Guest post | Tips for a perfect manicure

Hey! I'm Catherine and I'm from Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, thank you Georgina for letting me write on your great blog! So exciting and I wish Georgina and Squidge well :)

A couple of years ago I started painting my nails every night, I became obsessed with the perfect manicure and having the perfect nails.  Since then I've got my manicure system down to a T!

Step 1 - Remove Old Polish

I haven't pictured a nail polish remover, but its very important to soak a cotton pad in nail polish remover hold it against your nail for anything up to a minute then wipe away. This makes sure your nails are clean of all polish! Of course you could use nail polish remover pots or wipes too.

Step 2 - Cut and Shape

Next step is to make sure your nails are a neat even length and shape.  I do it, my nails grow long and I don't want to cut them but they start breaking and looking awful.  So clip your nails down to an even length, then shape them with a good nail file.  As for shape it depends on what you like - I like square, but it depends on what suits you.

Step 3 - Cuticles

Next step is to attack those cuticles! Start off by applying a cuticle remover, I use the Essence 15 second cuticle remover, however there is also a Sally Hansen one I know is popular.  Leave it for about 2 minutes or so then push your cuticles back using an orange stick.  Then using cuticle clippers, clip away the skin tags etc around your nails, do NOT cut your cuticles!  Just the annoying skin tags etc.

Step 4 - Paint & Treat

Next step is the best bit!  Start of by painting your nails with a treatment base coat, at the moment I'm using something my mum had but there's many out there, anything that helps treat your nail problem whether that is peeling, breaking, bending, weak etc.  Next up is the first coat of colour, then the second coat.  The best way I find for painting my nails is thinking 3 strokes per nail, 4 for the thumbs. Leaving gaps at the cuticles and the edges. Then apply a top coat if your nail polish needs it.  If you want to speed up the drying time a good step is drying drops, my personal favourites being Bourjois.

Step 5 - The Pampering Steps

Once your nails are dry, I pop on a drop of nail & cuticle oil to each nail, I use the essence cuticle care oil, but the Nails inc one and the Superdrug own ones are also good.  I then gently massage this in.  Finally I use a hand cream, my current favourite is Neals Yard Remedies orange and geranium hand cream.

And there you go - following these steps gets me the best manicure I've managed.  I hope these steps help you too, and thank you again too Georgina for letting me guest post!

Catherine x 

A big thank you to Catherine - I hope you find her tips for a great manicure helpful and don't forget to head over to her blog to take a peek :)

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Guest Post | 3 Plum Lips

Hello, my name is Helen and I blog over at HelenRamblesOn. Thank you to Georgina for letting me do this guest post on her lovely blog. Today I thought I would share my three favourite plum lip products. The minute Autumn comes around the coral lips products go away for a few months and the plum shades come out. 

The first lipstick I have to share was a staple for me last year; the Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Glam Plum Fulham. I love the formula of this one, it has just the right amount of creaminess to it so it feels lovely on the lips. I don't find the colour blends and it stays put for a good few hours. This shade is more on the berry side rather than the purple and can be worn more sheer. 

The next one is my newest addition and probably the boldest of the bunch; MAC Amplified Lipstick in Rebel. This formula is very pigmented and is the perfect vampy lipstick. Definitely not for the faint hearted but it looks amazing on the lips and when worn with a simple smokey eye looks amazing. 

Finally my old favourite, the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush. This is the longest wearing out of the bunch; the crayon style packaging makes it super easy to apply, it doesn't feel drying on the lips and adds the perfect berry stain to the lips.

L-R | Rimmel Moisture Renew in Glam Plum Fulham, MAC Amplified lipstick in Rebel, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush

I own a fair few plum lip products as they are one of my favourite shades to wear but these 3 are definitely going to be my most reached for this season. What are some of your favourite plum lip products to wear this time of year?

Thank you Helen for guest posting for me today - be sure to check out her blog a

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Mini update

Hello my lovelies!  So today is a big day for me, I'll (hopefully) be heading to the hospital to be induced today!  I do need to call this morning to make sure they have a bed, so fingers crossed they do.  Either me or the hubby (on my Twitter account) will be doing updates using the hashtag #squidgewatch if you want to see how my progress is going - but it's likely to be long, I'm not expecting for Squidge to make an appearance until Monday (maybe later) - and I probably won't be replying to the 'any news' tweets or messages - but I'll keep my progress updated as much as I can :)

While I'm in labour, and for a while after while I'm settling in with Squidge, I'm having a range of bloggers guest post on here each day - so please enjoy those posts and head over to have a look at their blogs, hopefully you'll discover some new and great places for beauty reviews :)

If you're interested in following my pregnancy story and adventure into motherhood - head over to my mummy blog - I post regularly on there and would appreciate your support :)

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