Review: Mavala Cuticle Remover

Wow: cuticle remover. I bet you can barely contain your excitement at this one. Let me tell you: it's no understatement when I say that this product is going to change my life. And change it in a good way!

Readers, whilst recognising the problem that is an untamed cuticle (they're the number one friend of the hangnail, if you're wondering), I absolutely hate having them removed. God knows what I think will happen. I just don't like it. Nails down a blackboard? Barely notice. Cotton wool between the teeth? Not bothered (and who actually does that, anyway?) Cuticle removal? WINCE.

During every manicure I've ever had, I'm in an acetone-scented heaven up until the cuticle-ectomy, at which point, I'm fidgeting and fussing and hoping it's over quickly (it never is, given that I put off manicures for so long because I hate the removal!) Just thinking about it now makes my toes curl. Something about the pushing, scraping and occasional snipping just feels wrong to me. The manicurist is always too firm, and I end up looking away, humming, chomping my cuticle-stress chewing gum too hard and generally seeking all distractions until the task is complete.

So it was that today I happily stumbled across Mavala's Cuticle Remover. In one minute, it softens and lifts the cuticle, and all that's needed is a very quick push along the cuticle with a manicure stick to remove the dead skin. No shoving, no scraping, no muss, no fuss. For the bargain price of £5.60, I get to live a cuticle-free life, and need never see a manicurist wielding one of those horrid metal scraper-thingamies at me again. Life is bloody great sometimes *sigh*

The instructions recommend doing this once a week to achieve a perfect at-home mani, meaning that a trip to the salon may now be for relaxation purposes only. Who knew?!

Nails: The Caggie-Cure

Don't cry, Cags! Your nails look fabulous!

Those of you who watched Made in Chelsea will no doubt have noticed Caggie's multi-coloured manicures, and anyone with as many bottles of nail varnish as me will see this as a perfect opportunity to get some use out of them all!

My day job is far too straight-laced to get away with this Monday-Friday, so welcome to the weekend and some nail-creativity! I know: I live the craziest life!

First, the polishes. From left to right: No. 17 Lasting Fix in Pink Grapefruit, Barry M in Cobalt Blue, Revlon in One Perfect Coral, Barry M in Berry Ice Cream and Barry M in Mushroom.

And now the finished look!

Will you be following in the footsteps of mani-muse Caggie or will you be sticking to something more simple?

Nails: Barry M Instant Nail Effects

As I'm giving away a bottle of Barry M Instant Nail Effects polish, I thought I'd better give you an idea of how the stuff looks on! As you can see from the below photo, I had great fun trying it with some of my favourite polishes....

Starting with my thumb and working across, the polishes are: Barry M Fuchsia, 17 Lasting Fix in Pink Grapefruit, Dolce & Gabbana Gold, Barry M Berry I/C, Barry M Navy.

As I'll be in the office this week, I decided on something a little more subtle than the above shades and plumped for Barry M Racing Green, one of my all time favourites. Here's the before shot...

...and now with Instant Nail Effects and a layer of topcoat (essential to brighten the chalky, matte finish the polish gives) on top...

I really love the effect it gives, although I think it's probably better with a colour that contrasts more with the black (i.e. not dark green!) Plus, because I love Racing Green so much, I keep looking at the 'before' photo and thinking how shiny and smooth my nails look! Saying that, I think this is a fantastic product, and great for creating fab nail art without having to spend hours in a salon. It's definitely something I will be playing with for the next few weeks to find the perfect partner for it.

Finally, if you haven't entered my competition to win a bottle of Instant Nail Effects, click here.

Giveaway: Barry M Instant Nail Effects! CLOSED

All across the land, run of the mill manicures are being transformed by Barry M Instant Nail Effects polish. After seeing Big Fashionista's fabulous nails yesterday, I knew that this was something I had to own. I dashed out this morning and snagged the last two bottles from my local Boots: one of which is for me, and the other is for one of you lucky people! Yes, it's competition time again!

To be in with a chance of winning, here's what to do:

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Post a comment below telling me your favourite product, polish or treatment that keeps your hands and nails looking fabulous. Multiple entries won't be counted unless...

3. ...you write a blog post or include a sidebar link back to this competition on your blog. If you do this, include the link to your blog post about this competition in your comment below and then you may enter another 2 comments (meaning that you get 3 comments in total, thus 3 chances to win. Subsequent entry comments just need to say 'enter me' - I don't expect you to come up with multiple favourite products!) If you don't include the link, I won't count your additional comments as valid entries, so don't forget!

4. The competition will close on Sunday 17th October at 1800 GMT. The winner will be announced that evening and should contact me by email with their address details by Friday 22nd October. I am happy to post internationally so all entrants welcome! Remember, don't include your email or postal address in the comments section. I don't want any of you getting spammed!

And if you don't know how Instant Nail Effects works, check out this video and prepare to be amazed!

Nails: Seche Vite

I am loving this navy polish by Barry M. I know t'is the season of greige and khakis (or should that be 'Car-Keys'? Well done, Models Own!), but I dug around in my nail varnish drawer and found myself unable to resist this gorgeous, rich blue. It conjures images of lavish silks and velvets in deep jewel tones, and is reigniting my desire to take my flat from a calm, minimalist haven to a darkly seductive and elegant fantasy pad. It's funny what a nail varnish can do for me!

And then there is the gloss on top: is it not the glassiest, most immaculate finish you've ever seen? As much as it has ravaged my nails in the past, I have a coat of Seche Vite on top as I was in a rush to paint them before bed. I'd forgotten just how much shine it gives the nail, and it manages to make even cheapy polishes look incredibly expensive. When I first got SV, I was changing my nail shades every few days, always finishing with my new found 'wonder' product, oblivious to the life-sucking that was going on beneath my perfect talons: and my god, were they dry after a couple of weeks! I'm not saying you should never use it, as it does look amazing, but it's definitely not for you if your nails are naturally brittle. Also, it's good to get into the habit of using a cuticle oil on your nails to replace some of the lost moisture, and think of SV as a special occasion finisher, rather than an essential part of your routine.

I'm going to try Leighton Denny's Miracle Drops next time to see if they are better for more frequent use so I will keep you posted. As much as I love the look of it, SV is definitely an occasional use product for me, alongside cupcakes, champagne and 5 inch stilettos.

What's your favourite Barry M shade, and have you had a positive/negative experience with Seche Vite?

Read: Best of the blogs

Wow, the pre-birthday weekend has left me feeling exhausted! I've spent the morning in the garden with my folks, soaking up this very welcome sunshine - a rarity in Manchester. It's been a brilliant weekend and I'm really sad to be heading back to London so soon (although I know there's plenty of fun in store for me when I get there!) Happily, I've managed to catch up on all my blog reading today, so here's my round-up of things I'll be doing this week:

Using a toner: I have just discovered The Beauty Mouth blog, and am devouring (excuse the pun) the advice dished out by the lovely Caroline. She's written a fantastic post on the importance of using toners, and I am heading straight out to buy one of her recommendations. Since I've been using Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish and Bliss Steep Clean, I have been getting a few breakouts, which is a little unusual for me. I'd previously put this down to my skin purging all the badness, but having read Caroline's advice, I think it may be down to the fact that I am not redressing the balance of my skin after using some fairly heavy duty cleansing products! Check out her advice here.

Eating!: I think you'll all have realised by now that I love food, and these peanut butter crispy bars from the Smitten Kitchen look like such a naughty but amazing treat. I am sure that I'll make them and quickly devour the entire tray, but surely indulgence is a key component of any birthday celebration?!

Adopting 'the claw': No, this is not a foray into wild animal care but a technique I've observed on two great blogs, involving massage with a rather witchy-looking hand! Ruth of A Model Recommends has recorded a brilliant series on general body gorgeousness, and shows off a great technique for reducing the appearance of pesky cellulite. A similar claw is demonstrated as a 'tool' for facial massage at The Beauty Mouth, so I will hopefully be pummeling myself towards a better body and brighter face this week!

Getting creative: Fee at Makeup Savvy is a wonder at creating amazing nail looks, and she's inspired me to think a little more imaginatively about my weekly at-home manicures. I love her version of the YSL French manicures and will keep you posted on what I manage to create. You should expect a lot less precision from me than you see in Fee's work!!
Finally, don't forget that I still need your recommendations for best MAC lip and eye neutrals for my shopping trip tomorrow. All you need to do is sign up to become a follower and then post your comment here for a chance to win a MAC treat! Hurry, though: only 24 hours to go!

Nails: Barry Mmm

A few favourites from my Barry M collection

I know that everyone British Beauty Blogger worth her pedicure has posted about Barry M, and I'm not about to break with tradition. It's no surprise that the brand is going from strength to strength and with stands in Boots, Superdrug and Topshop Oxford Circus (my favourite), the rise looks to continue. And it's their polishes that has this girl more than a little excited.

So, if you haven't tried it, no doubt you're wondering what all the fuss is over a bottle of polish that costs £2.95. Back when I was younger, I thought that the more I spent, the better quality I'd get. At 13, I fell in love with a YSL pink polish, saved up and bought it. It was my first 'designer' make up product, and the packaging made me delirious with excitement. You can imagine my disappointment at the resulting gloopy polish, streaky finish and chips within a day's wear. 14 years later, and I still haven't gone back to YSL for nail polish. Similar experiences with Chanel and MAC have left me pretty cold on high end nail lacquer.

If youth and money are wasted on the young, then with age comes an eye for a bargain. My first Barry M purchases were the red polish (number 262), accompanying red glitter (150) and base/top coat. Seven days later, my nails still sparkled like Dorothy's ruby slippers, and off I skipped down the Yellow Brick Road to buy every colour that caught my eye.

Current favourites are Pink Flamingo (305, and upside down on the far left of the above picture) for fingers and Raspberry (273) for toes. Always apply the base/top coat and you are guaranteed days of fuss-free wear. Definitely my number one nail polish around!