Essie ~ Sunday Funday ~ A Pop of Colour for Spring

Spring is on the way! Days are lighter for longer and the birds are chirping first thing in the morning. I hate Winter, especially January so when March comes I start to feel happier.
I generally love a bright nail colour, but tone it down in the colder months, so this week I treated myself to a new colour by my favourite brand Essie called Sunday Funday. This was part of the Summer 2013 collection and is a lovely coral colour with a hint of shimmer and is a cross between red and orange. As always, a great formula and I applied two coats. I bought mine from Boots for £7.99. Happy days! :)

Any colours you recommend for Spring?
Rachel xx

Nails Inc Express Nail Polish Remover

I came across this product quite a while ago when I watching some late night QVC on their beauty channel. Although I didn't buy it from there (the p&p costs are ridiculous) I was highly impressed with how it works.
The 60ml pot has a sponge inside that is pre-soaked with nail polish remover. The sponge is very soft and the scent is very subtle compared the usual smell of regular remover; apparently there's a hint of vanilla.

All you have to do is dip a polished finger in the middle of the sponge, wait a few seconds, twist the pot around, and abracadabra the polish has gone! I tend to wiggle my finger about a bit too. If you have glitter polish on you need to give it a while longer, but I've had no problems removing.
This pot has lasted me quite a while, but I only get to paint my nails once a week on a day off.
I bought mine from Boots for £6.95 which is the cheapest I've found but it's being stocked on the Feel Unique site and Beauty Bay for £8.
This is starting to dry out now, as it's taking a bit longer to remove my polish, but this is something that I will definitely be repurchasing.
I really rate the product especially for saving time and when you have no cotton wool it's a life saver!

Have you tried it or the other brands similar to this?

Rachel xx

Topshop Nails

I've been a bit naughty lately as I seem to be attracted to nail polish like I have six pairs of hands and without even thinking about it, I buy buy buy. Oops. BUT, I can justify my most recent purchases ~ bargain finds.
For those of you that didn't know, Topshop make up is made by the same company that produce all of MAC's make up, and I think the quality is rather good.

While out a few weekends ago with my daughter (she's 3 and loves a stroll around the shops!) I picked up these three bargain beauties for £1 each. These normally retail for £5-£6. The make up stand had quite a few marked down but I resisted (see I can do it).

Blank is a cross between white and cream and reminds me of vanilla ice cream. I think that this would work well as a base to then apply a neon colour on top. It does look nice on its own though.
Wistful is from the holographic range and is very shiny and when it catches the light, there is a mix of pink, lilac and blue.
Blitz has an orange undertone when close up and would look fabulous with a black dress and heels to wear for an evening out. My favourite I think.
I have looked on the Topshop website for these but unfortunately there aren't there. That doesn't mean though that they aren't available in store still.

Any bargains you've picked up or missed out on?

Rachel xx

Tanya Burr Nail Polish

Beauty bloggers or #bbloggers on social media, went crazy when they heard that beauty guru Tanya Burr was launching her on own range of lip glosses and nail polish. Launching exclusively on the Feel Unique website here there was literally a backlog of orders that left the female population crying before they got to the checkout. With new stock finally delivered, I got my hands on mine. I decided on two lip glosses (which I will blog about soon) and one nail polish. With no swatches for me to google before hand, I played it safe with Be bright, Be happy, Be you.
This formula is actually amazing. Not streaks, easy to apply and dries quite quickly. With a flat brush, my nail was done in two strokes. The above picture is two coats. I didn't notice chips until late in the second day with my usual No7 top coat.
With ten colours to choose from, I'm hoping she will add more colours as its popularity increases. Priced at £5.99 for 12ml which I think is a great price.
The full range is also available on the Superdrug website here but there is extra charge for delivery under £10.

Have you tried any other colours in the range? I'm keen to add some more to my collection.

Rachel xx

Gwen Stefani for OPI

Well, the picture says it all really...Pop and fashion icon Gwen Stefani has designed her own nail colours for OPI.
I have been a fan of hers for quite a few years both with No Doubt and on her own so when I read that she was launching her own range for the new year I was most excited.

There are seven colours being released - Hey Baby, I Sing in Colour, 4 In The Morning, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, In True Stefani Fashion, Push and Shove and Over and Over-a-Gwen. There are several hundred pictures of colour swatches if you google images, but I'm not sure if they are real or not. Some bloggers have been able to get their lucky hands on the actual products and have posted reviews. 

I really hope these colours are as good as the names suggest and that the pictures flying about are the real colours. If or when I can get my naked hands on them, I will be doing a review on my blog.

Rachel xx 

Dare To Wear ~ Pillarbox Red

With Christmas approaching fast and an even colder change in the weather I thought I would update my winter nail varnish collection to suit the season. As you are aware that in my line of work I am not permitted to wear any sort of obvious make up and nail varnish is a big no-no. So seeing as I have been on leave this week I though that I would make the most of having painted nails.
I bought this beautiful red from Boots No7 called Pillarbox Red to get myself in the holiday season. The shine is absolutely AMAZING. Vibrant and crisp, I just love it. I only needed to apply two coats to achieve a full smooth coverage. With a decent top coat it lasted three days before it started to slightly chip at the tips of my nails. No7 nail colours have a wide flat brush to easy application. Currently on the 3 for 2, priced at £7.

Any new colours that you've bought/blogged about recently?

Rachel xx

My Fave Summer Nail Combo

Just a quick post today, to show you my current favourite nail combo I have been wearing over the summer.

This is actually the first Sally Hansen colour I have ever tried, and I like it a lot. Applies easily with a flat brush, with just two coats needed. It is a very pretty coral colour with a slight pink undertone.

I have many China Glaze colours and I thought that Candie went well on top of Get Juiced. I applied two coats on to my ring finger.

The Sally Hansen dried quickly, and to my surprise I didn’t have any ‘duvet’ print the next morning. (I only tend to apply nail colour in the evening after my daughter has gone to bed).

I have no chips or peeling so far after two days and after having a shower, so I think I will be investing in some more colours in this Sally Hansen range.

Do you have a particular favourite combo and are you impressed with my choice?

Rachel xx

My Thoughts On Boots No7

Last year, late Summer Boots No7 relaunched with new packaging, newer skin care and make up ranges.  With sleeker lines and less black, the products now appeal to a younger target market, but still keeping the current ones happy and attracting new interest.

Using colours to help navigate from skin type to the product for you, No7 have created 'easy on the eye' branding that makes each product distinguishable.  I simply do not want to read through a leaflet to know what the product does. I want to know by just looking at it, and this new packaging does just that.

The bath and body range has had a revamp too.  Looking luxurious at the beauty counter, I had to try it.  The Blissful Body Wash is just that.  It smells really nice, lathers quickly and leaves skin very moisturised.  At £9.50 for 200ml I think it's a little bit pricey, but saying that I am noticing that high street brands are becoming roughly the same.

I also picked up two of the new Gel Look Shine Polishes in Mint Treat and Hotting Up. These were the only colours I liked, as there isn't a good range of colours, but a good product.  Doesn't chip and leaves a glossy finish after applying two coats. These polishes are £6.50 for 10ml. A good price.

My favourite product though, has to be the Sheer Temptation Lipsticks. I finally decided on just two colours ~ I was highly tempted to get more, but controlled myself.  With 14 to choose from I had a hard decision.

Very similar to the Revlon Lip Butters, they apply easily and provide a very glossy finish.  The only disappointment is the staying power compared to Revlon.  Don't get me wrong, the colour doesn't go that quickly, it just fades, so for the price, I had hoped it lasted longer.

On the day of my purchases I used my No7 vouchers that I had accumulated over time, so I managed to save around £15!

So in summary, I loved all the products and I will definitely being going back to check out more.

Which high street brand have you been impressed with?

Rachel xx

Essie Spring Colours I Love

Midweek already and the weather still hasn't picked up a great deal so I thought I would add some Spring to my nails instead. So I had a rummage through my nail varnish collection and found my two Favourite Spring inspired colours by Essie. I really love this affordable brand that can be found on the high street in Boots and Superdrug. If you don't have an Essie stockist near you, you can find it online at Beauty Bay and also Feel Unique both with free worldwide delivery! (I keep an eye out for the colours that are often 'out of season' as these are often discounted).

The first colour to show you was part of the Summer 2012 Collection called Bikini So Teeny.

I applied two coats on top of Essie's ridge filling base coat. I always apply two or three coats as the first coloured layer can be a bit thin and streaky. It's a beautiful cornflower blue and really stands out. I think in this picture it looks slightly purple but if you google the colour for images you might get a clearer picture.

All Essie nail varnishes are easy to apply due to a flat wide brush, but a friend told me that some online stockists have the thin classic brush, but still apply ok.

My second favourite one is a best seller and is often sold out in Boots. It's called Mint Candy Apple. It was part of the Winter 2009 Collection.(I don't think I would wear this in Winter personally).

Mint Apple Candy is a lovely jade green colour and I get so many compliments when I wear it. Again I always apply my Essie base coat as mentioned before.

Here I applied three coats to build up a strong striking colour.

For a top coat I use Revlon's Extra Life No Chip Top Coat as I find this really good. My varnish will usually last 4 days before I notice any chips or splits.

Here are my tips for flawless fingers:

• Use a good quality cuticle remover/softener. I find Leighton Denny's Remove and Rectify the best for this and a hoof stick
• Next, your choice of base coat as this will stop discolouration of your natural nail and also help the varnish to stick better
• Two or three coats of your chosen colour
• Then finish off with a top coat
• If you find you have painted some of your finger aswell, don't worry. I dip a cotton bud in my nail varnish remover and rub on the area.

And that's it! Beautiful nails at home.

Please leave a comment on your favourite Spring inspired colours and I will check them out.

Rachel xx