NOTD- Nails Inc Topping Lane

Happy Saturday!
To celebrate the start of the weekend I treated myself to some pretty nails using one of my favourite yet more underused polishes; Pudding Lane from the Nails Inc Sprinkles collection. I love the entire collection but there's just something about the blue base with the pink and silver glitter that draws me in.

Eee, isn't it a cure polish? In the photo here I applied one coat of my trust Nails Inc Malibu Mojito to give a nice opaque base and then a single coat of Pudding Lane. The formula is thick without being gloopy and allows the glitter to spread evenly across the nail. I always top off with a coat of the Nails Inc Caviar top coat which leaves an almost completely smooth feeling finish and that little bit of extra shine but to be honest, it isn't a particularly textured feel polish anyway so I wouldn't say it's an essential step if you're short on time.
In terms of wear, if I'm careful I find that I can get a good few days chip free from Pudding Lane, especially with the top coat. Removal is a bit of a pain as with all glitter polishes but I think it's worth it for cute, pastel sprinkle nails!

What do you think? Do you own any of the Sprinkles collection?
Annie xx

Nails Inc Gel Manicure Service

Yesterday I crossed off another of my Little Wishes and treated myself to a gel manicure with the lovely ladies at the Nails Inc counter in Debenhams Bath. With my job including a lot of time with hands in water as well as preparing food and drinks, normal nail varnish just doesn't cut it and as health and safety demands non-chipped varnish I thought long lasting, gel nails may be the way to go.

There are two options available to you at Nails Inc counters. There is the option of semi-gel nails which allows you to choose any regular Nails Inc shade for your treatment. This is then applied along with a gel top and base coat which transforms the polish into a two to three week chip resistant wonder and costs £38.00. Alternatively there is the completely gel option which narrows down your colour choice to around 25 shades, however what is applied is 100% gel polish that lasts for up to two weeks longer, gives you the option of choosing glitter shades and costs £55.00.
I opted for the more expensive treatment for the extra staying power...and I have to say that I was also slightly drawn in by the gold glitter polish being the magpie that I am. The treatment itself took around 1 hour and is fairly relaxing. I sat and made small talk with the friendly technician as she first shaped, treated and then painted my nails and watched the world go by. The counter in the Bath store is on the shop floor so if you're a bit self conscious that may be something to be aware of but I found this just meant I didn't get bored like I may have done in a plain, characterless room.

I'm very happy with the result, having not had gel nails before I'm taking some time to get used to the thickness but the finish is gorgeous and I'm already loving having pretty nails that are staying chip free!
Whilst the price is less than enticing and was enough to put me off for quite a while, if you can afford to get this done as a treat occasionally then I would definitely recommend it done as the results are lovely and I think its something every girl should treat themselves to once in a lifetime at least!

Do you have gel nails? Where do you get yours done? And how do you feel about their long wear finish?
Annie xx

Disclaimer: I received my treatment at 30% reduced rate (making the treatment £38.50) however I still paid with my own money and have been completely honest in my review.

NOTD: A Matte Tape Mani

Hello,
Now the sun is out it feels like summer is finally here. To celebrate I've whipped out my bright coloured nail varnishes and put together my first ever tape mani. I'm actually really happy with the result, despite a little bleeding on a couple of the nails.

Please excuse the rubbish photo, my camera is on charge so it was webcam to the rescue. To do this I started by painting the whole nail with two coats of the coral colour before letting that dry completely (I actually left it whilst I ate the best sandwich in the world for lunch) before applying strips of normal tape and adding the blue layer. When this had dried I finished with a coat of matte finisher because I love the look of matte nails sooo much.

The colours I used were Coral Flair from Accessorize and Reeves Mews by Nails Inc which are two of my current favourites. Does anyone else find it really pleasing when their favourite colours just happen to also work together?

My top coat is just the E.l.f matte finisher top coat which is only £1.50 on their website and a complete bargain. The only trouble I find with wearing a matte top coat is that it has a tendency to highlight any imperfections and dodgy brush strokes so always be careful to stay neat when you're using it :)

What do you think of my first ever tape mani? Have you found yourself making more effort with your nails now the sun is shining?
Annie x
ps, my 200 follower giveaway is still going strong so don't forget to enter!

NOTD- Nails Inc Marble Arch Candy Stripes

Hello,
How was everyones bank holiday? Since I'm under doctors orders to do very little and rest I did exactly that and it felt amazing :)
I'm really loving nail art at the moment, its such a fun way to add a little new life into nail painting. Today I've gone with a candy stripe pattern using Nails Inc Marble Arch as the base colour and then my white nail art pen to create the stripes.

Am I the only one that finds that doing the notorious "other hand" even more tricky when using a nail art brush? I swear I am so left handed its unreal, I can hardly even hold the brush with my right hand!

Anyways, what do you think of the candy stripe idea? Its pretty easy when you aren't as ridiculously one handed as I am and I think it looks pretty funky too :) Is it a design you'd use?
Annie x

Latest in Beauty CEW Beauty Awards Box

Hello,
This is the first of a couple of beauty box reviews I have for you. I'll be posting my thoughts on the May She Said Beauty box tomorrow.
Latest in Beauty is a slightly different beauty box concept where you have the choice of building your own mini box of three samples chosen by you, purchasing individual luxury sized samples or buying one of their themed boxes that are released once every month or two.
This month was the CEW(UK) Beauty Awards box which was packed full of goodies that were finalists in the Beauty Insiders Choice awards. This box cost £8.95 plus £2.95 postage and for that money you receive 9 samples (including a full sized Nails Inc Varnish and a 50ml travel sized Elemis body cream!)

So, whats in the box:

This is what met me when I lifted the lid. Exciting no? I have to admit that I let out a little squeal of excitement, especially when I realised that I'd received the Weleda sample instead of the Benefit (I love Benefit but I already have a full sized tube of The Porefessional which was the alternate sample)

My Impressions:

First up was a sample of Mont Blanc Legend which I gave to Daniel to play with. I managed to squeeze a brief review out of him. He said that he liked the smell as it wasn't too over powering but still long lasting. He also liked the "quietly confident" (haha, men eh?) packaging of the full sized bottle which looks rather like a hip flask which appealed to him.

Next out of the box was an Ellis Saab perfume sample. I tried this on straight away and really liked it. The scent is soft and floral and perfect for wearing during the long summer days. I did find that after a while thought, this started to smell a little weird on me.

Next was the Weleda Pomegranate Firming Day Cream sample I was so excited about. This came in a high quality metal tube which is strong enough to carry around in a messy make-up bag without worrying about it breaking. The smell is gorgeous and so far, it has had a lovely effect on my skin so there may be a review coming up shortly!

I'll be honest, this nail varnish was the main reason I gave in and bought this box. It is a full 10ml sized bottle of Porchester Square which is worth £11 alone and as a girl who loves Nails Inc but is on a tight budget, this was just asking to be bought! The colour is a nude tone with a slightly purple tint to it and makes a lovely base for nail art as well as being a nice spring colour on its own. I can't get enough of it :)

I've heard great things about this cream so I'm looking forward to trying it out. I haven't started it yet so can't say much but I was happy with the size of the sample, at 50ml this is a proper travel sized bottle that will be useful to take on holiday without the annoyance of it running out after a couple of uses.

Next up is L'Occitane Brightening Hand Care with SPF 15. Personally, I don't fully understand the concept behind brightening hand cream. Am I mad for not caring if my hands are bright and glowy? As long as they're soft then I'm generally not bothered. However, this is a lovely cream which sinks in well leaving hands instantly soft and hydrated. It also smells really nice; sort of herbal.

This was another excitement. I've been wanting to try dry conditioner for a while now and I know that Percy and Reed are known for their high quality offering. I haven't used this yet but the sample is a great size and if it is anywhere near as good as the other Percy and Reed products I've tried then I know I'll be hooked.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish needs little introduction or explanation because it is already adored by all beauty lovers. I received a 30ml sample bottle and a muslin cloth and its taking a lot of self restraint to leave this for use on my summer holiday as a treat rather than use it now and then have to spend more to replace it hehe.

This sample was a little bonus that wasn't advertised. It contains three little sachets of Liz Earle tinted moisturiser one in light, medium and dark. This was a lovely little extra as I love trying out new make-up products and Liz Earle products are always great :)

Phew, so thats what I got in my Latest in Beauty box. Brilliant value for money, and a great selection of different products. Have you bought this box? Or any others from Latest in Beauty? What do you think?
Annie x

NOTD Malibu Mojito Manicure

Hello,
I've been playing around with some pretty nail designs today because I picked up some new manicure guides from ebay the other day.
I was sooo excited by the look of the Malibu Mojito manicure I created using my very favourite Nails Inc. colour. What do you think?

The manicure guides themselves are pretty simple but I think they're a little too sticky because I've had trouble with them pulling off varnish already on the nail when I apply the "tip" coat but onplain nails they're great and I really like the effect :)

Annie x

NOTD- Nails Inc Emerald Street

Hello,
Now the weather is cheering up, I am loving bright nails so I was excited to try out one of my new polishes; Emerald Street by Nails Inc.
And I wasn't disappointed! The colour is a beautiful deep green which has a gorgeous sparkle to it. I was also happy to see that it applied opaque in just one coat which is a bonus for people as impatient as me who just cannot bear waiting for coat after coat to dry.

Over the top of Emerald Street I applied a generous layer of my favourite Bourjois glitter polish. Its part of their one second application range so hasa wide brush that you just sweep across the nail once and bam, instant whole nail coverage :)

I have to say that I wasn't overly inspired by this combination so I have now removed it and replaced with Maliblush from the Nails Inc Cocktail Collection topped with a pretty coat of Carnival by Technic. When I get paid I'm thinking about investing in a set of nail art pens so that I can channel a little more creativity than just applying glitter over a base!

In other news, have any of you heard about the first iFabbo conference and meet up in London which is taking place in Kettner's on 26th May. I will be there and am already so excited. Will any of you be going along? It would be great to meet some of you lovely ladies who's blogs I read and put a face to the names :)
Annie x

Nails Inc. Malibu Cocktail Collection

Hello,
Yesterday I had the excitement of receiving a package containing the three limited edition colours from the Nails Inc. collaboration with Malibu. I was so excited to find these online for just £1.20 each for a full sized pot that I snapped all three up and paid a grand total of £6 for them including postage costs. Bargain.

Now, I'm a big fan of Nails Inc. Malibu and bright colours so why I didn't score some of these when they were readily available I don't know, but I am delighted that they are part of my collection now. They are beautiful colours and also have great names; Malibu Mojito, Malibu Cosmo and Maliblush, named as such because of the limited edition cocktails Malibu released for the summer.

The pots are full sized at 10ml each and rather charmingly, all have "drink Malibu responsibly" printed onto the pack of the pot along with the drink aware url.
These polishes give the great level of coverage you expect from Nails Inc. and in the swatches below, I only applied one coat to get such a good level of opacity. They also dry brilliantly fast so there is no waiting around for hours whilst waving your hands around like a loon waiting for the colour to set. I don't know how long yet they last without chipping but so far, the colour has yet to budge, despite lots of battering.

I love all three of these shades, especially the Malibu Mojito (teal) and I'm pretty sure all three will become my go to summer colours this year.

Do you own the Nails Inc. Cocktail Collection colours? Which shade is your favourite? Is anyone else wanting to sit down in a pub garden and drink malibu with lemonade right now? Because I sure am!
Annie x

*OFFER ALERT* Nails Inc. on buyapowa

Heya,
Just a quick one to share my excitement. The Nails Inc. All Stars collection is up on buyapowa now and if enough of us club in, we'll all get it for just £17 as apposed to the £30rrp.

I am a link, follow me ;)

Follow my referral link above to snap up your set : )

Are those colours not amazing?!

Annie x