Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar Reveal - Day #10

Today's Liberty beauty treat is a fantastically sparkly nail polish by Deborah Lippmann.
Retailing at £18, the nail polish in shade 'Stronger' is infused with green tea and biotin and is pretty much an instant disco for your nails. Created in collaboration with Kelly Clarkson (hence the name), Stronger looks high in glitter density, which is just what I want - if you're gonna go glittery, you may as well go full-on glittery, right? Perfect for New Years Eve or whenever you're feeling fancy. Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in Stronger is at Liberty here.

How I Stopped Biting My Nails!

I never, in a million years thought I'd be one to write a blog post like this. I am a bonafide nail biter, picker and peeler and have been since I can remember. It's a childhood habit that I seemingly never grew out of and now, as a fairly anxious grown up (if I can call myself that), as soon as I feel worried about anything, my nails are the first thing to pay the price.

Incredibly though, for the first time since I was an infant I currently have a full set of strong, semi-healthy nails that I managed to grow all by myself. Yes, they're short and modest but this is literally the first time they've been long enough to tap on my desk. Win.
They haven't been growing for very long but I suppose I'm a bit overexcited and wanted to share how I've got this far. The points below may seem obvious but they've worked for me! Here's how I've stopped attacking my nails:

Falsies are your Friend!
Fake nails are notoriously bad for your nails because frankly, they don't give a damn about your natural nails underneath. If you get gels or acrylics done professionally it's usually extra detrimental to your real nails because they use those industrial strength electrical tools to file them into oblivion. It's a bit of a juxtaposition really because if you're trying to grow your nails, sticking on some falsies can actually be a great first step. With this in mind, I popped down to Boots and got a couple of packets of really short DIY glue on nails so I could control how much I annihilated my natural finger nails. Each set stayed on for 5 to 7 days at a time and once they started falling off/ getting gross, I just replaced them with fresh nails. I did this for about two weeks, allowing my natural nails to grow underneath. The temptation to rip them off was real but somehow I managed to persevere and once I (carefully) took them off for good using acetone, I was pleasantly surprised by the nails underneath.

Give them Strength
If you're a nail biter/picker/peeler you'll probably have really weak nails that won't grow very much without a little extra care. When I first removed the falsies, my pinky nails were pretty long but I had to file them down because they were so bendy and weak they would have fallen at the first hurdle (ie when I did the washing up). To make them as strong and least prone to breakage as possible, I applied a super thick protein rich coating in the form of Perfect Formula Gel Coat.  My boyfriend's mum gave this to me last Christmas (think she may have been trying to tell me something) and it has pretty much saved my nails. I'm sure you can get other colours but I like this light powder pink shade because it was subtle enough to not look ridiculous on my growing nails. I recently bought the Essie Grow Stronger fortifying growth base coat which is thinner in consistency but basically does the same job.

Perfect Formula Gel Coat Colour

Nourish your Nails
I've made a conscious effort to apply hand cream throughout the day and it's now compulsively become the last thing I do before I get into bed. Not only is it a nice little pampering ritual I can do any time, it's good for my hands and great for my nails. I was using Clarins Hand and Nail Cream but I've now run out so I'm using Burt's Bees Beeswax & Banana Hand Cream and CicaBiafine Creme Mains Reparation Intense alternately. Also, something I've read so many rave reviews about - Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream! I'm so pleased I've added this to my new nail care routine. It's super moisturising and smells lemony and fresh.

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Paint your Nails!
One of the best ways to stop myself attacking my nails is to keep them painted. For some reason, if they've got a colour on them I'm less inclined to bite or pick. Maybe it's because I subconsciously know I don't want to ruin the paint job. Whatever the reason, it works for me! I've been alternating between classic reds, fuschia pinks, black cherries and the nearly nude wonder that is Essie Ballet Slipper.

Are you a nail biter? Have you overcome the habit or did you never start? Any tips? Let me know your thoughts!

Nailberry Spring/Summer 2014 Collection

I quite literally dipped my toe in Nailberry polishes last year when I experienced a Classic Pedicure and Japanese Manicure at the Nailberry Salon in South Kensington. This year however I've been dabbling in the new Spring/ Summer collection of colours, a handful of which I've got to show here.

Nailberry won Best Nail Polish Brand in the Beauty Shortlist Awards this year for very good reason. Completely cruelty-free, the polishes are marketed as '4 Free', meaning they don't contain Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP (a binder)  and Camphor. They're basically one of the least toxic nail polishes around, which is obviously a good thing. They also offer a pretty stunning collection of colours ranging from deep reds, to barely there nudes through to bright Brazilian green (in celebration of the World Cup of course.)
The colours I've been playing with are part of the recent Spring/ Summer releases and include Young and Fabulous - described as a '1950's' pink, Lush- a light greyish blue, Lait d'amande- a light champagne nude and Noisette - a warm nutty brown.

Call me a traditionalist, but Young and Fabulous is my pick of the bunch. The bright girly pink looks very pretty against (fake) tanned skin and is definitely a winner for me.

It's worth mentioning that the formula of the Nailberry polishes is quite thin. Richly pigmented, yes but a little on the thin side, probably due to the lack of yucky chemicals in the ingredients which I think is a fair compromise. Though each of the polishes I tried were of a similar consistency with decent colour pay off, the most opaque of the four is definitely Noisette - only one coat of the rich brown colour is required whereas the other three need two to achieve full coverage. All in all, a nice little taste of the latest colours from Nailberry and I look forward to seeing what they come up with for the next collection. Nailberry 4 Free Nail Lacquers retail at £13.50 each.

*This post contains samples

Japanese Manicure & Classic Pedicure at Nailberry Salon

On Wednesday evening I had the absolute pleasure of visiting the Nailberry salon in South Kensington. Clean and sophisticated with a definite Parisian vibe, the salon is the brainchild of French beauty enthusiast and entrepreneur Sonia Hully. Determined to bring professional, personable and efficient nail salons to London, Sonia set up shop in SW and Nailberry was born.

I was there to try out the salon's Japanese Manicure - an all natural treatment used in Japan for the past 400 years (!) to make the nails strong, healthy and lustrous and was also treated to a classic pedicure using a Nailberry polish of my choice.

Japanese Manicure

This manicure is all about bringing out the natural beauty of your nails without using chemicals and is particularly recommended for those of us who have overdone it with falsies or gel nails and would like to get their talons back in tip top shape.
The salon uses the Japanese Manicure set by P-Shine - a kitsch kit containing a semi-dried beeswax paste with minerals, a lustre powder and buffers to bring the nails back to life and leave them looking healthier than ever.

Nail technician Julie trimmed my cuticles before buffing the beeswax paste into each of my nails. Just this step alone had my fingernails looking shiny and healthy but the best was yet to come as she took each finger and buffed in the 'lustre powder'. The buffers used in the P-Shine kit are buckskin and they're similar in texture to a chamois you use to polish a car - so it makes sense that they would be effective at polishing nails!
My Japanese Manicure was finished with cuticle oil and hand cream before it was time to sit back and admire my lovely new fingernails. Now, I don't have the most elegant hands or the prettiest nails - my fingernails are very short, they break and peel a lot and I had recently removed store-bought false nails, but there is no denying that after this treatment my nails look cleaner, pinker, shinier, more healthy and noticeably stronger - result! A before and after:

I am fully aware that I have wrinkly gnome fingers and horrifically short nails but at least you can see the results!

Classic Pedicure

Julie soaked my feet before trimming and filing the nails and getting rid of any yucky bits (sock lint, anyone?) then buffed away the dry bits on my feet. She then applied a basecoat and I picked out a Nailberry polish for my toes. I opted for 'Strawberry Jam' - a perfectly autumnal deep red with a hint of fuschia from the Nailberry Berries Collection.
It's worth mentioning that Nailberry polishes are richly pigmented, long lasting and free from 4 chemicals usually found in polishes - Camphor, Toluene, DBP and Formaldehyde.

The girls at Nailberry are genuinely lovely and knowledgeable and were ready to answer any questions I had about the products and the salon. If you're in London and looking for an affordable pampering experience for your fingers and toes, pop along to Nailberry at 19 Bute Street, South Kensington SW7 3EY.
Call them on 020 7225 3116 or visit Nailberry online. For more information about the P-Shine kit used in the Japanese Manicure Click Here or visit www.p-shine.co.uk.

P.S. Nailberry were a finalist for the Best Salon of the Year 2013 - you can't argue with that!

Thanks for reading x

Beauty-Steals.co.uk feat. Rimmel & Revlon

A few weeks ago a little twitter bird told me about Beauty-steals.co.uk - a brand new website dedicated to providing well known quality cosmetics for less dosh.
You'll find brands including Benefit, MAC, Urban Decay, Rimmel, Max Factor, Revlon and Fake Bake on their virtual shelves, all for a fraction of the RRP.
Beauty-steals.co.uk also stock a number of discontinued items so chances are you'll be able to track down a favourite lipstick or eyeshadow that you'll no longer find in Superdrug or Boots.

The Beauty Steals babes sent me a couple of examples of the products they sell, so everyone can get in the loop!

Revlon Colorstay 12 Hour Quad Shadow in Sunrise/ Sunset

£3.59

The shades in this quad pallet are born to blend together and claim to stay put for 12 hours. I've not tested the longevity of these yet but shade wise, I'm particularly partial to the metallic chocolate-plum colour at the bottom there.

Rimmel London Vinyl Jelly Gloss Lip Liner Duo in Tasty/ Hot Spark

£2.45

The Vinyl Jelly lip liners are smooth, creamy and glossy and don't leave a harsh tell-tale line. I'll be using these to line and fill my lips.

Rimmel London 60 Second Nail Varnish 730 Silver Bullet

£3.79

Silver Bullet is a silvery fairytale-in-space kind of colour that's pretty easy to apply thanks to the iconic wide brush. I have pretty gross fingernails at the moment so thought it would be best not to plaster them all over the interwebs.

Beauty Steals deliver for free in the UK and there's no minimum order restrictions so your bargain find remains a bargain without the dreaded addition of delivery costs to burst your bubble!

Have a peek at Beauty-steals.co.uk for yourself.

Thanks for reading!

A Pretty Polish: 17 Lasting Fix in Orange Soda

Hello!

Orange and coral shades seem to be everywhere lately, so I thought I'd start small with the trend by giving my fingernails a lick of orange paint.

I blogged about Lasting Fix polish in Pink Grapefruit recently, but just to recap, the Lasting Fix formula is slightly watery (you need at least two coats for a decent result) and impressively long lasting.

Once again I have enlisted my lovely-handed friend India to model the polish.

This is one of those 'tanning' polishes that instantly warms up your skin tone thanks to its fluorescent tones. I'm thinking I might wear this on my toenails when (if) the weather calls for open toe shoes :)

You can pick this polish up from Boots for £2.99.

What do you think of this colour? Are you a fan of the 17 nail polishes?

Thanks for reading! :*

A Pretty Polish: 17 Lasting Fix in Pink Grapefruit

These little pots of polish by 17 have become my go-to brand when I want a new nail colour.

I usually stick to darker colours or bright reds, but I thought Pink Grapefruit would be perfect for prettying up my nails for Spring.

My nails aren't worthy of photographing at the moment, so I borrowed my friend India's lovely hands to model the polish for this post :)

In the pictures, India only has one coat on her nails, and as you can see it leaves quite a sheer finish.
For a more opaque result, two or three coats are definitely needed.

The polish applies really smoothly, is glossy and fairly chip resistant.
As for the 'lasting fix' claims, I think it comes through on the promise pretty well and looks fairly flawless for a good few days.

The formula is a little on the watery side, which I quite like because it generally means less drying time.
Besides the bright, flirty colour, the selling point for me is how easily applied this polish is: It's not gloopy at all and the brush fans out to just the right size. Result :)

17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish is available at Boots in a variety of colours for £2.99.

Have you tried polishes from 17?
What do you think of Pink Grapefruit?

Thanks for reading :*