How To Grow & Look After Your Nails

As a lot of you already know from my youtube videos, i finally managed to grow my nails after years of biting (above is a photo of my natural nails, with only a hardener on them).

I know how hard it is to grow your nails and to maintain them once they are long. I am going to share a few tips on how i care for my nails and how to keep them long.

A lot of it is perseverance, you need to set your mind to growing your nails. If you don't really want nice nails then it will never work.

How to care for them:

You should start giving yourself weekly/fortnightly mini manicures or if you have some spare cash to spend go to your local beauty salon.

You should always file your nails to keep them at a sensible length. There is a knack to filing correctly, the most important thing is never 'saw' your nails with the file, go in one direction on each side and meet in the middle. Sawing your nails will cause the layers to split and your nails will break more easily. After you have filed them you will want to seal off the layers, use the file in the other direction over the tips of your nails (see video below for clearer instructions).

You always want to paint your nails, whether it's with a nail hardener or a colour polish. Having your nails painted will help stop you biting as they will look a lot prettier (this is what helped me). Always wear a nail hardener, i recommend Maybelline salon manicure hardeners.

These will really help keep your nails strong, the more layers the better (about 2-3) will make your nails stronger and thicker.

Always use a base-coat before applying nail polish, i recommend a vitamin enriched base coat. You should give your nails a breather from painting every so often so your nails do not become yellow stained.

A lot of people also find it hard to stop biting the skin around their nails, the best way to stop any 'hang nails' is to keep your hands and nails moisturised. Use a good intensive moisturiser, i love Lush 'helping hands'. It makes your hands so soft and silky.

I have tips on how to paint and more detailed information in my video below:

If all else fails you might need to resort to the delicious 'Stop n Grow' :S. This stuff tastes awful but it does the job if your one of those people who bites their nails without realising!

I hope this helps you!

Good Luck :D

GOSH Lip 'N' Shine Gloss Review

I love these GOSH lip glosses! Everything about them is amazing, not only are the colours really pretty and sparkly but they have LED lights and a mirror built into them! So perfect!

I purchased the two colours that i knew would suit me the most. I prefer wearing pale or pink shades with my skin tone and hair colour. My favorite is 'Soft Rosa 03', as it is more of a nude shimmer. The shimmer is really pretty, it's not too sparkly, just enough i would say!

'Rosa 04' is more of a pink shade, it is still quite subtle but very gorgeous.

These are my new favorites, i wear them everyday. The built in lights and mirror is so convenient when you're out and about. They retail at around £8.50 each. You can buy them from Superdrug.

Has anyone else tried them? What did you think?

Olive Oil hair treatment

Last week i decided to try Olive Oil in my hair and i knew it would be good. Olive oil is so nourishing and when put on the skin it makes it so soft, so i thought it would be beneficial and it was! My hair felt lovely and soft afterwards. Keep reading to find out what i did...

What you will need:

Extra virgin olive oil

Shower cap or net

Hair towel

Rubber gloves

How to do it:

Start off with dry hair, put on your gloves (this is just to stop your hands for becoming really greasy).  Apply the oil to the palm of your hand, enough to fill it. Then gently pull the oil through your hair, from root to tip. Make sure you evenly cover all your hair but don't soak it. Once you have covered your hair (remove gloves) apply a shower cap, and then apply your hair towel. The towel is there just to prevent staining on your clothes and pillow. Now leave the oil in your hair overnight. In the morning when you wash your hair you will need to wash it thoroughly. Many people say you need to shampoo twice but i only needed to once because i made sure i massaged the shampoo in all over. After shampooing apply conditioner to the ends of your hair.
Done!

After blow drying you should see a difference, my hair felt softer, shiner and stronger after only one treatment. I would recommend doing this every two weeks or so to really see the benefits.

Next i am going to try coconut oil, i will let you know how it goes!

Happy New Year 2010 everyone!!

I hope everyone celebrated in style last night! I went out in my local town with some friends (and boyfriend!), had a great night although did feel a bit ill after too much alcohol consumption! But that's what new year is all about, right? :D

Here are a few photos before we hit the town:

 

I wish you all a wonderful 2010 and have fun!