Essence effect nails

Hi lovelies,

It’s finally friday.  This might have been the longest week I have had in a while.  I am not really complaining but…..holidays!

Essence recently sent me these effect nails to try out.  I got the 3D pearls (more commonly known as caviar beads) and Velours powder (more commonly known as flocking powder). 

It seems people either love them or hate them.  Not these specifically but the idea in general.  I don’t think I can wear them for very long on my nails but for special occasions they really make a statement.  I was actually so excited about these for different reasons so let me start with the one.

The 3D pearls come in a little tub inside the box.  The ones I got is called Candy Buffet.  I absolutely adore the multi coloured little balls.  I think it just makes it super cute.  Like sprinkles on an ice-cream.

The back of the box tells you how to use them but there is no hard and fast rule.

The little tub comes with the screw on lid and when you take that off there is a little flap you can lift and it has the smaller opening.  This is particular handy if you want to pour it onto your nails.  I didn’t realise it at first but you can actually take that little rubbery thing out and you will have the complete opening.  This is useful if you want to dip your nail into the beads to apply them.

Aren’t they just adorable.  I have been coveting these multi coloured beads for so long and finally there is a cheaper alternative.  They really look like sprinkles.

I painted my nails with two coats of Essence – Hello Marshmallow and waited for them to dry.  Once they were dry I decided to do one nail with the beads and on the other nail I wanted to do a heart.  Well, that means you must be able to cut a heart out of tape.  Which I apparently can not do.  It really does sound much easier than it sounds but considering I can barely cut a straight line I should’ve known this would be a challenge.  It ended up looking like Africa.  Which is of course exactly what I was going for and Africa was my intention all along.

 

These were quite easy to apply and the great thing for me was that I could topcoat the beads and none of them lost colour or smeared.  That’s a big win for me because I prefer to topcoat them and I have often had the colour run or come off.  Here the beads on my ring finger is topcoated and the ‘Africa’ (totally what I intended 😉 ) is not. These beads are so cute.

Next up is the velours powder

This also comes in a little tub and this one is called ‘I’m velvety”

It also has the instructions on the back of the box.

Once you take the lid off you have the little sprinkle top.  It does come with a little flap that closes this section too but I unfortunately pulled so hard on mine I ripped it off.  It still fits on it is just not attached. You would use this side if you wanted to sprinkle the powder onto your nail.

Or you can take it off and use the open tub to dip your whole nail into the powder.

This is what the powder looks like in the tub.  Now take note.  This powder can – and probably will – go all over the place.  I biggest tip is to work over a piece of paper so that it will catch all the stray powder.  Another tip, get yourself a little brush.  A fan burgh, an old makeup or blush brush will work just as well.  Anything that you can use to ‘brush’ off the excess powder.

I painted my nails in two coats of Essence – Do you speak love? I realised afterwards it might have been too similar in colour to the flocking powder but let’s see where it goes.  I again decided to do the heart *sigh*.  Clearly I am a sucker for punishment.  It doesn’t look like Africa this time but I am also not sure if it looks anything like a heart 😛  I also used both methods here.  On my middle finger I sprinkled the powder on and on my ring finger I dipped my whole nail in the powder.

 

I actually prefer the ring finger where I dipped the whole nail into the powder.  It was also a little easier than sprinkling the powder on.  It comes out a little at a time when you sprinkle it on.  It would be ideal if  you just wanted a little bit of the powder.

I actually really enjoyed playing with these.  Those little tubs actually have a lot of product in them and I can do a tons of fun looks with them.  They’re also so affordable that you can buy these for once in a while and not break the bank.

Have you tried any of these?  You can find these at Dischem but I am not sure if these will be available at Clicks.  Dischem has a much bigger Essence display stand with a huge variety of nail art goodies.  You can also find Essence on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks for reading