Yummy Lolly Nails ~ Whimsical by Revlon

I love Revlon nail Polish and I've been wanting this one for ages but have never been able to find it in the shops. So I went to trusty eBay and found a fairly cheap one for sale.

Whimsical #430 is a very light blue jelly like nail polish which it is extremely sheer. It would be perfect for layering over nail polishes to give them that something extra. It has baby blue and pink hex glitter as well as smaller pink hex glitter pieces and even tinier iridescent blue glitter spread throughout.

I decided to put three coats over a white nail polish & pink nailpolish as you can see in the above picture.
I think this would look really pretty over a baby blue nail polish which I might try another time.
The amount of glitter you get each coat is quite good and it's easy to move around the glitter with the brush.

I named these my Lolly nails because they look so edible and sweet don't they? Overall I do like this polish and I think it will be a favorite of mine.

Do you have a favorite Revlon color?

Books I'm pining for ~ Halloween style!

"Books I'm pining for" is a feature for new and old books that I want to read. But being so close to Halloween I thought I would share some spooky reads that I'm looking forward to. Enjoy! *Evil laugh*

Hemlock Grove: A Novel by Brian McGreevy
Released: March 2012
An exhilarating reinvention of the gothic novel, inspired by the iconic characters of our greatest myths and nightmares.


The body of a young girl is found mangled and murdered in the woods of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the abandoned Godfrey Steel mill. A manhunt ensues—though the authorities aren’t sure if it’s a man they should be looking for.

Some suspect an escapee from the White Tower, a foreboding biotech facility owned by the Godfrey family—their personal fortune and the local economy having moved on from Pittsburgh steel—where, if rumors are true, biological experiments of the most unethical kind take place. Others turn to Peter Rumancek, a Gypsy trailer-trash kid who has told impressionable high school classmates that he’s a werewolf. Or perhaps it’s Roman, the son of the late JR Godfrey, who rules the adolescent social scene with the casual arrogance of a cold-blooded aristocrat, his superior status unquestioned despite his decidedly freakish sister, Shelley, whose monstrous medical conditions belie a sweet intelligence, and his otherworldly control freak of a mother, Olivia.

At once a riveting mystery and a fascinating revelation of the grotesque and the darkness in us all, Hemlock Grove has the architecture and energy to become a classic in its own right—and Brian McGreevy the talent and ambition to enthrall us for years to come.

Spook's Blood (The Last Apprentice/Wardstone Chronicles #10) 
by Joseph Delaney
Released: June 2012

Time is running out for Thomas Ward. His final battle against the Fiend is drawing near, and the Spook's apprentice has never felt more alone in his task. Isolated and afraid, the Fiend is set to send the greatest of his servants against him - Siscoi, a Vampire God more ferocious than anything he has yet faced. Tom must risk his life to prevent the evil beast from entering this world, even as he learns that the final destruction of the Fiend may involve a sacrifice more terrible than he can imagine...

Seed by Ania Ahlborn
Released: June 2011

Fans of Stephen King, Jack Kilborn, and Blake Crouch… prepare to meet the Devil.

In the vine-twisted swamps of Louisiana, the shadows have teeth.

Jack Winter has spent his entire life running from something no one else can see. His childhood is his darkest secret, but after a near fatal accident along a deserted road, the darkness he was sure he’d escaped rears its ugly head… and smiles.

But this time, he isn’t the only one who sees the soulless eyes of his past. This time, his six-year-old daughter Charlie leans into his ear and whispers: Daddy, I saw it too.

And then she begins to change.

Faced with reliving the nightmares of his childhood, Jack watches his daughter spiral into the shadows that had nearly consumed him twenty years before.

But Charlie isn’t the only one who’s changing.

Jack never outran the darkness. It’s been with him all along.

And it’s hungrier than ever.

A new breed of dark fiction: the subtlety of Seed will haunt you, and the end will wickedly satisfy.

Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough
Released: April 2011

Beware of Long Lankin, that lives in the moss. . . .When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Byers Guerdon, they receive a less than warm welcome. Auntie Ida is eccentric and rigid, and the girls are desperate to go back to London. But what they don't know is that their aunt's life was devastated the last time two young sisters were at Guerdon Hall, and she is determined to protect her nieces from an evil that has lain hidden for years. Along with Roger and Peter, two village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries -- before it's too late for little Mimi. Riveting and intensely atmospheric, this stunning debut will hold readers in its spell long after the last page is turned.

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
Released: September 2012

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.

The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle
Released: September 2012

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes by Many Authors
Released: October 2012

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

Dead River by Cyn Balog
Released: April 2013

My friends and I are spending prom weekend at a remote wooded cabin on the Dead. The Dead River.

I thought it was going to be just us.

I was wrong. 
Nothing is what it seems in this creepy paranormal thriller by Cyn Balog.

What books are you pining for?

Kooky Kreatures - Halloween Nails

Halloween is a week away and I thought I should do some Halloween inspired nails. I saw these nails on Instagram and they were so adorable I had to give them a go.

I didn't take any photos to show how I did this manicure because it was dark and the photos wouldn't have turned out that well.

If you're interested in knowing how I did this manicure here is a step by step written tutorial.

Materials you will need to achieve this manicure:

• White nail polish
• Green nail polish
• Black 2 way pen, white 2 way pen, red 2 way pen OR using a dotting pen/tooth pick for details and those three nail polish colors.

Thumb Finger "Frankenstein": Step 1 - Paint your nail green.
Step 2 - Using your black 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick draw the hair, eyebrows & eyes.
Step 3 - Using your white 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick put white dots in for the eyes.

Pointer Finger "Ghost": Step 1 - Paint your nail white.
Step 2 - Using your black 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick draw the black circles for eyes & kidney shaped mouth.
Step 3 -  Using your white 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick put white dots in for the eyes.

Middle Finger "Vampire": Step 1 - Paint your nail white.
Step 2 - Using your black 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick draw the black circle for eyes, eye brows and hair.
Step 3 -  Using your white 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick put white dots in for the eyes.

Ring Finger "Zombie": Step 1 - Paint your nail brown.
Step 2 - Using your black 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick draw the black circle for eyes and a scar along the top.
Step 3 - Using your red 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick draw the blood dribble from the top of the head.
Step 4 - Using your white 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick put white dots in for the eyes.
Step 5 - Using your black 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick put tiny dots in the white circles.

Pinky Finger "Mummy": Step 1 - Paint your nail white.
Step 2 - Using your black 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick draw the lines in a way that looks like mummy wrapping.
Step 3 - Using your red 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick draw the circles for eyes.
Step 4 - Using your white 2 way pen or dotting pen/toothpick put white dots in for the eyes.

It was fairly simple to do this manicure and I love the outcome. My nails are super cute!

Which one is your favourite?

Michael Cera as Nick, I don't think so!

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
183 pages
But it @ book depository

It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City—and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be—and where the next great band is playing.

Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

Review: I love David & Rachel together. I have read another of their books they wrote together 'Dash & Lily's book of dares' which was amazing and so was this. They know what teenagers sound like, they bring their characters to life in such a short story. Nick is a bit of a hopeless romantic, he makes mix tapes and is sexy without knowing it. While Norah is a bit wild, she's willing to hang out with a guy she barely knows. 

I watched the movie a long time ago so I couldn't really decide whether the movie was like the book or not. I just hopped onto Nick & Norah's exciting ride and let everything go. Nick & Norah feel like life is there's for the taking and they feel invincible because they're at that perfect teen age. 

The story moved along at a quick pace with a back and forth between Nick & Norah's point of views. One chapter will be from Nick's and the next will be from Norah's and so on. I love these sorts of novels because I love to get inside the other character's head to find out what they were thinking during a certain situation. David & Rachel due this so well!

I did notice that there was a lot of swearing, and when I mean a lot, I mean A LOT! And it was the bad 'f' word so this might not be a good one for the younger teen readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and can't wait to watch the movie again to see what differences there are. I recommend this for anyone who loves music and reminiscing about what it was like to be a reckless teenager.

On the cover: This is the movie cover, which I seem to always get instead of the normal cover. After reading this I did not picture Michael Cera playing Nick. Nick sounds sexy, while Michael Cera is not!

What I'm reading next: Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins 

Have you seen the movie or read the book? Which one do you like better?

 

Wishlist #3

1. Gorgeous Peacock Hairclip ~ $3.98 from eBay
2. Tokidoki Unicorno Ladies' Hoodie ~ $59.99 from think geek
3. Fellowship of the ring coffee mug ~ £6.50 from Etsy
4. Pink Ballon - two part brooch ~ $22.00 from Hungry designs
5. Lola & the boy next door & Anna and the french kiss 
by Stephanie perkins ~ $24.37 from book depository

1. I love hair accessories, nothing dresses your hair up better than a funky headband or hairclip. This is simply gorgeous and oh so colourful. WANT! 

2. How can you not fall in love with this hoodie! It's so adorable. I know it's spring now but with our weird weather lately you need something comfy and warm to throw over your spring clothes.

3. This mug has my name written all over it! It's telling me it wants me to make lots of chai teas in it. It needs to come home with me. 

4. Just one of my loves from the beautiful Hungry Designs. I love the idea of it being a two part brooch, so unique and gorgeous!

5. Ok, ok! Yes technically this is two things, but they're by the same author and they come to under $25 for the two of them! Why not buy them before the third and final book comes out?

What's on your wishlist?

Last adventure with Rose and the rest of the gang

Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6) by Richelle Mead
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
594 pages
Buy it @ book depository

They come first.

My vision was growing dimmer, the blackness and ghosts closing in. I swore it was like I could hear Robert whispering in my ear: The world of the dead won't give you up a second time. Just before the light completely vanished, I saw Dimitri's face join Lissa's. I wanted to smile. I decided then that if the two people I loved most were safe, I could leave this world.

The dead could finally have me.


Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules. She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir's Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardians to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose - for a crime she didn't even commit. She's in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She'll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose's life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back...and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?

Review: Richelle Mead was saving the best for last! This series has been a roller coaster of all sorts of emotions: surprise, excitement, annoyance & lots of laughs. After the huge cliff hanger at the end of the previous book I was looking forward to seeing how this might have ended. Mead did a fantastic job of wrapping up the series with everything tied up in a nice little bow. There was a moment there that I was a bit worried that she was going to go down THAT road (for all people who have read this you may know what I'm talking about) but she didn't, thankfully! 

I listened to this one on Audiobook, unlike all the others which I read. I thought I'd give it a go on Audio to see whether I enjoyed it. Well, I enjoyed the story but not the narrator. She did a terrible job of the male voices. Dimitri & Adrian did not sound very good at all, it was very off putting! 

I took a star off only because of the slight predictability of the story and because of poor Adrian. I really like Adrian and thought he was hard done by, even though I knew Dimitri was always the one for Rose.

This series has been so enjoyable and I like that Mead was able to finish it before it got boring. After finishing this I feel content and happy with how everything panned out. I'm looking forward to reading the follow on series 'Bloodlines'. (Mainly because I've been told Adrian is a main character in it)


On the cover: This will be the last Vampire Academy book cover I will look at and wonder who the person on the cover is meant to be portraying... Whoever this chick is she needs to pluck her eyebrows!

What I'm listening to next: The girl with the dragon tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Have you read this series? What did you think of the ending? 

 

Inspiring Crafters

As a fellow crafter I have many people that I admire. I wanted to show off these talented people and their wonderful creations. And to top it off all of these people are Australians! Go Aussies!

{All pictures taken from their respective webpages - click on their names to go to their webpages}

Hungry Designs

This is a gorgeous Day of the Dead - Ariel Princess brooch.

I love Ariel so much and this is so cool because you can wear art on your clothing!

Whiskers Lane

A candle in a tea cup, how cute is that?

I love the idea of having a beautiful tea cup sitting on the table setting the mood 

and leaving your house smelling delicious.

That Vintage

That Vintage features Tasmanian Myrtle Wood Jewellery & other accessories.

I love the little birds & rabbits that are often shown on pieces.

Dark and Light creations

Too bad this isn't edible. 

Dark and light creations are funky and that little bit different.

Art Of Indigo

This is the candle I purchased from the talented Art Of Indigo.

Their candles are masterpieces and too good to burn.

Who inspires you?

A Tempestuous let down

Temestuous by Lesley Livingston
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Buy it @ bookdepository

"I don't love Sonny Flannery."
That's the lie Kelley Winslow told to protect the boy she loves from a power he doesn't know he possesses. Devastated, Sonny retreats to a haven for Lost Fae that's hidden deep underneath New York City.
But Kelley's not about to let things end in heartbreak. To get Sonny back, she's got to find out who's after his magick—and how to use her own. She's got to uncover who's recruiting Janus Guards to murderously hunt innocent Faerie. She's got to help rebuild the shattered theater company she called family. And she's got to do it all without getting dangerously distracted by the Fennrys Wolf, whose legendary heart of stone seems to melt whenever he's around Kelley.
The intrigue and romance that began with Wondrous Strange and Darklight come to a stormy head in Tempestuous, the breathtaking conclusion to Lesley Livingston's ravishing urban Faerie trilogy.

Review: I'm unsure how to start this review... It's been so long since I read 'Darklight', almost 8 months, and I've read a lot of other books in between so I've kind of forgotten what had happened at the end of the previous book. It didn't take me long to get back in to the swing of Lelsey Livingston's beautiful writing, but I felt like something was missing. I think that spark between Kelley & Sonny wasn't there for me or maybe I've read other books since where the connections between lovers is stronger than this. The magic and adventure wasn't there either. I would pick this up, read a chapter then put it down again because the story wasn't sucking me in. It took me nearly two weeks to finish this because of that reason.

I felt like there was so much build up during the first two books in to figuring out who the evil was behind it all that when I did find out, it was a let down. The reason I was let down was because I felt like everything was sorted out too quickly and was wrapped up too easily. Small thing to complain about, but it got to me. To give away the ending, it was happy (thankfully) and I will still think very highly of 'Wondrous Strange' and continue to read Lesley Livingston's books even though I didn't enjoy this as much.

To sum up, I don't know if it was the mood I was in when reading this or simply I had lost the connection to the series. Whatever the reason, I felt like it was a chore to read 'Tempestuous' which is very, very sad. (Still 3 stars because of my past love for these characters.)

Click here to read my review of 'Wondrous Strange' or here for my review of 'Darklight'.

On the cover: Such a pretty cover! Only it's a little bit too dark for me and I would've liked to see her ears so that I could see the slight pointyness of them.

What I'm reading next: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Have you read the last book in a series that disappointed you?

Rainbow Gradient Nails

"Rainbow: An arch of colors formed in the sky in certain circumstances, caused by the refraction and dispersion of the sun's light by rain or...Any display of the colors of the spectrum produced by dispersion of light."

Here's another nail post for all you nail lovers out there! Things that you will need to achieve this manicure

• White nail polish
• Multiple colours nail polish (I chose blue, green, yellow, orange and red)
• Make-up sponges
• Cotton buds
• Nail Polish remover
• Top & Base coats
• Glitter top as desired

 

{All the nail polishes I used except for top & base coats}

These nails look so amazing in real life but they were such a hassle to do. I thought to myself "Gradient nails using a sponge looks easy, I'll give it a try". But I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong!

Firstly I started with just a base coat and applied all the colours to the makeup sponge in a line (like the picture below) and pushed it onto my nail but nothing seemed to come off. So I applied a very thick amount of the 5 nailpolish colours and tried again, only to achieve the same results.

I then had a thought "Maybe if I applied white nail polish it would work", it didn't! I have no idea what I was doing wrong and why the polish wasn't going onto my nails in a rainbow pattern. The only colors that seemed to be rubbing off the sponge and onto my nails were the blue and red.

So, I removed all the nail polish and then re applied the white and started all over again. This time I used separate make-up sponges for each of the five colors like the picture below.

Below are the step by step pictures of how I applied each of the colors.

1. Apply white nail polish

2. Apply the yellow with the sponge to the middle of your nail

 

3. Apply the orange using the sponge toward the tip of your nail

4. Apply the red with the sponge to the tip of your finger.

5. Apply the green with the sponge to the top part of your nail.

6. Apply the blue with the sponge to upper part of your nail but still leave some green.

As you can see in the above picture that it was quite messy using the sponges (especially when that is my right hand pictured so I was using my left hand to apply the colors). I poured some nail polish remover into the cap of the bottle and then used LOTS of cotton buds dipped in the nail polish remover to rub away the excess color on my fingers. Below is the end result.

I decided that a glitter top coat would give my manicure that extra bit of something, 

What do you think?

It's Coraline not Caroline!

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
162 pages
Buy it @ bookdepository


When Coraline explores her new home, she steps through a door and into another house just like her own... except that it's different. It's a marvelous adventure until Coraline discovers that there's also another mother and another father in the house. They want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to keep her forever!

Coraline must use all of her wits and every ounce of courage in order to save herself and return home.







Review: I saw this movie when it was released and thought it was really awesome. The whole idea of having a world where there is another mother and another father with buttons as eyes is a creepy, but unique idea. I found the book was slightly different to the movie, although it has been a long time since I saw the movie so I could've forgotten certain aspects. Coraline is so cool and quirky, It would be awesome to spend time with her. She's such an interesting girl that you can't help but get connected to her right away. Every thing her parents suggest her to do in the holidays is BORING, she wants excitement and adventure, little does she know that is exactly what she gets. The mysterious part of the story in which Coraline has to find a way to get out of the other house is interesting enough, it keeps you intrigued but is fairly simple to figure out what is going on. So in saying that I think the story is suitable for readers of all ages although some younger children may be scared of some of the themes in this book.

To sum up I gave it four stars because I was left wanting a little more. I felt like the other mother didn't get a good comeuppance for her terrible deeds. On a side note, Neil Gaman was the one narrating the audiobook and it was great! I love when an author does the narrating of their own book because you think they would know how the characters should sound.


On the cover: Obviously this is the movie cover, which funny enough I prefer to any other cover. Usually I hate the movie covers on books because most of the time they get actors to play the characters and they look nothing like how they're described in the book. I love the button for the 'O' in Coraline and the cat as the 'L'. Also, the moon is a button and the tree is a hand creeping to snatch up Coraline. This cover is creepy and interesting at the same time. Love it!

What I'm listening on Audio to next: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Have you seen the movie? Which did you like better?