Ciate Floral Nails | Makeup

I'm back! After a brief hiatus due to an unforeseen change in plans I took a little break from blogging, but now I back at it and I have the nails to prove it! To really kick off my spring nails I have gone back to an old favourite. Last year Ciate (one of my all time best nail brands) brought out a nail varnish set with real pressed flowers included and I snapped it up straight away.  After using it a few times I must have stored it away and lost sight of it, until the other day when I spotted it again.

The kit contains a mini pastel blue nail varnish in the colour Ferris Wheel, a full size Speed Coat Pro topcoat, 2 pots of pressed flowers (purple, blue and red), a pair of tweezers for ease of application and a nail file for the removal of excess flowers. The set I have is named Baba Bloom, but there is also another named Strike a Posy containing blue, white and yellow flowers and a pink polish. 

First of all, as always, the packaging is lovely and stores well alongside other nail varnish sets. The full sized topcoat is certainly a generous addition, and the tweezers and file are a particularly handy addition (as there is no searching with wet nails for your own). 

I've also found the staying power of this very good. As with all additions to the nail, whether it be studs or pressed flowers, I get a little dubious about the duration... I frequently change my nail varnish as I quickly get bored of the patterns, but I like to get as much out of prettier designs as possible, so longevity is a must. Especially being an artist I am often covered in paint, scrubbing my hands and splattered with ink, so poor nail varnish is a big no no. This however with the aid of a couple of layers of topcoat lasts a good 5 days at least! Very good in my opinion. 

Illustrated instructions are included on the back of the box adding even more ease than there already is. I simply applied a couple layers of a Ciate base coat, 2 layers of Ferris Wheel (allowing to fully dry), one layer of topcoat and applied the flowers one nail at a time, and finally once all nails were flowered applied a further 2 layers of topcoat to make sure they were steadfast. 

All in all I love Ciate and this certainly was no exception. Their vanishes have a beautiful formula and apply very well. I'm so glad I found this especially being as it is perfect for this time of year! 

Cheerio x 

Waitrose Pure Skin Care for Sensitive Skin | Makeup

Waitrose Pure products: Cleansing Wash, Eye Make Up Remover, Beauty Balm

Last year Waitrose brought out their own sensitive skin care range, being an avid purveyor of their essentials products range I certainly wanted to give them a go. I originally picked up one of the cleansing washes and enjoyed it very much! Then upon running out of that recently I popped back in today and was delighted by the 3 for 2 offer sign so grabbed some other bits and pieces. All the products range from £1.99-£2.99 which I feel is an incredibly reasonable price, both for Waitrose and for skincare products. Affordable and natural what could go wrong?

Firstly the Cleaning Wash. Being one of the £1.99 products when I first saw this I couldn't say no. Especially considering the product claimed such promising things for sufferers of sensitive skin. The cleanser is totally fragrance free (handy as that is what my skin seems to rebel against sometimes) and has 99% naturally derived ingredients. I wouldn't say it is completely fragrance free as it has a slight smell, I'm not entirely sure what of but there is something. It has a jelly like consistency when squeezed out and foams up nicely on a wet face. You can clearly see the product being removed and it seems to remove even tough mascaras and eyeliners like Benefit's They're Real (which is a tough task). When wiped away and dried off I found it didn't completely dry my skin out so didn't leave that horrible tight feeling some cleansers do as well, which is a further bonus in my book. I have to say I really do enjoy this, okay my face doesn't smell like flowers afterward but it works incredibly well at removing every last smear of foundation, unclogging pores, and even clearing up unwanted spots speedily. 

I also today picked up the Eye Make Up Remover, as when I have opted for a dramatic eye look I quite like to wick away the majority before attempting a cleanser attack. I find this irritates my eyes much less, as I have particularly sensitive skin around them so much so that Simple products burn sometimes. This product also retails at £1.99 and also seems to be rather effective! It follows the same rules as the previous pure product: 99% natural, for sensitive skin, and fragrance free. A liquid form, this is an eye make up remover to be dabbed onto a cotton pad and wiped over the eyes. I'm rather excited about this and expect good things!

And last but by no means least the Beauty Balm. This was the most expensive selection of mine today at £2.99, but still a very reasonable price. Immediately you can tell this balm is meant for problem areas of particularly dry skin. This is the kind of thing I would use on my elbows, fingertips, dry lips and either side of my nose as problem areas. Being a very waxy consistency this is certainly not something I would use all over my face, but I feel would really benefit people with target dry areas, then to be supplemented with their moisturiser or facial oils. 

It looks a tad odd, almost like crystallized ice, but when rubbed around and warmed through it becomes much more malleable. I can see this being something I throw in my handbag for emergency skin dryness on still chilly winter days. 

All in all I think Waitrose Pure is a great little range of cheap and effective products, delivering on the promise of being sensitive skin friendly. If you have skin troubles you should certainly pop in and have a look, and come on who can refuse the Waitrose free hot beverage? 

All the best,

Cheerio! x

Ted Baker Nail Wraps Reveiw and Tips | Makeup

Ted Baker Nail Products

Now first of all I have to say I am very sorry, I am about to get overexcited about a product that is no longer available. I got these Ted Baker wraps around Christmas and am not sure if they are a seasonal product but certainly cannot find them for love nor money now. Rather disappointing! I didn't even take a photo of them all packaged up for you, but I love them so much and really wanted to make a post. Here is to hoping they bring out some more this year!

Firstly I really love the pattern. Recently I have become rather infatuated with botanical floral prints (aka. have recently purchased various clothing items in the pattern) and then remembered I had these nestled away!

I was firstly a little concerned as I have tried nail wraps before and it did not go as planned... I followed the instructions to the tee and still ended up with that strange wrinkly look they sometimes get. Because of that when I tired these out I wasn't really hoping for the best, but loved the pattern and had to hope. It seems to have worked rather well though!

I firstly removed my previous nail varnish with a Ciate Chocolate Pot, one of the swirly nail varnish remover pots, this particular one leaves your finger tips smelling of chocolate too which is rather pleasant.

Then I washed my hands and scrubbed out my nails using a Crabtree and Evelyn nail scrubbing brush and Johnsons Baby Shampoo. I use this for the same reason I and many others use it on makeup brushes. It is soft and natural so doesn't strip my nails, yet washes them clean.

I then filed my nails down and used a base coat of Ciate Nail Super Hero. I'm not sure whether wraps require a base, but I really do not like going without them as my natural nails are fairly long so demand quite a lot of care.

I then applied the nail wraps by placing them in line with my cuticle, pressing them down, and filing the ends away. I recommend you file in a downward motion angling the file underneath your nail, so as not to file off any of you nail while still removing all the excess wrap (you can also trim them down first before applying).

Finally I used Rimmel London Finishing Touches Ultra Shine Top Coat (whoo, that's a mouthful) to seal them. Having read up a little though make sure you don't use a fast dry top coat as this can make them go awfully wrinkly, evidently a non desirable result. I also made sure to do a couple of extra layers around the tips to really ensure they don't start to peel away too soon. So far so good! I've only been wearing them 2 days but no signs of wear and tear (literally) just yet.

As you can see they apply incredibly smoothly, and don't add bulkiness to the nails. The pattern is also beautiful, I know I keep saying it, but it is true! The only issue I have with them is my fault too, I didn't apply them quite as close to the cuticle as I really needed to, so I maybe won't get as much wear out of them as I could. Saying that lets hope they bring out another lovely set this year! I am kicking myself a little for not buying more when I had the chance...

All the best and,
Cheerio! x