CND Vinylux Review

As you are more than aware, my Shellac obsession has been strong for the last two years. I have yet to convert my sister though who finds herself bored with a manicure after a few days, a week at most. So when CND Vinylux was launched, she jumped on the bandwagon and of course I had to give it a go to see if 7-day wear really was as true as it claimed.

CND Vinylux is a nail polish colour and top coat system that:

• is 5-free
• requires no base coat
• does not stain the nail
• lasts for 7 days - thanks to the top coat that gets stronger the more it is exposed to UV light
• dries in 8½ minutes - really!!

I have to admit, the dry time was the biggest selling point for me, but I also really wanted to see how it compared to Shellac in longevity. I obviously knew that it would not be as hardwearing and I honestly thought that there was no way it would last 4 days on me, let alone 7, without any chipping.

So I borrowed one of my sister's colours - this is Lavishly Loved, a neutral sheer pink/cream - to test it out. I wore two coats of Lavishly Loved followed by the Vinylux Top Coat, and it really does dry in 8½ minutes! I set about my normal working week to see how it fared...

Initial application

After 7 days

After 7 days - close up

As you can see, it was still there after 7 days - yes I had tip wear and the glossy shine had dulled but no chips or breakages at all. I actually couldn't believe it, school is the hardest thing on my nails, so I always wear Shellac for the day job or I'd end up with constant breaks and nubs for most of the time.

I am really impressed with the Vinylux system and kudos to CND for such a revolutionary product! As much as I love the Vinylux system (and glorious colour range) though I will be sticking with my good old Shellac for the time being. I am too lazy to change my nail colour on weekly basis and after being used to applying a gel-polish to my nails for so long, normal nail polish is a little tricky! My sister however is totally converted and her colour collection is expanding on an almost daily basis at times.

Have you tried out the Vinylux range from CND?

Discliamer - This was my sister's product that I 'borrowed' for review... possibly without her knowledge :) but what's hers is mine and so on... this review is 100% honest and not sponsored or influenced by any other party.

CND Shellac Nail Art - Halloween Mix'n'Match

Good old Gemma. I can always rely on her to test my nail art capabilities! Her penguin mani from last Christmas is still one of my favourite designs to create (here) so of course this Halloween she went all themed out, with some glitter too of course!

As a base colour I used Asphalt and then I added a dark grey glitter paste to her middle and little finger (made up of Silver VIP Status, Gosh 03 Grey Moonstone and Gosh 01 Silver Nail Glitters). After curing, I painted the cobwebs and spider with Cream Puff and two little Blackpool dots for the spider's eyes.

The little pumpkin (my favourite I think!) was made up of two different glitter pastes. The green stalk was Silver VIP Status and Gosh 08 Emerald Green (not available in the UK) and the pumpkin was Silver VIP Status and Gosh 04 Fire Opal (also not available in the UK). I used a very small dotting tool to create the curved vertical lines down the pumpkin before I cured the glitter, then after curing used some Blackpool to add the eyes and mouth.

On her thumb, she simply had the orange glitter paste used for the pumpkin.
 

Most Gosh Nail Glitters are available from Superdrug in the UK for £4.99 (only the 02 Gold is online, the other colours are all in store). Although two of the colours here I had to purchase from the states as they never released them here.

Disclaimer - I purchased all the products used for this manicure myself, and if you want more info about myself and CND Shellac then check out my disclaimer page here. What's not to like about nail art that actually lasts?!

CND Shellac Intimates Collection 2013

Back in August you may have seen my Forbidden collection post that mentioned the new Fall colours for 2013 and a brief look at some new nudes set to join the ever expanding Shellac catalogue.

Well they are finally here. This is the Intimates collection and they have some pretty interesting names which make your google searches seem much more risque!

Photo from Blog Me Beautiful

Photo from Blog Me Beautiful

From Left to Right we have:

Blush Teddy - opaque iridescent light pink
Nude Knickers - semi-sheer light nude opaque
Bare Chemise - semi-sheer light nude
Satin Pajamas - opaque taupe beige

In all a gorgeous set of romantic shades - that will look amazing alone or with some pearl/glitter nail art! Now to get my mitts on these lovelies...

Disclaimer - Photos are not my own, they are courtesy www.blog-me-beautiful.com

New CND Shellac Christmas Charmed Collection 2013

Ah the holiday season is almost upon us! And what better way to get into the festive spirit than with a suitably seasonal manicure?

Introducing the new CND Shellac Charmed collection:

From Left to Right we have:
Frosted Glen - a metallic sage green
Scarlet Letter - a bright scarlet red
Ice Vapor - a shiny silver glitter
Serene Green - a rich festive green

Photo from Blog Me Beautiful

As for a release date - around late October or early November seems likely. And make sure you stock up as these are rumoured to be limited edition again like last year. Oh, and good news! They are also re-releasing the popular Ruby Ritz from last years limited edition duo (here) in early November - rumour has it this may well end up a permanent member of the colour collection!

Now Christmas wouldn't be complete without some new additives thrown into the mix! So to join the 4 new colours CND are also releasing 4 limited edition additives in Silver Frost, Gilded Gleam, Blush Bronze Frost and Icicles.

For some great swatches check out LiverpoolLashes.blogspot.com - she's done some fab swatches of the additives over Blackpool.

Disclaimer - Photos are not my own, they are courtesy of the CND press release here and www.blog-me-beautiful.com

Superdry Nail Paint in Punk Pink

Yesterday I posted about a the new Superdry Beauty range, in particular the Bento Beauty-Box, on Brush Up and Make-up!

In this gift set came a gorgeous little polish, a Superdry NailPaint in the prettiest fuschia, Punk Pink. Well you know by now that it's rare I wear 'normal' polish on my fingers but I couldn't resist this perfectly bright shade. I slapped it on quickly over a clear nude base of Shellac, so that it didn't affect the colour but my nails still had strength.

One coat gave pretty good coverage but to be truly opaque two coats would be better. It dried really quickly and I love that it's also very glossy without topcoat - but to extend wear time and shine I highly recommend a quick slather of Seche Vite over the top.

This colour came as part of the new Bento Beauty-Box (£25) launched later this month, but other Nail Paint colours are available now in Superdry Stores and online.

Disclaimer - This product was given to me as a PR sample for my consideration and review. The above review is 100% honest and of my own, unbiased opinion.

New CND Shellac Colours for Fall 2013!

This month saw the release of the new CND Shellac Fall 2013 collection - or the 'Forbidden' Collection as it's been called.

From left to right we have:

Blue Rapture - a muted, opaque blue

Burnt Romance - opaque, deep orange-brown

Dark Dahlia - deep, dark purple-red

Night Glimmer - dark, 'steel, grey shimmer

Steel Gaze - molten liquid polish, a gold and silver dark grey shimmer

Tinted Love - opaque dark fuchsia

And as soon as I give in and purchase the full collection, I will get working on some nail art with these for your viewing pleasure! In the meantime, here's some swatches from SweetSquared:

Swatches from L to R: Dark Dahlia, Night Glimmer, Steel Gaze, Tinted Love, Burnt Romance and Blue Rapture

The 6 new colours add to the 9 already released this year in the 'Sweetdreams' and 'Summer Splash' ranges to bring the total to 15. But rumour has it there are four more to come....

Yes indeed! And if rumours are to be believed, which inevitably they always are until proven otherwise, the new 4 are a small nude range called the 'Intimate' Collection. It took me bloody ages to find this picture:

Now I've heard a lot of debate over the names, but from what I've read so far they seem to be given as (from L-R) Blush Teddy, Nude Knickers, Bare Chemise, and Satin Pyjamas. If I'm not mistaken though, and if you too read carefully, it actually looks like the last one is Bare Chemise and the third is called Silk Stockings??!

I've even read a supposed release date of 1st November too (www.dailynails.com) -  but seeing as the Forbidden Collection was early, maybe we'll find these creeping out a bit sooner aswell?

Oh and don't even get me started on the 2 rumoured Limited Edition Christmas colour duos for late 2013! (www.thevillageretreat.co.uk)

Disclaimer - Photos are not my own, they are courtesy of www.reviveholisticbeauty.com and the SweetSquared facebook page.

CND Shellac Rock Royalty

Wow, I'm on it with the swatches this week!

This is a classic purple that gets requested a lot, Rock Royalty to be precise. And it's just one of those shades that I never get to photograph because it's never really used in nail art - it's just perfect alone.

Rock Royalty is described as a perfect Royal creme purple, personally I think it's too dark to be classed as a 'royal' purple, but it is lovely don't you think?

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!