Festival Nails with Rimmel

Now that spring is upon us and thoughts are turning to holidays and festivals, it's time to ditch those dark nail polishes and incorporate something a bit brighter into our collections. While doing the shopping in Tesco recently, I found myself at the Rimmel stand (no idea how that happened...!) and came across these pretty, bright colours making up Rita Ora and Rimmel's latest collaboration. The 'colourfest' range consists of 12 shades perfect for the warmer months,with everything from brights to pastels to nudes, there's something for everyone! and I was so impressed with the shade range and had such a hard time choosing which to get on the 3 for 2 offer. So much so that I went to Boots the following week and bought another three! 

L-R Roll in the Grass, Go Wild-erness, Neon Fest, Peachella, Rain Rain Go Away, Glaston-Berry.

After much deliberation I opted for Glaston-berry; a bright red with a hint of orange. I'm not a fan of true-red nail polishes but the slight orange tone to this one makes it much more wearable. Neon Fest is a super bright pink which would look great on the toes  (especially with a tan if anyone wants to take me on holiday?!). Roll In the Grass is a mid toned aqua green. A bit deeper than the infamous Essie Mint Candy Apple, but still very wearable and not too in-your-face. Go Wild-erness is a lovely pale lilac colour. I've always had a bit of a thing for purple nails so this is definitely one of my favourite shades. Peachella is, as the name suggests, is a peachy shade, and finally Rain Rain Go Away is a more natural grayish brown, with a hint of purple in some lights I think. I love that the names are all to do with festivals, yet still for the most part, match the actual colour too; there's even a Port-a-Loo Blue in the collection which definitely wins the award for best name!

The design of the bottle is pretty much the same as the other 60 second super shine polishes by Rimmel except for the daisy design and Rita's signature on the lids. The centre of the daisy as well as the signature, is the same colour as each individual polish which I think is a lovely touch, and the overall design certainly gives them a springtime feel.  The brush is wider than your average nail polish brush which makes them much easier to apply, especially if your a bit clumsy and/or inpatient like I am when it comes to painting my nails! Some of the stronger colours are opaque after one coat, but I always like to do two coats to be sure of an even finish.  These polishes also claim to be a 3 in 1; incorporating both a base and topcoat in with the colour.  I'm not too sure about this; I'm sure the lighter colours you could get away without a base coat, but I only applied my polish yesterday and I already have a couple of chips.  I only wear it for a day or two at a time though (damn work!) so this isn't too much of an issue for me, but if you're wanting it to last a bit longer, I wouldn't skip your topcoat! They do dry to a lovely shiny finish which is always a good thing!

These polishes are priced at £2.99 and are currently part of Boots' 3 for  2 offer. There's definitely something for everyone in the 12 shades so grab them while you can!

Nail Care Routine.

Like most bloggers probably, I'm a huge fan of nail polish.  I own an obscene amount, especially for someone who can't wear it every day.  My job involves handling food, so nail polish is a big no no, so for the most part, my collection of pretty colours often gets overlooked.  That said, I still do like to take care of my nails so that when I'm not at work I don't have to spend too long whipping them into shape; I can just paint on my colour of choice and I'm good to go... well, once I've taken it off and reapplied it 3+ times because I've not waited long enough and it's smudged... anyone else do that?!

First of all, I'll simply wash my hands in some warm soapy water. Aside from the obvious making my hands nice and clean, it also softens the cuticles a little, to make removing them a little easier.  I'll then use one of the cuticle tools to get rid of any gunk that's lurking under my nails... yuk! 

Then it's onto a bit of cuticle work. I'll admit I'm not great at this, and definitely need to work on my technique a little bit.  I'm currently using the Sally Hansen Maximum Strength Cuticle Remover which I picked up in Boots.  I leave this on my nails for a minute or two then gently push back my cuticles with either the tool I was using before, or an orange stick.  I think I'm going to invest in a rubber tipped one soon as I feel I'd get better results with one of those.  This metal one I just bough on ebay for a couple of pounds.  Once that's done I'll wash my hands again before starting on filing and buffing.

I highly recommend the Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File. Although expensive it will last you forever (unless you stand on it like I did with my first one... oops!). I've had this for almost a year and it's still as good as new and files my nails brilliantly.  It's super gentle, yet you can file your nails in no time with it, it's a fantastic product. I love it. I just it came with a bit more of a protective case; for the price you pay a flimsy plastic wallet isn't really good enough in my opinion.    I then buff my nails with this 4 way buffer that was cheap as chips from Boots. I don't do this every time I do my nails as it's not meant to be great for them, apparently it can actually weaken your nails! I tend to do this once or twice a month and mainly use sides 2 and 3 of the buffer to remove any ridges and smooth my nails out ready for polish.

I remember reading somewhere that dehydrating the nail is a good step to do before applying any polish.  All you need to do is take a bit or your usual nail polish remover on a cotton wool pad and just sweep it over the nail.  This just makes sure your nail is properly clean and ready for your polish to adhere to.  

Although I said I'm not meant to wear anything on my nails for work there is one sneaky step I do next whether I'm going to be wearing nail polish or not, and that's apply a nail strengthener.  I'd heard great things about OPI nail envy, and when I saw that they did a matte version I decided to be a little bit naughty and see if I could get away with it for work.  Although not as matte as I was hoping for (there's a definite shine there, especially under the harsh lights at work!) I've so far got away with it and my nails are much stronger as a result.  After this, if I'm not at work, I'll paint my nails then use my Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat to add shine and help my colour last a bit longer; though I only wear nail polish for a couple of days at a time so longevity isn't too much of an issue for me.

Finally, I'll add a bit of moisture back in to my hands and nails and for this I'll either use my Boots Salon Nail and Cuticle Oil, which comes in a glass bottle with a roller ball, making application quick and easy, or if I want something a bit more intensive I'll use Lemony Flutter from Lush.  This take a bit longer to absorb but it's worth it if you've maybe been a bit too harsh on those cuticles! My last step is to apply some hand cream.  My one of choice at the moment is Soap and Glory's Hand Dream.  I got this in the massive gift set at Christmas and I've to say that I think I prefer it to Hand Food! 

So that's my nail routine! It sounds a bit long winded, but it doesn't take that long at all really. Since doing this routine around once a week, I've certainly noticed a big difference in the condition of my nails; they were a bit dry and battered from work and would break really easily.  They're now much stronger, look healthier and generally just make me feel a bit more put together, even when I'm in minimal make up, hair scraped bag, and ready for another 9 hour shift at work.

nail week #3 & 4: topshop prim and proper & barry m ruby glitter.

I completely forgot to post my nails yesterday.  I had a day of tidying and sorting and completely lost track of time.  Anyway these were yesterday's nails.  I seem to have been getting more summery with my nails as the weeks gone on, while the weather has been doing the opposite.  This is Topshop's Prim and Proper which is a simple baby pink.  I've been on the hunt for the perfect pink nail colour and this is the closest I've found so far.  I've found two coats to dry slightly brighter than the colour appears in the bottle so my lookout for something a bit more muted goes on.  Nevertheless this is a lovely shade pink and two coats dries to a nice opaque finish.  Drying time isn't great I've found, and care is needed to avoid a streaky application, but with a little patience both these can easily be over come.

 

I was in a bit of a rush to get ready this morning so I've cheated slightly with my 'new nail colour every day' mission.  I didn't have time to remove my nail polish before applying another and waiting for it to dry.  Instead I just added a glitter topcoat so at least my nails still looked different.  I opted for Barry Ms Ruby Glitter; small and large matte black glitter, with larger, hexagonal pink metallic glitter suspended in a clear polish.  I really like the look of the black glitter and pale pink polish, and the pink glitter finishes the look off perfectly.  I put these colours together completely on a whim but I'll definitely be doing this look again.

Nail Week #2 Essie's Maximillian Strasse Her

Apologies for the smudge there - was in a bit of a rush!

 This is definitely the winner of the 'strangest named polish I own' award, if there was such a thing.  This was part of Essie's Madison Aven-hue collection that came out in the Spring.    It's apparently named after one of Munich's royal avenues, Maximillianstrasse, which is recent times has become home to many a designer shop.  Dolce & Gabanna, Dior and Gucci all have branches here and are increasingly ousting the more traditional shops, art galleries and restaurants that once resided there.  I picked this up from the diffusion line in Boots and is what I wore on my nails yesterday.  As I've named this week 'nail week' the plan is to have a different colour on my nails each day.  So far, so good!

The colour is certainly quite unusual.  Kind of a greyed out green, if that makes any sense.  I don't have anything else like this in my collection, and it's definitely a step away from my usual pinks and purples.  It's completely different to the mint green polishes that pretty much everyone adorns their nails with in the summer months.  That said, if you're a fan of those polishes, then you might well like this one too.  The polish is still a pale green colour, but a lot more muted which I think makes it a good transitional colour as we head into autumn and winter.  If you're not ready to say goodbye to your summer pastel colours, this may be the one for you.

Nail Week #1: Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Blue Plum

If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I'm off work this week; it's my first week off since June so to say I'm ready for it is an understatement! Anyway, no work means I can paint my nails so I thought it might be fun if I did a sort of 'nail week'and paint my nails each day and post a picture on here.
Unfortunately my Internet is currently down (damn you Sky!) so I'm having to do yesterday's post today, and do so via the Blogger app. Anyway this is what I had on my nails yesterday. It's kind of similar to the Rimmel polish I blogged about a couple of weeks ago, but a little darker. It's a lot darker than what I'm used to wearing but I'm getting used to it. It was definitely too dark for the summery weather we had in the north east yesterday, and it much more suited to today's misty, drizzly weather.

I'm a latecomer to the world of Barry M gelly polishes but I have to say from what I've tried, I'm very impressed and will certainly be adding to my collection!

Rimmel Salon Pro Nail Polish - Navy Seal

 

A day off work for me means I get to.paint my nails! To some it may seem a bit too much effort, painting my nails in the morning then removing it that evening, but if I'm going out somewhere and have done my hair and makeup, painting my nails helps me feel put together and 'done'. Besides, I have that many polishes it'd be a waste to not use them!

Today's colour of choice is a new addition. I blogged ages ago about the Rimmel pro colours and how much I love them; this is from the same range but Rimmel have changed the packaging since then. Navy Seal is a muted blue/grey colour.  It's not quite dark enough to be classed as a true navy blue, you could maybe describe it as a "pastel navy" if that makes any sense?!  It's perfect for this time of year and I think it'll become my go-to colour this autumn.  If you love your pastel shades in the summer but, like me, aren't a massive fan of really dark colours, this may be well worth checking out.