I've never tried gel nails before. It seemed quite difficult to try them as I don't like the idea of going for a manicure somewhere with a stranger, and if you do them at home you need the lamp and all the stuff... But then a couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by two companies separately, one asking me to review their gel polish, and another asking me to review their LED lamp! I thought it seemed too good a chance to miss, so here I am, doing gel nails!
The polish is from a British brand, NYK1 Secrets. I received two colours to try, Burnt Red and Gold Wow, a glittery gold. The LED lamp is from a company called U Spicy.
Never having done gel nails before, I needed to do a bit of reading to work out what was needed - it's very different to normal polish application. I also used some Gellux products which I bought locally. First you clean the nail thoroughly, then buff, wipe with a cleanser (I used a Gellux one) and then apply a fast bond. Then base coat, then cure for 30 seconds under LED lamp.
Then comes a coat of polish - I started with the red one. This felt really different from 'normal' polish, as it's much thicker. The brush is really nice - short and firm and very easy to control. The thick polish means that's it's also really easy to apply cleanly - it doesn't flood or run or get in places it shouldn't. You then cure this under LED light for 30 seconds.
As you can see, the lamp is a neat little dome shape. The lights are in the top of the cavity, but the inside is full of mirrors, so it bounces the light around. The size is perfect to easily fit a hand or a foot inside. There are 4 pre-timed buttons on top, one each for 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds and 30 minutes. I'm not sure what you'd be doing to need 30 minutes! The lamp is this model, and is for sale on Amazon for £27.99. LED lamps are considered better than UV lamps, as they are lower wattage, but more powerful, so need less time and less UV exposure. At least, I think I've understood that right!
I did a second coat of the polish, cured for 30 seconds, and then added Gellux Top Coat, and cured for another 30 seconds. The polish is dry straight away, but has a funny sticky finish, which you wipe off with the cleanser again. It felt so strange to have perfectly dry nails immediately! In fact, I walked around with my toe separators on for about 10 minutes before I realised that they weren't necessary!
I love the effect I got with these! My nails are so shiny and glossy, and the finish is perfect. I managed to chip one nail the next day by stubbing my toe and scraping it on something metal. It definitely wasn't the polish (though it may have been my application!) But it did give me a chance to try removal. I put a cotton wool pad soaked in acetone on my nail, wrapped it in foil for 10 minutes, and then removed it.
I was expecting it to wipe off like normal polish, but it didn't. It sort of all flaked off, in a powdery, dry bits. It really surprised me. I had heard horror stories about gel nail polish damaging the nail surface, but my nail looked absolutely fine. I redid that nail, and it looks perfect now.
These NYK1 polishes are available in a whole host of colours, including glitters and sparkly finishes! Click here to see the range! There are all sorts of different price combinations - one polish would be £8.95, but if you buy 3 or 6 then you get free Prep & Shine (their pre-polish cleanser) in varying sizes, or they have discount deals if you buy multiple colours. You can also buy whole sets that include all the other stuff you need such as cleansers, base and topcoats. You can also buy these on Amazon.
I have to say I'm really impressed with these polishes! I don't paint my toes often, as nobody really sees my feet in winter. But I love the idea of being able to paint them so easily and that I can stick my socks back on straight away if I want to! And that they'll stay perfect for much longer than normal polish - I'll report back in a week or so about the wear on these. I've had them on for three days now and they do still look perfect. I do love changing the colour frequently on my fingernails though, so I'm not sure that I would wear gel polish on my hands frequently. However, I think they'd be fab for those times when I'm either going away for a week and don't want to bother taking polish with me, or when I've lost my mojo and have no ideas. I will definitely try the gold polish on my fingernails soon, perhaps this weekend, so I will post again when I do!
These polishes and the lamp were provided for my honest review. See my Disclaimer for more information.
You may remember that I reviewed some Pedi Sox last year (and had my very first giveaway!) - if not, you can read my initial review here. Today I have the new product from PediSox, their softening cream concentrate, SofSpa, for review. (Warning for those of an anti-feet disposition, this post does contain my feet. And I spent my teens in pointe shoes, so it's not the prettiest of sights.)
I have been using this cream on my feet every evening for the last week or so, and I can safely say my feet feel great! It's not quite sandals weather yet, but it's not too far away. Like many people, I've been ignoring my feet over the winter, and have hard heels and dry skin. But I've really noticed the difference since using this cream for the last week. My skin is a lot smoother and softer and I'm almost ready for sandals!
I also have a new pair of PediSox to try - I LOVE these leopard print ones! Aren't they cute? These are from the Ultra range, and cost £13 on the PediSox UK website. I love pedi-sox; they're such a great (and simple) idea, that lets you paint your toenails whilst not getting cold feet. At the same time, they're also designed to help moisturisers and creams to absorb more quickly.
The SofSpa cream is really nice - it's quite thick and rich-feeling, but not at all greasy. The fragrance is light and pleasant. The formula contains natural moisturisers like macadamia nut, olive seeds, rosehip, evening primrose and calendula. It absorbs into the skin really quickly and smoothly, without leaving any greasy traces. I've been using it on my hands too, and I really like it. The cream isn't available on the UK website yet by the looks of it, because it's a brand new launch, but it is available on the US one, at $14 for the tube size I have.
The polish on my toes by the way, is Jacava Red Velvet.
*Review samples. See my Disclaimer page for more details.
Have you entered my giveaway? If not, there is still time to enter - the contest closes in 6 hours' time.
It's open to anyone in Europe, and anyone outside Europe who has a European posting address, and you could win these two pairs of Pedi-Sox, one in white with pink details, and the other in lightweight purple.
If you read my last post (click here) and thought 'I have GOT to get myself a pair of those awesome socks!' then you will like this post! I am very excited to be able to host my very first GIVEAWAY!! Thanks to the lovely people at Pedi-Sox, I have two pairs to give away to one lucky reader.
The competition is open to anyone, but you must have a postal address in the UK or Europe to which I can send the prizes. You can use as many or as few of the entry forms as you like. You could win these two lovely pairs of Pedi-Sox - there is one pair of original weight in white with pink stripe, and one pair of California weight in Springtime Violet.
The Giveaway starts at midnight tonight (UK time) and ends at midnight on Sunday 28th, so you have a week and a half to enter. If you enter your email address it will only be used so that I can contact the winner, I promise not to give it to anyone else, or to use it for anything else. When the giveaway finishes, I will contact the winner, who will then have 48 hours to respond with their details, and if not, I'll draw another winner.
Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Today I'm really excited to be able to show you some Pedi-Sox! I saw these on an American blog a while ago and thought they looked awesome. I was determined to buy some, but then found they only sell in the States, and was really disappointed. Well, now they're launching in the UK, and the lovely people at Pedi-Sox have sent me some to review! (Warning - there are feet in this post! And I spent most of my teens in pointe shoes, so my toes aren't pretty!)
Pedi-Sox are a genius idea - socks with the toes cut off, so you can paint your toes whilst still having nice warm feet! Simple, but so clever! I was sent two pairs for review - the Pink Stripe from the Original range (nice and warm!) and the Black and White Polka Dot from the lightweight California Weight range.
The pink ones are fabulous - really soft and cosy, and even with my cold feet and cold house, I had my toes out all evening quite comfortably. First I soaked my feet and gave my heels a bit of a scrub. Then I smothered my feet in moisturiser and put on my socks (they're designed not only to let you paint your toes, but also to help creams and treatments etc absorb into the skin). On my toes is Barry M Red Glitter, by the way.
Next are the lightweight socks - and I think I like these even more! These are really fine and soft, and so comfy.
My feet feel great - and even though my toes are not going to be seeing the light of day any time soon (it's still very cold here) it's nice to know my toes are all sparkly inside my shoes.
I love these! Looking at their range (click here for the company website, with all the different colours and styles) I really want the leopard print ones! In the UK, these are going to be sold from a company called Only Fingers and Toes. At the moment, they can only sell in their spa in Croydon, but their online store will be launching in the next couple of weeks - I'll let you know when it's up and running!
However - if you really really want some now... wait around for my next post! I have some very exciting news!
These socks were sent for review purposes, but words and opinions are entirely my own.
See my Disclosure page for more details.
