Wednesday 6 August 2014

Models Own Nail Polish Review- Sweet Shop Gumballs


Hello. How are you all?
 Just a little update before I begin to let you know that I am moving house next week and therefore my WiFi may be MIA soon. I am also starting a new job tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to. Probably for the first time in my life without any stress. So my blog posts may be a little hit and miss until I have settled in and got a routine going on. 

Models Own have just released the Sweet Shop Collection, which for me was an absolute necessity to own. I really wanted to try the Revlon scented polishes and never got around to getting any so when I saw these and they were sweetie scented, I needed them. I love the collections that Models Own keep coming out with and want the polish for tans collection and the previous fruit pastel collection too. The polishes are meant to have a scratch and sniff sticker on the top of them and I was disappointed to find that mine have them missing.

The collection comprises of five different polishes all with a retro sweet scent. The scents transport me back to my childhood and have a nostalgic feel about them. There's a pink glitter which, when dried, has a Rhubarb and Custard scent, Barbie pink Gumballs, a pink glitter 'Peardrops,' brown glitter 'Fizzy cola bottles' and finally a black polish which has the scent Liquorice Allsorts.
 There are three pink /red shades, a brown tone and a black. If I had produced this collection I would have made a variety of shades such as Foam Banana yellow or white mice just so it could have been more versatile. To have the smell of sweeties on your nails almost makes my life complete. I absolutely love the idea of these and have tried out Gumballs so far which I have written the review on for today.


  From left to right we have Gumballs, Pear Drops, Rhubarb and Custard, Liquorice Allsorts and Fizzy Cola Bottles.


I love the tissue paper that the polishes came wrapped in. They were also bubble wrapped inside the box too.





Gumball is my favourite shade out of the whole collection and if I was to just purchase one this would be it. The colour is a Barbie pink and makes a staple summer colour. 
I found the polish to be thick and quite hard to apply evenly to my nails. I did only need one coat on my nails for it to be opaque but it took a while to dry and smudged easily.
I did sniff the polish in the bottle thinking it might smell of gumballs but unfortunately it just gave me a huge waft of the regular scent of nail polish ha ha! I won't be trying that again.
The polish was placed over a base coat once dried and it produced a really glossy effect. One it dried on my nails, it left an absolutely gorgeous smell of bubblegum (gumballs) which I found irresistible and kept on sniffing my nails at regular intervals throughout the day. The scent stayed after showering too which was great as I thought it may have eliminated the smell.

I didn't use a topcoat on this. My thinking was that it might mask the gumball scent. The polish lasted for the longest amount of time without chipping on my nails which was a record- breaking 3 days. I have the type of nails where polish chips on the same day as application.

Overall, I would repurchase for the scent of the polish but I'm hoping that the others in the collection have an easier formula to apply.



Have you used scented polishes?

Love Laura xoxo

Beautyuk New Nail Care Review


Although I have a drawer full of nail polish I haven't really invested in any nail care. I just used to put the colour straight onto my nails and hey presto. All this changed though when I used a Barry M neon yellow and when I took it off I was left with stained yellow nails for weeks! Not a good look at all. 
So when I was kindly offered to try out some of Beautyuk's new nail care collection I gladly took them up on their offer. There are six different products in the range and they each retail for £3.99 each. 
Today I have the *Nail & Cuticle Conditioning Oil and the *Speed Dry Basecoat to show you. The other products available in the collection are Black Diamond Hardener, Matte Top Coat, Ultra Gloss Top Coat (which I used in this post) and a 5 in 1 Base and Top Coat.

Photo credit: Beautyuk


I used both of these products before trying out a new nail polish and I was extremely pleased with the results.





Nail & Cuticle Oil:

This has been developed to use on dry brittle nails and cuticles that are rough and irritated. It is super easy to use as you simply pop a droplet onto each nail and then massage in. The oil has a citrus scent to it and I really liked the moisturised feeling that it gave to my nails. It leaves a 'just been to the salon for a professional manicure- look' on your nails with the convenience and ease of applying in your own home or on the go.

The Oil;
  • Is Almond-oil based and has Vitamins E and F included.
  • Protects the nail plate.
  • Nourishes and restores the natural moisture of your nails.
  • It softens your cuticles and is meant to soothe them too but as mine weren't irritated in the first place, I didn't feel the effects of this.
  • Nourishes nails and makes them look and feel healthier.


My nails looked healthier and were nourished so I will continue to use this and it's a product that I rate.


Speed Dry Basecoat:

After using the nail oil it's recommended that you carefully wash your hands before applying any polish so I made sure I did that and then I was ready to use the speed dry base coat. 
This base coat did live up to its claims of being speed-dry as I didn't have to wait long at all to start applying the polish on top. I only needed to apply a thin layer and the results reminded me of a clear nail polish look.

The basecoat has been produced to;
  • Prime your nails for an even finish that grips your nail polish and this certainly did for the polish that I applied on top.
  • It's meant to smooth out imperfections but as I don't really have any this wasn't noticeable on my nails.


  • The basecoat contains UV filter to prevent nail discolouration.


  • It prevents stains as once my polished was removed from a bright colour, my nails were left in perfect condition underneath with no signs of staining whatsoever.


  • It also protects against chipping too and this was, for me, a pleasant surprise as my nail polish usually chips on the same day but with the use of these two products I actually got three days out of my polish which is amazing for my nails.


Overall I highly recommend these products and will continue to use them regularly as I loved the results.

Do you use nail care products?

Love Laura xoxo
*PR items sent for an honest review. All written words and photographs (unless credited) belong to me.

Monday 4 August 2014

Denman Pink Tangle Smoother Review


I have been trying out the new Denman Pink Tangle Smoother recently and can now give you my thoughts and review on it. It is made to be used on all hair lengths and types and also extensions and wigs due to the pins being strong, durable and super smooth. The brush has been designed to give an effortless and smooth detangling experience.
The Smoother has a close-set pin patterns and this gives more control and an extra grip. 
The brush is also available in a bright yellow colour too here and is priced at £10.18. Neon was widely used on the SS14 catwalks and therefore this Smoother coincides with the latest fashion.

Design:
 Compared to my other Tangle Tamers this brush is much more substantial. It's feels solid with a longer handle to grip and is weightier than the Dolphin brush. 
I love the bright pink colour of the brush as it really stands out and is perfect for my personality. I love the design work on it too with the lush flowing locks. The brush overall looks and feels exceptional quality.

Performance: 
The Denman Tangle Smoother is perfect for smoothing, de-tangling and styling your hair. I noticed a huge difference in my hair after using this Tangle Smoother. My hair felt a lot smoother to the touch especially once it had air dried after my shower. The Tangle Smoother is meant for all hair types and lengths but I think it would be perfect for long, thick hair as it has the extra oomph when getting knots out. For my particular hair type being wavy/ curly it pulls on the hair when you are trying to untangle it in the shower and I have got used to the children's Dolphin Tangle Tamer with the much softer bristles for untangling my waves. Using  the Tangle Smoother felt as though there were many knots that it was taking out at once and it took a stronger grip to brush through my hair. This is why you are meant to brush through a section at a time and gently hold you hair above the tangle and then carefully untangle.



You can see that the pins on the brush are all the same size and are strong.



Overall, I would definitely recommend this Tangle Smoother if you're looking for an excellent quality brush which will last. The pins are super smooth but on my particular hair I feel more comfortable using my Dolphin one regularly in the shower and this one when my hair is dried and ready to style.

What do you use to detangle your hair?
Love Laura xoxo

Friday 1 August 2014

Vanilla Nail Polish Remover Pads By NPR - Review


Happy Friday everyone :)

Today I have a nail polish remover review for you. I saw this NPW Nail Polish Remover in the scent of vanilla in the River Island sale at Christmas time and I was attracted to it because of the bright packaging and the thought of the scent just sold it to me. I think it was £1 in the sale and regularly £2. 
Nail polish doesn't last very long on my nails before it starts to chip so nail polish remover is a must for me. I really don't like the chipped nail look as it makes me feel really untidy. 

I searched for NPR and the website came up with a whole host of goodies that I now want! I really want to try out the heart nail wheel that they have and the neon nail polish too. They even have scratch and sniff nail wraps. Anything cute and quirky and I need it in my life.

The cute little tub contains 30 nail wipes so they will, in effect, last for 30 uses if you use the recommended 1 wipe at a time. They are also alcohol and acetone free which is great. The tub is really small so it is great for travelling with as it won't take up much space at all.


Clear instructions are displayed on the bottom of the packaging on the label.


Here I have showed you my nails on purpose so that you can see how chipped they are before I use the nail remover wipe.


The wipes are thin so make sure that you don't pick out more than one by accident. You can smell the scent of sweetness if you smell the pot but it is more evident after you start wiping your nails. The vanilla scent stays on your nails.



Here is what the wipe looks like after taking off one of the Barry M Aquarium collection. I have previously used the wipes on a reddy coloured polish and it took two wipes to remove so the darker the colour, the more severe it looks on the wipe.


Here is the finished result which I'm really pleased with. The wipe was really gentle and removed the nail polish quite easily. A few areas needed going over again but I'm impressed that one little wipe did the whole set of nails this time.

Would I repurchase? Yes I would as they are really useful to have, I like the scent and the performance that they have. I would be more inclined to repurchase if they were at the £1 mark. 

Love Laura xoxo