Nails Inc Magnetic Range

A couple of weeks ago I told you about my Nails Inc gel nails and harped on about my love and amazement of their new magnetic range.

A few nights ago while treating Ann from Girlinthecityg to her belated birthday treat by popping her Yo Sushi! cherry, we also got the chance to go into Nails Inc, right next door at House of Fraser.  We were treated to some lovely manicures and naturally I went straight for the metallic range. 

Magnetic nails guarantee the wow factor and since sporting them, everyone has been asking for a closer look and asking how exactly do they do it.  Let me tell you ... 

The polish formula has been specially developed with metallic particles which create a patter on the nails used magnetic forces.  The magnet, housed in the lid of the polish is held over your nail after applying the shade and that's when the magic happens.  The iron powder in the formulation gravitates toward the magnet forming a design to create a unique finish.  The magnet can also be held in different directions to create slightly different looks.

There are 3 shades in the range, Houses of Parliament (a gorgeous heather purple - my fave), Trafalgar Square (silver) and Big Ben (a beautiful gold shade but the magnet doesn't really do much for it unfortunately and I have also noticed seems to be removed from the website!).

As I said, Houses of Parliament is my favourite of the 3 available shades so that's what I went for.  I absolutely love it and everyone wants a closer look at my nails.  The only downside however is that they seem to have chipped quite a bit since Thursday but not enough to merit a re-paint as yet.

Each polish is priced at £13 and a half hour heavenly hand manicure using magnetic polish is priced at £38.  I honestly think they are a fab Christmas gift for manicure junkies out there.

What's your take on magnetic nails?

x

Christmassy Nail of the Day

The Christmas season is around the corner,  only 8 weeks away!! Yikes!

Soon we will all be panic buying last minute gifts and squeezing ourselves into our party dresses after one too many Quality Street!

Tonight, a bit by accident I created a 'Christmassy' nail effect.  I had been gifted this gorgeous classic red 'Enchanted Garnet' by Estee Lauder a while ago and this is my first time trying it out.  It just so happened to be sitting next to Nails Inc Westminster Abbey so I thought I would mix them up together.

Rather shoddily applied I admit but you get the general effect.  In fact on reflection, I've recreated the Estee lauder bottle design on my nails!!

This is the first time I have painted my nails in months after a succession of gel nails.  It felt good to delve back into the collection.  I do love the ease, glossiness and polished finish of gel nails but as hard as I try I always end up biting them off around the 2 week mark! (I don't advise this as a safe, hygienic or comfortable method of removing gel nails).

I'm sure I will resort back to gels in a matter of weeks, especially in the run up to the party season. Watch this space!

x

Manicures and Bubbles

I have been back and forth to Edinburgh loads recently, a trip I always love to make as Edinburgh is so gorgeous so it's never feels like chore despite the 50 minute journey.

My last trip was especially good as it involved a bit of pampering at Nails Inc's Champagne Bar at Harvey Nichols.  Based on the ground floor beauty hall, the nail bar has been there for quite some time but has had bit of a makeover in recent months.

Sask enjoying some bubbly! Photo courtesy of Christina - The Daydreamer

The only Nails Inc Champagne bar in Scotland (there is a Nails Inc bar in Glasgow albeit sans the bubbly) ... it now boasts 10 nail stations where the fizz comes as standard.  The manicurists are friendly and informative and you can tell they are passionate about their products which makes a visit all the more enjoyable.

I went for the gel 3-week manicure in a lush purple shade (sorry, I can't for the life of me remember the actual shade!) and on my index finger I tried out the latest Gossip Girl glitter collection.  It wasn't just the Gossip Girl collection that caught my eye, I am now obsessed with their magnetic range which I HAVE to get my hands on!  It's just so simple, easy and effective, the results look wicked so I do urge you to check it out.

Image from Nailsinc.com - Metallic Collection

I also found out the bar is available for parties and hen do's which I love the sound of.  What's better than to have a bit of pampering and bubbly with your 10 favourite girlies before painting the town red?!

And talking of favourite girlies, it was brilliant to finally meet Christina from The Daydreamer blog who I have been twitter chatting with for a while now.  Check out her take on the Nails Inc Champagne Bar and the amazing crystal pedicure she had done - it is stunning!!  It was also a pleasure to meet up with another Scottish blogger and fellow redhead Merle from Beauty Bombshells who I have met a couple of times now and always fun to catch up with.

Little Miss Sunshine - Nails Inc 40th Anniversary Collaboration

Mr Men & Little Miss turn 40 this year and to celebrate Nails Inc have yet again collaborated to create a limited edition collection featuring Little Miss rather than the men. Sexist, much? ;)

You may have already have caught on to this collaboration a few months ago when the initial images were released but they are available to buy now.  I was sent Little Miss Sunshine which is a lovely summery peachy shade.  

Other shades in the collection are Little Miss Chatterbox - a murky mushroom, think Chanel Particuliere.  Little Miss Naughty is a deep lilac/muted purple while Little Miss Splendid looks to be a bright mint green. 

Nails Inc's Little Miss Sunshine is everything I wanted Barry M's Peach Melba today.  The downside however is that at least 3 thick coats are needed to get a fully opaque, glossy finish.  But it's a sweet, soft colour that looks so pretty on nails and is lovely for these final weeks left of Summer. 

On another note in reference to Little Miss Sunshine... if you have never seen this movie before then it is a must see.  It's quite a dark comedy but ultimately a feel good film ... in a very round about way.  You'll know what I mean when you watch it. 

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and keeping safe.

x

I'm a Winner!

Remember I blogged about this little Nails Inc/Diet Coke creation?

Well, I only went and won myself a wee treat at The Berkley Hotel!  Amazing.  I didn't even put much thought into the fact it was a competition ... I'm a 'it's the taking part that counts' type of gal so this was a lovely surprise to have my bottle picked as winner :)

I just need to set a date to reclaim my prize ... can't wait!

x

Releasing my inner Dali ... with Diet Coke and Nails Inc

I mentioned on twitter yesterday that this weekend I would be getting crafty and creative for my sister in laws hen night in a few weeks.  I will keep those crafty plans a secret just now but if all goes well I will be sharing the results of my blingtastic creation in a couple of weeks.

I had forgotten about was another outstanding project ... a challenge to bloggers set by Nails Inc in conjunction with the latest collaboration with Diet Coke.  The task, to decorate a bottle of diet coke using the new shades from the collection and a some sparkling and pretty decorations as sent to me by Nails Inc.

In keeping with my leopard print nail that I blogged about here and my absolute love for animal print, I decided to take this bottle to the wild side.

It actually took all my might not to drink this as I love diet coke and I am currently finding it very difficult to wean myself off it!

I used denim and caramel on the below the diet coke logo with heather grey leopard spots and pink diamantes for a bit of frosting.  Above the logo I used heather grey and plum with caramel leopard spots and pearl decoration.  The cap was not left out either - now suitably adorned with pearls and sparkles.

Now it's far too pretty to drink from so getting creative has actually helped my diet coke addiction! :)

If you are one of the bloggers who was also prompted to get creative, link me up to your bottle designs in the comments, I would love to see what you came up with.

x

Nails Inc ...the rest of the Diet Coke collection

The other day I blogged about leopard print nails using 2 of the diet coke/Nails Inc colours so I thought I would show you the other 2 colours available.

Here is Nails Inc Denim.  I was surprised at how much I liked this on my nails as I would usually only stick to a very dark navy or a baby blue on the nails.  This turned out to be a lovely but noticed after the first day some wear and tear to the tips of my nails.

 My favourite of the collection is Nails Inc Plum which does remind me of Chanel's Rouge Noir but slightly brighter.  This has so far been the longest wearing of the polishes with very little in the way of chipping or wear to the nail tips.

 

I'm off to pour myself a glass of diet coke now ;) 

x

Nails Inc/Diet Coke Leopard NOTD

Most of you will know by now that Nails Inc have collaborated with Diet Coke once again to create 4 new nail shades available at UK Boots stores for the grand old price of ... 2 bottles of diet coke.

For me, it's a win win deal, I love diet coke and a free nail polish is the icing on the cake.  Although I have been a bit of a cheat as I was sent these for review purposes.  There are 4 colours in the collection, Heather Grey (a greyish mauve funnily enough), Caramel (beige camel), Plum (reddy plum - my fave) and Denim (a deep blue which I have yet to try.

 

I have never been the biggest fan of Nails Inc polishes as I find they chip pretty quickly however over gel nails the colours look beautiful and last for weeks at a time.  I also find that Nails Inc have such an extensive shade range that can cater for every need.

 

The other night I had a sharpie pen at my disposal so thought I would try out 2 of the polishes in one go by creating a leopard print design.  I haven't done this for a while but I thought the Caramel would make a great base colour for the look which it did.  I used the Heather grey for my leopard spots. 

I think the colours look great together and very fitting of the current Camel trend that is around at the moment but doesn't actually suit me.  This way I get to wear the trend without washing me out or making me look drab.

So who has been collecting the diet coke/nails inc colours? What is your favourite shade?

x

A Sparkling NOTD from KIKO

I made a few make up purchases on my recent weekend trip to Barcelona, none of which are very exciting at all. However, last time I was there I discovered Kiko which is an Italian make up brand.

Kiko is a very reasonably priced brand and although the quality of all their products is not up to par, you do find the odd gem. Almost a bit like Barry M but their packaging and branding looks more expensive and product range is much more vast, even catering to mens skincare (which my husband loves!).

Anyway, without further ado, I picked up this sparkly nailpolish for a couple of Euros. I had previously been let down by a clear glitter polish by China Glaze so was hoping this one, although a heck of a lot cheaper would return in a better quality and bling finish. And it did.

I believe the colour is shade 217 which is a silver sparkle. I was surprised at how much glitter payoff you get with this product and it's easy to layer on or as I did ... dab extra bits of sparkle on. I was also pleasantly surprised by the quick drying time. By far the quickest drying glitter polish I have used.

The finish of it is lovely, it almost looks like a sprinkling of diamantes on your nails and dries glossy ... well, as glossy as a glitter polish can be. I applied this on Saturday and today there is still very little chipping or lift off.

In the photos it's worn over the top of Nails Inc Beauchamp Place but think this will look lovely over blues and even black for a winter sparkle effect. The photos really don't do the dazzle much justice as it was much blingier in real life and received many compliments.

These polishes are so reasonably priced and despite the low cost the quality is really very good.

Anyone else tried Kiko polishes? What do you think of the quality?

x

NOTD - Nails Inc Drury Lane

I knew I had to blog about this nail polish the minute I had finished painting my nails last night.

Nails Inc Drury Lane is a ridiculously pretty colour. A gorgeous coral pink which is lovely and vibrant for Summer.

I own a tonne of coral nail polish but this one is probably the prettiest of the lot.

Please ignore the colour of my skin is these photos - I have tried to crop as best I can as I had a major fake tan fail this weekend (the first in a very long time) and have managed to tango my hands!! whoopsy!

The only downside, as I find with all Nails Inc polishes ... the application is horrific. It's gloopy, streaky and takes me up to 3 coats to get a smooth enough finish. As you can see from the photos though I didn't really get that smooth a finish after all. I managed to smudge them seconds after I painted them ... hmmph!

On one hand I can't stand Nails Inc polishes but when they produce colours this pretty I do tend to just put up and persevere with the negatives for the sake of pretty nails.

x

NOTD - Nails Inc Tate

Despite not really being a fan of Nails Inc polishes, they do produce one of the loveliest red nail polishes I own.

I pinched this polish from my sister who in turn got it free in a magazine (didn't feel so bad when I heard that!) Tate is a gorgeous red that I can only describe as in between pillar box red and blood red veering ever so slightly to the berries.
Tate feels like a more sophisticated, grown up red compared with say Revlon Red which another of the brights I love. There is just something more demure and expensive looking about Tate.

As with all Nails Inc polishes I own, it doesn't take long before the chipping starts but this one held out to day 2 so thats better than my usual experience.

Though, for a colour this lovely I don't mind.

x

Nails Inc

Hey guys, guess who's back?!

Lots to update you on from Florence but while I am waiting on my camera battery charging I thought I would do a quick review of Nails Inc polishes.

I own 3 Nails Inc polishes; South Molton Street, Tate and In Style Coral. Two were free from a magazine, the other my sister passed on to me ... she probably got this free from a magazine too. Well thank goodness for that!! If I ever paid £10.50 for one of these polishes I would be running back to the shop the next day to demand a refund! I hate them.
The first polish I tried was South Molton Street. The colour was icky and gloopy on my nails and did not give a good finish at all. At the time I thought this was because it was a pale, neutral colour whereas I am used to darker colours on my nails so I didn't think too much about it.

Next up was Tate. I tried this just last month for the first time. Let me start this on a positive note ... I love the colour of Tate, its a lovely berry red shade that is not too bright nor too dark. However, it took me 3 coats until the colour was evenly distributed on each nail. It took an age to dry and the overall finish looked messy.

Last week, I bought In Style magazine, purely for the free Nails Inc polish in In Style Coral. I chose this as my holiday polish and jetted it off to Florence with me. Again, it took at least 3 coats before i seen any colour pay off and even then it was still streaky, gloopy and a messy finish. It took ages to dry and had chipped within 24 hours! I wouldn't have minded so much but even the magazine that it came with wasn't that good!!

Overall, i think the finish of these polishes look cheap and they are of very bad quality. Chipping within hours of application is a big no no for a polish that costs over £10! For anyone who has not tried these then i do not recommend at all. For anyone who is a fan ... is there something I am doing wrong?

Anyone looking into buying Nails Inc, I would suggest you stick to the cheap and cheerful Barry M who really gives Nails Inc a run for their money!

x