Floral Nail Wraps - A Summer Hit or Miss?

Nail Wraps have been the one of the newest and most inventive nail products to come onto the scene in recent years and have been something that has intrigued me for a while.  They range in designs from plain block colours similar to those you can achieve with 2 coats of nail varnish, to intricate patterns that unless you are prepared to spend hours on end trying to recreate and are a whizz with a nail art set, are unachievable (at least for me).  However, something that has put me off trying these nail wraps are the price, the average being around 10-16 nail wraps for prices varying from £5-£6 depending on shop, make and design.  But, whilst nosing around the Accessorize sale a couple of weeks ago I saw some that were 50% off, so for only £2.50 I thought it was my best opportunity to try some out, so here is what I thought about the product.


Did you like the product itself?
I decided to choose a pattern that I otherwise was not likely to achieve no matter how long I sat in front of the TV with my nail art kit, so I chose to this floral pattern which I thought was perfect for the long awaited summer months.  The overall look of these nail wraps is really pretty and girly and gorgeous for the summer.  


The pattern is highly detailed with lots of small brightly coloured flowers.  Overall I cant fault the look of the product as I got lots of compliments on the design so in this respect they are a real winner.  Also when I was looking around before purchasing these, I hadn't seen any that were similar to this design which was quite nice to find something that no one else would have.




How easy was it to apply the nail wraps?
Here is another rave review for this part of the product, prior to applying these I was worried how difficult it would be to effectively apply these to create the smooth almost painted on effect that these wraps should have.  But, I was surprised just how easy they are, and this was a definite plus point in my books.  When people asked about my nails and how I had done them, they were surprised I had applied them myself and said they would have thought it would have been a tricky and fiddly process, but I can promise you its not.  The instructions on the back make out that the process is a little tricky, so if you would be interested I can do another post on how to apply nail wraps if this would be useful?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

How long did the nail wrap design last?
Unfortunately this is where the good news and rave reviews end.  After everything I have said about the product you can tell that I loved the product, but after the first day I was very disappointed with the wear of this product.  On the back of the product itself it does not say how long they are expected to last, but whilst having a little bit of a search on the web many similar products from other brands say they will last between 5-7 days on the nails, some promising even more but the average was about 6 days.  So I'm sure you'll agree that after about 1-2 days finding that my nails were terribly chipped and beyond a small chip you can ignore, really dampened the mood and my view of these nail wraps.  To save this post from being to long I have done a separate post on this aspect day by day pictures so you can see what I mean, so you can see that HERE if you are interested.


Do you think that nail wraps are worth the hype or the price tag?
Now this is a tricky one.  For colour, design, application and the amount of compliments I got yes, I can not fault them on this.  But in terms of how long these ones lasted, I think I would have been outraged to pay £5-£6 for something that only lasts one day.  But I don't know if I got a dodgy pack or if thats why they were in the sale or anything.  Maybe some other nail wrap makes would be better quality but for the moment I will not be buying anymore.


I don't like writing bad reviews on any products but I thought that I should make you aware of this problem and I wanted to know if you have tried any nail wraps and they have lasted longer than these please let me know.  Also if you have any tips for making nail wraps last longer then I would appreciate that.  Any other questions let me know in the comments below and I will answer them...

Pastel Perfect - Lilac and Green

So for a bit of a change today I decided to paint my nails using 2 colours instead of one, to create a bit more of an unusual design.  If you have seen many blogs recently you may have seen a few designs using accent nails and 2 colours in one nail combination, and I thought I would share my new combination with you.

I often find that when the weather is a bit dull, as it has been over the past few weeks, its often hard to wear brighter colours even though it is technically summer, I can't face wearing garish colours on my nails sometimes but fear not...I have a solution for you.

For my pastel combination I have chosen to wear a green colour as the basis for my nails but feeling as though I couldn't pull this off in the not so summery weather I combined this with a lilac purple colour which has created a nice duo in my opinion.

For my Green colour I have used NYC Expert Last Nail Polish number 253 and in colour Mint Macaroon, which I think is such a amazing name.  It is a slightly duller mint green colour which is perfect for the days where the sun is not shining so brightly where you are, and I also think this will be a lovely colour for the late summer/autumn time of year because you can still be wearing a bright colour even though if it is not quite the time for a neon green.


In terms of application it was pretty good, with a creamy consistency which applied very nicely and was almost completely opaque after 2 coats.  Also the polish claims to last for up 7 days which would be perfect if it did but as I have just applied this I can not tell you if that is true, but so far it has lasted pretty well and shows no sign of chipping after the first day, but I will try to update this throughout the week to see how this polish lasts.



NYC is a brand that I previously had not explored or heard of all that much but honestly I can not say much bad about it.  Their products are really cheap for their quality and can easily be picked up in Superdrug without breaking the bank, so definitely check them out the next time you are in your local Superdrug store.

For the other colour I used Ciaté paint pot in the colour Purple Sherbet which I got in Marie Claire last month.  I have already done a whole review based on this polish which you can see HERE but basically I love Ciaté polishes.  I previously had not seen or tried Ciaté because they are on the pricier end of the spectrum but I can totally see why they are more expensive and I am now a convert and I will definitely be picked some more to add to my collection in the future.

I think that this combination is really pretty and something that anyone can pull off and put together no matter how big your collection is, or what colours you have.  Another idea that I had is to combine different tones of polish into one design and also using a vivid colour for the summer as the accent colour.  I will probably be trying these designs out in the future, so watch this space!

Have you tried any accent nail designs?  What is your favourite colour combination?

MaxFactor - Fantasy Fire

If you have been anywhere near the blogging and vlogging scene over the last couple of months then you have probably heard of Fantasy Fire being a nail varnish that has been sort after by many people, and finally now I have got my hands on this polish heres what I think...
They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but I was drawn in by the look of Fantasy Fire immediately when I saw it.  I knew it was one of those products that everyone in the blog world seemed to want but I think until I saw it I never really understood why.  It is a gorgeous colour with  finely milled holographic glitter.  The polish is predominately but as you rotate the bottle the glitter changes colour from a bluey/greeny turquoise colour to a more orangey/coppery colour.  I don't think I have done it justice in my description or photos but if you check it out for yourself you'll see what I mean.
I am a fan of glittery shimmery polishes but I was concerned how dual toned this product would be but overall I really like it.  There is a subtle change of colour that is obvious to anyone paying close attention to your nails but is not too over the top and bright if you were concerned about how wearable this polish would be.  I guess this product is no brighter than a normal purple polish but instead this just has some holographic glitter to make it a little bit more unusual


Overall, I do really like this product and the colour is beautiful and perfect for the summer season, when it eventually decides to arrive, and in the mean time it is also a colour that can just brighten up an outfit or a dull monday morning.  For the unique colour polish this product would get a 5/5 from me and I can completely understand the hype around this product, but unfortunately there is, in my eyes a slight downside to this product.

Personally I love to be able to apply 2 coats of a polish and it would be totally opaque and long lasting and Fantasy Fire unfortunately does not tick all those boxes.  In terms of lasting without a top coat, again I can't really fault this product but in terms of opacity in my eyes it gets a 2/5.


When I first applied this product I was shocked at how transparent this turned out and unfortunately I was very disappointed.  If you only applied 1-2 coats the polish made your nails turn a strange purple colour and did not great so this is something that you definitely have to be prepared to put time into this to get the desired colour.   But do not fear with a few coats this product looks amazing on your nails and is very long lasting, but if something that you look for in your "perfect product" is opacity in a few coats then this may not be for you.

In this photo I have applied 5-6 coats and although they do not take too long to dry it is just a pain to have to apply this many coats to achieve the colour and opacity that I wanted.  I do love this product and it is just a shame that the opacity is not great otherwise I would not be able to fault this product, but I think that it is definitely worth a try so if you can get your hands on this colour do give it a go.

You can pick up MaxFactor pretty easily from Boots or Superdrug in store or on Boots website or Superdrug website.  It will cost you £3.99 and you don't get a load of product because it is in MacFActor's mini nail polish range, but for the colour I think this is totally worth it, especially if you can pick it up in a deal like I did a few weeks ago in a 3 for 2 in Superdrug where I got 2 other MaxFactor polishes which will be reviewed on here soon so keep your eyes peeled.


Have you tried Fantasy Fire?  Did you have a problem with the opacity?  Do you think its worth all the hype?

Ciaté Paint Pot - "Purple Sherbet"

I have to admit that I am in fact a Ciaté newbie and prior to this purchase I had never tried a Ciaté polish before.  They are not the easiest polish to get your hands on in the UK and so I had never really picked one up, even though I had heard rave reviews about their products.

So when I heard that Marie Claire were giving away Ciaté polishes as a freebee with their magazine this month, I decided that this was an offer to good to resist.  Marie Claire are currently offering a choice of 3 Ciaté polishes in pretty summer shades called; Bon Bon (a taupe/nude colour), Jelly Bean (a bright pink shade) and Purple Sherbet (a pastel lilac/purple).  I have currently only picked up Purple Sherbet but after this purchase I am tempted to pick up the others too!

Normally Ciaté Paint Pots are around the £9 mark here in the UK but with the magazine you can pick these ones up for a fraction of the price at £3.70 each.  This means for all you Ciaté addicts I am sure you agree with me that this is an offer too good to resist as you can collect all 3 polishes for £11.10 which if you bought them normally would come to £27!  Also for all you Ciaté newbies like me it is a great way to try out the brand before committing to the full priced bottles.

Now onto what I though about the product, overall I was very pleased with the product, the consistency was very creamy and the coverage was excellent and I can easily see why they are normally priced at £9. I am yet to see how long this lasts on my nails but I will update this later in the week to let you know how this polish wears throughout the week.  But at the moment I find it very hard to criticise anything about this polish and I am I defintiely considering buying some more Ciaté polishes in the near future.

Another thing that I was also very impressed about was the bottle of this polish.  It has a very unique shape as it is a curved bottle, which instantly caught my eye when I took it out the packaging, and now stands out in my collection.  I thought this was a nice little addition to the whole Ciaté brand as it makes a difference to the bog standard nail varnish bottle shape.  Also the lid is slightly longer than the typical nail varnish lid which made applying the polish very easy.  As well as this, application was made easy by the large brush which meant you didn't have to make too many brush strokes to cover the nail which just made the whole application process easy and simple.

Overall I am incredibly impressed by my Ciaté Paint Pot and I am now a convert that is more than prepared to pay the £9 price tag for this polish.  You get 13.5ml in a bottle which is a good amount and the quality is superb so definitely check out the Marie Claire this month if you are yet to try Ciaté, and maybe collect all 3 colours...I am very tempted after this first Ciaté addition to my collection!

Pinks and glitter inspired by Sprinkleofglitter

After doing my previous post on the gorgeous colour by MUA "U R FAB" and seeing Sprinkleofglitter's post about pink sparkly nail varnish for the summer I decided the create my own version of her summer designs.  If you haven't seen the Louise's post you can click HERE to see her beautiful summery polishes.  I took the base coat of MUA's "U R FAB" which I have done a blog post on HERE if you wish to see it, I decided to see how the polish looked as a base to some glittery top coats.

The first glittery colour I decided to use was Revlon's Facetts of Fushia which was available in the autumn/winter of 2011 and is a gorgeous and very unusual polish.  It is actually I very deep purple/almost black polish with a range of purple glitter segments suspended in the polish.  It is a pretty shade but due to the dark colour of the polish it hides the purple/pink underneath so I would say its not really worth using the MUA shade under this glitter polish. But it does make a pretty design if you use this colour for one nail with the rest of your nails in the MUA shade.


Another design is using the blue and silver glitter polish by NYC called "Lights, Camera, Glitter" which is a pretty polish to use over the top of another polish to jazz up the design, which can be seen on the middle finger of the photo below.  Although this polish only has very small reflects of purple in the polish which is barely noticeable the finely milled silver glitter really adds something to the design.  You can still currently still buy this polish in Superdrug for just under £3...bargain for this sparkle top coat.

Here are all 3 of the glitter polishes that I used over the top of my MUA "U R FAB" polish and I think all of them look amazing, and could all be worn for different events and occasions.  From right to left MUA "U R FAB" base colour, MUA & Revlon Facetts of Fushia, MUA & NYC "Lights, Camera Glitter" and MUA & Models Own "Ibiza Mix"

My final glitter colour I have decided to use is Models Own Ibiza Mix which you can currently pick up from Boots, on the Boots website, or in a Models Own store or on their website for £5.  I have previously done a blog post on this polish over a yellow base which you can see HERE but I thought I would try it out over this shade too.  I have to say that every time I use this polish I fall a little but more in love with it!  It is probably the most versatile glitter top coat I have ever used and I just love the way it looks on the nails.  Since creating this design and trying it out on one nail I have painted all my nails in this combination and it is definitely my favourite out of the 3.

MUA Love Heart Collection - "U R FAB"

When I was looking around Superdrug I spotted this beauty on the MUA stand.  Although I had been aware of the Love Heart Collection that MUA have brought out I hadn't seen this colour before in the shops, so whilst it was still there I had to snap it up.  When I first heard the collaboration I couldn't wait to try them out as they are some of my favourite things, who doesn't love the cute messages on the sweets!  I was therefore so excited to the see the label on the top of the polish was in the style of a Love Hearts message, so the packaging was an instant win.
This colour is a gorgeous cranberry/dark pinky colour, called "U R FAB", which is great if maybe you aren't such a girly candy floss pink kind of gal, like me, so this is a nice compromise between a pink and purple.  It would also make a nice change from the traditional baby pinks that can be found in almost every shop anywhere in the world, and personally I don't have a polish this colour in my collection.  I would be happy to pay more money to find this colour but now I don't have to!

I love MUA products but had never really tried that many of their nail polishes before this one, so I was a bit sceptical as sometimes the low cost of the products can make the quality not so good.  But how wrong I was.  This is such a glossy and creamy consistency that it glides onto your nails beautifully and with 2 coats is almost completely opaque.


I was also amazed at how quickly this dries, but within at least 2 mins the polish was completely dry with 2 coats on, which is not normally the case for me to get a completely opaque finish, even with a 60 seconds polish.  It came as a surprise when I brushed my nail on something, and looking down fearing I had just smudged the polish I was pleasantly surprised that it was already dry!  I think that this would be perfect for when your'e in a rush, or a great polish to throw in your bag for touch ups throughout the week.


MUA can be picked up in your local Superdrug store, on the Superdrug website or on the MUA website.  Also at the moment Superdrug are having a 3 for 2 offer so why not collect more of the Love Hearts collection, at only £2 each you can't afford to miss this gorgeous collection and I definitely can't wait to pick some more shades up soon!

Jubilee Nails - British Manicure

For this design I created a unique take on a French Manicure design, which looks a lot harder to achieve than it actually is.  To see what colours I used as part of the design click HERE to see the original post I did about Jubilee colours.


For this I simply painted my nails alternating blue and red colours, I deliberately left out the white nail because I wanted to use the white for the tip of the nail, but you could easily have a white nail and use alternating red, white and blue tips for another design idea.

After painting my nails a block colour I then used a white colour to create a French tip, however recreating the perfect French tip can be a tricky manoeuvre especially to get 10 nails looking vaguely similar.  So I changed the design slightly and made the white tip slightly diagonal as to create an interest to the nail as well as making it easier for myself as they could be slightly different and also allowed for error!


I think that these nails are very simple but overall look pretty and are a nice alternative to French manicure or a block nail colour of red, white and blue.  Of course if you have a steady hand or have a tip for getting the perfect French tip then you can also use this for the nails instead of the diagonal design.  Also this diagonal tip can also be transferred into any other design throughout the year, as well as adding this to a nail that has begun to chip and wear throughout the days as a quick touch up tip.

Models Own Ibiza Mix

As today is such a nice day that I wanted to reflect on my nails today and give you some ideas.  I picked up the Models Own Ibiza Mix nail polish the other day in Boots for £5 but you can also get it from the Models Own website.

This polish as you can see is a multicolour glitter polish with big and small glitter shapes in every colour under the sun so will be great this summer to go with any outfit day or night.  I also like the fact that the glitter is chunky and gives a interesting textured effect on the nails.

But like most glitter polishes it is relatively sheer so it requires quite a few coats if you wanted it completely opaque, but layered over any other colour is very effective.  

I chose to use a sunny yellow colour from Miss Sporty number 453 as summer has finally decided to arrive but any colour will be nice underneath because of the multicolour glitter, you just can't go wrong.

If you wanted a different look then you can easily layer this over a dark polish to make it more of an evening look. 

This is  a really good purchase for the bank holiday and BBQ season coming up or if your lucky enough to be jetting off anywhere, more exotic anytime soon this polish screams summer, by the pool or beach with the sunlight hitting the glitter, and with a slight tan.

I can't speak highly enough of this polish and it is amazing for the price as you get 14ml for £5 which is incredible, so go and pick up one soon, but I warn you these are quite popular and so are quite hard to get your hands on.