Ever since the Caviar manicure, Ciate have been challenging us to take on textured talons. Most of their trends have required special kits, implements and ingredients to achieve the desired effect, sold at a considerable price for what’s essentially a fad. That is, until now. Ladies, I propose that you have everything you need to take on the latest trend right in your own polish stash. Let me present, Blackboard Nails, a Chalkboard Manicure on the cheap! Read on »
After a brief hiatus from tanning I have returned to the bronze with aplomb; pregnancy is taking its toll on me and the only way to get myself looking semi-normal is to apply a bit of sunshine weekly. I am a dab hand at applying fake tan these days so I love to try products I haven’t used before and when Tan Organics Self Tanning Oil arrived last week I decided to put it through its paces this weekend. Check out how I got on below! Read on »
I definitely take an anything they can do I can DIY (maybe not better) approach when it comes to nails. Whether it’s frankening, foiling or gel-ing I’m game. Recently, the pretty hard to get in Ireland, Illamasqua released an interesting range of “mottled” nail polishes as part of their limited edition l’Imperfection collection. These babies are definitely on my lust-have list should I come across them in real life. But until then, I’ll just have to make do with channeling the look in my DIY style.
It’s not often that I’ll post a press release verbatim but when I saw this I knew it was too good not to! Want some Hollywood glamour to brighten up a dull January? Read on to find out how to recreate red carpet looks the gorgeous L’Oreal spokeswomen sported at the Golden Globes 2013.
Ladies, I admit it, I have the attention span of a gnat. Is it any wonder when we live in this information age with phones, sms, email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Foursquare, never mind just plain ol’ websites and forums. Not two minutes goes by between notifications on my phone, tablet or computer and my focus is constantly darting about. It’s hard enough for me to concentrate enough on actually executing a manicure with precision (not touching the cuticles is like the grown woman’s version of not colouring outside the lines…) and I have to wait for it to dry too?! You could give me all the speed dry topcoat in China and I’d still manage to smudge it somehow. It doesn’t help that I like to paint my nails in the wee hours, in the dark, just before bed. That’s how I roll. The day Ciate release a “Duvet Imprint Effect” manicure I’ll be laughing. Read on »
We have a bit of a love/hate relationship with nail wraps here in Dolly Rougeland. We’ve put a few different brands to the test, including Nail Rock, Bling and Sally Hansen. You wouldn’t be surprised to know that the old reliable Sally Hansen came up trumps, as did Penneys’ buy Bling. Nail Rock‘s “designer” offering however left us feeling cold, being tricky to apply and peeling off within hours.
Given the mixed bag of nail wraps we’ve encountered, we regarded the launch of Myleene Klass’s new Nails range with interest. How would the celeb endorsed product (made by JML) fare next to the stalwarts? See them in action below.
I have wanted to try the Emjoi MicroPedi for ages so jumped at the chance when their PR lady kindly offered to send me one to demo! If you have not heard of the Micro Pedi before then you have obviously been living under a rock. Everyone in the beauty world owns one and I am finally getting in on the act! The Micro Pedi is a safe, smooth and professional-at-home pedicure system which works on all areas of your feet removing the dead skin cells safely and quickly leaving your feet feeling soft and looking like you just stepped out of a spa. Read on »
The witching hour is nigh ladies, and though the dressing up is largely left to the kiddies for tomorrow night, that doesn’t mean you can’t dress up your nails! Why not get in the spirit and treat your talons to some spooky nail art?
My mani above is thanks to Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-On Manicure, who have released a range of terror-themed false nails for Hallowe’en. In case you haven’t met their imPRESS press-on range before, they’re designed to make awesome nails easy peasy, and they really succeed! There’s 24 nails in a pack, each having glue pads pre-applied. So you simply need to match up the right nails to fit, peel off the backing, stick on and go! The kits also come with a prep-pad to remove oils from the nail and a dinky emery board for shaping. Seriously it couldn’t be easier.
Apparently imPRESS nails will last for up to a week. The glue is certainly strong, which I discovered as I tried to straighten a poorly positioned falsie and nearly tore my own nail off! Over the past 2 days I’ve plunged my hands into hot, cold and soapy water and knocked them off various things in my clumsy way, but the nails show no sign of budging. Colour me imPRESSed! The only slight gripe I have, is that the glue pads extend above my natural nails (and my nail beds are fairly long) so dust and dirt sticks to the excess. It’s kinda gross, but can be managed with soap and a nail brush, or a cotton bud soaked in surgical spirits.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-On Manicure for instant fab without faff. Get yours in chemists and department stores nationwide (including Penneys and Dunnes!) for around the 8 quid mark.
Will you be sporting some spooky nail art for fright night? Be sure to link your pics in the comments!
I was feeling a little bit mischievous today and put together a little ditty of myself as Lady Gaga in last week’s Philip Tracey’s “arrangement”! The uncanniness is unreal don’t you think? Read on »
The timing was perfect. We were sent a box of Clairol eXtreme n’ Easy in Cherry Red, just about when I’d been feeling rather annoyed with my limp, dark locks and was craving a change. I’ve always wanted to be a redhead, so thought it was fate. Unfortunately my hair is not very cooperative. The last time I tried to lighten the tone, the only thing that was dyed was my scalp. So I had an idea – lift the dark brown permanent dyes I’d been using for a couple of years, with a colour remover. After doing some research I learned that it should lighten my hair to a ginger shade, without any damage, and could be dyed over immediately. Sold.
I picked up Adee Phelan Hair Colour Remover for dark tones, and got to work with the laborious routine: apply, rinse for 10 minutes, apply, rinse for 5 minutes yada yada yada. I followed the instructions to the letter and the results were great! Ginge Kat!
Unfortunately it turns out that you should use a dye 2 shades lighter than the desired colour, as it will turn out darker than expected (thanks for your tips Dee!). After dyeing I was back to my original colour with a hint of red. Feck sake. Disappointed that my efforts which took up half the day were futile, I resigned myself to the fact that I could never go red with box dye and went to bed.
And the next morning, I was red! Just not in the place I wanted. Read on »
