The Ultimate Fix - Fast Drying Nail Polish Spray

Today I have something slightly different to show you. It's not a new nail polish, nail plate or nail art supplies as such. It's a nail polish drying spray.  The Ultimate Fix by the Beauty Narcotix is described as a "non-oily drying spray" that "dries and protects nail polish in minutes". Other than drying your polish extremely fast, their website also says:

"With the Ultimate Fix you can achieve the beautiful, long lasting, high shine results that gels give without the potential hassle of gel nail."

I really wanted to test this out, so here is what I did. I purposely used a polish in my stash which I knew takes forever and a day to dry. Yes Love is a pound store polish which I buy every time I go on holiday to Portugal. Their formulas are horrible (at least all the ones I've tried) but they do the best neons and brights and because they are only €1 each, I always grab a few for nail art or to stamp over.

Before I tell you more about the Ultimate Fix, here is how your nails would look after 60 seconds of applying your last coat. This is Yes Love K017, 3 coats:

So, here are my views on this fast drying nail spray:

- It does indeed dry polish really fast. You are supposed to apply spray between each layer of polish and it dries that layer to the touch literally within seconds.

- You do need to give it about 10 minutes to completely dry all the layers. I pressed a key into my pointer about 2 minutes after applying the last layer and that was too soon as it did dent slightly (can you see?). However, I was only testing the speed and wouldn't normally do that of course! This spray is fast drying but I wouldn't go rummaging through the bottom of my bag as soon as I've finished doing the last layer!

- I love that it's non oily as all other nail sprays I've tried are quite oily which is good for your cuticles but makes it hard to photograph your nails unless you wash your hands. This spray is however, quite sticky to the touch but that doesn't really bother me.

- The spray also claims to maintain your nails chip proof and lasting longer. I was able to wear it for 3 days and it was chip free during that time. It may have lasted longer but longevity isn't at the top of my list as I change my polish way too often.

- The only downside for me (which might be a positive for some people) is the smell. It doesn't stink, in fact, it has a very strong perfumed fragrance to it which I couldn't quite put my finger on but my husband tells me it smells like Joop Joop Homme! The fragrance lingered well after I washed my hands a few times.

Other than the very strong smell, I really like this spray and will most definitely be using it when I need to do a quick mani before dashing out or even for tape manis where I can't be bothered to wait for my polish to dry.

You can find out more and purchase The Ultimate Fix directly from the Beauty Narcotix website.

*The product featured  in this post was sent to me for review

When In Doubt, Wear A Pink Gradient!

As the title suggests, recently when I've been running out of ideas and lacking inspiration, I turn to gradients. Whatever colours you choose to go with, they always look pretty and neat.

So here is a pink french tip gradient mani. Polishes used were Yes Love Y17 and a no-name hot pink I picked up in Primark for £1. I topped the gradient with Kiko Sparkle Touch 228 to give it that extra bit of sparkle.

Pastel, Gold and Daisies

I'm trying to hold onto Summer as much as I can. We've had an unusually hot weekend here which was awesome but I know temperatures will start falling very soon and it will be time to embrace Autumn!

I've felt like wearing yellow for the past couple of days and I finally got around to it. I was only planning to wear a pastel yellow on it's own but as it turns out, the formula on this polish was very streaky so I had to cover it up with some stamping.

This is 2 coats of "Yes Love" No243 I usually buy Yes Love polishes in €1 stores when I go on holiday to Portugal. They are extremely cheap and always have a really fantastic range of colours and finishes. The formulas are hit and miss but I suppose you can't expect too much of a €1 polish.

I stamped with Cheeky CH16 and randomly dotted some gold shimmer onto the daisies (Miss Sporty Gold Backstage).

Pastel Watercolour Zebra

Today's design has been on my "to do" list for such a long time. I've always wanted to try a pastel watercolour technique but I don't really like it when all the colours look too messy on the nail. So I only let the four colours I used for this design overlap slightly.

I started with a white base (OPI Alpine Snow) and also used the following polishes to create the watercolour effect - Yes Love 243 (yellow), Yes Love Y17 (pink), Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream and Rimmel London Misty Jade. All of these pastels together remind me of soft scoop ice cream :)

I finally stamped with BM223 (probably my most used BM plate) for a subtle zebra effect.

A Little Teal Jelly Gem!

Today I wanted to show you one of my favourite blues (Miss Sporty Pop Fiction) layered with a little unexpected gem I found in a euro store in Portugal.

In my opinion, these euro stores usually have pretty horrid polishes! Most of them have been opened and tried, the formulas are a nightmare etc, but this one was just sitting there all pretty and shimmery.
We don't have the brand "Yes Love" in the UK but from what I've seen, it's widely available in Spain and Portugal. This is one coat of Yes Love #441 (a deep teal jelly full of green, blue and gold micro shimmer) layered over two coats of Miss Sporty Pop Fiction.

I really like this polish and will definitely be layering it over other darker and lighter colours! I think it would look great over a creme mint green!

And here is a picture of Pop Fiction on it's own! It's such a stunning cool toned blue: