Sparkling Seas: 2True Nail Polish No.49

It's been a while since I did a nail polish post, so to get back into the swing of things, here's a little gem from a recent Superdrug trip.

2True No.49 is one of the newer shades recently from 2True and it's beautiful turquoise shade that is lovely and summery, reminding me of the ocean and tropical beaches. It has a beautiful fine silvery shimmer that lifts it nicely without being discoball-esque- love it!

The pic is with two coats and the formula applies nicely so I didn't bother applying a top coat.

As 2True is 3 for £5, I did pick up a couple of other shades as there are a few more new colours including some lovely limited edition glitters as well.

Antipodes Deliverance Kowhai Flower Hand Cream

Antipodes is slowly becoming a favourite range of mine, I'm loving the textures and scents of the products, and the Deliverance Kowhai Flower Hand Cream is no exception.

A wonderfully nourishing yet light textured cream, this absorbs well into the hands without leaving any residue or greasy feel so I'm finding it perfect for my bag and desk-side at work. It leaves my hands soft, smooth and moisturised. My hands are naturally dry so I find with most hand creams I have to reapply through out the day but with this one I don't mind so much as it is lovely to use.

For me this has got to be the most beautifully scented hand cream I've tried as the fragrance is a mix of sweet orange, tonka bean and sandalwood that is light and gives me a subtle feeling of contentment, which might sound like a bit much but there is something about this that draws me in.

Ingredients:

I received this as a free gift with a purchase from LoveLula, but I'd happily buy this again.

Splurge vs Steal: Deborah Lippmann vs Twist and Out

I do like trying out different nail polish removers, from high end to low-end but an important factor for me is that they don't suck the life out of my naturally dry nails/hands as I change my polish quite frequently.

Deborah Lippmann's The Stripper is one that fits the bill well as it removes polish quickly, while not overly drying my nails. It doesn't have that strong chemical smell either, rather more of a quite soft, floral scent (although I wouldn't go sniffing it any closer!).

The only negative thing is the price - £18 for a 100ml pump-dispenser bottle (I did hesitate for a second when buying this - is it worth £18?) but I think this is one of the nicer high-end removers and it lasted a decent amount of time.

I have recently finished The Stripper and was looking to try the new Bourjois remover but instead I read of Twist and Out's Instant Nail Polish Remover on another blog so picked up one from Savers.

I have never tried any of these instant removers before so was amazed at how they work - it's like magic! There is a sponge inside with a hole which you place your nail in and twist around. At first I was a bit dubious as the sponge isn't firm, but after a few seconds I was surprised to see my polish was completely removed! I could not believe how quickly it worked. Even glitters were much more easier to remove with this (I thought The Stripper made shorter work of these but this beats it by miles).

The packaging is not perfect as ideally I would like to remove the lid fully as it gets in the way a bit when removing the polish, but at the bargain price of 79p, this isn't too much of an issue. I find it leaves the nails a little bit drier than The Stripper, but not as dry as other budget removers I've used in the past. Oddly I find acetone-free removers make my nails feel drier, so I went for the acetone version in this (they do an acetone-free one as well).

Overall, as much as I liked The Stripper, this time the steal wins!