Autumn nails

I've neglected my nails since being back at work. Teacher's will know how it is; you get caught up in the craziness of the first term and never have much of a chance to take your foot off the throttle.

But now I'm in the routine and I'm seeing lots of beautiful autumnal colours, it is time to get back to it.

I've found a range of nail shades that I think will be perfect for Autumn.

Kiko 365 tattoo rose

Sally Hansen 370 commander in chic

Barry M cosmo berry

Essie cocktail bling

OPI stay off the lawn

Rimmel hottie choccie

I'm going to start off by buying the Kiko one - I fell a little bit in love with that when I discovered the picture on Pinterest.

If you think I've missed any good ones, please comment below and let me know.

Sally Hansen complete salon manicure review

I spotted a newly large stand of Sally Hansen nail polishes in Boots recently and was taken in by the gorgeous range of colours. I decided to get a freebie with my advantage card points and give one a try. I went for the barbie-esq pink "Aflorable" in the complete salon manicure range.

The range sounds amazing, with the Sally Hansen website boasting the following 7 benefits in one bottle:

"Featuring a base coat, growth treatment, runway-inspired color, top coat, gel-shine finish, chip-resistance, and a strengthener with keratin complex for up to 64% stronger nails, this all-in-one formula delivers up to 10 days of chip-resistant wear. It’s everything you need to achieve a professional nail look at home!"

When I first applied it I was a bit dubious about what kind of results I would get. Although the brush was a great size and shape the polish didn't seem to apply very evenly. However, it seemed to even out when drying and by the time the third coat was dry they were shiny and opaque. (Two coats didn't quite leave this colour looking opaque.)

Now 5 days along the line, they are pretty much chip free apart from my fore finger and thumb on my dominant hand. Staying chip free for this long is pretty much unheard of for me, so I am really impressed. I've even done my toes to match (although it has rained non-stop since, so I haven't been able to wear sandals and show them off).

I can see more colours from this range finding their way into my collection soon. What colours would you recommend?

 

OPI Nail Envy review

I recently bought the OPI Nail Envy in Hawaiian Orchid after seeing a picture of it on Instagram and falling in love with the colour. At the time, the fact that it was a nail strengthener never really entered my mind. I'd tried various nail strengthening potions in the past and never found they'd made a shred of difference. It was purely all about the colour.

OPI Nail Envy Hawaiian Orchid

I applied Hawaiian Orchid practically as soon as it landed on my door step. I'd never tried OPI before, so it immediately struck me how great the formula is and how much I love the shape and size of the pot - its really easy to hold and apply. Although it seemed thinner than a regular nail varnish when on, it was opaque after two coats and the colour was as I'd hoped for; a beautiful dusty pink.

I headed back to the Internet to see what other colours they did in the range and came across Bubble Bath. The pictures I saw of it, made it look like a lovely opaque pale pink, my thinking was perfect for spring.

Top: Hawaiian Orchid, Bottom: Bubble Bath

When Bubble Bath arrived, I did think it didn't look as pink as I'd imagined it would from the pictures, it is more of a nudey pink. I was slightly disappointed when applying it to realise it was not going to be opaque after all like I'd hoped for. The photos above are with three coats of Bubble Bath and you can still see my natural nail underneath.

However, after my initial disappointment with the colour it struck me a few days later how healthy my nails were looking. Throughout my teenage years and my twenties I'd struggled with nail biting and had weak nails that peeled and would easily break probably as a result of that. I haven't been so bad the past couple of years, but my nails always still seemed weak and would break easily. But all of a sudden I have noticed that I have some length to all of my nails and no breakages. I can only attribute it to Nail Envy, a miracle worker in a small bottle.

If you have problems with weak, breakable nails I would definitely recommend you try this. I now intend to buy the original Nail Envy to use as a base coat under all of my other nail polishes.

Models Own chrome polish

Hello everybody!

Just a quick one today as I haven't posted in a while (work has been cray-cray!). 

I came across the new Models Own chrome range on Instagram last week as I think a few bloggers were sent pre-release samples. It was love at first site for me. So, when it came out on Monday I hunted round Boots and Superdrug stores across two town centres, and in the fifth shop which happened to be a Superdrug I found them!

I went for the indigo which was the one I lusted over most on Instagram, but I was equally tempted by the others - especially the rose gold! However at £4.99 each and with a full acrylic stand of nail varnishes at home I resisted going crazy. If there had been an offer for buying multiples I probably would have though.

Have you tried the chrome range yet? 

Week 52 manicure challenge

Wow! I've made it to the end of the challenge. In case you weren't following from the start of 2014, I set myself a challenge to blog a different manicure every week for a year. This is the final week of 2014, week 52!

For Christmas I wanted a bit of length, so added some of my trusted Nailene falsies. You can see them below with my new Swarovski stardust bracelet that my boyfriend got me for Christmas.

Now what challenge shall I set myself for 2015?!

The end.

Week 51 manicure challenge

This week I've had three lots of turkey and Christmas parties to attend. For the main party I had a little black dress with gold detail on, so to complement that I went for gold nails.

Have a lovely Christmas everyone.

Week 50 manicure challenge

This week I went for some falsies again as they are low maintenance and look great for Christmas parties. 

I thought I'd show you the best false nail glue there is too; Nailene ultra quick (drying). This glue is so strong that your nails will last and last, avoiding any embarrassing public "pop-offs". 

Week 49 manicure challenge

What comes after penguins I bet you wonder. Well I'll tell you what comes after penguins; reindeer!

Inspiration pic:

My attempt:

Week 48 manicure challenge

This was a tough week. If I was talking about hair, it was the week-long equivalent to a bad hair day. In my head I was thinking of sparkly red and white snow flakes, but the snow flakes went wrong. The red is shimmery (Rimmel's red carpet) but not really picking up on the camera. The snowflakes are no more.

Week 47 manicure challenge

This week I got into the Christmas spirit after making a good start to my Christmas shopping. I decided to try a cute penguin design on my nails, because doesn't the John Lewis advert just make you fall in love with penguins?! 

Week 46 manicure challenge

Stripy accent nail. A little messy, but it was my first ever try. Practise makes perfect. 

Week 45 manicure challenge

Black and sparkle 

Week 44 manicure challenge

I wanted to make an extra effort with my nails for my birthday, so I picked these falsies up in Superdrug. They were on offer, so only £3.29 I think.

The glue they came with didn't seem to dry very quickly, so I didn't hold up much hope for it. I ended up using my Nailene quick dry glue, which holds very well.

They are quite short, but very neat and looked pretty classy. They had a nice shiny, freshly manicured finish, although that faded after acouple of days.

Loving the look in the photo below with the ring from my boyfriend.

Week 43 manicure challenge

Poppy red worked perfectly for my day out in London.

Week 42 manicure challenge

Ended up a bit Christmassy this week with red and gold AND some nail stamping. 

Week 41 manicure challenge

Blue Barry M magnetic nail polish.

Week 40 manicure challenge

Autumnal burgundy.

Week 39 manicure challenge

Subtle nudey-fawny-brown by nails inc with a shine thanks to Seche Vite.

Week 38 manicure challenge

Trying out the Nails Inc matte polish that I got in the September Glossybox. I've not noticed any difference between that and the Rimmel one so far, which is crazy at this one retails at £9.

Week 37 manicure challenge

Holding on to summer with this shimmery aqua colour and a silver accent.