I've something for all you nail addicts out there today...no not the hammer and nail but the hand and nail kind.
Ive recently started doing gel/acrylic nails after many years as I'm an ex nail tech so decided I wanted to start doing my own nails again after many years.
So when I was kindly offered these to review I jumped at the chance as I only had a small shorty gel brush from Naio...even though that is very good; sometimes you just want a different size brush for other things.
Packaging The brushes arrived in a ziplock bag and inside that they came in their own white backed plastic flip over case to keep them in.
The case they come in is a lovely sturdy case to keep in your nail boxes.
Description The 7 brushes are ideal for the girly girl; as they have the most beautiful pink swirls made of actual acrylic.
You can see here how gorgeous the pink and white swirls are making these a pleasure to use; well they are for me. It wouldn't be the same for normal paint brushes.
Dont be confused with using these for acrylic nails though as they are 'gel or nail art brushes'; and would NOT be suitable for building acrylic nails as they cant soak up the monomers as well. Acrylic brushes are normally made of Kolinsky sable hair and can hold more liquid and are generally longer, rounder and firmer to pat the setting acrylic powder into nail shape. These are perfectly designed for the more fluid gel extensions with the flat shorter length brushes.
Each brush has its own plastic tube to keep it protected when not in use; however Ive removed mine as you have the case which for me is enough and hasn't been any problems so far.
Each brush is of a different size number 8 and number 10 you will probably use the most; well I do anyway.
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14.
They are approximately 14cm long. Number 8 was driving my OCD crazy...I do wish they could have printed these on equally lol.
I have found the numbers printed on the sides have started to rub off; as Ive used them for weeks now and the acetone has removed my numbers, however I tend to know the size I need by looking anyway so its not been a problem.
You can see here they all have a nice size distinction making this set perfect for gel nails- builder layer and base coat and most nail art.
My most used brushes for gels are number 8 and 6, one for builder gel and sculpting and the smaller one when using my Naio ice white for the French manicure look, this brush enables me to add a really neat smile line. I couldn't be without this one now.
Use I absolutely love this little set of brushes, the size variations have been so useful for me. Ive used them for both nail gel extensions and nail art; Ive lost no hairs which were my main concern with such affordable brushes. I thought I was going to get hairs stuck in my nail tips embedded into the gels...eeep!. But nope, nothing like that so far.
The brush shafts have a nice width to use and are not too thin.
The brushes pick up enough product to use properly too; plus they then clean up easily with acetone, especially with the grip designed in metal.
I always have at least 2 brushes on the go when I'm doing my UV gel nails, you can see here at the bottom of the image above; I have the little green shorty brush that came with my gel set from Naio and I then purchased the Boan rhinestone detailing gel brush, as like a magpie I saw the rhinestones and just had to have it lol!
I also used these for my glitters and pigments; however they didn't pickup my glitters as well as the pigments above. They seem to soak up the dry pigments if that makes sense, but the glitters simply fell off making a mess across my table.
These gorgeous pigments are from the Color Shack Gnarly nails on ebay and you can see here how the pigment sticks so well to the brush hairs, it then paints like a polish across my nails.
See here my finished nails after using the brushes for the pigments.
Opinion
Yes I can highly recommend these brushes for home use and most certainly a backup set if your a professional nail tech. I found these absolutely fine to use and so surprised they didn't molt onto my nail tips. They also look so good in my nail trays and yes that's quite important to me!.
Dont they all look great; Im so happy to be back doing my nails again after all these years. Im now on the lookout for some acrylic brushes in this rose set now as I like them so much. I have to coordinate don't I girls?
Hi everyone Ive something for those of you addicted to taking selfies...OK that could be ALL of you... ;-)
I was kindly offered this gorgeous looking 36 LED ring light to share with you all by a company called Eboot. This LED light is also a number 1 best seller on Amazon so of course I had to try it too to see what all the fuss was about.
Ive added a chatty video review too; to show you some ideas of how to use it other than for selfie's. If you love your photography you will find this an invaluable piece of kit to keep in your bag. Its not often I find a gadget that is a multi-tasker, usually they do what they say on the box and thats it...not this one. I could see so many ways of using this in so many situations so I wanted to show you a few.
Could this be the Selfie addict's most important gadget...well watch my video and see what you think for yourself.
I have to admit Im not a selfie snapper I dont like looking in the mirror let alone taking loads of piks of me in different positions...eeep...nope...tooo scary for me.
However I know so many of you are so I had to give this little gadget a good run through for you.
Just grab a coffee and a bikky and checkout my full review of this clever little gadget. You have to see just how bright this is...I hope you will be as surprised as I was...!
Packaging
When this first arrived I was slightly disappointing in the packaging as its literally was just a white box with a half moon tease window. However I do understand basic packaging can keep costs right down.
Being a small white box you can then decorate it however you wish if it was a gift for someone.
Inside its a very simple plastic mold it sits wrapped in a cellophane wrap. This comes with no user guide or leaflet explaining batteries or modes, but its super easy to work out.
Description This is an 8.5cm diameter 2.1cm thick LED ring light to clip onto your smart phones or use as extra supplementary lighting. These hit the market a few months ago when a well known blogger started using one. So I'm super excited to have the chance to try one myself; not for selfies...god forbid...but extra side lighting for my photography. It comes in black or white...I received the white one which looks very clean and 'apple-esk'. Its the perfect size to pop in your handbag or rucksack to keep with you just incase you have the urge to "Selfie"!
This selfie light has 36 'Highlight' LED's and these have 3 levels of brightness which you scroll through via the button.
This little light takes 2 AAA batteries (not included) something easy to find in most shops in the UK!
The gap in the middle is to allow the camera on most phones to see through it; but still allowing the clamp to get some purchase (grip) on your phone.
You can see here you still have plenty of room to hold your phone comfortably too.
I did find it quite a bit heavier to what I thought it would be, thats partly down to the batteries inside but then it does have a good quality build to it, something I didn't think it would have.
At the top of the light is the on/off and mode button, this is set slightly to the side which is slightly odd. However when you have it set on the phone my finger sits more comfortably at the top rather than to the side... I can still reach it easily...I'm just being picky.
But when using it off the phone as extra lighting in your hand the button is in the perfect position as seen here.
The clever cut-out also is a comfy ergonomic hand grip to hand hold this light for anything you may need.
The light is designed to fit most phones and has a cut-out so your phone slides neatly into the light making the light sit flat. Here you can see the angle compared to the image below.
Most widths of phone will fit easily into this indent and the clamp has rubberized edging so not to damage the screen of your phone. This for me was a massive worry even though I wasn't going to keep the light attached for long; I'm not really being a selfie gal.
Ive had no screen problems at the moment but you always have to be aware not to have items clamped onto your phone for too long as these capacitive screens can be quite delicate.
Using the Selfie light
This clever little light has been designed initially for those of you who love their selfies, but also for those like me who want to add additional lighting for their images. Being so compact and portable compared to most photographic equipment this is perfect as a quick extra lighting unit.
The 3 levels of brightness really make a huge difference to any photo.
This is ONLY mode 1!
As there wasn't any instructions I didn't realize till I pressed the button to turn it off it had more brightness levels...wow great surprise and when I reached level 3 I was quite taken with how bright this was.
Dont forget to checkout my video to see exactly what all 3 levels look like in daylight and darkness. They really give off an amazing amount of illumination and is PERFECT for extra side lighting or just when your having to shoot in low light.
Stand alone lighting I found this light stands by itself due to its clever design; the batteries make it top heavy, so you can work hands free and concentrate on getting your shot. It simply rolls back round to this position.
Extra lighting for those of you that sell things on ebay, etsy as well as using it for portraits.
Image by EBoot
Portraits and Selfies If your looking for a pik of me...you wont find it, Sorry you will have to trust me on this one. In the photographicworld, portraits are said to be better quality when the person has beautiful ring-light circles in their eyes, usually by a pro-ring-light costing well over £100.
However I was amazed to see on some test shots how this little light creates those circles...obviously how bright they are depends on which mode you use and how close you are to your model. But wow it is damn good people!
Using this with the Plamp 2 I discovered a way of using this light more than just for selfies by controlling my lighting. By using my Plamp 2; you may have seen a previous video review HERE where I reviewed several products from Wimberley. You could use any of the three shown here to hold this light to place wherever you wish.
First of all clamp the Plamp 2 to your table leg or drawer handle (Ive used above to show you...) literally anything so its perfectly placed to capture my image. Then attach your light to the mini clamp...voila...you have a bendy lamp.
Next you dont even need to clamp to anything you can use it as a stand alone lamp for extra lighting. Curl your base so its perfectly stable and it wont fall over and you have a camping light...the perfect camping/festival gadget!
Here it is illuminating my coffee table to show you just how bright this is!
Ideal during powercuts; the fact it uses batteries makes this so useful.
Opinion
Im so happy with this little gadget, its so versatile, I absolutely love products you can use for more than 1 thing. This is a simple but genius idea to get better selfie shots, resulting in gorgeous skin and eyes; always wanted in good portraits and selfies. But thats not all; this also makes an amazing supplementary light for so many occasions. You ebay, etsy sellers, if you need a little extra lighting that can be moved anywhere. Using batteries makes this a compact little unit which is also very portable to simply pop in your bag or rucksack; plus its a stand alone little light.
But I decided to go one stage more and I brought in my Wimberley Plamp 2 and now I have goose-neck lamp and extra lighting clamped anywhere I need flexible lighting at a touch. As its not a beam of light like a torch you get alot of illumination perfect for camping and powercuts.
Main features;
Selfie light making the skin and eyes look beautiful.
Stand alone lamp; leaving you hands-free to concentrate on your image.
Side lighting.
Additional lighting for photography and videography.
Powercuts.
Emergency light in the glove-box.
Use a a normal flashlight where you need more illumination rather than a beam of light.
Great for close work ie soldering electrics.
Continuous output lighting- or until the battery goes flat lol!
I decided to go one stage more and I brought in my Plamp 2 and now I have goose-neck lamp and extra lighting clamped anywhere I need it. As its not a beam of light like a torch you get alot of illumination perfect for camping and powercuts.
Use with Plamp 2 and you have so many other extra uses,
Gooseneck lamp.
Camping light from tent.
Barbecues at night clamped from a tree by itself or using the Plamp.
Bedside light.
Manicure light.
Craft light.
Well you get the idea dont you...go on guys can you think of anything else let me know?
I can highly recommend this Selfie light; but dont just believe me its already a number 1 best seller on Amazon.
Its robust and a comfy size to sit in the palm of your hand and so easy to use. Plus its so affordable and I feel this would be the selfie addicts dream pressie!
See my previous video review of the Wimberley Plamp Family, as they will go perfectly with this little light. Ive used mine so many times already just for my review images.
All my thanks goes to EBoot for kindly sending me this Selfie light to share with you all. All my views and opinions are my own and all images are mine unless otherwise stated.
