Review: Essence Studio Nails XXL Nail Thickener

Description on the website:

Professional out-of-salon gel-look finish. Fast-drying undercoat hardens nails with a special acrylic formula. Makes nail polish longer-lasting and even glossier!

Description on bottle:

This innovative nail polish instantly thickens & strengthens thin and brittle nails - resistant against chipping & cracking. For longer growing nails. Fast-drying. The bottle contains 0.27 fl.oz/8 ml and retails for around 2 Euros in selected drugstores.

My own experience: 

Love this polish as it does really thicken the nails quite a bit so much that it sometimes seems as though you have a very thin acrylic overlay especially when you use two layers. However I don't like to use this as my only basecoat, because for some reason I still feel that it doesn't strengthen my nails the way I want it to. But I've found a simple and effective solution for those of you who want the strong acrylic-like nails without all the hassle. 

My solution?

Layer this polish on top of Essence Studio Nails Step 1. One coat is already sufficient, but I like to use two just in case. The effect you ask.... strong nails, practically unbreakable unless you really do hard work with your nails. And when you use this combo underneath your colored nail polishes and topcoat, it will last for days.

I highly recommend this XXL Nail Thickener, but I really suggest that you use my combination described above as that's the way I have constantly used it underneath my manicures. If you've read my previous posts you know that my nails are quite thin and fragile and they keep breaking or tearing.

Do you already have some polishes from Essence Studio Nails line? Would you try this polish as your basecoat?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Nail Art: Purple Ombre Gradient Nails

Products used:

• A sponge
• China Glaze Snow
• OPI Sparrow me the Drama
• China Glaze First Class Ticket
• Essence Studio Nails Better than Gel Nails Topcoat

Do you guys like the ombre gradient effect? Would you try this easy nailart?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Review: Essence Studio Nails Nail Fixing system Step 1

Note: I tried to capture the tiny fibers on my pictures, but there were just not visible on camera so that's why I didn't include a picture of my nails.

Description on the back of the bottle:

Step 1 base coat with its nail strengthening nylon fibers creates a protective shield on the nails and enhances growth. Apply thinly, let it dry & cover the fibers with step 2. The bottle contains 0.23 fl.oz/7ml and retails for approximately for 2 Euros in selected drugstores.

Note: It seems as though Essence doesn't have this polish on their website anymore (although it's still available in the drugstores) so I couldn't include the description of their website.

My own experience:

I like this base coat and I do believe that it temporarily strengthens my nails due to the tiny nylon fibers. However I still felt that it wasn't enough on its own. My nails still kept breaking and/or tearing and it frustrated me a lot. I think this base coat is more effective when your nails are in good shape and you want your nails to be a bit more protected. Luckily I have found a way to combine this polish with another base coat and I'm truly in love with that combination, but I will tell you about that when I review that nail polish so stay tuned.

Have you ever tried a nail polish with fibers in them? Would you ever consider one?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Nailart: Hot pink zebra love

So as mentioned in my previous post today I had some issues with blogger on my computer and couldn’t post anything last the week the way I wanted too. I think I’ve found the solution though….Start using Google Chrome instead of Internet Explorer haha LOL.

Products used:

• 1 coat of Essence studio nails step 1
• 1 coat of Essence studio nails xxl nail thickener
• 2 coats China Glaze Snow (too thin polish that isn't easy to apply, streaky)
• 1 coat of China Glaze Pink Voltage
• 1 coat of Essence studio nails better than gel nails topcoat

I really liked this design as it‘s truly bold and there. Can’t wait to try variations of it.

What do you guys think of this design?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Note: some of you have already seen this design on my instagram or on facebook due to the issues with blogger and my determination to still upload the picture somewhere.

Nailart: OPI Lites to Darks

A friend of mine requested me do a certain design for her for a few years now, but for some reason didn't find the time to do it. So when I visited her new house last week I knew I had to bring these polishes with me. After eating some of her delicious  home-made pancakes we started with polishing the nails. And here's the result:

The colors that I'd used were from a mini set from the brand OPI named Lites to Darks and it contained four mini bottles. 

Colors used per nail:

• Thumb: 3 coats of Sweet Heart topped with 1 coat of Princesses Rule!
• Index: 2 coats of Sweet Heart topped with 1 coat of Princesses Rule! sponged with Meet me on the Star Ferry
• Middle: 2 coats of Meet me on the Star Ferry
• Ring: 2 coats of Meet me on the Star Ferry sponged with Lincoln Park After Dark
• Pink: 2 coats of Lincoln Park After Dark

Base and topcoat were used but I can't remember their names though. Will write that down next time.

It's a really simple design as you only need a sponge to create this, but the effect is quite nice. We absolutely loved the effect on the ring finger and I think I might try to wear a full mani with that combo.

What do guys think about this design? Would you try it?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Note: some of you might have already seen this photo as I'd already uploaded it last week on my instagram as I had some issues with blogger

Summer Holiday 2013: Marmaris, Turkey

Hello guys, hope you’ve all been well. Didn’t really post anything in the past week, because I was still tired after coming home from Turkey and had to work almost immediately. My plan was to tell you about my holiday in Marmaris and what goodies I bought while I was there. I also wanted to show you some nail art that I did on myself and a friend and what else I bought that week.

But as you’ve noticed I just didn’t. My computer or blogger seems to have an issue when I want to write my posts because I keep getting this “default” and there’s no text.

Anyway back to Turkey… ^_^

I’d already been to Turkey twice, but this was my first time in Marmaris. It is a wonderful place to visit and very tourist friendly, but I did find it a bit more quiet than for example Alanya.

I did a lot of trips while I was there such as going to the biggest market in Içmeler, visiting a Turkish delight factory and a famous leather company and a boat trip where we could swim every so minutes. I also went out in the bar streets in which I saw this awesome club called Areena.

As I’d been to Turkey before I didn’t really buy a lot of stuff, but these are the goodies that I bought:

A refrigerator magnet bought at the Içmeler market.

Marmaris is known for their pine honey and as I love honey I couldn’t resist this mini set with different kinds of honey, such as from pine and eucalyptus trees. It also contained honey-nut mix, pollen and a honey-herb mix known as Turkish Viagra LOL. I also tasted this other honey, the darker one, but forgot from which tree it was made from.

Of course Turkey is also known for their hammams where they use a kese to scrub off all of your dead skin cells. And afterwards use the foam of the olive oil soap to completely cover your body with the bubbles. So when I saw them in a shop I just had to get them for my family.

Well you know I couldn’t leave Turkey without bringing home some Turkish delight. I don’t like all the flavors, but I did really like this one with hazelnuts. I also found these sweet covered peanuts but I forgot the name though.

While I was browsing for a new hair conditioner I stumbled upon these makeup brushes from Ecotools. I remembered reading about them once but never saw them in Holland so I decided to buy the mini-set instead of the single brushes.

Unfortunately I didn’t see anything nice for my mini me, my goddaughter, but I did find some pink nail polish which I promised her before I left so it’s all good.

Recently I tried to find some leg warmers as I use them for my stretching sessions, so when I saw these for 0,75 Turkish Lira (converted this would be around 0,40 Euro cents) I had to buy them. 

Note: some items aren’t photographed as I already gave them away before I took a picture such as a hammam set consisting of olive oil soap, a kese, a bracelet, a hammam towel and my grey leg warmers. Also some more refrigerator magnets.

I really enjoyed my holiday in Turkey and missed the weather, food, sea and many more immediately when we boarded. Cant wait to go back.

Have you ever visited Turkey? Would you consider Marmaris for your next holiday?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Holo Summer Week: LOL

So I just discovered that this wasn't posted saturday probably due to a network error. I flew back to Amsterdam later that night and have been resting so I just noticed this. 

So today I'm presenting you the last darker color from the OMG collection and probably my favorite and most used color of my holo collection. While it doesn't make me laugh out loud, it does make me smile when sunlight or even regular in-door lighting hits it. I just can't stop staring at my nails when I wear this gorgeous purple.

LOL as perfect as it is also just requires 1 coat so I won't be out of this gem really soon. Nothing more to say really, it's just gorgeous. Can you tell I love this?

Do you also love a beautiful purple nail polish?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa

Holo Summer Week: 2NITE

Almost done with the Holo Summer Week you guys, what a journey it was swatching and writing posts for everything. Didn't expect the amount of time it took to swatch everything, make photos, remove the color, apply another color, make photos again etc and then to write about them. Sometimes I didn't even know what to say exactly and if I should even do this Holo Summer Week. But here I am, almost done, hoping you've all enjoyed it.

Today I wanted to show you another beautiful nail polish from the OMG collection, named 2NITE, a gorgeous icy blue holographic polish. This one also has a linear holo effect as seen in the rest of this collection.

I like to use 2 coats with this color, although one will also suffice. Unfortunaely I didn't do a good job at cleaning my nails well before applying this color and it showed I'm sorry. Will have to redo these photos when I find the time and sunlight, but I really wanted to include it in the Holo Summer Week. I like this color as none in my nail polish stash are like this icy blue one.

Are you a fan of icy blue nail polishes?

Xoxo WyoniAlyssa