The Perfect Barielle Manicure...Plus GIVEAWAY!

(Press Sample)

Hello everybody!

I have something extra cool to share with you today. Barielle recently asked me if I'd like to review products for a perfect Barielle manicure, and if so, they'd sponsor a giveaway of the products for my readers!

Of course I said yes. :)

So first I'm gonna walk you through some products that I think will make your manicure perfect, and then I'll talk about the giveaway. There maybe might be a little dash of nail art, too...


Step 1: Get rid of those cuticles!

You can't have a gorgeous manicure if you've got icky straggly cuticles ruining the look. So for this one, I reviewed Barielle's Extra Gentle Cuticle Minimizer:

Barielle Extra Gentle Cuticle Minimizer

The instructions said to leave this on for 2-3 minutes, applied to the cuticles, and then remove with the included orange stick. I followed the instructions, and found that the product was gentle and effective. My cuticles get pretty ragged, so for a product to be gentle but also still effective on my cuticles is a pretty tall order. Take a look at the pictures below to see what you think about the job it did--I was very happy with the results. :)


Step 2: Base coat!

For this step I reviewed Barielle's Nail Rebuilding Protein. This product is a personal Holy Grail product for me--I've been using it for about 9 months now, and I'll never use another base polish again. It's actually a protein rebuilder for damaged nails first, and a base coat second, which means it's meant as a nail treatment, and functions as a base coat.

Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein

This product has transformed my peeling piles of hot mess to smooth, strong nails. I was able to tell a difference from the first time I used it, and when I've stopped using it for some reason, my nails will start showing damage again within days. Here's a shot of my old bottle, that I've been struggle to get the dregs out of, to show you just how much I love it: 

I need a new bottle! ::grabby paws::

I even forgo any sort of special glitter base and just use this under glitter; I remove with the foil method and it's worth it because this minimizes my damage.


Step 3: Polish, baby!

Now we're ready for our polish, the undeniable core of any awesome manicure. For the 'perfect' manicure, I wanted to pick something that can take you from work to evening, and even to a fun weekend. I chose Daring Dahlia, a fuchsia polish with a sweet pink-purple shimmer:

Barielle Daring Dahlia

Barielle Daring Dahlia

Barielle Daring Dahlia

Barielle Daring Dahlia

Barielle Daring Dahlia

I love the versatility of this color. It's sassy and fun, and the shimmer gives it enough dimension that it looks special--like the color variations in a real flower. This is the sort of basic every girl needs, but that feels way more special than a basic. :)

Step 4: Top coat!

I am an impatient wee beastie, and a clumsy one, so I don't like to have to wait any longer than necessary for my polish to dry. For ages I've used Seche Vite as my topcoat, but it's not three-free, so I've been on a continual lookout for a fast-drying topcoat that is three-free and actually works. So for this step, I reviewed Barielle's Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender, which is a quick-drying topcoat. 

 


The instructions for this say to wait until your polish is completely dry before applying. No way was that going to happen; I normally wait about a minute before putting on my topcoat, sometimes a little more. So what I did here was wait about 2-3 minutes before applying the topcoat, then I let the topcoat sit for another 2-3 minutes before I started to interact with the world. That method worked just fine for me; I didn't get any dings or smudges, and the finish was very shiny (as you can see above). I went to bed about 2 hours later, and didn't have any sheet marks in the morning. I will definitely use this, and recommend it as a three-free topcoat.


Step 5: Staying healthy & pretty. :)

The last product is Barielle's Intensive Nail Renewal Oil. I like to apply oil or balm 2-3 times a day; I'll use oil particularly at night before I go to bed.

I found this to be an effective oil that absorbed relatively quickly and did a very good job. Also, it has a very light scent, almost no scent at all, so it doesn't compete with any other scents you're wearing and shouldn't bother you. :)

So there you have all the products for my perfect Barielle manicure! And because Barielle is so awesome, they are sponsoring a giveaway of all of the five products that I selected above. So the prize includes the following 5 items: 

One Extra Gentle Cuticle Minimizer

One Nail Rebuilding Protein

One Barielle Daring Dahlia

One Barielle Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender

One Barielle Intensive Nail Renewal Oil

For you chance to win these, please enter the rafflecopter widget below. This is a Unites States only because of shipping restrictions. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hmm...I feel like there was something else I wanted to share with you...what was it...Oh! Of course!

No perfect manicure on this blog is complete without a little touch of nail art. I wanted to keep this simple in accord with the theme of the perfect manicure--this is something you can do in a quick minute because you don't even have to worry about stamping it straight:

Daring Dahlia with darling daisies

To do this, I used Konad Special White stamping polish and Pueen plate 31 (these products are not included in the giveaway, only the Barielle products.). Because it's a single accent nail and it's a pattern that doesn't need to be straight, you can throw this on in a minute and be out the door to that awesome picnic you're having with your family and friends. :)

You can find all of these products on the Barielle website, and because August is healthy nail month, they have a special sale going on right now--all threatments are under $10 and all nail colors are $4 through the end of the month. Check it out!


I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!
M.