Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and I'm sure you ladies out there want to get your spa on to relax and prepare yourselves! Just to get into the spirit, I've put together a selection of pink-themed products that I thought might be of interest, either for Valentine's Day or just to pamper yourselves in general :)

Welcome back to Emily's Anthology, everyone! I am kicking the week off with a nail post - since I hardly ever do these.

Long gone are the days when a few coats of simple nail polish were enough to make your hands look their best. From glitter to strass, shellacking to degrade – today there’s a whole world of nail art at your disposal. Our hands offer an excellent canvas for people to express their inner artist, particularly for creative personalities looking to show off their designs.

And what better occasion to show off your beautiful nails than on a first date? Wherever you’re based in Australia – whether Melbourne or Sydney – great dating opportunities abound. There is a lot to love about Melbourne and Sydney, and you can discover new places together, with a bit of nail art prep only adding to your allure. Wherever you go for your date, make sure your nails are in tip-top condition, ready to wow your new guy, with these four nail art designs.

1. The Classic French Polish


Now it might not be the most outgoing of nail designs – in fact it’s possibly one of the oldest and best-known nail styles around – but at the end of the day, it’s a tried and tested method.

If you aren’t the most girly of girls, but still want to make the effort of having your nails done, this is a feminine and flattering nail design that’s sure to impress on any date.

2. Strass nail design

If you’re a fan of your bling, strass nail designs will let you glitz and glam your nails to your heart’s content. You can choose a stone design that matches your outfit, or perhaps co-ordinate with the other gemstones in your jewellery.

If it’s a first date and you’re unsure of how much he likes glittery styles, maybe stick to a tasteful, simple gemstone in each finger, rather than diamonds encasing the entire nail!

The Kiss Nail strips (pictured above) retail at AUD 13.99 per pack of 28 strips.

3. Shellac nails
This is the perfect nail art for anyone heading on an outdoors date, like rock climbing or hiking. Shellac nail polish is much stronger than traditional polish and won’t chip during physical activity or sport. This means you can get stuck in on a first date, without worrying about damaging your nails.
4. Degrade nail design

This is a very, very late video, I know! I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.

Sally Hansen has been around for ages. The brand is the #1 Nail expert in the US, and it has done an excellent job at revamping itself to make its products resonate with the younger crowd today. Take, for example, their incredible Salon Effects range. If you haven't tried them, you need to get in store and buy a box!

The products in their Salon Manicure Nail Treatment Collection are another excellent example of how the brand continues to improve itself. I was sent these products about a week or so back to trial, and here are my thoughts.

Cuticle Eraser + Balm

Sally Hansen: A flawless salon finish starts with smooth, soft cuticles. This deeply moisturizing balm removes dry cuticles and preps nails for perfection in one easy step.

This, for me, has got to be the star product of this collection. I have difficult cuticles, and not even the most diligent application of cuticle oil can save them. They are also extremely stubborn, and always pop back into place to matter how much I try to push them back. I assumed that this was going to be just like any other cuticle moisturiser, but I was pleasantly surprised when my cuticles (and the skin around them) stopped peeling almost instantly. The best part was, when I pushed my cuticles back, they didn't spring back into place! I am definitely repurchasing this when I run out - it is an absolute saviour and now I can finally do dark nails without worrying about the mess of ragged cuticles!

Smooth & Strong Base Coat

Sally Hansen: Create the foundation for a long-lasting salon manicure with this fortifying base coat. Nails are left instantly stronger and up to 90% smoother.

I don't know about smooth, but this base coat is a definite keeper if you have weak nails. I have a nail on my right hand that is particularly weak, and it has been that way ever since I damaged it moving into this apartment. It's been almost a year now, and no matter what kind of base coat and nail strengthener I used, nothing seemed to work. Even trimming my nail all the way down, avoiding filing, and starting from scratch didn't help any. Recently it's gotten a little better, and for the first time, my nail did not break this entire week. It comes down to two things - the fact that I kept it very short, and this base coat. Another gem in the collection, in my opinion!

Ultra-Wear Top Coat

Sally Hansen: After applying your favourite Sally Hansen nail polish, lock in colour and protect your perfect results for up to 10 days with this pro-finish top coat.

This ranks right up there as one of my favourite top coats. It does a great job of keeping the nails protected, and prevents 'premature' chipping. I can vouch for it lasting for 7 days, which is more than long enough for me! I get very bored with nail polish easily and usually change colours weekly.
It does allow the gradual wear-down of the very tips of the nails, but I personally haven't found any other top coat that prevents that from happening. Another little qualm I have about this top coat is probably that it isn't glossy enough - but again, I haven't tried any other top coat that gives me the shine I want, either (and no, I haven't tried the Seche Vite top coat! :X).

Overall, I think this is a quality, affordable (thank goodness!) range that should be in everyone's nail collection. This collection launched September 1st, 2012 and is available at Priceline, selected Terry White Chemists and selected David Jones stores.

This product was provided for review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Hi everyone! I just have a really quick post today - I wanted to share with you guys my Valentine's Day manicure. You may have already seen it in a picture that I posted of my Valentine's Day gift, but I thought I'd post a few pictures here to show you up close :)

It's not specifically Valentine's themed or anything, it's just that I've been growing my nails out, and this is one of my favourite manicures. I'm a sucker for anything sparkly!


I am using OPI Sparkle-icious, a glitter infused polish, on the tips of the nails like a french manicure. My favourite base to use with this manicure is the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Cafe au Lait - featured in this post.

This is actually a really simple manicure to do, because the chunks of glitter hide any imperfections that would normally be extremely noticeable with a solid-coloured nail polish. So you don't have to use any stickers or gadgets when you apply the glitter. Also, the glitter polish dries super quickly, so you won't have to waste much time waiting around.

A downside to this manicure is that you need to apply multiple layers of the glitter nail polish to get the end result, because the glitter quite dispersed. A top layer is essential with this, because the glitter is difficult to keep on without catching onto little fibers on clothing. I recommend filing your nails down a little after the final application, before the top coat, so that the tips are smooth and won't catch.


So there's my manicure! I hope you like it, and thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day!

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having fun on the second day of Chinese New Year, whether you're Chinese or not! :)

I have been up to absolutely nothing! Well I did go out with my sister today, but just to HarbourTown. I managed to score quite a few pretty items, which I will share on Twitter when I wear them :)

Today I'm just sharing a little review of a few nail products that have really caught my attention these past couple of months.

You may remember that I attended a Sally Hansen event a couple of months ago. There, I received two products that I really want to share with you today.

This first product is the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails hardener - Sally Hansen's star product.

Sally Hansen: Helps prevent chipping, splitting and cracking. Gives nails a hard, smooth, chip-resistant surface that helps strengthen and support nails. Nail edges are sealed for added protection.

Why I love this product: A week after I received this product, I moved house. I'm sure you can all imagine what that involved - moving big boxes, picking at cellophane tape, twisting and turning screwdrivers and all kinds of tools to put the furniture together, and basically subjecting my nails to all kinds of torture!

After the dust and debris settled, I ended up with shredded nails. They looked and felt horrible, and no matter how many times I grew them out, my nails would just get cracked and chipped all over again.

After using this product for just over a week now, I have only two cracks left to grow out in my nails. No other cracks have returned, and my nail polish is finally lasting the way it should. Definitely a star product, especially for those with weak nails who want their nail polish to last longer and stop chipping.

The next product is the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish. I have the colour Cafe Au Lait.

Sally Hansen: With patented Vita-Care Technology for advanced wear, more shine and nourishing care. Dare to compare to your favorite salon brand.

This is really good! I hate that with neutral coloured nail polish, you usually end up getting streaks and overly thick formula. I was convinced that I would experience the exact same thing with this nail polish, but I didn't! The formula was just the right consistency, and the colour came out smooth and even. No streaks.

This range comes in 23 gorgeous colours. I am really keen to try some darker colours. When I do, I will report back with the results!

These next few products are future releases, and will hit counters in March 2012. They are the Barbados range from Face of Australia, inspired by the colours of a beach holiday in the sunny island. This was also developed with some of Melbourne's most popular beauty bloggers, which I find particularly exciting!


In the above picture, I am wearing You Blue Me Away on three fingers, and Let's Go Scuba Diving on my ring finger as an accent.


I swatched these above nail polishes on my sister's fingers. *hehe* They are Bright Lights, Pink City, and Another Daquiri Please. Just looking at these gorgeous colours makes me dream of drinks under an umbrella by the beach, skin glowing, oversized sunnies on *sigh*.

These two reds are much more sheer compared to the blues above. All swatches were done with two coats. Watch out for these at selected pharmacies and stores in March 2012!

Finally, I have a trio from Kit Cosmetics to share with you. They are a nail strengthener, a top coat, and a cuticle oil. These came in a gift set, together with a gorgeous smelling hand cream and an emery board, but these products are definitely the stars of the gift set!


After I moved house, I then had to start working at a law firm where the air conds were too cold and there was almost no humidity in the air. Almost immediately, my cuticles started to shrink back (a painful experience), and bits of my skin would peel off as well. I immediately turned to this cuticle oil, which had my cuticles back in moisturised, healthy condition within a matter of days.

If you read my blog, you'll also know that I am a huge fan of the Skin Food top coat. The only problem that I have with that top coat is that it doesn't shine as much as I'd like it to. On the days when I want more oomph and shine, I turn to this top coat. It provides a gorgeous, high-shine finish. My nail polish doesn't last as long as it does with Skin Food, so I only turn to it when I want high shine instead of long-lasting nail polish.

So that sums up some of my favourite nail products at the moment! Do you have any nail products that I should try out? Will you be trying any of these?

Happy CNY again, everyone! x

I was lucky enough to be invited to a Sally Hansen breakfast yesterday morning with a few other Melbourne bloggers to get more acquainted with the brand. At 8.05am, I made my way to Federation Square, sopping wet from the rain, to be greeted by a cheery white-and-orange tent with lovely white couches and a faux grass floor. I was immediately offered some warm tea and coffee, and greeted by the gorgeous Sally Hansen PR and representatives. Despite the dreary weather, I was starting to get pretty excited!


After some lovely savoury breakfast food, Sally Hansen started a little presentation. This is where I learned that Sally Hansen dominates over 50% of the nail market in the US (cue the oohs and ahhs), and that 10 bottles are sold each minute there!

Sally Hansen has made a huge effort to keep with the times, introducing a salon-quality range (Complete Salon Manicure), and a quick-drying range (Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color), among others. Not to mention a huge expansion of their existing colour range! They have even done collaborations with designers during Fashion Week, both in New York and in Sydney. In fact, the Sally Hansen reps tout their Complete Salon Manicure as the best, and say that you'll never want to use another brand after you've tried it!

On to the manicures! I chose to get the Salon Effects range done, which are these nail polish strips that you just stick onto your nail. Sally Hansen are the market leader in nail polish strips, and it's not hard to see why! The Sally Hansen Salon Effects are made out of actual nail polish, so they don't peel off easily, and you can remove them with nail polish remover. It's that simple - no need for blowdrying or peeling off, which also means less damage to your nails.


I chose to get something from their Halloween collection, called Wishnets. It's a lovely cherry-pink colour, with the obvious fishnet patterns running through. It looks absolutely lovely and vibrant in person.


Here's a close-up of the nails one day after application. They are still new and shiny at this point, and I've experienced no peeling except for one finger, but that one probably happened because it wasn't applied well - I blame my wonky finger and the fact that I was moving about so much trying to keep warm!


If you're interested in getting your manicure done for free, then head over to Federation Square! Sally Hansen are giving out manicures for free at their gorgeous (and unmissable) white-and-orange tent from 9:30am to 4pm everyday, until Thursday, November 3 2011. Try to get in before or after lunch though - those lunch crowds are a killer!

This service was provided for review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.