FINGERS

Let’s Try This: Catrice Cosmetics Ultimate Nail Lacquer

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

I think we all know by now that I am not the best when it comes to nail care. I’ve been gazing longingly at the Catrice Cosmetics Nail Lacquer (pictured, from left: Sing: Oh Champs-Élysées and Karl Says Tres Chic) I received about a week ago, knowing that the beauty and promise that shines through the bottles will be all but wasted on my manky nails.

But did I do anything about said claws? Did I stroke my cuticles with oil? Did I dig out one of those nail buffers thingies and attend to the ridges? Did I even bother going a few rounds with a hand cream?

No, I did not. So, you know, unless I find a patron saint of manicures to whom I can pray, I really need to start participating in the rehabilitation of my fingernails.

I think I really do not have anything to work with, to be honest. I see other people’s blogs and am stricken with manicure-envy: everybody has beautiful nails except for meeeeeeeee —

Anyway, these little beauties are only two in a long line of striking colours, and at €2.49, you can treat yourself to many of them; see here for the extensive pallette.

See there for my left thumbnail, my fave nail varnish model. I received a Quick Dry & High Shine top coat as well, which helps with the ridgy-ness. I normally wouldn’t be a fan of the pale end of the spectrum, and frankly, if I’m going to take such lackadaisical care of my nails, I should become one: the lighter colours wear better in the long run, and look less bad when they start chipping, which for me is in, like, one minute.

Tonight is horseriding, and we’ll see how we go. It’s a stringent test, I know — the gloves are hell on the polish — but I am a tough, if lazy, customer. When I find the nail varnish that works for manky nails and my equine activities, you will be sure to hear about it. Might the Ultimate Nudes be the one? We shall see…

Manky Nails: 2012…

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

…is looking much like 2011. And every year before that.

I rarely get homesick for Amerikay, but when I do, it’s for family, friends, and manicures. $10 manicures on my lunch hour. $30 mani-pedi Mon-Weds. I just heaved a massive sigh.

I used to get a manicure a week. Once. A. Week. I can’t even imagine. I certainly don’t bother here — and before you get all INP on me, I’ve gotten manis in Dublin, Paris and London and they have all sucked. NYC baybee — and Manhattan in particular, because even the Brooklyn manicures are rubbish.

I am still applying the Mavala Cuticle Oil, and it peels them off like a mofo. I can’t understand why it doesn’t even seem to end, though. I mean, I know that there will always be skin around my nails, but this seems ridic, like I get one day of smooth and then it’s all crap again.

I have been remiss as regards the OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener, and I know that’s on me. I’m even sitting here this very second, as I type, looking at it but not picking it up and using it. Hopeless.

One thing I have been procrastinating about is trying out the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. I had taken a set out of the packaging and looked at them before Christmas, even held one up against a thumbnail, and then decided to bring them with on my hols… and then I figured, I’ll just get a real manicure, so they never even made it out of my case. And I didn’t get a real mani either.

I do believe I am entirely apathetic about the state of my fingernails.

Despite having come to this conclusion, I decided to give these a go.

At left, the carnage.

You get a wee nail file, an orange stick, and two packs of nail strips, all sized to fit the variety of your fingers. I took up a thumbnail strip, peeled off the protective plastic and stuck it to my nail… but it didn’t stay stuck… so I tried another… no joy. WTF?

Then I figured that using the strips that had been sitting around in the open air since before Christmas was a bust. I reckon this is like leaving the cap off your nail varnish bottle for almost two months and expecting everything to be a-ok?

Into the untouched pack, and eureka, it works! Well, it sticks to the nail, anyway. I Had a whole bunch of excess hanging over my nail bed, that I kind of poked at until it peeled off. You are directed to file away the extra bits at the top, which totally did not work, so I cut most of it off, and then wrapped some of said extra over the top of my nail.

Yeah? Okay. Less muss, a bit more fuss, but that looks pretty good, except you can’t see the raggedy edge on the right side of my nail. LOVE the pattern, and I’m keen to see if this makes it through horseriding tonight — hmm, this maybe why I have relegated nail care to the basement of my House of Beauty. The gloves make a mess of everything but shellac. Once, I tried to preserve a Verrrrry Expensive mani I got in Harrods, and rode without gloves one lesson, and the varnish still chipped anyway.

You know, I am such a lazy bones I may not even finish this hand? Because then I’d have to do the other hand. Like, one nail is kind of funky, but only five out of ten fingers? I don’t know if I can pull that off.

I’ve done a swing around the ‘net, and everybody is better at this nail thing than me. Go here for evidence of how someone who is not crap at their nails does a nice job with these. SAD FACE.

€8.95/£7.50/$9.99

Coming Soon!

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

I hope! OMG I am so behind! So much stuff to try, and post about!

All the nail stuff, ach, and my nails haven’t improved very much at’all. Mainly because I gave up on them, so I better get back on that tip.

Oh, the false eyelashes! So afraid!

Avon’s Smoke and Mirrors collection: I love that lippy there, in Nude and Infused, but must do the quad and the nail varnish.

And Clarins Colour Breeze Face & Blush Powder — looks prettttty…

You can barely see the Johnson’s Body Care 24hour Moisture: Gentle Exfoliating Body Wash, or the L’Oréal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Fresh Feel Gel, which I thought it would be smart to use on my legs ahead of full-on tanning season…

Okay. Deep breath! Onward!

{And the L’Occitane Hand Cream! Ayyyyiiiii!}

Manky Nails: Hmmm

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Having all this nail care stuff right at my, ha ha, fingertips on my desk is working out really well.

I’ve got Nail Envy on my right hand, and on my left, just for the craic, I applied essie fill the gap!, a ridge-filling base coat. Looking at the nails on my left hand right now, I see that they look pretty good.

Really good, actually: somewhat shiny, and smooth. I expect I need one of those white blocky things that manicurists use — I’ll have to look into that.

I’ve only had it on for day, but yeah, they look the way that I perceive nice, normal nails to look.

I’m going to give it some time — when I’m off horseriding for the holidays [sob!] and give some varnish a go.

€13.99/£10.95 /$10.00

I don’t have time to take a snap of the product itself, but you may find many pictures here

Nail Envy is Also the Name of a Product

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

I tried to take a photo of my nails to show you how funky they are, but I may have to write the thousand words, ’cause the picture wasn’t worth it. Whenever I see women with gorgeous nails, I want to cry. Ugh, even the shape of my nails is WRONG, all spatulate and no nail bed to speak of. Waahh.

My nails are thin, ridge-y, and just plain weird. They grow in all floppy and crooked, which means I can’t grow them very long. Also, I am too lazy to take very good care of them, which is kind of ridic: I spend a lot of time at the computer, and should really be slapping on cuticle oil and God knows, because, well, I am basically a captive audience. If I do do a treatment of something, I can work away without messing anything up.

Okay: I’ve just placed the following within reach:

> Mavala Cuticle Oil

> Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover

> Essie Fill the Gap! Ridge Smoothing Base Coat

> OPI Nail Envy: Nail Strengthener

Right. Obvs, won’t be using these, so I’ve started with the Nail Envy, given to me by the lovely Sophie, who gave me a superb file-and-polish at Neelu at Arnotts last week. Thinking of her now, she told me to use the cuticle oil everyday, so here I go… hmm, that wasn’t that hard. Just gave myself a going over with the Marala, and my cuticles look all smooth and shiny. And as I’m not about to go out and dig in the garden {Ahhahahahaha} the stuff has a good chance of doing what it’s meant to do.

As for the OPI, yesterday I put on the recommended two coats, and oh right! Hang on… wow, live-blogging my nail care. Just swiped on my day’s coat of Nail Envy, which I am meant to do for a week, then remove, then start all over again.

I don’t know if I should have waited to let the cuticle oil sink in all the way? Told you, rubbish at minding my nails.

Well, I’ll keep you posted…