My hunt for the perfect nude/neutral nail polish has been a long one, but I think my quest may finally be over.

I used to think it was OPI Malaysian Mist, but in retrospect the colour was a bit too pink for my liking. I really need a colour so neutral that it simply enhances your natural nails rather than gives them too much colour. This is mainly because I’m incredibly lazy with my nails and don’t want to have to touch the colour up every time a bit chips off.

Anyhow, my holy grail of neutral nail colour is from the same brand as Malaysian Mist - OPI Privacy Please. It’s not as pink as what it appears in the picture - I guess it’s best described as a very pale pink with a matte finish.

The site I’ve linked to here is selling it for $15.95, but I managed to find it at one of those small suburban nail salons for $15.

By Caroline Warnes

Want to know a quick and easy way to brighten up the dull winter days that lie ahead of us?

Yes, I may be jumping the gun with this just a little, but I can definitely feel the chill in the air lately and I’m coming to terms with the fact that winter is just around the corner.

Anyhow, I just discovered the new OPI Suede range and I’m loving it. It consists of six new variations of existing OPI shades, jazzed up with some spangles and sparkles.

Pictured here is my favourite, OPI Ink Suede, but you can also get a hold of Suede versions of Russian Navy, Suzy Skis in the Pyrenees, You Don’t Know Jacques, We’ll Always Have Paris and the ever-popular Lincoln Park After Dark.

For $19.95 a bottle, OPI Suede is definitely a winter must-have.

You can find an OPI stockist near you at the website.

By Caroline Warnes

OPI is usually my nail polish of choice, but I recently tried Chimera, a brand that is fairly comparable in terms of price, and am so far pretty happy with the result.

While OPI retails for around $20 per bottle, Chimera sells for $14.95 per bottle and although the price is cheaper, the performance seems to be just as good.

I tried shade 129, Bronze Me Up, which doesn’t come out a true bronze, nor is it similar to the photo. It’s a very pale gold with a hint of silver. I don’t usually like metallic/glittery polishes, but this one is quite pleasing and doesn’t look too out there. Keep the rest of your jewellery and outfit simple and you can get away with it. I also notice it’s reduced to $7.50 on the site, which is a bit of a bargain.

In terms of longevity, I painted my nails on Sunday night and they’re still going well today, with only a couple of chips at the end. This is pretty good for someone who spends a lot of their day on a computer.

You can buy Chimera nail polish online, or alternatively find stockists in selected Australian states (also available at the website).

By Caroline Warnes

As with all cosmetics, buying the right nail polish for your hands or feet can sometimes be a tricky business.

What looks good on your friend or some celebrity you saw in a magazine may not necessarily suit your skin tone, natural colouring and more.

I stumbled across the OPI Nail Studio, which is basically an online simulator to give you an idea of what shade of OPI nail polish is right for you. OPI is pretty much my favourite nail polish brand - there’s a huge range of colours and the price is reasonable - you’ll usually pick up a bottle for around $20.

You can set your skin tone and nail length then test out the different shades from the various collections to see how they’ll look on you. I’ve decided I like the look of the Go on Green colour (pictured here on my approximate skin tone and nail length).

I’d love to see OPI develop a tool like this for feet too - not because I desperately need it to make an informed decision but because I’ve had fun playing with the hand generator for the last half hour and need more entertainment.

You’ll also find OPI’s Australian stockists at the site.

By Caroline Warnes

Continuing Target’s fine tradition of bringing affordable designer collaborations is news that a range of nail polishes by Natalie Bloom will be released in-store in October.

The range - B Collection by Bloom - will consist of more than 70 shades of colourful nail polishes.

Natalie Bloom’s main collection, Bloom Cosmetics, is one of Australia’s best-loved beauty brands and if the quality of the main collection is anything to go by, the Target range should be worth a look.

More information on pricing will be released closer to the launch date next month.

By Caroline Warnes

Napoleon Perdis is set to launch a cosmetics range inspired by a racy historical figure from the early 20th century known as the Divine Marchesa.

The original Divine Miss M, also known as the Marchesa Luisa Casati, was a favourite of the European fashion and art crowd around the turn of the century. Headstrong and beautiful, she has subsequently proved to be a muse to the likes of everyone from writer Jack Kerouac to designer John Galliano.

The Napoleon Perdis Divine Marchesa cosmetics range will arrive in several weeks and will consist of three items - Boudoir Mist Spray Foundation, Dramatic Eye Shadow Quad and Black Sapphire, which is a matte black nail polish.

Plus, if you order a Boudoir Mist Spray Foundation online now you also get a free Ravishing Rose Lip Shine.

By Caroline Warnes

I was in Priceline the other evening buying the hair dye that I SO don’t really need when a range of cosmetics called Savvy by DB caught my eye.

Not being as obsessed with cosmetics and nail polish as I am with, say, shoes, I can usually walk past a cosmetic display without feeling the need to make an impulse purchase. But these particular items had the most attractive price tag of $3 each, so I thought why not?

I purchased myself a bottle of Savvy by DB nail polish in a lovely shade of garish pink and went home to apply it immediately. This was on Thursday, it’s now Monday and I haven’t really noticed any chipping. Plus, the colour cheered me up immensely over the weekend. What better way to add colour to a dull winter weekend than walking around looking like a packet of Hubba Bubba threw up on your toes?

The Savvy by DB range has a variety of make up products, including glosses and eye shadows, and is stocked exclusively at Priceline.

By Caroline Warnes

As previously mentioned, I am on a pretty strict spending ban at present, but for Ulta3 nail polish, I think I can make an exception.

That’s because Ulta3 nail polish sells for just $2 at selected pharmacies, including Terry White Chemists. That means that for the price of just two Coke Zeros from the office vending machine, I can have myself a brand new polish.

Unlike the other el cheapo nail polish brands you pick up from pharmacies and the like, Ulta3 is actually decent and long-lasting. I bought one last week and six days later, it’s still going strong.

Call 1800 181 040 to find an Ulta3 stockist near you.

By Caroline Warnes

I am the Queen of the short-lived home manicure.

Whenever I paint my nails at home, they always end up chipping as early as 12 hours later, no matter how hard I try to preserve them (which can be difficult when you spend most of your working week typing).

This annoys the hell out of me and also prevents me from wearing dark colours on my nails too often, seeing as I’d have to be painting them every second day, which frankly I don’t have time for (especially during the TV ratings season).

A friend of mine recommended OPI Ridge Filler, a surface smoother that contains natural silk to even out nails. Of course, OPI makes the best moderately-priced nail colours going around, and I don’t mind paying the standard $20 for my OPI top coat colours. However if you’re on a budget, $20 can be a bit pricey for ridge filler, which is essentially an undercoat.

I was browsing around in Priceline the other day and came across a product called Cutex Smooth & Strong, which is also a ridge filler-cum-nail treatment. With an RRP of $6.95, it’s far more affordable, too.

I applied the Smooth & Strong as a base coat on Sunday afternoon, and nearly two days later I have no chips and the finish feels much smoother than usual. I used it with a single coat of OPI Malaysian Mist on top.

By Caroline Warnes

If you had told me just a few months ago that I would be hankering after grey nail polish, I probably would have laughed at you.

However I am very easily influenced by the media and celebrities and after seeing Gwyneth Paltrow sport the look at a movie premiere last month, my opinion on grey nail polish has slowly shifted from “yuck” to “that’s kind of cool” to “I have to have it” in the last few days.

This isn’t teenage sparkly silver we’re talking about - this look is a matte, true grey that doesn’t quite have the depressed emo vibe of black nail polish, nor the twee Disney feel of pink shades.

The perfect shade at this stage looks to be OPI Sheer Your Toys, from the Holiday in Toyland collection, which I plan to test out this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By Caroline Warnes