Summer Polishes I've Been Loving...

Hey everyone. I can't believe that we're now in mid-August. So, what better reason to share with you my top fave polishes I've been lovin' this summer!

#1- Rimmel Rita Ora in 'Peachella'

This colour is perfect for the Spring/Summer time. I have been loving peachy colours and light colours this year. The brush is very easy to manage. I love a fat polish brush.

Buy it here.

#2- Models Own in 'Luis Lemon'

Yellow always looks so much better in the Summer, doesn't it? As I'm pale, this doesn't make an appearance on my nails too much. But once you have a tan, this colour looks beautiful! It's bright and easy to paint. I also love the matte design of the bottle.

Buy it here.

#3- Rimmel 60 Seconds in 'Too Cool to Tango'

I've owned this nail polish for quite some time. It is getting old and I have hardly any left, I think it's time for a replacement. It really does dry in 60 seconds which is fab-u-lous as you don't have to sit/walk around the house waving your arms about, then accidentally smudge one. MANY TIMES. Again, Rimmel has the great fat brush which I love!

Buy it here.

#4- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in 'Dragon Fruit'

I've heard such great things about Barry M polishes. For me, this is everything! It goes on so smoothly and looks like a gel manicure. I thought this was just a plain pink polish but when the sun catches your nails, they're so sparkly. Although, I find that it takes forever to dry.

Buy it here.

How To: Gel Nail Extensions

I am qualified in doing gel nail extensions and I have been questioned a few times on how I do them. So, today's post is on how to do your very own gel nail extensions. You will obviously need your very own UV/LED lamp, gels and simple nail tools. I created pink sparkly nails. I love both pink and sparkles so why not combine them!?

1. Start by pushing down and trimming your cuticles. Then, file your natural nails just to give them a simple shape and clean up.

2. Measure the tips against your natural nails to make sure they're the same size. The curve on the tip needs to measure against the top of your natural nail. Make sure the tip is wide enough for your nail. E.g if the sides of the tip are overlapping onto your skin, you'll need a smaller sized tip. File the sides of the tip if you're in between sizes.

3. Once measuring all of the nails, put the tips aside and buff the natural nails to remove the natural shine.

4. Apply nail glue along the bottom of the tip and press firmly on to the nail, measuring the curve on the tip with the top of your natural nail. There should be a gap between the cuticle and the bottom of the tip.

5. Once all of the tips are stuck on, use the nail tip cutters to cut the extensions. Cut to the length required.

6. File your nail extensions to the shape you would like. Then blend in the bottom of the tip with your natural nail by using a curved nail file to get rid of that 'ridge'.

7. Next, apply some building gel to make your extensions harder and stronger. This makes them less breakable. Cure them under a UV/LED lamp depending on which brand gel you're using. Also, based on the brand of gel you're using, check the cure time - it may take from 30 seconds to 3 minutes.

8. After your building gel has cured, wipe your nails over with finishing wipe to remove the excess gel.

9. Buff over the nails and apply your gel colour. Again, depending on the brand of gel you're using check how many coats you'll need to apply, this should be on the bottle. After curing however many coats of the gel, always use finishing wipe.

10. Then, apply your top coat to add extra shine to your nails, cure, go over with the finishing wipe and your gorgeous nails are complete!

What I Used:

• Cuticle Pusher
• Cuticle Nippers
• Tips
• Nail Glue
• Curved Nail File
• Nail File
• Buffing Block
• Nail Tip Cutters
• Gel Builder
• Gel Colour
• Gel Glitter
• Gel Top Coat
• Finishing Wipe
• Gel Brush

Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram 

Blogmas Day 16 : Festive Nails

I have finally got round to doing my nails (hooray!)

I've missed having my nails and I'm now so happy that they're back. As it's almost Christmas I decided to make my nails a little festive. These nails are gel extensions because I'm a nail biter and I have very short and brittle nails so I prefer having gels to usual nail polish.

If you don't have gel polishes you can use normal nail polishes to create the same effect. 

 I'm not going to go into too much detail about how nail extensions are done. If you would like to know more about them, then I'm more than happy to write a post all about it.

I tided up my cuticles and applied my nail extensions, I cut them down and filed them to the shape that I wanted. Once I was happy, I applied three coats of the UV gel to make the nails much thicker and less fragile. I then buffed that off and applied some Gellux base coat ready for the gel colour.

 I went for A.S.P Signature in the colour Mystique. I wanted a simple gold tip so that's what I created. Making the curves of the tips, I used a clean gel brush and I had to apply about two coats of that. I then applied the Gellux top coat to complete them.