NOTD : CCO Shellac Review

So in continuing the pink theme for this week's posts, I thought I'd feature my current nails.

For Christmas last year, Liam's sister gifted me some gorgeous UV nail colours to add to my collection.  I've previously used CND (the original) and also Bluesky Shellacs, and whilst I find that CND is clearly the best quality of the two, it can get very costly.

The opacity of Bluesky is quite poor, and requires quite a few layers.  Once you've managed to get it to the desired thickness however, the quality is quite good and will last a good couple of weeks, chip-free.  Unfortunately, it stays on so well that it is an absolute nightmare to remove.  I've tried the foil wrap method as well as soaking my nails in pure acetone, and it never seems to turn flakey like it should.  For that reason, I avoid using it too often as I can't bear the thought of trying to remove it.

I was excited to test out this CCO brand, which is quite a clear copy of the CND.

As you can see, the boxes and packaging are all quite similar. Unfortunately, that's about where the similarity ends.  For my first time testing this brand, I chose a brilliant pink shade, and applied to the whole nail, using about 2 - 3 coats of colour.  Whilst it looked great, and had that brilliant shine that comes with UV nail polish, it lasted only 3 days before chipping off!

I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, and tried it again, this time pairing it with a hardier Bluesky polish to achieve this pink tipped look.

Apologies for the bad lighting! It really does look much better in sunlight! 

Whilst I was thrilled with the results to start with, I am disappointed that just a week later I'm already sporting three chipped nails.  The one pro of this nail polish however, is that it comes off very easily! A quick soak (less than 5 minutes) in acetone will leave it in flaky little chunks which can be scratched off with an orange stick. 

I suppose, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for!  There are plenty of shellac dupes out there at the moment, but for quality you just can't go past the original.

Yellow on Yellow!

This post is for the lovely Ling, over at Pork Chop's Nest.

A while back, Ling wrote this post about all things neon yellow.  One of her concerns was house yellow nail polish would suit yellow skin.  Whilst I'm no expert in all things neon, I did conveniently have a little bottle of NYC glow worm tucked away, which is one of the brightest yellows you ever did see!  I had never tried it before, and thought it was time to break it open to try and assist.

I couldn't quite capture the true colour via photos, so took a couple of snaps in different lighting to try and give a proper idea!

The shade was an extremely bright yellow, much more neon that Ling had posted on her blog, but I thought this might help give an idea.  I've applied two coats of colour and no base coat as I was not planning on keeping this colour on.

Looking at the photos, I actually don't think it looks too bad.  However, when I looked at my actual nails in real life it didn't seem to work.  Do you remember in primary school when you used to draw on your nails with highlighters and pretend you were wearing nail polish? No? Maybe it's just me... but this is vaguely what it reminded me of!  I suppose the fact that I was doing it in the office rather than for a night out or whatever might have been part of the issue too.  I'm sure if it was for a night out and I was wearing an outfit that might match or complement might have made a huge difference.

Anyway, Ling, sorry I couldn't be more helpful but I hope that gives you somewhat of an idea! :) xx

NOTD - Belated Happy Australia Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Australia Day!

We hosted a BBQ bash, and then headed up to Big River for a camping weekend away! :)

I had ideas in my head for lovely Australia Day themed nails, but underestimated how much preparation I would need to do for the BBQ and how time-consuming it would be!  I do this every single time, and end up rushing to the shower just as guests are starting to arrive.

I've had to switch my photo-taking hand, due to a nail-breakage injury that my regular model has suffered :(

The initial plan was to do up a stencil for the Union Jack on the thumb, and another for little stars that would make up the Southern Cross on each nail.  After a few attempts at getting the base colours perfect, only to ruin them during the preparation process for the party I gave up and just used an old bottle of OPI glitter that I found stashed away (red, blue and silver mixture - perfect colours!) and painted the Union Jack freehand.

Not quite as I'd hoped, but still received plenty of compliments from my party guests! :)

How did you spend your Australia Day?

Photobomber!

I originally took this photo for a NOTD... however the little photobomber in the background stole my thunder, looking all cute and content while basking in the sunshine!

I kind of wish my pesky hand wasn't in the way - it's such a funny photo of him in amongst the dandelions! But, there you have it...  

NOTD with a difference! :)

 

NOTD

Thought I'd try some brightly-coloured party nails to get me in the mood for the New Years festivities! I love the bright happy colours so much I've decided to keep them as long as they'll last!

Yep, I broke my nail on my pointer finger. Devastated :(

My Waters are Marbled with Xmas Spirit!

So I tried to get a little festive with my nails this Christmas.  I had red, green and gold polish however the gold didn't quite show up so I ditched it since it just came out white otherwise.

I'm not entirely happy with how they turned out.  I was rushing as I had to hurry to the shops to meet Liam after his gym session for some last minute Christmas shopping.  I didn't give them enough time to settle in between coats or dry before I started the clean up process, which resulted in mass smudging and random bits of polish falling on them.

Oh well, it could be worse. And considering that this is one of my first few attempts at water marbling I guess I'm pleased! I certainly do feel very festive when I look at my fingers now! :)

Nails of the Day

Base colour is Ulta3's classic red :)

Nails of the Day

When I'm having a bad hair day, or a fat day, or just feeling a bit ick in general, a nice new coat on my nails always helps boost my mood a little!

I love doing my nails, and will usually switch around and play with colours when I'm bored.

I get very impatient in waiting for them to dry though, as you can see below I was a little impatient in between layers, so they're not quite right!

11/11/11

Lucky colours for my uncle's wedding! Red & gold - like a Chinese red packet! :)

Clearly not lucky for me though - on the morning of the wedding I sliced my finger, requiring four stitches! If you're looking for new knives though, may I suggest Scanpan? They cut through anything, I've learnt.

They interviewed the happy couple for a segment on The Project too! 5 seconds of fame... 

Hopefully my lucky nails bring them better luck than it has me!

Oh, and to add so I don't seem completely self-absorbed! We did have a minute's silence at 11am. 

Lest we forget.