A Woman Is Helpless Only When Her Nail Polish Is Drying

That Time I Did My Own Gel Nails (And They Were FABULOUS)

As you may well know, dear readers, I was an avid nail biter from the age I discovered that I could nibble on those little suckers right up until approximately September 2014.

I had always hated the look of my chewed and damaged finger nails but I was never able to break the habit entirely.  There would always be some stressful exam or I would just be bored and pop! Off they would all come.

During those awkward teenage years I even tried to stop myself from biting by constantly gluing false nails onto the end of my fingertips.  This often ended in disaster (/hilarity) when the glue would inevitably get everywhere and I ended up gluing my knees together and my mouth shut.

Potentially the one time in history I was able to stay quiet for longer than five minutes.

Deadpool is my spirit animal.

In any event, I was able to kick the habit in 2014 and I haven't looked back since.

(For all those interested in stopping biting their nails, my trick was to apply Nu Nail Creme every time I even thought about putting my hands near my mouth.  Apply the cream and also grab a glass of water.  You'll soon forget all about the nails. If you are interested, the cream is very cheap and you can buy it from Boots in the UK.  The packaging looks like this:)

My hero <3>

Since having nails I have decided to treat myself to the odd manicure (which I have previously discussed in this blog post) and for Christmas my lovely Mother and Sister bought me a kit to do my own gel nails at home.

Proxima Direct UV lamp

I will admit that, at first, I was somewhat undecided about the gift for several reasons:-

1) I like going to a salon and having my nails done.  It takes the stress out of it and is a real treat to myself (even if it does cost an absolute bomb);

2) My right hand is never going to look as good as my left hand. Fact; and

3) I needed to buy more products before I could even give it a go.  This is not a gift; it's an obligation. 

But, I am nothing if not a positive person so I got straight on Amazon and bought all the necessary items to do my own gel nails at home. 

My Sister had already purchased a top coat, colour and base coat so all that remained was the acetone, alcohol wipes, cuticle oil and a primer. 

This is the brand I used as my sister had bought some bottles already. (This blog post is not sponsored by BlueSky.)

I decided to do one hand at a time because I just knew it was going to be harder than it looked so here are the steps:-

1. Wipe nails with cotton wool ball dipped in acetone to ensure nails are clean. (I had clear nail varnish on up to this point)

2. File nails into desired shape.

3. Apply Primer. This is a very thin layer which will help the gel polish 'stick' to the nail. Apparently.

4. Apply Base Coat. 

5. Cure for 2 minutes.  The Proxima Direct lamp which I have has a timer button and will switch off after 2 minutes so this is very handy!

6. Apply thin layer of colour.  I used Bluesky colour chameleon (no. 24) gel polish.  This polish changes colours at different temperatures! It's so cool. 

Sparkles and colour changing!? Yes please! (But, seriously, not sponsored by BlueSky)

7. Cure for 2 minutes.

8. Apply second thin layer of colour.

9. Cure for 2 minutes.

10. Apply Top Coat.

11. Cure for 2 minutes.

12. Wipe nails with alcohol wipes or UV cleanser to remove any sticky residue. 

13. Apply cuticle oil.

14. Repeat steps for other hand. 

Et voila!

Amazing gel nails at home!

And they change colour!!

So despite my initial reluctance to try out the present, it has turned out amazingly and I can tell I will be totally addicted. I have two other colours to try so hopefully I will use those soon.

In the meantime, I am going to see how long the gel polish lasts without chipping and how easy it is to remove (eek!). 

If any of you are thinking about doing gel nails at home, dear readers, I can definitely, definitely recommend it!

&&Fin.

Art Is the Lie That Enables Us To Realise The Truth

That Time We Discussed Modern Art

What The Buzz: #TurnerPrize

So....art.

I am notoriously bad at this.

Which only serves to frustrate me more as I don't understand how anyone can be 'bad' at art as surely it's entirely subjective?

And therein lies my problem; I am overly analytical about how I should even be viewing various art.

And already the complications begin.

Me wandering around the National Gallery and rocking an awesome pixie/bowl cut.

In any event, a trending topic on Twitter this week was the Turner Prize which was (SPOILER ALERT!)  awarded this evening to a group called 'Assemble'.

The Turner Prize (for those, like me, that had no clue) is an annual prize awarded to a British visual artist aged under 50. The award started in 1984 and represents all forms of media.  The prize is often surrounded by controversy including celebrity guests swearing (tut tut Madonna) and criticism of a piece which involved preserving a shark in formaldehyde, 

I wasn't joking about that.

So this year's short list was as follows:

Bonnie Camplin - who created a supernatural study center which showed interviews with people claiming to have had paranormal experiences/meetings.

Janice Kerbel - with an avant-garde, acapella 24-minute opera about a fictional character named Doug.

Nicole Wermers - whose installation of 10 dining chairs with fur coats sewn on to the back was nominated to win the prize.

and eventual winners:

Assemble - with a regeneration scheme for derelict houses in Liverpool.

Hard at work - 'Assemble' - assemble! ...just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?

Assemble winning the prize has been met with some controversy as some critics are arguing that the entry should not be eligible as it is not modern art. Author and broadcaster, Muriel Grey said that whilst the entry was 'socially responsible' and a 'beautiful piece of architecture' it was not modern art in her opinion.

And yet, overwhelmingly, it would seem, the Twitter sphere has got behind Assemble and has praised the judges for awarding the prize accordingly. 

hugely excited about Assemble winning #TurnerPrize, a move away from artist narcissism and a good day for art+design+archt+social projects

— ₥ Plummer-Fernandez (@M_PF) December 7, 2015

Many congrats to Assemble on their #TurnerPrize win! Back in 2014 we gave them an Icon Award https://t.co/WGFZiI5PrL pic.twitter.com/xsXo7NCR94

— Icon magazine (@iconeye) December 7, 2015

#TurnerPrize #assemble truly changing minds & society. That's what art should do. Well done.

— Dr Yathish Rangappa (@YathishRangappa) December 7, 2015

Here's hoping #Assemble nail the #TurnerPrize. It needs a shakeup. A controversial yet accessible & inclusive winner would be most welcome!

— Mark McClure (@markmcclureart) December 7, 2015

Personally, I like that Assemble won the Prize.  As much as I don't know much about modern art (and have never purported to, I might add!) I like the message behind the art.  I like that it has involved so many people and has made a bigger and lasting difference than just an exhibit for a few days.

I like the thinking behind the art and the fact that people went out and made it happen and that it was a positive message being spread.  

But, what would I know? I thought Banksy was a restaurant in London for months.

&&Fin.

Everything Has Beauty But Not Everyone Sees It

That Time We Tried To Do A Beauty Blog Post

(Just as a really quick note - I have now signed up to Blog Lovin' and a big shout out to anyone that has stumbled across this blog from that site.)

Apologies, dear readers, that I have once again missed out on a What The Buzz Monday blog post.

There are no excuses (except that there are) but I have been incredibly busy this week - with Law School exams, a huge merger at work with a national law firm and trying to squeeze in all my family and friend obligations too (obligations sounds like it's a chore and, let me assure you, it really, really isn't).

But, alas, being busy is no excuse for laziness so my sincere apologies for missing out another scheduled post.

To make it up to you, I thought I would post something of a beauty recommendation post.  Something I have yet to do on this Blog or, indeed, at all.

As this is my first time, I ask only that you please be gentle.

So here are my top 5 beauty recommendations for December:

1. Tangle Teezer

When I bought this product, the shop assistant at Boots told me that it 'would change my life'. I laughed at her at the time.

But, oh, how right she was. 

This brush/comb is incredible. The soft bristles untangle your hair with minimal pain and reduce the amount of broken hair you may get by running an ordinary brush through.  I have reasonably long hair and it is always ridiculously knotty.  I can untangle all the knots and within 5 minutes, I am tangled up again.

It's honestly a nightmare. 

So this brush/comb was something of a last resort and friends of mine had been praising it.  I hadn't pinned too much hope on it to be honest but holy moly, it was like my knots were being untangled by cherubs breathing their angel breath on me. 

A serious must have for anyone who dreads dragging their brush through their hair after a windy, wintry day out and about. 

2. Forever Living - Fleur de Jouvence

I am completely addicted to the Forever Living range at the moment.

It is a bit of a fad that seems to have taken off in a huge way - aloe vera solves everything.  Apparently. 

But, actually, it does!

I have been drinking the berry nectar gel, using the products in the picture above and have also been using the shampoo and conditioner so it has been aloe vera overkill in my house at the moment. 

Having used the products for a few months, I have really noticed the difference in the condition of my hair and especially in my skin.  I suffer from fairly regular breakouts of mild-moderate acne and, whilst it is never awful, it is not the greatest thing in the world and, as any acne sufferer will know, it can leave you feeling really self-conscious. 

Since using the aloe vera products I have noticed a huge improvement and very rarely have an outbreak at all and the odd occasion that I do, it is very small and not painful. 

Which, let me assure you, is nothing short of a miracle.

The night creme is especially good and all the products smell incredible.  I should give out a quick warning for the face mask though.  It is really good but be prepared for your entire face to freeze! The mask dries so solidly that you will not be able to move a muscle.  But your face feels so baby smooth once you wash it all off.

This.  But hopefully less bald.

Cannot. Recommend. Enough.

3. Dr.Ceuticals Super Repair Hand Cream

I used to be an avid nail biter and I would nibble away at my nails and fingers until they were tiny little stubs that were bleeding and just horrible.

It was a real problem.

Every year would come and go and my New Year's Resolution would not change: do not bite my nails.

I was able to finally break the habit late in 2014 and have never looked back.

One of the things that really helped was applying loads of hand cream. Constantly. 

So, whenever I come up to stressful periods of my life, I try and invest in a new tube of hand cream to apply it as liberally as possible and avoid returning to bad habits, 

Luckily, I have the loveliest friends and got sent Dr.Ceuticals hand cream in the post as a gift from the beautiful and generous Stephanie.  This hand cream is Awesome.  Capital A.

The consistency is pretty thick but it absorbs so quickly and is also non-greasy.  The smell is really subtle and you don't need much at all. 

The above photo also leads me nicely into the next product...

4. Gel nails

...it's an addiction.

But I love it!

Like I said above, not biting my nails was a major thing for me so when I finally did, I treated myself to a few professional manicures and I now love having all sorts of crazy designs applied to my nails.

I like to go for gel polish as it doesn't chip and lasts for 2-3 weeks on me before it starts to look ridiculous with the nail growing out.  Plus it is super shiny!

I am lucky ion that the polish doesn't seem to damage my nails but I do tend to leave the nails for a few weeks bare in between applications to give them a chance to breathe. 

Looking forward to getting more crazy designs in the new year as I currently have red sparkly on (as per section 3 photo) for Christmas and it's a bit more muted than I normally go. 

Will keep you updated with my latest crazy designs! :)

5. Max Factor Skin Luminizer

This stuff is seriously amazing. 

I am super pale with loads of freckles so it is normally a nightmare to try and match a foundation or concealer to my skin without looking like I have caked myself in some form of blancmange and/or polyfiller. 

But this blends into your natural skin tone and gives you a real soft, dewy look without that heavy, made up feeling.  Plus, because it is a good product, you only need a tiny bit to cover the whole face. 

Which is perfect for me because I am a total cheapskate and hate wasting money on products to use the whole thing in a couple of weeks.

Really love this at the moment as I can throw it on in the mornings and trust that it will do the job. 

So those are my 5 top beauty picks for December which was actually a lot harder than I thought so props to the beauty bloggers that do this all the time. 

If any of you dear readers have any winter beauty tips that warm the cockles of your hearts, leave a comment and let me know. 

For now though, remember that if it makes you feel good - go for it! Beauty is only skin deep after all.

&& Fin.