Showing posts with label direct cosmetics. Show all posts

Naked Nails... Eeeeek!

Recently I've been on the receiving end of lots of nail related questions, whether it's about how I achieve my designs (this is also answered with LOOK AT MY BLOG!), what brands I use (a variety, but Models Own is a firm favourite), and where I get my stuff from (I always find Amazon, Direct Cosmetics and Nail Polish Direct reliable and extremely purse friendly). I'm also approached for general advice on nail queries, and although I am by no means a nail care professional, I think it's about time that I dedicate a post to the basics! 

I spend a good long while on each manicure I create: thinking up the design, picking out colours, making mistakes, swearing, removing it all and starting again, spilling nail varnish remover everywhere... You get the picture. Anyway, it takes bloody ages to achieve my most detailed stuff (Pastel Butterflies, Chinese Porcelain and Big Cats, to name a few), and although I'm generally happy with the results and love receiving compliments, I feel no sense of sorrow when scrubbing back to a blank canvas for my next design. Removing one manicure just makes room for the next, and means I can spend some time pampering my hands and nails prior to the next round of nail art!
So before the nail varnish, paint brushes and glitter come out, these are the products I turn to. I use a Boots own nail polish remover which, despite being acetone based, is enriched with moisturising oil and stops my nails from drying out. I have to use this remover because acetone-free just doesn't seem to the job properly, especially with all the layering up of colours in some of my designs. 3 or 4 cotton wool pads tend to do the job for both hands, and are much easier to use than cotton balls!

Once my nails are free of nail varnish, I use my Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover. I got this from Direct Cosmetics for an amazing £1.99 - it came with a double ended tool for pushing back and smoothing ridges, but since I don't tend to suffer from uneven nails, I stick to my little pink and white cuticle tool. I leave the gel on for a few minutes, then push back and neaten up any raggy bits. I then trim and file my nails (how cute is my zebra print glass nail file?!), and use the tweezers to clean beneath my nails (a bit gross, yes, but when you have long nails it can be a problem...)

When I'm happy with the shape of my nails and neatness of my nail beds, I wash the remaining cuticle gel off my hands, and start moisturising! Palmer's is one of my favourite brands and I swear by their products. As you can see, my Skin Therapy Oil is running out, but I've had it for a couple of months and use it every day. I think it was about £3.00 from Wilkinson's, so definitely a worthwhile buy. I rub it into my cuticles, and because it's a quick absorbing formula, it leaves my fingers feeling fresh and moisturised without any grease. I also use this oil for dry skin on my arms and legs, and it works like a charm :)

I don't always use a specific 'hand' cream, just any good moisturiser that I have lying around (there are quite a few, it's a bit of an addiction). I got the Palmer's butter in my Cosmopolitan freebie bag the other day (see here for details), and it was perfect timing since I've only just run out of my other bottle. It's so important to keep your hands moisturised, especially if, like me, you take A LOT of photos of your nails! Once my paws are smooth and soft, I finish off with a coat of Sally Hansen Age Correct Strength  Dry & Brittle Nail Care, which is also courtesy of Direct Cosmetics and was amazingly cheap. My nails aren't naturally strong, so I have to make sure I keep them topped up to avoid any breakages. I try to use this product a couple of times a week at least, and it's really making a difference. If you're prone to snaps and tears, give it a go!

Ok so I'm going to be really brave now and actually show you my bare nails... For some reason this feels really wrong, but at least it's proof that I only paint on my natural nails (I have been accused of falsies in the past!) Like anyone who wears nail varnish every day, they're slightly more yellow than I'd like, but overall they're in pretty good condition apart from a pesky cuticle or two!
I love spending time pampering my hands and getting my nails into good condition before the next manicure. But I must admit, the sight of naked nails makes me feel slightly uneasy, so it won't be long until my next design!

Askruk46

Tyin' the Knot! with a Sweet Talker

My parcel from Direct Cosmetics has finally arrived, along with a few other things... I really need to stop all of this online shopping. The postman even pointed out that after handing over my packages, his bag was a lot lighter! Along with my treats from my new favourite cosmetics retailer, I got a long awaited copy of a book for my diss., and some business cards that I ordered from Vista Print. 
At £2.99 for a bundle of 100 (p&p was about £4 if I recall correctly), and with an extremely professional look and feel, they're really good value. I love the black, purple and gold colour scheme, and I decided to keep it nice and simple with a title, brief description and contact details. I can't wait to start handing them out to my friends/family/random unsuspecting strangers who look like they might be interested in nail art. 

Along with Jeane Phillipe Apothecary Wild Honey Exfoliating Body Scrub (99p),  and Sally Hansen Petite Nail Nipper (£2.99), I got a couple of new nail polishes from Direct Cosmetics. I was disappointed to find that they'd sold out of the other varnish I ordered, which was a Sally Hansen No Chip 10 Day Colour in 'Reliable Beige', but whoever packed my order left a nice little note on the invoice to explain the situation and assure me that a refund was on its way. I'm really glad that it was the beige polish that had sold out rather than the my other two colours, because the moment I set eyes on them I knew life without them would be a terrible thing! They are both absolutely gorgeous, and even though I didn't realise upon ordering them, they complement perfectly and look like they were made to be together.
I've suddenly become obsessed with blue, and this is a beautiful little addition to my growing collection. I was worried that it was a bit too similar to Models Own 'Blueberry Muffin', but upon application I realised it's actually a purer blue, while 'Bluberry Muffin' has more purple tones. It's funny when you compare colours which initially look identical, and then discover they are poles apart! Essie 'Sweet Talker' is a gorgeous sky blue with a fine shimmer throughout, and it applies really smoothly and evenly. I've always loved Essie because their brushes are broad and soft, and the consistency and quality of their varnishes mean they're easy to apply and long lasting. However, I tend to be put off by the price tags (I'm a bargain hunter, after all), so when I found that Direct Cosmetics sell Essie polishes for an amazing £2.99, I couldn't resist!
This Sally Hansen polish was even more of a bargain. At 99p (yes, 99p!), 'Tyin' the Knot!' is Diamond Strength and chip resistant, and is a lovely shimmery grey. I immediately fell in love with it when I noticed the little 'diamond' on the bottle - so cute! Since I'm a magpie, I think I'm going to have invest in the rest of the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength collection, even if it's just to gaze at the pretty gems. The brush is much narrower than Essie polishes, but it still applied nicely and only took 2 coats for a clean finish.
I love how these colours look together, and when I have a bit more time (I'm supposed to be concentrating on uni work for the next few days, d'ohhh) I think I'm going to spend a good long while creating a funky manicure. I'm thinking bases in this order, and maybe an accent nail with a swirly pattern? I might even add a few gems...

Askruk46

Just a little something...

Little Tip Off has had a rejig, and I think this layout is a bit more me! I wanted to keep it nice and simple, but of course I couldn't resist a lovely pinky-purple colour scheme. I also managed to include some cute social media icons, so you can now be directly linked to my Webstagram, Twitter and Tumblr via the pretty pictures on the right :) There's also a direct link to my Bloglovin' profile, so if you're also a member, go go go! If you don't already use Bloglovin', then I highly recommend it.

Anyway, since I have vowed to keep my Chinese porcelain/paisley nails (see below) for AT LEAST 48 hours, this post will not involve any new designs. I also managed to miss yet another delivery yesterday, so I can't even review my new treats from Direct Cosmetics :( I have to wait until Tuesday now, which is rubbish, but at least it'll brighten up my day (the coming week is dedicated to all the uni work that I've been putting off over Easter). However, I thought I'd show you a special little screenshot from my Tumblr account. Ok, ok, I know that some people get thousands and thousands of notes on their posts, and the most popular users think nothing of gaining a hundred or so reblogs in a matter of hours. But I've never managed to surpass the 60/70 mark, and so waking up this morning to 350+ notes and 55 more followers was a wonderful surprise!

Askruk46

Pink Leopard Print


I have so much work to do before I'm back in uni (3 weeks Easter break!), but nail art is proving to be a fantastic form of procrastination. Who wouldn't pick painting pretty pictures and getting high off fumes over writing a seminar presentation, planning two 6k word essays and researching a dissertation?! 

My purchases from Direct Cosmetics are already making a vast difference to the strength and overall look of my nails. Even after only two applications, my Sally Hansen products appear to be working really well; my cuticles are already looking neater and my nails feel stronger, but I can't bare to leave them plain! After all, no manicure is ever complete without a nice shade of nail varnish and a cute design...

I've been looking back at some of my earliest nail art efforts and they make me cringe! It's amazing how much progress can be made in such a short space of time, and although it's often hard to track your own advances, I can definitely see big improvements. One of my biggest progressions is with leopard print nail art; originally my design was always large and a bit messy, and I only stuck to traditional leopard colours (gold, brown, black). Now that my nail varnish collection has expanded, and my hand has grown much steadier, I decided it was about time to return to leopard print nails, a nail art classic!


The equipment:

Models Own 'Pastel Pink'
Fearne 'Coral Island'
Models Own black nail art pen
Models Own white nail art pen
Models Own 3-in-1 clear coat
A fine nail art paintbrush
Silver gems

After filing my nails and applying Sally Hansen 'Age Correct Stregth Dry & Brittle Nail Care' as a base, I use my Models Own pink as my main colour. As you can see in the above picture, I originally wanted my accent nail to be white. I quickly changed my mind after rediscovering Fearne 'Coral Island', which was hiding in the back of my nail art box! I took off the white and applied the dark pink - it tends to take about 3 coats using Fearne nail varnish, as it's a very runny consistency.
Once I was happy with my bases, I began to add the splodges (I've adopted this as a technical term). For the white I used my nail art pen, as the nib end allows a steady flow and tiny little dots. For the pink, I dipped in my finest nail art brush and applied via that. I made sure all splodges varied in size and shape, but were all quite small.Another original intention was to limit the leopard print to one side of my nail, but eventually the design crept further and further across!
When the splodges were dry, I took my black nail art pen and began to add the black patterns. I think of these as outlining the splodges, however I let some overlap, stretch further around and also blend into one another. After all, no leopard has completely symmetrical spots! I also like to add a few little black dots in and amongst the print.
The above picture shows the original plan of leopard print limited to the side of my nails. It just didn't look complete, so I had to keep going! Maybe on a gradient base this would be more effective? Then at least there's still something going on in the blank bits!
For my accent nail, I just inverted the colours, using Models Own 'Pastel Pink' along with black and white for the leopard print. I then added a little silver gem (not shown in the main picture). The manicure probably doesn't need this, but I like to have a bit of sparkle! 

I really love this manicure, and I think I've made dramatic improvements since my initial attempts at leopard print. I've learned that the smaller and tighter the design, the better it looks. Also, going for unusual colours works well, so don't feel limited to typical 'animal' colours like gold and brown... Leopards can be pink!

Askruk46

Avoir La Pêche!

Yesterday was one of the luckiest days I've ever had! Firstly, my lovely makeup and nail varnish packages both arrived (within one day of ordering!). Then when I checked my Euro Millions ticket, I found I'd matched two numbers and one star... Meaning I won €8! (Fair enough that's only 5.70 in GBP, but still...) In the afternoon, while scrolling through my Facebook feed, I noticed that e.l.f. cosmetics were holding a competition for Easter/Spring inspired makeup and nails. I submitted my Easter chick nails to their wall, thinking nothing of it until the evening, when I went back to check and realised I had won! The prize is an e.l.f. Easter bundle and I can't wait for it to arrive, fingers crossed for nail varnish :D

After all of this good luck, I decided to try out a really lovely, sparkly manicure to reflect my high spirits. I opted for my new favourite (I have far too many favourites...), Models Own 'Peach Sherbet'. It's such a pretty, creamy shade that even on its own it looks effective, however I always have to add something extra! Before beginning my manicure, I used my lovely new treats from Direct Cosmetics; I applied Sally Hansen cuticle gel and neatened up my edges, filed down with my cute Pinkee's emery board, and finally added a coat of Sally Hansen Dry & Brittle Nail Care.
This took about 2/3 coats. As always with Models Own, the consistency was quite thick and applied really smoothly. It seems quite inconsequential, but the actual shape and size of the brush also ensured neatness (there's nothing worse than uneven bristles that stick out in all directions), which is another reason why I love Models Own. 
Apologies for the colour change... The photos were taken at different times of the day! Once my peachy tips were dry (and I mean REALLY dry) I began to add the nail tape. I got this in a bundle from Amazon agessss ago, and colours include hot pink, cream, silver and royal blue. I chose the gold tape as it's really bright and sparkly, and I knew it would complement the peach base. I carefully added the tape in my chosen patterns - criss-cross for my thumb nail, diagonal lines for my index, horizontal lines for my middle, chevrons for my ring finger, and finally diagonal criss-cross for my little finger. If I ever do this manicure again I'm going to stick to chevrons for every nail, as this is the best pattern in my opinion (it's also the trickiest!)

When you apply the tape, don't worry about bits hanging over the edges. I always leave these until the last minute, even after applying a couple of clear top coats, and then go around with a pair of little nail clippers. The small, curved blades of nail clippers mean you can get really close to the edge of your nails, but a good sharp pair of nail scissors would work just as well.

I'm normally a little bit cynical about using equipment like this because I prefer everything to be hand painted, authentic and original. However when you find a colour that you really love, sometimes it's best to just stick to a simple pattern using nail tape, stamps or stickers. However, I'm currently cooking up a new idea that involves 'Peach Sherbet' and hand painting... Watch this space!

Askruk46

Nail Mail!

So yesterday morning, having de-cluttered and reorganised my nail varnishes and tools, I decided to treat myself to a lovely little Models Own order. Anyone who's read my previous post will know that I opted for 'Blueberry Muffin', 'Peach Sherbet', 'Pastel Pink', 'Gold Finger', and a clear 3-in-1 coat. All of this came to £20, as purchasing 5 colours = £7 discount. Amazingly P&P is free, which is always an added bonus! My confirmation email from Models Own stated that they'd rush my order to me as soon as possible, but of course customers in the UK should expect to wait up to 10 business days (understandable, with free delivery and all). Anyway, with all of this in mind, I could not believe my ears when I heard the rustling of the postman this morning...
I don't think there is a single person on this planet that wouldn't consider this excellent customer service. My nail mail was literally in my hands within 24 hours of ordering... Crazy! I absolutely love the colours too, and I kind of wish I'd parted with another £20 and ordered five more.
'Pastel Pink' is pretty similar to a shade that I already own, 'Sheer Pink' by W7 (look at this post for the colour). However, the quality of Models Own is always leaps and bounds ahead. This finish only took 2 coats, and even without a decent top coat, I know this will last for ages with hardly any chipping or peeling.
'Peach Sherbet' is a couple of shades lighter than another favourite of mine, 'Fuzzy Peach' (look at the orange shade in this tutorial for the colour). I think these colours will complement one another really well, and I can't wait to create a peach orientated design!
'Blueberry Muffin' is a beautiful delicate blue. It reminds me of classic Chinese blue and white porcelain, and so I am inspired to try a design along these lines in the future. Using a good white base, and another favourite Models Own shade 'Feeling Blue', I think this would make a gorgeous manicure.
Finally, 'Gold Finger' is a lovely gold glitter varnish. This would look lovely over the top of any base - I'm thinking Rimmel's 'Pompous' for a really rich, luxurious manicure, since they are the colours of wealth after all! Once again, it only took 2 coats to achieve this finish, once again demonstrating the quality of Models Own products. 

I'm also going to use this post to sing the praises of Direct Cosmetics, who I placed an order with yesterday as well (these sprees are once-every-few-months happenings, before anyone jumps to conclusions about me being rich/a shopaholic... Although admittedly I am the latter). I've only just discovered this website and I absolutely love it. There are so many discount products to choose from, including brilliant brands like Elizabeth Arden and Stila. Along with some makeup - a pack of five Maybelline 'Moisture Extreme' lipsticks, some Maybelline foundation, an Elizabeth Arden mascara, Rimmel concealer and Sally Hansen loose powder - I also chose a cute Burberry-esque nail file by Pinkee's (79p), Sally Hansen 'Cuticle & Nail Finisher' (£1.99) and Sally Hansen 'Age Correct Strength Dry & Brittle Nail Care' (£1.29). 
I didn't even realise the last product came as a two pack... Even better! I spend so much time painting my nails that I decided it was time to start taking proper care of them, and I can't wait to get my cuticles neat and tidy. The whole order came to about £24.00 inc. P&P, but the majority of this cost was due to the makeup, and so if I had simply stuck to nail products I would have been looking at an order equaling £9.02 (that's with £4.95 postage). I know I say it all the time, but nail art is the cheapest addiction ever, and I recommend both Direct Cosmetics and Models Own to any deal-loving nail artist who wants great quality for bargain prices!

Askruk46

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