MANICURE MONDAY 04

CIATE MINI MANI MONTH EDITION

December was a good month for nails for me. I couldn't afford the Ciate Mini Manor, but TK Maxx had the Ciate Mini Mani Month for the bargain price of £19.99. This meant I could have the nail varnish advent calender of my dreams, and paint my nails lots of lovely colours, right up until Christmas. Plus each window hid a lovely little message, either fun or inspirational.

Some of the cute daily quotes.

The 5ml nail varishes really brightened up my days, giving me that little extra boost as I coped with the holiday anxiety - painting my nails as a treat to myself for getting through the day. I'm yet to try the world famous Ciate Caviar Manicure (I didn't trust myself to get them everywhere), but I did try the glitter and sequins, and loved them. I have some shades left to try, but the ones I have tried thus far I have loved - they go on very smooth and dry with a durable finish.

Loveliness of 'Snowflake' and 'Boudoir'

'Amazing Gracie with 'Boudoir' and the candy pink of 'Hoopla'.

'Main Stage' and 'Candy Floss' look great together, whilst 'Pillow Fight' is a star on it's own.

A little bit of sparkle added to 'Chinchilla' and 'Tweed & Tails'

The dark and sultry 'Starlet' and the shining star of 'Fit for a Queen'.

I would love to see some more manicures for nail inspiration, so please leave me links to your posts.

Gems x

ELEGANT TOUCH HOUSE OF HOLLAND - COLLECTION III

Any regular reader of this blog will know that I am a huge fan of quirky nails, but don't have the skills to create nail art myself. Too clumsly and very shaky handed, a single coat of polish is usually all I can manage, before the un-coordinated part of me takes over and makes me flail polish all over the place. So to get the mani's of my dreams, I always head to Elegant Touch to get some of the most original flase nails and nail products out there.

Easy to apply and easy to love, their glue false nails are my go to beauty product when I need a bit of a boost, and I am particularly fond of the House of Holland collection, for something extra fun. I was so delighted when Collection III with House of Holland was re;eased recently, and I am tempted to say it could be the finest collection yet. Full of bold colours, modern shapes and on-trend designs, the collection is a nail art lovers dream.

I just had to try the gorgeous stilletto Ombre Ombre nails, I knew I just had to get them on my fingers as soon as possible. I mean how lovely are they, plus I am obsessed with all things ombre - giving the dip dye look to my hair was one of the best thing I have ever done. Of course I need ombre nails to match and I love how these nails are clear at the bottom to give an authentic effect.

Well, I think you can guess, it was love at first stick...

All trimmed for working and still fabulous!!

The whole House of Holland III collection has my fingers itching to have them, here are my absolute faves from the rest of the collection...

1.) Ghetto Gold
2.) Neon Nibs
3) Glitter Stars

Prices range from £7.99 to £8.99 and for a cool manicure that is going to last for a week, I think that is a bargain.

What is your favourite from the collection?

Gems x
*Nails provided by Elegant Touch for the purpose of this review, all opinions are my own.

LILY ALLEN FOR ELEGANT TOUCH

I have made no secret of the fact that I am a huge Elegant Touch fan. It is my go to brand for all things nails, and I have become a total convert for false nails after believing for way too long that they were too difficult to apply, or that I would end up with fingers stuck together for all eternity. Oh Gemma, how wrong you were! They are so easy to apply and you have a gorgeous manicure that lasts for 10 days - so I have totally been making up for lost time, as I'm sure you have seen in many outfit posts...

1. House of Holland in Royal Explosion.
2. Elegant Touch Express in Bright Marble.
3. House of Holland in Tie Dye For.
4. House of Holland in Block Heads.
5. Candy Dip in Blueberry Crumble.
6. House of Holland in Sweet Tooth.

I became quickly obsessed with the fabulous collections by fashion design legend Henry Holland, so you can imagine I was jumping for joy when Elegant Touch announced that they were collaborating with nail art queen, Lily Allen...yes she of beautifully bejewelled and quirky printed nails. I just knew it was going to be some serious nail candy and I was right.

The Lily Loves Nails collection pays homage to Lily's hometown of London and are inspired by her trademark high fashion meets street style. The seven different oval and stiletto shaped designs are named after song titles and themes from Lily's albums, and show the flair she has for nail art - confident, quirky and cool.

1. Knock 'Em Out.
2. Hard Out There.
3. Sheezus.

Not for the shy and retiring girl, the Lily Loves collection features explosions of glitter, metallic shapes, matte prints, jewels and London landmarks - perfect for adding a pop to any outfit! Apply with glue or use one of the awesome Elegant Touch Super Adhesive Tabs if you like to switch up your manicure often.

The nail art queen herself says: "I'm thrilled to be collaborating with Elegant Touch on the Lily Loves Nails collection. It's a dream come true. nail art is a huge part of my life and a vital part of my personal style. I love changing-up my nails, sometimes 3 or 4 times a day, and I'm so excited to bring out this collection so you can choose your favourites and do the same!"

With so much loveliness to choose from it was hard to pick just one set to grace my nails with first, so after a long internal debate, I finally settled on LDN - I really fell for all the London landmarks silhouetted against a beautiful evening sky. I love the soft oval shape, that can be easily filed to a shorter length for my days spent at the computer, without losing any of the design...

Prices range from £6.99 to £8.99 (quite the bargain for 10 days of fabulous nails) and are available now through the Elegant Touch website and in Superdrug stores.

Thank you Elegant Touch, for another fabulous collection. What does everyone else think of the Lily Loves Nails line?

Gems x
*Nails provided to me by Elegant Touch for the purpose of this review, all opinions are my own.
 

ELEGANT TOUCH CANDY DIP

In recent months I have made no secret in my new found love for all things false nails - this doesn't mean I have totally turned my back on nail polish, I still have plenty in my collection, just at the minute I can't get over the ease and convenience of false nails. They take 10 minutes to apply and you get a week of chip-resistant, perfect and sometimes outrageous nails - something I could never achieve with nail varnish, not without a miracle or divine intervention anyway.

My brand of choice is Elegant Touch, I love the variety of their styles and their quality and durability; I am a massive fan of the House of Holland collection and am very excited about their new neon collection, plus how lovely are these Sweet Sherberts - you can check out my detailed reviews and tutorials of their Express Collection and Sweet Tooth House of Holland Nails on Femside.

Last month, when I first heard about their Candy Dip range, I knew I had to give them a go. Available exclusively at Superdrug, Candy Dip is a way to get fuss free glitter nails without having to apply 500 coats of glitter nail varnish.

Inside your cute candy ship box, you get three pots of glitter and 14 double sided nail stickers. Simply put, you choose a sticker that fits your nail, file off the excess and pop your sticky nail into the glitter of your choice, and voila sparkly nails that dazzle. Apply a top coat and the glitter wont shed and will last longer - it's genius!

They lasted through several showers and my compulsive hand washing, so they are way more durable than I could have imagined. And when it was time to say goodbye, they simple peel off - At just £4.49 a piece and four lovely shades to choose from, I think they are quite the bargain. Stay tuned to Femside for my full review and tutorial.

What do you guys think of Candy Dip, do you think it will be something you want to try?

* Nails sent to me by Elegant Touch as part of a review for my work with Femside, all opinions are my own.

Gems x