Leighton Denny Gelato, Lolly Pop, Do Me a Flavour, Berry Nice

The Gelato range from Leighton Denny was new for spring 2011 and they are meant to represent juicy sorbet type colours. I am not sure if the texture is meant to be different but to me these apply like LD varnishes and border on a cream consistency, maybe a tad thinner. Base coat, 2 coats of colour and a top coat (which is what I usually do) gives a good depth of colour.

Lolly Pop

This is such a pretty pink - it is warmer than my picture shows, almost a hint of salmon/orange and different from the pinks I have which tend to be more of a hot pink or a bubblegum pink.

Do Me a Flavour

This is a great bright sunny orange so apologies for the photo - think more sunny d/kiora than coral which this photo seems to suggest.

Berry Nice

To me this is almost a magenta pink. Really good coverage with this one and although I have used 2 coats here, I could have used 1 and got away with it.

I bought this kit from QVC - I like the boxes that come with LD on QVC which are great quality and very robust.

Leighton Denny Inkjet

I love this colour so much.

It is hard to capture its inkyness - it really is like going back in time for me and going down to the headmaster's office in primary school to be given, yes given for free an ink pen because my writing was now sufficiently neat to gain promotion to the dizzy heights of writing in ink as opposed to pencil - cue blue fingered stains as I tried to fill up the cartridge.

Now my nails are not quite there yet to do this justice, so this is a photo from my archives - my nails back in January 2011

I love it.

Rescuing my dreadful nails

As a reminder, here are my unloved, unattended to nails, a consequence of not blogging.

 And here they are 3 days later

Quite an improvement, and I am hoping for more by the end of the week.

Here is what I used and what I will be using and have used in the past because these products have worked for me.

A decent nail file - glass or better still crystal.

This is by Leighton Denny (nooooo really?) and has changed my relationship with my nails, seriously. Before I would shy away from filing my nails, approaching the whole operation obliquely and aplogetically because I would make a right pig's ear of it, and that was just filing the nails of my left hand (I am right handed) forget filing the nails of my left hand. With this file, I can saw away backwards and forwards to my heart's content, sides to middle? forget it, this nail file really is the biz. Available in Boots I got mine from QVC

A decent nail treatment - there are loads, high end, low end, I have tried many. For years I used Nail Envy by OPI, I applied every day and had talons, strong but flexible, perfect and then it all went wrong and I can no longer use Nail Envy it just peels off my nails. I find that I have to used something on my nails, and a top coat just doesn't do it and often peels off.

This works well for me and I swear my nails grow daily. I apply 2 coats at the beginning of the week and then take it off at the end of the week, if I remember I might add another coat mid week. I first came across this on MUA when I was desperate for something. What I like about this product is that it does not flake off and acts as a decent base and top coat if I want to use colour when my nails are still a bit short. I get mine from Boots not the cheapest, but not extortionate either.

A decent cuticle oil - cuticles are like the frame around the picture, if they are in poor repair it doesn't matter how fab the colour, all the attention will be on the sorry state of the cuticles.

I do have many cuticle oils on the go, remembering to use them is the key. My latest squeeze is this pen by Nails Inc in the hope that its portability will enable me to use it on the go, though seeing as I only go to work where I am in a blue funk for the whole of the day, I am unsure as to how this will improve matters - it is rather pretty though. I got mine from QVC 1 for me, 1 for my sister as a Christmas present, oh yes!

A decent cuticle cream - yes cream, to be used last thing at night before bed because if I have forgotten to use all of the above.

I have used this for years, it also comes in a pot but these little tubes are perfect.

As can be seen it is really thick, but a little goes a long way. I am not a personal fan of cuticle removers, I find that they tend not to do anything other than stain my cuticles, and my nails are quite resistant to any prodding with an implement which is never a good idea in my book. This really does work. Not the easiest of products to track down the nail care club sell it but I have had some good deals from beverley beaute in the past.

French Manicure - a bit passe?

My nails are not looking too bad now thanks to some TLC and I thought I would take a trip down memory lane and do a french.

This was my "to go" for nails about 10 years ago, but as for "to go" more like "stop-everything-mum-is-doing-her-nails" because I used to spend about 2hrs every Saturday doing just that, and woe betide anyone who made a perfectly reasonable request because this was hard core manicure, extreme nail painting, it was fraught with tension and the possibility of failure and then having to repaint the whole lot - for I was a fan of the tipex white tip, my nails were long and looked false and I loved it.

So fast forward and nowadays I am more relaxed about the whole thing, and if I do a french I am after a more natural look. Here is what I used:

First up Leighton Denny Starkers as an all over base and Natural White for the tips

  
I think that this is the most natural french manicure, I have worn this to work and nobody is any the wiser, to me it looks like healthy nails.

Next up Essie, I have a real fondness for Essie varnishes, they last years without the need for anything to thin them.

Sugar Daddy for the base

Marshmallow on the tips

It is very difficult to show the Essie varnishes as they are so pale, Marshmallow is on the left and the much loved Sugar Daddy is on the right.

And here is the finished look, brighter and more noticeable and if I am honest, my favourite. Nostalgia rules okey cokey : )