Red Carpet Manicure Professional LED Starter Kit Review

Red Carpet Manicure - Professional Starter Kit £89.95 (buy here)

Shimmery Silhouette £12.95 (buy here)

I've been so excited to share this with you all as it is definitely my best purchase of the year!!

Most of you will know that I am obsessed with Shellac and if you don't - well check my previous Shellac posts here...  Like I said, obsessed.

Now, I have been fortunate enough to have a fab nail technician who is really cheap and does such an amazing job in my home town.  Unfortunately though, with me moving to Manchester for good soon, it means I will no longer be able to keep getting my nails done with her.  

What is worse is that the cost of Shellac manicures in Manchester doubles!! So I will be paying minimum £60 per month for my nails.  Now I just cannot justify that.  There are so many other things I would prefer to spend my money on. 

And after my most recent manicure experience which was in Manchester and did cost £30 and was RUBBISH I really cannot bear the thought. 

So with that in mind I decided to search for an at home kit.  Ideally, I would love to have tried Gelish or Shellac but these are really expensive and only available to the pro's in the uk.  Gelish is available to people at home from Sallys in the US though. 

So after having carried out some research I decided to take the plunge and go for the Professional Red Carpet Manicure Starter Kit.  

Firstly, can I just say I was so impressed with their service!! It turned up the next day and postage was free!! Amazing - especially because when you order online the excitement can be to much to bear when waiting for delivery!

What's in the box?

Professional LED Light (with timer function)

PURIFY Pre & Post Application Cleanser (59ml)

PREP Max Adhesion Sanitizer (9ml)

STRUCTURE Base Coat Gel (9ml)

BRILLIANCE Seal & Shine Top Coat Gel (9ml)

ERASE Gel Nail Polish Remover (59ml)

REVITALIZE Nourishing Cuticle Oil

LED Gel Polish (9ml) in Red Carpet Reddy

How does it work?

Basically, you apply polish and cure it under the LED light. 

Specifically it works like this...

After prepping the nail details of which can be found here, you carry out the following steps.

Step One:  apply base gel coat and cure for 30 seconds 

(I did 45 because that's the timer setting of the lamp)

Step Two: apply gel polish of your choice and cure for 45 seconds

 (kit comes with a red but I ordered a lighter shade also as red isn't a colour I would normally wear)

Step Three: repeat step two again.

Step Four: apply top gel coat and cure 

( I did two rounds of 45 seconds just to be on safe side)

Step Five: remove tacky layer with alcohol rub provided and voila!  Nails are ready to go!

Results - See below...

I absolutely love this system, I found it really easy and hope that it last as well as my shellac does.  I will keep you posted.  I like the colour but I don't think you get the full high shine effect with shimmery shades of gel polish so I am going to place another order and get some darker colours but also a really girlie bright one for holiday! I will keep you posted as to how it wears!!

Definitely recommend this - I seriously think I have found my new obsession and cannot wait to build my collection!! Best purchase ever!

Buy it here!

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How to wear Disco Pants!

River Island High Shine Tube Pants (buy here)
River Island Metallic Trim Vest (buy here)
DKNY Bucket Bag (buy here)
Primark Blazer
Giuseppe Zanotti Leather Lattice Peep Toe Shoe Boot (buy here)

So last week I embarked upon the task of locating a pair of Disco Pants I was happy with that didn't cost me an arm and a leg.  

Research did I!! There are definitely a lot of dupes out there, but I turned to Llymlrs and decided on the River Island Tube Pants as she described these as best dupes so far in terms of tightness of fit.

And man are they tight.  It's weird though because they are not remotely uncomfortable.  It's just tough to get them on.  And trust me I know - I ate a 3 course meal and still had room around the waist in them!

Unfortunately, due to forgetting my camera - once again it was a phone snap but I wanted to show how I wear them - which isn't too outrageous.

Which is my point as when I was looking for what to wear them with I really really struggled.  

I'll be honest, I can't wear them like a lot of you out there all tops tucked in and butt cheeks fully on show.  I mean don't get me wrong - you all look cracking in them - but I look RIDICulous.  Probably my age!

So here is how to wear them if you want to wear them as a smart skinny trouser.  Think step up from skinny jeans or leggings.

Who know's I might get a bit daring as I tone up a bit more - you will be the first to know if I do!!!

River island
$26 - riverisland.com

River Island high rise pants
$48 - riverisland.com

Giuseppe Zanotti high heel booties
$400 - flannelsfashion.com

VIcenza long chain necklace
$7.97 - debenhams.com

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What To Use For Perfect Hair - John Frieda Full Repair

Shampoo - £5.59 (link)
Conditioner - £5.59 (link)

Ok, so this review (along with a good few others) has been a long time coming.  I can only apologise.  Life has been hectic with trying to deal with work, commuting, looking for a flat to move to and trying to fit in some socialising along the way.

I wish I was much better at multi tasking, but I am not quite there yet.

Anyway, the good news is that whilst many of you may have now tried this, for those of you that have not my review is based on a month and a half's usage!! So very thorough!

I received these samples back in July and began using them straight away.  It was perfect timing because my hair was in dire condition, flyaway and frizzy and nothing I used seemed to ease that.

So I tried this in the hope of a miracle and that's practically what I got!

Why is it so good?

Well, firstly it smells lovely. 

Secondly, it does not leave me with build up or an irritated scalp (this is something I had been suffering with and was finding flakes to be a real problem as a result -  not good when you are brunette).

Thirdly, it seems to make drying my hair somehow easier.  

Fourthly, my hair dries less frizzy and straightens fantastically.  If I am wearing it curly I have so much less frizz than when I use other products.

Fifthly (and most importantly for me), it retains my style.  So I don't find that my hair immediately changes and becomes really frizzy when stepping out the door (this is with the added assistance of john frieda hair serum - which I always use and is the most consistent element of my hair routine and has been since I was 14).

Is it worth the price tag?

Yes.  Whilst I appreciate it is a little more than some of the other brands out there, I have used higher and lower end products and I think that this fits perfectly within it's pricing.  You are not paying too much (which I have done in the past for less impressive results) nor are you paying next to nothing but achieving poor results.  

Also, I haven't had to replace this yet in almost 2 months which is impressive for me (wash every other day and use a hellaload of conditioner)!

The good news is that they do a smaller travel sized version so you can always try that before you buy the full size!

I would definitely recommend this shampoo and conditioner and would love to hear how anyone else has got on with it!! I want to try the other products in the range yet so if you have tried and reviewed send me your links!!

Also, the John Frieda team are on YouTube!

Next mission - create the perfect top not!

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Grey Day

It's at moments like these I wish I had a better camera!
Jacket - Primark - 5 years ago!
Top - H&M - this season
Jeans - Top Shop
Boots - Primark
Necklace - Primark

Hey lovelies! It's been a while, but without going into too much detail things have been really hectic!

Hopefully normal posting shall resume shortly.  I have some amazing products to tell you about that I am LOVING right now!

In the meantime, here's a cheesy and not so great quality picture of me.  The boyf and I went for day time food and drinks and I felt this was appropriate.

The weather is definitely turning nasty so it's back to the practical clothing.  Hence the jacket and boots.

The boots are a fab pair I found in Primark by the way for £15!  Bargain!

Hope to be back on the weight loss this week, things have stagnated slightly since the bank holiday so I need to get back on it!! Only 4 weeks until beach holiday!! Eek. The panic is on so if you have any tips feel free to let me know!!

x

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