The Perfect Summer Coral: Nails Inc Kensington Passage Gel Effect Nail Polish

I'm a big fan of bright colours on my nails and cheery coral is my favourite. It somehow has the effect of looking like you've made a bit of effort without looking as try hard as bright red.

Nails Inc Gel Effect Nail Polish in Kensington Passage is the perfect coral for summer. It's a bright, bold go-with-anything shade that is supposed to mimic the effect of gel polish. I've always been impressed with how gel polish dries instantly and remains chip-free until you remove it. But it starts to look dodgy as soon as there's a significant amount of regrowth (after around 10 days) and I have neither the funds, time or inclination to be visiting a nail salon every couple of weeks to maintain it. Don't even get me started on the laborious removal process, which absolutely wrecks your nails.

So a polish that gives the same effect but can be used at home and taken off with standard nail varnish remover sounds like a good idea to me. 

I used a base coat on my finger nails which provided a smooth base under which to apply the colour and I was seriously impressed with the pigment and application. This is just one coat of colour, whereas normally I'd apply two to get this level of coverage. The end result is certainly glossy, but not quite as high-sheen as an actual gel polish. The colour lasted a good few days before it started to chip. This picture was taken four days in - as you can see, there are a few small chips, but I'm pretty impressed considering it's only one application with no top coat.

I didn't bother with a base coat on my toes, and things didn't fair quite so well. The application was a little streaky and I definitely needed two coats to get a decent coverage. The colour lasted well though, and four days in there are no chips and the colour is still looking glossy.

I love the colour of Kensington Passage and will be wearing it all summer long, but I'll definitely be applying a base coat underneath to get the best effect.

Nails Inc Kensington Passage Gel Effect Nail Polish is £15.00 and can be bought HERE

The Best Hair Mask You'll Ever Use (and four other ways with coconut oil)

It may be more commonly found in the kitchen cupboard than the bathroom cabinet, but invest in a tub of virgin coconut oil and your skin, hair and nails will only thank you. 

Solid in the tub, once warmed into your hands it melts into an unctuous, versatile oil that smells delicious. 

With no hidden nasties, preservatives, fragrances or chemicals, the best thing about it is that it’s completely natural.

I’ve had a tub of Coconoil Organic Virgin Coconut Oil on the go for months now and there's still plenty left – amazing value at just £10.45 for a huge 460g tub. 

Any coconut oil will do though, just make sure it's the virgin variety as that's when it's at its most pure. 

Here are my favourite ways to use it.

1. The best hair mask you’ll ever use 

If your hair is dry, coloured, over straightened or is just looking a bit lacklustre, I recommend giving a coconut oil mask a go. 

It has the ability to transform my dry, frizzy locks into shiny frizz-free curls in a way that no other product has ever been able to do. Its anti-bacterial qualities make it a good choice for people who suffer from scalp conditions, such as dandruff, too. 

I’m usually a fan of treatments that get to work instantly, but alas, there are no short-cuts here. You need to leave the oil on for at least an hour – longer if possible – to really feel the benefits. I tend to use it when I’m hibernating at home with no likelihood of encountering another human being. I’ll apply it in the morning, go about my daily business (i.e. binge-watching cooking programmes), then wash it off a few hours later. 

• Section off dry hair and apply the oil generously all over. I find it works better applying it in sections than in one go – especially if you have thick hair.
• Pay extra attention to the ends, as this tends to be where hair is most damaged.
• Remember to rub the oil it into your roots too, as it is great at nourishing the scalp. Don’t worry about it leaving your hair looking greasy, as it will be washed out later.
• Wrap hair in a warm towel or a shower cap and leave for at least an hour.
• Shampoo twice and condition as normal.

2. Facial cleanser

Coconut oil is an excellent deep cleanser which makes nifty work of removing even stubborn eye make-up. 

Simply massage about a teaspoon-full in well, then wipe away with a damp muslin or flannel. Repeat if you’ve been wearing a full face of make-up or sunscreen to ensure every last bit of grease, grime and dirt have been removed.

3. Post-hair-removal soother 

Whether you’re a Nair on the top-lip girl, a bikini-line shaver or a leg epilator, hair removal can leave skin sore and dry afterwards. 

Coconut oil is the best post-hair-removal soother I’ve used. It quickly imparts moisture back into the skin, calms any redness and quickly soothes itching or burning. I won’t ever be without it for this purpose alone.

4. Cuticle oil 

Man, my cuticles are in terrible condition. My nails aren’t much better. 

They’re just so damn dry all the time. I’ve made it my mission to remember to rub a little bit of coconut oil into the cuticles each evening. I've been doing it for about a month and they certainly feel more nourished and look less flakey. I just need to keep it up now.

5. Body moisturiser

Many body lotions use coconut oil as a base anyway. Apply this all-natural alternative straight from the tub for well moisturised limbs. 

It sinks in surprisingly quickly (just give it a few minutes before putting your clothes on) and leaves a lovely sheen to the skin. You will smell so good you may want to lick yourself afterwards though.

Buy Coconoil Virgin Coconut Oil

So there are my five ways with coconut oil that don't involve cooking. Is there anything I've missed?

Odd one out nails

I've been experimenting with nail varnish lately. Inept when it comes to nail art, picking out an alternate colour on the fourth finger of each hand requires zero skill but adds a bit of fun to an otherwise standard mani.

Nautical but nice

I'm quite the fan of navy and red attire with it's nautical French feel and figured it could work on nails too. I used trusty Max Factor here. Their polishes are great - they're easy to apply, last well and they have a wide range of colours. I chose Red Passion and Cobalt Blue.

Dark neutrals

Neutral nails are brilliant for their ability to work well with a range of outfits but they can sometimes feel a bit, well, beige. Enter black polish! I love it for it's ability to be both bold and go-with-everything. Combining black with a bit of grey sparkle on the fourth digit still feels sufficiently neutral, but with a bit of an added edge. I liked this look a lot. The varnishes I used here are Nails Inc New York Noir (a Glamour magazine freebie I recall), Barry M Grey and OPI Pirouette My Whistle.

The possibilities are endless here. Next up I plan to try clashing red and pink, then pastels. I also like the idea of mixing up matt and glossy textures. So much fingertip fun to be had! What do you reckon, is this a look you'll be trying out?

A Fast Dry Top Coat That Actually Works

Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat over two layers of Essie Mojito Madness

I love wearing nail varnish but for some reason, it never seems to dry properly on me. I tend to paint my nails of an evening, a couple of hours before I go to bed. Enough time for them to dry, surely? But no, nine times out of ten I'll go to bed with glossy talons and wake up with a smudged mess on my fingertips.

When you think about it, once you've factored in a base coat and a top coat, plus a couple of layers of colour, that's four layers of gloop that need to dry. Or perhaps it's just the way I sleep...

Anyway, I've tried lots of different 'quick dry' offerings from the likes of Revlon, Rimmel, Sally Hansen and Avon to try to resolve this, with varying success. Most of them improve the drying time, but none of them have actually eradicated the problem entirely. I just wake up with fewer smudges.

Does what it says on the bottle.

Enter Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat (£9.00). My nail varnish obsessed friend Zoe told me about it a while ago. Since then I've read lots of good reviews online, but the cynic in me thought it was going to just be another waste of not-so-quick-dry money. Wrong! This stuff is an absolute revelation.

The first time I tried Seche Vite I followed the instructions to apply a thick layer onto freshly polished nails. In this case, I used a base coat and two layers of the now discontinued Essie Mojito Madness (as shown in the top image) just one hour before I hit the hay. I was sceptical when they didn't dry immediately as promised in the blurb, but the next morning I awoke to gorgeously glossy emerald green nails with not a dint nor a smudge in sight. They remained chip free for four days.

Next up I used Rimmel Salon Pro Nail Polish in Oh, Mr Darcy! (4.49) a mere forty minutes before bed and again, they looked as good in the morning as they had the night before. This time they lasted for a full week before chipping, which is pretty much a record for me. I've tried Seche Vite a few other times since and it's yet to fail me.

In summary, Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat is a product that does what it promises to do exceptionally well (if only we could say the same of all beauty products). As well as massively shortening the drying time of pretty much any polish, it delivers a long-lasting, high gloss sheen and increases wear time. I couldn't ask for more. I've not done scores on The Beauty Scriptures before, but if I did, this product would get the full five out of five.

Have you tried Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat? Some reviews I've read have said it reduces wear time of their nail polish but I've found it to have the opposite effect. I'd love to know your thoughts.

x

Sparkly Chic (And How Not To Buy Gifts)

L-R: Nicole By OPI Kardashian Color Disco Dolls, Pirouette My Whistle, Number One Nemsis

What with the festive season being the perfect time to sport a bit of sparkle, I recently ordered some OPI nail varnishes as gifts from online discount store, The Cosmetic House. 

Upon receiving them in the post, I lasted all of three minutes before bagsying them for myself. They are AMAZING. Sparkly, but expensive looking sparkly. Easy to apply, even with my rubbish skills and just two coats disguised my ridged, flaky talons. I immediately ordered two more colours - the questions is, will Warm and Fozzie, a gorgeous rusty brown and Rainbow in the SKylie, a chunky multi-coloured glitter top-coat, make it into the stockings they are intended for? Willpower Mojtio, willpower. 

Number One Nemesis and Pirouette My Whistle

This picture doesn't do Number One Nemesis justice. An almost impossible to describe silvery-goldy-mossy-neutral - I love it. My ring finger has one coat of Pirouette My Whistle on top for an extra dose of silvery sparkle.

Disco Dolls

Disco Dolls from the Kardashian range is a gorgeous warm gold. If glitter can ever be chic, this subtly sparkly number is it. Four days in, it remains chip-free. 

Normally retailing at around the £8 to £10 mark, I picked these shades up for between £4.99 and £5.99 from The Cosmetic House. The colour examples on the site aren't great (just a shot of the bottle) but a quick Google image search brings up lots of real life examples. Oh, and sign up to their mailing list for one-off deals and discount codes - I received an extra 15% off this order as a result.

Miss Mojito

x