1 Coat Red in 3 Steps

Red nails are the fingernail equivalent of high heels. The power of red gives the appearance that you are in the middle of signing an important document; all very business lady-like. The shade makes hands appear healthier and ones overall look more polished.  It will seem like you make a weekly trip to the nail salon, when in reality you give yourself a manicure while sitting in your track pants watching TV. What makes the experience all the more effective and efficient is a “one coat” red. A nail polish that will appear completely opaque, streak free and glossy in one coat? Revlon’s aptly named Revlon Red. This formula is gorgeously thick in the nicest way, meaning that one swipe will deliver a decent amount of colour. It also dries fairly quickly which means that you will avoid smearing your polish within one minute of applying it. Follow the steps below featuring my absolute favourite pre and post nail colour treatments, and you will enjoy a hassle free mani that works every time. 

1. Apply one coat of Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails which I like to use as a base coat. Not only will it protect your nails from staining as a result of dark polish, it will strengthen them and reduce chipping.
2. Wait for the base coat to dry which only takes a couple minutes. Apply a liberal coat of Revlon Red ensuring that the entire nail is covered in polish.
3. Allow the red polish to dry for a few minutes before applying Sally Hansen’s Insta Dri top coat. This does not take seconds as the bottle suggests, but it is very fast drying. I avoid touching anything for a few minutes after application to guarantee that I do not mark my manicure. 

Et voila! 

What’s your favourite one coat red?

OOTD #3

For the third installment of my outfit series I thought I would do a ‘two for the price of one.’ This is not some sort of internet scam, I just happened to have photos of two different occasions that I wore this top, so I thought that I might as well show you. It’s a rarity that I buy trend driven pieces as they don’t get their cost-per-wear in my wardrobe. By the time I decide to take it off the hanger the moment has already come and gone. This time around I have really been loving the quilted look, and the cut and colour of this particular one was quite unusual. I’m crowning this as the perfect winter crop top as the material is very thick, compensating for its “crop-ness.” The main reason I picked this up is because it seemed like the perfect length paired with a skirt, and surprisingly it is just long enough that I can wear it with pants too (if you consider leggings as pants, that is, but I’ll leave that debate for another day). And, of course, it was pretty inexpensive. Pair it with a bold lip and a statement necklace and you will go from inexpensive to bloomin’ fantastic. Okay, so it didn’t exactly rhyme but close enough, right? 

First outfit

Boohoo Ciara Cable Quilted Sweat Top

K-mart skater skirt

Collette gold chain necklace

Lipstick brown boots

Second outfit 

Boohoo Ciara Cable Quilted Sweat Top

Dotti leggings

Sportsgirl black handbag with gold hardware

Lipstick black boots

Fossil tortoiseshell watch

Maybelline Colour sensational vivid lipstick (in Vibrant Mandarin)

The Fluted Skirt Version 2.0

Just when you thought my rant was over about my bargain skirt, I bring you an update. I was scouring through the aisles of Kmart (as you do, well, I do) when I spotted what I thought was a coral coloured version of my black skirt. I looked at the price tag; it read ten dollars. Bargain. Though I was content enough with spending ten dollars on the skirt, I decided to scan it just for the sake of it. I let out a little scream as the screen showed five dollars. Five dollars? Unbelievable. You honestly cannot but a sandwich for lunch for five dollars anymore, but apparently you can buy a gorgeous skirt. In fashion maths terms I basically got a skirt for the price of a chai latte. I would gladly ditch the drink any day if it meant that I could own a skirt instead. On returning home I realised that the skirt is not simply a coral version of the black one, instead of being ribbed it is almost dotted with raised circles, giving it the same textured effect as the former. The material is slightly less thick, but it makes up for it in the colour department. Another skirt to add to my collection and a pat on the back for one hell of a bargain buy. 

Let me know in the comments what has been your biggest bargain…