How to get Healthy, Strong Nails

Hey there everyone, before I get started I just want to say a big thank you to the lovely Jessica for inviting me to guest post on her blog. It’s been an awfully long time since I’ve guest posted, so this is a fun break in routine! If you would like to know How to get Healthy, Strong Nails - keep on reading!

Maybe I should start with a little bit of background as to who I am, and why you should even consider taking nail care tips from me. Well firstly I can tell you that I’m not a qualified nail tech, I’d love to be, but I know that along with doing people’s fingernails, you also have to look after people’s toenails...and well, I just don’t think I could do it. Toes creep me out. It’s no secret!

I used to be an acrylic nail wearer, then moving on with the times started wearing Shellac. Both of which didn’t do my natural nails any good, but I was far too impatient to wait for them to grow, and also I was a nail-biter. I know, I know, gross right?! Wearing an armour of acrylic or Shellac stopped me from being able to chomp on the nubs.

Moving into our own home and having a mortgage to consider, I knew I had to make some sacrifices, priorities and the joys of becoming an adult haha! So the trips to the nail salon stopped, and my interest in looking after my natural nails grew. This was about 3 years ago now. Over these 3 years, I have perfected my nail care routine, I know what works and what doesn’t work and I’d love to share some of my top tips with you today. I must be doing something right as I have had the absolute pleasure of working with some of the best nail brands such as Leighton Denny, Nails Inc and Barry M since starting up my very own blog - Polished by Leanne

But that’s enough about me, let’s get into this post already...

6 Top Tips for Perfect Nails

1) Use a cuticle oil 

You don’t have to spend a lot, and it doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but using a cuticle oil will really help the condition of your nails, cuticles, and surrounding skin. There is a huge variety of different oils, some with fun and funky scents, there’s no excuse to not be using one! I can recommend 3 that I love to use, Leighton Denny’s Slick Tips, Cienna Rose’s Elixir, and if you’re on a budget, pop onto Amazon and pick up a bottle of Pure Vitamin E and a bottle of Jojoba Oil - mix them together in a bottle or nail pen (can also be found on Amazon) to create the perfect cuticle and nail oil.

2) Swap out your emery board for a crystal nail file

It is well worth investing in a crystal nail file. It will last you for years on end, a simple rinse under the tap when you feel like it needs a clean and it’s as good as new. Unlike regular emery boards (I actually shudder at the thought of them now!), a crystal nail file will allow you to file backwards and forwards without the fear of tearing or damaging your nail tips. This means you can get a nice clean shape in the easiest and healthiest way.

3) Avoid cutting your cuticles 

I know a lot of nail salons will do this, but honestly people, cutting your cuticles is a big no-no. There are so many great alternatives out there, nail and cuticle scrubs, cuticle dissolvers, you could even take a rubber orange stick and push them gently back after applying your cuticle oil. Remember - healthy cuticles lead to healthy nails. Just saying!

4) Try to keep your hands out of water for long periods of time 

Long soaks in the bath, washing up, anything that requires your nails to be submerged under water for a lengthy amount of time will weaken them. I love a long, hot relaxing bath, but I’m always conscious of keeping the nails above water. I also make the husband do the dishes - I don’t ask much of him I promise - he agrees that it’s a fair deal!

5) Keep your nails polished 

It is not often you will catch me without nail polish on. It helps to protect the nail, so pop on a base coat, two coats of your chosen colour, and finish off with a top coat and cuticle oil. Good to go! If you feel like your nails are feeling a little weak, using a glitter polish helps to fortify and prevent breaking.

6) Avoid Acetone 

Admittedly as a nail blogger/ swatcher, a life without acetone just wouldn’t work for me, it makes life far too easy. But I always remember to put the moisture back into my nails and hands after using it, as it completely saps them dry. If you switch to non-acetone polish removers your nails and skin will thank you for it.

So there we are, I could go on and on but I don’t think you’d thank me for it! I feel like introducing these 6 small changes to your routine will do your overall nail health the world of good.

I hope that this post has been helpful to you, even if you’ve only picked up a couple of new tips. If you’d like to see more of what I get up to with both nails and beauty, please come and find me on Instagram: @polishedbyleanne, Facebook: polishedbyleanne, and of course the blog polishedbyleanne.com

Thank you so much for reading, have a wonderful day/night/week! Love, Leanne Xx

The post How to get Healthy, Strong Nails appeared first on Jessabella - Nails Blogger.

source https://www.jessabellanails.com/how-to-get-healthy-strong-nails/

Pink Gellac Reviews: Starter Kit

Hey, Bella’s, do you know that feeling when Christmas is nearby, and you can’t wait to open all your presents? Well, Christmas came early for me. I received a free gel polish starter kit in the mail from a brand called Pink Gellac. If you’re a nail blogger and on a tight budget like me, you would know that drilling feeling of opening a big box with free nail products to try out.

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So who is Pink Gellac?

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If you have been reading my posts, you would know that I am based in the UK. And I’ve never heard of a nail brand called Pink Gellac, honestly, it reminds me of Gellux, which their packaging looks similar. Before playing around with their products, I did some digging on the internet. I noticed that they are trendy in some parts of Europe like the Netherlands, Spain and a few other countries and they just launched their products in the UK which reveals why it's new to me.

Pink Gellac products are for anyone who wants to skip the salon and paint their nails at home.  Yes, you don't need to be a professional nail artist to purchase these products. But I think you need to have some basic knowledge on how their nail products work to prevent damaging your nails and to make your manicure gel polish last for two weeks.

If you purchase these products. please be thorough when reading the instructions manual that comes with the starter kit. Ideally, if you visit their website, you’ll have access to their free online courses on how to use their products. If you want more information on what gel polishes are, click here.

(Before diving into the reviewing part, I want to say, I’m entirely honest when it comes to reviewing any nail product and that these are my honest opinions.)

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What is in the Pink Gellac starter kit?

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• UV/LED Lamp
• 4 Gel Polish Colors
• Basecoat
• Top Coat
• Primer
• File
• Orange stick
• Gel Removal pads

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Pink Gellac Reviews & Swatches 

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Let’s start with the Gel Polish swatches; I also received their little LED/UV lamp which comes in handy for travelling. If you want to know what an LED/UV Lamp is, and what it is used for, click here.

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Gel Polish: Pink Gellac 182 Dynamic Red

 

This has a bright, warm red shade to it, and it’s perfect for Valentine's, going on a date, or if you’re feeling a bit sassy, ha-ha. When it came to the application part, the first layer had full coverage, and it was surprisingly pigmented. Unlike the Bluesky’s pastel collection colors. It’s mysterious that the gel wasn’t too thick or too thin (watery).

Interesting enough, it was simple to apply, and I didn't need to move too much of the product with the brush to cover the entire nail plate, and guess what?! No freakin’ SHRINKING!!!

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Gel Polish: Pink Gellac 166 Vintage Nude

This is my favourite shade out of the four gel polish colours. I dig natural light colours; I guess it just matches with my skin complexion plus my wardrobe doesn't have a variety of different colours.  You can never go wrong with nude shades anyway; it goes with any style, any outfits and any occasion, win-win right! It is a beautiful colour; it has a bit of pink in it but still has the nude side.

Undeniably, this shade is lighter than the others colours. The first coat wasn’t so pigmented which is expected, but after applying the 2nd coat, Wow! It gave it full coverage.  I find light shades a bit tricky to work with since you must be cautious of how much product you apply on the nails as there will be parts that will have some bare patches. I guess that's why for each coat you apply thinly, making sure it's not uneven. I was okay with using this color, it just needed two coats of colour, and again, this colour did not shrink after curing it under the lamp.

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Gel Polish: Pink Gellac 182 Dynamic Pink

Its dynamic alright ha-ha, this colour reminds me of sweet candy like m&m's, Yum! This shade is very bright, one coat of this colour = full coverage. It applied like a dream.  

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Gel Polish: Pink Gellac 120 Beautiful Black

This beautiful black wasn’t the same in coverage as the other colours though, I applied the first coat, and I could see through my nail plate like it looked transparency in a way but after the 2nd coat, it had that full coverage.

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Pink Gellac UV/LED Lamp Reviews

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Moving to their UV/LED Lamp, it’s a bit tiny and perfect for travelling but there are a few things I disliked about it, and this is just me being straight. Only 4 of my fingers could fit in the lamp, so I had to cure my thumb last. Yes, it’s cute, tiny, and light and it does its job, but I prefer that the lamp was a bit wider so that all 5 of my fingers would fit and cure all my nails at once.

Additionally, there’s no timer on it which is a bit frustrating, I had to use my phone as a timer, but what I found out was when you hear a beeping sound it means 30 secs, and once the light switches off, it means 60 secs. I think it would have been useful if came with a timer on it.

Two things really annoyed me; the first thing was the loud, weird beeping sound. It gave me a bit of a scare a few times, and it sounds like those life machines they have in the hospital, and the 2nd thing was the fact that I couldn’t stop the Lamplight without switching it off completely.

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I really like their gel polish just like they described it on their website. If I were to compare Pink Gellac with gel II though, I would definitely choose Pink Gellac. Gel II is tricky to work with in my experience.  The UV/LED lamp, It’s a thumbs down for me. If it were up to me, I would have a timer installed, and make it a bit wider, so all five fingers can cure at the same time. Also, a softer and better beeping tone would have been better.

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Hope my beautiful readers enjoyed my review and swatch of the Pink Gellac gel polish starter kit. If you want to purchase any of their products including their starter kit, click here, they have a variety of colours to choose, and the price range is not to bad.

Thanks for reading Bella's!

The post Pink Gellac Reviews: Starter Kit appeared first on Jessabella - Nails Blogger.

source https://www.jessabellanails.com/pink-gellac-reviews/

Step-by-Step 3D Gel Nail Roses using 4D Gels by Missu Beauty

Hey, Bella’s, Welcome to another blog post, today is all about this beautiful step-by-step 3D gel nail roses I created, using 4D Gels by Miss Beauty and some gel polishes.

I was so lucky to have received some products from them to try out as I’ve seen such great reviews. This post, I will be going through with you of a step-by-step on how I did the background of these nails and if you want to know how I did the 3D Roses using the 4D gels by Missu Beauty, click here.

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1. Prep & base the nails

So, before you get into any gel products, you need to remove the shine and oils off the nail. Otherwise, the product won’t adhere to the surface of the nails, use a buffer or a 240grit file to do this. Make sure you don’t leave any shiny patches because this will cause your product to lift.

Cleanse the nails with a cleanser or alcohol.

 Apply a gel polish base coat of your choice on all the nails.

Cure for 60secs under a LED Lamp.

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2. Red Glitter Nails

For the red glitter, I used a black gel polish as my base colour.
Apply one coat of black gel polish (you can use any brand, whatever product you feel comfortable using).

Cure for 60secs.

Apply a 2nd coat of black gel polish.

Cure for 60secs.

Apply a base coat (I applied a base coat because I found that glitter sticks better than the top coat).

Cure for 30secs.

With a buffing eyeshadow brush, pat the glitter on the entire surface of the whole nail.

Cure for 30secs.

Apply a glossy gel with a gel brush, (I prefer a gel brush, then the brush that comes with the gel bottle, because glitter will stick on the brush and you have to put it back in the bottle, and the next time you use the gel top coat there's glitter stuck on the brush).

Cover the entire nail with gel. Double check you covered everything, look at different angles.

Cure for 60secs.

With a 240grit file, file the entire surface of the nail.

Grab a buffer, and smooth out the entire surface of the nail, make sure no bumps or glitter sticking out.

Cleanse the nail.

Apply a top coat, I used Missu beauty glossy top coat, and wow! Look at that glossy finish.

Cure for 60secs.

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3. Red Gel Polish Nails

Apply a Red gel polish to the entire nail.

Cure for 60secs.

Apply a 2nd coat of the red gel polish.

Cure for 60secs.

Apply Missu Beauty gel polish top coat.

Cure for 60secs.

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4. White and Black Chess Design

So, this part is a bit tricky, but if you use the right brush, its easy peasy to draw the lines, I recommend to use a long striping nail art brush.

Apply a white gel polish.

Cure for 60secs.

Apply a second coat.

Cure for 60secs.

I first started with horizontal lines. I drew the first line in the middle, and did the rest, making sure there's a bit of space between each line.
Cure for 60secs.

Next, I drew vertical lines; again I started in the middle and one line on the left and one line on the right.

Cure for 60secs.

Filled in the empty blocks with the black gel polish.

To not confuse myself, I started with the first line and coloured in the 2nd block and the 4th block.

So, basically what you want to do is fill one block, blank, fill, blank.

Finish with Missu Beauty top Coat.

Cure for 60 Secs.

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5. 3D Gel Nail Rose

Click here to find out how to do the 3d Gel Nail Rose with Missu Beauty 4d Gels.

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6. Silver Nail Beads

To apply the beads, I first used a bit of gel and added in the corners of the petals.

With an old brush, I picked the beads up and placed it where I applied the gel.
Cured for 60secs.

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7. Glossy top coat Missu Beauty

I used Missu Beauty Glossy topcoat, and applied to the negative spaces, avoiding touching the 3D Roses.
Cure for 60secs.

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I enjoyed creating this beautiful set, I was going for a chess game look, but my friend said it reminds her of the Spanish culture because of the red roses. I found a picture on Pinterest, with a set of nails of a chess board with roses and I created something completely different. Haha, well, it's okay I can't copy.

So, this is my first time using the Missu Beauty products, I really enjoyed playing around with their 4D gels, and at the moment, I love their glossy top coat, Totally recommend trying it out. Let me know what you thought of this step-by-step, and if you re-create this set, post on Instagram with the #jessabellanails, I would love to see your recreations.

If you interested in purchasing any of Missu Beauty’s products click here.

Chow Bella's!

The post Step-by-Step 3D Gel Nail Roses using 4D Gels by Missu Beauty appeared first on Jessabella - Nail Blogger.

source https://www.jessabellanails.com/step-by-step-3d-gel-nail-roses/