taryn k.
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My name is Taryn. I'm in my twenties. I come from the land down under. I'm married. I work full time. I like pretty things. My favourite food is watermelon. I hate dancing. I like to talk. I tend to contradict myself. I hate snails. I like you for reading my blog.

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25 September 2010, 5:03 PM

...as does black, brown, red, purple, teal, grey, glittery...

The last couple of days I've been wearing Essie's "Splash Of Grenadine" from their Resort Collection and my last haul.

Photo proof -






You will notice some chippage on my thumb *sad face*
I was so, so, SO excited when I ordered this polish. I'd seen a lot of blogs/videos featuring this colour and it seemed to be the perfect summery Barbie doll pink to end my search. It arrived looking gorgeous in the bottle. I applied it. Meh.

This is my second Essie polish to not live up to my expectations. Two out of two. That's bad.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that it's a bad colour, it's just that it's nothing special, doesn't translate well out of the bottle. Plus it chips.

I have a nice little comparison for you. Chi Chi's "On The Prowl" and "Label Queen".



I think "On The Prowl" is a damn good dupe - just slightly less lilac. "Label Queen'" is one of my favourite polishes from Chi Chi, and I just feel like it has a similar depth to it.

Again, sorry for the blurriness, but the colours are accurate. L -R: On The Prowl, A Splash Of Grenadine, Label Queen.

Okay, so I do like "A Splash Or Grenadine". I just wish I wasn't expecting so much of it. I gotta stop doing that.

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4:45 PM

So, today was the AFL grand final. Collingwood vs St Kilda.

<sarcasm>

Woo hoo.

</sarcasm>

The great thing about grand final day is that the majority of the nation like to watch it. Come 11.30am, the shops are more or less deserted - which suits me perfectly.

So I took my little self out to my local Westfield for some browsing. I had to pick up a new bottle of foundation (Clinique Anti-Blemish in Fresh Neutral, if you're interested) since I am nearly out, but other than that I wasn't looking for anything in particular.

First thing I see when I walk in the door of Myer - ESSIE!

My Myer has never carried Essie before, so this was very, very exciting for me. The only polishes I ever purchase from Myer are Chi Chi and Bloom, for lack of choice. The range wasn't particularly large, I suppose since they're just starting with it, but still. The price tag was $18.95 - which feels like a joke after all my internet buys lately. It's probably going to be a case of me checking out the colours in store and then nipping home to place an order online at
BeautyZone2007. I've actually got an order on the way, so I checked out a couple of the colours I remembered ordering and then went on my merry way.

I ended up getting a few bits and pieces - namely this adorable Ladakh dress;


I'm in love with this dress - I wasn't expecting it to be anything special when I picked it up, but it's incredibly flattering. I love the navy blue with taupe polka dots - not usually into polka dots, but I'm going to have to make an exception.

I also got...

I've purchased this Love ring from Sportsgirl about three times now - I love it but being that it is a cheapy, it fades to greeer wearing a few times. I need to find somewhere that makes it in solid gold. Any suggestions?



The chunky bracelet also came from Sportsgirl. I'm not a huge fan on the padlock, I'm think I'll remove it; but I've been looking for a chain this size for a while now. Claps!
The sideways cross came from Etsy seller Classic Designs (came in the mail yesterday) and is totally stolen from Lollipop26. Love Laura's blog, love her taste. I got the gold fill version of the cross, so hopefully it lasts a little while.
 

Lastly I picked up this cute little cropped cami top. I'll be wearing this with little denim shorts when summer really hits. Can't wait. Came from Temp for a steal at about $14.50.

All in all I'd say this was a successful shopping trip.

OMG I think Mr Whippy is driving past my house - I must run, icecream beckons!!

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18 September 2010, 2:52 PM

Mm, I don't know. Do I love this polish or not?

I've taken this week to go through the polishes from my last haul. I've loved You Don't Know Jacques and Lincoln Park After Dark, had a big disappointment with A Splash Of Grenadine, but am unsure about Tart Deco.

I must first of all point out, this polish chipped like a biatch. I applied on Monday afternoon, all was well. Woke up on Tuesday morning - massive chip on my middle finger. Sad face.

The polish was a little testing to apply. Usually I just slather on two fairly generous coats of colour and then a top coat. I think I did about four v e r y thin, streaky coats to get it to look this opaque and un-splodgy. The first time I tried, the colour just pooled around the nail bed - not a pretty look. I think the colour is quite nice, but is it really worth the effort and the time limit?

Perhaps I'll feel happier about this polish come actual summer.


Please ignore my cuticles in the photo - I am trying sooooooo hard to get better, but just can't seem to shake the habit.

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12 September 2010, 11:59 AM

Oh, Ebay. How I love thee.

I've only recently jumped on the nail polish band wagon. I've been a nail/cuticle biter all my life. That's about a twenty year habit right there. Somewhere late last year, however, I decided that enough is enough, I'm gonna stop biting my nails. It's been tough. I find that whenever I'm deeply absorbed in a novel my nails will magically just end up in my teeth. Grr. Actually, scratch that - nail biting has pretty much ceased. It's the cuticles that are the problem.

So I started painting my nails pretty colours to try and deter myself. No one likes to look a cheap, nasty looking chipped nail polish right? And once my nails started growing a little, I decided I quite liked the shape of them, so I'm encouraged to keep going. I like to keep them fairly short and square, mind you, but at least now they're more than a centimetre long.

I've built up quite a collection in the last few months - mostly Chi Chi and Sportsgirl polishes, since those are the most readily available to me and are reasonably priced. But I've recently discovered the Ebay Nail Polish Holy Grail Store. They ship from the US, so the shipping is pricier, but at about US$4.50 a pop for OPI, Essie, China Glaze and many more, as long as you order a few, it all works out nicely in the end. My order came in the mail within two weeks as well - I think it was ten days, but don't quote me.

Seller is Beautyzone2007, store is
Top Nail Store. They have quite a range of colour and lots of accessories/nail tools to browse and purchase. They also have sales regularly so you can really grab a bargain.

So what did I get?


L-R: Lincoln Park After Dark (OPI), You Don't Know Jacques (OPI), Vodka And Caviar (OPI), Baguette Me Not (OPI), Dulce De Leche (OPI), Jade Is The New Black (OP), Tart Deco (Essi), Splash Of Grenadine (Essie)

A couple of these colours are going to be Christmas presents, but I will be keeping Lincoln Park, Jacques, Tart Deco and Grenadine. I'm wearing You Don't Know Jacques today and I am quite enjoying it. Honestly, the formula consistency isn't what I was expecting. It was a lot sheerer than I thought, so I used three coats to make sure it was completely opaque.



Sorry for the blurriness, but the colour is fairly accurate. I have Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat on as well.



As a comparison, I have Milkshake from Sportsgirl and High Heeled Housewife from Chi Chi. Milkshake tends to dry almost identical to You Don't Know Jacques although it doesn't look it in the photo.

I'll do some more comparisons and reviews on the other colours another day. Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

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