NOTD | Vanity Claire

Happy Easter err’body! I’m going to keep this one short and sweet, frankly because I have a hangover and a Sunday dinner is waiting for me (I love this blog, but I love gravy more).

While I was in Primark last week I decided to pick up a pack of their false nails to give a whirl. I usually wear clear false nails from Boots and paint over them, never attempting any sort of nail art because I’m what’s known as a ‘cackhanded idiot’ and it would just go terribly wrong. So I liked the idea of trying these out and getting an instant bit of nail art on my hand-toes.

I’m actually really impressed with these, especially considering the teeny tiny price tag. I didn’t struggle finding nails that were the right size – which is good in itself seeing as I have spade hands – and they felt sturdy once on. You get about 20 nails in the pack too, so you can easily replace ones that fall of or give yourself a completely new set. The pack also comes with glue, which was surprisingly good. The nails lasted for about four days before one or two started pinging off, at which point I got impatient and started picking at them anyway.

My only beef with the nails is that there isn’t a great choice in terms of patterns in the range. There seemed to be a few aztec ones, a neon leopard print and something weird with rabbits on (let’s hope that was an Easter novelty) – so nothing I was particularly amazed by aside from these ones. Overall though these are brilliant for people like me who will never be able to do nail art without it looking like some horrible accident has happened.

Have any of you tried the Primark false nails?

Please nominate Stylingo.co.uk for the Best Blogging Duo award in this year’s Company Style Blogger Awards!

The sun is shining, I’ve just got back from a picnic lunch by the river Avon and life is just genuinely idyllic (apart from the fact I have to continue working this afternoon, snore). While I was walking home from the gym yesterday, I had SO many ideas for blog posts that I walked straight past my house and ended up in the park because I am a lunatic. I’ve been trying to curb my excitement and not pester you all too much BUT I SIMPLY CANNOT CONTAIN IT ANY LONGER. So this is my post on nail ideas and the nails Claire and I have been wearing recently.

A little background information first. Both Claire and I wear false nails. For me, my natural nails are massively thin and no amount of products/nail care has changed this heartbreaking fact. Even when they do grow nicely, they snap off when they reach a certain length, which saddens me every day as you can imagine. I love having long nails and I have been getting acrylic nails done on and off since I was about 16. I also dabbled in doing my own acrylic nails for a while (which worked fairly well but the effort was too much) and now have settled on glue on nails. These are genuinely amazing and I recommend them to any gal who’s looking for length without the price. I’ve taken a little snap of my box at the moment – it’s nearing the end and is looking a bit tired. BUT, when it is shiny and new you can get 200 nails + nail glue for A BARGAIN PRICE OF £8.50. These nails last me about two months, with me applying the nails every week or so.

I’m actually doing my nails at work today (naughty…for important blogging purposes, of course.) because I didn’t get a chance to last night so I thought I’d post a bit of a step-by-step guide to how I do them. It’s not really rocket science – I’m the clumsiest and least coordinated person EVER – so if I can do it, you definitely can too! If you’re keen to buy the Boots nails, you can find them here. Nailene also do a box of 200, but we haven’t seen them in-store for a while.

Excuse the copious amounts of nail caviar at the bottom of the box – this was last week’s nail venture when I used my nail box as a kind of bowl. Another great reason to buy the Boots false nails, the box is multipurpose ;).

The instructions recommend that you file the nail to give the glue a better surface to stick to. I tend to skip this step as I find it doesn’t make a massive difference. There’s no need to damage your nails even more

I then pick out the nail sizes I want – at the moment I’ve run out of my ‘ideal’ sizes so they’re a little big for my nails. I think they still look vaguely ok though!

Then it’s gluey time – no special tips or tricks for this! I just whack them on and hope I don’t glue my hands together…

The exciting bit – painting! Claire and I have both found that nail varnish dries extra quickly on these false nails so that is a definite plus in my book! I usually do two coats of whatever nail varnish I’m using to be sure I get the best coverage. Today I’m going for a bit of pastel action – pink and green! I wanted to do a multi-coloured pastel situation with my Bananan Split Model’s Own colour and a baby blue Barry M nail varnish but I couldn’t for the life of me find them this morning. These two Barry M colours were downstairs, so I grabbed them (clearly thought a lot about my colour choice, eh!) and thought I’d give them a whirl. I went for a pastel green with a pink accent on my fourth fingers (achieved with a spot of sellotape).

And here are a collection of claw pictures that may inspire you if you’re feeling a bit ‘meh’ about nail polish choices at the moment! I’ve tried to remember where all of the nail varnish products are from, but as I’ve robbed these from both me and Claire’s instagrams, I may not have found them all! It’s not groundbreaking nail art…but sometimes you just need reminding why painting your nails is fabulous.

| Elf Desert Haze | Model’s Own Banana Split | Barry M Confetti Bubblegum |

| Barry M Peach Melba | Barry M Foil Effects Gold |Barry M Textured Nails Atlantic Road |

WELL…I didn’t realise Claire and I were such Barry M ambassadors…

A Cheat’s Guide to Nail Art: Primark False Nails

Please nominate Stylingo.co.uk for the Best Blogging Duo award in this year’s Company Style Blogger Awards!

Nailspiration: Nail Ideas for a Sunny Day