Syrup Glitter Nails

After I saw a couple of Nfu Oh's Jelly Syrup nail polishes on Jeanette's beautiful nails I couldn't resist and ordered two, JS17 and JS30. Today I'm showing you JS17, a happy green jelly. I was in the mood for some glitter, so I also used OPI - Pirouette My Whistle. The layering order was JS17-JS17-glitter-JS17-glitter-JS17-glitter. Applying JS17 was easy, no streaking or bubbling at all. I was afraid it would take forever to dry, but the drying time was surprisingly quick for 7 (!) coats. Ahh, I'm in love with my syrup glitter mani. ♥

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MOAR Green!

There's no such thing as too much green, right? So today I'm showing you another green mani. I used one of my cherished gems from Nfu Oh: #56. The green base of #56 is packed with duochrome flakies ánd micro-glitter. Awesomesauce! Due to the sheerness and the dirty green base colour (not the prettiest in my opinion) I always layer it over another polish. This time I applied one coat of #56 over two coats of Essence - Fatal (black creme). A match made in heaven, if you ask me. The application was easy, the drying time average. I didn't use a top coat.

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LOVE: Nfu Oh 51

I have to agree with Michèle, Nfu Oh 51 can't get too much attention. I need to wear it more often and if you have it: so do you! I could not have the heart to remove the pretty Lady of the Lake from a england (still looking good after almost six days of wear!), so I used it as a base for Nfu Oh 51. The lady doesn't mind, she loves it. :)

I applied one coat of 51 and a top coat. This layering combination is very photogenic, I took a million pictures. It was hard to make a selection for this post, I hope you guys like it!

Look how the flakies glow in sunlight... ♥

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Racing Green Meets Flakey Goodness

You guys know by now how much I like to sponge my nail tips with a sparkly polish, but there's another great way to spice up a mani: add flakies! So I layered two coats of the yummy Nfu Oh #54 over Barry M - Racing Green. This is a match made in heaven, I keep staring at my nails. The flakies, flashing from green to turquoise to blue, really stand out on the dark green base. I love Nfu Oh, they sure know how to make great nail polishes! The only downside of their beautiful flakey polishes (at least the ones I have) is the drying time. They take forever to dry, even with a fast drying topcoat on top, boo. :|

This reminds me of my beloved Caribbean Sea, hmmm...

Thanks for watching and have a great weekend!

Taking Care of Hands & Nails: My Way

I get a lot of questions about my hand and nail care and what products I use. Well, here is my routine. I'm not saying the products I use and the things I do are best for everyone, but they work for me!

Oh, and just to be clear: I'm not getting paid by companies or brands for saying nice things about their products. My hands and nails just love these products and that's why I use them. :-)

File! 
I like to file my nails when I have nail polish on; not when they're freshly painted of course, just before removing the old polish. For me this is the easiest way to shape them evenly, if they're 'naked' I would follow the sometimes uneven nail bed and white tip of the nail and end up with different shapes and lengths: not so nice! This works best with opaque dark polishes, so if you're wearing one of those don't forget to do some filing before you take it off.

For shaping my nails I use a glass nail file from Herôme. A glass file is very fine and causes, in my experience, less tears and chips. I file in one direction and if needed smoothen some sharp edges. If I'm impatient (which isn't a good thing when you're filing, take your time!) and want to take down the length of my nails quickly I use the rougher grit parts of a 4-way file from Essence. I rarely buff the surface of my nails as buffing your nails makes them thinner thus weaker, but you can also use a multi-way file like this one for that. For buffing the nail surface you have to remove the polish first, but I guess you figured that out yourself already, hee-hee.

Remove! (the polish) 
I always use a cheap and simple nail polish remover with acetone from Kruidvat (a Dutch drugstore) which removes my nail polish fast and easily. When using a nail polish remover with acetone make sure to wash your hands immediately after use to remove all the acetone from your hands. If you have very dry skin and nails I recommend using an acetone free remover.

Remove! (the cuticle) 

After removing the nail polish I remove my cuticles with a cuticle remover from Nfu Oh. I don't prefer cutting my cuticles, because it can cause thickening of the skin and cuticle area (eventually). Cuticles prefer gentle care! I apply a bit of cuticle remover on the cuticles. After a minute or two I grab a wooden stick and remove all the stuff that comes off. Then I wash my hands thoroughly. Using a cuticle remover is something I do only once a month. Don't do this step too often, because the chemicals in most cuticle removers will irritate your skin a bit. These chemicals do a great job in removing the cuticle, but I just don't recommend soaking your cuticles in it every day (which isn't necessary anyway). I have to admit that I'm blessed with the easiest cuticles, they're small and well-behaved. ^^

Moisturize! 
This is in my opinion the most important part. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! Pamper your hands, cuticles and nails as much as you can. For moisturizing my nails I use the Nail Balsam from Trind and for my cuticles the Cuticle Balsam, also from Trind. What I like about these products is that they don't leave an oily or greasy residue on my hands and nails. You can even polish your nails right after rubbing these products in!

And there we have the miracle maker from Lush, Lemony Flutter. What an amazing product! I apply a bit on the cuticle area (and other dry spots), let it sit for a while and then gently massage my cuticles and push them back with a cuticle pusher. The only downside from LF is that it leaves your skin oily, so I recommend using it at night before going to sleep or while watching a movie or something. :D

When it comes to hand cream I'm always on a hunt for something better. I have different hand creams lying around the house at the moment. Right now I'm loving Hydro Balance with aloe vera (Kneipp), Pure Coconut Hand & Nail Cream (Inecto) and Hand Repair from Trind. I always use hand cream after washing my hands. Keep a tube next to the sink so you won't forget using it! And of course you can use hand cream whenever you want.

Strengthen!

My all time favourite nail hardener is Nail Repair (from Trind), a formaldehyde based hardener. It's the best I've ever used, it makes my nails strong, but not too strong (they're still somewhat flexible). I apply it right after rubbing in the Nail Balsam. It's also my basecoat so I can start polishing right away!

An important part in strengthening your nails lies in a varied diet. As you all know a varied diet is needed for a healthy body and a healthy body means healthy nails! I always try to eat as healthy as possible and drink enough water. I'm not a nutritionist, but thankfully we have the www where we can find a lot of information about nutrients that are good for nails (here and here). You can also choose to take extra vitamins. I used a special vitamin complex which contained vitamin B and biotin among other things for skin, hair and nails (from Kruidvat) for a couple of months. I started using it to improve my skin, but sadly it got worse ánd I didn't notice any changes in hair and nails, so I stopped taking these pills. I guess a balanced diet should do the job for me. :)

Prevent!

I always use cleaning gloves when I'm cleaning, doing the dishes, etc. Water and cleaning products can make your skin really dry. The cleaning gloves will also prevent your nails from scratching against rough surfaces (e.g. the food grater *shivers*). And I also use gloves (I prefer normal ones now, lol) when it's cold outside. If there are ways to prevent your skin and nails from drying out, well.. use them!

And another thing: Don't use your nails as tools. Seriously, don't. I rarely break a nail, but if I do it's because I'm too lazy to get a knife or another tool. That's just stupid, right? 

I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions or tips, let me know!

Nfu Oh #64

This one actually doesn't need words, it just needs a whole lotta love (and a lot of pictures, I'm sorry ^^)! Nfu Oh #64 is a mauve, pinkish lilac coloured polish with an incredible, almost retina-searing, prismatic effect (and very distracting too, it's unsafe to wear this polish while driving, seriously). Don't you think it's odd that this polish looks quite uninteresting in the bottle and so crazy on the nail? It's pretty, so pretty, lalala... *does happydance* If you want a trip around the rainbow: all pictures are clickable! :D

I applied two coats over Nfu Oh's Aqua Base, no top coat.

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Nfu Oh #62

I finally tried one of the prismatic/holographic polishes from Nfu Oh, this is #62! I would describe it as a light almond coloured polish with a hint of pink and a smooth, silky finish if that makes sense... Very chique! The polish contains very small particles that cause an in-your-face rainbow on the nail in bright light. Even in normal daylight there's still a subtle rainbow visible at some angles. Some prismatic polishes become dull in low light, but with this one: never a dull moment. 8) It's an incredibly awesome polish!

I applied it over one coat of Nfu Oh's Aqua Base, a great basecoat for lineair prismatic polishes like this one (and I heard it's also great as a base for matte polishes, I have to try that soon!). This is two coats of #62, no topcoat.

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Honey, does this polish make my nails look fat?

The answer is: "Yes, it does". Do I care? No. Look at this fiery beauty! It's #59, one of Nfu Oh's opal polishes. Sooo droolworthy... :L #59 is a dark red jelly with tons of opal flakes in it. In the bottle it looks very dark, but as you can see it's much lighter on the nail. The flakes look like a reddish amber most of the time, but at some angles you'll see gold and green. It's like those flakies are floating on top of my nails, mesmerizing! I'm not the kind of person who tells people what to do, but I think everybody needs to try a polish like this, really.

Like the other opal polishes from Nfu Oh, this one is thick and gloopy, making it kinda hard to apply. It's way better for layering, but I just wanted to try it on its own. I used three coats and because of the bumpy look the flakes can give I used a thick layer of topcoat. It does take a while to dry completely, even with a quickdrying topcoat. 

I bought my bottle at viis.ee for $9.90. For that price you get a 17 ml bottle, enough for a while I guess. :O

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One Polish To Rule Them All - Nfu Oh no. 51

If there's one nail polish that doesn't need a whole bla-bla description it would be Nfu Oh no. 51. I can't recall hearing or reading one negative word about this masterpiece. Ok, honestly.. the drying time isn't that fantastic and it's very sheer, but who really cares with this juicy purple flake heaven? :d I think it's one of the greatest polishes out there, especially for layering. This time I layered it over Zoya Mimi and I think it's freakin' hawt!!

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