Winter Nail Faves 2013

It's almost Spring and I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite nail finds for the Winter months. 

First lets start with these new nail foils that have recently hit the shelves. OK, I'm a bit of a fan. At first I was a bit sceptical thinking ' They will fall off easily' and ' They probably look cheap'. But I really love these. They come in cute designs for any girls taste weather you like animal print, bright pops of colour, lacey details or ( my personal fave) glittery diamonties. 

The first set I tried was the Fingrs- nail makeup. I actually picked these up from my local Coles supermarket and was very happy with them. They were these cute multicoloured diamonties on a sheer sticker. They were soooo easy to put on. All I had to do was take the sticker off the backing, stick it onto my nail and file the edge off. These lasted me about four days before they started to peel off but I'm not exactly gentle with my nails. 

I was really impressed and received a few compliments as well. I would defenatly use these again. They are soooo pretty and they are a lot more friendly on your coins than going to a nail bar.

So yep, highly recommended. Especially if you want that special budget friendly nail makeover for a high school formal or a weekend holiday or just to treat yourself (which is why I bought them in the first place)

 On the same shopping trip to Coles I also picked up the Fingrs - Edge Fashion Nails. These are really funky and colourful. Ok so these are not in the nail foils category but they are false nails with the designs already printed on them. No need for fussing or painting its already done. Handy, huh? One of my friends raved about them, she used them while she was on holiday so I gave them a go. Whats even more handy about them is that they also come with nail glue and double sided stickys, so you can choose how you want to apply them. I'm mega lazy so I went for the stickers and I only wanted to wear them for a little while. But if you want longevity, I'd say go the glue.
One drawback I find with fake nails is that they usually come in one size. Sure they have short length, average length, oval tips, square tips etc. But only a few companies have made nails with petite hands in mind. And my nails are petite .
 So usually I have to file all around the nail to get it to match my nail bed, and that can take hours if I want it to look half decent. 
 Even though I really loved the look of these nails and the length was nice I would personally look for a petite range for myself. I did put these nails on my faves list because I would highly recommend them if you do not need to use a smaller fake nail. I hope you enjoy trying these nails too!

OK, so this is not an exclusive Winter fave. I pretty much use the Sally Hansen Double Duty Base and Top Coat all year round. As you can see it comes clear and when used as a top coat it leaves a really lovely glossy finish. I prefer a thick brush with my polishes and I find that this product has a really good brush and makes it easy for precise application.
I love love clear polishes. I think they are so low maintenance and they give your nails a natural looking uplift.
 I wear this clear most of the time because I like to have shiny nails.
When I use this with my polishes as a base and top coat I honestly think that the colour last 2-3 days longer. If I don't use this then my polishes peel pretty quickly and then I have to dig out the nail colour, touch them up, wait for them to dry etc etc. Urg, all too hard. So I'm pretty keen on this product, and it doesn't dry your nails out (like some other products.)

So I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is after a base and top coat that lasts. And its in one handy bottle.

 I'm noticing a bit of a pattern here, but another favourite also comes from the Sally Hansen range. Boy, does she know how to make great nail stuff. I'm always on the lookout for a lovely nail colour and I'm pretty partial to pinks and purples. So when I saw this gorgeous dark purple I was sold.
The bottle is cute enough with a diamond cut around the edges and also a little diamonte on the top of the bottle. First impressions count, but 99% of the product has to be good when I buy it and the extra 1% is a bonus if it has cute packaging . I have used Sally Hansen polishes before and none of them have disappointed me.
Firstly there is the great brush that makes it so much easier to apply the paint. And the colour is such a beautiful on-trend purple, when I put this on I also saw that it left a pretty shine behind as well. No wonder why they call it Diamonte. This is definitely not a matte colour. I was also impressed with the longevity of the colour on my nails, it lasted about four days before any peeling at all. That was without the Sally Hansen Base and Top Coat . Next time I think I'll try using the base and top coat with the polish just to see how long it lasts, I'll let you know how it goes.
If you only have a budget for one nail polish this winter, yep, try this one I reckon.

 I was given these Sally Hansen Nail Strips from a friend. I was so excited to try these because I have seen these everywhere but just did not buy any. What I first noticed is the gorgeous design of black lace on a blood red base.
 This particular brand of nail strips come in soooo many designs and colours. you wont be short on choices, and whats better than that?
At first I was a bit disappointed because after fifteen minutes of (incorrectly) trying to apply them, they just would not stick.  So I finally relented and carefully read the simple four step instructions and they finally stuck, (turns out they have an adhesive side but you have to take the backing off first. Who would have thunk?) After they have been applied all that needs to be done is a bit of filing on the nail tip to even everything out.
So all in all, another favourite because they are super easy, super pretty and super gentle on the purse.

Have a great day girls!

Renee x