Rita Ora for Rimmel - Lose Your Lingerie nail polish review

Rita Ora for Rimmel: Lose Your Lingerie nail polish

I bought this nail polish a couple of weeks ago. I had heard that Rita Ora had done a collaboration with Rimmel and I really liked the look of this pale baby pink nail polish called Lose your Lingerie.

I have always found Rimmel nail polishes to be great products - they apply well, last on the nails and of course are very purse friendly! So I had no qualms about giving this one a go.

Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat

Let's be honest - I have two small children and frankly finding time to paint my nails is tough.

When I do manage it, inevitably something needs doing before my nails have dried properly and sure enough the polish smears or chips. I started painting them before I went to bed, only to wake up with the imprint of the duvet cover in my polish. Frustrating!!

Then I read blogger's reviews about fast drying top coats. There was mention of one called Seche Vite (£9.95 for 14ml HERE). It sounded good, but expensive. But on the downside reviews also suggested it contained some undesirable chemicals and the bottle tended to go gloopy half way through. So I kept looking.

Then I came across Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat (£5.05 for 13.3ml HERE). I'd never used a Sally Hansen product before (well except maybe nail polish remover) but I knew it was brand that was just about nails. Reviews were good, it was half the price of Seche Vite so I thought I would give it a go.

The formula is an acrylic polymer which dries the nail polish in 30 seconds. It has a UV filter and keeps colours true with no yellowing or fading. The top coat also gives a really good shine and smooth glossy finish to your nails, which I love!

I'm no chemist so I don't know exactly how it works, but I recall reading somewhere that the formula soaks through the layers of polish and 'sets' them. It does what it claims and it is certainly impressive! You just apply your polish as normal and after your last coat wait 2 minutes and apply the Insta Dri Top Coat over the top.

It is a thick clear formula which applies well and seems to level out by itself giving a good coverage. It really does set the nail in 30 seconds so you don't end up with dents or finger prints if you accidentally touch something. I would say that whilst it sets the top layer quickly the underneath layers take longer to dry. Don't go expecting to do manual work after 30 seconds with no repercussions - you can still slide the polish off of your nail if you aren't careful.

Insta Dri has completey revolutionised my nail polish routine. Sadly it won't take care of my children for me whilst I pamper myself. But it means I can grab 10 minutes before I go to bed to paint my nails and not worry about imprinting the weave of my duvet into my nails. It also great for your toe nails - no more hours of cold winter feet waiting to put your socks back on, or sitting still so you don't scuff the polish as you rush around.

I'm on my second bottle and I will admit the first bottle did get quite gloopy about half way through so I had to abandon it and buy another. But at half the price of Seche Vite I really didn't mind.

If my time pressured nail painting sounds familiar or you are just impatient then Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat is the one for you! I've found it at Feelunique HERE a little cheaper than it is in Boots.

Have you tried Sally Hansen Insta Dri? How do you think it compares to Seche Vite? If you have any other tips for speedy nails then send them my way!!

Christmas Silver Glitter Nails

I really am all about Essie Set in Stones at the moment. The flecks of silver glitter are of different sizes and this creates an amazing splatter effect. Plus a real bonus is that it doesn't feel gritty on your nails.

L-R Essie Set in Stones & Essie For the Twill of It

Last week I created a Christmas Nails look by layering it over a red polish (see here). This week I was curious to see how many layers of glitter would be needed for a really opaque effect - just like a glitter bauble.

After a clear base coat I created a base layer using Essie For the Twill of It. This is a beautiful duochrome polish which changes with the light. It is a dark grey but with hints of blue, green and mauve - it reminds me of oil catching the light. It only took one coat to be fully opaque and the brush made application really easy as it was wide and slightly curved.

Over the top of Essie For the Twill of It I started to layer up the Set in Stones glitter. In the end I went for 4 coats until it was pretty dense. Finally I slapped on a coat of my trusty of Sally Hansen Insta-Dry to set it and I was done.

Close up of the glitter - 4 layers

I'm really pleased with the finished result it is exactly the silver bauble effect I was hoping for. Using a darker base coat really brings out the glitter. I may need a chisel to get it all off though.

What do you think? Any tips for the best way to remove glitter polish...?

Put to the test: Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover

 I was curious about this mystical pink pot as soon as I spotted it in Boots nestled at the bottom of the Bourjois display. A few visits later curiosity got the better of me and I took a closer look.

It is a nail polish remover which claims to remove your nail polish in just one second with minimum effort. Inside the pot is a sponge saturated with polish remover. You put you finger into the hole in the middle of the sponge and twist, and the combo of chemicals and friction should take the polish right off.

The sponge inside is saturated with remover

At £4.99 it is pretty pricey for a nail polish remover compared to my usual Sally Hansen remover at less than £2. So I was good and resisted for a while, but eventually caved in last week during one of the 3 for 2 offers in Boots.

I couldn't wait to put it to the test. As soon as I got it home I tested it on the polish I was wearing - and yes it was pretty impressive. Finger in, swipe each way and the polish was gone. But the real test is the dreaded glitter polish removal. Tedious previous efforts of scrubbing away at stubborn glitter with cotton wool make this the holy grail product - if it works...

In my recent Christmas Nails post I used a chunky glitter polish - now on day 5 it was starting to chip and look a bit shabby. So I thought I would set the Bourjois Magic Polish Remover to the test.

Top L-R: Before & after 1 swipe, Bottom L-R: After 2 swipes & 3 swipes

You can see from the rather grizzly looking pictures above that the Magic Nail Polish Remover did a pretty good job, apart from on the chunky glitter pieces. I treated each 'swipe' as a good wriggle around in each direction, but less challenging polish wouldn't need as much.

So in the end I had to cave in and go back to my old faithful Sally Hansen remover to get rid of the dregs. But I don't consider this a failure for the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover, it certainly did the bulk of the job. I do have a couple of doubts though - I don't know what happens to all of the gunk that comes off of your nails, and I wonder how long it will last before it dries out.

I will keep it for removing normal colour polish rather than texture or glitter. Plus it will be amazing for those quick fixes when you scuff a nail and need to remove and repaint, without risking soaking your other perfectly painted nails with remover - we've all done it.

Now if only they made one for toes so you can redo your toenails without taking your fingernail polish off in the process!

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover is available at Boots for £4.99 for 75ml.

Christmas Nails

There is something about the approach of Christmas that makes me want to smother my nails with glitter until they look like something suitable to decorate the tree. But I think there is no time for subtlety until New Year's Eve is just a memory.

Thankfully at this time of year the shops stock up on glittery supplies to fuel my fire. (In turn I also stock up on remover - glitter is hell to remove.)

This year the sparkle of choice has been Essie's Set in Stones. Described on their website as 'Disco Mirror Ball Chaos' what is not to love?

It is a clear varnish with silver glitter of different sizes, from small flecks to 1mm diameter hexagons.I like how your nails have the effect of tiny paint splats all over them. You can also layer it up to create a full on glitter bauble effect.

In its first outing I created the nude nail with sparkle tips - which other bloggers are hyping as the look of the season. To do this I used 3 layers of a sheer pink nude - Bourjois So Laque in the shade Rose Lounge. One coat of Essie Set in Stones on the top third of the nail. Then two minutes later a coat of the wonderful Sally Hanson Insta-Dry - touch dry in 30 seconds, a life saver for preventing scuffs and smears.

Despite the chunky glitter in the Essie Polish it still feels smooth to the touch, perhaps helped by the Insta-Dry topcoat. A real pet hate of mine is glitter polish that feels gritty or too textured.

For my second effort I was feeling bold, so this time I layered the glitter over the top of a bright red - Rimmel Double Decker Red. (I have 3 bottles of this polish now thanks to an enticing Rimmel 3 for 2 currently running in Boots.)

It certainly is bold! Mind you it's the kids' Christmas Fair tonight, so it could shock a few of the more conservative mums - or if I bottle it I can pretend it is Christmas fancy dress...