaning too sexy or vampy. Revlon's 'Kiss me Coral' is just this - it gives you a bright lip without the 'trying too hard to be sexy' look.

Ryan Gosling will always be my movie dreamboat Valentine crush, so let's all just watch a Gosling marathon on the 14th and forget about real life!

Pretty Woman (1990)

Vivian from prostitute to posh out products : Covergirl Liquiline Eye Liner in 'Blackfire' $14.95 available from www.priceline.com.au, Benefit Gimme Brow in 'Medium/Deep' $32.00 available from www.adorebeauty.com.au

Who doesn't love Julia Roberts transformation from working girl to uptown fancy lady in Pretty Woman, personally I liked both looks equally. Working girl Julia new how to apply a matte kohl liner like it ain't nobodies business, it was worked into the eye smudged to and blended out around the eye to give extreme definition. Covergirl's Liquiline Eye Liner in 'Blackfire' is super soft and can be applied fuss free using the sponge tip to work it into your lash line. Julia Roberts is the O.G brow queen, her naturally bushy thick brows were always combed into perfect shape, Benefit's newbie Gimme Brow gives your eye brows a tint of colour and sets those bad boys in shape for the day or long long night as Vivian would have been getting ready for. 

There is something that is regularly forgotten and I would just like everyone to make mental not of how bangin' Julia Roberts body was in Pretty Woman. Damn Girl! Can we all just give it up for her because honeychild had legs for daaayyyyyyyssss! 

For all of you that have a romantic boyfriend who is going to wine and dine you at a fancy restaurant tonight for the ultimate Valentines day experience....BORING! Because this is what me and my girlfriends will be doing, jealous much? Probably not, but you know what how good is FRIENDS!

xxx Nella

Twitter @beautegazette

Facebook HERE!

Instagram @nellavanveenendaal

Google +  +Nella van veenendaal 

Bloglovin' HERE

TUMBLR HERE

Manicure Monday: Strange Beautiful 'Dickensian' & O.P.I 'The Living Daylights'

SAXONY x Strange Beautiful 'Dickensian' set of 3 $25.00 available from www.saxony.com.au & O.P.I 'The Living Daylights' $18.95 available from www.hairhousewarehouse.com.au

Manicure Monday is officially back! I am going to stop being lazy with my nails and I am going to post every monday with something new.....I don't know what yet but there is going to be a Manicure Monday post every Monday from now on OK. (I have written that on the Internet so now I have to do it, because there are no lies on the Internet!)

I went to the most amazingly beautiful wedding last weekend, it was a celebration for my friends Jolyon and Mitch. Sadly and shamefully they cannot get married in this country, so married earlier in the year in New York. It was a lovely day and night catching up with old friends surrounded by flowers, tearful heartfelt speeches and the most out of this world cake from Hartsyard.

My dress was emerald green with black beading so I decided on a black base with gradient glitter for my nails. Applying the glitter from the base of the nail and gradating to the tip, I have been loving applying glitter this way as it chips less and is easier to remove. When choosing what to put on your nails for an event you should always choose a colour that pops from your outfit and your compliments your skin tone, if they blend in it looks washed out, boring and not as flattering.

The sunset over the harbour before the Groom and Groom arrived on a love boat!

xxx Nella

Twitter @beautegazette

Facebook HERE!

Instagram @nellavanveenendaal

Google +  +Nella van veenendaal 

Bloglovin' HERE

TUMBLR HERE

Mother's Day Gift Guide : David Jones, Kikki K, The Balm, Moét Chandon, T2 & Sussan

My Mum is the best! She is always up for a cup of tea day or night, she pretends like she is interested in most of the nonsense I tell her about 90% involves makeup, she makes really good 'Mum-Pasta' (everything in the fridge with pasta!), She reads every blog post I right and leaves funny comments. Like most Mums when trying to buy them gifts she says 'Oh don't spend your money on me' or 'Don't be silly a cup of tea in bed and a card is the best gift' but on Mother's Day it's good to spoil your Mum with something sweet and special.

David Jones Celebrating 175 years Glasshouse Candle in Daphine $39.95 & OPI Nail Polish $19.95

Mum's LOVE David Jones - Fact! To celebrate their 175th Anniversary David Jones has released commemorative gifts, boxed in beautiful Florence Broadhurst prints. You cannot go wrong with giving the gift of a scented candle to any woman for any occasion. OPI have released a limited edition 'OPI loves David Jones ' a classic universal pinky-nude, matching mother-daughter mani pedis Mum?

Available from www.davidjones.com.au and in David Jones Stores

Kikki.K Leather iPad Case $79.95

The other weekend I had 2 friends over for an afternoon of wine and biscuits, and we all could not get over how much all of our Mothers were obsessed with their iPads. Tech accessories can be so dull and boring, I love this bright poppy Kikki K iPad case - is it bad to want to buy one for myself and one for Mum?

Available from www.kikki-k.com

The Balm Nude-Tude Eyeshadow Palette $49.95

Sometimes mums can get stuck in a bit of a makeup rut, they have their favourite lipsticks and don't venture far from that. The Balm's Nude-Tude Eyeshadow Palette is a great way to experiment with different shadow colours and combo's using neutral colours, the texture of the eye shadows is so smooth and soft which is very important for mature lids. 

Available from www.davidjones.com.au

T2 Wonderland Tea Cup & Saucer $18.00

'Would you like a cup of tea?' Is a question I have heard from my Mum about a million times. Fancy tea cups are such a cute present idea and will never not be used.

Available from www.t2tea.com

Sussan Cable Knit Slippers $24.95

To keep your mums tootsies warm this winter.

Available from www.sussan.com.au 

Kikki K Pop-Up Card 'If Mums were flowers I'd pick you' $7.95

Sometimes all you need to do is tell your Mum how much you love her in a card, but it may as well be a damn cute pop-up card from Kikki K.

Available from www.kikki-k.com

Moét Chandon Rose Brut NV Champagne $77.70 

Pink Champagne says I love you better than most gifts. If your Mum likes a few bubbles for her troubles then you can't go wrong with Moét Chandon Rose Brut NV.

available from www.vintagecellars.com.au

I LOVE YOU MUM!

xxx Nella

 Twitter @beautegazette

Facebook HERE!

Instagram @nellavanveenendaal

Google +  +Nella van veenendaal 

Bloglovin' HERE

Vintage Minnie Mouse Collection by OPI

When I first saw the images for the O.P.I Minnie Mouse collection I almost died of cute a overload, the packaging and marketing behind the collection is beyond adorable.

If you are a massive Disney fan or have a Minnie obsession you are going to love the collection. But if you aren't a super-fan then you're not missing out on much in terms of colours if you pass on this collection. I was given the Mini-Minnie's as a gift from my bestest friend Josephine because we are both totally Minnie Mouse obsessed. 

*SIDE NOTE TO OPI* If you are going to put out a ridiculous amount of collections a year, please make them worth while in collecting with new and unique colours not just filler colours with cute packaging.

Here is my colour round up:

Nothin' Mouse 'Bout it : A slightly pink but almost clear polish with a pastel pink micro glitter and matte-pearl-pastel-pink heart glitters. This is the star polish of the collection, it is ok, very cute, but just ok. You can find these types of polishes with heart shaped glitter in china town or cheaper variety stores I'm pretty sure. Also Nothin' Mouse 'Bout it is not available in the mini set, so if you want to try it out you will need to purchase the full size.

I'm All Ears: Unexpectedly is my favourite of all the colours, a pink based jelly red with magenta coloured mirco-glitter jelly consistency. Opaque in 2 coats, a very pretty colour and looks lovely on they nail, very easy to apply and dried the fastest out of all the colours.

If You Moust You Moust: Not a fan of this colour, it applied with loads of streaking and needed 3 coats to become even on the nail. A heavy lilac infused bright pastel pink which on darker skin tones would look beautiful, but on me it looks too barbie-esque. My big problem with this colour is that there isn't anything original or special about it and I have about 10 that are very similar.

The Colour of Minnie: A true apple red with a fine silver micro-shimmer running through the polish, applied like a dream needing only one coat. This is a great polish. and reminds me why OPI are the leaders in the nail game, if only all OPI polishes applied like The Colour of Minnie. 

To round up, I am not totally blown away by this collection it was probably the weakest of the year not coming anywhere near the amazing Sky Fall collection which was released most recently. But if you are a die-hard Minnie fan like me you will love how this looks sitting on your dresser or in your bathroom cabinet.

I have had some questions about polish definitions from readers so here are some common terms de-coded for the not so polish obsessed:

Jelly Consistency : When the polish is tined and not opaque, usually you can tell this if you hold the bottle up to light and it will appear more translucent. 

Micro-Glitter: A very fine glitter suspended in the polish, usually in a jelly polishes.

Micro-Shimmer: Shimmer running through a polish very fine with no obvious glitter particles. Usually found in an opaque polish to create a sheen or pearl effect to the nail.

Duo-Chrome: A term given to glitter or shimmer that can cast two different colours i.e. blue in some lights and purple in other lights.

JUST A REMINDER TO ENTER THE LA MAVE GIVEAWAY ALL DETAILS IN THE POST BELOW.

xxx Nella

Runway Nails : Fall Couture 2012

Oh Karl! You won me over with this sequin ombré jumpsuit!  

Butter London 'Knackered'  $19.95 China Glaze 'Emotions' $10.95 Sally Hansen Gem Crush $18.70

Grab your best friend give each other french tip manicures in opposite colours, and bang out together in these matching Armani Privé outfits.

Revlon Colour Stay 'Wild Strawberry' $8.00 Essie 'Liquorice' $11.60

The Maison Martin Margelia office parties must be wild, because they totally let a model wake up with a vodka watermelon on her face go down the runway. 

OPI 'Cajan Shrimp' $17.95 Rimmel 'Green with Envy 819' $4.95 Sally Hansen Nail Pen Black $11.00

Just Another Manicure Monday : Monet Nails

Rimmel 60 second's - Sunny Days $4.95 Essie - Mint Candy Apple $16.90 OPI - Play the Peonies - $15.95 Chanel - June 539 US$26.00 ( Zip lock plastic bags ) Seche Vite Top Coat $14.95

My ultimate job would be to invent nail polish colours and come up with the completely crazy names - can you imagine how cool that would be, unfortunately I haven't found any jobs matching that description on Seek.com recently. 

So my nail polish creativity is being let out by following nail tutorials on youTube and attempting them at home. My latest obsession is 'Water colour nails' or as I have dubbed them 'Monet Nails' and they are a real piece of cake to do - Just follow Jen's youTube instructions  *warning* she does make it look alot easier than it is and it can get quite messy so put down some scrap paper and do not do this on your white carpet wearing your new white cashmere jumper. I used similar pastel colours because they blened well but you could choose which ever colours you liked.

If you do try your own version of 'Monet Nails' I would love to see them posted on instagram and tag me @nellavanveenendaal. 

'Meadows at giverny - Monet'

Hands and Feet : 'Blow on them'

I am so excited that NPA is on this Thursday 28th 6.30pm at the Cricketers Arms.

Prior to any hand and feet out in the open event like showing off your new engagement ring, a barefoot wedding, a pool party or just getting about not looking like a talon monster you need to 'Check Yourself' and do some maintenance.

Here are my favorite products:

1. L'Occitane Hand Cream in Fleur Chérie $12.00

This smells like Polly Pockets you had when you were little. That synthetic perfume smell - Ohhhhhh I love it. This is a general cute mini hand cream for your bag or desk. L'Occitane's hand creams are all pretty good - this one just smells the best.

2. Soap & Glory Hand Food $11.95

Another hand cream -  because you can never have enough. This is quite thick and is great on your feet too its good for dry skin. It smells kind of like Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle which is lovely.

3. Maincare Crystal Nail File $19.95

I am one of those very annoying girls who cannot watch TV without having another side project on the go, usually it involves filing my nails. Sick of those flimsy harsh emery boards I invested in this 'crystal' (I don't think its real crystal - maybe just glass) nail file its really good and doesn't mow down my already short nails, gentle enough to be able to get a nice shape which is important.

4. Manicare Cuticle Trimmer and Cuticle Pusher $8.99

Usually I go to the Nail Salon once a month for a full on mani and pedi - they type where they take off so much dead skin it shocks you. In between this nifty tool is great to use to cut away an pointy little cuticles. Use the Cuticle Pusher with Number 6 : Sally Hansen Problem Cuticle remover.

5. Heel Balm GOLD $9.99

Don't know how this works, but it does. 

6 Sally Hansen Problem Cuticle Remover $13.90

We were talking at NPA about how the girls at nail salons tease us and call our nails 'Baby Nail' its so embarrassing. Here's a trick if you push down or remove cuticles with this your nails will look longer! TA-DA!

7. OPI Nail Envy $31.00

This stuff is genius! Its great as a base coat and really does help with making my nails grow stronger and not peel. 

8. OPI Ridge Filler $18.00

Some hussy up in the club stepped on the big toe on my left foot and completely broke the nail off about 4 months ago (I HATE HER - SHE DIDNT EVEN APOLOGIZE!). It was so painful and left me with a dented toe nail, the girls at my nail salon recommended this.

9. Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme $14.95

This is a real cutie, I love the little tin. It smells really fresh and lemon-y, just a really thick consistency which is great for dry little fingers in winter.

Best nail maintenance in a Film here is Tara Reid painting her nails a sick acid green in the Big Lebowski: