Showing posts with label NOTD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NOTD. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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| No Flash - indoors |
Sorry for the super long heading - I couldn't think of anything imaginative. My brain is fried from all the nail art I have been pinning on Pinterest!
Decided to put some of it into practice - very basic I know, but I found some nail art tools I purchased from ebay around 5 years ago and finally opened the package! I used the dotting tool only and found there was even a knack to that!
Looking forward to perfecting some other skills.
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| With Flash - indoors |
Can't wait!
Anyway, The colours used are Mint Shellac - St Petersburg as the base (I've got to be honest, this chips really easily so I am not holding out much hope of it lasting), Gelish - You're So Sweet You Give Me Toothache as the light pink dots on my thumb nail, Red Carpet Manicure - Parisian Chic and Mint Shellac - San Diego.
Love a good manicure. Here's hoping that it will last!
Monday, 5 May 2014
I love looking at nail colours/art/styles and always mean to share whatever gel polish I am wearing, but somehow always forget to picture my nails other than on my phone. Therefore the quality is usually a bit poor and unblog-worthy.
I will make more of an effort I promise.
However, here is one that I did manage to photograph, although it must have been a while ago! I always go back to this shade though - it's so pretty and I love the name of it!
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Hey lovelies!!!
Hope your week is going well! I'm on the countdown to my holiday now - tres excited! 4 days until I'm in Egypt! Woo!
Anyway, you obviously now know that I'm obsessed with Gel Nail polish.
It started with Shellac. Ahhhh 2 weeks of beautifully polished nails. That are now long for the first time in my life, all because the polish acts like a protective layer on my nails stopping them from breaking. Result.
However, I'm moving to Manchester this month and that means I can no longer get my nails done as cheap. Booooo. Plus the experience I did have left a LOT to be desired for. I won't name names but a very poor salon experience.
So, cue the at home gel polish kit! What a life saver. I bought the red carpet manicure system because its pretty cheap and there are a good few American reviews out there (seems to be more popular there at the moment).
Sensationail (by Nailene) also do an at home kit too. Obviously I won't be buying the whole system as I love the red carpet manicure one, but because it's sold in Boots it's a lot easier to just buy a polish when passing.
Which is what I did.
And I'm so glad. This is my favourite at home gel polish so far. I love the colour and it applied so nicely. It has a finer brush than the rcm ones which means you can get right to the edge without accidentally catching your skin with polish!
I absolutely love it! And I am definitely getting more colours now! I just hope they bring out even more in time....
Hope your week is going well! I'm on the countdown to my holiday now - tres excited! 4 days until I'm in Egypt! Woo!
Anyway, you obviously now know that I'm obsessed with Gel Nail polish.
It started with Shellac. Ahhhh 2 weeks of beautifully polished nails. That are now long for the first time in my life, all because the polish acts like a protective layer on my nails stopping them from breaking. Result.
However, I'm moving to Manchester this month and that means I can no longer get my nails done as cheap. Booooo. Plus the experience I did have left a LOT to be desired for. I won't name names but a very poor salon experience.
So, cue the at home gel polish kit! What a life saver. I bought the red carpet manicure system because its pretty cheap and there are a good few American reviews out there (seems to be more popular there at the moment).
Sensationail (by Nailene) also do an at home kit too. Obviously I won't be buying the whole system as I love the red carpet manicure one, but because it's sold in Boots it's a lot easier to just buy a polish when passing.
Which is what I did.
And I'm so glad. This is my favourite at home gel polish so far. I love the colour and it applied so nicely. It has a finer brush than the rcm ones which means you can get right to the edge without accidentally catching your skin with polish!
I absolutely love it! And I am definitely getting more colours now! I just hope they bring out even more in time....
Sunday, 16 September 2012
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| Red Carpet Manicure - Professional Starter Kit £89.95 (buy here) |
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| 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!
Saturday, 9 June 2012
The difficulty this time though was what colour to have - I mean the weather is vile so a summery one is out but then I didn't want a dark wintery one either!
So I opted for what I like to call 'Lady' nails!
A lovely French polish. It was a teeny bit more expensive but only by £3.
Hoping that I don't get bored of this one! The pink I had last time got annoying and didn't last well either!!!
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Obviously though, with it lasting so long you need a colour that you won't get too bored with. Which is tough. I love dark colours for that, it is easier to get tired with bright colours.
Dark colours can also seem a bit out of place in these months. So this time I went for a nude. I wanted a little more character to it though so I had a shimmer put on top also.
The colour combination is cocoa and iced coral. I like the combination but I must say, I thought it would be more of a gold shimmer than the greeny tinge it has!! I still like it but I think I need to opt for a more gold shimmer next time!
There are loads of colour combinations online which are much more exciting which is great for a bit of variety!
What do you think?
Anyone else mix colours when having a gel manicure?
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
 |
| The Process |
 |
| Before |
 |
| After (No.1) |
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| After (No.2) |
As a lot of you will know, I've become addicted to getting a gel manicure. It has meant that my once short, uneven and downright nasty nails have actually grown without breaking off and look nice and neat for 2 weeks at a time.
The process involved is basically a gel base coat, 2 layers of gel polish and then a gel top coat. All cured under a 36watt UV lamp.
I really enjoy going and getting them done and my nail technician is both good and lovely and she only charges £15.
Now I know in the grand scheme of things £15 isn't that much, however I go every two weeks - therefore it ends up being £30/month. That's ok but I'm trying to save a deposit for a house so any chance I have to shave off the monthly outgoings is good to me.
So when KGB had a deal for a gel manicure set for £79 I thought why not and that I would have made my money back in a few months.
So firstly - the kit. It's by Gellure - one of the many at home manicure brands it's hard to find much out about. They have one video on YouTube and that is it. They sell through BodyReform.
When considering whether or not to purchase I had a look for some reviews and there weren't many, but the couple I found were positive.
So, usage then.
Not great. First thing to note is the lamp is 9 watt only. My heart literally sank when I saw this. I had attempted to contact them to ask on YouTube but hadn't had a reply and maybe I shouldn't have purchased on this basis but stupidly I assumed it could only be 36watt.
So obviously, curing time is longer. I can handle that. What I couldn't really stand was the fact the actual gel polish was a NIGHTMARE to apply and full of fibres!!! I couldn't believe it. So basically, I'd apply a layer or part of one and then the brush would pull it off with the next stroke. Painful.
Anyway, I applied a much thicker coat the second time and it made it a bit better but I'd say slightly uneven in terms of finish. Definitely not rivalling Shellac. Top coat on and cured and the result was as shown above (after no.1)
The random thumb picture is to demonstrate that curing won't work on thumbs unless you do them separately, as the cleanser you use at the end just dragged it back off!
I could see that within a day though it just wasn't going to last so I applied a further coat and top coat which resulted in after no.2. Which was a little dark but much better finish.
And now to wearability. My nails feel like paper again, despite the layers being as thick as when I have had Shellac. It's just not a strong and has resulted in 3 nail breaks. Unhappy times.
What I would say though is that aside from the broken nails it has lasted in terms of chips etc. I'm on day 13 today and it's still in tact, but it doesn't look as fresh or shiny as Shellac.
Overall thoughts?
Not the best quality. If you want a long lasting nail colour then this may be ok for you. If you want strength too, maybe not.
For me this wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be, but it will do for emergencies - like if I can't make a nail appointment one week. I don't think though that I would recommend it.
The process involved is basically a gel base coat, 2 layers of gel polish and then a gel top coat. All cured under a 36watt UV lamp.
I really enjoy going and getting them done and my nail technician is both good and lovely and she only charges £15.
Now I know in the grand scheme of things £15 isn't that much, however I go every two weeks - therefore it ends up being £30/month. That's ok but I'm trying to save a deposit for a house so any chance I have to shave off the monthly outgoings is good to me.
So when KGB had a deal for a gel manicure set for £79 I thought why not and that I would have made my money back in a few months.
So firstly - the kit. It's by Gellure - one of the many at home manicure brands it's hard to find much out about. They have one video on YouTube and that is it. They sell through BodyReform.
When considering whether or not to purchase I had a look for some reviews and there weren't many, but the couple I found were positive.
So, usage then.
Not great. First thing to note is the lamp is 9 watt only. My heart literally sank when I saw this. I had attempted to contact them to ask on YouTube but hadn't had a reply and maybe I shouldn't have purchased on this basis but stupidly I assumed it could only be 36watt.
So obviously, curing time is longer. I can handle that. What I couldn't really stand was the fact the actual gel polish was a NIGHTMARE to apply and full of fibres!!! I couldn't believe it. So basically, I'd apply a layer or part of one and then the brush would pull it off with the next stroke. Painful.
Anyway, I applied a much thicker coat the second time and it made it a bit better but I'd say slightly uneven in terms of finish. Definitely not rivalling Shellac. Top coat on and cured and the result was as shown above (after no.1)
The random thumb picture is to demonstrate that curing won't work on thumbs unless you do them separately, as the cleanser you use at the end just dragged it back off!
I could see that within a day though it just wasn't going to last so I applied a further coat and top coat which resulted in after no.2. Which was a little dark but much better finish.
And now to wearability. My nails feel like paper again, despite the layers being as thick as when I have had Shellac. It's just not a strong and has resulted in 3 nail breaks. Unhappy times.
What I would say though is that aside from the broken nails it has lasted in terms of chips etc. I'm on day 13 today and it's still in tact, but it doesn't look as fresh or shiny as Shellac.
Overall thoughts?
Not the best quality. If you want a long lasting nail colour then this may be ok for you. If you want strength too, maybe not.
For me this wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be, but it will do for emergencies - like if I can't make a nail appointment one week. I don't think though that I would recommend it.
Saturday, 14 April 2012
OK, so I have literally walked in the house, got the MacBook out and started taking pictures. This is all because i want to share with you my love of Shellac!
Seriously, it is just divine. This is my 4th manicure using it and I seriously wouldn't stop now. It's just amazing. My nails look nicer, it lasts for 2 weeks at least and it is just divine.
In particular, today's colour - Hot Chillis. How fit. haha. I hardly say that now but today it is warranted.
Eeek amazingness!! I want this colour forever!
It's the perfect combination between red and pink and will go with pretty much everything. I am sure there will be a few raised eyebrows at work next week but ah well - it's going to be there for 2 weeks so may as well get used to it!!
Anyway, what I wanted to say really was for anyone thinking of trying Shellac just go for it. I was hesitant at first and I am so glad I have now used it. It is amazing. It lasts and rarely chips. (I think that is due to the solar oil also). I could go for 3 weeks without changing but the grow out is too much!
My nails have never been as nice or long naturally and it is all down to this!!
Does anyone else get this done and share the love!?
Seriously, it is just divine. This is my 4th manicure using it and I seriously wouldn't stop now. It's just amazing. My nails look nicer, it lasts for 2 weeks at least and it is just divine.
In particular, today's colour - Hot Chillis. How fit. haha. I hardly say that now but today it is warranted.
It's the perfect combination between red and pink and will go with pretty much everything. I am sure there will be a few raised eyebrows at work next week but ah well - it's going to be there for 2 weeks so may as well get used to it!!
Anyway, what I wanted to say really was for anyone thinking of trying Shellac just go for it. I was hesitant at first and I am so glad I have now used it. It is amazing. It lasts and rarely chips. (I think that is due to the solar oil also). I could go for 3 weeks without changing but the grow out is too much!
My nails have never been as nice or long naturally and it is all down to this!!
Does anyone else get this done and share the love!?
Sunday, 18 March 2012
So off I went to the salon on Saturday to get my nails done again. I was very excited with it being the second time I have ever had Shellac done.
My previous colour was growing out and I couldn't wait for a change.
I went with the intention of going lighter this time, but as soon as I was shown this colour I couldn't resist.
I must say, given that the colour I had on my toes was near enough the same - it felt like fate!
I absolutely love this colour, it pretty much goes with everything and what you can see here is that it has a shimmer in it which is just so pretty.
Now I promised you an update before I changed my colour so here are my nails at 11 days...
As you can see my nails had grown quite a lot and I desperately needed to sort out my thumb nail. Which we did by using some nail glue before adding the shellac polish when putting the new colour on.
All in all though I think not bad at all considering it had been on for 11 days. I am almost certain that I would have made it to 14 days without any further chips - which is good because it makes the treatment totally worth while.
In terms of the thumb - that was just bad luck. In all honesty, for me I am already a convert and addicted because usually all my nails do this and whilst they grow quickly, they usually break as quick, so I am definitely excited to see how my nails are after a couple more weeks!
What do you think this time ladies of the colour? Anyone else a recent Shellac convert!?
My previous colour was growing out and I couldn't wait for a change.
I went with the intention of going lighter this time, but as soon as I was shown this colour I couldn't resist.
I must say, given that the colour I had on my toes was near enough the same - it felt like fate!
I absolutely love this colour, it pretty much goes with everything and what you can see here is that it has a shimmer in it which is just so pretty.
Now I promised you an update before I changed my colour so here are my nails at 11 days...
As you can see my nails had grown quite a lot and I desperately needed to sort out my thumb nail. Which we did by using some nail glue before adding the shellac polish when putting the new colour on.
All in all though I think not bad at all considering it had been on for 11 days. I am almost certain that I would have made it to 14 days without any further chips - which is good because it makes the treatment totally worth while.
In terms of the thumb - that was just bad luck. In all honesty, for me I am already a convert and addicted because usually all my nails do this and whilst they grow quickly, they usually break as quick, so I am definitely excited to see how my nails are after a couple more weeks!
What do you think this time ladies of the colour? Anyone else a recent Shellac convert!?
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
So, as promised, here are my nails 7 days on from being done...
I've been using my solar oil twice daily and on the whole, aside from grow out I think they have faired pretty well, although I did chip my right thumb when I got to work this morning. I basically caught it against the hard buckle on my bag but head on. If it had been my own nail I'm sure it would have just snapped off, so in a way a chip isn't that much of a prob. That said, technically I should have 7 days left.
The chip is desperately trying to peel down my thumb nail but as its not come off completely I've tried to almost press it back to the shape of my nail. It seems to be working, for now...
I'm still really happy about these though. Primarily, I got them done so my nails will grown underneath which is working so far.
In terms of the look I'm still getting compliments and my nails still look shiny and neat on my other fingers.
Unless things go horribly wrong I'll update again on saturday before I get them done again which will be 11 days.
Back to the solar oil...
I've been using my solar oil twice daily and on the whole, aside from grow out I think they have faired pretty well, although I did chip my right thumb when I got to work this morning. I basically caught it against the hard buckle on my bag but head on. If it had been my own nail I'm sure it would have just snapped off, so in a way a chip isn't that much of a prob. That said, technically I should have 7 days left.
The chip is desperately trying to peel down my thumb nail but as its not come off completely I've tried to almost press it back to the shape of my nail. It seems to be working, for now...
I'm still really happy about these though. Primarily, I got them done so my nails will grown underneath which is working so far.
In terms of the look I'm still getting compliments and my nails still look shiny and neat on my other fingers.
Unless things go horribly wrong I'll update again on saturday before I get them done again which will be 11 days.
Back to the solar oil...
Sunday, 11 March 2012
So I had my first Shellac Manicure on Tuesday. My sister has been having it done for a few months now and I have intended to - only hadn't got around to it.
For those of you that don't know, Shellac is a "power polish" which has the ease of nail polish with the performance of gels. It should last around 14 days and (provided professionally removed) should not damage nails. You apply a base coat and dry under UV lamp, two coats of polish and two times dried under lamp and a final top coat also dried under UV lamp. I'd say it takes around an hour.
So whilst I was off work on holiday before my trip to Amsterdam (which by the way was amazing!) I nipped to a local salon and paid £15 for this lovely job...
For those of you that don't know, Shellac is a "power polish" which has the ease of nail polish with the performance of gels. It should last around 14 days and (provided professionally removed) should not damage nails. You apply a base coat and dry under UV lamp, two coats of polish and two times dried under lamp and a final top coat also dried under UV lamp. I'd say it takes around an hour.
So whilst I was off work on holiday before my trip to Amsterdam (which by the way was amazing!) I nipped to a local salon and paid £15 for this lovely job...
I so love them!! Sadly, I had got my nails a little longer than this pre-manicure but two broke the day before (typical) so the lady tidied them up so that they should grow into a nice shape.
Today is Sunday and I am 5 days in with no chips so far - there is a little bit of grow out but not so as you would notice. They aren't quite as shiny now, but definitely not dull either. I will do a 7 day picture update, but I am getting them done next saturday so that will be the 11th day - which I will photograph too but you will have to wait until next time for the full 14 day update.
I am already excited for my next colour - I suppose that is the only draw back - you can get a little bored of the same colour for so long!
What do you think ladies? Do any of you have this done?
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
You may recall my post the other day I used this polish with No7's Highland Mist to create a pretty with a punch look. Today I have gone for the old fashioned nude understated groomed look (I hope) which is always perfect for any occasion.
I absolutely love this colour and I am so glad I got it for free with Marie Claire. It's super quick to dry, applies beautifully and lasts. What more does a girl want.
I know quite a few of you got this shade also, so no doubt you are enjoying it as much as me. I feel like such a lady when I wear it. No wonder it's called My Fair Lady!
Monday, 22 August 2011
So I thought I would jump on the glitter on the nails bandwagon and purchase myself a black nail polish and some Gosh Nail Glitter.
I purposely created a slightly more messy nail tip look - I didn't want it to look "done". Which resulted in the below look. I did a diagonal line across the thumb just to break things up a bit too. I like inconsistency when it comes to nail art.
Below is what I used to create the above look. I painted my nails black and then applied the top coat where I wanted the glitter to be and rather than dip my nail in the pot as suggested I dabbed the glitter on with the pictured brush.
This created less mess but also meant that the glitter went on finer rather than creating a band of opaque glitter. I then applied the clear on top as a top coat to secure it all which is why the glitter has spread along all the nail slightly too. Which I liked.
I purposely created a slightly more messy nail tip look - I didn't want it to look "done". Which resulted in the below look. I did a diagonal line across the thumb just to break things up a bit too. I like inconsistency when it comes to nail art.
Below is what I used to create the above look. I painted my nails black and then applied the top coat where I wanted the glitter to be and rather than dip my nail in the pot as suggested I dabbed the glitter on with the pictured brush.
This created less mess but also meant that the glitter went on finer rather than creating a band of opaque glitter. I then applied the clear on top as a top coat to secure it all which is why the glitter has spread along all the nail slightly too. Which I liked.
I wore this look for two days before getting bored with it. (I usually find that happens when I wear a strong colour/look) It wasn't chipping but was starting to look slightly messy.
I think that from experience with nail polish etc on false and natural nails - this would probably work better on false nails but for use for a fresh look for a night out this is the perfect product and should be something every girl has. They have lots of colours to choose from including pink, lavender and silver. They are sold at Superdrug for £3.99.
One message of warning though - it's an absolute b*Tch to remove, so leave yourself plenty of time as it is definitely not something you want to do last minute before work on a Monday morning...
Saturday, 20 August 2011
I used No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour - Highland Mist
and Ciate Paint Pots - My Fair Lady
This is a look I am carrying through to today from yesterday. Both of these colours are beautiful on their own, and both of them are new.
I picked up the Ciate Polish with Marie Claire this month and the No7 Polish for £2 at Boots with my No7 £5 off voucher (I still have two more to use).
As they are both so pretty and new I couldn't decide which I wanted to wear and therefore opted for both. Hence the above look!
Hope you like - I certainly do and got lots of compliments at work. Felt really quite creative!
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Hey Lovelies!
Quick NOTD time. I've just taken all my falsies off and painted them ready for hols. My fingers look like stumps! haha
Ah well. This is the nail polish I got with this months Elle Magazine. I wanted a muted shade so that I could get away with wearing it for work which I think is perfect.
It takes two coats to get to this finish but dries pretty quickly and evenly.
As you can see the shade is very cool, which is very fitting for all the wintery weather we seem to be having at the moment. Plus it not only goes with a lot of my navy, blue and grey themed work wardrobe - but also my grey hoodie collection!! haha
Any of you try these Elle Nail Polishes?
Quick NOTD time. I've just taken all my falsies off and painted them ready for hols. My fingers look like stumps! haha
Ah well. This is the nail polish I got with this months Elle Magazine. I wanted a muted shade so that I could get away with wearing it for work which I think is perfect.
It takes two coats to get to this finish but dries pretty quickly and evenly.
As you can see the shade is very cool, which is very fitting for all the wintery weather we seem to be having at the moment. Plus it not only goes with a lot of my navy, blue and grey themed work wardrobe - but also my grey hoodie collection!! haha
Any of you try these Elle Nail Polishes?
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Used:-
Barry M shade Grey
And attempted nail art using BornPretty gems. I definitely need to practice!!
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
I love this shade. It is perfect for the winter months for exuding a dark and mysterious mood.
It works perfectly with any LBD you may have for the party season and also as well with your fingerless gloves on long walks (yes, it's hard work showing off your pretty nails in such cold weather - but it just has to be done).
Gotta love a bit of wintery dark nail times.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
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