De Tuinen Aloe Vera Hand Cream

Hi,

In my latest shop in Essenza I couldn't resist to buy this hand cream from De Tuinen for only € 1,00. And reading the ingredients of this product didn't help with my desire to buy this, because this hand cream doesn't contain any parabens, silicons, coloring or mineral oils. It's pretty natural and doesn't contain any chemicals which I'm all about.

This hand cream smells like pure aloe vera which honestly I don't like the scent of, but it does smell pretty fresh. Speaking of fresh, it also gives your hands the most fresh feeling you could ever wish for. It leaves your hands feeling soft and moisturized.

I do like this hand cream, because it does the job. But I wouldn't say it's miraculous. I still think Rituals Miracle Balm hand cream is the best one I tried so far.

xoxo
Femke

I Love...'s Hand Lotions

Hi,

I Love... is a nice and cheap brand that mostly uses natural ingredients. I felt like trying something else of their range, so I bought these two hand lotions in the scents 'Mango & Papaya' and 'Raspberry & Blackberry', because I knew both scents smell great.

These hand lotions soak into your skin pretty quickly which is definitely a plus, because no one likes to have sticky hands for a long time. They also feel very fresh which I consider as a benefit as well. But I don't have the feeling it does much besides that. I don't think it's as moisturizing as a hand lotion should be... And it doesn't make my hands feel soft either. It's a bit disappointing...

I'm not repurchasing these products again and I don't really recommend them either. But I do love all the other products of this brand.

xoxo
Femke

Essence Galaxy Lights Topcoat

Hi,

One of the things I got in my Essence Nail Advent Calendar was this topcoat called 'Galaxy Lights'. It's this almost transparant nail polish filled with little glitters. Since these glitters have this beautiful pink sheen, I decided to put this pink nail polish underneath (it's from Essie and the colour is called 'Need a Vacation').



I love these two combined! This topcoat is very subtle, but from up close you can see its pretty glittery effect, which is like a nice surprise. I wouldn't say you need to get this topcoat, because honestly: it isn't that special. But it's something nice to change up your regular nail polishes with.

xoxo
Femke

Essie Millionails Base Coat

Hi, 

A base coat is a very important step in your manicure routine! It protects your nails from the polish you're putting on top and it even has some benefits for your nails themself. I think it's something worth to invest in since you do a long time with it. So I bought the Essie Millionails Base Coat. 

And I do really like this base coat! I wouldn't say it does wonders to my nails, but it is pretty nice. First of all I find my nail polish lasts a lot longer when I wear this base coat underneath. And second of all, it makes my nails healthier. I don't find it really a repairing product, but it does prevent my nails from braking even more, so that's just lovely! 

I really recommend this base coat. I'm probably going to buy it a multiple other times, but I might try some of the other base coats Essie sells as well. Than you can obviously expect another review! 

xoxo

Femke

Essence Nail Advent Calender

Hi,

For my birthday I got this advent calendar of Essence dedicated to nails. It takes me back to my early childhood years, when I always got chocolate advent calendars. It was always such an exciting moment of the day when I got to open it. This one is obviously very exciting too. As you would have expected, it concludes a lot of nail polishes:



I love that there is a huge variety of colors. You have very wintery colors, but also a few summery colors. And there even were some special nail polishes as well, that I'm definitely going to review one of these days:



This is an ombre topcoat. I've never heard of something like this, but I'm very excited to try it out! I've always wanted to try out an ombre nail art, but never got up to it. I hope this works!



Another special nail polish is this snowflake topcoat. This one I've actually already tried out and it looks very cute! It really does give my nails this snowy effect.



I also got a jelly flakes topcoat, that I'm very excited about to try it out as well.



This galaxy lights topcoat looks just beautiful. I don't think this one is that special, it's probably just a glitter topcoat, but it looks still beautiful.



Lastly I got this sparkling matt topcoat. I don't even know how that would work: a sparkling matt? But I'm excited to try it out!

Honestly, Essence nail polish isn't that great... But when I apply my Essie base and topcoat it lasts a lot longer! (just a little tip for you)

Every Sunday I got something else than a nail polish:



One of the things I got was this super cute nail file in the form of a cosy sock.



Another Sunday I got this nail file in the form of a gingerbread man, how cute can it get?



I also got these nail stickers. You even have some reindeers in there! I'm definitely going to decorate my nails with these on christmas day!

And than today, the last day of the advent calendar, I got this golden glittery bag:



Actually I think this bag is the least exciting thing out of all, but well I'm very happy with all the things I got in this advent calendar!

xoxo
Femke

Primark P.S. Love Fake Nails

Hi, 

My friends know how much I love doing my nails, so they recently got me these fake nails for my birthday. It's from the P.S. Love range of Primark. And aren't they adorable?! They aren't really winter or Christmas themed, but I couldn't wait to wear them! 

Putting them on was pretty easy (even though it did took me a while to find out how the glue opened up). It took me more time to figure out which nails fitted the best. In total there were 20 nails, which I think is great because like that you have lots of choice. 

I do find it a pity that you could really tell that they were false... Or maybe I'm just terrible at applying fake nails, but I don't think that could be the problem. 

And they also fell of very quickly... So the glue isn't that great. I had to reapply them a couple of times and after a day I was so tired that I took them off. 

These nails made me never want to try other fake nails again, even though it's probably just these ones that aren't that great... But I did feel very fancy wearing them for one day! 

xoxo

Femke

Easy Halloween Nail Art

Hi,

When I watched Ingrid Nilsen's latest Youtube video, I knew I had to write a post about it! Because in this video Ingrid and her friend Stephanie show you 2 spooky nail art designs, which is perfect with Halloween coming up. And it's very easy to recreate. Ingrid even admits herself that she's bad with nail art and she's able to do these just fine! Here is the video:

Cute, huh? I love the one with cats and you can pull that one of besides Halloween too!

If you're interested in some more Halloween nail art, click here to read (and see all the spooky nail art designs we picked out) our post of last year.

xoxo
Femke

How to Repair a Ripped Nail

Hi,

Isn't a broken nail the most annoying thing ever?! Well, I have the solution for you! I recently watched a new video of Cutepolish and I think it's the most helpfull thing ever! So I really had to share i with you guys! In this video Sandy explains how to fix your ripped nail by using a nailglue. I have no idea where to get this glue, I didn't even know this existed before I watched this video. But I does wonders! Because after applying it on your nails it does not only stops your nail from ripping any further, but it also makes this rip invisable!
Watch the video here:

xoxo
Femke

Essie 'Need a Vacation' Nailpolish

Hi, 

So I recently treated myself with a new nail polish. Something like buying a nail polish can already be very exciting for me. Essie has a huge variety of colours available, so you can choose your perfect colour. Lately I've been in a pink mood, so I decided to buy a pink nail polish. It's so fun to pick one colour out of the multiple pink shades Essie sells. And weirdly enough this colour stood out to me, even though it's very similar to the other pink shades. 

It's called 'Need a Vacation', which is very suitable for this time of the year. And I'm obsessed with this colour, it's perfect for me!

I once reviewed an Essie nail polish called 'Blanc'. I was a bit dissapointed by it back than, because I simply expected way more of Essie's nail polishes. Because let's be honest here: Essie isn't the cheapest brand for nail polishes. But I do think it has the right pigmentation and the brush is also just wonderful.

This nail polish stays perfectly for 3 days too, just like with 'Blanc'. Now I excepted that, because I do see Essie's nail polishes have a better quality than most cheaper brands. And I basically haven't found any nail polishes yet that stay longer than 3 days, so this isn't that bad.

I already know I'll be wearing this nail polish lots this month! 

xoxo

Femke

Essie Blanc

Hi,

So I made this promise to myself to invest in better quality nail polishes. And since Essie is one of the most popular brands of nail polish, I really wanted to buy one of their nail polishes. So I went for the colour 'Blanc', because I've never been able to find a very pigmented white nail polish.

And yes, this is a very pigmented white! I got perfect white with only one coat! So just for that I think Essie is worth its more expensive price.

I also expected this nail polish to last a long time, but unfortunately it didn't... It only stayed perfectly for 3 days. So I'm quit dissapointed about that... Not that I've ever found a nail polish to last me longer than 3 days.

I did expect that the Essie nail polishes would last me longer, but besides that I'm pretty happy with this brand. Their nail polish isn't only very pigmented, I also love the brush and the way it applies on your nails. So I think I'm still going to invest in their products.

xoxo
Femke

2B Nailpolish

Hi,

It's been a long time since I did a nail polish review, which is mainly because I haven't bought new nail polish in a while. Anyway, I saw I didn't review this one from 2B yet, and since it's one of my favorite nail polishes, I really have to write something about it.



I really adore this color because it's bright but still looking very chic. Not too eye catching, but also not boring. I've had this nailpolish for over a year though , so I don't know if they're still selling this color.
It stays on for about two or three days. Not that long, but longer than any other nail polish from one of these cheaper brands, so that's good enough for me.




The only point of critic I have on this nail polish is that it's too thin. Of course this makes it easier to apply, but it also means you have to apply more layers. Here I've applied three layers and as you see it's still a bit transparant.
All in all this is a pretty good nail polish, especially considering the fact that it's really cheap. 2B nail polish costs around €3 for a small bottle like this and €4 for a bigger one.

xoxo
Maia

Essie Good To Go Top Coat

Hi,

So my goal for this year was to invest in better nail polishes. A top coat is one of the most important steps of applying nail polish, so I wanted to buy a really good one. And since I heard so much about Essie's Good To Go top coat, I bought this one.



First of all I love the brush of this nail polish. It's something you don't really think about, but a good brush makes applying nail polish so much easier. Actually all the nail polishes of Essie have this kind of brush, so just for that I would already be prepared to pay a bit more.

What I really love about this top coat and what I haven't experienced with another top coat before, is that this top coat really seals your design and fills in any gaps. So if you made a mistake or so, you can just put this top coat overneath and it will look like nothing has happend.

Also like the name of this top coat already says: it dries really quickly! And come on, none of us have the time to wait for there nail polish to dry.

It really is the best top coat I have ever tried, so I really recommend you to buy it, even though it's a bit more on the pricey side.

xoxo
Femke

How To Shape Your Nails Perfectly Square

Hi,

I personally prefer my nails in a round shape, but square nails can be very pretty and are definitely in fashion at the moment. But those who tried it before know that it isn't as easy as it looks to make your nails perfectly square.
Cutepolish, one of our favorite YouTubers, made a video on how to shape your nails in just the right square shape. She also gives some great tips on how to keep your nails look healthy.



xoxo
Maia

Cat Nail Art Tutorial

Hi,

Today I found this super cute nail art tutorial and I just had to share it with you:



Isn't it adorable? And it's so easy to do!
On the tutorial they use nude nail polish, but of course you can try any color you like. For more color-inspiration you can read our post about bright nail polishes that are great for spring.

xoxo
Maia

Source: Makeup.com

Nail Art Kit Essentials

Hi,

Cutepolish recently made a video with her nail art kit essentials. I think this is very helpful if you want to start out a nail polish collection. She talks about some of her favourite must-have tools and products. So if you wanna start out a nail art kit or maybe expend your nail art kit, then this video would be very helpful for you:

xoxo
Femke

Bright Nail Polishes to Try Out This Spring

Hi,

Now that spring has really begun (it's finally getting warmer here in Belgium!), I thought it was appropriate to share some fun, bright colored nail polishes you should try out this spring. So here are some nail polishes I think you should try:

Barry M Nail Polish in Berry Ice Cream for € 4,11. 

Barry M Nail Polish in Shocking Pink for € 4,11.

Barry M Silk Nail Paint in Mist for € 5,47.

Barry M Matte Nail Paint in Copacabana for € 5,47.

Maybelline Super Stay Gel Nail Color in Surreal for € 6,16.

L'Oréal Color Riche Nail Polish in Flashing Lilac for € 6,84. 

I got my inspiration from Asos, so if you wanna buy any of these feel free tot take a look at asos.com. I also noticed that on Asos you can get these nail polishes a lot cheaper than you would in a normal drugstore here in Belgium.

xoxo
Femke

Sources: weheartit.com, asos,com

Spring Nail Art Inspiration

Hi,

Even though here in Belgium the weather is still not that spring-like, I thought it was appropriate to post some inspirational floral and colorful nail art to get into the spring spirit. So here are some cute spring nail art designs I found at We Heart It and Pinterest:

xoxo
Femke

Sources: We Heart It, Pinterest

How To Fix A Broken Nail

Hi,

Don't we all hate it when a nail breaks off? It can be so frustrating, especially when you finally have all your nails the right lenght and shape. Recently I saw a really helpfull video from CutePolish where she explains how she fixes her broken nails:



xoxo
Maia

Yves Rocher Cuticle Pusher

Hi,

Today I'm reviewing my cuticle pusher of Yves Rocher. I actually got it free, it came with a little travel manicure kit. I got this for free because I have a client card there. You get so many benifits with a client card in Yves Rocher, so I really recommend you to get one. This is already my third "gift" and I only have my client card for 2 months.

Cuticle pushers are mostly metal or wooden, but I prefer the plastic ones. They are very gentle on you cuticles and they don't hurt. Pushing back your cuticles is a must when you want to get healthy and pretty nails, but I hated it because it was always so damn painful. But that isn't the case when I push my cuticles back with this cuticle pusher and it still does its job pretty well.

So I really recommend you to get a plastic cuticle pusher! I'm not sure if you can actually buy mine in Yves Rocher, but I'm sure you will find other great ones. And there isn't really a right or wrong quality-wise with cuticle pushers, so you can get a very cheap one if you want to.

xoxo
Femke

How To Make Your Nails Stronger

Hi,

A while ago I made a post on how to protect your nails from getting weaker in winter, but I actually forgot a very important, yet simple tip. You can make your nails a lot stronger by painting the inside of your nails. You can do this with clear nail polish or with special nail polish to strongen your nails.
I've done this a few times now, when my nails finally grow a bit and I really don't want them to break, and it really helps. You don't have to apply a lot of it and it's enough to apply it once a week.

xoxo
Maia

Source: WeHeartIt