Wednesday 29 December 2010

NOTD - Christmas Nails - China Glaze Cheers to You with Nail Stickers

Happy Holidays!!!!! :D hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, Santa brought me lots of exciting polishes that I can't wait to swatch :D but here is my current mani :D 

So technically Christmas is over, but I couldn't resist trying these Nail stickers I purchased from Sally's a few months back :D also gave me an excuse to try out one of my xmas pressies, China Glaze's Cheers To You, from their Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice Collection, nearly got all of the collection now :D must get swatching!!! :D definitely one of my fave collections from China Glaze!!!

Left Hand
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy 1 coat
China Glaze Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice 3 coats
Top Coat: Seche Vite
10 mins later applied nail stickers purchased from Sally's, using a hoof stick to apply
Top Coat: Seche Vite

Right Hand
Right Hand
Left Hand

Wednesday 22 December 2010

KOTD - Christmas manicure wrapping paper nails

This mani was inspired by my wrapping paper :D feeling all festive :D


wrapping paper close up
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
OPI Holiday Wishes 2009: Dear Santa 3 coats
Top Coat: Seche Vite

Konad Special Polish in White and Plate two snow flakes from M59 on all nails, with the small flake from M70 on thumb, middle and ring finger
Konad Nail Art Brush in Glitter used for dots on middle of flakes and dots on nail
Konad Special Top Coat




Was nice to play around with some Konading, first time in a few weeks so I was really starting to miss it :D Happy Holidays!!!!!

Tuesday 21 December 2010

Product Review Silk Nail Wraps for Split Nails

So its been about 2 months since the drawer incident, and guess what my split nail has still survived and nearly grown out :D for the first 22 days I was using nail bandages to solve the problem, click here to see how that faired :D and although it went extremely well, I was soon running low on nail bandages as you have to change the bandage each time you do your manicure (they probably last 7-10 days if you don't constantly change your mani like me). So when I was running low on bandages I went back to Sally's to purchase more and sadly they were sold out, however the kind lady in the store pointed me towards the nail wraps. 

you get two long sheets of silk wrap (at least 20cm long each) for about £6 (initially this seemed a bit steep, but as you will see later it is extremely cost effective!) and although the lady said that the usual nail glue would work fine, I opted for the Brush On Glue which was £4, so thats £10 in total for the kit, it helps to have a hoof stick and a nail buffer as well, but I already had these.

ASP Brush on Glue and Nail Wrap Strip

Application
  • Ensure the Nail is completely clean and free from oils (I always use a bit of alcohol or OPI Chip Skip to ensure the nail bed is completely clean and free from residue)
  • Cut of a very small piece of Nail wrap from the strip, big enough to cover the split
  • Using a pin or the corner of your nail peel the silk off the paper backing and pick up with a hoof stick:

  • Place the silk wrap onto the bare nail, ensuring the split is completely covered and press the wrap down so it lies as close to nail as possible.
  • Apply the glue with the brush over the wrap ensuring it is completely saturated, it should turn clear in colour:

  • Wait for the glue to dry completely (about 5 minutes)
  • Gently buff the area where the silk wrap is and file any edges the overlap, be careful not to overbuff
  • you can use a ridge filler as a base coat to mask ridges, but I find 2 coats of OPI Nail Envy does the trick, especially if you are planning on using a thick top coat e.g. Seche Vite after painting nails, this really hides the wrap well.
  • Do your manicure as usual.

So I did all of the above about a month ago, thinking I'd have to redo each time I did my manicure, as I cant bare to use acetone free nail polish, but lo and behold, I've not had to change the wrap even once, its lasted incredible well, even when saturating my nails in acetone to remove glitters, the wrap still hasn't shifted. here are some pics from the nail in question over the last month :D

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

 Week 5

On close inspection you can see the line with some of the manis, (holographic blue polish, and one of the green manis from week 4) however this is probably because I haven't buffed the wrap down as much as possible, my nails are extremely weak due to illness, so I am very very wary of overbuffing, on the whole though it is literally invisible, and I am beyond ecstatic with how well these have worked, when you consider there's two long strips (about 20cm long) in the pack these seem ridiculously cost effective to me, and I don't think I'll need to rebuy for at least a year, sure the glue may not last as long, but its always good to have a working nail glue in your kit, so in my opinion these nail wraps are far more cost effective that the nail bandages, and they literally look like they will last until the nail grows out completely, and the fact that you don't need to reapply each time you do your manicure is definitely a time saver :D

I think my nail only has about 2mm to go before the split has grown out completely :D I'm so happy, a year ago a split nail would have meant nubbins, but with these amazing wraps I can save my nails, and with all the brutality that Christmas wrapping poses to nails, (my right thumb split last week :( so another silk wrap has been applied) I don't think I could have survived without these. 

10/10!!!! 

Saturday 18 December 2010

NOTD - China Glaze Tis The Season to be Naughty & Nice Greens

First Up From China Glaze's Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice its:

Peace on Earth
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy 1 coat
China Glaze Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice - Peace on Earth (2 coats)
Top Coat: Seche Vite


This is a beautiful golden green, it is lit within and absolutely stunning, definitely one of my fave colours from this collection :) so happy there were so many greens! 



Mistletoe Kisses 
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy 1 coat
China Glaze Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice - Mistletoe Kisses (3 coats)
Top Coat: Seche Vite


Mistletoe kisses is my fave polish from this collection so far, I'm a big fan of glitters and this one does not disappoint, its absolutely gorgeous and so sparkly! Perfect for Christmas!!




Jolly Holly 
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy 1 coat
China Glaze Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice - Jolly Holly (3 coats)
Top Coat: Seche Vite

A lovely deep emerald green :) looks especially lovely with Party Hearty on top :)



Jolly Holly with Party Hearty on top 
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy 1 coat
China Glaze Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice - Jolly Holly (3 coats)
Top Coat: Seche Vite
China Glaze Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice - Party Hearty (2 coats)





Party Hearty
3 coats

I adore Party hearty, just looking at the bottle makes me feel all Christmassy, have been a bit lacking on the Konad front, hopefully going to do some more Konad Christmas manis soon :D

Tuesday 14 December 2010

NOTD - Claire's Mood Colour Changing Nail Polish in Bored/Excited and Calm/Wild

So excited about these polishes, sadly they don't seem to stock them in Claire's in the UK, so I had to order these from the states, and I have to say I'm absolutely delighted with them, they are so much fun!!

First Up its Bored/Excited, a gorgeous coral pink when cold and an equally lovely pale peach when hot.

COLD
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
Claires Mood Colour Changing Nail Polish in Bored/Excited 3 coats
Top Coat: Seche Vite
AFTER HOT WATER
What I loved most about this polish was the effect when your fingers are at a normal body temperature (which is quite hard with me as my hands are usually freezing lol) you get a really cool french tip effect where the tips of nails are colder than the rest, so they show up the darker shade of this polish :D really cool effect.
NORMAL TEMPERATURE 

I really think this colour would be amazing for a beach holiday, constantly changing colour from sitting in the sunshine to jumping in the pool/sea, oooooo cant wait for summer hols :) it would also look absolutely stunning with a tan, so definitely a great polish for holidays:D

Next up is Calm/Wild a lovely shimmery purple when cold, and a bright shimmery pink when hot

COLD
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
Claires Mood Colour Changing Nail Polish in Calm/Wild 3 coats
Top Coat: Seche Vite

AFTER HOT WATER
Index and Middle Finger after hot water
Close up to show the gorgeous shimmer in this polish
 I absolutely love these polishes!!!! Really want to get my hands on more of the colours, they are just too fun, and especially great if your the kind of person who gets bored with one nail colour quickly :D

Saturday 11 December 2010

NOTD - Barbed Wire effect nails with Make Up Store Siw & Barry M Instant Effects Crackle

Here as promised is Barry Ms Instant Nail Effects Crackle polish on top of Make Up Stores Siw (blue holographic) 
Base Coat: Make Up Store Aqua Fix
Make Up Store Siw blue holographic (3 coats)
Barry M Instant Effects Crackle Polish 1 coat applied thickly in 3 strokes



The Crackle polish responded to the holo polish quite differently, leaving thinner crackles, which really reminds me of barbed wire, so I loved this effect :) I think its quite important to apply the polish thickly to get the best crackle effect with holos, and here is a close up :D

Thursday 9 December 2010

NOTD - Make Up Store Siw (blue holographic)

This is definitely one of the most holographic polishes I own, and thankfully the Make Up Store has a lovely selection of holos that are not limited edition :D must get back there and pick up some more, they are quite pricey at £11 but I just love the holo on these so much, and when used with Make Up Store's Aqua Fix Base Coat they really do last better than other holos. 

 Base Coat: Make Up Store Aqua Fix Base Coat 1 coat
Make Up Store Siw 3 coats 

I didn't apply a top coat over these, as I'd previously found it can dull the holo effect of the polish :( one major plus with holos like this is how quick they dry, and you can literally watch the holo effect intensify as the polish dries, which never stops being fun :D

Using the Aqua Base coat really helps the holo polish go on smoothly, I'm pretty sure GOSH do a similar base coat for their holo polish but alas I've not been able to find it in any of the Superdrugs I've been too

Siw & Aqua Fix Base Coat


 Angled pic to show awesome holo effect :D


As stunning as these are on their own I was eager to try crackle polish on top to see what effect it would have over holos, and I have to stay I was very pleased with the result :D post to follow.
One thing I love about Make Up Store Polishes, is the fact that they are all named after staff members at their stores :D think that's a nice touch. For a full range of Make Up Store's Holographic polishes you can click here. Make Up Store is a Swedish brand, I think they have two stores in London, one in Westfield Shopping Centre and one in Carnaby St in Central London.