Review - imPRESS Nails

Its been some time since I've had a professional manicure so when I received the imPRESS Nails I was quite excited to try them out and put them to the test! 

Within the pack there are 24 nail covers in varying sizes and as per the instructions they can be applied in minutes and last up to one week. 

I firstly chose a suitable size for my nails and lined them up as suggested. Where a perfect match cannot be found, it is recommended to choose a smaller size. 

Before applying the nail, you firstly need to cleanse the nail with the enclosed prep pad. Each Nail cover has a tab on the back which you peel off and then apply the nail cover firmly to your nail. I found on a couple of the nail covers it was difficult to peel the tab easily. On one I had separated the "glue" from one of the nail covers but thankfully, I'd another to replace it with from the 14 left. 

The "glue" is very quick to take hold so it is important that you take care to place the nail correctly before pressing firmly and applying pressure for the the nail cover to hold. 

I must say once I got into the swing of it, it took maybe 10 - 15 minutes to place them all on which I thought quite good considering my son was asking me questions as to what I was doing! 3 year old love their questions!   

My first impressions were that they looked great. I wouldn't be a fan of purple in general but I must say I thought the colour was vibrant and the shine was fantastic. I was curious to see how they would handle my daily routine!

For me, a typical day as a stay at home mum is all about routine of a variety of chores including washing up, cleaning, mopping floors and at this time of the year cleaning the fire each morning and getting in the turf / coal for the day. Not a very glamorous job but neither is changing nappies which is another lovely task I've to do! 

How did I get on?

So as the days went on after about 30 hours I began to loose a nail cover and by day five I was down to just five nail covers between each hand. 

Not great you may be thinking to yourself considering they are to last up to a week. Well, I think with all they had to handle they did pretty good. Plus with my daughter waking from her nap as I was half way through meant I didn't have the time to press as firmly on my right hand. 

On day five with me being left with just the five nails, I decided to peel them off. I was quite surprised as how strong still the "glue" was but with a little persuasion, they came off with ease. 

Verdict

So while the nails didn't last up to a week I did feel considering what they were put through that they lasted very well. I certainly would purchase these and starting at €8.50 in Boots I think it is great value if you are going to an event or just want to glam up your nails in minutes with ease. 

I'm looking forward to putting these "bad boys" on for an upcoming wedding! This time though I will make sure I'm in a distraction free environment and the fire is cleaned first! 

Check out my friend Sara's up coming review on Where is my mind gone? and see how she got on with her imPRESS nails! 

Time to get my Skin Routine on!

As some of you may have already read in Day 1 - Hand Rescue , I'm terrible at collecting lots of "Lotions and Potions" to never or rarely use them and then throw them out! Lately I've acquired some more to add to my collection and I don't want to do the same again. 
It's time I started to finally to take care of the rest of me and not just my hands! 

I've picked out some of the products that have been tucked away and will try to finally get into a proper skincare routine in place and get an idea of what does and doesn't suit me best! Over the coming weeks I will then let you know how I get on. 

CLARINS

I was lucky to have received these fabulous CLARINS products when I was on the Today Show for makeover in November after my "Drop a Dress Size" challenge on the show.  

As you can see, I've started to use some of them but not in a consistent manner so I'm hoping to change this over the coming weeks. 

What did I receive! 

CLARINS Double Serum 30ml €69.50*

CLARINS Beauty Flash Balm €36* 

CLARINS Tonic Body Treatment Oil 100ml €45*

*Prices as per Debenhams Website 23rd January 2015     

Over the years I've heard so many people rave about CLARINS and while I've had some of their products, I never really gave them a proper try so here's my chance!

 Aveeno

Santa obviously read my Hand Rescue? Or Not? blog and popped some of these into my my stocking! 

I've used Aveeno on and off over the last couple of years and like CLARINS, I never really gave them a good chance. I'm hoping that I will have the positive results as I did with their hand cream because my poor skin is feeling it with the central heating. I've quite sensitive skin so I'm really hoping these will revive my poor dry skin. 

What is there?

Aveeno Body Wash 500ml €5 upwards

Aveeno Ultra Calming Cream €7.70* upwards

Aveeno Dermexa 200ml €10.30* upwards

Aveeno Daily Moistising Lotion 200ml €5.20* upwards for 300ml

*prices as per PriceSpy 23rd January 2015

Nail Varnish

Well I think its only fair that with me reviving my hands recently that I brighten up my nails to show them off! 
This picture just shows a selection of the Rimmel and NYC Nail varnishes I have (there's another 15 or so tucked away!) So over the coming weeks I will be putting some of these along with the others tucked away to the test and see which brightens up my day best! 

Follow me on Facebook, Chirps from a Little Red Hen to see which colour I choose first!


Have you any "Lotions or Potions" tucked away that you haven't tried? I'd love to her if you've tried any of the above products. 

Day 1 - Hand Rescue!

In the past I've been great at picking up "lotions and potions" and convince myself each time I will use them on a daily / weekly basis and start a new regime to take care of my skin. For the first few days I'm great but then I lapse to every other day to eventually not using the products at all! Sadly many of which have ended in the bin.

Since losing some weight recently I've gained more confidence in myself and I want to start taking better care of my skin. So with the winter creeping in upon us I thought a good place for me to start would be my hands.

I treat my poor hands terribly, never wearing gloves when cleaning the fire or when using cleaning products about the house. I feel sorry for my poor hands being neglected so much and worried too of how they are going to look in the coming years compared to the rest of me! I say this as I recall reading an article some years ago in a Sunday magazine and it compared images of peoples hands and their faces! Their faces said one age but their hands told the truth - OLD! So with this in mind and the season that is in it, I'm going to make a start on caring for my little hands and get them into better shape!

So the products I recently purchased with good intention to help my hands and nails are Aveeno Hand Cream, Sally Hansen Maximum Growth and one from the kitchen cupboard - Vinegar! Vinegar you might ask? Well, I'd read recently that it is a great softening your cuticles so I thought it would be worth a try!

Before Pics! 

What did I do?

Step 1: Vinegar Soak 

After washing and drying my hands I soaked my finger tips in Vinegar for 5 minutes one hand at a time. 

I did my left hand first and after soaking it for 5 minutes, I gently pushed back my cuticles using my right hand thumb nail. I've used cuticle sticks in the past but have always found using my nail easier. 

When I completed my left hand and followed the same procedure with my right.  

Step 2: Hand Cream

I used the Aveeno Hand Cream and massaged into my hands taking care to rub into my cuticles too. While I thought I'd only used a little, I may have used a little too much! This goes a long way and ended up using the excess along my arms. Next time I will use less and will get more if I feel needed

Step 3: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth

Once the hand cream had dried, I used the Sally Hansen Maximum Growth as directed which was one coat daily.  

After Pics!

You will have to wait and see on Day 8! 

Day 1 Verdict!

Vinegar: 

I was very surprised at how well this worked at so softening my cuticles. It was very easy to push them back. I've used cuticle creams in the past and found using the vinegar a lot more effective. 

Seemingly too it helps your Nail Varnish last better, so this will be interesting to see! 

Aveeno Hand Cream:

After only one application my hands feel a lot smoother and not as dry or as tight as before. The pics may not show it as well but to the eye, they definitely don't look as dry. 

Sally Hansen Maximum Growth:

Well, so far lovely shiny nails so I will just have to wait and see how they are after daily usage!  

Next Step:

So, the plan is that I will apply the Aveeno Hand Cream as I feel needed during the day day, taking care to massage into my cuticles and keep them back. If I feel my cuticles need more attention I will use the Vinegar soak again. 

I will apply the Sally Hansen Maximum Growth as directed which is daily. 

Finally, after 7 days of following these steps, I will pop back with my review to see what the changes are! 

If you have any tips / comments please free to share ... I could do with all the help I can get, lol!