Friday Favourites - Nails

Though we love the look of perfectly polished tips, sometimes it’s hard to find a moment to paint our nails, drying time alone being a drain on our precious minutes. To make the pampering process less of a hassle, we here at The Amazing Blog have gathered a few of our favourite varnishes, wraps and treatments. For us, the best polish choices are based on more than just colour, but quality, texture and drying time too. So we've picked out the best of the bunch, all of which meet our rather high standards. With this range of pretty polishes, we’re sure that you’ll persevere and find the time for a quick paint job.Before painting on a slick of your favourite summer polish, it’s important that your cuticles are primped to perfection to ensure a show stopping end result. To keep nail beds supple, we’ve discovered a Lemon Nail & Cuticle Oil from The Apothecary Room. An effective blend of sweet almond oil, lavender to heal and protect cuticles, and lemon to brighten the nail, the oil is completely natural and smells good enough to eat. It comes with a really handy pipette applicator, so that you can control the amount you’re using, as the smallest drop is more than enough. I used the oil on my hands as well as my nails, massaging it into my fingers to make them feel soft and moisturised. It’s the perfect pre-paint treat, and is available here for £9.75.Now that your nails are well and truly prepped, it's time to find the perfect polish. If bright, opaque nails are what you seek, then NARS’ Opaque Nail Polish range is just the thing for you. Consisting of 20 beautiful hues, spanning from purples to oranges, we were lucky enough to try limited edition Libertango, a wonderful fiery tomato red. The lacquer lived up to its name, delivering opaque coverage in just one coat, so much so that I didn’t trouble myself with applying a second. The formula glides on smoothly, and dries to a gorgeous glossy finish. Free from toluene, formaldehyde and DBP, and housed in the NARS signature matte packaging, it looks as vibrant in the bottle as it does on your nails. And with built in UV protection, the vibrancy of these iconic shades won’t fade. The NARS Opaque Nail Polish collection is available to purchase here from £14, with Libertango priced at £14.50.If you’re looking for a little luxury, try Only Fingers and Toes. They were kind enough to send us a beautifully boxed trilogy of polishes, and we thought that they made the perfect summer trio. Comprised of Spanky, a baby pink, Reef, a light orange, and Sunshine, a vibrant yellow, all three shades made us pine for sunnier days to come. Determined to put the polishes through their paces, we tried Sunshine, as, in our experience, yellow polishes are notorious for their streaky coverage. I must say, we were highly impressed by how bright and fresh the colour looked on the nails. The thick brush helped the varnish to glide onto our nails easily, providing even coverage in just a couple of strokes. The trilogy is available to buy online at Harvey Nichols, here, for £42. Alternatively, the polishes are sold separately for £16 each.Another great choice of varnish is Organic Glam. Famed for its natural approach to beauty, The Organic Pharmacy's cosmetic range includes a selection of nail polishes in an array of flattering colours. With their gold motif and demure packaging, we were intrigued by the prospect of a varnish with only three ingredients, and so we gave Sherbet Lemon a try. A peachy shimmer, one coat gives you a sheer, subtle wash, for a beautiful, understated look. If sheer isn’t what you’re after, don’t worry, the varnish builds up really easily for a brighter pop of colour, without ever looking too messy. With its very fast drying formula, this non-toxic range offers the ultimate in ‘glam’ nails. The polishes are available to buy here for £10 each.

If you're looking for a polish that's equally as pretty, but a little more affordable, then Crabtree and Evelyn is the perfect option. We were offered the chance to test their Peony Lacquer. After freshening up our nails, we painted on a quick layer of the polish, and it dried in next to no time. On top of its impressive fast drying formula, we were surprised by how opaque the light polish was, although we applied a second coat out of habit, giving a much bolder effect. After a few days of wear without chipping, we fell even more in love with the polish. You too can fall in love with Crabtree and Evelyn nail polishes, with a variety of colours available here for £6.00.For those more lax in the nail painting department, Lazy Nails' Custom Nail Wraps make a great alternative to the more high maintenance varnish route. Combining the genius of a nail wrap with creative prints, Lazy Nails Custom Nail Wraps make nail care fun, trendy and easy! The line includes striking patterns divided into categories like Around the World, Lace, Nature amongst others. They also offer you the option to Design Your Own nail wraps, which you can do here. A pack of Lazy Nails contains 16 uniquely printed nail wraps as well as a nail wipe, file and manicure stick. With step-by-step instructions for trimming and placement of the perfect manicure, it's the perfect product for the lazy girl. Most Lazy Nails Custom Nail Wraps are only £6.99 and can be found here.

Now, with a few of our favourite nail options to choose from, your nails will be polished to perfection in a matter of minutes.

Eve Snow London - Prima Donna Treatment Set

If there is one thing that makes us girls at The Amazing Blog feel perfectly put together, it’s a great manicure.  Sadly having the time and money to spend at the salon every few weeks is unrealistic.  Like me, you probably find doing your own nails is more hassle than it is worth.  I work toward a flawlessly smooth finish so I wave my hands in the air, for what seems like hours, until the polish sets.  I almost always end with an inevitable smudge!  Thankfully we have found a solution in the discovery of Eve Snow London and their Prima Donna Treatment Set.  This British nail lacquer and cosmetic company offers a great manicure at less expense!

Before applying a polish, we suggest pampering yourself with a salon-like treatment of trimming and filing to guarantee a quality manicure.  Afterward, apply the Eve Snow base coat.  The lacquer’s matte finish is impeccable and dries almost instantly, making the application of colour a breeze.  This Treatment Set includes the shade Prima Donna.  I love the metallic-gold shade of Prima Donna as it adds an edge to every outfit!  Eve Snow has plenty of colours to choose from which, unlike other polishes, include Vitamin E, Ginkgo Biloba extract and Argan Oil to nourish rather than harm nails.  Additional colours can be purchased separate of the treatment set for £15 here.  The colour polish dries almost immediately and a second coat isn’t necessary which saves you time!  However to achieve a perfect finish Eve Snow also offers a fabulous top coat.  Simply applied like the base and colour lacquers, the top coat secures the polish with a smooth finish so quickly that waving your freshly painted nails in the air isn’t needed!

Seeking luxury and supporting young entrepreneurship, Eve Snow nail lacquer excludes many of the toxins found in other polishes and nourishes nails with every brush stroke.  This unique and natural take on nail polish makes Eve Snow even more worth the cost of £38 for the Treatment Set.  You can explore Eve Snow colour polishes and purchase the Prima Donna Treatment Set online here.

NARS Guy Bourdin Holiday Collection

Makeup might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but let’s be honest, for a lot of us it is. We girls at The Amazing Blog are always chatting about makeup, sharing with one another our must buy and must not buy products. With different skin types, there are things we don’t all agree on, like foundations. There is however, one collection we are all excited about getting our hands on, the NARS Guy Bourdin Holiday Collection. Inspired by the legendary French photographer, NARS launches this Limited Edition Collection full of stunning colours, textures and amazing imagery (as you would expect from them).

The first item in the collection is the Eye Shadow, and we had the Bad Behaviour shade. The texture of this powder is quite buttery, which makes it a dream to apply and means there is no fall out to deal with. It’s really easy to blend and is the ideal colour to create an elegant smokey eye look for a night out. I like to use a lighter silvery shimmer on the inner corner of my eye then gradually add depth with the Bad Behaviour shade. There are four more shades in the collection, Wishful Thinking, Rage, Cambodia, Mississippi Mermaid, and they are all fabulous! All of which work without the need for a primer as the texture makes it long lasting enough.

The Lipsticks in this collection are all gorgeous. There are five shades, and they all have a berry quality about them. Some of the colours will take a braver individual as they are quite striking shades. We had the Short Circuit, a beautiful matt lipstick which doesn’t become drying, always a bonus. Coral colours are very complementary on the face and work well with a light blush for that complete holiday look. If we really had to say something negative, it would be that the shade Short Circuit made teeth look a little less white than we would like, but apart from that we loved this glamorous lippy. It’s the perfect balance between red and orange, lovely!

I tried the blush, and have now become a little addicted to it. Not only does the packaging feel soft and amazing, but so does the powder. It’s very compact so you don’t get a messy makeup bag if you accidentally leave it open (common occurrence for me!). I had the Day Dream shade, which is my favourite colour in the collection as it’s the most subtle and great for every day wear. I wear it with a bit of highlighter and a light lip shade to get a summery look, even if it’s winter, we can pretend it’s summer.

The nail varnish collection has a great selection of pink and purple berry shades, all of which work well with the lipsticks and blush. The collection leaves a gorgeous glossy finish which is tough to chip! Especially if you add another layer once the first has dried. We love everything in the NARS Guy Bourdin Holiday Collection, the shades all compliment one another and fit any holiday season. In our eyes, one of the most beautiful collections the brand has ever come up with. Got to love Bourdin's surrealistic work too!

You can purchase the lipstick (£18.50) eye shadow (£18), blush (£21.50) and nail varnish (£14.50) from their website as of November 1^st 2013.

Friday Favourites - Nails

The girls here in The Amazing Blog office are always thinking about what colour we paint our nails next. We are always trying out different polishes and nail art accessories to compliment our outfits. Therefore, we wanted to share with our readers some of our favourite nail products that we have been experimenting with recently to get the best looking nails possible.Nailberry is a popular nail polish brand because they always have a colour selection bang on seasonal trend. Every shade is very wearable and the ranges are a perfect mix of neutrals and eye-popping brights so there is a shade to suit everybody. We are loving the colours ‘Raspberry’ and ‘Grosille’, two gorgeous pink based berry shades that are perfectly on trend for Autumn/Winter 2013. The Nailberry Lacquers are also 4 Free, meaning they do not contain toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl or camphor, which are potentially harmful chemicals added to many other well known nail brands. They are also cruelty free, and contain UV filters. We found the polishes to be super glossy and very wearable. We just don’t want to take them off! Nailberry 4 Free Lacquers are available for £13.50 each from the Nailberry website. 

The Ultimate Fix is a nail drying, protecting and shine spray. The spray can be used to prolong the lifetime of your manicure by keeping it chip free for two weeks. It also reduces the drying time of your nail polish meaning no more scuffing, smudges or dents when your nails appear to be dry! The spray should be applied after every layer of polish, including the base and top coat to aid the drying process and protect each and every layer. The spray works by filtering into each layer of polish and changing its chemical properties to make the key ingredients in the nail polish evaporate at a faster rate so it dries quicker. With The Ultimate Fix, I found that my manicure lasted me a full week with no chipping at all, and 10 days before I had a major chip, which for me, is a miracle. The Ultimate Fix now comes in a 50ml can which retails at £9.50 and this is enough for 12 manicures. This size is perfect for popping in your makeup bag and very suitable for travelling. The Ultimate Fix can be purchased from the Beauty Narcotix website.

Frequent use of nail polishes and subsequently nail polish remover damages your nails by dehydrating them, which leads to dry and brittle nails. Thankfully, you can nourish your nails and cuticles with oils to repair any damage done. We have been trying out Kernow Spa’s Nail and Cuticle Oil, a completely natural product containing jojoba and sweet almond oil to condition the nails and cuticles. The oil smells wonderful due to the added lemon peel oil and it absorbs quickly into the nail and skin. I have used this religiously as I frequently have gel manicures, and the chemicals used in the process can be very harmful. After a week with no nail polish and repeated use of this oil, my nails were in the best condition I have ever seen them. Kernow Spa are currently setting up their online shop, but in the mean time, you can purchase this fantastic natural Nail and Cuticle Oil from Objects d’Amour for £5.Models Own have recently teamed up with Midori, famous for their Melon Liqueur, and they have created a melon-scented nail trio in Midori green inspired shades. The limited edition set features a bright neon green, a blue and green tone glitter polish and a duo-chrome beetlejuice polish with green and brown hues. We think these gorgeous shades are a perfect way to bring a splash of colour to Autumn. The whole collection smells like melons so now you can smell and look as gorgeous as your favourite Midori cocktails. We particularly like the glitter polish ‘Dancing Queen’ because of the chunky flecks of glitter. We layered the glitter polish over the other shades to create stand-out nails that are perfect for a night out. This limited edition collection is available from the Models Own website for £15.

The Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique range has recently been extended, and we have been trying out the gorgeous Glitterati Nail collection. The collection consists of four beautiful and very wearable shades of glitter, blue, white, pink and purple. The innovative Glitterati tubes come with a ‘puff’ applicator to literally puff the glitter onto the nails allowing for easy and precise application. You can create a whole range of nail art designs with this beautiful collection including full glitter nails, glitter tips and half-moons, so be creative and experiment. The glitter used in this collection if finely milled and so looks very delicate and almost fairy dust like. The Glitterati Nail collection is perfect for the upcoming party season to add a touch of Christmas sparkle to any outfit. If you’d like to add a hint of glamour to your nails, you can get your hands on the Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique Glitterati Nail Collection from Superdrug for £6.66.

P Shine Manicure Kit

Wearing bright nail polish or rocking intricate nail art designs on your finger tips has always been a fantastic way to add some excitement and charm to any outfit. There is however, the issue of long term use of nail polish and remover leading to damage on our nails, which is not a good look. Sometimes it really is best to go au naturel. Here at The Amazing Blog, we have been trying out the P Shine Nail Buffer Kit which can be found at Nailberry.

The P Shine Nail Buffer Kit originates from a traditional manicure treatment used in Japan 400 years ago. The women used natural techniques to enhance the natural colouring of their nails bringing out a rich pink lustre, similar to a rare pink pearl.

The P Shine Kit recreates this treatment, making your nails look beautiful without any harsh chemical nail treatments like those we find on offer today. The regular use of this kit can actually improve the condition of your nails, stopping breakages and stimulating nail growth as well as blood circulation.

Included in the set is an emery board, three double sided emery papers, a cuticle pusher, a wiping cloth, P. Shine paste, P Shine powder and two buffing tools. The process overall is not at all time consuming, and includes just a few easy steps to begin the process of nail recovery. Firstly you should shape your nails with the emery board, and then smooth the surface of the nail with the pink paper. Next buff the paste into the nails with the buffing tool, and repeat with the powder. You will be left with shiny, natural pink nails that look healthier.

Every time you use the P Shine Kit, your nails become richer in colour and improve in strength. You can get your Nail Buffer Kit from the P Shine Website for £49.