Tuesday 29 January 2013

New Year, New Start; Nail Essentials.

The Mammoth Blog Post..

Hello everyone, I cannot believe it's already 2013! 2012 flew by and I have a jam-packed year ahead of me in 2013! Now that I have finished my January exams, I'm back blogging again! 


Tonight I'm posting about probably an area of the nail industry that applies to everyone,  Nail care and essentials. Whether you have just had your acrylics soaked off or you just need a nail pick me up, this blog post should have it all covered if you need some product inspiration! 


I'm starting with Nail polish remover. Which is probably the most important! I'm not normally fussy about remover, but when it comes to my natural nails, I try and stick to an acetone free formula as it's not quite as harsh. My current remover is the Sally Hansen Strengthening Polish Remover- for soft, thin nails. If I am going to be completely honest, I didn't buy the polish for the strengthening qualities, but for the Sally Hansen formula. It's always full of vitamin E and proteins that nourish the nails, and the lack of horrible chemicals are also a benefit for all those toxic fumes that come with Nail Painting! However, if you need a remover for false nails, you will require an acetone based formula. You can get this at Boots, and most drug-stores.
This next polish remover is my favourite, I honestly could not live without this pot of magic! This certainly doesn't have the popularity it deserves! This product is the Bourjois Paris Dissolvant Miraculeux.  The pot contains a moulded sponge with a slit in the top to fit your nail into. The sponge is soaked into some sort of remover that smells SO nice and dries smelling of Vanilla and berries and leaves your skin very nourished too. All you simply do is place your nail into the sponge and twist, pull out and your nail polish has been swiftly removed! This is great for plain one colour manis, but I think it would require a lot more twisting for a glitter or nail art manicure. You can buy this at most Bourjois Counters, or here specifically at Boots.
Well you may be asking me, whatever do you use to remove the polish with ?! Minus the use of the Bourjois remover, which might I add requires no remover pads (!) I always pick up these dual faced pads from Boots. They have a soft cotton padded side which I use for make up remover or using Bioderma. The other side is lint free, and so doesn't tear away when you are wiping away polish. Overall great value for money! 
Next is a nail strengthening polish, from OPI, Nail Envy for soft and thin nails. This, again, is something I strongly recommend to anyone, this is perfect for a plain base coat or a nail polish between Mani's. It's a really thick consistency and the finish is super glossy, which make your naked nails look amazing! The formula is so great, and it truly does strengthen your nails after a few uses, I use this every time I update my mani and I just think everyone needs a bottle in their collection, it's a necessity! The only downside to this product is that it doesn't come cheap, I'm unsure of the exact RRP Pricings however I know they sell it in Beauty Bay for £18.65, which isn't ideal, but the product tends to last for a good 8 months for continual application. Worth the money if you want to give your nails a treat! 
Briefly, another nail product I loooooooooooooove to use is the Nails Inc A+E advanced treatment. This product has had a bit of a controversial opinion within the nail world, in my eyes it's great for the point of use. I always use this everyday for at least a week after having false nails on. It gives the chance for the nail to breathe and strengthen up again from the torture of a false nail!  Again, this is a bit dear in price, starting at £12 for the individual product, or up to £25 for the box set, which you can purchase from the Nails Inc Website  
Moving onto top coats, my favourite is the China Glaze No-Chip Top Coat (Right). The formula is so glossy yet the formula and consistency still stays nice and thin, which means it dries really quickly and last for such a long time if you don't use it for a while! This product is slightly cheaper than the Nails Inc and OPI polishes and comes in at an average of £8.50 from Beauty Bay.
Also I add to the list is the Essie Matte about you. Matte nail designs have been lurking in the nail art world for quite some time now, but have recently formed one of its own trends. I love the matte top coat on it's own as not only does it protect the nails, but it also creates a really flawless effect. I can apply it straight onto my nail design to give it a real edge. You can buy Essie products from Boots, Liberty London, Superdrug, Beauty Bay or here. The Matte about you top coat has a standard RRP of £8.99
Annnnd we move on towards my top cuticle products. I use a range of cuticle products depending on what state my nails are in. If my nails are suffering, I tend to grab a liquid oil product, that is normally quite rich. The product I am currently using for this is the Cuticle Oil from Sally's Beauty, and I purchased this SO long ago now so I honestly don't know Pricings etc sorry!
I also have China Glaze Orange Cuticle Oil, which is what I use on a weekly basis. This product smells a.m.a.z.i.n.g! It's really nourishing but not too oily. 
Finally is my OPI Avoplex Nail and Cuticle Oil pen. This is tend to keep in my makeup bag in my handheld bag, which I use to top up on nourishment when I'm out and about. I think this product may have been discontinued, as I am unable to find it anywhere which is a bit unhelpful again sorry guys! However, you can still purchase the product in just it's oil form
Finally, is the most basics out of the bunch- the good old Nail file and Buffer. I think one of the most underused items at home is probably the nail buffer. I admit it, I never even thought of buffing my nails, all of those shiny nail files thinking- 'ah this looks ineffective', well think again! I always use my buffer now, they smooth out your nail and leave it so shiny and also as a perfect canvas to paint on... Goodbye ridges! You can pick these up everywhere, and they are so inexpensive! 
Then last by no means least... the nail file. The trusty nail file. I have so many different types of nail file, and I recommend that if you can to have a wide range to depending on the purpose. I use a rough file for filing down false gels or acrylics, a softer thinner file for natural nails, and a soft coarse file for feet nails. Again you can pick these up at any good beauty store. 

Thanks so much for reading guys! If you have any feedback then let me know in the comments box, or feel free to Tweet me! I have plenty of posts in the draft space ready to be posted soon, so keep your eyes open! 


Emily x