How to maintain healthy looking nails and a review on the American Apparel nail polish range

Extra long post today! I'm going to talk about how I maintain healthy looking nails, do a review with swatches of American Apparel's new nail polish and show my Lil Wayne drawing! Exciting stuff.

For school I'm not allowed to wear any nail polish which sucks because I have so many that I want to use! Applying it on Friday and then having to take it on Sunday evening sucks and becomes a hassle so, normally I don't wear any nail polish. However, when you don't wear nail polish people are able to see your nails so it means I have to look after them carefully.

At school I'm constantly writing and using my hands (obviously) so my nails are prone to breaking. To prevent this I always carry a nail file and scissors with me. Yes, it's a bit weird considering but it's better than the nail ripping even more! I also put on clear nail polish nearly everyday as it forms a protective barrier against my nails - it also makes them 10 times more stronger than without.

I'm going to go through the stages that I do every night in order to keep my nails strong, clean and healthy looking! I hope some of you find this helpful :)

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Step 1) Using a nail polish remover get rid of any nail varnish that may be left on your nails. Nothing is worse than little specks of old varnish! I use acetone free remover as it's much gentler on your skin - but any nail polish remover is fine.

Soak quite a fair bit onto a piece of tissue - I use tissue as I find it absorbs much more product than using a cotton ball for instance. Place the tissue onto the nail for ten seconds and remove.

Step 2) Clean your hands - make sure that there is no dirt stuck under your nails and remember to scrub hard so you get all the polish remover off! I should have taken my watch off, oops.

Step 3) File your nails! Make sure you file them in the same direction to prevent breakage.

Step 4) Using a tool like this, push back your cuticles to form whatever shape you'd like and then use it to make the shape of your nails. Do this by pushing back the skin under the nails (if that makes sense!) This step is optional - you don't have too.

Step 5) Moisturise your hands using your favourite hand cream. I used the Soap and Glory Hand Food one as I absolutely LOVE the smell of it. Hmm marshmallows. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my hands in this picture but you get the gist.

Step 6) After using the hand cream, I apply some Avon Nail Experts cuticle balm. I really like this stuff and it was so inexpensive! If you can, definitely check out the brand Avon via a local representative or online. Most of the products I use for nail and hair are from Avon. Even though it's cheap, it works just as well as the most expensive brand you can find.

Step 7) DONE! After this your nails should look clean and healthy looking! Obviously my nails aren't perfect and I have a lot of work to do, but the point of this blog post was to show how to maintain them. I rarely come across anyone with perfect looking nails - if they are perfect, 99.9% of the time they are fake!

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In my last blog post - which was a haul - I talked about a nail polish I bought from American Apparel. Today, after taking these pictures above, I tested it out.

Here's what it looked like:

First impressions: love the colour! But applying this is a pain in the freaking ass. The amount of times it dripped (ONCE APPLIED!) onto my tights was uncountable. Yes, the colour is pretty but the consistency is awful and making it look "nice" was proven to be a struggle. It was so hard, that I didn't even do the second hand...and I removed it straight away!

American Apparel should just stick to clothing. Most definitely.

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Also, in my last post I said that I've started drawing! So, I was on Twitter and stumbled across Lil Wayne's page (and no, I don't follow him - I'm not a rap fan). Anyway, I saw his picture and absolutely loved it. I loved all the tattoos he had on show (maybe because I'm a sucker for someone with tats?) but I immediately knew I wanted to draw it.

This is the original, my inspiration...

...and this is my version!

It's rubbish. I only spent 20 mins on it, so what do you expect? Hehe.

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OMG. SO MANY THINGS TO TALK ABOUT IN THIS POST! MUST. STOP.

So I think I've done enough today. I'll see you later in the week! :)

Suzanna

XOXO

London's Westfield shopping haul

Hello everyone!

I literally just got back from Westfield shopping centre in London and I thought I'd show you what I picked up as, most of it, is interesting. I got some make-up items, art supplies, magazines and clothes :)

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American Apparel opened up in the mall so I went in their first. I'm not a fan of their clothing per say but I did love their nail polishes. They were £7 each (ok, compared to OPI and Butter London) and some of the colours were really unique. I picked up this one in "Smoke Dazzle" as it remind me of a cheaper alternative to the Chanel Quartz polish.

Magazines were on my list of things-to-get. I picked up the latest InStyle with Drew Barrymore on the cover along with Company with Florence (and the Machine) on the front! I limited myself to only two as these magazines can be expensive - especially if you buy loads in one go like me!

Just before leaving I saw the MAC shop and had to go in. I didn't pick up anything from their Shop MAC, Cook MAC collection as I didn't want to spent too much money. Instead I picked up the things I needed. I got a new eyeliner sharpener (only £3!) and two new eyeliners. I picked up Fascinating Eye Kohl and Stubborn Brown Penultimate Eyeliner. I've tried Fascinating before and loved it, but I've never tried - or heard of - Stubborn Brown. I can't wait to try it!

Even though I didn't take art as a GCSE option, I'm really getting into sketching so I bought a small sketching pad and some pencils! If I like any of my drawings, I'll definitely show you guys!

The main reason why I went to Westfield in the first place was to get some new jeans! Whilst painting my dad's garage a few weeks back, I destroyed my dark blue Forever 21 jeans. I wasn't that fussed, they were only cheap and I was in need of a new pair anyway! I went into Levi's but didn't like any colours and also went into True Religion, and yet again didn't like any that I didn't have. So, I went into Gap and found these. They are dark, dark blue and are very stretchy. They are described as Jean Leggings and I can totally see why. I absolutely love them. As an added bonus, they were a quite reasonable price!

Also from Gap I picked up a t-shirt but I forgot to take pics!

Anyway, that was all I purchased. Me and my mum also went into the Apple store and preordered the new iPad for my Dad's birthday next month which was exciting. I have also just ordered a present for my mum for Mothers Day next Sunday - I hope she likes it!

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I hope you're all having a great day.

Suzanna
XOXO