Perfectly Purple

I really enjoyed doing my pink post last week and this week it’s the turn of purple. My favourite colour although I don’t have much makeup that colour which I find odd so I’ll have to go purple-cosmetics-shopping! Anyway these are the purple products I do have.

Yves Rocher So Elixir Purple – So technically this doesn’t show up purple when it’s on but it is called purple and the bottle is purple. It also smells amazing. Full review  here.

MUA Nail Polish in Frozen Yoghurt – I love this cute purple colour! I only used it for the first time yesterday and fell in love so I will review it at a later date. It is a wonderful candy-purple shade and is perfect for these last few sunny days before we hit autumn, I’m going to make the most of it while I still can!

Purple Hair Chalk – So I can’t use this right now with my red hair as it’ll clash far too much but I love it none the less and if/when I go back to a suitable colour again I’ll definitely be using it again. I have 24 different colour chalks but this is my favourite. Review here. 

The Body Shop Eye Definer in Amethyst – This eye liner is great for adding a purple pop of colour to a natural look. I only reviewed it yesterday so I won’t go into too much detail.

The Body Shop Baked to last Eye Shadow duo in Amethyst – I have discovered ow that this is best used wet and I love the vibrant purple it produces that way. It looks stunning and is really easy to work with. Don;t think I’ll ever use it dry again!

Think next week will be Glorious Green so stay tuned for that!

Newspaper Nails

I’m a total newbie when it comes to nails but when I saw this tutorial on My Life Through the Eyes of the Web this morning I just had to give it a go and I love it. It’s one of the easiest nail art looks I’ve seen.

I selected a news piece about some of my favourite artists from the paper and cut them pretty roughly into 10 nail size pieces.

I then done 3 coats of Avon’s Speed Dry Nail polish in Prompt and Pearly, any light colour will work though. This nail polish is fantastic, it is so quick to dry that it took me the same amount of time to do 3 coats as when I do one of some other nail polish’s.

Then one nail at a time I soaked a piece of newspaper in mouth wash although any alcohol-based product (even vodka itself) will work and then I placed it gently on my nail and held it down. Carefully lift it up after a few seconds and your done! Awesome!

My nails now have Bruno Mars and Ellie Goulding all over them!

Top 5 Thursday: Festival Nail Paints

 

I haven’t done a Top 5 Thursday for a couple of week, I’ve suddenly had some very busy Thursday’s! Tonight though I was trying to decide what nail polish to wear for V festival this weekend, (sorry I keep going on about it!) and thought I could upload my top 5 and you could help me choose? 

My top 5 include pastel colours and brights. Festivals are the perfect time to stand out and have fun with your nails. So, let’s get down to it! In no particular order!

Barry M Nail Paint in Lemon (307) – I love this fresh, summery shade, it’s been popular among the youth group where I volunteer recently too. It takes a couple of coats but it looks gorgeous once it’s on. 

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Greenberry (322) – I have done a full review of this one and it does come out beautifully and it barely chips so would be fab for a festival where there’s a high risk of ruining your nails within seconds!

Avon Speed Dry in ASAP Pink – This one really does dry fast and only requires one coat which mean’s it’d be easy to top up over the weekend. It is also a gorgeous girly shade, yet it still stands out. 

Misguided Splash Polish in Misstaken – I got this one free somewhere a couple of years back and it still hasn’t dried out. i rediscovered it when I was trying to decide which to include tonight and remembered how much I love it but it does take around 3 coats to get a good colour. It’s a really bright orange and would definitely give a pop of colour to any outfit. 

Miss Sporty Lasting Colour in shade 150 – I still maintain that Miss Sporty do some of the best budget polishes. I don’t tend to but anything else from them but their nail paints are amazing. They glide on really easily for a smooth result. This colour also stands out but is a more grown up shade than the others listed. 

So which should I go for? 

P.S. This is my 100th post on Naked Beauty and I’ve been officially blogging for 3 months today, yay! 

It’s a Wrap!

Reviewed by Tams

Essie Sleek Sticks Review – New product!

I hadn’t used nail wraps before so I was unsure of how easy these would be. I received them in the 03 So haute design which I absolutely love but there’s plenty of other awesome designs available too.

The packet came complete with 10 different sized nail wraps, a nail file and full instructions including diagrams which was great for a novice like me!

I did wonder why the biggest one was so big, I thought “nobody had thumbs that size!” Then I realised it is in case you want to do your toes. They were really easy to use, you simply wash your hands and remove any nail polish already there, select a size, stick it on and file the overlay downwards. It was even easy enough for my husband to do… yes he decided to play with the leftovers! He did hastily remove them after though and said although they were comfortable to take off they were clearly stuck down well.

I absolutely love the result and I’ve had loads of comments today, my nails usually chip within an hour of me doing them, these say they last up to 10 days so I’ll let you know how they do. Currently they still look as good as they did 24 hours ago which is very unusual for me. I love that I can make my own nails look gorgeous without using fake nails which in the end damage your nails. These do not harm your nails in any way.

I absolutely love the result and I’ve had loads of comments today, my nails usually chip within an hour of me doing them, these say they last up to 10 days so I’ll let you know how they do. Currently they still look as good as they did 24 hours ago which is very unusual for me. I love that I can make my own nails look gorgeous without using fake nails which in the end damage your nails. These do not harm your nails in any way.

The only thing I would say is it is tricky to get them to file right at the end, I seem to have a bit of nail showing at the end of a couple of them even though I was really careful, no-one else noticed so it’s no biggy!

I had those rather large ones left over so decided to make my toe nails match too, I made a feature, using these, of the big toe then made the rest red, I think it looks ok!

There are a little pricey for something that lasts 10 days but I think the effect is worth the price tag if I’m honest. I’d probably only use them for a special occasion or a holiday so I wouldn’t have to worry about my nails while I was away! Have you sued any nail wraps? Let me know what you think!

EDIT: They only lasted 4 full days on me, not totally surprised seeing as these things never do last that well on me.

Try it: One set from £9.99, available from Boots.

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Sally Hansen – Complete Salon Manicure 670 Midnight in NY – Product Review

Review and Photo by Rosie, written by Tams

Our lovely reviewer and alternative model Rosie took Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure for a spin this weekend, turned into quite a long drive actually. 

Rosie was totally delighted when she open this package as it’s right up her street. She loved that it was a sexy black with enough glitter to add some glamour but without over doing it.

This nail polish is an all-in-one, hardener base and top coat + colour. Rosie found the brush size to be perfect and application easy, even on her little toe. The photo above was taken 3 days after it was put on so this nail polish clearly has quite some staying-power. It’s held out through a whole busy-mum’s weekend and that deserves a huge thumbs up from us!

Rosie has already been busy checking out other shades and recommending this to others so it looks like Sally Hansen has a winner here.

The only problem Rosie found was it does take a good few coats to get a decent coverage but when you’re skipping the base coat and top coat that’s not so bad. It was also really quick to dry so it wasn’t too time-consuming all in all.

Rosie already has this planned into her next photo shoot. Oh I do love it when we find and fall in love with a great product!

What Rosie loved most: The perfect brush size.

And least: That it needed 3/4 coats.

Try it: £6.99, www.boots.com

Festival nails! Go neon!

Reviewed by Donna, written by Tams

With Glastonbury going on Donna and I are starting to get excited for V Fest in around 6 weeks and we’re turning our attention to all things fashion and beauty when at a festival.

I got this Barry M Special Edition Nail paint free yesterday and it isn’t my colour so I handed it over to my favourite neon-loving friend, Donna. The colour is bright and summery and perfect to stand out at a festival. Donna absolutely loves the colour and will probably need to re-purchase before we get anywhere near V!

Donna found it really easy to apply and the results are awesome. This is a limited edition summer nail paint so if you love it, probably best to stock up now. I absolutely love the on-trend Aztec pattern on the bottle too.

The shade is Vernis a Onlges and having seen it on Donna’s nails I can admit I may be changing my mind about the colour.. sexy, summery and makes a statement.

What Donna loves most: The vibrant colour.

Try it: £2,99, www.barrym.com

I say: Team it with a bright eyeshadow for the real wow-factor in the festival crowds.

In the Summertime When the Weather is Fine….

Reviewed by Tams

With the sun finally shining in Essex I had a hankering for gorgeous summer nails, I took a trip to Superdrug and among other things (Shh don’t tell my husband) I came back with these!

I choose a bright summer colour that is very on trend right now, I also thought I’d finally have a go at Gelly nail polish. I always love the colours Barry M provide and it was sooo hard to choose today but I went for Greenberry Gelly High Shine Nail paint, I also picked up the All in One Basecoat, Topcoat and Hardener.

I have really brittle nails so it was great to have an all-in-one that contains hardener. I painted on this as a basecoat first and it dried really quickly. I then popped on the nail paint which was really easy to use, even a novice like me got a great result!

The colour is definitely as beautiful on as it is in the bottom and there was no need to use the all-in-one as a topcoat as it is so shiny all on its own. I was a bit worried when I first put it on as it looked a bit of a mess but as soon as it dried it looked way better than I expected, it also only took one coat. The only thing that I found was a problem is the brush size, it is very small and I prefer a brush that covers the whole nail in my sweep.

I’m hoping that this nail paint will last a good few days, it seems pretty good so I am hopeful. Looking forward to showing off these gorgeous summertime nail tonight.

What I love most: The colour and oooo it’s shiny..

What I liked least: The brush size

Try it: Gelly High Shine £3.99, All in One £2.99, www.barrym.com