S/S '13 Nail Trends: Nail Jewellery

Hey Guys!

I have decided that over next next couple of weeks or so I will do a string of posts trying out and sharing with you guys the Spring/Summer 2013 nail trends that you may want to try out for yourselves! The first one that I decided to do was 'nail jewellery'. Now I found this one particularly interesting as it isn't just a look you can throw together with any old nail polish that is lying around! However, as buying specially designed 'nail jewellery' would probably end up being very overpriced, I looked around my room to try and find something that would make a suitable substitute. In the end, I came across these bead end caps from a broken bracelet that I had kept! I did have to bend them into shape, but that wasn't too difficult. And the upside of these is that you can use them again and again! Luckily they are also very cheap! If you look on eBay and Amazon you can get between 100 and 150 for a pound. This is definitely a more affordable alternative and it doesn't look any different!

To hold the bead end cap in place, I put a layer of top coat onto my nail, laid it down in the correct position and put another layer of top coat over the top. I waited for this to dry and it held it in place well. You can use nail jewellery as a statement look on one finger, to add a bit of edge to your normal coat of colour, or if you use smaller more subtle jewellery you could use it on all of your fingers!

 The base nail polish I used is one of my favourites: 'Black Cherry Chutney' by O.P.I. I have been wanting this colour for ages and I finally got my hands on it on Tuesday! Its a rich dark purple shades with a subtle fuchsia shimmer.

You can buy this shade from many beauty suppliers and Amazon in the UK and it may also be available to purchase at Debenhams depending what the have in stock at the time.

Overall I just think that this look is so easy to do and adds so much individuality and flair to your look! It is really worth doing so give it a try!

Clio

xox

NOTD: Glitter Galore!

Hey Guys!

 Okay so today you are getting a 'Nails Of The Day' post because I quite liked how I painted my nails! Its nothing special or difficult, just a good old coat (or three) of glitter nail polish! This simple go to style adds a bit of glamour to your everyday outfits and school uniform! (Even if you aren't meant to be wearing nail varnish at school!) Below you can see a few pictures showing how my nails look. It really is an easy way to give yourself a slightly more artsy and interesting manicure than just your bog standard layer of colour.

So these are the 5 nail polishes to use to create this look. Now, you don't need three different glitters for this but I love the effect glitter gives so I fished lots of different colours out of my nail varnish collection! I started off with a black base because it makes the colours stand out and look more vibrant against it. I then put lots and lots of layers of glitter nail varnish on and voila! You are done. All you have left to do is put on a layer of top coat. I used 'Sally Hansen Insta-Dri' because I am extremely impatient when it comes to letting nail varnish dry, but you can use any top coat you have to hand! 

As you can see, I really love Barry M nail varnish as it is very cheap and actually quite good quality for the price. If you haven't used Barry M before, definitely give it a try! You can buy all of these products from most good drugstores including Boots and Superdrug. Unfortunately though, the 'Barry M Superdrug Xmas Limited Edition' glitter polish isn't available to buy any more! 

The colours I used (in order of photograph) were:

Barry M Superdrug Xmas Limited Edition Glitter

Barry M Amethyst Glitter (354)

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

Barry M Black (47)

Barry M Diamond Glitter (350)

WARNING: Glitter nail varnish is a real pain to get off!

Clio

xox

Product Spotlight: Seche Vite Topcoat

Hey Guys!

We are both obsessed with nail varnish and love painting our nails- but we hate waiting absolutely ages for them to dry, and then going on the computer or answering our phones and smudging the nail polish everywhere- it's beyond annoying! Luckily the brand Seche have come up with a solution for this problem in the form of the Seche Vite top coat and after hearing loads of our favourite bloggers and youtubers rave about it, we decided we had to get our hands on it! So, on a trip to Sally Hair and Beauty  we picked up a bottle.

The topcoat it self has a standard nail varnish formulation, with a slightly stronger scent than is normal for nail varnish. However, when you apply it on top of mostly-dry nail varnish you can really see what a difference it makes. As you can see on the picture it has smoothed out the smudges and ridges in the polish giving a shiny, flawless finish. In terms of the 'quick dry' claim, we would say that the nail with this on felt completely dry to the touch a good two minutes before the other, and also did not smudge once we carried on with our day-to-day activities. The top-coat makes our nail varnish last on average about a day longer than it would without it and it really helps to maintain the flawless finish that it creates, even when used with a cheaper nail polish.

Left = no S.V. Centre = with S.V. 

Right = S.V on its own

(colour on nails = Nails Inc's 'Cambridge')

Overall we would say that although at an RRP of £9 this is fairly expensive for a top coat, it is worth the cost as it really does help with the dry time of the nails and has removed the hardest part of painting the nails- waiting forever for them to dry- from our routine- a definite plus!

You can purchase Seche Vite from Sally Hair and Beauty Supply, some Boots stores and online at Feel Unique.

Penny & Clio

xox