New Years NOTD: Barry M Gelly "Blackberry" with 2True Glitterati

I asked the Other Half what colour I should go for for New Years and he replied 'indigo' thinking I didn't have anything like that; oh how wrong he was. I did the Gelly polish thinking I might just have that. But it was SO thick and stringy and the brush was awful and I made a right mess. This is however just one thick coat, so great coverage :) I then decided that it needed a bit of sparkle. So I turned to 2True Glitterati "Shade 3"! It's also hideously thick and unwieldy but it dries relatively quickly so it wasn't so much of a bother. I finished with a couple of layers of MegaShine to boost up the shine on the glitter.

"Blackberry" on it's own - this is 1 coat only and NO TOP COAT , it really is that shiny on it's own!

Messy messy... but I am sure it will be easier to clean up after my shower tomorrow...

And check out my lovely new Manicure Station! It's the Rio Nail Studio I got for Xmas and my IKEA clamp lamp :) It makes my manicures much easier to do!

Xmas NOTD: China Glaze "Ruby Pumps"

Tomorrow is Xmas Eve which is my Xmas! Woohoo! I am so excited 'cause I've managed to make a lot of traditional Swedish food for a traditional Xmas meal! I opted to wear my fave red glitter, even though I did think I might want to wear China Glaze "Emerald Sparkle" and also had thoughts of Color Club "Holiday Splendor" but ended back up with the good old red jelly glitter :D I made a matching pedicure as well!

This is 2 coats with top coat. It always photographs so awfully, so I made video to make sure you can see how amazingly sparkly it is :) And yes, that's my kitchen Xmas lights you can see reflected in the bottle!

Advent NOTD #5: OPI "Merry Midnight"

This is polish from the "Holiday Wishes" 2009 OPI collection. I love this polish but I always forget how crap the brush is in this. I have a faulty brush in this bottle so putting the polish on is an awful experience; you can tell the mess on the cuticles. I couldn't get a decent photo of it either :( This is 3 coats as it's stealthily sheer. This means it takes some time to dry properly, and I've already buggered a nail on the other hand... Anyway I still love this polish, it's really unique! It has a dark purple base with bits of blue glitter and large flakies that are opalescent but look mostly red :)

Advent NOTD #4: Color Club "Magic Elf"

I am not doing very well with churning out Xmas nails haha :D I've got so lazy! Oh well. I've been unwell since Wednesday with yet another cold but felt ok today so I did a manicure. I've decided on a green tonight - the enchanting "Magic Elf" from Color Club, from their Enchanted Holidays collection for Xmas 2010.

This is 3 coats, as it is surprisingly sheer. I slicked on some MegaShine top coat as well. I still have never re-discovered my bottle of Lumos top coat... I am sure the cat must've knocked it behind the desk but I just can't find it. It's sooooo sparkly that you can't help but be mesmerized by your own nails :)

I've been toying with the idea of doing 'gel sandwich' manicures... Since I have sooooo many polishes it would be really interesting to see how it would work. I found a tutorial on another blog, so I think I will try this for the New Year. Oh and I am doing training in OPI Gelcolor in February, which I am stoked about! :) I am going to make another Gellux manicure for my toes this week but first I will have to bake my gingerbread cookies!!

Advent NOTD #3: Mavala "Pure Diamond"

My advent nails concept is going badly wrong as I've been suffering from asthma really badly for the last week and a half an now I have a cold - again!!! You can imagine was acetone and polish fumes does to already inflamed respiratory tracts so I therefor have not been doing nails... But I spotted these 'baubles' in John Lewis and had to have one! I love the concept - it's like a Christmas decoration especially for nail nerds :) This is just 2 coats of polish, it's a very dense glitter even though the base colour is clear. No problems to apply at all, but it dries very gritty and you will need 2 coats of top coat to smooth it out and bring the glitters  true 'bling' potential out.

Advent NOTD #2: Isadora "Polar Nights"

My dear Mum got this for me from Sweden, it's part of Isadora's 'Northern Lights' Holiday makeup range for 2012. I saw this on Neglelakkmani and knew I had to have it. It is a navy jelly with silver and blue glitter and silver hexagon glitter. Amazing :) It looks more blue in real life than it does here.

Application is not so amazing though. This is after I cleaned it up :( That dastardly glitter and pigment just goes everywhere and the formula is so goopy so it's just flooding everywhere when you apply it. That thick formula makes it very opaque though, this is only 2 coats. You might want to try on some glitter placement with this polish - as you can see my pinkie has no hexagons at all on it. But it's still a lovely polish :D I am sure that a shower will cure the horrible staining!

I love the colour but the formula probably means it's going to sit in my Helmer drawers for some time before I wear it again.... And now for something completely different!

My cute little guppy community. I got them free off a lovely local lady who breeds them and has hundreds but wanted to mix the colony bloodlines up so was getting rid of some to make room for the new stock. I already have a half-grown fry as you can see :D

Advent Calendar NOTD #1: Rimmel Precious Stones "Ruby Crush"

I decided that I wanted to do an 'every-other-day' Advent Calendar this year and include festive colours and also some actual Christmas collection polishes. So I am kicking off with the incredibly sparkly full coverage glitter polish from Rimmel's Precious Stones collection - "Ruby Crush". I've already worn it's sister "Diamond Dust". It looks flat in photos but is sooo sparkly in real life. This is 2 coats with 2 coats of MegaShine top coat as it's so gritty. Wow!! Even my Mum was impressed :) I loved it so much I made a matching pedicure!

NOTD: Barry M Xmas Limited Edition "Christmas Pink"!

This is one of 4 killer limited editions for Christmas from Barry M! This one is from Boots, there's a pink and a gold, they are free with a purchase of £6 from Barry M :) Promo starts today so be quick if you want one!

This is 2 coats with MegaShine top coat. It's INSANELY shimmery, and I think it's maybe got some holo particles in there in the pink glimmer as well! Awesome :)

I can't wait for the blue version of this from Superdrug - that promo starts 5th December!

NOTD: Barielle "Date Night"

This is an old nail-tastic polish I found in my Helmer tonight as I was raking through trying to find something I wanted to put on. I'd nearly forgotten about my Barielles :) It was between "Date Night" and "Decadence" which isn't an easy choice! But true green prevailed. I did struggle with the formula on this, I think it's maybe going a bit thick in it's old age so need a bit of thinning.

This is 2 coats with a slick MegaShine top coat to seal it quick so I could watch the latest episode of MasterChef: The Professionals! Love watching them cook - some weird and wonderful mistakes being made :)

NOTD: Max Factor "Fantasy Fire"

I layered this over OPI "Sapphire in the snow" today, but it turned out a lot darker than anticipated but still has a fierce glow :) I think I will try it over a blue shimmer next to see how that goes... This is 2 coats of "Sapphire in the snow"...

..with 2 coats of "Fantasy Fire" and then a slick of MegaShine top coat. How awesomely smooth is "Sapphire in the snow"??? I love it, almost so much that I wish I hadn't put the Max Factor over it...

Now for something completely different. I've finally discovered which combination of hand products that actually started to heal my horribly dry and scaly hands and cuticles. During the day I use Aveeno Hand Cream, then at night I put on a generous dollop of Burt's Bees Hand Salve and then massage in a cuticle oil (even though the Hand Salve is quite oily - the nail oil has smaller molecules which penetrate deeper into the nail). I am currently using CND SolarOil but I am thinking of trying out the new Dadi'Oil which a lot of other professionals are using just now. The Aveeno Hand Cream does contains silicones which I don't generally like but it acts like a 'glove' on your hands so you will get away with not putting cream on again after every single hand washing which is good as that's not always practical. I love the smell of Burt's Bees Hand Salve but if you find it's too greasy, just pop on some cotton gloves over it as you retire for the night :) It's finally showing an improvement in my hands, my sore scaly palms are smooth again and cuticles aren't as dry. I hope it will continue to improve as I use it and keep the lizard skin at bay this winter!

NOTD: Rimmel Play Fast "Camouflage"

I love this polish :) When I feel down, I slick this on and it's totally better! This is good old naughty chemically laden formula with very smooth application and perfect coverage. This is 2 coats with MegaShine top coat. This is one of a few bottles of polish I have a back-up bottle of...

Do you have a polish that you have a back-up bottle of because you love it so much?

NOTD: China Glaze "Coconut Kiss"

I just felt like something purple today :) So here is my all-time favourite purple China Glaze "Coconut Kiss"! I am not able to get a good photo of this - I think that there is something iffy with the focussing on my camera?? I hope there is nothing wrong as I can't afford to replace/fix it just now. But you can see how gloriously purple it is :)

This is 3 coats with MegaShine top coat - it's deceptively sheer... But it's worth it, it's so velvety :)

NOTD: Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers "Once upon a time"

My best friend Jimmie returned from his travels to America with 3 polishes from a brand I've been lusting after for years - Fantasy Makers! :) I decided to put this one on first. It's got red hexagonal glitter with little red glitter interspersed. I had to put it over a black creme polish to get the desired effect however, it's as usual with glitters pretty sheer. It is essentially a red version of Revlon "Facets of Fuschia" and I therefor anticipate a painful removal so I put it over PVA glue base :) Lets hope it peels as nicely as my trial! If not I need a new bottle of acetone to soak it off with... It was pretty messy to apply as I tried to place glitter bits... And after a coat of MegaShine top coat it's still a bit lumpy but it doesn't matter as the polish is awesome!

I love the bottle for these and the colours are usually really cool - I've been wanting to try some of these for ages. I also got the glow-in-the-dark one called "Go with the glow" and a black one with tiny pink glitter called "Rest in pieces"! I can't wait to try the glow-in-the-dark one on my tootsies - how cool will it be to turn the light out at bedtime and see the toes glowing??

NOTD: OPI "Goldeneye"

I saw this gold glitter polish from the James Bond collection and knew it had to be mine! :) It's not just glitter, it's got little almost flakey bits as well. This is 3 coats but could have done with another coat! It's not sheer as such but it does leave less glitter particles in certain places if that makes any sense? You can see some sheerness on my tips on my ring finger. It does however sparkle so intensely you will hardly notice any sheer bits! :) I finished with a coat of MegaShine to speed dry it so I could fiddle with my computer straight away (I have just installed Windows 8).

PVA Glue Glitter Base Coat Experiment

So I have come down with a nasty case of laryngitis AGAIN (it's like last year is repeating itself all over again) so I am in my jim-jams and pottering about as my stupid computer has broken down and I can't play Skyrim a lot (I get tired of trying to play it on the laptop). So I decided to try and recreate the PVA glue glitter base coat tutorial that Pretty Purple Polish has on her blog :) I won't try and explain or describe in depth, she's already done that, so I will just show you step by step photos of my adventures! I peeled it off with my thumb nail as my hoof stick wasn't really co-operating. I used Hobbycraft PVA glue in the red and white bottle.

Thick layer of PVA glue

Dried glue in 8mins

4 coats of OPI "Last Friday Night" (Katy Perry Collection) and a coat of MegaShine top coat.

Half way there....

Cool!!

No nail damage, just a bit of glue residue and a slight bit of polish left, easily removed with acetone!

So how does it wear I wonder, because it totally works for removing without hassle! I can't top Pretty Purple Polish's wear test, go to her blog post to read all 'bout it :)

Glitter glitter glitter....

As you know, I am constantly moaning about removing glitter polishes. Well, while perusing some of my fave blogs I came across a post on Nailasaurus that mentions using PVA glue as base coat and you will then just be able to peel the whole thing off!! Sounds too good to be true?? Will I be able to use all my awkward glitter polishes all the time now? Check out the tutorial on Pretty Purple Polish and see for yourself :) I will be trying this tonight!

NOTD: Revlon "Rainforest"

'Jansjö' clamp-lamp from IKEA

Last night I decided to put on the new Revlon polish I bought in Glasgow. I used my new 'toy' I got from my brother - a pink bendy clamp-on LED light from IKEA called 'Jansjo'. How awesome! :) I've been struggling with the light for some time in the house, it's just too dark everywhere to paint my nails properly. This light is 'brilliant'! In this instance the formula didn't help me - application was messy :(

The new Revlon 'gel formula' is fairly thick and opaque and the brush in my bottle wasn't very good. It seemed to overload with the polish and pool on the nail. It covered well in 2 coats however but was tricky to apply neatly. It dries fairly quickly though and to a high shine. I already have tip wear however after just one day of office work... But I am the chipping queen so it's rare that polishes last more than couple days on me so that's not necessarily something that will happen for everyone! I will probably get another couple colours from this new collection once they hit Aberdeen!

I think this looks like a bit of a moss-green version of China Glaze "Zombie Zest" maybe? Or a more golden China Glaze "Emerald Sparkle"?? What do you think, have you tried the new Revlons and if so which ones do you like??

NOTD: Rimmel "Diamond Dust"

I've been insanely busy in the last few days as my little brother was over visiting so I just had time now to post my latest NOTD. This is 3 coats of "Diamond Dust" then 2 coats of top coat, could have done with a 3rd coat of top coat!! Very gritty but incredibly sparkly. It took me 20 mins to take this off with acetone...

We went to Glasgow for a heavy metal gig on Sunday and we did some shopping and I found the new Revlon nail polish stand in Boots in Glasgow - I've still not seen these yet in Aberdeen! I bought "Rainforest" and eyed up a couple of others but I will wait until they come to Aberdeen to buy any more as I want to see how the new formula works. I am hoping to put something new on tonight so we will see what takes me fancy!

Halloween manicure: China Glaze "DV8"

I frickin' love this teal holo :) The formula is thick and unwieldy, and it's tricky to apply and can leave serious bald spots but with careful application the result is stunning! You can't really see how vibrantly holographic it is here, my camera is too crap!

I chose this to cheer myself up after shaving the Man's beard off for Movember - he looks lovely without it but I loved that beard :(

Pink October NOTD: Bloom "Molly"

I wanted a bright pink today so I chose this neon pink from Bloom. It's truly neon - it's in fact so hot it screws up my camera and it can't focus properly :O I am going to try and photograph this is daylight, and it might go better. This is 3 coats with a coat of Mega-Shine top coat. You have to be careful applying this as it can streak but other than that it's a cracking colour :)

First snow!

First snow of the winter has arrived and I feel I am not ready after the crappy summer we had... :O But it still looks so beautiful and serene :)

Top Beauty Myth #1...

DON'T add remover to your polish EVER. It's meant to break down the polish so all it  will do is ruin the formula and make the polish separate. In a pinch you can thin it with clear polish but ideally use nail polish thinner, which basically puts back the evaporated chemicals to improved the formula. And DON'T store polish in the fridge... It doesn't stop evaporation and the time my friend did it all her polishes separated irreparably and she threw them out.

Pink October NOTD: China Glaze "Bad Kitty"

The little glass beads of my MUA Nail Constellations fast disappeared between the keys of my keyboard at work today to the point when I thought "What will I say happened when the IT department ask when I have to request a new keyboard as the glass beads have lodged in the keyboard and destroyed it?..." So I decided to take it off...

I love this glitter from the China Glaze glitter collection of 2009 - the colour and the name! :) I layered this over Collection 2000 Hot Looks "Neon Art" which is a creme very close to the base colour of this glitter. The glitter is dense and looks almost foil-y when you layer it on. This is 2 coats of "Bad Kitty" over a coat of "Neon Art". So sparkly - best viewed slightly out of focus :) It's a bit 'gritty' on the nail and requires 2 coats of top coat to become smooth. But it's worth it :) Again, it looks almost orange in the photos here - it's more pink in real life!

Pink October NOTD: MUA Nail Constellations "Gemini"

I spotted these on The Nailasaurus some time ago but being in the North-East of Scotland, it takes time for new stuff to travel... :) I finally found that my fave Superdrug had not only had a fantastic re-fit but also now has a massive stand for MUA! So I got this baby and also "Pisces" Nail Constellations, but I'll have to wait til Pink October is over to show you that one!

I started with a nude pink manicure to really make the statement nails stand out. I decided on my old classic China Glaze "Innocence". This is 2 coats with top coat. But I kind of wish I'd done a pink manicure with this instead now... I then slapped on a blob of quick-drying top coat on the nails with the beads, quickly sprinkled on the beads, then patted them down so they really stick to the polish :) I've has a couple pop off already but I expected that - I don't expect the statement nails to last! Then you just have to be patient to let it dry thoroughly before you try and tidy up... Using the silicone nozzle on the bottle turned upside down you can pour the left-over beads back into the bottle easily! These retail for a nifty £3, and come in five 'constellations' (colour blends)!

It was really hard to photograph - the sharp photos made it look awful :( I must try a daylight photo for this...

"We interrupt this program for an important announcement..."

So here is the polish eluded to in the last post - KBShimmer "Oh splat!". I am not usually crazy about the indie nail polish scene as I am fairly afraid of chunky glitters (the removal makes me cry) but then I happened upon swatches on other blogs of this polish and I knew I needed it...So I am sorry to break the pink theme for October but I just needed to wear this!!

I got this from Harlow & Co, but it was already sold out 30mins or so after the restock on Saturday! :O You can sign up to their Facebook and also alerts on each polish so you won't miss a restock.

This is 3 thin coats with Megashine top coat. I made a mess on the cuticle of a couple of nails trying to re-position some glitter bits, I should have just left it alone... It doesn't really need any moving of glitter particles, it seems to put itself on just fine. I overloaded the brush on the last coat however and ended up making a mess... :( It's not a gritty polish at all, the glitter bits seem to be very, very thin and lie very flat.

This is a magnificent polish :) I love how it's so colourful, yet not?...

To make up for the lack of pink polish I thought I would show you my glamorous Cyclamen house plant :) How gorgeous is she??

Pink October NOTD: Max Factor "Diva Pink"

I am hotting up the pink a little bit with this fuchsia beauty! This is one of the mini polishes from Max Factor, so it's a teeny-tiny bottle. All the mini polishes are very colourful but at RRP £3.99 perhaps a bit expensive. Formula on this is good although I would suggest 3 coats for longer nails as its a slightly see-thru formula. In the same collection is the marvelous "Fantasy Fire", which would have been  a sure contender had it been 'Purple October'! :)

Pink October NOTD: Rimmel LycraPRO "Pink of me"

I love this colour - but it looks a bit too peachy in my photos compared to in real life. It has a secret shimmer to it. Some compare it to Chanel 'Mistral' and from photos it does look very similar! I will do some daylight photos for you as well for this beauty.

This is 3 arduous coats - it can go bald and streak if you are not careful! Let each layer dry before you do the next layer, including the top coat layer! The black bit under my pinkie nail is a remnant of Barry M "Ruby Glitter" and I just can't get it off!! I only took off the Barry M as I am requiring a subtle mani for work tomorrow...

Pink October NOTD: Barry M "Ruby Glitter "

So I continue my foray into Pink October for breast cancer awareness with a slightly strange pink polish :) Barry M has been bringing out some incredible polishes this year - they've always been the off-beat colourful high street brand but this year they have excelled themselves! :) I scored this polish in Superdrug the other day while buying blister plasters for my feet (my new River Island Ugg boot copies are eating my Achilles tendon..) This is another one of their new glitter polishes. It's pink and black hexagon glitter with little black bits in a clear base. This is 3 coats, I did try to do some glitter placing but it as just a bit messy! I was was distracted between coats trying to help the Other Half try on his new chest waders so it was a good thing the polish dries really fast. But being really quick-drying means it also gets goopier and goopier with each coat, as you can see from bits of glitter pretty much all over the cuticle :( I tried tidying it up with acetone on a q-tip but it wouldn't budge... I can see myself soaking this off as I would a gel polish manicure with foil wraps :-/

I've got an awesome polish coming all the way from Canada soon, and I might well have to interrupt Pink October to put it on!.. I will keep you in suspense until it arrives....

FAVE PRODUCTS: Sally Hansen Nail Quencher cuticle cream

I just wanted to show you my favorite cuticle cream! At night I still use nail oil, I use Solaroil at the moment, but I keep this in my handbag for the office and on the go now as my cuticles are going crazy with the cold weather!

Pink October NOTD: The Body Shop "Twinkling Pink"

I bought this is the half price sale after Christmas 2011 :) It's amazingly sparkly, especially in sunshine. It's has a pale, cool-toned pastelly pink colour. The formula is a bit gritty with all that microglitter and hard to control - but I think that may be down to the brush as well maybe? This is 2 coats of polish with a coat of Megashine top coat. Once you have top coat on the polish is perfectly smooth! I had some problems with the formula so the application was a bit messy...

Pink October NOTD #3: NYC "Midtown"

I continue my pink polishes for October - and I love a bit of a hot pink shimmer polish so I chose this one for today :) Please excuse the mess, I managed to drop the open bottle which I was finishing and so got polish all over my hands :( I then had to touch up some nails which had got slightly dented so they got a bit messy...

The formula on this is kind of jelly-like but still quite pigmented, but it requires a good 3 coats to cover properly. I have cut my nails really short again so visible nail line is not a problem for me. I slicked on some Megashine top coat to speed up the drying, even though it's a quick drying polish.

Pink October NOTD #2: Barry M "Pink Sapphire"

I continue my pink October NOTDs with a brand new glitter polish from Barry M! They've got some really great new polishes this year including glitter magnetic ones and gel-look ones. I love a bit of Barry M so when I saw this I knew I had to have it :)

I used a coat of my good old pink creme Rimmel LycraPRO "Urban Princess" as a base, as this polish comes in a clear base. Since my nails are still stained with window paint, I needed an opaque base.This is one of those 'blob it on' glitters. You need to slap on a big blob of it and move it about to get it as loaded as you want it. It gets really thick but multiple coats can be just patchy. I used a coat of the holo glitter Essie "Carnival" under it to give it even more bling! I put on two coats of top coat to smooth it out but it's pretty lumpy still. But the amazing sparkle of this manicure far outweighs any awkward application and lumpy finish :D

OPI "A-rose at dawn broke by noon" updated

Here is a daylight photo of my NOTD; it still doesn't look as pink like it does in real life but it's a lot closer!

Pink October NOTD #1: OPI "A-rose at dawn, broke by noon"

I have decided to only wear pink nail polish in October, to raise awareness about breast cancer. According to Breakthrough Breast Cancer Care, every day, 130 UK women are diagnosed with breast cancer. That means more than 4,000 mums, daughters, sisters and friends will hear the dreadful news during Breast Cancer Awareness month of October alone. I feel strongly about raising awareness about checking your breasts. Cancer is unfortunately in my family and I have therefore been checking my breasts since I was in my early 20s. As most of us carry a smartphone nowadays, I have given a link below for a new app from Breakthrough Breast Cancer that helps you check your breasts.

OPI "A-rose at dawn, broke by noon" is one of my all time favourite pinks, albeit a bit brush-stroke-y! :) This is 2 coats with Megashine top coat. It has a lovely pink metallic glow that looks amazing in bright sunshine. I love the colour of this, but it looks a bit too peachy in my photo - I will try and get a daylight photo tomorrow for you!


TODAY's TIPS:
Early detection improves your chances - I encourage all my friends to get the ibreastcheck app for their phone and if you think something is wrong, go and see your doctor straight away! 

Micro blogging...

In the cinema after getting my new Samsung galaxy S3 upgrade, with icecream and waiting to see "The Campaign" :)

NOTD: OPI "Baby it's coal outside"

I really wanted to put on a nail polish for tomorrow when I go for a special little shopping trip to upgrade my mobile phone, so I dug around in my Helmer. I didn't know what I fancied... Then I came across this polish. This was part of OPI's 'Holiday in Toyland' Holiday 2008 collection, one of the very first polishes from seasonal collections I bought when I started this blog!

This is a sparkly charcoal black, as close as you can get to a black glitter polish, I suppose! This is 2 coats with a coat of Megashine top coat. I really love this polish, and a funny fact is that I got this polish exactly  4yrs and 1 day ago :) I don't like the application of this though, it's quite thick and unwieldy. But the end result is worth it!

I am off to read up on the new Samsung Galaxy S III which will hopefully be mine tomorrow! :)

REVIEW: Garnier Olia hair colour "7.13 Dark Beige Blonde"

Due to my stained nails from the window paint I'm giving them a bit of rehab with no polish, just oil. So I coloured my hair again instead! I got some of the newly released Garnier Olia hair colour. It is supposed to use oils to deliver the pigment to the hair so that it's coloured in a more gentle way! I chose this colour which is a shade darker than my usual hair colour. I apologise for the incredibly broken hair, I really need a visit to the hairdresser but it takes me months to build up to a hair appointment as I've got a fear of getting my hair cut... I haven't used any products here like I normally do so I can show you the hair as it was from using this hairdye. I normally put on some Redken hair oil on the ends which smooths away these pesky flyaways...

Anyway back to the review. The applicator bottle is a drop design, fairly snazzy looking but I have tiny hands so I found it a bit 'slippy' in my grip. The gloves are the usual shitty plastic things with fingers so long the gloves would easy fit E.T the extra-terrestrial... I ditched them and use the pink vinyl gloves I use for my nail technology work instead. The mixing of the product and application is straight-forward.

The best thing about this product was the smell, or lack of it! My asthma is still bad, but this hair colour doesn't contain ammonia and has a very mild, non-fume-y smell. It was actually quite pleasant, for hair colour. It has to be on for 30mins so you need a good magazine while it develops...

I like the colour but it's a bit dark - a bit darker than it seems here. I will try to get another photo tomorrow in daylight. But it's a nice natural colour with soft hair and a lot of shine! I like this product so I think I will try the "8.0 Blonde" next time instead!

To carry on the oil theme - I got this new body treatment from Garnier as well - "Ultimate Beauty Oil":

I've worn it for night time for a while, and it's lovely! It smells of holidays in the sun and makes skin silky and smooth overnight :) It contains no silicones. But as it's a spray-on oil, you should probably apply this on a washable bathmat, not in your bedroom carpet and definitely not on vinyl or laminate flooring!!