Home Mani Essentials

As I have already mentioned I love doing my nails...here are my must have picks for the perfect at home mani.

Mavala Scientifique Nail Strengthener - My nails are naturally quite weak and brittle but this little god send from Mavala sorts them out! It is a great product, I just pop some on the top third of my nail before my base coat and voila...perfect nails!

Essie Fill The Gap - I love everything that Essie has to offer, they are definitely one of my favourite nail brands and this has been my go to base coat for ages now, it creates the perfect base for any colour and evens out and bumps from peeling or weak nails.

Gelous - This was a little beauty of a find on ebay that I came across on my never ending quest for super shiny nails. It makes any polish look like salon quality gel. Only problem is sometimes I find the polish doesn't last as long as it may do without gelous added.

Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Top Coat  - My top coat of choice at the moment is a nails inc offering. I do like Seche Vite but find that the bottle dries out really quickly. Kensington Caviar gives the same effect and doesn't dry out so in my book comes out tops!

Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Cuticle Pen - A great choice of cuticle oil to put in your handbag and carry about for tip top cuticle care. This oil is really lightweight and sinks in really quickly...plus it has the bonus of helping nail growth.

Essie Apricot Oil - I love the smell of this oil, it is so divine. I keep it next to my bed or on my desk to (attempt) to love my cuticles a couple of times a day. Its slightly heavier than the Sally Hansen pen making it better for at home application rather than on the go in my book.

Good quality Nail File and Cuticle Trimmers - I can't remember where I got these from but you can get good quality ones from Boots and most beauty retailers. I am super fussy about nail files I hate thin ones, the ones I tend to go for are a bit more cushioned and feel more gentle when I am filing my nails down.

So there you have it, my collection of must have mani items.

What products are in your manicure kit?

Mani Monday - Barry M Gelly Prickly Pear

Mani Monday is going to be a regular weekly post that I do, if you read my Barry M Gelly Polish Haul post on Friday you will already be aware of my nail polish addiction and my love for Barry M polishes.

As you can see I chose the lilac shade Prickly Pear to wear and I love it, its such a nice colour and really complements my skin tone (I am super super pale). This will definitely be a shade that gets a lot of wear this Spring and Summer.

I am going to do a post on my essential at home manicure items later this week so make sure you check back for that if your nail obsessed like me.

Do you like the shade Prickly Pear on me? What colour will you be painting your nails this Mani Monday?

Barry M Gelly Nail Polish Haul

It is no secret that I have a slight/major obsession with nail polishes. I own ALOT and they all live on salon style shelves in my wardrobe. They used to be on my wall but now I live with my boyfriend they had to be put away (boo). I can happily spend days without make up on but if my nails are unpainted I just feel incomplete. Looking at my collection (which is now too big for my shelves) it is insane to think that I could possibly need anymore however on a quick trip to Boots and Superdrug I was quickly taken in by the vibrant shades and bright pastels and just HAD to grab a few to bring my nails out of my dark greys and purples faze and head into spring/summer happy nails.

Barry M are by far my favourite high street polish brand, in fact it was them that started my obsession with nail polish. I love everything about them. The colour range, price point and formula are impossible to fault and when they bought their Gelly range out my nails were happy happy happy. I love gel nails but I tend to change my colour too often to warrant getting them done in a salon. This gel formula is such a great alternative. Shiny salon looking nails that I can change whenever I want without feeling guilty that I spent money on a manicure and whipped them off a few days later.

The colours I picked up are Prickly Pear a beautiful lilac shade, Grapefruit a coral pink (my favourite colour for sunny holidays), Passionfruit a warm bright red, Papaya a bright pastel peach, Sugar Apple a stunning pastel mint and Green Berry a brighter mint shade.

Not only are the colours amazing but the names are great too, I just can't help feeling summery! There is no doubt a couple (or all) of these polishes will be in my holiday bag at the end of this month!

And just to make things better in Superdrug Barry M cosmetics are buy 2 get one free at the moment...even more of an excuse to stock up.

Look out for my Mani Monday post on Monday (shock!) to see which shade I chose first!

Do you like Barry M polishes? What's your favourite shade?