Suzie Q Reviews: Essence and Essie!

Hey Ladies,

Passing through Penney's recently and I topped by the Essence stand and boy has it been a while since I've picked anything up. And to be fair I was very good I only picked up one thing...I know how restrained was I?

My nails have been in rag order lately especially my cuticles so I picked up their Fast Cuticle Remover to see if I can nurse them back to health. For only a few bob I didn't expect much but I was presently surprised. Basically you pop it on all over your cuticles, leave it for 15 seconds and push them back with a cuticle pusher. Easy peasy! If your like me and you do your own nails this will give you the look that you have been to the salon and will make them easier to paint. Taking care of your cuticles is vital if you want your nails to grow and strengthen.

So with my nails looking the picture of health I wanted to pop on a subtle and soft polish that was a little more pastel so I chose Go Ginza by Essie. A polish that goes with everything and every time I wear it I think to myself that this would be a fab nail polish for a wedding day. It's different but won't look tacky as sin when you look back at your photographs in 20 years time. It is a pop of colour but won't take away from anything else and it suits all skin tones from pale to tanned gorgeously.

So if your a bride on a budget these two products will give you the perfect mitts for the big day!

Suzie Q Reviews: Blurple Is The New Black

Hey Ladies,

Blurple - GOD I just love that word! With Summer just around the corner I have started to crack out the brighter colours again and it makes me super duper excited. I recently added this Rimmel nail polish in Go Wild-er-ness from the Rita Ora collection to my nail polish wardrobe and I am absolutely obsessed. Its the perfect balance between blue and purple but yet its not too blue or too purple... it's blurple!

The Rimmel nail polishes in my opinion are literally THE BEST polishes out there. They last and last without chipping, they go on super opaque and dry very quickly for people like me who are challenged with patience.  And they are like 5 quid, an absolute bargain if you ask me. The Rita Ora collection has a tonne of colours that would be perfect for festival season - super bright and funky and I think this blurple colour will be my Summer staple this year!

What is your fav Summer polish? Let me know in the comments!

Come Back Sun I'm Not Done With You Yet

Hey Ladies,

What a scorcher of a week we were having and of course today when I decide to put up a post to do with Summery nails, it rains. Karma. But sure look we will carry on and pray the sun will return once again.

I love switching up my nail polish and in Summer time I almost change my polish every day or two religiously. We have such long winter months of dark dreary nail colours so whilst the sun is shining (or trying to) I like to get in as much colour as possible.

My nail polish of choice this week is Pepperminty by Ciaté which has made a few appearances so far this Summer. Its a gorgeous teal blue colour akin to that of a Tiffany's & Co box (oo-er fancy). Two coats will give you an even finish and expect at least 3-5 days of wear before it starts to chip.

I got this and the some of the other Ciaté polishes featured on the blog in the Ciaté advent calendar last Christmas and to think that I am still getting use out of it now is phenomenal. Dare I say it that I can't wait till this Christmas (I know, I know its way too early to be dropping the C-Bomb) to pick up this years edition.

What polishes are you donning this Summer? Any favorite brands?

Pretty Little Polish

Hey Ladies,

It's no lie that I absolutely love nail polish, so today is another polish post!  These lovely delights come to you from the Avon Nail Wear Pro and Nail Wear Pro Plus range. I usually pick polish colours that will flatter my dead white skin and make my hands look pretty. These two polishes are right up my street in the shades Coral Reef and Real Red. The Coral screams summer and would look great on anyone with a tan. The red is a deep blood red, to me its something you would see on Vampira, Elvira or in True Blood, truly a vixen shade!

These polishes are always on offer in the Avon catalogue and currently you can get them for the bargain price of €3.25 as they are normally €8. The are extremely long wearing and can endure a hard days work. The formula itself is top notch and glides over the nail with ease, it only takes two coats to get a great opaque look. The best part? The are lovely and glossy so I see no need for a top coat. 

These are available from Avon and you can check out the catalogue online here.

I hope you enjoyed! 

Love, 

S

Neon Breakfast At Tiffany's

Hey Ladies,
I have been on somewhat of a winning streak lately and what I am about to show you is one of the fantastic prizes I won. I entered a Re-tweet competition on the Carter Beauty (Blackrock) Twitter, all you had to do was re-tweet and say your favourite colour for nail polish. Low and behold I was the winner and a couple of days later a lovely nail polish arrived in the post. I originally didn't know what the colour was but the surprise makes it more exciting!

The colour was a neon teal/aquamarine colour that is absolutely out of this world! It is like a Tiffany's box but intensified. The brand of polish is Lechat "Dare To Wear" which I have never heard before and the colour is "Moon River" which makes me this that it is somewhat inspired by the iconic "Breakfast At Tiffany's". I have been on the hunt for a nail polish this colour for a while but had not found one that I was really attracted to, but this polish is exactly that and more! The consistency is just the right thickness, you barely need two coats and you have this fantastic neon colour. As for chipping? I haven't worn it long enough to comment on that but to be honest...who cares this is a phenomenal colour that I don't mind reapplying once a day if I have to as it is so in your face and eye catching! Even the photographs don't do it justice.

In natural light...

Camera flash...

You can find this polish (along with other shades) in Carter Beauty in Blackrock at € 12.50 a bottle. Carter Beauty has some fantastic deals on at the moment which I will leave a list below so you can have a look. Why not check out their website? You can see that here or you can follow them on Twitter @CarterBeauty

Eyelash Tint, Eyebrow Tint, Eyebrow Shape  € 25
'Pick and Mix' Mani Pedi                                         € 50
Full Body Carter Beauty Spray Tan                     €15
Perfect Match 2 Week Mani/Pedi Combo          € 50

Hope you enjoyed that!
Love,
S

The Candy Mani

Hey Ladies,
We all love a good nail tutorial and sometimes we see things on the internet and we are like "I HAVE TO HAVE THAT". One of those thing is the new craze of Caviar nails and in my opinion they are absolutely amazing but far too expensive for my budget so I tried the do-it-yourself way instead. It's the easiest way of getting the must have nails for much less effort and most importantly much less money!

Simply go to your local supermarket and raid the baking section for hundreds and thousands (the little balls you put on top of cupcakes). Then, paint your nails, I used Rimmel "How Do You Lilac It?" and whilst still wet dip your nail into a small plate of the hundreds and thousands. Press on the balls (teehee) to make sure they are firmly in place and remove any from the surrounding area that do not fit. Lastly, apply a top coat and your good to go!

I would recommend that you only wear these nails for a special event as they can become annoying or if some fall off you ruin the effect.

Hope you are going to try this out!
Love,
S

Lilac Lovin'

Hey Ladies,
As of late I really haven't been buying many nail polishes, I have re-arranged my makeup storage so I don't have much space to expand in that area. But, last week when I walked my niece over to the local shopping centre to get her asleep as per usual I ended up at the Rimmel stand in the pharmacy. I really wasn't intending on buying anything but when I saw this polish I just had to buy it!

The name of the polish is "How Do You Lilac It?" and it is the most subtle, pastel gorgeous shape that would suit anyone. So far, after a 4 day wearing period there is minimal chipping compared to some of my other polish and it has gotten me tons of compliments. My favourite thing about this polish is that it comes from the 60 Seconds line, which means it has a super fast drying time and it has that really handy brush which makes painting your nails the simplest of tasks. Its is quite sheer when applying so I did 2 coats to get the colour to really show through, then added a top coat. 

This polish is €4.95 and is available from most pharmacies.

Love,
S

Blood Lust

Hey Ladies,
Well Summer is well and truly here and to kick off the brilliant weather I thought I would go for a bright nail polish, something a bit more in your face. It is no secret that I am a big fan of H&M nail polishes and I regularly pick up new colours to add to the collection. My sister actually gave me this polish as it wasn't her cup of tea, WIN! It is the colour Red Nail and it is a really pigmented red that goes beautifully with my pale skin, its very 50's.

I went to a BBQ yesterday and painted my nails for the occasion and although I love H&M polishes some of them are hit and miss and only work out for one day wear. As I am typing this I can see the ends of the polish that has chipped away.

H&M polishes are really affordable at €3.95 a bottle and they have a huge range of colours!

 

What's your favourite Summer polish?
Love,
S

Sally Hansen Nail Stickers!

Hey Ladies,
Today I have a product for you that I have been wanting to try for ages! If you have read my posts about my experience with Minx and the Essence Nail Stickers, you will know that I am a big fan of easy achievable nail looks. I have been keeping my eyes peeled for this product as soon as I heard it was coming to Ireland.

When I first spotted the strips in my local chemist they were selling them for around 8euro which I really couldn't justify. They also only had two packets left, where were a glitter and a hounds tooth pattern which I am not really that into. So I held out, I waited until I could see a good range of the designs and most importantly waited till the prices went down.

I heard on Twitter that they had began selling them in Penny's/Primark and I immediately made a trip into town to get them. No luck. A couple of weeks passed and I had forgotten about them to be honest. But, when I went out to lunch with my friends I spotted them in the Penny's in Swords. They were a bargain at the price of 5.50euro, an offer which I couldn't resist.

 

The application of these strips is super easy, you simply peel off the back then line them up with your nails, apply and then file away the excess at the end of the nail. I then applied a top coat to prevent peeling. It really couldn't be simpler. These lasted about a week before there was any chipping or peeling, which is excellent. Although, when I did remove them there was a little bit of the glue left on my nail, which takes a couple of days for it to come off.

But, honestly these strips are by far my favourite. I will be re-buying these for any upcoming events!

Hope you enjoyed!
Love,
S

Nails Of The Day

Hey Ladies,
Today I have the most gorgeous shade of navy metallic on my nails, I just had to share it with you! It is Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear Polish in Blue It. I bought this polish in Spain last year for the bargain price of 2.95 and I barely ever wear it. Since the days are becoming a bit more Spring and Summer-y, I have slowly started to change to a lighter colour palette in nail polish.

What are your favourite summer polishes?

Love,
S

NOTD

Hey Ladies,
I just painted my nails as I have a show to go to tonight so I did something that was super fast and simple! All you need is two colours and a top coat, for this I chose this grey from Rimmel, a black from Barry M and my seche vite topcoat. Simply, paint your whole nail with the grey, apply top coat and then apply the black as a french tip. Apply another layer of top coat and you're done!

Hope you try this out!
Love,
S

Water Marbling Nails

Hey Ladies,
Today I am going to share with you how to do water marbling. This technique gives great looking nails to those (like me) who is less able to do anything with their nails apart from slapping on some polish. It's a really easy thing to do and you only need an orange wood stick, some tape, a small glass of water (hot or cold) and a small range of polishes. The polishes I am using are ones which were featured in my 12 Days Of Nail Polish Christmas.

Let's get to it!

Begin get your necessities ready....

 Sally Hansen Extreme Wear polish in Blue It....

 Rimmel 60 Seconds Polish in Grey Matter....

 H&M Nail Polish in Wawawoom...

 ....and finally Seche Vite.

 First of all paint your nails with a base coat and I am just using a basic grey.

Then, using your tape apply a small strip to the bottom of your nail and curve it around to cover each side of the nail. Using a small bit more tape apply to across the top of the cuticle, this will avoid a huge mess to clean up.

 Taking a glass of water, this glass is just a small one from IKEA. Begin by dropping in a droplet of nail polish straight from the brush into the water. My first nail I am using a black followed by a dot of gold, blue, grey and gold once again. It should create like a ring effect.

 Once you do that, take an orange wood stick and pull the pattern in different directions (right, left, swirls or a simple line as seen below).

 This is the tricky part.... the dip your nail straight into the middle of the design and leave it for a second and then pull your finger back out again. Allow the polish to dry before removing the tape. Apply a topcoat!

Before you begin your next nail you will need to remove the remaining polish from the water. This is very easy, simply put the orange wood stick in the water and twist it around the glass and the polish should just attach to the stick. Then wipe the orange wood stick in a piece of tissue and continue on :)

Every time you do this technique you will get a different pattern, I have taken some pictures of me doing the rest of my hand so you can see the different design. I have followed the same technique but, as the black polish wasn't the greatest I removed it from the design. 

 Once you have completed your hand, remove the tape from each finger once the nail polish is dry.Then taking a cotton bud and some nail polish remover and clean around the edge of the nail.

 And there you have it, beautiful and different nails that are not only super easy to do but also get you loads of compliments....you'll look a nail genius!

Hope you enjoyed.
Love,
S