NAIL CARE: My two essentials

Lately I've been really trying to grow my nails longer and I'm actually quite successful, thanks to two simple nail care essentials.

Firstly, I never used to buff my nails with a nail buffer, but I've really noticed a difference in the wear time of nail polishes thanks to a nail buffer. A nail buffer basically has four sides to take care of your nails. With the four different sides you can even out your nails, mattify them, polish them up and lastly, make them shine. It creates a clean surface for your nail polish to go on top on. I just found a cheap nail buffer in a random shop and it works perfectly.

Another product that has made a big difference when it comes to nail care, is the Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as nails Nylon + Retinol strengthener (Sheesh, what a mouthful). You apply one to two layers before applying a basecoat and it makes your nails stronger. I've definitely noticed a difference, my nails don't rip or shred as easily. Thank you Sally Hansen!

Xx Anine

NAILS: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Lychee

What a mouthful; the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Lychee. From previous blogposts you know I'm a sucker for nude, clean nail looks. That also means I had to try this nail color by Barry M.

This nail look is perfect for a very subtle, but sophisticated look.

The polish applied very smoothly, didn't chip easily and stayed on perfectly for a week. It is true that this polish is thicker and shinier than average polishes, but I wouldn't say it is as strong as a gel based formula.

This nail polish costs £3.99 and thus is a steal! I can't wait to try out more Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine polishes.



Have you tried many Barry M polishes? What is your favorite nude nail color?

Xoxo,
Anine

Empties #3

Today I've got more empties to share with you! Keep on reading for some more mini-reviews of these products.

I used up another of the Maybelline Lumi Touch Concealer in the color 1. This concealer is just perfect for a light concealing effect. All my other concealers have been too creamy for my lighter foundation application I've been doing lately. This thing is my holy grail, I actually have to get myself to use up my other concealers for once since I can't stop using this one.

Hema nail polishes are by far the cheapest ones out there, and they really have been stepping up their game. I've been using their base and top coat for as long as I can remember (they're so darn cheap) and they do a good job too, I find. 

I've also been trying to use up some perfume samples. Here I have two Hermès Kelly Calèche perfume samples. Like, don't love. 

I love me some Rituals products, and their body scrubs are very nice and smell amazing, and they're affordable too. This Wai Wang exfoliating body scrub has tiny particles that don't scrub too harshly. Does the job just fine.

For some reason I had tons of these sample sachets of the Rituals Organic Bamboo and Ginger Face n°1 gentle facial cleanser. It lathered very nicely and left my face feeling very soft. I doubt if it cleansed very decently though.

I'm already almost at the end of my second tube of this Vichy Normaderm night cream. I used to like it when I was on my exchange program in England and my skin was drier, but lately I've been dreading using it. It separates when squeezing it out of the tube and leaves my skin oily in the morning. I think it might have been an old tube.

Last but not least I have this Biotherm claryfing lotion sample. It's not very much like a lotion, more like a micellaire water and it didn't do much for my skin.

What products have you been loving or disliking lately?

Xoxo,

Anine

NAILS: OPI Mariah Carey liquid sand set

I love the small nail sets from OPI, since I find the full size nail polishes too big to ever finish. I was able to try out a full size OPI liquid sand in the color Can I get your number, and loved it. Then I saw these natural colored liquid sand polishes and simply was sold.

In case you haven't heard about nail polishes with a liquid sand: as the packaging describes, they basically dry to a textured matte finish infused with reflective glints of light. 

Instructions: Apply a base and two coats of colors. Do not use a top coat.

In the nail polish set contains three small bottles with the colors Baby please come home (a champagne, light golden color), Make him mine (a dark purple color) and Silent stars go by (a rose gold color).

Baby please come home

Make him mine

Silent stars go by

Quality: As always with OPI polishes, the quality is perfect. They didn't chip on me and lasted for almost nine days. One down side, as usual with glitter polishes: they're a pain to remove.

Packaging: Nice as always. The brush also is perfect in size.

Price: I paid around 25 euros for this set, and later I found it online for 15 euros. Bummer!

Conclusion: LOVE them!

Have you tried any liquid sand polishes? From which brand is your favorite christmas/holiday nail polish?

Xoxo,
Anine

NAILS: OPI Get Your Number - liquid sand

Hey everyone, today I'm showing you the OPI Get Your Number liquid sand nail polish from the Mariah Carey collection. I got my hands on this polish and was just in love with the dazzling color in the bottle. 

However, I hadn't really tried any liquid sand polishes yet and thus was a bit cynical. I never really liked the caviar nail trend and thought this was comparable. Well, I was wrong!

The color in the bottle had me bewitched, but it came out quite different on the nails. However I immediately loved the color and the finish.

Use:
I applied two coats and no top coat, since it says so on the bottle. At first it didn't look like anything special, but when dried the polish looked amazing on the nails. Very glam, but still quite subtle and wearable, especially for a blue color.

Quality:
It stayed on my nails for about four to five days, which I really can't complain about. It didn't really chip but just started peeling off. Of course, as predicted this polish was a pain to get off my nails.

Conclusion:
I couldn't stop staring at my nails, that's how amazing I find this polish. Also, it almost looks like very nice nail art or like you very patiently took your time creating this naillook, while it's so easy. I am in LOVE with this polish, which I hadn't suspected at all!


Have you tried any liquid sand polishes? Did you like them?

Xoxo,
Anine

PRODUCT BATTLE: the search for the perfect nude

You can't imagine how long I've been searching for the perfect nude nail polish. Just recently I was able to try out two polishes that might live up to my overly high expectations of perfection. I'm talking about the 'Satin Corset' (I <3 the name) polish from Sephora and the 'Nude' polish from Pieces.

What do expect from this perfect polish, you might wonder? I only expect the perfect brown nude color. Never thought it could be quite the challenge!

- Quality
Let's talk opacity. Satin Corset from Sephora takes more layers to get an opaque finish. The Pieces polish only takes two layers. I do feel like the Sephora one stays on longer without chipping. The Pieces polish chips more easily, but applies easily.

- Color
The Sephora polish is more brown. Maybe a bit too brown, since it's so nude, it's barely noticable. It makes my nails even look a bit deadly. The Pieces one, unexpectedly came out more pink than brown. Fail! So, conclusion?

Conclusion:
Neither of these polishes is actually the perfect nude I had been looking for. I'll have to continue my nail polish quest for the perfect nude!

Help me in my search and share what polish is your favorite nude color?

Xoxo,

Anine

Nail polish: Essie Fiji

What kind of beauty freak would I be if I hadn't tried the Fiji polish from Essie? I picked it up whilst being in England a few months ago. At my first try, I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. Everyone said it was a pale pink color, but I felt that it was just an off-white cream color and thought it didn't look good on me. 

Last week I had to go to a wedding though, and this color seemed like the most wedding appropriate color I had in my nail polish drawer. I put it on and soon realized what the fuss was about. Normally I don't like how my nails look. However, with this polish, I like how they look and I feel more pretty with this shade than with a typical classic red or a cute pink. 

The polish stayed on for five days. Then it started chipping lightly, but not heavily and I removed it. I love the application of Essie polishes, which is usually very effortless and smooth.

I got a lot of compliments whilst wearing Essie's Fiji. Even the bride seemed to regret her decision of nail varnish and wished she had been wearing Fiji on her nails.

I would describe this shade more as a very light cream color. It is definitely appropriate for every kind and shape of nail, which I find a rare trait for most polishes. Love, love, love.

What's your favorite Essie polish?

xoxo,
Anine

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 2013 collection

Recently, my eyes fell on a very interesting article that had found its way onto my computer screen. Sally Hansen is coming to Belgium! The polishes will be available at Planet Parfum. This higher-end nail polish brand is quite popular and so I couldn't wait to try them out.

I got my hands on these two colors. The first one is Jaded and this is a nice mint green color. The second color is Berry Important, which is (as you might guess) a nice, quite warm berry color.
 

Quality
I like these! They apply pretty easily and I prefer two coats, especially with the Jaded color. These polishes lasted me an entire week, which is the longest a nail polish has ever gone without chipping heavily or peeling off, I think.

Packaging
I love the packaging. You got a lot of product for your price and it's pretty to look at (you all know you like that too, just admit it!). I like that the brush is wider than your average nail polish brush. It makes application easier. However, the two brushes were kind of flared out (by accident I presume) which made it a bit harder for me to apply the polishes. It still was quite easy to use though.

Price
The polishes retail for 11.99 euros - 13.99 euros depending on where you buy them. I think that's a good price, considering you get a lot of product and they lasted me an entire week.

Selection
There are 10 polishes available for this Complete Salon Manicure collection. They're all beautiful colors, and you can also choose some darks.

Have you tried Sally Hansen polishes before?

xoxo,
Anine

Obsessed: Nail polish

In the month of March, we barely saw any sun in Belgium. While the American bloggers were bathing in their precious sunlight, it was either snowing or raining here. I was dying to get some spring feels, and so I wore a lot of new pastel colors on my nails. It was the only way for me to get some color into my look, because knitted pastel sweaters and cute floral skirts looked ridiculous amidst the snow.

I actually wanted some of the polishes from the L'Oreal spring collection, but since they're not being sold in Belgium, I tried to find some dupes. Two I actually found in their own range of polishes.

L'Oreal Marie Antoinette

I love this nude pinky/peach color, since it's subtle and yet so perfect for spring and it really brightens my mood.

L'Oreal Jade de Perle

This color is the perfect mint! (Don't mind the awful application, it was all my fault - applying polish while cooking is never a good idea)

I also purchased this for some nail 'art':

Matte top coat

For example, I used it here:

The L'Oreal polishes apply very easily, two coats suffice for me and it doesn't chip on me at all. I actually even find them comparable to Essie polishes when it comes to 'chipproofness' (is that even a word).

Another polish I've been loving was this color from Hema (a Dutch drugstore): This color is a bit more 'in your face', without thinking "Woooow girl, whatcha got on your nails?!"

They're the cheapest out there, and recently they really have been stepping up their game and adding some really nice colors! Application goes well, but chips easily. I don't think they even have names, these polishes.

The last polish I got for you, is this one from Pieces in Peach. My mom bought this for her last summer and didn't like it, so she gave it to me. I tried it recently and damn, I don't think any nail polish has lasted so long on me like this one! The color is a vibrant, not-yet-neon-but-still bright pink.

What spring colors have you been rocking lately?

xoxo
Anine

Winter favorites: Nail polish

Let's get on with it!

I've been wearing more nailpolish than normally, and buying more as well. It protects my nails better, keeps them from tearing and just is a great accessory!

Essie Lady Like

This nail polish can be worn all year round and it's just so pretty and subtle.

Essie Fiji

I was eager to try this out, since the online beauty community keeps raving about this colour! It was more white and less pink than I expected, but very nice for a beach look! Also a very summery colour.

Essie We're in it together

I bought this colour because it supported breast cancer, but also because it's like no colour I've ever seen, let alone stand owned. It has tiny shiny particles in it which look amazing! I wanted to try something completely different and so picked it up. I wear it when I feel extremely girly.

Essie Scarlett O'Hara

This colour is so perfect for christmas. It's a nice dark red with a lot of shine and tiny sparkles that can complete a nice festive look.

 

L'Oréal

I can't find the name of this colour, but it's a bright coral-like orange. Even though it's too summery for the white winter that's going on right now, it's so nice and reminding of spring. It makes me happy just looking at it!