My Equipment

I have added this post as a page, you can access it by clicking "My Equipment" on the menu bar! I hope to be adding to it periodically, so stay tuned!

Hello everyone! I've set up this page so you can all see what kind of equipment I use to do my Nail Art, From what remover I prefer right down to how I store my polishes! I get a lot of questions on where I get my tools, so I thought a page would be a good idea, to show everyone!

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Nail Polish Remover

A lot of Nail Bloggers use pure Acetone to both remove their nail polish and do clean-up, but my nail can get quite brittle, which Acetone would only exacerbate. The best Nail Polish Remover I have found is Sally Hansen Strengthening Polish Remover. It does me just fine, and is made with pro-vitamin B5 to keep nail as healthy as possible. You can buy this from your local drugstore or supermarket, it is pretty common! It also smells nicer than usual remover!

 

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 Stamping and Image Plates


Some of my Nail Art is aided by the use of Image Plates, often referred to as "stamping". These work by transferring the image from the plate to the nail by use of a rubber stamp, after the image on the plate has been saturated with polish, then scraped clean. There are SO many eBay sellers that make them, but only buy them from sellers you trust, as the quality of these can vary wildly. The image plates that I use are the BundleMonster image plates (both the old and new sets) and Konad, which is probably the most reputable and well known stamping system (but they're more expensive.) The best place to buy BundleMonster is either at their website, or on amazon. the best place to buy Konad is from wowsocool.comhttp://www.wowsocool.com/ or eBay - if you're careful that you are buying genuine Konad products. This is just in my experience, however, living in the UK.

3 image plates with stamper and scraper

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Stamping Polishes

The best nail polishes to use are ones that are extremely opaque, as this will give you the best transferred image. My favourite ones to use, especially for black and white, are the Konad Special Stamping Polishes:

Konad Special Stamping polish in white, red and green.

Again, I bought these from wowsocool.com, but eBay is usually fine for UK buyers, just be sure you buy from a reputable seller. You don't have to buy these special polishes to stamp with though, a lot of high street brands work just fine, as long as they are opaque. "Foil Effect" polishes work really well, such as this one from Miss Sporty, called Electric Beige.

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Nail Art Pens

I bought a set of 60 Nail Art pens from eBay, called Nail Star pens, and they are OK. I've not had any issues with them, really, but I know a lot of people can't stand to use them. They are not incredibly opaque and get clogged up easily, they also STINK. This said, if you don't want to spend a lot of money on them (This set of 60 cost me £20), then these are absolutely fine, especially the staple shades like red and green. I get my black, white, gold and silver Nail Art pens from Claire's Accessories, and they cost £4 each. I find these are better quality than the eBay pens, and because I use these shades the most often, I decided to make the investment. They last a long time and are more opaque. 

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 Nail Art Brushes

I bought mine from BornPretty.com - they do free international shipping, which is just great. There's nothing worse than thinking you've got a cheap deal and then finding out that its expensive to ship to the UK. They are great quality, and I would recommend them - they're great for tiny details and you get a good range of brush thicknesses, fan brushes and a dotting tool. Make sure you clean them after each use :)

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 Topcoat/Basecoat

Where I haven't exactly found a holy grail of basecoats, like I have with topcoats, there are 3 that I particularly recommend, and I tend to alternate between them:

Sinful Colours Base Coat - I like this because it dries extremely quickly to a semi-matte finish, it looks like you're wearing nothing at all and that you just have healthy nails.

Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Basecoat - This was a gift, and I'm so glad I received it because I never would've bought it myself. It came with a topcoat, but it's the base coat that steals the show. It's slightly pinky and looks lovely even by itself.

OPI Nail Envy - probably the most revered base coat in the Nail-world, it is considered a cult product because it strengthens and repairs as it protects. I only use this occasionally as it's my Mummy's - but it is very good!

This is the only top-coat I will use now. Once you go Seche, you never go back! It penetrates through all the layers of your polish and sets like glass - very, very quickly. Your nails will be touch dry in 1 minute and protected against chipping. Really, if you've never tried Seche Vite, you don't know what you're missing! I bought mine from eBay for about £6.

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Scotch Tape

A Scotch Tape Manicure is where you "tape off" certain sections of your nails (once they are completely dry) and paint over them before removing the tape - this creates straight, neat lines and can be used to create numerous effects such as this:

full post HERE

The tape I use is just bog-standard scotch tape from the supermarket. Scotch tape is usually better than regular sticky tape as its not quite as sticky, and is less likey to rip off some o your mnicure underneath it.

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Travel Case/Storage:

I actually keep the polishes that I use most often in old Glossy Box boxes on my shelf, where they're easily accessible, but I do keep some in a Beautician's case that I got from Amazon. This way I can take them wherever I like, look professional on photoshoots and keep my tools together:

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Front Cover Cosmetics Blogger Event Part 2

 Welcome to the 2nd part of my Front Cover Blogger Launch post!

I always save the best until last - I'd eat my pudding before my main course if it didn't blow people's minds, and always leave my Yorkshire Puddings until last when I'm having a Sunday roast. The kit I'm showing you next is the one I chose to take away with me. I honestly think I was invited to the event because of the launch of the Nail Kits, and I feel exceptionally guilty that I didn't choose to take one of the Nail orientated palettes home with  me (we were allowed to choose only one to take home) as I'm pretty sure that it was expected of me. I have, however, discussed with you that although I think the Nail Art kits would make great gifts, they're nothing special to me, and so I chose the next kit, Style Queen, for a few reasons.

The first reason is that it had a great set of brushes in it. When doing my make-up Leanne used only Front Cover brushes, and they are fantastically soft on the eyelids, really great quality. The second is that it contains the most "every day" type eyeshadow shades, including some more satin finish shadows, as opposed to the really shimmery baked shadows. I wanted to pick something that I would use often, and be able to give a good review, so I chose Style Queen because I would get the most out of it. The third reason is that it is JUST TOO AWESOME. Here it is:

Style Queen - RRP £35.00 (remember, you can click to enlarge!)

OK! Look at all that. the top row are the baked eyeshadow domes, the second row are the satin/matte eyeshadows, and the third row is the lip glosses. Here are the swatches for the baked eyeshadows, in the order they appear in the kit from left to right:

 

I love every single shade here. I will wear them constantly, the darker ones are fabulous for an alternative smokey eye, where as the lighter shades are subtle for every day wear. To get the strongly pigmented you do have to apply them wet or over Shadowbase, which is the only downside. Once you've built that colour, though, they stay put and look brilliantly shimmery. Here are the Satin/Matte swatches (the second row):

More really wearable shades, and slightly less shimmery.

I don't necessarily rate the lipglosses a great deal, they're OK formula-wise, and there is a wide range, but I think I just love my Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in Heartbeat too much. The advantage of these is, however, you can mix them, with the lipbrush provided, to create your own shade. This is probably my favourite from the glosses though, one called Red Moon, and it's 5th from the left:

It;s still a natural colour, just slightly warmer and more red-toned. These are not sticky at all, and I reckon this kit will be so popular, it was half price in Boots last week.

You also get two iridescent pigment powders in this kit, a black and a red-brown, loose eyeshadows that are rich in colour. The black is called Coal Hoal, and the brown is called Saddle Brown. I really like these, the colour goes on so strong, and I hardly got any fall out with the Front Cover brushes:

 

I mentioned the Shadowline product earlier, and I used it to create a brown liquid liner from Saddle Brown iridescent pigment powder. Leanne the Make-up artist showed me the best way to mix them is on the back of your hand, creating the right consistency as you go. It really is easy to use:

I don't rate the mascara much, the brush is tiny and very curved and not a match for the almighty Max Factor False Lash Effect. Sorry, Front Cover. I will however be using the mascara sealer which is on the other end of the wand. It stops your mascara from slipping, which is always useful.

This kit also comes with two other baked domes, one is a bronzer split into three parts, and one is a highlighter, also split into three different shades. The idea is that you sweep over every shade, but you can mix and match depending on the season, or your skin tone, so that's a great idea. These can also be used as eyeshadows. Here is the Bronzer swatched in its different  sections:

 Here is the Highlighter CHeek Dome swatched in it's different sections, designed for sweeping over the cheekbones and brow bone for added shimmer and dimension:

Here is an eye look I created using this kit, I wish the lighting was better for the photographs, but it was dark ALL DAY, that's British winter for you:

Here is the eye again, but with annotations of which products I used from the Style Queen kit, and where they are applied:

 

As you can see, I started with Sandstone on the centre of the lid, and blended the gold area of the Cheekdome into the corners. The two golds really compliment each other and are so easy to blend. I did apply them wet so I could get the richest colour possible. I applied a slight brushing of Brown Cork into the crease of the eye to add depth, and brushed some of the entire Cheekdome across the brow bone to highlight the shape. I added Amber Green under the eye and into the outer corner, making it quite a subtle smokey eye. I hthen used the Shadowline to create a liquid liner out of Saddle Brown Pigment Powder, and ran it along the top lash line, ending in a flick. I added a couple of coats of Front Cover's mascara and it was done! Voila!

Here you can see the Saddle Brown Shadowline detail better, as well as the shading in the crease of the eyelid. The great thing about all of these being to gether in a kit, is that they all compliment eachother perfectly, the hard wok of searching for blendable products, that work together, is done for you. I just wish it was more portable, I cannot take it ANYWHERE. It's even too large for my draws, so it sits permanantly on my dresser. The only drawback.

I hope this has given you a good idea of what Front Cover products are out there, what's new and what's good. Hopefully you can make your own mind up about which one you like the best, and I've shown you the blending capabilities and how easy it is to create a look with them!

Don't forget about my GlossyBox giveaway, enter HERE if you're in the UK and love trying out new Beauty Products!

Front Cover Cosmetics Blogger Event Part 1

I've decided to do this post in two parts, as it is IMMENSE, and there's just too much information to cram into your eyes at once!

I went to my first Beauty Blogger's Product Launch for Front Cover Cosmetics the other week, and had a great time. I wouldn't usually travel all the way down to London, but I especially like Front Cover Cosmetics since my best friend bought me their Exotic Eyes Palette two Christmas' ago. The event was great, we had champagne, cupcakes provided by Kate Middleton's brother, and an exclusive peek at what Front Cover (exclusive to Boots at the moment) have to offer us this Christmas, in the way of palettes. They didn't disappoint, there's something for everyone in this new collection that has recently hit the Boots shelves. I got to meet and network with the girls behind some fabulous blogs, and learn some information about Front Cover as a brand.

Their ethics are great, and are completely honest with their consumers, promising that every single make-up look a model wears on the front of their kits, is created using ONLY the products that are inside that particular kit. It may surprise some of you, but that is quite rare in the beauty industry, with companies often colour-matching their highstreet products with high end, luxury ones for promo work. Feel like you've been lied to? yeah, me too, but don't worry, Front Cover can be trusted 100%! You can tell that Michelle, the Creator really cares what women think about the products, and listens to customer feedback so that she can deliver the best products possible - and good news, their exclusivity contract with Boots is finished soon, and they're going GLOBAL

These are mismatch nails that I wore to the event, I got lots of compliments and me and Michelle chatted about Nail Art for ages! She's hoping to develop some polishes like Milani FX (see below), which is excellent news. (sorry I only snapped one quick flash picture!):

• Pinky - Models Own Pastel Pink with stamped princess crown from BundleMonster plate, using Technic shade 32
• Ring Finger - 4 coats of Milani FX Gold
• Middle - Nails Inc Haymarket with Konad Special Polish white flower design from BundleMonster plate (new set)
• Index - Natural Collection White with Barry M Pink Fizz Instant Effects (Crackle)
• Thumb - Topshop Peaches & Cream with Topshop Celestial stamped polka dots from Konad image plate.
• Topped off with Seche Vite

We were greeted with the sight of all the new Front Cover palettes set out on the table, along with some treats:

OOO CHAMPERS! I had to be careful here, usually one glass of the bubbly stuff and I'm on the floor!

heheeeee eye and lip cakes! AMAZING!

Here are some close ups of the some of the new sets that stood out, along with the price and a little bit about what I think of each one - I took lots of photos of the Nail Art kits for you guys, as I know love your naily-bits.

Brush Works kit - RRP £20.00

So this is the Nail Art Kit, Brush Works. Although it would seem pretty impressive to a regular consumer, to a Nail Art expert (can I really call myself that haha?!) and fanatic, it's nothing I haven't seen before and just pretty standard stuff. The Nail Wraps are in animal prints and checkers, but I cannot stand nail wraps anyway, I find them over-complicated and time consuming to apply, and always seem to peel off. There are some clear rhinestones and sequins in there as well as a striper and some other miniature tools, but apart from making a great gift for someone getting started in Nail Art, or just wanting the basics, I wasn't overly impressed. Great for those who aren't that familiar with Nail Art, but too run of the mill for me.

Finger Print RRP £14.00

The Finger Print Nail Polish Palette. At £14, this makes each polish a very affordable £2 each - I just wish I liked the colours. The gold glittery one at the top is the only one that really excites me, the rest are duochromes, or super shimmery, and just not for me. I know plenty of people out there love duochrome finishes, but I don't think they're very current, and I think Front Cover could have jumped on some of the popular polish trends like Crackle topcoats or Magnetic Polish, for example. Don't get me wrong, this would make a wonderful gift and is right up a lot of peoples' street, it's just not my favourite. I'd rather a Nails Inc Christmas Gift for example (No, don't worry, that's not a hint!)

Eye Popping - RRP £16

Eye Popping Palette is absolutely GREAT. It would've been my second choice of palette to take home, you get 18 different pressed powders that can be used for both eyes and cheeks. For £16 that is an absolute BARGAIN. The only thing that put me off is that there are a lot of blues, as blue is tipped to be this seasons 'colour', and with my green eyes, I really don't find blue suits me at all. This also comes with a cheek brush so you can sweep across all of those gorgeous gold and bronze shades to use them as a blusher/bronzer - wicked. Give yourself blue cheeks if you like!

The Point Is Pink - RRP £20.00

The Point Is Pink Kit Front Cover's Shadowbase. Shadowbase is a primer for your eyeshadows and pigment powders, and it really enhances their pigmentation and colour:

 On the left is an eyeshadow applied over the top of Shadowbase, on the right is it on its own. As you can see the colour is much richer applied over the primer. A definite success!

Top Drawer - £16.00

The Top Drawer contains some really pigmented, chunky eyeshadow pencils. I didn't get a chance to swatch these, but saw them used and they look great. You get a fab mix of colours too, perfect for Christmas party season. I love the "look" on the inside cover, bottom right with the bold, black line across the lower lashes - very fashion forward! I don't think this is as good a value for money as, say, Eye Popping, but I really like the idea.

Air Kiss - RRP £20.00

Front Cover have released an all-lip palette! I know a lot of girls will be happy about this! You get SIXTEEN mini-lippies which I think is great value - you literally have every shade here you'd ever need, whether it be for nights out or every day wear. I prefer making more of my eyes, and rarely wear striking lip colour, but if I wanted to make a statement I would definitely invest in this kit. If you know a lippie-addict this is the ultimate Christmas present.

Blue Eyed Girl - RRP £12.00

As I mentioned earlier, blue is pegged as this season's 'in colour' and whether you go all out with a navy take on the classic smokey eye, or keep it simple with a slick of blue eyeliner across the lash-line, you can't really go wrong with this kit. Included is the Shadowline, a clear liquid liner that you can mix with any eyeshadow to make a coloured liquid liner of your own creation - more on this tomorrow! All the eyeshadows are velvety soft and very rich in colour. Again, I don't wear blue as it puts me at risk of looking like Pat Butcher in a wig - I don't think I'm quite brave enough yet! If you're a trend conscious beauty buyer who likes to keep ahead of the fashion-world, this is the kit for you. And YES the mascara really is THAT blue, as you can tell from the packaging! Here is the polish from this collection, A Shimmery Royal Blue:

 

A Billion Stars - RRP £35

A Billion Stars is at the top of the range, a Christmas present for someone you REALLY love. Someone who loves bright colours on their eyes! It comes with a pop-out portable palette which is a great idea as none of these kits are particularly portable, save for Eye Popping. This kit is perfect for creating smokey eyes, and even comes with tiny sequin stars for added dramatic effect, as demonstrated here by Front Cover Girl Laura:

I was also lucky enough to have my makeup done by Front Cover Make-up Artist Leanne, and she was the nicest person ever - I told her to go wild and do whatever she wanted, and she said she was looking forward to trying the metallic silver eyeshadow from  the Packing Case kit. She was great, talking me through exactly what she was doing and why, her trade secrets and what it was like working in the beauty industry. She was the one who told me all about Shadowbase and Shadowline, as well as convincing me to let her try eyelash curlers on me (a contraption I've always been afraid of, as it looks like a horrible torture device). This is the Kit that she used:

 

This is another one with a little bit of everything, you've got eyes, lips and cheek in here, as well as brushes and tweezers. Leanne applied the silver in the top left of the palette, added the mascara and swept across the bottom row of shadows to use on my cheeks. She also used the two ended lip product that you can see on there, one end is a creamy tint, unlike any other tint I've used before, it's lovely and moisturising. The other end is an iridescent gloss, and it looks so natural and lovely on the lips. Here is my daft made-over face!

You can see Leanne's hand brushing m hair out of my face! It felt like I had my own entourage! A close up of the eyes:

That Silver shadow is SO pigmented, it really brightens up the eyes. I preferred the lip look on me, however, it is such a gorgeous pink colour, but still really natural. As it is a cream tint, it also lasted for ages:

My lips are usually quite washed out and colourless, so this is great for me. Looks like I will be investing in a whole kit so I can get this lippy! WHAT A SHAME hahaha. That is a con against the company though, it would be nice to be able to buy some of these products separately from the kit, for those of us on a budget.

To conclude:

PROS

• You're buying from an honest company who cares about its consumers
• The products have got the quality/price ratio pretty much perfect, the formulas are great.
• Will make excellent Christmas presents
• The kits are bang on trend (with the exception of the Nail Polishes) so you are guaranteed a lot of wear out of each kit.
• They are very good value for money
• The "book" style of the palette means everything stays together, and in good condition
• The kits contain a good mix of products, with many containing things for eyes, lips and cheeks in one kit.
• You get a tutorial on the inside of every palette, written by Leanne, my make-up artist, on how to re-create each look for yourself. Definitely useful.
• These will be on the 3 for 2 gift offer in Boots over Christmas.

CONS 

• I really hate to say it, as I really wanted to like them, but I just don't like the nail polishes and the Nail Art kit is nothing innovative or exciting.
• The "book" style of the palettes means that these kits are not very portable AT ALL. I cannot take my Style Queen anywhere with me, it's pretty much an installation on my dresser now. It would b better if the eyeshadows slotted out so you could separate them and take them around with you
• Although good value for money, the top of the range (£35.00) may just be too steep for some people.
• I think the Shadowbase is great, however it doesn't come in every kit with eyeshadows in, which is a shame because it makes such a difference.
• It would be nice if you could buy a few best-selling items separately, as I don't want to have to buy a whole kit just so I can get the lip tint that I like so much.

For me, the Pros far outweigh the Cons, I just like to present a balanced argument. These are great kits, and good luck giving them away if you buy them as gifts, I guarantee you will have a hard time parting with them!


 Hed over to Front Cover's website HERE and check out the full range of palettes, they really are fantastic quality and will .make great Christmas presents.

I still have one more kit to show you, Style Queen, and it is the kit that I chose to take away with me from the event, as they kindly let you pick one to keep! I want to show you swatches of the eye products, as well as a make-up look - all coming tomorrow in Part 2!

Thanks for tuning in everyone :)

Don't forget I'm having a little giveaway to win this months GlossyBox! If you live in the UK and you love trying new beauty products, you can enter here!

Leighton Denny Sweetheart Nail Art - Win Your Own GlossyBox !

 This month's Glossy Box is here! If you're unfamiliar with the concept of Glossy Box, once subscribed, you receive 5 (6 this month though, due to it being an anniversary special) high end, luxury samples, with one of them being a full size product. This is for £10 a month, plus shipping, and there are other similar companies out there like Boudoir Prive, Carmine and Birchbox in the USA. This month's box contained a Leighton Denny polish, and mine was a pink, cream one called Babydoll. I'm glad of this, as the other two options were pearlescent, and you know how much I love cream finishes! I'll let you know at the end how you can WIN AN OCTOBER BOX FOR YOURSELF!

*EDIT - COMPETITION NOW CLOSED!*

I'm not sure if there's a name for this type of manicure, so I'm giving it one - the Sweetheart V-gap. A variation on V-gap pioneer Sophy Robson's original design, I made this to look like a pink heart, and added some rhinestones because - well, blue, sparkly heats just make everything a little more fabulous, don't they? I started with a white base of Natural Collection White, then freehanded in the sweetheart shape with the (very pliable) Leighton Denny brush. I then added some BundleMonster Blue, Rhinestone Hearts, and a coat of Seche Vite:

This has become my favourite pastel pink, it's beautiful in two coats, high-gloss and a really rich shade of pastel pink/rose. Here's a comparison with a few other pastel pink shades that I own:

Remember, you can click to enlarge!

As you can see, Babydoll is slightly more red-toned and deeper than the others I won. It's lovely! Also, ten points to whoever can guess which of my nails is a falsie hahaha - damn these breakages!

This is what also arrived in this month's Glossy Box. They usually have a variety of different products and it's a lucky dip which ones you get, but this month all boxes are virtually the same as it's a celebratory box for their 6 month anniversary:

• Dermalogica Age Smart Multi-vitamin Thermofoliant
• Dermalogica Age Smart Multi-vitamin Power Recover Masque
• Leighton Denny Expert Nails Colour and Care
• Stila Smudge Stick Eyeliner in Moray 
• 3 Robert Piguet perfume samples
• Dermalogica Age Smart Lip renewal Complex
• Dermalogica Beauty Bag

All in all, it's a very good box for me. I don't feel put off by the anti-aging products because I don't 'need' them, as an intense moisturiser is always good in my books! The lip gel is very small, but absolutely lush, it smells really nice and I'll definitely be using this at night time, while the winter cold creeps in on us Brits. The Stila Eyeliner deserves a post of it's own as it is really lovely and I have a lot of positive things to say - so I'll do a makeup look with it next week! Yay! I tried the Face Mask today and it really is lovely. It is a cream and doesn't dry tight on the face, leaving it soft and smooth! I have yet to try the exfoliator, but I reckon it will be just as good.

The only downside to this box is that I HATE perfume samples. I never, ever, like how they smell (even though I know it's just me being very scent-fussy). These parfums are really floral, and not up my street at all. You can't even re-use them as stocking fillers, because that would be naff - who wants tiny vials of flowery old lady perfume from Santa? Exactly. Not me. Nor from Glossy Box. I'm sure plenty of people out there would love them though.

NOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN THIS MONTH'S BOX?!?!

YOU DO?!

THEN IT'S YOUR LUCKY DAY! (If you live in the UK - I can't accept international entries this time, ladies, I'm so sorry!)

*EDIT - COMPETITION NOW CLOSED!*

Glossy Box have kindly provided me with an extra box, and being the wonderful, loving, giving person that I am, I'm giving it away to one UK-based winner! All you have to do IS:

•  Make sure you live in the UK
• Make sure you are a follower on GFC or Bloglovin'
• Leave a comment below with your email address - feel free to write it in some sort of MI5 code so the spam-bots don't get it, just make sure I can understand e.g JaneDoe(at)gmail(dot com)

I will leave the competition open for 1 week, ending on the 26th OF OCTOBER - That is next Wednesday! I will pick the winner via a random number generator. Good Luck Glossy Girls!

*EDIT - COMPETITION NOW CLOSED!*
xxxx