Nail Polish - Inspired Living SA

Essie Winter Giveaway

Winter has officially arrived in Cape Town! It is cold and grey out and the best place to be is indoors, warm and snug next to a roaring fire!

To help lift the winter blues, we have decided to run an Essie Winter Giveaway! What better way to add colour to a grey day, than with awesome nail polish!

One lucky reader can win the six Essie shades below – which are: Licorice, After School Boy Blazer, Thigh High, Sew Psyched, Au Natural and Blanc.

These six iconic shades are a great addition to any nail polish collection and Essie is, in my opinion, one of the best nail polish brands!

To enter our Essie Winter Giveaway please follow the simple steps below:

Subscribe to our mailing list

For extra entries and more chances of winning:

Like: Essie SA and Inspired Living SA on Facebook.
Tweet: Win with @essiepolishSA & @inspired_lifeSA http://goo.gl/PGAeOU #EssieWinterGiveaway
Leave a comment below: Please tell me if you qualify for extra entries and where you have entered.{Please ensure you read the *Terms & Conditions below carefully, to ensure you comply with all the entry criteria.}

*Terms & Conditions:

By entering this competition you automatically accept all the Terms and Conditions laid out below.

Entries are open from 5th June 2015 until the 15th June 2015.
You must complete all the steps as stipulated above: Subscribe to Mailing List, Leave a Comment, Like and/or Share on Facebook or Instagram and/0r Tweet about the competition.
To ensure that your entry is processed correctly (please use a valid email address). Your details will only be used to validate your entry and inform you, if you are selected as a winner.
This competition is only open to South African residents and to readers who have not won a competition on Inspired Living SA in the past 6 months.
Entries will be considered incomplete and thus disqualified if the entrant does not provide all requested information. Entry information will not be shared with any third party without the entrant’s prior knowledge and consent. The prize hamper will go to the first name selected at random after the closing date.
The prize is not transferable and may not be exchanged for cash.
By “Liking” you enter and agree that this promotion is in no way associated with, administered by, or endorsed by Facebook; and acknowledge a complete release of Facebook by your participation.

Beauty, Beauty Products, Nail Polish

Essie Style Cartel {Mani-Monday}

Hello from a very gloomy and grey Cape Town! It is the 1st of June and officially Winter in our neck of the woods…brrr. I thought I would feature something a bit brighter today on today’s Mani-Monday! Essie Style Cartel is from the Essie Fall Collection 2015, which I have featured previously.

The Colour ~ Essie Style Cartel is a inky cobalt blue. I am not a lover of blue nail polish but I loved the colour of this in the bottle. The colour on the nail, is slightly darker than I an anticipated but I do like it!

The application ~ The polish applies well as with most Essie polishes I have used. My only negative is that the colour tends to stain your skin, so try not to paint outside the lines! I am hoping this will not be the same case, with staining my nails but I guess I will only find out once I remove the polish. I used two coats of Essie Style Cartel and the Good To Go, fast drying top coat, to achieve the look below.

The Verdict ~ I really do love Essie Style Cartel, mostly because it is something a bit different, from my usual go-to colours for Autumn/Winter.

The Essie Fall Collection is available at selected Dis-Chem, Clicks and Foschini Stores, as well as selected Beauty Salons.

Follow Essie on Facebook to keep up to date with new collections and product launches.

Disclosure Ranking:2

Beauty, Beauty Products, Nail Polish

Essence I Love Trends The Nudes { Mani-Monday }

Essence I Love Trends The Nudes

I have had fun, trying out a few of the new nail polish shades, from the Essence I Love Trends The Nudes Collection.

This weekend I decided to give my nails a bit of a break from all the dark wintry shades I have wearing, which is great to a point but then I begin to feel a bit naked! So the natural choice for nail colour today was nude. I decided to try this pretty shimmery pink, Pure Soul from the Essence I Love Trends Nude Collection.

Essence I Love Trends The Nudes, are perfect for that groomed – your nails but better finish. From light beige to soft apricot and rosé shades, to brown tones, there is something in the collection to suit everyone.

The polish applies well and two coats gives you a great coverage, you could opt for one if you wanted a slightly more natural finish. I used the Essence The Gel Base and The Gel Top Coat. The Top Coat gives you a great gel finish without the need for an LED or UV lamp.

I have only being wearing the polish for just over a day, so I cannot testify to the long-lasting formula but at R34.95, you cannot really go wrong! There are eight colours available in the Essence I love Trends The Nudes Collection.

RRP: Essence I love Trends The Nudes Collection Pure Soul R34.95, Essence The Gel Base or Top Coat R47.95.

Disclosure Ranking:2

Beauty, Beauty Products, Nail Polish

Wedding Manicure Ideas { Mani-Monday}

Wedding Manicure Ideas

When I got married {all those years ago}, the only real option for a Wedding Manicure was a classic French Manicure. With the introduction of nail art, a Wedding Manicure has become far more exciting.

A classic french manicure is still gorgeous but I love that there are now other fabulous Wedding Manicure alternatives!

I decided to create a Wedding Manicure look, using Worth The Wait from the Essie Bridal Collection, available in September 2015 and Tuck In My Tux, from the Winter Collection, available July 2015.

Worth The Wait is a light coral kissed pink. To achieve this look you can use any similar light pink shade, such as Adore-a-ball or Sugar Daddy. Apply two coats of this shade as a base. Once this has dried, apply Tuck In My Tux or a white polish such as Essie Marshmallow, with a dotting tool near the end of your nail. Once the dots have dried, apply a top coat – Essie Good to Go is my favourite and you are “good to go”!

I will be creating a few more Wedding Manicure looks over the next few weeks, so keep a look out for those.

What do you think of this look? What type of Wedding Manicure did you have or are you thinking of having? Please leave a comment below.

Essie Nail Polish is available at selected Dis-Chem, Clicks and Foschini Stores, as well as selected Beauty Salons. RRP 125.

Follow Essie on Facebook to keep up to date with new collections and product launches.

Disclosure Ranking:2

Beauty, Beauty Products, Nail Polish

Essie Fall in Line { Mani-Monday }

Today’s Mani-Monday features Essie Fall in Line, from the Essie Fall Collection. I have also featured Partner in Crime and Dress to Kilt , which are from the same collection.

Essie Fall in Line

First Impressions ~

Essie Fall in Line is a creamy jade green shade – almost a military green. It is not a colour I would usually wear, as I prefer brighter greens like Trophy Wife. I like trying different colours so I thought I would give it a bash!

Application ~

I find most of the Essie creme polishes are thicker in consistency, which can be a bit more difficult to apply. Essie Fall in Line is thick but I still found it easy to apply. I used two coats of polish and the Essie top coat Good to Go but you could easily get away with one coat.

My Verdict ~

Although initially skeptical I really like the colour. It has a deeper finish than I expected and a lovely glossy shine, even without the top coat. Essie Fall in Line definitely gets a thumbs up from me. It ticks all the boxes – applies well, lovely glossy finish and a great colour. You are likely to see it on my nails often during Autumn and Winter.

Feedback ~

What are your thoughts about this colour – yay or nay? Please leave a comment below with your feedback. Thanks 🙂

The Essie Fall Collection is available at selected Dis-Chem, Clicks and Foschini Stores, as well as selected Beauty Salons. RRP 125.

Follow Essie on Facebook to keep up to date with new collections and product launches.