NOTD #7: Jazzed Pink

I love painting my nails. I find it almost therapeutic and relaxing to take half an hour once or twice a week to give myself a mini manicure. For a base coat I always use the O.P.I. Nail Envy and at the moment I am also using it as a top coat as I am on the hunt for a good and inexpensive replacement. Any suggestions will be hugely appreciated!

For a base I applied the No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in the shade Pinky Pure. This takes three thin coats to achieve an opaque colour which isn't ideal but it gives a really chic, manicured feel. To jazz it up a bit I decided to layer two coats of the Miss Sporty Sparkle Touch Nail Varnish which has multicoloured glitter particles mixed in and goes with literally any polish. I love this combination which lasts on the nails for around seven days due to the glitter top coat which helps to prevent chips more than one without glitter. The only thing I dread about glitter nails is the painfully long process of taking it off once it starts to chip! Someone really needs to invent something that makes it less taxing :P

You can purchase the pink nail colour here and the glitter polish here. Hope you enjoyed this quick nails post! :)

Hayley xxx

Nails of the Day #3/ OPI Nail Envy Review

Today's NOTD post isn't too exciting colour wise however I haven't had anything else on my nails for the last week. Above is the infamous OPI Nail Envy and I wanted to try this as for the past six or so months I have had colour on my nails every single day which seemed to be taking it's toll. Before that, my nails were in perfect condition and I only painted them for special events however I have found that my nails and just not as strong and tend to flake now I paint them regularly. I am not saying my nails were ever in terrible condition but more like they needed a bit of TLC :) 

Following the instructions, I applied two coats on the first day then one more every second day for a week. After that I took the nail strengthener off with my normal nail varnish remover. Now, the results I got were down to either of three things. One, I left my nails free from colour for a week which improved the overall feel and look of them. Two, I managed to kid myself into seeing good results. Three, the product actually does what it says on the tin! I would like to think the latter as the Nail Envy is £18 for a 15ml bottle which I think is extortionate even for OPI! What I did notice was that my nails grew at an amazingly fast rate! After four days of it on my nails I felt like I needed to cut them so if you suffer from brittle nails that are hard to grow maybe give it a go?  

Overall I am impressed with the Nail Envy but I am not sure I would have purchased it if I didn't get it free as part of the Boots 3 for 2 deal. I will be using it as a base coat as the instructions suggest but not as a top coat because I want to make it last! I am really interested to hear your opinions?

Hayley xxx

Recent Purchases

I had been eyeing up the three items I recently bought for a long time and always put them on my wish list but never took the plunge because of the prices. However, it was the last day of the Boots 3 for 2 deal and of course I convinced myself that it would be cheaper in the long run to get them now... I ordered online and the Boots delivery was great, I have a blog post on it here.

Left to right: OPI Nail Envy, Real Techniques Starter Set,
Real Techniques Core Collection

If you have read my previous blog posts, you'll know that I have been wanting to try the Real Techniques blushes for a while. Straight away I put the core collection in my basket and was looking at the other brushes when I saw the starter kit. I had heard that the deluxe crease brush was really good for concealer and I thought that I may as well get the set so that I could then get rid of some of my other brushes that weren't as good quality. I am going to do a review of these brushes soon because at first I had no idea what I would use them all for but I have now used every single one and love them (except for the foundation brush which seems stupidly small?).  The core collection and starter set were £21.99 each which at first seems quite a bit for brushes but when broken down are only around £5 each. As I had my next item free (if it was under £20) I looked for something that I could treat myself to and something that I wouldn't normally buy because of the price. That's when I saw the OPI Nail Envy. Normally, I would never spend £18 (!!!) on a nail hardening base coat however as the product was essentially free I thought why not.

Unfortunately the 3 for 2 deal has now ended, however Boots are always doing similar deals. I hope you liked my mini haul, I should have a few other things to show you within the next week when they arrive along with a few reviews :)

Hayley xxx