Gels - which one?

There are so many different types of gel polish out that it’s hard to find one that’s “the best.”

I’ll be honest with you it will depend. Sometimes Gelish will work great for you, sometimes it’s Gellux or Redcarpet etc. Sometimes you can be lucky enough to have them all work fine on your nails and have long lasting colour for over two weeks!

As some of you know, I am a Gel Polish nail technician and I do love trying new products! I thought I’d let you know of a few genuinely brilliant products and their functions (and possibly show off a bit along the way.)

So firstly, this is a design I done about a month ago. I used Gelish Up in the Blue with Gellux White Pearl. People say you shouldn’t mix brands – that’s a myth. Mix all you want. I don’t get along with Gellux’s top coat – so I use Gelish’s as I find it works better for me as a nail tech (that’s just my opinion.) I love polka-dot designs I think they look lovely in all seasons, especially Summer when I done this using Gellux’s Cranberry Cosmopolitan.

For ages I have been searching for some 2D bows because I hate using big chunky 3D ones as they pick off so easily. Finally I found these on eBay, they’re literally just stickers so you peel them off and stick them on. The colour used here is Gellux’s Magenta Magma. I absolutely love this colour it’s perfect for winter and so so shiny as you can see!

Although darker colours such as the above are great for winter so are the warmer pastel colours. This is Pink Pebble, it’s another Gellux colour. I don’t think you can go wrong with a natural colour like this. Although, it does take an extra coat which makes it thicker and more likely to chip – mine didn’t but the more coats you use the more likely it is to chip so remember to keep your coats nice and thin. I used three diamonds on my ring fingers and I think with the simplistic colour it works really well and looks very elegant.

TIP: The best way of applying gems to gel nails is to apply a topcoat over your colour, then add the gems and cure the nail. Afterwards, add another coat of clear and cure. This will secure the nail well.

The perfect colour if you go out a lot - Tiki Tiki Laranga by Gelish’s Rio Nion collection. It’s really bright and vibrant. One of my customers works in a night club and she said they were so bright under the UV even the bouncers where commenting on them! It’s a really nice gel to apply too it’s so thin it feels better than normal nail varnish.

Another great product, Sinful cuticle oil. I use this product on every one of my customers. I have the Mango and Papaya flavour and I’ve had so many compliments on it! It really does help to strengthen the nail and take care of it underneath the gel. I usually try to apply cuticle oil once a day or at least every other.

This product is one I swear by, it’s Lush’s Lemon Flutter Butter. It’s so convenient you just pop it in your back and go. It’s great for cuticles and also any rough bits on your hands, elbows, ankles – everywhere. It’s so great and it actually does feel like it’s working. My nails are healthy and much stronger than before!

I hope this has helped or at least provided you with some ideas! Let me know what you thin I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts. I’m currently working on some Halloween and Christmas designs which is super exiting stuff. I’ll update you all shortly! 

Love Sophie xo

What I've been up to.

Hello! I must start this post by apologising, I’ve been very bad lately. I’ve been so busy with finishing uni and starting my Summer jobs that I’ve not had chance to blog. Saying that, I have been able to keep up with some of yours and of course experimenting with some new beauty buys – which is what has bought me to this post.

 

I chose to enrolled myself into a 1-day beauty course and decided to do Gellux as I always love painting my nails, doing designs and my absolute beauty nag is chipped nails! It really annoys me. So, this is probably going to end up as a little overview of the course I participated in at Capital Hair and Beauty (the Portsmouth branch) and also, the product itself, Gellux!

 

I'll admit it, there wasn't much to the course. It's the practice afterwards and the tips & tricks that take the effort. I was very surprised when I got to see the product itself – such a wide variety of colours and designs to do.

 

It wasn't what I'd expected it to be either, it was surprisingly thin - just like a normal polish.

 

I must say, one part was a little bit of a disappointment but I soon overcame that. I went to buy the starter kit which was £68.99 (ex. VAT) and saw that they didn’t have many colours that I was really excited about but I thought I could deal with that I’ll just pop back and buy some other colours but then I looked in the box and everything else was in  miniature bottles and you didn’t even get all of the bits you needed and if you did get them you only got one. For example: the specific file I needed I only received one of when I’ll need more than that. So we started to work out how much it would cost to buy it all individually – it actually worked out to be about £15 more expensive to get much more of everything (and I mean double) and extra colours. And anyway, this way I was able to pick my own colours. So really, it did work out better for me!

 

The colours I ended up deciding on were;

Lemon Ice – a limited edition colour from last years’ range Lifes a Beach that I knew they were running out on therefore had to get! I am pleased I did buy it though it’s beautiful and so so Summery!

Pink Champagne – a new limited edition colour from their Cocktail Collection it’s such a beautiful pink, and really brings out a tan which is great for the sun were managing to grip hold of this Summer!

Wild Mink – On the course we would work on one and another’s hands and we got to pick our colours, I’d actually picked to have this and another on my hands because it’s such a beautiful natural browny/grey colour it’s lovely.

Jades a Gem – this was the other colour I had on. Before I’d even started the course I knew I’d wanted this colour. I kept saying about it for weeks running up. It’s such a this season colour! It’s a bluey green (imagine the Mediterranean sea – that colour!) and it’s pearlised too so it has a slight hint of glitter.

 

I then went back two days later to buy Cranberry Cosmopolitan – limited edition Cocktail Collection again. It’s a bright red. Really sophisticated yet pretty.

And finally, Black Onyx – a lovely, lovely colour, goes with anything and when applied correctly, a really great colour.

 

Since, I have also bought Pearl White - obviously, a white but with a slight pearl tinge to it.

Pale Quartz - a grey/purple from their new Capsule Collection.

Lastly, Pink Whispers - a few customers had asked for this it's a very natural pink.

I’ve had quite a few appointments since the course and I’ve obviously I've treated myself to a few manis and pedis.

 

I have removed a few sets of Gellux already and I was pleasantly surprised with how well it comes off. This was my one main concern – will it ruin the nail underneath? It was easier than I expected and I was very pleased.

 

I’m so happy that I’ve taken part in the course although I do have to admit, I am a little obsessed now. Everything I do is Gellux now, I love it. I don’t think I’ll ever stop!

 

If you have any questions or queries about Gellux please don’t hesitate to ask. It’s such a great brand and I am so happy with it and especially their beautiful limited edition collections – as you may have noticed. ;)

Love Sophie xo

 

 

Frizz Control Favourites

Hiya lovelies! You may have already read that I am trying to fight against frizz! I'm trying lots of different products to find my absolute best one. So I nipped to my local Sally's and visited Beauty Bay for my latest little beauty wonders!

I do love going to Sally's, for those of you who don't know, Sally's is a shop that sells all things beauty from nail varnishes to massage tables. It's like heaven for a beauty blogger.

I bought the Twisted Sista de-frizz shampoo and conditioner for about £2 which is so so cheap, the end result however, was not so cheap! My hair feels as if I'd just walked out of a salon, I'm amazed, I didn't think anything could control my mane. Although, they do not help fight against humidity. Although the shampoo was a winner at the Hair Awards 2012!

Which brings me to my next favourite, TGI S Factor Smoothing Lusterizer which I found on Beauty Bay (which you can find here). It was in the sale reduced from £12.29 to £10.45 and the reviews I saw were great so I thought, why not? It is by far my favourite product yet, so so good at taming frizz even in such humid weather as we had today! Such a cute trendy little bottle too. I will, with out a doubt, be buying more of S Factor products I am totally in awe now. It smells so amazing too that my hair was left not only soft and frizz free but also smelling delicious.

 

This was also my first purchase from Beauty Bay and I did not have to wait long at all for my parcel to arrive and I was super happy and excited when it did.

 

Both products are fabulous miracle workers, I have finally found something to tame my frizz and couldn't be happier with my products.

 

If you have any advice on what you use to control your frizz please comment with them so I can try!

 

Love Sophie x

May Must Haves!

 

So this is my Must Haves from May! I've got to admit I do love these products, I really am happy with them and I don't think I'll ever give them up.

 

Benefit They're Real Mascara - I know everyone does reviews on this product but I really do rely on this product it is perfect. You don't even need to apply a lot to get such beautiful results.

It's just under £20 and if you buy it from Debenhams/Boots you can get your club card points too.

 

iPhone 4 Chanel Hard Shell - How cute is this! Honestly when I saw it there was no wait, I had bought and paid for it within about 30 seconds. It's amazing. I bought it from eBay for about £4 and I am so glad I did.

 

Juicy Couture Perfume 100ml - Firstly, what a lovely bottle? It's so sweet. Secondly, oh my god, it smells amazing. I love it and I've wanted it for ages but I was in TK Maxx the other day and it was just £30 for a 100ml bottle and in the shops they're £62! Bargain! Honestly, TK Maxx had some beautiful items for such great prices.

 

H'Suan Wen Dua Hair Treatment from Lush - Lately my hair has been a real victim of frizz. It's not pretty at all. So when in Brighton I nipped to their Lush and they gave such great advice about what product would help most and they said this is their best selling so I thought I'd give it a go. You don't need a lot and it has such a strange but nice smell to it. I usually put it on overnight once a week and my hair is left so soft, smooth and frizz free! It was £8.95 for 225g.

 

 Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer - This is a lifesaver and super easy to use. Recently my Benefit Fake Up ran out so I thought I'd experiment with something else. I went to buy the same kind of product but L'Oreal's own and it was about £8 and then a friend pointed this out and it was only £4.99 so I thought I'd try this instead. Honestly this and my beauty blender are the perfect pair. I always wear this because it's so perfect!

 

Hope you like my May Must Haves and give them a go, honestly they're absolute angels. Let me know how you get on!

 

Love Sophie x

OPI Fruit Flavoured Cuticle Oil Pen

So you may or may not know that I've been growing my nails so I no longer have to ruin my nails with acrylics. 

My nail technician introduced me to these pens, she'd bought a big batch and offered me the chance to buy one for just £2. I thought the price was really good and there was a few different flavours including lemon and apple. I chose to try the lemon one and I've had it for a couple of months now.

I've got to admit I was quite skeptical at first, wasn't sure if it would be any good as my nails were ruined at the time. So I got my nails painted with Bluesky Shellac (which is amazing might I add) and I've been using this a lot more often.

As you can see, my nails have really grown in just one week.

I apply a little to each cuticle about 4 times a week and I think you get such good value for your money. I've only had this coat of shellac on one week and my nails already need infills! Honestly, they've grown so well I'm so impressed.

As you can see from the picture, my nails really have grown out and are so much stronger than they were before, I can only just about bend some of them!

I also love how it doesn't feel as greasy as some oils I've tried and of course it smells wonderful.

I will defiantly be buying this again, possibly another flavour so I can try it out! It's super cute and handy as you can just pop it in your bag and go - you don't have to worry about it leaking etc because it's a pen, with a lid, that you have to twist the end of to get anything out of it.

I'd say this was a product I swear by this product and I am a huge fan of OPI anyway so I may have to purchase some more of their products!

Love Sophie xx

Wonderbra Ultimate Plunge Bra Review

Hiya everyone!

So if you read a post a couple of weeks ago you would have seen I reviewed Wonderbra's Ultimate Strapless (if not you can see it here). Since then, Wonderbra got in contact and have sent me an absolutely stunning bra for review which I am extremely thankful for!

Here is the Ultimate Plunge:

Photograph sent to me - not my own image.

As you can see, it's appearance is very different from the Ultimate Strapless although the inside is very alike. It still has the hand-like structure inside the cup to hold you up. It is also great for low tops when your going out because the clear strap through the middle is barely visible.

The bra itself is very very well structured and made, I've been using it for about a week now and the shape hasn't changed and material hasn't faded or stretched. 

What I immediately loved about the bra is the straps, they are so pretty it doesn't look like you have a bra on it looks more like vest straps.

Photograph sent to me - not my own image.

As you can see from the above photograph, the bra isn't just an average cup - it also has a little extra on the bottom, I think that this is such a great idea not only does it make you look slimmer it also gives so much extra support! I do think the Ultimate Plunge gives extra support compared to the Ultimate Strapless - which you'd expect. But the Strapless is still great if you don't want your straps showing as it does still give great hold and is super pretty.

The pattern on the top of the bra is a very elegant lace and a natural nudey/pink colour underneath - very similar colours to the Ultimate Strapless.

I have to say, I absolutely love Wonderbra as a brand and I don't think I'll ever buy a different brand for my bras again, I really can't say enough. Not only do they give great products but the company itself also listens to feedback and replies.

I'm currently discussing a possible giveaway with a Wonderbra - please let me know if you like this suggestion?

I hope this post helps as it's so important to get a bra that can actually benefit you and support you.

Love Sophie x

A month in colour...

Hello! So I ditched my acrylic nails and decided to start painting my natural ones. Finally my nails are getting stronger too thanks to Vaseline Hand and Nail cream! But I thought I'd share a few of my favourite colours and brands I've used this month.

Ciate Caviar Mini Bar 012 Knickerbockerglory & Barry M Rose Quartz Glitter.

I bought this collection when I was in Paris - it's amazing! It's a hot pink I absolutely LOVE IT. It's great for all Seasons and is super pretty. I've also put a Barry M sparkly glitter over the first two toes.

Maybelline New York Color Show 349 Power Red & Rimmel London 60 seconds 740 Clear.

I don't usually like red as I feel they make me look pale but I love this one, not too hot or too bright. I actually think it looks really good and goes with a lot.

Barry M Berry I/C and Fuchsia & Sally Hansen No Chip Acylic Top Coat.

I had a little shopping trip the other day and came across some of Barry M's beautiful pastel colours. I absolutely love them. Luckily enough in Superdrug they were on offer 3 for 2! My dad kindly painted my toes for me as usually I'm useless at them because they're so tiny!

Gelly Hi Shine by Barry M Grapefruit, Sally Hansen No Chip Acylic Top Coat & OPI Nail Envy.

Finally! I purchased OPI Nail Envy from Boots the other day. I'm still experimenting with it so will give you a review when I've made my decision!

I experimented with Barry M's Gelly collection too. It's a lot thicker than usual Barry M nail varnishes and comes off looking more like a shellac polish too.

I also bought Sally Hansen's No Chip Acrylic Top coat. It gives such a glossy shine!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 250 Mudslide

 I bought Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure from Asda because it was on offer 2 for £9 and I thought that was so good! I love this nudey colour, it's so great for every day use and going out. I was so surprised by it, it went on my nails so well and creamy.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 250 Mudslide, Barry  M Rose Quartz Glitter & Rimmel London 60 Seconds 740 Clear.

I later experimented with graduated glitter as you can see in the below image. I've been wanting this for ages and I finally done it! I was so happy with myself I think it looks beautiful - also a good thing because if you do end up chipping a nail a little bit you can't really tell because of the glitter.

Incase you were like me, wondering how to do it, this is how:

1) Apply Nail strengthener - doesn't matter which one and then apply a clear varnish base coat and leave to dry.

3) Paint your nails your chosen colour and leave to dry. And I mean dry completely!

4) Apply a thin layer of glitter around the edge/top of your nail. So usually were you would have your white tip you have a layer of glitter. Allow that to dry.

5) Starting from the top of your nail brush the glitter down your nail leaving a light graduating glitter line.

6) Re-apply if necessary.

7) Apply a clear top coat.

8) Go around the edge of your nail with an earbud and nail varnish to get rid of any unwanted varnish or glitter

Currently: Sensationail Pink Chiffon Gel with a dove nail wraps.

I bought a set of Gel varnishes in Asda, they are quite pricey at £10 each but they are just like shellac and luckily enough I already had a UV lamp. I really do love the colour I feel that if applied correctly it lasts quite a while too! The wraps are from ebay and I bought for only a couple of pounds for two strips! I've never tried nail wraps before but I'm so impressed they literally took 10 seconds to do, they are a lot like the kids tattoos you can get. After applying a clear varnish they look fabulous! I will definitely be buying some more wraps to experiment with. (Watch this space!)

Currently: This shellac hot pink.

It was my nephews first birthday this week so I decided to treat myself to a manicure and polish. I am literally in love with this colour! It's so gorgeous, the photograph doesn't do the colour much justice. What I really love about shellac is not just that it stays on for a long time but also that it never loses it's shine which is brilliant!