Currently listening to: Science and Faith by The Script
Hi girls,
I hope you are all well and having a good week. Today is the final day I have to work in Liverpool which means the end of my long working days (7.30am - 7pm) and the start of blogging properly again, yay :-)
Today I'd like to show you the products I use to help me take care of my nails. For those of you who have followed me for some time, you might have noticed that my nails are a lot longer now than they used to be, especially back in the day when I would complain about peeling nails and end up cutting them right down.
My nails still aren't in great condition but they're better than they used to be. Here are the products I believe have helped strengthen my nails:
OPI Avoplex High Intensity Hand & Nail Cream and OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil. When I first bought these, I used the cream twice a day and the cuticle oil once a day, I think. Recently I've been neglecting this routine and have only used the products a couple of times a week so I need to start using them more regularly again. I'm not sure if these specific products have helped my nails or whether other brands of cream and oil would help just as well. Do you have any recommendations?
My nails used to peel a lot which in turn caused my polish to chip at the tips very quickly. Someone suggested I started buffing my nails so when this product caught my eye, I decided to grab it.
This is a mini nail file which has four sections to file, smooth, buff and shine your nails.
I actually haven't used the buffing file but I've made good use of the smoothing file and that's certainly helped the condition of my nails. My only complaint with this is that the file designed for filing isn't great. I would really like a glass or crystal nail file now.
Finally, I use OPI Original Nail Envy and Collection 2000 2 in 1 Base Coat and Ridge Filler. When I first got Nail Envy, I used it as instructed for two weeks with no other nail polish. I didn't see great results but now I use it as a base coat all the time. I would like to think it's had some effect. The Ridge Filler is also a product I use whenever I paint my nails to create a smooth surface for polish. Apparently pink top coats are more effective at preventing staining from bright and dark colours than clear top coats so that's something worth bearing in mind.
So there we go ladies, those are the products I currently use to help take care of my nails. Have you tried any of these? Would you recommend any products I haven't tried? What products do you use in your nail care routine?
Bye for now,
Laura
I absolutely love this. The image is from MASH plate m78.
I read yesterday that in the UK, Miss Sporty polishes are considered one of the best brands for stamping with. After this manicure, I have to agree!
Do you like thie manicure? What are your favourite brands of polish to stamp with?
OPI Avoplex High Intensity Hand & Nail Cream and OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil. When I first bought these, I used the cream twice a day and the cuticle oil once a day, I think. Recently I've been neglecting this routine and have only used the products a couple of times a week so I need to start using them more regularly again. I'm not sure if these specific products have helped my nails or whether other brands of cream and oil would help just as well. Do you have any recommendations?
My nails used to peel a lot which in turn caused my polish to chip at the tips very quickly. Someone suggested I started buffing my nails so when this product caught my eye, I decided to grab it.
This is a mini nail file which has four sections to file, smooth, buff and shine your nails.
I actually haven't used the buffing file but I've made good use of the smoothing file and that's certainly helped the condition of my nails. My only complaint with this is that the file designed for filing isn't great. I would really like a glass or crystal nail file now.
Finally, I use OPI Original Nail Envy and Collection 2000 2 in 1 Base Coat and Ridge Filler. When I first got Nail Envy, I used it as instructed for two weeks with no other nail polish. I didn't see great results but now I use it as a base coat all the time. I would like to think it's had some effect. The Ridge Filler is also a product I use whenever I paint my nails to create a smooth surface for polish. Apparently pink top coats are more effective at preventing staining from bright and dark colours than clear top coats so that's something worth bearing in mind.
Note to self: take pictures after applying Seche Vite to smooth out any smudges and raised stamping
Before I got my new Bundle Monster plates I saw a lot of manicures with this stamped design and I was so excited to try it myself. I love this design and think using it with two shades of the same colour works really well.
What do you think of this manicure? Do you like my new Kiko polish?
Jacket: New Look
Depending on the light, this looks dark grey or dark brown with flashes of purple shimmer in it. I wore it to work on Friday and thought it was a good, strong colour which is noticeable yet not inappropriate for work.
Application was an easy two coats. I applied Seche Vite over the top which gave it a glossy look but also made it shrink a bit at the tips. I don't mind that in real life but I find it annoying when it comes to taking pictures for here.
Of course I had to add some nail art when I had a bit of free time this afternoon though I must admit, I'm not too happy with it. Firstly, I used a pastel pink polish and BM208 to stamp thin cracks. I really like these and the colour combination reminded me of marbled chocolate :-)
Then I ruined it by adding two flowers in Konad Special Pink from MASH m26. The cracked lines are so clean and clear that I really should have added another clear design instead of these fuzzy flowers which are hard to even identify as flowers. Fail.
What have you done today? Any nice nail art designs you'd like to share?
I love it.
TIME