Nimy Nails: nail care

Superdrug Hand & Nail Cream // Review

March 09, 2018
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Cuticle Oil Reviews & Comparison

For years I have been using Solar Oil as my go-to cuticle oil, I have brought more bottles than I can count and only over the past couple of months have I decided to branch out and try some other cuticle oils. These are my thoughts on the cuticle oils I've tried out so far...

CND's Solar Oil

Price: £8.99

Smell: Quite a strong marzipan smell, not too overwhelming, but definitely not my favourite smell. (plus my husband hates it hehe)

Formula: I love the formula of this cuticle oil, great consistency, absorbs/rubs in well.

Overall Thoughts: This is a great cuticle oil, definitely worth the price if you enjoy the smell and does a great job keeping cuticles moisturised. A bit too expensive for my liking.

Barry M's So Cute-icle!

Price: £3.99

Smell: This cuticle oil has a lovely suitable coconut smell, I don't like strong smelling things so this is perfect for me.

Formula: A much thinner consistency than the others on this list, which I really like, it absorbs well.

Overall Thoughts: I adore this cuticle oil, for the price it is totally worth it, good formula, lovely scent and a great cheaper alternative to other oils.

Essence's 3 Phase Nail Care Shake

Price: £2.30

Smell: This has a quite an overwhelming bubblegum smell, which some people would probably love. Unfortunately I don't, I don't like sweet smells and bubblegum is one of my least favourite smells.

Formula: I also don't like the formula on this cuticle oil, the 3 parts which you shake to mix together creates a very thick and greasy and leaves my hands feeling super sticky.

Overall Thoughts: Not a fan of this cuticle oil, I'm sure some people would be, but I would much rather buy other ones on this list. Plus it's a bit of a hassle to shake it so it mixes together.

Essence's Nail Repairing Oil

Price: £2

Smell: This also has a sweet/citrus (almost sherbet like) smell. I don't particularly love the smell, because I don't like sweet smells, but I don't hate it either. It's not as overwhelming as the 3 phase shake.

Formula: This has a great formula, not too thick or too thin, absorbs well, and doesn't feel greasy.

Overall Thoughts: If you like smells on the sweeter side, then this is a great cuticle oil option, it's super cheap and has a fantastic formula.

Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil

Price: £8.99

Smell: I love the smell of this cuticle oil, a nice apricot smell, not too sweet or too strong.

Formula: Good consistency, absorbs well, does leave hands a little sticky but this does go away after a few minutes once it's fully absorbed.

Overall Thoughts: I nice cuticle oil, nothing special, and in my opinion a bit too expensive for what it is.

Essence's Studio Nails Cuticle Remover Pen

Price: £2.50

Smell: A lovely citrus smell, not too strong.

Formula: A thinner oil, but the applicator only allows a small amount of product to be applied to the cuticle.

Overall Thoughts: I love this!! Although not technically like the rest on the list. This is the perfect cuticle pusher and oil combo to leave in your handbag or on your desk to always have handy when you need it. (I leave one in my handbag at all times).

WOTB?

If you are looking for a high quality and are willing to pay a higher price then I would go with CND's Solar Oil.

If you want something more budget friendly then I would go with either Barry M's So Cute-icle or Essence's Nail Repairing Oil depending on your scent preference!

If you are looking for an oil that you can take with you out and about then I would go with Essence's Studio Nails Cuticle Remover Pen.

I personally plan to stick with the Essence's Studio Nails Cuticle Remover Pen as my handbag oil and go back and forth between Essence's Nail Repairing Oil & Barry M's So Cute-icle oil as my main oils.

Would you recommend any other oils that are not on this list? Leave a comment or tweet me @nimynails letting me know what your favourite cuticle oil is.

*WOTB: Which One To Buy?

November 15, 2017
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Peel It! Review // Barry M's New Peel Off Base Coat

barry m

I have been doing a lot of swatching recently, so when I saw that Barry M had released a peel-off base coat I thought it might come in handy for peeling off between swatches. I have never owned or even used a peel off base coat before, the reason: I CAN'T GET NAIL POLISH TO NOT PEEL OFF! Seriously, I swear I have one of the world's only set of nail polish repellent nails! Nail polish will completely peel off (whole) after 1-2 of wearing, I don't mind this so much because I like to change my nail colour a lot, but it is super annoying when I spend hours doing a beautiful design only to have the whole thing peel straight off after 24 hours.... and I have tried every long lasting base/top combo, buffing the nail down to create roughness to cling to, using acetone to get off oils.... everything.

Anyway, back to the Peel It! base coat, I tried this expecting some fun peel porn, give it a go a few times to try it out and then it would probably go on my polish shelf and sit there for the rest of time. Then something AMAZING happened...... my nail polish stayed on!! I mean stayed on for almost 4 days without a single peel or even a chip (It would have lasted longer but I peeled it off because I want to change my nail polish colour)! I'm still in shock. I have now found my favourite base coat of all time, my holy grail.

Now I suspect this is probably not going to be the case for most people, as I'm pretty sure that most people don't have stupid nails that rebel against nail products, but I do recommend it to anyone who struggles with their nail polish peeling off whole (I even had a bath in those few days and it didn't peel).

Pros:

Dries fast, not as fast as other base coats I own, but with the consistency I expected it to take longer than it did to dry.
Great way to get polishes like glitter off, instead of smearing glitter all over your finger with nail polish remover.
Cheap, only £2.99.
Looks white in the bottle, but dries completely clear.
Comes off easier if you pick at with your teeth, I am an ex-nail biter, and jeez was it satisfying to bit it off!!
Not sure if this is a pro, but while it's drying it does feel cold on the nails, which I found a fun experience, not sure why, think it's just odd for nails to feel temperature. Hehe

Cons:

Not the best for 'peel porn', on my nails it didn't peel off in one satisfying piece, rather lots of smaller pieces.
Polish struggled to peel off right at the tip of my nail.
Not the fastest drying base coat if you are in a rush

Quick tip: make sure to let the polish and top coat completely dry, before attempting to peel of the polish, I tried to peel my off too soon after applying the polish and it was a bit of a mess and I ended up after to use nail polish remover.

Final thoughts:

If you are in the market for a cheap peel of base coat, and you don't mind that it isn't going to be as good as more expensive ones on the market, then it is a good purchase. If you are an avid user of peel off base coats and need the satisfaction of a single, one piece, peel off, then I would look at other popular brands. If you are like me and have never experienced using a peel off base coat, then for only £2.99, if nothing else it's fun to sit and peel off and you never know you might have some crazy magical moment with it, like I did.

I am beyond glad I brought this base coat, I am going to stock up and don't think I will be using any other base coat any time soon.

October 02, 2017
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Barry M's Nail Care Range

barry m

After seeing that Barry M had released a nail care product range I knew I had to try them out.

I brought 3 of the 4 products from this range: Super Mani, Iron Mani and the Pink version of Mani Mask.

★

Super Mani

This is a twice-weekly nail treatment and basecoat, it's a 7-in-1 treatment that:

- Encourages growth

- Strengthens with Keratin

- Nourishes with Argon Oil

- Promotes shine

- Hydrates with Vitamin E

- Smooths the nail surface

- Protects from breakages

The polishes, which appears as transparent pale purple in the bottle, applies as a clear coat on the nail. And also dries super fast.

★
Iron Mani

Also a twice-weekly nail treatment and base coat that:

- Strengthens, Smooths & prevents Breakages

(To be applied to bare nails)

This appears to be mainly a nail hardener and basecoat, as it doesn't have nearly as many treatments as Super Mani.

As with Super Mani the polish applies clear (although is a transparent pale blue in the bottle), this dried fast, but not quite as fast as Super Mani.

(Index: Super Mani, Middle: Iron Mani)

Both polishes look identical on the nail.

And give a nice shine to the nail.

★

Mani Mask

Available in two colours, pink and nude, I decided to only buy one and I chose pink because my natural nail bed is quite pink, so I thought this colour would give a more natural look. I may eventually try the nude though.

Mani Mask is polish with included treatment for your nails that:

- Strengthens & conditions damaged nails

- Conceals with a semi matte colour finish

Already, even without testing the treatment effects, I love this polish, it's a pale, sheer and very naturally pink, I applied just one coat and it dried very fast, with a smooth matte finish. This polish would be perfect to wear on days where you don't want to wear a colour polish, it helps make your nails looks brighter and cleaner. This polish would also be perfect to use for a French manicure. It you are not keen on the matte finish, you can obviously apply a gloss topcoat to add shine.

★

Picture Comparisons

Iron Mani & Mani Mask

(Index: Super Mani, Middle: Iron Mani, Ring: Mani Mask, Pinky: Bare)

★

Once I've used these products a little while longer, and have had a chance to evaluate wether they have help strengthen my nails and which ones are best for what, then I will post another review.

All four of the products from this range are currently available at Marks & Spencer (marksandspencer.com) for £4 each, and will be releasing in Boots and Superdrug on Janurary 20th.