Look Luxe For Less!

If there's one thing I love it's a glossy manicure! I was a huge fan of gel nails for a long time, shellac was a love affair for a while, and then I became hooked on regular polish. Nails are one of those details that makes all the difference, if you ask me! With all that said, I am a budget babe at heart, and I pride myself on looking incredible for a tiny price, so read on, and learn how I get an expensive looking manicure for less!




What You Will Need:

• Penneys PS False Nails,
• Nail clipper, 
• Nail file, 
• Polish,
• Topcoat,
• Nail accessories (optional) 

Penneys nails are the backbone of this look, and my favorite are the PS 24 Fashion Nails that you can pick up for €1.50. I go with nude because it's easier to work with but it's all up to you. Fit and glue the right sizes to your natural nail, and then move on to the next step!

Using a nail clippers, clip the sharp tip off the falsie, and file the raw edge off it. The file I like best is the Essence Banana File, which is a double sided file with a rough grit side and a fine grit side. This takes the shape of the nail from claw to almond with ease, and is less than €3.

Next up, paint your nails with the polish of your choice, any color you fancy. Two thin coats are best for maximum pay off. Essence do great polishes, as do Wet N Wild, NYC and Rimmel. If you couldn't tell, I'm a fan of budget brands. For this look, I went with Essence Colour And Go in 113 Do You Speak Love? and NYC In A New York Minute in 002 Full Metal Jacket on the ring finger as an accent.

If you want to apply studs or diamante details, now is the time. Add a small dot of nail glue and apply them for the best possible adhesion. You can pick up nail accessory wheels in most Penneys for €1.50. Then it's topcoat time! I'm a huge fan of the Essence The Gel Nail Polish Top Coat, it's glossy and dries quickly and you can pick it up nationwide for €3.09

To finish the whole process, I apply a dab of Skinfix Hand Repair Cream* and massage it in to leave my hands looking and feeling wonderful.

This manicure looks so lush and expensive, it will prompt compliments from people who will be shocked and delighted when you tell them "Thanks, Penneys finest!!". If you try this mani, do please let me know! 

Amy

xx

Twitter // Snapchat: redips_redhair

*This post contains an iten sent to me for consideration by SkinFix, which I reviewed in a previous post. 

Review: Nars Night Breed

Good morning, lovelies!

I'm a huge fan of a glossy black manicure, because it looks so chic with every look and it's pretty much effortless. My favorite thing about a nice mani is how it makes you look put together and polished with absolutely no other effort put in. This particular polish harks back to my teen years and my ever present black nails, but in a much more grown up and refined way.

I've been obsessed with NARS Night Breed recently, as it's a beautiful black polish with fine silver micro glitter, so it takes my beloved go-to nail look up a notch.

The brush is a standard slim brush that you would find in lower end polishes.
It applies well, really only needing one coat but I always apply two. It dries to a satin matte finish, so if you want a glossy finish, you've got to apply a topcoat.

As I type this, I've been wearing it for five straight days with no chipping, just a small bit of wearing at the tip of my nails. That's impressive!!

I'm absolutely in love with this polish, and will be wearing it regularly from now on. Have you any polish recommendations for me? 

Amy

x

Twitter  // Snapchat: redlips_redhair

How to Get The Perfect Mani at Home

Every woman loves the treat of going for a manicure, but sadly they are quite pricey when you attend the salon regularly. Now, I am all for a trip to your Nail Technician, and having your talons beautified, but sometimes, when you're watching the pennies, it can be just as effective to do your own manicure at home. 

Image: Pinterest

Without further ado, I give you my tips for a perfect manicure, (mostly) from the comfort of your couch. 

• Strip off the old, chipped polish with a high quality polish-remover. Sally Hansen makes a fantastic one for no more than €4. Use a cotton bud soaked in polish remover to get all those hard to reach places, like around your cuticle and the sides of your nails. 

• If you need to, now is the time to trim and file your nails; and always file in one direction. Personally, I'm not allowed to have my nails too long for college, but that doesn't stop me filing my nails into a uniform shape to keep them looking their best! 

• Wash your hands. I find that this stops the residue of the nail polish remover drying my nails out. It also take away the awful smell and eliminates the chance of the polish remover causing the skin around your nails to harden. 

• Push back your cuticles or apply a cuticle remover. If you're opting for pushing them back, then use an orange stick to gently push back the cuticle. Don't be overenthusiastic, I don't want you to hurt yourself. I usually trim away the excess with a cuticle trimmer but not all of us have that and it is a step you can totally skip if you want. 

• Apply a good quality base coat.  This will allow your polish to adhere well without staining your nail-beds. OPI Nail Envy or Sally Hansen Double Duty are both firm favorites of mine, though there is a serious jump in the price between each.

• After your base has dried, its time to apply two THIN coats of your chosen polish, start from the middle of your nail and brush straight, then you back and do the left and right sides. 

• Once your chosen color has dried completely, it's top coat time! I haven't found anything as good as the new Rimmel Ultra Shine topcoat in a very long time. 

• Once your nails have dried completely, finish off with a dab of hand lotion, snap a picture for Instagram, and you're all done, darling!!

That's it for my manicure tips. I hope you get some use out of them, because they never fail me! If you have any additional tips, be sure to leave a comment and let me know. I love learning new tips and tricks.

Amy

xx

Essence Nail Art Express Dry Drops Review

In my local chemist, there's a sizable Essence stand... Which, if you're as obsessed with nails as I am, you will know, that its a bad thing! Every time I go in, I find myself gawking at the nail polishes, the nail treatments, the lipsticks, everything!! For the last few weeks I've been wondering if the "Express Dry Drops" are what they claim to be. Some quick Google searches told me that they are pretty decent so I figured I'd find out for myself.

Essence Nail Art Express Dry Drops

Nails, Nails, Nails!

In my last post I detailed my recent foray into self improvement.

This post...? Well, this post is going to be me being super vain! :P

Naked Nails...Ah! Scary!!

So, the story begins!