Black Friday at Cosmetify (AD)

AD       It's almost time for Black Friday, and this year you can grab some bargains at Cosmetify, the comparison website for leading beauty products.  Cosmetify compares prices from multiple retailers and automatically selects the cheapest, saving you time and money. Not only do they help you get bargains year round, this Black Friday you can grab your must-have products with savings of 34% off the RRP. 

Cosmetify also allows users to sign up for alerts on products to find out when they go on sale or come back in stock.  PLUS they're transparent about retailer delivery options, costs and timings to avoid

any nasty surprises at checkout.

Not yet convinced? I've showcased some of my favourite products to show you what you could get your hands on this Black Friday.

Pink Gellac Starter Kit Review

Hey everyone! I've made no secret of the fact that I really love gels, I find them really interesting to work with after years of working with polish (that's not to say that I still don't love polish), and whenever I'm approached with the chance to use them I jump at it. So when Pink Gellac reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try their LED M Starter Kit* and their latest Uncovered collection*, I was super excited to receive them. This isn't my first experience with starter kits, I did a full comparison of a number of brands here when I first started using gels, but it was interesting to try it out now I know a bit more about gels. My full review is after the jump, I'm going to lay it out as I did my previous comparisons so that you can compare them against each other.

Barry M - Coconut Infusion Full Collection review + swatches

Hey everyone! Today I have the brand new Barry M - Coconut Infusion Collection* to show you. These have just been released, and contain a completely new formula to regular Barry M nail polish. As described by Barry M their 'unique blend of coconut water and coconut oil gently hydrates and nourishes nails while delivering a beautifully smooth, gel-like glossy manicure'. How many times have we heard these claims? I certainly thought these would just be another 'fad' nail polish. I really couldn't have been more wrong. I'm not exaggerating when I say these are the best formula of nail polish I've ever experienced. Barry M have completely outdone themselves, baring in mind that their gelly polishes were already some of my favourites, if not my favourite. The application of all of these polishes was silky smooth, two coats for every polish and they dry really fast. As in, faster than the speedy dry polishes. I would describe these as a combination of the gelly polishes and the speedy polishes with all the best qualities. I can't attest for the hydrating qualities, I'm not really sure how you'd test that, but they definitely deliver a 'smooth, gel-like glossy manicure'. 

One thing I did notice about the collection is that quite a few of the polishes are largely similar to other Barry M polishes, I imagine this was so that favourite colours could be reinvented with this new formula, but I wanted to compare and contrast them with their similar counterparts so you can see what to expect. So with each colour is an individual comparison of similar shades. As a warning this will be a super long post, but it's definitely worth the read as this collection should be top of your wishlist.

Barry M Spring/Summer 2016 Gelly Collection Swatches and Review + Comparison

Hey everyone! I'm super proud of myself for how productive I was on Saturday (for those of you who don't know it's my only nail day), I got tonnes done. Mainly all in the last couple of hours of the day but still. I'm quite a slow swatcher, so the most I've ever done in one day is around 12 polishes I think, although that's largely because I do nail art in between. However, this week I managed 3 nail art looks and I swatched both new Barry M collections in the space of a few hours. I didn't want to end up like I have previously and just leave my review sitting in my 'to edit' folder for months, so I've forced myself to get them edited tonight, and get the post out. 

This year's Barry M Spring Gelly collection* made me think that they hadn't been particularly imaginative. Both the nude shades seemed very similar to previous shades such as Lychee and Coconut. However, I was still excited to give them a try as they never disappoint, and I was right. In fact, I think Cream Soda* is actually a really unique off-white shade. I've done a comparison of the four nude/off-white polishes at the bottom of this post for you to see that there is actually quite a lot of difference in the shades. I think the collection work really well together, and they also fit well with the spring speedy dry polishes too. I think you'll definitely be seeing these in some nail art soon.

Gel Series, Part 3: Removing Gel Manicures

Hey everyone! Part 3 of the gel series was supposed to be 'applying and removing gel manicures' with a video tutorial for the application but unfortunately I still cant get my iMovie working so I'll put the video up as a part 4 whenever I can fix it, however long that might take! You can see part 1 here, and part 2 here. Part 3 is the removal of gels, and I know that for some this can be the most daunting part of gel manicures. I often hear people saying that they don't want gels doing as they will damage their nails. Gels SHOULDN'T ruin your nails, unless they are applied and/or removed badly.  Today I'm going to compare two gel removal kits, and also talk about what to do when removing gels to prevent damage.

Gel Series, Part 1: Comparing Starter Kits

Hey everyone! Today I'm starting a brand new 3 part series on gel nails. I should be posting today, tomorrow and Saturday night, but I wont make any promises because we all know how great I am at time keeping! If not everything will be up by Sunday. My first part in the series is a comparison of three gel polish starter kits. I've got the Gelish Pro 5-45 Kit*, the Elegant Touch Lux Gel Starter Kit*, and the Red Carpet Manicure Gel Polish Pro Kit*. I'd like to point out before I start that I am not qualified to do gel nails (although I am hopefully going to be soon!) and these are purely my perspectives as a consumer, and of course as a blogger. Gelish is a more salon-based brand, but both Elegant Touch and Red Carpet Manicure are for home use, and I think it's useful to compare the three to see their pros and cons. 

Which is best? Comparing Cuticle Treatments

Hey everyone! Today I have another 'Which is best?' post for you, this time on cuticle care. Sorry this is a day late but I didn't get home until nearly midnight last night and I just wasn't up to posting. I will be comparing Beauty Secrets Cuticle Oil, OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil, Burts Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, Jessica Nourish Cuticle Formula*, and LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

Comparison No. 1 - Smell: 

(1 being strongest 10 being the least)

1. OPI Avoplex - 8/10 smells really nice and not that strong
2. Beauty Secrets - 8/10 smells quite nutty, but faint and it's really nice
3. Burts Bees - 6/10 Lemony, but more pure lemon than lemony flutter and not quite as strong
4. Lemony Flutter - 5/10 Strong and lemony (obviously) but it's really nice
5. Jessica - 2/10 strong and 'grannyish' (only way to describe it) very perfumed

Comparison No. 2 - Greasiness:  

(1 being very greasy and 10 being not very) - Of course they're going to be greasy as they are there for moisture, but sometimes it's a bit too much

1. Burts Bees - 8/10 you don't need much and it's not too greasy, it doesn't leave a feeling of greasiness like lemony flutter/Jessica do
2. OPI Avoplex - 6/10 very greasy because it's an oil but it sinks in very quickly
3. Jessica - 4/10 probably as greasy as lemony flutter if you use too much, but a little goes a long way so it's not as greasy if you use barely any
4. Lemony Flutter - 2/10 very greasy because of how soft it is, even if you just use a little bit
5. Beauty Secrets - 1/10 as it's an oil its very very greasy, and you do have to wipe it with a tissue

Comparison No. 3 - Does it work:

• Lemony Flutter - Yep, and whilst the grease does put me off as I can't do things whilst it's on, it's definitely worth having
• Jessica - Yep, after about a weeks use you will definitely notice a difference, and a little goes a long way
• OPI Avoplex - Yes, it soaks in to the skin and really moisturises as a result
• Beauty Secrets - Not really, it's just permanently greasy until you wash it off and I really wish I'd never bought it
• Burts Bees - Yep, there's a reason that it's a favourite of the bloggers!

Overall thoughts

1. OPI Avoplex - works well and is easy to apply, and doesn't smell too strong
2. Jessica - it works and a little definitely goes a long way so the size of the tube should definitely not bother you, although the smell is a bit offputting for me
3. Burts Bees - As I said before, there's definitely a reason that this is a favourite with bloggers, I haven't been using it enough to see whether it truly works for me, but I used to use it a lot during my high school years and I love it then, the smell isn't too strong and it isn't too greasy
4. Lemony Flutter - I love it when I'm not in a rush, it's great to apply before bed, but I find it's not very practical if I'm just about to type a blogpost for example as it stays quite greasy for a while, but it definitely works
5. Beauty Secrets - I dont like it and I wish I hadn't bought it, the only nice thing about it is the smell but it's way too greasy for me

Of course, different things work for different people, so I'd love to know what your favourite is. Let me know in the comments!

Alice

*some of the products in this post were provided to me for review but my opinions are entirely my own and were not influenced in any way

Which is best? Comparing Base Coats

Hey everyone! Today I'm back with another 'which is best?' post, this time on base coats. I will be comparing Orly - Bonder, Zoya - Get Even*, Barbara Daly - Goodbye Yellow, OPI - Matte Nail Envy, and Dior - Long Lasting Base Coat. I've had a few comments asking why I chose the things I chose to compare, it was either because they were there, because they were provided for review or because they're what I love to use. Before I start I just want to say that I only use one coat of base coat, and this is what these comparisons are based off, I read somewhere the other day that sometimes people use up to 4 coats and I don't know what is the usual amount but I always just use the one. 

Comparison No. 1 - Smoothness: 

1. OPI - 10/10, may just be because it's matte but definitely feels smoothest
2. Dior - 9/10, smooth and shiny 
3. Orly - 8/10, feels quite sticky (in order to bond). but definitely dry and smooth
4. Barbara Daly - 8/10, smooth but picks up any bumps in the nail (although 2 coats of it sorts this out)
5. Zoya - 3/10 doesn't really do what it claims to do, feels very sandy. My little finger was the least smooth nail and continued to feel that way

Comparison No. 2 - Drying Speed:

They all dried at pretty much the exact same speed so there's not much comparison there

Comparison No. 3 - Does it do what it says?

1. OPI - 10/10 yep definitely, my nails were very brittle from years of biting and this did wonders for my nails, they're now really strong
2. Orly - 10/10, definitely good at 'bonding', it's impossible to peel designs off when using this (something I have a bad habit of doing) and it definitely doesn't chip, I love this base coat just as much as OPI - Nail Envy, which is saying something
3. Dior - 9/10, just claims to be a base coat so it definitely is that, it's also long-lasting which it claims to be, although not as much as the Orly
4. Barbara Daly - 8/10 - i've never used it for a prolonged period of time so I don't know if it does end up whitening the nail, but it does give the immediate appearance of white nails when it's on, so as a base coat it would be good for negative space nails if you usually have quite white nails
5. Zoya - 2/10 nope, doesn't even out, in fact makes it more bumpy if anything (quite a rough texture)

Comparison No. 4 - Overall thoughts:

1. OPI - 10/10 lasts forever, I've been using this for over a year about 60% of the time and it's barely made a dint in it as you can see. It's also a brilliant base coat and does what it says
2. Orly - 10/10 great base coat, does what it says, dries quickly and is very smooth, also seems to last forever, it may look unused but i've used this a good 20-30 times
3. Barbara Daly - 8/10, never had any problems with it but haven't used it for long enough to determine whether it permanently makes the nails white, definitely does a good job at making them appear so
4. Dior - 9/10 does what it says and dries quick and very smooth, if it wasn't for the price I'm sure this would be an incredibly popular base coat 
5. Zoya - 2/10 dries white so wouldn't be good for a base for negative space nails, dries quick, but aside from that isn't really that great, doesn't do what it says and is quite annoying to use (pretty thick)

Which is best? Comparing Hand Creams

Hey everyone! Today I'm back with part 2 of my new 'which is best?' series. Thank you all for the amazing response to last week's post, I didn't expect it to be quite so successful! I hope you will be equally as happy with this weeks comparison of hand creams. I will be comparing Crabtree and Evelyn Jojoba Oil Moisturising Hand and Cuticle Cream*, Avon Care Glycerine Hand and Nail Rich Moisture Hand Cream, Neutrogena Unscented Concentrated Hand Cream, Clinique Deep Comfort Hand and Nail Cream*, Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream*

Many of you may be wondering why I chose to do a hand cream comparison post, but it must be remembered that hand and nail care are at least 50% of having a good blog, and hand creams are a must

Before I start I just wanted to announce that the giveaway winner Brady was chosen and was contacted, I didn't announce it publicly because I didn't feel the need to but I've had quite a few emails asking me about it, so there you go! Please dont feel disheartened as I'm sure that there are plenty more giveaways to come, and I hope you will all continue to enjoy my blog

Comparison No. 1: Drying/Absorbing Time (After 5 minutes)

1. Avon (9/10) - takes just a few minutes, if that, to absorb into your skin, and doesn't leave a greasy residue
2. Crabtree and Evelyn 9/10 - dries quickly, pretty much the same as the Avon one does
3. Neutrogena 8/10 - pretty quick at drying
4. Bliss 6/10 - takes quite a bit of time to dry (although not too long) but once it does it feels great
5. Clinque 4/10 - struggles to dry, which is really annoying because I tend to want to get on with something after using hand cream, like a lecture or doing my nails, and with this it's difficult

Comparison No. 2: Greasiness (After 5 minutes)

1. Avon 9/10 - nothing there except what can be expected
2. Crabtree and Evelyn 9/10 - not greasy after 5 minutes
3. Neutrogena 8/10 - still a bit of a residue after the same amount of time but not too greasy 
4. Bliss 6/10 - relatively greasy after 5 minutes
5. Clinique 4/10 - still really greasy after 5 minutes

Comparison No. 3: Smell

1. Neutrogena 10/10 no smell at all, just as it claims on the bottle
2. Avon 9/10 has a pretty neutral smell, like very very weak nappies 
3. Clinique 8/10 - very faint citrusy smell
4. Bliss - 7/10 - stronger smell but still not too bad
5. Crabtree and Evelyn - 2/10 Absolutely stinks, if I was to describe it I would describe it as 'granny-like', it's very perfumed and flowery, and as I tend to do quite a lot after using handcream, I prefer a more neutral smell (like the others)

Comparison No. 4: Does it do what it says?/Overall Feeling

• Bliss ("High Intensity hand cream") - Yes, this leaves my hands feeling the best out of all the hand creams once it dries. Avon was by far my favourite hand cream before I tried this but I think this has definitely overtaken, my hands just feel so much better after
• Avon ("Rich Moisture Hand Cream") - Yep, I use this as my go-to hand cream in my uni bag when my hands are feeling dry. It's absorbant and non-greasy and doesn't really leave a smell
• Crabtree and Evelyn ("Moisturising hand and nail cream")- Yep, this really is a brilliant product, it's just the smell that is off-putting, but if that doesn't bother you then I'd definitely recommend it.
• Neutrogena ("Instant relief of dry, chapped hands, just a dab needed") - Yep, or so I've found it to. But my mum used it before me and found it to be quite drying, so I guess it depends on your skin type. I also found that I needed more than just a 'dab'
• Clinique ("Deep Comfort Hand and Cuticle cream") - Yes and no, once it's dry my hands feel comforted, but whilst it's drying I feel pretty uncomfortable, but it is brilliant for my cuticles

What do you think? Do you own/want any of these products? Let me know in the comments! 

Alice

*some of the products in this post were provided to me for review, and some were bought with my own money, but all opinions are entirely my own

Which is best? Comparing Top Coats

Hey everyone! Today has been a great day for the UK, as Andy Murray became the first Brit to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Today is also great because I have the start of a new weekly series I'll be doing; comparing the things we nail girls need and love. Base coats, matte top coats, hand creams, cuticle care, and today's post; top coats. I will be comparing Seche Vite*, Dior Gel Coat*, INM Out The Door*, Guerlain Gel Topcoat*, and Essence Gel Look*. I'm going to mark them on shine, drying speed, if you can prod them (and not leave a mark) after 10 minutes, how much they smudge the design below on application and how well they last, I will give them a ranking of 1-5 and a score out of 10, and then I will give my overall view at the end. The rest of the post will be after the jump because it's going to be pretty long.