Nailene Calcium Gel Kit

Of the three products Nailene sent me, the Calcium Gel Kit was the one I was most excited about. However, it is also the one I was most disappointed with.

The kit comes with a 5gram bottle of Gel Overlay, a 7mL bottle of Gel Activator, a dropper, some false tips and a 2 sided buffer. How you apply it is very different for a 'gel' kit, as you need no UV or LED light. I found it very weird after having used proper gel. It is a very easy process though. Two layers of the Gel Overlay, and then 1-2 drops of the Gel Activator on top and let it dry for 2-5 mins. The instructions do say you can go back over and do another layer or two to strengthen.

Here's how my nails look with the Gel kit on the top hand and nothing on the bottom:

You can't see a huge difference (other than the staining :/), just that my nails are shiny. This photo I have on just 2 coats of the Overlay on.




So far so good right? Weeeeell... I've tried this product 3 times in 3 different ways on myself, and once on someone else and every time the same thing has happened. The longest I've been able to keep these on so far was about a day and a half. It makes my nails ACHE. My nails become incredibly sore when I have the Gel Kit on. I don't know why, how, or what would cause this. Its very strange. For the first few hours it's fine, but then it starts. It feels like pressure is being put on my smile line (where the free edge meets the nail bed) and I can't touch my nails without pain. I tried to ignore it when I left it on for the longest, but the pain got a bit too much and I had to remove them. Also, I looked at my nails while wearing the Overlay, and my c-curve (the curve of the nail) was flattening out! This is strange, because my nails are quite curved.

So, I'll give you my likes and dislikes, because it's not ALL bad!

What I liked:

• Easy application
• Quick dry time
• Gel-like nails without needing a lamp! 
• Easy removal- comes off with the good old foil method! 
• Resonably priced. This kits is $22.99
• It's a creative idea! 

What I didn't like:

• Everything in the last paragraph.
• The 'Gel Overlay' looks, feels, smells and applies like nail glue. 
• Using the dropper can be a bit messy. I point my fingers downwards over a paper towel and drop onto the cuticle end of my nail, letting it run down.

I have incredibly mixed feelings about this product. I like it, I do, but because I am yet to have a successful experience with it on my own nails or someone elses, I can't say I'll be using it again.

Until Next Time!

<3 Bec

  *the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Quickie NOTD!

I am super tired and lost track of time, so tonight I'm quickly showing you a fun mani I wore this time last week!

My base is 3 coats of Deborah Lippmann Almost Paradise. Love the colour, but the formula could be better. Very streaky. And on top of that, using a q-tip, I dabbed on some Gloss n' Sparkle Pixel Perfect.

I got heaps of compliments on this mani, and it was a lot of fun to wear!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Aussie Nails Monday- Music!

One of my favourite things about Aussie Nails Monday is that we can tailor the themes to suit who we are, and this weeks theme, Music, is a perfect example of that! Music is a fiddly theme, so I went with a band I've listened to since I was a teenager...

Misfits! I decided to directly copy their famous logo, and it was a lot trickier than it looked!

I used 2 coats of Ulta3's Black Satin for the base, then top coated it and painted on the detailing with white acrylic paint. I had to re-do the 'skull' a few times, it didn't want to work for me! Haha!

Let me know what some of your fave bands are!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Makeup Sundays- Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro #400

I love me a good red lip. It's classic! And the red I'm showing you today is definitely a keeper!

 Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in #400 (Sample size). A liquid lipstick with a doe foot applicator. It is insanely pigmented, this sample size is 1.5ml, but it may last me a while! The product gliiiiiiiiides on your lips, is super smooth on, and dries to a satin finish. Not matte, not glossy. I only lightly swiped the applicator over my lips and got perfect, opaque coverage. It's a blue toned red, and it IS a little darker than it is in the photos. But it's a long-lasting, non drying red that will suit everyone. What more to love?!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Meet RY.com.au!

RY.com.au are an Australian based Makeup/Beauty/Skincare/Haircare online store. They have a huge range of stuff and they very kindly sent me some stuff to have a play with and tell you guys about! So, let's get started...

Starting with a product I can't gt much use out of- Juuce Extra Tone Ulitmate Blonde Shampoo. I used to be blonde, but now I've got black hair, quite the opposite! I gave it to my housemate who is blonde, and they did quite like this shampoo. Apparently it smells quite nice!

Caron Bump Eraiser. This is an AWESOME product idea. I use Caron's wax brand at my beauty school, and it's really good wax, so unsurprisingly this was quite good too! It's for putting on top of any bums/ingrown hairs that come up after waxing. It's quite a common problem, and this kind of product is a godsend! It did help reduce a bump I had so I will keep using this one!

ASAP Gentle Cleansing Gel. I have really oily skin, so I do have to be careful using facial cleansers.
Luckily, this one didn't make me extra oily, but it didn't help take away any oil afterwards. It did leave my skin feeling nice for a few hours though, so that's something. I'm sure it would work better on a different skin type!

EmerginC Vitality Mask. I loooooooooved this! I don't use face masks a lot, but I do want to use them more often. This guy made my skin feel amazing after using it. Just beware though, it made my face super pale because as it dries on your face, it does go sorta white. My boyfriend thought I was ill for a moment!

AlphaH Essential Hydration Cream and Balancing Cleanser. Unlike the face cleanser above, this one, I found, worked quite well on my skin. Not enough to be replaced by my HG cleanser, but it is very nice. Especially when you use the two together. The Essential Hydration Cream works really well with my regular cleanser, which causes my skin to dry out a bit. It's very smooth and smells nice.

Dermalogica Daytime Radiance Travel Pack. I love Dermologica products, and this is no exception. The pack comes with a MultiVitamin Power Firm (wrinkle cream), a Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF30 (SPF Daytime Moisturiser) and a Skin Perfect Primer SPF30 (face/foundation primer). I really love the moisturiser. It's very creamy and you only need a very small amount to cover your whole face!

And finally, OPI Nail Lacquers in Silver Shatter and Chocolate Moose.

Silver Shatter is originally from the Pirates collection, and is something I already own, so, I have saved my bottle from Ry.com.au for a mini giveaway soon and for the photo above I used my own jar! We all know how crackles work and how they look. Most people think the crackle boat is gone, but I don't mind them. Sometimes they look great.

Chocolate Moose is from the Canada Collection I believe, and the black label version is apparently HTF. This is a green label, but it is a great colour! A rich, creamy chocolate brown. Super opaque- barely needed a second coat and it looks delicious! Why can't we have flavoured polish?! Haha!

As for RY.com.au themselves, their customer service is very good, quick responses and friendly staff. Prices are air and competitive for the Australian market, and they shipped the parcel quickly and packaged it nicely! The polishes were very, very bubblewrapped- no chance of a break there! If any of these products interest you, go check them out, support local business!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

  *the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*
 

Celestial Cosmetics Galactic Holo!

I have a mini whinge for you guys with a happy ending. Kind of. Today's my 23rd birthday, and it was a horrible day. I've been having toothaches for a week or so now, and today of all days I woke up and my face was so swollen I looked like a chipmunk! So I spent my whole day in an emergency dental hospital waiting to see a doctor, and when I did, they pulled my tooth out. SO all in all, a pretty horrid birthday. BUT, when I got home there was a package waiting for me from Nicki at Celestial Cosmetics! It included some of her new, not-yet-released collection that I'll be showing you soon (closer to the release date!), and a special gift from her first collection. I have two others that I need to show you, and I promise I will very soon!

I finally got to paint my nails when I got home- I was naked all day, eep! And I had to put this one on as soon as I could! Galactic Holo is a delicious dark blue holo that has satisfied my need for OPI's DS Glamour! And that's saying something!

How stunning is it?! This is 2 coats, without top coat. I cannot stop staring at my nails! I had absolutely no issues applying this, it's got no balding/dragging issues and it dried very quickly. Perfection in a jar!

I urge you all to go check out Celestial Cosmetics, it's definitely worth it!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Nailene 'So Natural' Everyday French

Recently, Nailene Australia sent me 3 of their products to review. I have been using Nailene products for years, so this was very exciting for me! I looooooooove their  nail glue, it's all I use on clients.

I'm showing you not only one of the products today, but I enlisted some 'help' in the form of my lovely friend Katerina! The reason I needed to have her come help, is simply because my nails are far too long for this product! So, it's not Nailenes fault at all!

The So Natural Everyday French kit is a press-on/glue-on (optional, depending on your wants/needs) french manicure nail set. In the kit, you get 24 differently sized nails, a small tube of nail glue, a mini buffer and a small plastic cuticle pusher. I was also given some sticky tabs to us with them. I'll be showing you pictures before and after, and then listing what I did and didn't like..

Before (bare nails- apologies for the blurry pic!)

After apply the nails with the Ultra Tabs:

What I liked:

• VERY easy to apply
• Good range of sizes
• The sticky tabs are AMAZING. No lie. They are gel like in texture, and thicker than the  tabs you usually get with press on nails. These tabs are easy to put on, and they really help the nail stick to the natural nail. Colour me impressed.
• They look very natural. Especially on Kat's hands, they don't make a HUGE difference, but they look natural, and classy in a way. Very elegant.
• Easy to remove. Just pull the nail off, and remove any leftover tab with polish remover. 
• Reusable!

What I don't like:

• Too sort for me. Not the nail's fault, but it means I don't get to play with them! 
• They are pricey. This kit is $16.99AUD and the tabs are $8.99AUD
• if you have too wide or too narrow nail beds you may struggle with the sizes of these. 

So, I do like these and I do absolutely recommend them to any one considering them. They are a great idea for a night out, or a special occasion where you have little time and want nice nails. Nailene products can be found in stores like Priceline, Big W, Kmart, Target, chemists etc.

Until Next Time!

<3 Bec

  *the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*