Nails ETC: Valentine's Day and Candy Heart nail art

Ah, February 14th. Just any other day really, but unfortunately we get bombarded with advertisements about 'the perfect gift' and instructions how to 'show her how much you really care...' Flowers, chocolates, jewellery, romance, pink, red, lions, tigers and bears, oh my! I'm firmly of the opinion that you should show love and care to the people in your life every day, rather than just a burst of affection on Feb. 14th. So I reassured my boyfriend that I really didn't want a present and secretly hoped that he would. No, I'm just kidding! I really didn't want a present. But I think he was sucked in to the whole Hallmark holiday schtick and I answered the front door to a rose, box of chocolates, balloons and a sweet card - also my boyfriend too. And despite myself not wanting a present, I did get him a gift voucher for the hot springs. So I guess I did give in. Once again. Damn you, clever marketing and guilty conscience. 

I've seen some lovely Valentine's Day ideas online though - like taking your children out for little dates, special cards for strangers and making baked goods and delivering them to neighbours. That's something I can get on board with!

Date night: Cotton On 'Miranda' denim shirt, OPI 'Minnie Style', OPI 'French Quarter For Your Thoughts,' Sportsgirl 'Mistress' sunglasses, Fujifilm Instamax 8 camera, Marc Jacobs 'Dot' perfume, Jo Mercer 'Hermione' heels
 

Swatches: Sally Hansen 'Triple Shine' nail polishes: 'Reef-Raf' and 'Dive In'

I went into Priceline a few weeks ago and noticed that Sally Hansen (whose top coats I swear by and whose formulas are consistently great) had a new range of nail polishes named 'Triple Shine.' There were only a few colours (mostly glitter) the first time I went in, but since then there is a full 29 colour range, including glitters, cremes and shimmers. Which is ten kinds of awesome for me, and ten kinds of despair for my bank account!

Triple Shine is marketed as a "High Shine Nail Enamel with Patented Gloss-Tech Brush to maximize shine with smooth colour application for a flawless finish." Phew! Basically, it's just extra shiny. I usually use a top coat anyway to seal in colour and prevent rapid chipping, so this isn't really a massive selling point for me. However, I can't really fault the colours I bought - they really are super shiny and well packaged. The brush is the same as the brushes in the Salon Manicure range - a thick flat, wide brush so that colour is evenly distributed and is consistent.

I purchased these two colours at Chemist Warehouse, as they were having a 2 for $15 sale. These usually retail at $9.95, but are currently on sale at Priceline for $6.95 I believe!

RIGHT: 'Dive In' LEFT: 'Reef-Raf'

 

 I tried using 'Reef-Raf' as the base for some Valentine's Day themed nail art today. The formula is pretty good. I used two coats for full opacity, and waited for the first coat to dry before applying the second, as it seemed to pull and drag if the first coat was still mostly wet. The picture below isn't that colour accurate - it's a pretty hard colour to capture on camera! Reef-Raf is a bright pink, not as neon as the photo suggests. It looks quite coral-leaning in yellow lighting. For a girl who's not a massive fan of pink, I do love this colour! Reef-Raf also reminds me a lot of Essie's 'Off the Shoulder' from a couple of years back. 

Must. Not. Go. Back. And. Buy. Them. All.