Nautical Mania

At my work with have had a major infiltration of all things nautical; striped tops, striped tees, striped skirts, high waisted dark denim shorts, oh and did I mention stripes? So to add a little something different to my work ensemble I attacked some plain canvas shoes with my glue gun and few bits and bobs.. not bad for under $10. I got the shoes from work 1/2 price, just one of those great employee perks (which I take advantage of far too often) and all the stuff (excluding glue gun & glue which I had from a previous project) from JJ's haberdashery in Redcliffe for $2!! Anyone who is in the Brisbane region and loves crafts should check this little shop out.. It is insanely inexpensive, they have quilting fabric for $6 a metre, a selection of fabric whether for furnishing or just clothing and loads of trimmings. The only downside is that they only accept cash which has in fact saved my bank account many a time.

Hair... Bright & Bold

Initially had the crazy idea of adding a few streaks of purple to my hair.. which I thought looked great, I LOVE the purple; what I did not love was acquaintances asking why did I do something so bright and different.. "I felt like a change" was not to them a satisfactory answer.. Why not go blond or cut your hair like normal people?
BAH to being normal!!! and so to put these people really off guard (and because I like having unnaturally vibrant coloured hair) I went on a dying spree...

Green & a smidge of gold

Tequila sunrise

Mermaid green/blue

So after I while I decided to go back to my roots so to speak.. back to brown, as I was worried what all my DIY salon work would be doing to my hair. I went light golden/mousy brown but wasn't really enthused about my hair, so I did what a normal person would do; and cut it.. then made a terrible mistake.. I chose a permanent hair dye similar to the color I already had in, and it fried my hair; split ends left right and centre, that awful straw feeling; bleugh!!  Not to mention after a few washes it starts coming out.. and I'm left with bleached ends and that "summer" look.  So I cut off the fried ends.. they came back within a fortnight,
I was inspired from my months of experimenting with doing my own hair, after bleaching my hair felt stressed but after a night sleeping in desired shade of dye my hair was lusciously soft and buoyant.. My remedy; overnight conditioner with with purple dye to tone down the blonding ends, yes I may have added accidentally ;) too much purple but result is amazing.. not only the colour is fantastic, a brown base with strands of  lilac verging into proper purple every now and then.. but the feel of my hair is sooo much better. :)

I think I'm in love...

 with Miracle Cure from Sally Hansen!! I've always had a major problem with splitting peeling nails; I tried supplements but didn't notice any difference after months of taking them, so I am really excited that this little bottle of goodness actually seems to be working.  I almost didn't get it but my local Priceline had a bonus gift if you spent over $29; and I'm a total sucker for that kind of marketing.  I am so glad I did get it because at $19.95 this stuff is a bargain!! It said 50% stronger nails in 3 days on the box, and to be completely honest I was initially dismissive of this claim, as I have previously bought treatments/polish that promised smiliar results only to be utterly disappointed.  This however is living up to box.. no peeling nails, no cracking polish; no bubbles..<3 <3 <3

Day 3

Sally Hansen Bonus Gift

I am also using Sally Hansen Diamond Strength as a Top Coat (which came in the bonus gift) which is also fantastic! Only minor tip wear and that's from working 3 solid days in retail.. usually by now I would have had chipped; cracked ugly polish! So I am in awe of this staying power, and strengthening capacity!! As a top coat it great I can't find a flaw, it dries quickly, no bubbles, nice and shiny, and the polish is still on my nails!! <3 <3 <3
To make up my total SH purchase to $29 I also bought Xtreme wear in 13 Celeb City and some more polish remover. I'm not sure if all of the Xtreme wear range smells of tinsel as it dries (you know that smell tinsel has in the xmas section..) or just this one because of it's metallic nature.  Seeing as I'm talking odour; the remover had a perfumey notes to it, not floral or particularly feminine, but pleasant.. also it removed polish like lightning!
Priceline also had these super adorable mini Bourjois polishes, and at 2 for $5 I bought all the colours my local store had.  They are the catalog item that caught my attention and allowed me to discover my new favourite, as the wear on my current mani has lasted soo much longer than I anticipated i haven't yet swatched these babies

BOURJOIS mini 3mL polish

 I was super happy with my goodies and rushed merrily along to the counter only to be confronted a line; that's when I noticed the super sale bin!! Sifting through broken bronzer palates and other decimated remains of make-up items I spotted them... L'oreal polish for $1.77!!!! I grabbed the remaining colours, all 3 a black base with different coloured shimmer..once again I have yet to properly swatch these.  I would have to say that this has been my best/luckiest shopping adventure in a long time.

My BARGAIN L'oreal polish