Showing posts with label nails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nails. Show all posts

Monday, 8 December 2014

Bourjois 1 Seconde Gel Nail Polish in 34 Violine Hypnotique | Swatches & Review


Size: 9ml

Stockists: Boots & Superdrug

Price: £5.99 (here)


Pros: The finish of this is very shiny and 'polished', maybe not as good as gel, but it's very nice for a regular nail polish. The formula is super opaque meaning I only needed one coat, which I love since i'm super lazy with my nails! The brush is hands-down the best nail polish brush i've ever used - it's short and fat which makes the application really quick and easy. And lastly, this does dry super fast - 1 second may be a little bit of exaggeration, but it's definitely under 30, which is pretty impressive in my book!

Cons: Although I adore this colour, overall I was quite disappointed with the colour range. The only other con I found was that it did chip quite easily - definitely needs a top coat.

I would definitely recommend this nail polish, it's opaque formula, amazing brush, quick drying formula and gorgeous colour make it a clear winner for me!

Have any of you guys tried this or any other colours from the 1 seconde range? Let me know!

xo

Thursday, 30 October 2014

Easy Halloween Nail Art



I was inspired by these nails, posted on Primark's Instagram account, created by user @kayleighjeana. I thought they looked so effective yet relatively easy compared to some of the other Halloween- themed nail art that I've seen.

Obviously, the fact that these nails are amazingly long and pointed, adds to the Halloween look. Unfortunately for me, i'm not blessed with strong or fast-growing nails so mine look a little pathetic compared with these babies! But as far as the polish goes, i'm really happy with how they turned out :)

I started with a clear base coat, then painted on two coats of Model's Own 'Snow White'. Once the white was dry, I took Model's Own 'Red Red Wine' and, one nail at a time, I dotted it thickly along the edge, before taking a q-tip/cotton bud to smudge and drag it down the nail. I also used the length of a pin to create the lines and the end of the pin to make small dots with the red. Once it was all dry, I applied a clear top coat to seal it all together.

You don't have to use the same polishes as me, any red and white will do, or you could experiment with different colours - black nails with green 'slime' could look really cool! 

Hope you guys have fun experimenting with all aspects of your costumes! Happy Halloween! :)

xo

Tuesday, 19 August 2014

Rimmel Funtime Fuschia Nail Polish | Review


Size: 8ml

Stockists: Boots & Superdrug stores & online

Price: Usually £3.69, currently on sale for £2.69!

Pros: Lovely, bright, hot pink colour. Super shiny finish. Long lasting/doesn't chip easily. Quick drying, maybe not quite 60 seconds, but its pretty fast! I also love the extra large brush, makes application a lot quicker and easier.

Cons: I struggle to find a con to be honest. The only negative i can think of it that there was some slight 'bubbling' (has anyone else experienced this?) on a few of my nails. However, that might be due to my poor application rather than there being anything amiss with the polish.

Overall, I love it! Fun, bright, shiny and long lasting.

xo

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

How to Fix a Broken Nail

Do your nails ever break so low down that you can't cut them off? They split on the edge almost halfway down your nail and yet no matter how many times you paint over it continues to split more and more, catching on your hair or clothing, breaking further and further across your nail bed and becoming really sore.

This often happens to me, especially on my thumb nails for some reason. In the past i've always done one of two things: Either, gone through the pain of cutting it off, ending up with an extremely short nail and a very sore, or sometimes even bleeding nail bed. Or, if i couldn't bear to cut it, i've wrapped it in sticky plaster to stop it catching on things, which always looks rubbish and comes off every time i wash my hands.

However, i have recently discovered a new method which works like a dream! Hoorayyy! The nail spilt is fixed completely which means no more painful catching and pulling, plus it lasts ages and when you paint over it it looks like a perfectly normal, unbroken nail. It's a tad fiddly but the results are well worth it!

What you'll need:
sellotape, tissue, a fairly rough nail file, super glue & tweezers
Before you start make sure your nail is completely bare, clean and oil free

Step 1:
- Wrap you finger in selloptape, leaving only the section of the nail that is split bare. You should try to get the tape as close to the edge of your nail as possible, and underneath the tip of it if you can. This will stop the super glue seeping through the split and sticking to your skin.

Step 2:
- Take your tissue roll, and if double-ply, split it in half leaving yourself with the two thin layers.
Step 3:
- Rip a small piece off one of the thin layers. It should be just a little bigger than the section of nail where the split is so that it's enough to cover it completely.

Step 4:
- Holding your section of tissue in the tweezers with one hand, use your other hand to squeeze out a few drops of super glue onto it, then place it onto your nail, over the split. Use the back of the tweezer to press it firmly onto the nail and flatten it out, be quick though otherwise the tissue will stick to the tweezers! Once happy with the position, leave the tissue to dry hard onto your nail.
first layer applied, second layer dry and tape removed
*Tip* One layer is sometimes enough, however just to be safe, i'd recommend repeating steps 3 and 4 and applying a second layer for extra reinforcement.

Step 5:
- Once the tissue is completely dry and hard, carefully remove the sellotape from your finger.

Step 6:
- Use the nail file to file away all the loose rough edges, and file down the superglued area until it is flush with the rest of your nail and feels smooth if you run your finger over it.
Tissue paper filed down and away until smooth, a clear polish applied, and the final result - smooth and split free! 
Step 7:
- Apply a clear nail polish to secure it in place and give a super smooth result. Then you can go ahead and apply whatever colour polish you want! Job done! I used 'Funtime Fushia' by Rimmel, review here!

Your new repaired nail should last you a pretty long time, especially if you keep it painted. Obviously still be careful with it, but you no longer need to worry about it catching on hair or clothing. 

Hope this has been helpful to some of you :)

xo

Monday, 2 June 2014

Model's Own HyperGel Nail Polish in Turquoise Gloss & Naked Glow | Review

Size: 14ml

Stockists: Model's Own, Asos, Boots.

Price: £5 each

Turquoise Gloss

This polish is such a fun colour - a bright, luminescent turquoise, it's perfect for summer, and adds a really uplifting pop of colour to any outfit.

Naked Glow

I love this natural, mocha colour. It's wearable any time of year and is a perfect natural colour for school or work.


Formula: I found the formula of both of these polishes extremely thick. You know when you've had a polish for a bit too long and it goes kind of gloopy? They're like that. It made them really difficult to apply neatly. The turquoise took one thick coat, i tried to do two thin ones but found getting only a thin coating pretty much impossible. The formula of the mocha one was slightly less thick and therefore slightly easier to apply. It took two coats. I applied a clear top coat over both the polishes.

Finish: The idea of these polishes, as stated on the lid, is that they give a 'gel effect'. I've got to say that I was kind of disappointed. Although they do give a lovely, high-shine finish, i cant say that i'd tell the difference between them and any other 'normal' nail polishes. This finish is definitely not as shiny and flawless as the finish of real gel polish.

Staying Power: The staying power of these was really average - I got about 1-2 days out of them before they started to chip.

Have you guys tired any of the models own hyper gel polishes? What do you think? I'd love to know!

xo

Friday, 2 May 2014

Topshop Nail Polish in AWOL | Review

Size: 8ml

Stockists: Topshop stores and Topshop.com

Price: £5

I am so in love with this colour! I've wanted a blue nail polish for a few months now and i'd heard good things about Topshop's Celestial so i actually went with the intention of getting that. But i spotted this and much preferred it, I think it's more of an all year round colour too so more wear = more for my money ;)

Pros: Beautiful colour. 2 coats is all you need. Doesn't streak.

Cons: This chips so easily! It's really frustrating. I can do a base coat, 2 layers of colour and a top coat but it will have chipped within a couple of hours! And i don't just mean 'oh look, a miniscule bit has chipped off the corner of one nail', big chunks at the tips will have chipped off at least half of my nails! Makes me sad :'( any tips on how i can solve it guys?

Other than the chipping issue, i do really love this colour, looks really nice with rings too :) any any of you tried it? What do you think?

Tuesday, 15 April 2014

Guest Post: Holly's Spring/Summer Nail Polish Picks

A couple of weeks ago, I posted this interview with Holly from 'Holly La Beau', along with promises of impending guest posts. Well that time has come (wooooo) and here are some of Holly's top nail polishes for spring and summer. I'm pretty much in love with all of these colours, but ‘Caliente Coral’ looks especially summery.

Spring/summer is all about the pastels and the brights, as I am sure you are aware. There is no better way to wear this trend than to sport it on your nails! I am a massive fan of wearing pastel colours on my nails and have two full boxes of them to prove it. I have picked out my ten favourite colours for the coming season for you all to see. Sorry for the horrible, yellow stained nails in these pictures, I’m not allowed to wear nail polish to work (sob) as I have a job in a restaurant so I have had to subject poor, innocent people to the aftermath of orange nail polish recently. I feel sorry for them. 

This is the perfect lilac colour for wearing on your nails. Surprisingly, it goes with a lot of outfits. Ciate is a really good, relatively cheap brand and this polish glides on like a dream.

This was my first ever Essie purchase and it is what made me want to go back and buy more. While it does go on a little bit sheer and needs three coats for maximum coverage, it looks divine once it has been built up. Really chip resistant too.

Now this is what you call value for money - £1.99 for 15ml of gorgeous nail polish! It doesn’t last quite as long on your nails as more expensive polishes do but it sure is better than what you expect for that price! This is so bright and pretty – this picture does not do it justice. Click here to see my post from a while back about the rest of my Sinful Colors nail polishes for a full review where I wasn’t as rushed taking the pictures so you can see the colour a lot better.

The much anticipated release of YouTube beauty guru/blogger Tanya Burr’s lip and nail collection lived up to my high expectations. This is my favourite nail polish at the moment and since taking these pictures, I have painted my nails with it because I have a few days off work. Keep an eye out this week for some pictures on my blog of it on my nails!

So. Damn. Pretty. It is actually a lot brighter than what this makes it out to be so I recommend checking the Nails Inc website because the photo over there is really close to how it looks in person. This is definitely a true summer shade. Nails Inc is my favourite nail brand of all time and, at £11 each, is slightly more expensive but well worth the money.

I bought this when I was in America last year and have been in love with it ever since. It claims it is a coral colour. It is not. It is most certainly orange, there is no denying it. Who knew bright orange nails would look so good?! This is currently on my toenails but I didn’t think you would want a picture of my fat sausages for toes to put you off your dinner for the rest of the week so I very kindly left that out. You’re welcome.

No point in saying very much about this since the formula is exactly like to other one from this brand. Yellow isn’t a colour that many people like to wear on their nails but I think this nice pale pastel one is very pretty indeed.

The exact same colour as Tiffany boxes. Need I say more?

A slightly strange colour to wear on your nails but it turns out a lot nicer than you expect. It’s a funny green colour which I didn’t think I would like but surprisingly, I do.

The name of this just tops it all off. How cute! This has a lovely shimmer to it and, as cheesy as it sounds, reminds me of the sea. Very beach-esque.

I hope you like my nail polish picks. The majority of photos are pretty crap because I was in a rush when I was taking them but you can make out the colour for the most part. The websites that I have linked to are all very close to the actual colour which gives you a good representation, especially the Tanya Burr one.

What do you like to wear on your nails in the summer? I need some ideas (as if I don’t own enough nail polishes already).

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You can view my guest post for Holly, a Sports/Fitness Clothing Wishlist, here. Enjoy!

xo

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

Primark Haul - Spring 2014

So i popped into Primark over the weekend and, well, as always in Primark, spent a little too much money. I am pretty happy with all my purchases though, apart from the belts which I bought in the wrong size! Doh! 
Brown Cut Out & Black w/ Aztec Stitching Detail Belts - 2 pack, £2
Green & White Flower Print Skater Dress - £5
Pastel Blue & Gold Triangle Necklace - £3
Blue Running Shorts - £3
2 Tail Combs - £1
(Beautiful) Blue Chunky Heels - £14
Chicago Eagles Oversized T-shirt - £6
Oversized Overexposed-Print T-shirt - £6
Black & Gold Triangle Necklace - £3
Bobby Pins - £1
5 Pack Silver Varying Width Rings - £3
+ (Shown on 1st Photo) Floral Black & Pink Fringed Kimono - £15

Coming up in the next week, i'm planning to do a 'How I Style' video for all the items I bought, so keep an eye out for that! Also in the pipe line: Best Foundations for Oily/Combination Skin, Spring Clothing Wishlist, Spring Beauty Wishlist & Mini Superdrug Haul - which would you guys like to see first? Let me know! :) 

xo

Thursday, 24 January 2013

Models Own - Beth's Blue

I always tend to wear dark nail varnishes in winter and save pastels for spring/summer time, but recently i've seen a lot of gurus such as zoella and fashionrocksmysocks sporting pastel blues or purples along with their think coats and wooly scarves, and i think it looks great. The pastel nails just add a lift to the outfit and can stop dark coloured wintery clothes looking too drab.
So tonight I decided to paint my nails with Beth's Blue, a lovely blue grey with lilacy undertones, for a change. It looked lovely at first, and i was really pleased with it, but then it started to bubble horribly - now it looks awful! Why do so many of my nail polishes do this as they dry? Its so frustrating!

(Buy here)