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Sensationail Peeloff StripGel starter kit

I LOVE having gel nails and doing them at home is so easy and cheap compared to salons. I first tried doing my own gels a few years back but the only downside I found was it did damage my nails slightly when removing them. You need to soak in acetone to remove them or if you are inpatient like me you would end up picking them off and removing the top few layers of your nail with it!

I was so excited to hear that Sensationail had bought out a new product which is their Peel off strip gel base coat, meaning you can gel your nails and when you have had enough of them you can literally just peel it off without damaging your nails.

The base coat will work with any of their colours so if you already have a kit you can simply buy the new base coat to try. You can peel it off after 48hours and it can last up to 2 weeks like the previous base coat.

I haven’t done my nails in ages, so was excited to try the new product. I got the starter kit which includes:

  • LED lamp with USB lead & mains adaptor
  • StripGel Peel Off Base Coat
  • Buffer
  • Cleanser & Wipes
  • Raspberry Wine Gel Polish
  • Mystery Bonus Gel Polish colour
  • Non Wipe Top Coat

I think for £59.99 it is such a good price. I remember years ago when you pay that just for a lamp! If you get your nails done regularly you could save so much money. I think that is maybe the price of two trips to the salon?! I think you could easily do your nails twice a month for a whole year with one kit. When you run out you can just buy the product individually and you can pick up additional colours from £10.

The kit is easy to use whether you have used gel kits before or not, the instructions are easy to follow. It took me about 30-45mins to do a whole set, but I was really taking my time. The great thing about gels is once they are done you don’t have to sit there helpless for an hour afterwards like you do with regular nail polish!

I kept my gel set on for about 10 days and then I ended up catching one of them in the corner so I decided to remove them. It was so easy to peel them off and my nails looked absolutely fine underneath. I am so impressed with this as I was a little worried as it was peel off that maybe it wouldn’t last as long as the usual top coat but it didn’t make a difference to the wear time.

Do you get your nails done professionally or do you do them at home?

Sarah x

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Organii

A brand that is new to me is Organii. All Organii products are free from SLS, Parabens, Phthaltes, Silicone, Mineral Oils and have not been tested on animals and are Vegan.

The products I have tried are:

Natural care hand cream

£2.95

It smells nice, is non greasy and soaks in quickly and makes your hands super soft. I find if I apply this in the morning I don’t need to re apply any creams to my hands during the day as it keeps them soft and hydrated all day.

It is quite a big tube as well which is great value, but not too big if you wanted to carry it about in your bag 🙂

High Protection sun cream

£21.95

I am quite fussy with sun creams as I suffer regularly from heat rash a lot of sun creams just aggravate my skin, so the more organic and less chemicals the better!

Not only does it work great as a sun cream it also moisturised my skin at the same time and didn’t leave me as sticky as most do. It came with a free after sun but I haven’t trued that yet.

I always think it is worth spending a bit more on sun protection to ensure you find one that your skin reacts well with and one that will protect you the best. I never wear anything less than a 30 either as I have such sensitive and delicate skin I don’t want to burn.

Shower gel

£5.95

This shower gel smells so so good and is so refreshing. I prefer to use shower gels, even in the bath rather than a bar of soap. This one leaves you feeling invigorated and clean and you don’t need to use much. I have to hide it away so Nick won’t use it all up!

I really like the simply packaging for all of the products. I love how they use multicolours on the plain white background and the shapes they use are associated with the products. The hand cream has hands on, the sun cream has suns on etc.

Really impressed with all the products I have tried 🙂

Sarah x

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Rio Rosa Mosqueta hand cream

The last couple of months I have suffered with dry hands. It is a mixture of the weather and also the fact I had been using strong shampoo to try and fade my hair which in turn really dried out my hands. Must wear gloves next time!

I have been using this hand cream in the morning before going to work and then again at night before bed.

Sometimes I find you need to re apply cream throughout the day but by using this one twice a day as I mentioned, it is keeping my hands soft and hydrated throughout the whole day.

The cream is a non greasy formula and seems to soak in quite quickly. I like that you only need a small amount too.

Do you use hand cream regularly?

Sarah x

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Christmas gift guide 2017 – 4 of 7 – NAILS

I love writing gift guides, so here is a small collection of gift ideas this Christmas for family or friends, men or women.

Some of these were kindly gifted to me and others I have bought myself for my family or for myself.

I hope some of these inspire you!

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NAILS

Pink Gellac – starter kit

£49.99

I think this is a great price for a gel starter kit, and it includes one colour. A lot of kits are over double this price. It is so easy to get a salon quality manicure at home if you can gel your own nails.

The Starter kit Contains:
1 x Primer 15ml 
1 x Dynamic Pink 156
4 x Free online courses
1 x Pink Gellac LED Lamp
1 x Pink Gellac Base2 
1 x Pink Gellac Ultra Shine 15ml 
10 x Cleaner Pockets
1 x Nail file 240-180 grid 
1 x Orange Woodsticks
10 x Remover pockets 

It really does include everything you would need and it is so easy to use.

Pink Gellac – polish

£10

Following on from the set above, you can buy additional gel colours and they have a massive range to pick from. You could pick a glitter that would go perfect over the top of another shade ie the pick that came with the set, or you could just have one glitter accent nail. They have so may to choose, you could always buy a couple of additional colours if you were buying the set for someone or even if you wanted to learn yourself you could ask for it!

CND Vinylux – New Years’ Nails set

£31.95

This set includes two shades along with a top coat. I have found CND are very high quality products and they last so long without chipping! They advertise as lasting a week but I think it can definitely last longer. Both shades are very metallic/sparkly for the party season.

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I really hope you enjoyed reading and that I have given you some great ideas this Christmas!

Sarah xxx

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Crabtree & Evelyn: Rosewater & Pink Peppercorn

One of my favourite scents so far that I have tried from Crabtree & Evelyn has got to be Rosewater & Pink Peppercorn.

Crabtree and Evelyn have always been my go to company for handcare. The whole range can be found here but I have been trying:

Hydrating soap

Hydrating hand therapy which comes in 25ml and 100ml

Hydrating hand recovery

I love that you can buy the hand cream in multiple sizes as the small one is handy for on the go and the larger one can be kept at home 🙂

The fragrance is described by the brand as Rose petal notes heightened with the sweet spice heat of Pink Peppercorn and Akigalawood, captured from Patchouli.

The soap is great as it leaves your hands not only clean, but smelling great. It is also very moisturising. Often soaps can dry out your hands but the shea butter hydrates your hands leaving them soft and clean.

The hand creams (hand therapy) are very moisture rich but are a non greasy formula and you can really feel them working on your hands.

The hand recovery is not something I had tried or heard of before. It is a gentle exfoliating wash to help remove any dead skin and dirt, prepping your hands for the hand therapy.

Using all of these together leaves your hands feeling amazing and smelling so good 🙂

Sarah x

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Odylique lavender hand and body wash

Lavender is one of my favourite scents so I was so excited to try this lavender hand and body wash.

This bottle of hand and body wash is:

Suitable for Vegans.

Free from all sulphates, artificial preservatives, etc.

pH 5.5 – balanced to that of the skin.

Recyclable packaging.The Lavender Hand/Bodywash is now packaged in a 100% recycled UK-made bottle (which used to be a milk bottle!)

It smells great and leaves your hands/body feeling clean and soft. It is great for anyone with sensitive skin too.

I use this as a hand wash in my kitchen now as if I have it in the shower it won’t last as long.

Sarah x