Shellac Manicure: Review ♥

Hey beauts,

So I'm currently off work ill and as I've not left my bed all day, I needed a bit of cheering up (there is NOTHING good on tv in the day) so I thought a little post about my current Shellac mani would be a good way to take my mind off being poorly.

I've had a pretty busy couple of weeks, what with my graduation and then a wedding and an awards ceremony, so I obviously wanted my nails to look as perfect as possible. I was tempted to get acrylics again, but they really ruined my nails in summer so I opted for a Shellac manicure instead. I had french tips done for my graduation and was really pleased with how they looked....however, the day after my graduation, the polish started to peel away from the sides on both my index fingers which was so disappointing as they were supposed to last up to three weeks

I went back to the salon and they said that it shouldn't have happened and the UV light which they put them under to dry might not have set them properly down the sides of the nail beds so I went back and had them done free of charge. The second time I had them done I had them painted a full colour instead of french tips as the beautician said this would be stronger, so I went for black nails and a silver accent nail with tiny black gems to go with the two dresses  I was wearing for the wedding and awards evening.

Here is the picture I instagrammed straight after having them done so my cuticles are still a bit oily...

This time they've lasted perfectly and even when I've knocked them or scraped them they haven't even chipped, which is amazing because usually no matter how many top and bottom coats I apply to my nail polish it still chips within a day. They're still beautifully shiny and smooth which I love because I find that normal polish usually goes quite dull after a while and I can't see them chipping anytime soon, they're definitely as strong as they should be this time. I paid £30 for the manicure, which is quite expensive but it does take about an hour and they last up to three weeks so in my opinion it is worth it if you've got some pennies to splash or you have a nice event to look forward to.

I'd definitely recommend them to anyone considering having something a little bit different on their nails, there are some gorgeous festive colours like red and gold glitter which I definitely fancy trying after this. They also protect your nails unlike having gel or acrylic nails put on as you get given a cuticle oil to massage on daily which protects the nail underneath and doesn't result in ridges or thin nails like acrylics. Although they don't add length, it doesn't matter because short nails look just as glamourous as long talons would. All in all I'm really happy with them now I've got a colour on and I can't wait to try out the different range of colours.

Have you ever had a Shellac manicure? What do you think of my nails?

Love 

x

Impress Nails: Review ♥

Hey beauties,

I was thinking of what better way to start posting again than with a good old review of a product I recently tried out. Throughout the summer I had gel nails with a white tip, so that I could paint them when I liked or go for the simple and classy french mani look for the rest of the time. Obviously as they started growing out they looked a mess and my plan was to just keep getting them done, until my last few pennies had to go on other holiday essentials like clothes and I couldn't afford. As my nails were in such terrible condition from being gelled and filed until they were almost non-existent, I needed something to glam them back up again, so I tried out Impress Nails.

I'd heard a lot about this brand on the internet and had wanted to try them at the start of summer but I couldn't because of my gel nails, so as a much cheaper alternative (£8.99 compared to £25 for new gels!) I got them for my holiday to Spain. I applied them the day that I left for the airport and they were SO easy to apply, all you have to do is choose the appropriate size, peel back a sticker and press on to the nail and voila! Beautiful nails! The ones I chose were in the colour 'Lovestruck' and were so cute and girly, perfect for a summer holiday, but Boots, where I bought them had so many different colours and styles it was actually quite hard to choose.

This is the photo I instagrammed from the airport! Impress Nails - Lovestruck - £8.99

In terms of staying power, this is where I had a few problems...because of my gel nails, some of my nails ended up quite uneven on the surface, with quite big ridges in them so sadly the nails didn't stick very well to those. I think it was one thumb and one index finger that had the biggest problem and came a bit loose. The rest of the nails stuck so well though and when it came to taking them off after losing a couple, they were quite tough to get off, even after travelling all day and washing my hands numerous times. So overall, I was really impressed with the staying power to say it's just a sticky back and no glue is required. It was only my nails which made them loose, nothing to do with the product itself.

I'd definitely buy these nails again, and I'm patiently waiting for my nails to grow properly and the ridges to grow out, I'm thinking the rich, red colour 'Tweetheart' for the autumn and winter months!

What do you think of this speedy manicure? Have you ever tried Impress Nails?

Love

x

Avon Update ♥

So recently I purchased some Avon goodies and as they were my first ever Avon supplies and I'd obviously never tried them before, I thought I'd do an update of how I've got on with them!

The Blemish Mark Treatment - The roll on makes it so easy to apply and it is isn't too drying on the skin when it's rubbed in, but I haven't really been able to see a difference. To be honest, I don't have too many marks on my skin anyway, I just thought this would be good for when I have a breakout and want it to disappear quickly but I've found that the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair is really good for my skin and I really prefer that! As a cheap alternative though I will definitely reach for the Avon when I fancy a little break from the ANR.

Japanese Sake and Rice Refreshing Eye Smoother - Lovely and refreshing but as I said it's more like a serum so I don't feel it soaks in as much as a good moisturiser would do. It does make your eyes feel nice and cool though and less heavy and tired which is a great in the mornings when I need something to wake me up! I would buy this again but it probably won't stop me repurchasing my Clinique 'All about eyes' as well.

Japanese Sake and Rice Luminous Face Treatment - I use this more as a primer as I feel it really smooths the skin which is ideal before applying make up. It isn't too heavy either which is good because although I love feeling like my skin is deeply moisturised I hate when I feel like products are clogging my skin! It has a shiny/glimmering sort of look to it too which does mean it makes your skin look luminous, so on a summers day with a tan, where no foundation is required I think I'd probably use this and nothing else, as it does make the skin look healthy and fresh! I love the smell too - it reminds me of after sun and summer holidays! :)

Nail Experts Strong Results Nail Strengthener - Now I really expected this to be a nail polish and apply a shiny coat, but this is completely different and is more like a treatment for the nails as opposed to a polish! It soaks into the nails and I have to say I have really noticed a difference in the strength of my nails and they haven't been breaking at all! This is something I'm definitely going to continue using as I think (dare I say) it beats my Sally Hanson Diamond Strength which I've been reaching for for years! I would really recommend this as it has really worked for me, and because it's just a treatment, it means you can apply a colour straight on top!

I think I'll definitely be re-purchasing these goodies and trying out some new ones soon! Let me know if you've ever tried Avon and what you thought?

x

Bargain buy of the week #3

Hey lovelies,

Firstly, a bit of a cheesy one - thank you to all my new followers it means a lot having people follow my everyday ramblings, you're all lovely, and I'm working my way through your blogs and loving them all too :)

So I know I haven't really kept up the weekly bargain buys but this week I received my Avon goodies that I'd ordered after being peer pressured by my housemates huge list! Her friend off her course is the 'Avon Lady' and constantly sends new magazines and temptations to our house, so I gave in and decided to try some out for myself since my housemate always loves them! We had a sales magazine and also her staff book which is a little naughty but as my housemate is so loyal it was a nice thing to do as everything was reduced in price.

I bought quite a bit and I was amazed how cheap some of the stuff was, I got 5 things for only £5.80 and a free foot scrubber thrown in for good measure, such a bargain for what I got as they're all full size. Here are my little goodies...

Blemish Mark Treatment, to clear any marks on the skin for a clearer complexion £2.80. This little bad boy is a roll on applicator so is so easy to use and feels really refreshing on the skin. My skin has been quite horrible lately so I'll do an update soon to say how this is working.

Japanese Sake and Rice refreshing Eye Smoother - £1. I needed a new eye cream after using  Clinique 'All about Eyes' which I love, because it's nearly all gone so I thought I'd try this, and so far so good, it's like more like a serum and makes my eyes feel so soft and hydrated after removing my make up.

Japanese Sake and Rice Luminous Face Treatment - £1 - again, more like a serum, so it's not as moisturising as I'd like as I feel my skin gets quite dry, but it does make my skin look and feel quite refreshed and it smells lovely which I love in moisturisers and creams! I will do an update on this too in a few weeks to see how I'm getting on with it.

Nail Experts Strong Results nail strengthener £1 - My nails have been so weak lately and my Sally Hanson Diamond Strength is running out so I thought I'd try this out as it's so cheap. It claims to clean nails after use once or twice daily for a week. I have applied it once now and I'm going to do it again later so we'll see how it goes, but it smells lovely on the nails, a really fresh smell so that's one good thing so far!

What can only be described as a foot scrubber I think, it's so compact but has three different features, a 'grater' which I don't know if I'll use because my feet aren't very dry, a 'nail file-type foot scrubber' which might be quite good after being the bath and a Pumice Stone, which again may be used after having a bath just to keep my feet nice and smooth. Not bad for a freebie! 

So that's all my weeks bargains! Quite a hefty post with all the pictures but so far I'm really impressed considering this is my first Avon order and I didn't know what to expect, especially as they're all bargains! I'd definitely use Avon again because I do think you get a lot for such good prices and I have my eye on some new treats.

Have you ever used Avon before or any of these products? What do you think of them?

Nail Rock Nail Wraps ♥

Helloo lovelies,

Last night I went to Liverpool for a night out to celebrate a belated birthday for me and an early birthday for my housemate and just for general fun times in a different city than Chester with my lovely uni housemates. We stayed in a lovely apartment that we found for a real bargain and got all dressed up and hit Concert Square. I'd been looking at nail wraps for a while but not really known whether to try them out incase they weren't very good. but considering it was a night out, I thought I'd go for it. I chose the gold and black Cheetah print style as I'm a bit obsessed with animal prints at the moment and got them for £6.50 in Outfit. I LOVE them! They're actually really easy to apply..just choose the one that most fits your nail, place it on and apply pressure around nail to make it stick and file down to the length of your nail and done! Simple. They really glammed up my outfit and looked like I'd gone to lots of time and effort to have them done professionally. I teamed them a couple of gold rings and bracelets from Topshop and Miss Selfridge and was ready to go.  I'm so keen to get different patterns now and I try out different looks! Here's how they looked last night...

I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who wants to try something different with their nails :)

x

Manicure me...♥

So yesterday I thought I'd treat myself to a bit of relaxation time after stressing over all of my upcoming deadlines at Uni and have a night off working to just watch some good TV and give myself a nice new manicure to make me feel fresh and pretty again. Doing my nails always helps de-stress me and I just been rocking a dark purple colour so this time I went for a light colour which my friend was using as I thought it would make my hands look girly, yet clean and soft looking. I didn't actually realise before I started using it that it's really just a base coat, but it's in a lovely pastel pink shade so works really well as an all over colour and gets me in the mood for the SS'12 pastel trends! The No7 'base coat' glides on really well and I did two coats just because I felt I wanted it to look a little more pinky, but one coat would have been just as nice if I didn't have time to do both. At around £7 a bottle I suppose it's quite pricey for a base coat but when it applies well and you can use it as both a full colour or a base it's justifiable. Heres how it looks on the nails...

No7 'So Smooth Base Coat' 

What do you do to relax and what are your go to shades?  

x

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