Excuse the long absence....

I've had a crazy couple of months! How have you been?
Can you believe it's almost Christmas??? Crazy I say!

so..... let's catch up a bit - I'll post a heap of pics to show you what I've been up to
and then we can do the Aussie Nails Christmas Nail Art challenge together, ok?

Then vs Now

I have been thinking..... when I first created this design about a year ago -
it was for a guest post, and I feel it went unnoticed - but I loved wearing it so much!!!!

 This is the original version

Selling off some polish...

Low prices - high quality - international shipping
I need to make some (ALOT of) space, so please help!!!!

Have a look at my Nail Polish List and let me know what you're after

Leave a comment/send me an email.
Thanks for stopping by!

The BATTLE (Nail Polish) Challenge - Week 14

Heya, I'm back to the battle challenge!!!

 I chose Tron as inspiration for "childhood vs future" because it merges the two!

Where in the World - Day 21 Japan

Hi lovelies!

I've been running around this weekend, so skipped a couple of days,

 but here is the next installment of the challenge!

I found this lovely Japanese silk print to inspire my design

Source

Where in the World - Day 20 Colombia (I)

When I think of Colombia - I think of coffee!
I found the most colourful beans for the inspiration:

Read on to see the mani

The BATTLE (Nail Polish) Challenge - Week 13

This mani starts a week of red #swatchapalooza on IG, so be sure to check that hashtag for more

I think it's fairly obvious what I chose in dress vs shoes, but please read on for the pics

Where in the World - Day 19 Korea (II)

Here is the picture that inspired me to create another version of the lantern mani

Source

Read on to see the pics!

Where in the World - Day 19 Korea (I)

Hey, it's me again!
i was trying to think of something fun and colourful to create to represent Korea,
and found this picture 

Source

Read on to see what I came up with

The BATTLE (Nail Polish) Challenge - Week 12

Continuing with the Battle Challenge - theme 12 is creme vs shimmer

Read on to see what I created!

Where in the World - Day 18 Ukraine

I have had this post in my draft for almost a year - can you believe that????
 I remember when I saw the theme it was so exciting - immediately knew what I wanted to create!

Here is the inspiration 

Read on to see my interpretation!

The BATTLE (Nail Polish) Challenge - Week 11

OK I am resurrecting this challenge and seeing it through.
Here is the full schedule (check my previous posts for 1-10)

A post about why I am a liar

I promised more posts and didn't deliver. I have no excuses - I have been lazy. That is all. 

Source
Me too, Sylvester!

So no more empty promises - here are some pretty pictures.

Cats-n-Nails turns ONE!

Hi lovelies!!!!

Special post today to celebrate the first year - thanks to all your support and for sticking around!

Source

A Dream Come True

Everything you ever dreamed about is about to come true - Color4Nails website is now live!

Source

Sisi has worked very hard to bring you this amazing shop - she ships all over the world and has some amazing brands - including Shades Of Phoenix and Alanna Renee!!!!

Click on over to the STORE and start shopping NOW!

(Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any broken no buy promises)

Thanks for stopping by!

A Fresh Start (aka massive polish clear out)

Some of you may already know that as part of my birthday present this year I got to upgrade my polish storage system!!! YAY for more space! Here are some illustrations:

Nikolai "helped" put the new drawers together

Cat inspecting the polish piles

Maybe they are having a discussion about the best storage solution?

Since the IG response has been overwhelming (THANK YOU!!!!), I have decided to do "lucky dip" lots.

I have over 150 bottles to get rid of and taking pictures will take up way too much time - I want them gone!!!!!

Each "lucky dip" lot will contain 4-6 bottles plus (depending on brands) and sweet extras.

Including the following brands: OPI, China Glaze, Butter London, Orly, Barielle, Misa, a England, Barry M, Catrice, Color Club, Essence, Essie, Models Own, Nails Inc, Revlon, Sally Hansen..... PLUS
ALL THE AUSSIE INDIES (Emily De Molly, Gloss'N'Sparkle, Pretty Serious, Alana Renee, Shades Of Phoenix, Arcane etc) and Australian brand name polishes.

Each lot is AUD$30 plus shipping (see below for all the shipping rates)

I will also provide a discount for multiple lots -
for example 2 x "lucky dip" lots will cost AUD$55 plus shipping
3 x "lucky dip" lots will cost AUD$80 plus shipping

SHIPPING RATES (in AUD):
Australia - $8
New Zealand - $10
Singapore, Phillipines, Malaysia - $12
USA, Canada - $14
Europe - $17-20 (depends on the country - I use AusPost prices)
South America - $25

Payment must be made through PayPal in AUD to natalia.bruce.nb@gmail.com
within 24 hours. The payment will have to clear before I can send the polish.

I am not responsible for any import charges/damage in transit. No returns/no refunds.

HOW TO ORDER:
I will only accept KIK (cats_n_nails) or EMAIL (natalia.bruce.nb@gmail.com) requests

Sale! Sale! Sale!

UPDATE: ALL SOLD - THANK YOU!!!

I have received so many goodies for my birthday that I have to make space in the helmer!!!!

So there are a few "lucky dip" bags up for grabs!

International - A$50 shipped

Australia - A$35 shipped

(PayPal only please)

I will discuss with you the preferences to make sure it's 100% awesome!

Plus chocolate or other treats - just drop me an email if you're interested

(natalia.bruce.nb@gmail.com)

Thanks so much for helping out!

My Birthday Blog Nail Party!

Yep, you read that right - there is a party right here!!!

Source

I wanted to do something special this year and celebrate with all the friends I made since
starting the blog last year, and becoming part of the IG nail community.

So I invited everyone to take part in a "Birthday Blog Nail Party"!

The concept is simple - it's lots of manis on lots of people on one place - just like there would be at
an actual party, with one exception - these are all pictures!

Here they are:

Brie aka @strawbrie
(a unicorn if I ever met one - Brie is forever my cupcake)

Charlee aka @chazeecat
(the loveliest lady you will ever meet - Charlee shares my love of cats and polish swaps!)

Christinemay aka Nails At 2 AM
(I was lucky to do a Secret Santa with her last year and she had been a guest blogger here as well)

Courtney aka @talesfromthemakeupbag
(who shares my love of shopping and polish, and makes amazing shortbread!)

Holly aka @hollysagemini and Number One #teamnikolai supporter

Cheeying aka @inkyinkying (who sent me a box of 35 polishes and a UNICORN for my bday!)

Jess aka @radjecca and Dusty Swatcher
(who loves all animals, lives in the middle of NOWHERE and still stays polished!)

Jess and Baron Von Fluffy Boots (he is Nikolai's Canadian pal and Jess is my kindred spirit)

Laura aka @fabuloz87
(who is a fellow Perth-ie!!!!)

Lena aka @lena_bier
(my lovely polish swap friend all the way in RUSSIA!)

Angelique aka Meisie's Nails
(this woman can fly a plane and look HOT doing it! check our her shoes and bikinis!)

Mai aka @nannanap
(she painted Nikolai!!!! also Mai was the very first person I met who shared my love for polish!)

Ricarda aka @justricarda
(one of my awesome swap buddies all the way in the USA!!!!)

Sarah-Jane aka @swils (a fellow Aussie nail junkie!)

Tammy aka @ohmygoshpolish
(I don't even know where to start - talented and fun, also she knows some sport of  youth potion wizardry)

Tara aka @lokislacquer
(talented and kind, one of my best nail friends!)

Zoe aka @camoandzap (Tara's daughter and equally talented!)

Theresa aka @graciezac 
(the sweetest most caring lady, my second mum and a friend through and through
just look at the blog post she wrote)

Teneil aka @shadesofphoenix
(such a lovely girl, she'll take over the world in no time!
And another beautiful blog post!)

Katja aka @krockerica
(one of my first swap buddies and a good friend)

Stacey aka @staceymeldrum
(this lady just gets me 100%! Jinx)

Sam aka @samanthafreeman
(a pocket sized hottie with a love of cats and nails, fellow Perth-ie!)

So here they are - the lovely ladies who arrived at my party on time, 

but I have a feeling we may have some late comers?

It's not too late to jump in - just send me a pic of your PARTY NAILS!

Watch this space - I'm off to open presents and paint my nails!

Fun with Foils and Studs

I was contacted by KKCentreHK recently (flattered!!!!) to review some products.

I chose the foil and the round studs from the array of products, which promptly arrived! 

The foils came with the special glue 

(although the brush is a bit too long for the bottle and bends - application is not a problem).

Loki's Lacquer - This is Serious! collection

Hi all!

Tara sent me the top picks from the collection for review - have a look!

My camera died as I was swatching - so please enjoy the macro lens on the phone!

#RandomJuneMani - what it is and how to join

I had a few requests on IG to explain what the #RandomJuneMani is all about.
Here is a little post outlining the basic principal.

And I can't take the credit for "inventing" this - the idea was suggested
by one of the members of the June No Buy group (Hi Erica!)

The idea is that if you're stuck for inspiration, or need a distraction to stop you shopping,
this will help to challenge and inspire you!

You have to start by assigning a number to each polish in your stash - it doesn't matter how big or
small your collection is - you can still do this.

Here is a snapshot from my list in Excel format

The next step is to use the Random Number Generator to draw a number
(Min is always 1 and Max is the amount of polishes in your collection)

This is what is looks like

Once you have a number, match it to a polish in your stash:

 And that's it - that's the polish to use!
I chose to draw 2-3 numbers at a time and make them work together.

If you do try this - let me know and tag @cats_n_nails and also use the #RandomJuneMani tag.

Thanks for stopping by!

We have a winner!!!! Two actually...

Be sure to check your emails!

One is in Australia and the other one is in ..... ITALY!
UPDATE: the winner didn't reply, so there is an new winner in .... ROMANIA!

So excited to spread the love!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Loony Lacquer

I didn't get to finish this yesterday, but here is the last part of the Australian prize 

Source

Marie makes great polish from beautiful inspiration, like this one
from the Butterfly Wings collection that she kindly provided for the giveaway

Artificial Light

I layered Pearl Morpho over Zoya Phoebe for a breathtaking result

Artificial Light

I am now off to tally the results and draw the two winners - so good luck to all!

Make sure to check your emails later on tonight - I will not be announcing the names publicly,
so it's up to you to be vigilant and reply within the allocated time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Filling in for Cathy

Hey lady faces!
I'm so excited I can't sit still !!!

Hop on over to More Nail Polish and check out my tutorial on full nail water decals!

I'll be back later to show you the last giveaway prize.

Cheers!

Shades Of Phoenix

Hello lovelies!!! One more to show you for the international prize -

Source

If you don't know Teneil by now, you really should - she is taking over the world!

I was lucky to get her signature glitter for this giveaway!

Natural Light

I decided to swatch over OPI Casino Royale, but really it is very versatile -
a mix of hex, square and micro glitters - you can't go wrong!

Natural Light

Be sure to have a look at all the pretties in the etsy store.

If you're not in Australia, don't worry, Shades Of Phoenix is available through Color4Nails.

Thanks for stopping by!