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