 |
Slendertone
by estherw
I've been using my Slendertone for about a month on high intensity for 30 minutes every morning. The belt fits a wide range of waist sizes, so it's a good buy if you want to share it with someone else. It's comfortable and quick to put on - you can wear it whilst going about your business if you wear loose clothes and don't mind ... looking a bit of a funny shape! The pads stick well to your body and don't hurt to peel off. My only ctiricism of the pads is that they can feel very cold first thing in the morning. The programs provide several different workouts and the instructions for programming the belt are clear. On the high programs the electric pulses can feel very strong and a little uncomfortable, but you can definately feel your muscles working. Battery life could be better - generally mine last around two weeks, but the display on the belt gives you plenty of warning when they need changing. Slendertone does give good results quickly and, provided you stick with it, makes it easy to fit abdominal toning into a busy lifestyle.
Read the complete review |
 |
UV Gel Wipe Off Solution The Edge Nails
by katyj10
This is a review of UV Gel Wipe Off Solution by a brand called The Edge who make a lot of products relating to Nails such as gel and false nails and other accessories. A lot of beauticians are trained in 'The Edge' products only. I recently purchased a UV lamp which is used to cure gel nails which are supposed to last a lot longer than ... normal nail varnish. Once the lamp was bought, there were a lot of other necessary purchases required to complete a full gel manicure at home. One of these items was the solution that removes the sticky layer on the top layer of the gel manicure at the end of the process.
Why do you need it?
The gel nail varnish leaves a tacky layer on top of each coat to help the next layer bond to it. I use a primer then a base coat, the colour and then a top coat and then this is the stage where the wipe off solution is used.
In use
Once I have completed the above stages, I use a lint free wipe (like cotton wool but no fluff on it) dipped in this solution and wipe gently across the top of the nail. If you touch the nail before it feels like sticky tape but after the wipe, it is shiny and non tacky to the touch. UV nails are cured with the special light so there is no 'drying' time required as with normal nail varnish.
Packaging
The wipe off solution by The Edge is packaged in a no frills bottle which is made of silver metal with a metal screw top lid. The liquid inside is very thin and runny and evaporates when open to air so it is important to keep the lid on tight. The bottle reminds me of a health drink bottle but you wouldn't be wise to drink this! I don't know whether it is packaged in metal for practical reasons due to the nature of the contents. The body of the bottle is decorated in The Edge branding and has green stripes as part of its logo. I just think it could do with a stopper to make the liquid drip out as it feels like you use too much in one go with the open lid.
My thoughts
I think this product is probably very close to surgical spirit in that it is alcohol based. In terms of performance, this works very well and easily removes the sticky top layer that is left on a gel manicure at the end of the process.
Price and availability
I paid £6.50 (including P&P) for this item on ebay. This is for 100ml bottle. On Amazon, a 500ml bottle (plastic) costs £12.68 with free postage. If you are planning on a lot of manicures or do this for a living, the bigger bottle is obviously better value for money.
Final word
Thanks for making it this far with my review, I realise that this product is a bit specialist and as I bought a lot of the other accessories via ebay from Hong Kong, I won't be reviewing them here as I am not sure it is that helpful when the brands are not really recognised over here.
Whilst I haven't been all that impressed with the overall UV gel-nail-at-home results I have had so far* (compared with a salon's own gel manicure), I can't fault this product from The Edge and will continue to use it whilst I persevere with the UV nails at home!
*The one thing I will say is that gel nails are really good if you are trying to grow your natural nails as they really make them bash proof but you need to be careful when removing the gel as the acetone you have to use can be pretty damaging.
Read the complete review |
 |
Boots 7 Way Curved Block
by katyj10
This is a review of the 7 way curved block which is a nail file and buffer that I bought recently from Boots. I was fed up of my nails splitting and wanted to smooth out some of them to stop me from being tempted to pick at them. My nails are nice and long at the moment having had some gel overlays on them for the past month and I wanted ... to file them and have them looking nice.
Use with caution
I was a little wary about over buffing nails as essentially you are wearing away the surface and thinning the nails out. Some people buff their nails to make them shiny but my purpose was to work at some problem areas and try and minimise nail peeling.
Description
The actual nail file is just over eight inches in length and slightly curved. How wrong does that sound!
There are seven parts to it as follows:
1. A course Grit file to shape the nail (this is half the length of the file) in dark blue
2. Medium grit to file nail (half the length) in lighter blue
3. Fine Grit to neaten edges of nail (full length) in peach
4. Even out ridges on nail surface (half length) green
5. Smooth nail (half length) mid blue
6. Buff nail (half length) purple
7. Shine nail (half length) deep pink
The design of the nail is ingenious and really incorporates everything you need in a file and buffer but it is still a nice handbag size so you can file and buff on the go in case you have a nail emergency.
In use
I found the file to be the perfect grip size and it could tackle all the jobs I wanted it to from smoothing out imperfections on the nail surface to filing away length or evening out little bits on the nail. I was careful to not over buff the nail but the ones which needed most attention did end up really smooth and shiny.
Price and availability
As this is a Boots product, they are only available on their website or in store (where I bought mine) priced £3.50 and if you have a Boots Advantage Card you can collect points with your purchase too. There were a few other similar products on sale but I was keen to try the curved version.
My thoughts
I found the curve on the file really helped the action of buffing the nail and it was easy to use. The first buffing motion (side 4) is a little bit rough but not as much as an emery board, and after first use, there was a bit of powdery white nail on the surface of the file so I wondered about the shelf life of the file, (you need it to stay a bit rough for it to work) as this is the section I will probably use most but it seemed to renew itself in my bag and looks brand new again now. I always carry a nail file in my bag, usually a glass file as I find these easier to use but I think the three levels of grit on the curved file give me more options whilst on the go so I could be converted!
Final word
For the money, I think this is a great nail product which combines a lot of actions on the one board. The added advantage of the curved file helps make the job easier. I am pleased that I bought this file and it will probably get a lot of use over the coming months.
PS. Just as an aside, I hate it when people ask to borrow an emery board as it is such a personal item. You wouldn't share your toothbrush with a work colleague would you? Maybe it's just me being weird but I hate other people using my file so I either fib and say I don't have one or if I like the person, and I have one on me I give them one of those mini files you get in the match book type packaging and tell them to keep it! Yes I know I am weird, this one didn't even make it into my recent "five reasons I think I'm strange review"... lol.
Read the complete review |
