Shellac Manicures....Worth the Hype?

So, I've had two shellac manicures to date but for some odd reason I have never blogged about either. Shellac manicures specifically are widely raved about, especially with regards to the longevity of the polish. I personally found varying results between my two manicures and I had both done by the same lovely lady. The abuse my nails receive is pretty average I'd say? I don't exactly do any extreme things that would cause damage to my nails or hands, occasionally I'll be really rebellious and wash up without gloves.

 

So the picture above is around 3 days after I'd been shellaced. As you can see my nails look really nice and glossy and this is probably my favourite aspect of shellac. Standard nail polish is pretty dull in comparison, especially towards the time it starts to chip etc unless you have Seche Vite applied as a top coat, in which case you will have fabulously glossy nails that will probably peel off in a couple of days; just my experience with Seche Vite or does this annoy anyone else as well? Anywho, back to my lovely shellaced nails...around a week after this photo so almost 2 weeks after I'd had them done, a little chip surfaced which you can see below.

Aside from the chip, these frenchies ended up lasting 3-4 weeks so essentially that lives up to the claim that shellac lasts 3 weeks. When I had just one colour shellac, these also lasted around 3 weeks but they also chipped and some started to peel after just a week. 

Overall, if your careful with your nails I'm pretty sure you will get 3 weeks out of them but judging from my experience, you will also possibly experience some slight chipping before the 3 weeks is up. The glossy finish doesn't fade which I think is one great thing about shellac and my nails still looked freshly manicured (chips & regrowth aside) after 3 weeks. Also shellac is supposedly better for your nails than the likes of acrylic? I personally found that my nails were very weak after I'd had the shellac removed and every single one of my nails eventually broke because they'd become so weak.

To sum up in case you couldn't be bothered with me blabbering on ;)

Pros

Glossy Nails

Nail Polish Lasts Up to 3 Weeks

Your nails will grow considerably whilst you have the shellac polish as it kind of reinforces your nail

Cons

Weak nails after removal

May experience chipping or peeling before 3 weeks.

I really hope this has helped anyone considering having shellac done, I would recommend it to most people. If you already have weak or peeling nails, I'd suggest waiting until your nails are a bit stronger. In hindsight, I think I should maybe have looked after my nails more afterwards i.e. used some sort of nail oil? If you've any suggestions on how to care for your nails after shellac please feel free to post me a little tip below.

Letting the Creative Juices Loose....

I self taught myself to crochet when I was pregnant as I simply could not get to grips with knitting and found crochet much easier to learn. Honestly, it is something that comes and goes in my life; I'll have a fortnight of crochet madness, making everything from pretty headbands to funky cushion covers which then leads to a hiatus resulting in hoards of half finished projects . I'm not the quickest crocheter ever and my technique is far from amazing but I thought I'd share some of my recent crochet goings on, hopefully if it will encourage me to finish this blanket I've been making for bubba.

The pattern for these Popcorn Flower Granny Squares can be found here at Millie Makes' blog, I'm also reeeally tempted to try out her daisy granny square pattern which would look beautiful draped on the nursing chair in Elyse's room. Although, I promise to contain myself until the current blanket is done and dusted.

If your new to crochet and want to learn, Youtube is a fantastic learning tool as there are lots of good tutorial videos and free patterns. Likewise, Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for a huge variety of crochet projects, not to mention Etsy; home to masses of creatively minded people selling the most pretty patterns, catering for a range of skill levels. I also  recently picked up the Erika Knight Crochet Workshop book which you can purchase from Amazon for around £10, I won mine bidding on eBay for around £6 so if your a bargain hunter like moi try there. This is a brilliant book to learn from plus the photography is effortlessly gorgeous.

One thing I noticed when I was teaching myself was that crochet terms differ between the UK and USA. I don't want to start trying to explain the difference as I'm probably the least competent person to do so but if you are unsure, click here for a great explanation on the differences.

I really hope this post has been helpful to anyone interested in crochet and if you would like to see some more pretty crochet pictures, please look in my right sidebar where you will find a little Pinterest widget featuring my most recent pins. I'm still a newbie to the whole thing so if you have any interesting crochet related links/blogs/websites etc please do post me a comment in the box below!

NOTD: Nudey's with Gold Accents

My nail routine has been pretty low maintenence as of late so it was nice to change it up and get back that happy little feeling everytime I peer at my freshly polished fingers. My nails have seen better days thanks to my over enthusiasm at peeling numerous shellac manicures off, something I wouldn't recommend you try! 

 

For my "nudey" nails I used Basil Street by Nails Inc, which is seemingly taking over Models Own Nude Beige as my favourite nude polish. Although my inner lazy self despises the three coat application it requires. On my accent nails I used Look Nail Pop in Mink as a base coat and Models Own Champagne for the dotted accents. There isn't really any genius to the dots, I just concentrated on creating detail on the corners of my nail tips and alternated the size of the dots by using both ends of my dotting tool which is pictured below.

Dotting tools are really inexpensive if you purchase them from somewhere like eBay or alternatively you can use the end of a hairpin. I'm pretty much a novice with the old dotting tool but it's so inspiring to see such amazing nail art created by these little bargain beauty tools. If you want to share your dotty nail art feel free to post your link below, I'd love to have a nosey.

The High Street Edition No.2: SheLikes.com

I'm back with the 2nd installment of my High Street Edition series and today I've been perusing the pages of Shelikes.com. There were so many pieces that I would happily of added to my basket but I did manage to whittle it down to this select little group of wonders. I am quite the midi dress fiend so it was inevitable that I was going to be yearning for more than one as they have an abundance of gorgeous designs. Tie-dye is so on-trend at the moment but if I'm honest, I thought the high street would reproduce somewhat tackier styles. Our good old high street hasn't let us down though and there are so many gorgeous, affordable tie-dye pieces out there at the moment that it would be stupid not to have some tie-dye in your life.

What I Wore Today

Birds & Heart Print  Collar Dress - Apricot | Tan Leather Belt - H&M | Fur Coat - New Look | Filigree Ring - Primark | Paisley Bangle - Gift | Hammered Gold Necklace - New Look

So, I though I would share a wee outfit post as I've never posted anything of the kind before and I absolutely love having a nosey at other people's wardrobe. There are so many trends and styles that I adore at the moment and it's safe to say that my wardrobe is in urgent need of a spring revamp. For the moment though, I'm making the most of my past season items. Seeing as though there is still a distinct chill in the air, my trusty fur will no doubt be staying out of the vacuum pack bags for a few more weeks to come.

The High Street Edition No.1: Primark

Lazer Cut Peplum Top £10 |Limited Edition Macrame Waistcoat £14 | Crochet Vest Top £12 | Chunky Link Chain Necklace £4 | Aztec High Neck Midi Dress £10 | Tailored Boucle Short £12| Studded Fringe Duffle Bag £8 | Wide Stripe Prom Dress £20 | Belted Emerald Maxi £10 | Pleated Drop Hem Skirt £10 | Floral Digi Print Scuba Trouser £10 | Metal Trim Sandal £8

As I am quite the professional window shopper, I thought I'd try and make it a regular thing to share with you some of my fave things from the high street. Some of the items pictured were launched into stores during February and there are also items that should just be hitting stores now and a few that are due at the end of March. In other words, if you particularly like anything you've seen be sure to take a trip to Primark and have a ponder.

Happy shopping ;-)

February Favourites

Hey people, apologies for my lack of presence recently...I had no internet for a week and by the time I had access again, I'd kinda got used to going without and finally spent some time finishing up decorating around the house. Elyse's room is all done decorating wise and I couldn't be more pleased so I must remember to pop some photos up. Also, in case anyone may have noticed, I have merged my mummy and baby blog into this one as it started to make much better sense if I just throw in the odd related post here rather than having a whole other blog with a sparse amount of posts. If I have any parents reading, hopefully some of my baby/toddler posts will be useful reading to you in future :-)

I've been enjoying using up a variety of samples recently and getting to grips with skincare products that have become neglected in the "so, so" stash. All in all, I've had a bit of a topsy turvy month in terms of sticking to any products whether it be foundation, moisturiser, lipstick and perfume but it has been good to mix it up every other day and I've managed to collate a pretty good bundle of products that I've loved using the past month or so.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel
I like to use this on a day to day basis under my make-up, it isn't the best product I've tried in terms of controlling oiliness but I love how quickly it sinks in. It also feels really hydrating, even on my dry patches of skin.
Monu Recovery Balm
This was almost ready to be dumped in my unloved skincare box until a recent mishap led to me slathering this all over my face. After cleansing my face, parts of my skin became really inflamed to the point where my face felt like it was on fire. This really helped to calm the inflammation down and ever since then I've been whipping this out anytime my skin has flared up. I've also been using it at night as a preventative measure for instance if I've had a particularly make-up heavy day, I feel like this generally prevents my skin from going crazy and breaking out all over the show.
Estee Lauder DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Oil Free Creme
I've received this little Estee Lauder sample with a Debenhams order and was looking forward to trying this out considering I have loved their skincare in the past. I was not disappointed in the slightest when trying out this moisturiser, it smells amazing (unless you don't particularly like the smell of cucumber?!), it sinks into the skin beautifully and my face feels super soft. It's an oil-free cream and whilst my skin is in this combination phase, it seems to perform well in terms of keeping the oil at bay and feels very lightweight applied. 
Anew Clinical Eye Lift Pro Dual Eye System
My last post was a rather longwinded review about this because I absolutely adore it and would repurchase it time and time again. There's not much more I can add to it as I pretty much raved the behind out of it last month so check out my full review here if you'd like to get the full lowdown on what I think about this little budget beauty superhero in a pot!
Toni & Guy Heat Protection Mist 
I love the way the product is dispersed out of this, it is literally like a mist of heat protecting goodness. This has definitely helped prevent adding to my halo of singed hairs which popped up from the endlessly, blowdrying my curly hair straight and not protecting it with products...sorry boff. 
Michael Kors Very Hollywood Perfume
Definitely one of my more neglected perfumes so it's been nice to finally get some use out of it this. I honestly have never been madly keen on this but I've found myself having a bit of a moment with it last month and for that reason, I had to include it as perfume is something I wear pretty much everyday.

 
MUA Heaven & Earth Eyeshadow Pallette
I've never fully reviewed this but it was included in another favourites post, if you'd like to see swatches and all that shebang, go here July Favourites. I have been using this almost every made up day from January to the present and I don't think I would have the nerve to wear eyeshadow as much if it wasn't for this pallette. It's fool proof to blend, creamy to apply, super pigmented, gorgeous shades and it only costs four quid. Nothing more to say.
E.L.F. Studio Powder Brush
Such a fantastic multi purpose brush and I would highly recommend this to any budding, make-up ehthusiasts considering it is so inexpensive. I've used it to apply liquid foundation and also powder products, it works just as well with both. Definitely one of the better brushes from the E.L.F. range.

ELF Studio Blush
I would say this is very similar to the Rimmel Santa Rose blush in terms of the colour although it is slightly less pigmented when actually applied to my cheeks. I have enjoyed using this on days where I want a subtle glowy, peachy cheek.
"MAC" Pigment
This is actually a complete and utter fake MAC pigment, and whilst I do not condone using fake products, I have to admit that this has become a bit of a guilty pleasure. It's a really good quality pigment to be honest and I love the colour so I can't help but dabble with it now and again. Having had a quick search around, I'd say the colour is very similar to the MAC pigment Mauvement. The whole not knowing what could be in it though definitely puts me off using it too regularly so I am going to look around for something similar.
Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer
Luna
I reviewed this not long ago and my love for it is still going strong. A perfect colour for an daytime, neutral face use or layer it on to make your lips pop. If you want to see my review of it, take a look here.
MAC Cremesheen Lipstick
Shy Girl  
Another lip product I reviewed not long back and without a doubt, on my list of failproof, nude lip shades. Like many others, I absolutely love MAC lipsticks but I cannot bear to part with my pennies on a regular basis to buy more so I much prefer to stick to the safer nude-esque shades.  
  Sorry if I've blabbed on, but I do feel like I had to make up for my lack of January Favourites as there has been so many products I've been using and loving recently!

What were your favourite beauty products last month?