Giving Your Nails Some TLC

I love having freshly painted nails. Something about it makes me feel all special and girly. I hate, however, chipped nails and having to re-do them. That is just not fun. But I'm also a fussy one who doesn't like not having anything on my nails. I know, I'm never happy. However, lately I've found a little routine, mainly for Sunday, that leaves my nails looking and feeling healthy for the week ahead. Hurrah!

I begin my giving my nails a file with that round looking nail file you can see here. I like to do this whilst I still have the old polish on as my nails are stronger then and not weakened by nail varnish remover or water. Once I'm happy with the shape I then take my nail varnish remover and get rid of the polish that's left from the previous week.

Next up I take my Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover to get rid of any overgrown cuticles and help me push them back a bit. Once they're all pushed back I grab my No7 Revitalising Hand Saviour and give my hand a good scrub and refresh. I bloody love this stuff!!!

Nails and hands all fresh and washed, I take this second nail file and give my nails a bit of a buff and shine. Then it's down to painting. I find that something strengthening such as the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails is a good base coat when you're trying to rescue your nails. Finally, to make them look a bit more polished I grab Essie's Mademoiselle polish to go over the top. I find this colour is almost like a BB Cream for your nails if you like. Love it.

What do you do to treat your nails?

Laura xoxo

Essie: Beach Bum Blu

I was at my local Boots back home, which, let's just say is rather modest in size, and I was amazed to find an Essie stand there. Without even hesitating I glanced around and looked for a colour to take home with me. And this one hit me hard. 

The name is Beach Bum Blu, but for some reason it reminds me of mermaids, can't you just see them swimming around with this little beauty on their nails? Just me? I would call it (and in my head do,) A Mermaids Tale.

It is a gorgeous bright almost aqua blue colour with a hint of duo chrome silver in it. This makes it a different colour in different lights, which makes it even more fun. It is a bit 'in your face' on finger nails, but I reckon it will be perfect on toe nails for summer. (Note: I have now tried it on my toes, a-mazing.)

So what do you think? Too out there, or super cool? 

Laura xoxo

Essie Nail Varnish

Essie is a nail varnish brand that carries a very good name within the blogging community, alongside the loved O.P.I. However until recently it has been very hard to get a hold of. However they have now created a diffusion line that retails in both Boots and Superdrug. It took me forever to find a store with a stand, so I took advantage and got three. 

Cute as a Button

This is definitely my favourite shade out of the three. A classic Essie colour, a nice pink toned coral which is just so lovely and girly when on. It was pretty much opaque in one coat, but I put two on just to be safe. I really, really love this colour and think I'm going to be wearing it a lot these coming seasons.

In a Stitch

I like this colour, it has come off slightly darker in this picture. It is a nice pink/brown colour that could look very sophisticated.  Again this opaque within the first coat, and I actually left it at the one for this picture.

Mademosille 
This is a very nude, almost your nails but better colour. Unlike the other too this one is very sheer, and even with three coats you can still see the natural nail come through. This would be perfect if you aren't allowed nail colour at work or school.

Overall I'm very impressed with the quality of these polishes. They lasted around three days on me, which is amazing, and they are so simple to apply, which I hear is something to do with the diffusion line.

I haven't done a NOTD for a while 'cause I've been using the Nail Envy from O.P.I and I couldn't recommend it enough. It has done wonders for my nails. They are so much stronger now, and polish lasts so much longer.

What are your favourite Essie colours?

Laura xoxo