Red Carpet Manicure - UPDATE week 1

Well it will officially be one week tomorrow since I did my manicure with the Red Carpet LED kit.  I am pleasantly surprised at how well it held up.

My hands are always in water.  I count mounds of cash all day at work so I'm always washing my hands.  I have dogs in my life and I am obsessed with always having clean hands!  I type a lot and I am generally pretty hard on my nails every day.

You can see more of my nails at the cuticle beds but a lot of that is because my nails grow very fast.  A lot of this is due to growth.

From this picture on the left you can see that the polish is starting to peel away.  But truth be told I didn't do a fantastic job on this nail.  It seemed a lot thicker than the other nails.  I didn't control the amount of polish properly when I first applied the color.  The instructions state that you have to apply a thin layer.  I might have been a bit heavy handed on this one.

Another tip too is that you have to get the complete nail.  When I originally painted this I didn't apply the color nor the top coat all the way down both sides and the front/tip of the nail.

You can see from the picture (left) that it is chipping off at the tip.

The other nails where I made sure to paint the color and top quote all the way down the nail and both sides, seem to be holding up way better.

Overall I am very happy with this manicure.  It is no means done professionally and you can only tell that by the spots that I messed up on!  And the parts where the cotton remnants were stuck too!  My friend was shocked when I told her that I did it myself using a kit from the drugstore!

Let's see what happens next week!  Stay tuned!!

*if you have any products or ideas that you would like me to review, feel free to pop me a line*

Red Carpet Manicure - Gel Polish Starter Kit Review

I've been wanting to try one of these kits now for quite some time.  And now that they are on sale at London Drugs I figured now is as good of a time as any.  I got the Portable kit with the smaller LED light.  All the Red Carpet products are 20% off at London Drugs now.  The kit was regularly $80 but I got it for $64.

The cool thing about this kit is that it comes with everything that you need to do your manicure.  And the light comes with a USB plug so that if you are travelling you can plug it into your laptop and use it from there!

There are tons of good reviews online about the Red Carpet Manicure LED nail kits.  And I'm thinking this one will be no different.

So inside the kit came a nice classic red color.  Everyone that knows me knows that I love black, so yes I did purchase an extra color but I didn't have the guts to use it.  Doing dark colors on nails takes a bit of practice and I didn't quite want to take that plunge yet!!  LOL ;) so another reason I chose this brand is because there seemed to be a lot of different colors to chose from.

The first thing that you do is prepare the nails.  Push back your cuticles and trim them back.  You need to file and shape the nail as well.  I buffed the top of my nails to try to make them smoother as I have a lot of fine lines on my nails.  I wash my hands thoroughly after this to remove dust.

Step 1.  Use the  Purify Pre & Post Application Cleanser.  Soak it on a cotton pad and wipe to clean your nails.  This removes excess oil and dust.  Wait for it to dry.

Step 2.  Apply the Structure Base Coat Gel to one hand (4 fingers only) Apply a thin coat from the cuticles to the free edge and seal the front edge on the nails.  So make sure you paint the nail tip downward.  If you apply any to the skin wipe off immediately with Purify.

Now you want to "cure" the 4 nails.  Cure is what is described as putting the nails under the LED light.
Cure the nails for 1 minute.  You will need to set a timer.  The nails will be slightly sticky after curing.

Repeat this process on the other hand and cure in the LED light for 1 minute.

Next apply a thin coat to both thumbs and cure together in the light.

Step 3.  Apply the LED Nail Gel Polish.  Apply a thin coat.  Before curing use an orange stick to remove any excess color.  Cure the 4 nails under the LED light for 2 minutes.  Repeat the process on the other hand.

Don't forget to do both your thumbs.  And cure for 2 minutes.  

If you want to have the color darker or you feel its too translucent, you can do another coat of color.  Just repeat the steps above with the color.

Step 4.  Now you want to apply the Brilliance Seal and Shine Top Coat.  Again apply a thin coat.  Doing the first hand (4 fingers only) and then curing for 2 minutes.  Repeat the process on the other hand and then do both thumbs.  

We thought this process was cool as under the LED light the Brilliance turns blue!  Matt said I had zombie nails!  LOL  But you can sure tell how bad I painted outside of the lines!  And the edges that I missed!  :)

Step 5. - The Finish!  Now take a cotton pad and saturate with Purify Cleanser and wipe each nail to remove the sticky finish.  Don't worry the color won't come off!  

Then you can finish it off with the Revitalize Cuticle Oil.  This will moisturize the cuticles and the skin surrounding the nails.  

Now for my review!!!

I love the idea of doing this at home.  Sometimes I just can't find the time to visit the salon.  I love my nail girl and she only charges me $30 per manicure.  But it takes a few hours out of my day.  This kit however took me about an hour to a 1.5 hour to do.  This was the first go round so I'm sure that with time and practice it will get easier.  But I was able to hang out with my fur kids while  I did this at home in front of the tv.  The cost of the kit works out to be 2 trips to the salon. 

You need to set aside the time to do this  

And find a time where you will not be interupted.

You really have to have a steady hand and I definitely need practice at that.  Matt had to help me clean some messes that I made.  At first I thought I could use the remover (Erase) but when I grabbed the cotton pads with my tacky sticky nails I ended up getting a ton of hairs all over the top of my nails!  UGH.  Silly me!!  Now I know!!  I recommend you use Lint Free nail wipes instead! 

There was a lot of steps.  And I think I will keep my instruction manual for a while!  At least till I remember all the steps!  Make sure that you have that handy when you start.  

Huge tip.  Make sure that you don't under cure or over cure your nails.  So you will need to set a timer to get the timing perfect.  

They say that it is easy to remove and that it should last 2 weeks.  Only because your nails will start to grow and you will see more white.  They say it should not chip or peel.  

Matt's input was that the polish doesn't smell!!  He hates the smell of regular nail polish! 

I'm really liking my nails so far.  They aren't bad looking for a first go! But I do need to work on my paint job! 

I will keep you updated throughout the week and we'll see how long it really lasts. Stay tuned!!!

*if you have any products or ideas that you would like me to review, feel free to pop me a line*

April brings new blooms and new beginnings

Easy, Cheesy Potatoes

Servings: 12 servings

12 red potatoes, washed and cut in half
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons Velata Lemon Garlic Artisan Rub
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 container Velata Bacon Cheddar Cheese Dip
1/2 cup cooked bacon, crumbled
6 chives, sliced lengthwise and cut in half

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Slice off a little of the skin ends of the potato halves to make a flat surface.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, olive oil, garlic, Lemon Garlic Artisan Rub, salt, and pepper. Toss until well mixed.

Place potatoes in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (flat surface down) and bake for 1 hour or until tender.

Let potatoes cool until you can safely handle them.

Heat Bacon Cheddar Cheese Dip (follow tub instructions) and place in Velata Fondue Warmer to keep warm.

Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out center of potato halves, making sure to leave a thick enough edge to keep potato from crumbling.

Place potato centers in a mixing bowl. Add 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of warm Bacon Cheddar Cheese Dip. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix until cheese is just incorporated into potatoes.

Using a teaspoon, tightly refill the hollowed potato halves with the cheese mixture.

Dip the top half of the filled potato halves in warm Bacon Cheddar Cheese Dip and place back into baking dish.

Sprinkle potatoes with crumbled bacon and broil for 3-5 minutes to reheat.

Transfer potatoes to a serving dish.

Serve warm.

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