Friday 25 July 2014

My six tips to longer hair

So, this post is a little different today. I hope you find it interesting and don’t get annoyed that it isn’t nail related. I have quite long hair, not extremely but I often get asked how it grows fast, so I decided to share my daily hints and tips. My hair isn’t in the best condition either but I am working on it! (I am putting off a due hair cut too) These certainly are not the tips of a professional; it is just what works for me. 
1. Drink up!
My number one tip is a boring and well known one, but the most valuable. Drinking water will quickly solved poor hair, nail growth as well as poor skin. A tip to stay on track throughout the day with water is to fill your days drinking bottles the night before and store them in the fridge. If you don’t like water… tough! Learn to love it. Spice it up with adding fruit to your bottles.
2.     Don’t wash your hair everyday. 
I have never done this, in my opinion it dries hair out and in the long run will make it look lifeless. I wash my hair every 2-3 days. However, conditioner is another story. Do this lots and use lots of it. Some say too much dries it but it seems my hair can never get enough of it. Brush conditioner through after every shampoo and leave it for a good 5 minutes. If hair is very dry, you can wet the ends everyday and just condition them. Sometimes it is hard not to shampoo everyday but if you are having a lazy day just leave it be!
3.     Hair mask Monday. 
Save an evening in the week for a bath and a hair mask. There are so many masks available these days but some are pricey, And if your hair is like mine 1 sachet is never enough! There are many masks that can be made from home with each concoction helping a specific hair type. Plus they are fun to make! And why not use a face mask at the same time too.
4.     Get to know your vitamins. 
Too little or too much isn’t great so get familiar with your body/hair type and get to know which suppliments you actually need. If you take vitamins your body doesn’t need, it will not do good things! I take the perfectil original (hair, skin, nails) and it works well for me. It has balanced variety of vitamins that help my overall health. However, they can be pricey (I look out for the discounts) There are many other brands to suit each individual.
5.     Straighteners aren’t your friend in the long run. 
I always used to straighten my hair not knowing how bad it really was (and still paying the price). Using protecting spray helps very little. The only thing that will stop heat damage is not doing it everyday! During term time I only use heat once a week/on weekends. During the week I don’t use a hair dryer either - this allows my hair to rest and actually grow! There are many other hair styles achievable without using heat. If you do use heat everyday it will grow but slowly and will mean more hair cuts are needed.
6.     A trustworthy hairdresser - vital! 
Find a salon that you trust. I’ve been going to the same one for years and they know how much I hate getting my hair cut. As much as  I hate to admit it regular trims are a must. I’m still in denial about this but I know it’s true. Twice a year (usually) I’ll get the smallest amount off as possibly. The very dead ends and my hairdresser totally gets this. I get a dye once a year and cannot stress enough do not dye your hair yourself! I did it for years and it takes years to get it back healthy again.
I know this was a different read but hopefully an interesting one. I’m getting back on my weekly hair routine after neglecting it a little. Comments/feedback appreciated. 
xox









Tuesday 22 July 2014

A duty when passing through duty free

It seems to be an increasing habit of mine to ‘just look’ at the chanel polishes when in the airport, when inevitably 
i walk away with another polish in my hand. So, as you’ve probably guessed this post shows off my newest chanel beauty. It is Ballerina (167)
With this look I used OPI – nail envy as a base coat and then Kiko - Gel Look Top Coat.
This colour is so gorgeous, it gives such a classic and simple look. If you have longer nails like I do then it looks like a French manicure.
It is a great polish if you want something a little more elegant rather than always having crazy designs us nail addicts are always doing.
I used quite a thick amount of polish to make it a little less opaque and it still dried pretty quickly. I thought I was going to have to sit still for a few hours but I was impressed with drying time. I did two coats yesterday then added another and a top coat today. 
The only negative of this mani was a few bubbles on some of my nails. I really don’t know why this happens, I have changed base coat, buffed my nails to make them smooth and nothing works. Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions/having the same problem!

Overall, I am in love with this colour. I have seen it on other nail bloggers nails and I love it just as much on mine.
I am currently in America so bare with if posts are slow!
xox





Tuesday 15 July 2014

Last minute mani

 Well, I was planning on sharing some stamping I've been up to... however,  me and my mum planned a very last minute trip to Lisbon! So I've had to do a quick holiday mani, I just can't leave it a plain colour these days. 
This mani includes; Essie - Millionails, Nails inc - Optic Wave, MoYou - White, L.A colors, Sally Hansen - Top coat and striping tape.
I liked my last post design but decided to add to it and use a different blue. I really loved the Optic Wave on my toes so matched the colour with my fingers - I never have matching mani/pedi but love it for holidays. 
You can faintly see some dotting on my index and pinky finger that are very off centre! I realised way after it had dried so couldn't change it! 
I wanted to add gemstones (which I have on my toes) but I find they never stay on my nails as much as I would like, I didn't want any falling off and not be matching the whole trip. I think adding gemstones into the design would look good for any recreations. 

For coming weeks look out for more MoYou related posts. In this post I used their white nail polish. I initially got this polish for stamping but wondered what it would be like for regular painting, so gave it a go. My first MoYou polish experience was a good one! The colour is great, it isn't an off white, making it really stand out in a design like this one. The formula seems great, dries super quick which is also good when adding polish on top of it. And overall, gives a nice shiny finish before using a top coat. I cannot wait to share what I will be reviewing in the coming weeks. 
Have a sunny week and I will be posting very shortly. 
xox


Thursday 10 July 2014

Sunshine silver

First of all, sorry for my lack of posts this week, I've been working on a new exciting nail related business idea.
The products I used for this design was; OPI - Natural Base, Essie - Mint Candy Apple and LA colors. I used striping tape purchased from ebay to create to perfect line. 
I really like this design, the colours work well together and I think it is quite subtle but turns a plain mani into a little bit more of an arty one. 
As for the polishes; this Essie colours is amongst my favourites in my whole nail polish collection (a fair few) it dries really quickly with an even coat and is the perfect pastel colour for the summer months. I am also liking this LA colors silver more and more. I was unsure at first because it wasn't the most expensive polish but it works great and is pretty easy to remove - always a bonus with glitter colours. 
xox 




Wednesday 2 July 2014

Everyone loves an accent nail




I've seen this design circulating the internet for months. The original post was from Alina Pinuccia's blog she creates the most beautiful yet simple designs. 
To create this I used: Jessica - Jemma kid, OPI - My boyfriend scales walls, LA colors, Essie - Millionails, Sally Hansen - Top coat, Striping tape from ebay and gold studs also from ebay. 
This design didn't come out how I had hoped because it is really hard to see the striping tape design with the white and silver. I wasn't too keen on the colours so next time I think I will use a gold that stands out more. However, I love the concept of this and the effect is very cool. 
I am having problems with my Sally Hansen top coat, it is cracking about a day after I have painted my nails, it actually looks pretty cool sometimes but not every time! I haven't had problems before but I think it's time to get a new top coat. If anyone has any recommendations/particular favourites I would appreciate it very much. 
xox