Inglot O2M breathable nail polish

I haven't worn nail polish in what feels like forever; I forgot how happy it makes me looking down at my nails when they are coloured. It's almost like colour therapy.

I purchased Inglot O2M based on the claim that it allows nails to "breathe" and because at the time it was released it caused a bit of a stir as some would claim it is suitable for Muslim women conducting prayers. I'm not going to get into a theological debate; let's keep this superficial and just talk about the pretty colour, shall we? (If you are interested though, this article is a good start).

Back to the polish and the beautiful shade. I chose shade number 698 as it was the most "summer neutral" shade for me. By this, I mean that it is bright enough for spring/summer and compliments any outfit, yet it is not so garish that you would feel uncomfortable wearing it to work. It is a pink/coral with a slight sheen to it.

The application is the almost perfect. It does need two coats, but the application is streak free and pretty effortless. I was done in with my base coat and two thin coats of polish in about 15 minutes and the dry time is quick too (living in an oven probably helps though).

I did buy the O2M base coat, but at £11 each, I decided I would skip the top coat. Without a top coat though, here I am at three days in with some minor wear on two or three tips.

If it wasn't for the price I would probably go back for more, but I could gladly stick with just this shade on my nails for a very long time. If you have O2M do let me know if the formulation of the other colours is as good as this one.

Essie Hide and Go Chic

There is always a sinking feeling that comes straight after you discover a product is worth the hype, because you know that you're going to need more, many more.

I always resisted Essie because of the price, I always decided I would rather get more polishes from a cheaper brand. The square bottles are embossed with the Essie logo and they look very chic and luxury, but they can't be that good, I thought.

I was wrong.

Hide & Go Chic was part of this years' Spring Collection and the shade I received in British Beauty Bloggers Latest in Beauty box. It is a deep azure blue, almost teal, colour. It is highly pigmented and if needed, one coat could do the job but two coats makes sure it's opaque.

The colour is not what has won me over, it is beautiful and unique, but it is the application that makes me want to go back for more. The formula for a start is great, it's silky smooth, and doesn't streak but the brush also makes the application really easy, is thin, round and shorter than other brands, so it fits on the nail bed just right.

I am on day four of wear with no chips yet, but some slight wear at the tips. I was a bit hasty with my application though, and didn't seal the tips but I think if I had done that they would still be perfect.

It is also worth noting that Essie is a 3-Free brand, which means they don't contain chemicals Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene, if you are concerned about these.

So I will adding Essie polish to my "to buy" list when I visit home in a few weeks. Essie can be found in Boots stores, and other places online, where they usually cost around £7.99 each.

If you have tried Essie polishes let me know which is your favourite and which I need to try next.

Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go from O.P.I

I've really neglected my nails the last few months. With the intensity of my course and the challenge I set myself running up to Christmas doing my every day, they are not in the best condition. On top of that, the bad weather this year meant that for the first time I noticed my very dry cuticles!

I started using O.P.I's Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go, which has been added straight to my hero categories list. The ingredients include vitamin E plus avocado, sunflower, sesame and kukui nut oils, which makes the oil very moisturising.

I can't really compare it to anything because I've never got into the habit of using a cuticle oil before. My cuticles were at the point where the dryness made them sore, and with this I was able to sort out the dryness overnight.

My favourite feature about this product is the application. Part of the reason I haven't used a cuticle oil in the past is the mess and inconvience of carrying round a bottle of oil.

The oil borders on being the consistency of a gel and has a lovely sweet but light scent. You gently squeeze the tube to release the product and then brush over your cuticles.The design and formulation of this means no mess, and no feeling like you have to wait for the oil to soak in/dry before you can do anything else.

I got this with a bundle of O.P.I polishes from QVC and I’m glad I did as I wouldnt have purchased it otherwise.

On its own it can be purchased for £10.25 from Boots, but I also found it on CheapSmells for £7.49.  I think this is a little pricey but because it is so convenient travelling and the application is mess free it is something I would add to my repurchase list.

If you have any suggestions for cheaper but equally effective cuticle oil please let me know!

Bourjois magic nail polish remover

I know every beauty blogger has reviewed this product already but I just thought I would quickly add my thoughts into the mix.

I remember the hype when Bourjois released their magic 1 second nail polish remover. The speed and ease was meant to be amazing and almost revolutionary!

But I had seen (and blogged about) the concept before, so I didn't really understand the fuss. When I planned to do the Ciate mini mani month I wanted something that was going to make the challenge as easy as possible.

The idea is that you place each finger into the pot, twist and remove a nail polish free finger, all in a second. Well the product is quick, but it’s not that quick and after using I always had to go and wash my hands before trying to apply another polish because of the oily feel of the solution left on my fingers.

On the plus side it is gentle on the skin compared to other similar products and it seems like it will last a while even though some of the sponge started to degrade after the first few uses.

Overall it's alright. At £4.99 it is a reasonable price and better value for money than the nail polish remover pads you can purchase, but I can definitely say I do not think it is worth the hype.

Snow nails 2 (gradient effect)

This time last year the snow inspired some nail art, and even though it looks like it is now going melt away, this year I wanted to up my game and I decided I would attempt gradient nails.

I chose a grey into white design, as if I had dipped my winter nails. I use the technique I had seen on The Nailasaurus blog, which gave the best effect of the tutorials I had researched.

To start, I applied one coat of Bourjois 1 second nail polish (shade 28) and allowed that to dry completely.

On scrap paper I dropped two large drops of polish, the grey and another of white, and mixed them in the middle using a matchstick.

Using an old washing up sponge, I dipped this into the polish and then over my nails, gently patting the sponge to build up the effect and get a good blend of the colours. However, I kept this too a minimum to avoid lifting up the bottom layer of nail polish (of course I could have waited for the coat to dry and repeated the step but I am far to lazy for that).

The next step was to apply a layer of top coat, which also helps to smooth the polish and blend the colours together. It is best not to do this immediately though as you can lose the effect and end up with one shade (yes, that is the voice of experience)

As you can tell from the image, your fingers also get a layer of polish, so the final step is to remove this with nail varnish remover.

So what do you think of gradient nails? I have to say I am pretty impressed with my first attempt!

Quick review: Stylfile travel size

This is my first review from the #BbloggersXmas goody bag and is product that I already own but in a handy travel size.

I have reviewed the full sized version of the Stylfile nail file previously. It is an S-shaped file that it has been designed to follow the curve of your nail to make shaping and filing easy. The miniature file does the exact same thing but is a handy handbag size covered in a spring case.

The file itself is just the right size for emergency situations. It has a nail file on one side and a buffer on the other. I like using the buffer as a curved file as it just slides over the nail easily and naturally. If I had to find a fault I would say that the file is slightly narrow to hold comfortably.

The spring helps to stop the file from scratching your phone/tablet/ereader in your bag, but also makes it easier to find when feeling around! The spring also has a key chain attached but, personally, I find this a bit too clunky as a key ring so I will leave it to float around in my bag instead.

The RRP for Stylfile is £4.49 and it can be found in Boots and Sainsbury’s, but I also found it on Amazon for a reduced price of £3.84.

Leather look nails by Nails Inc

This post begins with a short backstory. Having created two beauty boxes as gifts this year, one for a fellow beauty blogger and another for my sister, my mum decided to do the same for me……..

Now don’t get me wrong I am actually very grateful for the socks and of course who doesn’t love a pamper voucher? But I still don’t think mum should be starting up her own beauty box company any time soon!

Now onto the reason for the post...

Nails Inc are releasing a number of nail effects polishes this year one of which is the leather effect. I was glad to get the tan colour as part of a leather and bling it on skulls set, which includes the polish, four faux gold skulls and nail glue. I love the tan shade, which suits my skin well and which I know I will wear all year round.

Of the nail effects polishes I own this is without a doubt the easiest to get right (remember the struggle with magnetic nails?) and is the quickest to apply. In total it didn’t take more than 15 minutes, including shaping and a base coat, to have finished and dry nails.

The polish applies smoothly but as it begins to dry the effect forms. The instructions state to apply the first coat, wait two minutes and then apply a second. Nails inc also recommend that you skip using a top coat since this would affect the finished look. You can then apply the skulls, using an orange stick and the nail glue to stick them into place, but for now I have decided to save these for a special occasion. I am hoping that the glue will secure them well enough so that I can recover and reuse them.

When using this for the first time, after applying the first coat, I smudged one of my nails and, rather than starting again, I carried on with the second coat and the effect masked the original smudge (can you spot where it was?) Your nails do feel rough to touch, which is odd at first but something that you get used to.

The polish lasted 4 days before chipping and considering that was without a top coat, I thought that was pretty impressive. Based on my experience smudging the polish, I think if you wanted to make your manicure last a few days longer, you could try reapplying the polish over any chipped areas.

I've read on other blogs that the leather effect is being released later this year, although the black and tan colour, as part of the set, are available now in Selfridges for £19. There is also a gorgeous deep red colour, which will be available too.

What do you think of the leather effect? Or have you had enough of nail effects altogether?

Ciate mani month day 16 (Big Yellow Taxi)

Day 16

 Big Yellow Taxi was behind door 16, a bright yellow that reminds me of Barry M's Lemon Icecream.

Unfortunately the formulation of the polish makes it very streaky and even with three coats, it didn't look any better. It's a shame because I think this shade would be flattering on most skin tones but hopefully, it will still look striking when the sun is shining.

Quick review: Nail envy wraps

My holiday gave me the perfect opportunity to test some of the products that I received from #LiveBloggers. First up for review are Envy wraps bling from Elegant touch.

The wraps were easy enough to use. Unlike other wraps I have tried I needed to apply a coat of clear polish first before selecting the correct size and sticking them in place, filing off the excess and finishing with a top coat. The instructions also stated that using gentle heat from a hair-dryer would help the wraps to adhere, but I skipped this step and they seemed to work just fine.

As claimed, the wraps stayed in place for 5 days and then lasted beyond that, although there was some wear at the tips on around day 3, but this wasn't noticeable from afar.

Day 3

I eventually peeled the wraps off, but I did get some peeling of my nails underneath so I would recommend soaking your nails in warm water to loosen the wraps a bit before peeling or maybe a bit of polish remover.

Graffiti design wraps

The wraps cost £5.49 in Superdrug (although I have also found them in Savers for 99p) and contain 24 stickers, which means that if you are happy to cut some of the larger wraps to size you could easily get two wears out of one packet.

Ciate mini mani month calendar

Having not had an advent calendar for years, this year I have treated myself to two!

First to arrive was the Ciate mini mani month calendar, which contains 24 mini bottles of Ciate polish, 4 of which are caviar beads!

The packaging on the box isn't particularly Christmas themed, which I would have expected, and makes the box suitable as a gift beyond the countdown to Christmas.

The back of the box lists all the colours contained, with the exception of 3 exclusive colours. Personally I would have preferred that all the colours were a surprise but I guess the there is still the surprise element in which colour you will get each day.

I purchased my box from QVC, for £31.20 plus postage. I think this is a great price, working out at less than £1.50 a bottle!

If you would like to see swatches of each of the polishes and discover what is behind each door I will be starting the mini mani month from 1st December!

Nails of the week: Essie Charleston

I had my nails done this week as part of a Wahanda deal. The manicure was so-so but I was excited to try two products I haven't tried before.

The first thing was an Essie polish, this is the shade Charleston, which is a pretty brown and very autumn appropriate. The colour wheel actually made this look a lot lighter but because it falls into the neutral class of shades in my opinion I was happy to go with it.

After two coats the technician applied Seche Vite top coat, which has been on my wish list since the start of the year. She then immediately applied cuticle oil, which apparently helps the polish dry faster.

The top coat does seem to give a really glossy finish, so all that remains to be seen is if it lasts chip free any longer than my usual top coat.

Of course because I didn't apply the products myself I didn't get a feel for the application but at least now, I can have a rough idea of what to expect before I splash out.

Time to Shine!

So before you click away deeming this post the worst attempt at fashion blogging - don't!

Tonight I will be walking 26 miles across London raising money for skin cancer and Cancer Research UK.

I'm very nervous but I have done a half marathon in the past and that had a very casual atmosphere, so I am hoping tonight will be the same.

Because the event is called Shine, I wanted to wear the brightest clothing and makeup I could find. I have kept my makeup simple, with the main feature being bright pink lips. I found the tutu, leg warmers and gloves all on eBay for a grand total of £6.

On my nails I decided to wear another set of ImPress nails, this time with a fun pink and purple leopard print.

Please wish me luck and if you would like to donate to the cause, this is my link!

ImPress press on manicure review

I have to admit I highly doubted these were going to last 7 minutes let alone 7 days. I’ve used the sticky pads for false nails in the past and they have pinged off immediately and I expected these to be the same.

But I was very wrong, this is day 10 and, with the exception of two, they are still on and feel strong. Two of the nails began to feel loose, and from what I can tell the glue from the sticky pad disintegrates and the nails can then be popped off easily and with no damage to the real nail.

They do not feel as thick as false nails and, therefore, don’t take any getting used to. The length of the nails is perfect too, so there is no need for filing or trimming.

I received these as part of the LFW goody bag earlier in the year so I didn’t choose the colour and at first glance I wasn’t really that impressed if I am honest. However, once I actually took them out of the packet and applied them I saw that the nails are a very pretty brown/red shade (actually very similar to my hair colour) and are very autumn appropriate. In fact I am on the look out for a polish that is this shade so if you know of any please comment below!

I would definitely repurchase these, I think they are around £7-8, which is a little on the pricy side, but I would save them for a trip away or an event and choose a set that has a design rather than a block colour.

Nails of the week: Rimmel Rose Libertine

I haven’t had a nail post for a few weeks having struggled with a new brand that chips before I’ve had a chance to take a picture…more on that in another post though.

So I decided to go back to a brand that hasn’t disappointed me so far.

Rose Libertine from Rimmel is a pretty, muted rose, pink shade. It is bright and summery without being garish, which makes it suitable for an office environment if you are someone who needs to be conscious of these things.

The polish dried pretty quickly, it doesn’t live up to the 60 second claim (or the one coat claim) and needed two coats to become opaque. It is also worth mentioning that I really like the brush, I have found it much easier to paint the edge of my nails without also painting my fingers too.

Four days on and there is only a slight bit of wear at the tips, which is perfect considering I always try to stretch my polish to last for a week.

Nails of the week: Nail wraps

My nails were in bad condition after using nail glue a few weeks ago. Polish just highlighted the damage so nail wraps seemed to be the perfect solution to make my nails look presentable while they recovered.

To be honest, as much as I like the designs of nail wraps at £6.99 or more a packet, I would rather buy a bottle of polish! But, I did manage to find these Girls with Attitude nail wraps at Savers for £1.99…bargain!

They are really easy and quick to use. The pack contained 12 stickers in total, 6 of each size. All you do is pick the one that closest matches the size of your nail and stick it on, then using a nail file, file off the excess wrapping by using the file at a 90 degree angle. Because there were only 6 sizes available I did end up using two wraps on one of my nails to get complete coverage.

The whole process didn’t take more than about 10 minutes and with the exception of one nail I didn’t have any issues with the wrap creasing or bubbles forming. A few times I applied the wrap in the wrong position and it was really easy to peal off and reposition.

The wraps lasted just under two weeks — I had to remove them before an interview otherwise I would have expected them to last much longer. The photograph above was taken after 5 days and you can see a slight bit of wearing at the tips but this was barely noticeable.

I am now on the hunt for more wraps at Savers. I think these will be ideal to use while on holiday as a much cheaper and less damaging alternative to shellac.

So, nail wraps, yay or nay?