I'm doing Race for Life in June in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK, I'd really appriciat...
I'm doing Race for Life in June in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK, I'd really appriciate it if anyone could sponsor me, every penny helps! Please go to: https://www.raceforlifesponsor me.org/katieandsinead
Than k you so much xxxx
Member since:16.03.2007
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Who Are Creative? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since 1979, Creative Nail Design have developed professional products and services for the beauty industury, concentrating on products for hands, feet and nails. They are originally an American company, who are now just as popular all over the world, including the UK. They are one of the most popular and I must say the best brand of products for hands, feet and nails in the industury. If you go to salons quite regularly or are in the beauty industury, it is likely you will have heard or even used Creative Nail Design. I use their products for all things hands, feet and nails and will never use anything else as I know the standards of other products don't even come close.
Creative Nail Design offers the most comprehensive and modern enamel colour range in the professional industry with 100's of popular and different shades - one for everyone. The specially designed formula has been created to give you a smoother application, better coverage and increased wearability. As well as Creative's regular enamel shades, they always offer seasonal collections including the most up to date and fashionable colours at the time.
Creative call this nail enamel, this is the same as nailpolish and nailvarnish but different companies call it different things and this can all be a little confusing, in this review I will refer to it as nail enamel.
~~~~~~~~~~~ Use & Effects ~~~~~~~~~~~
I am a beauty therapist and this is my first choice for any nail products including enamel. Creative are a well known product supplier with an extremely high reputation for being the best, Creative Nail Design offers the most comprehensive and modern enamel colour range in the professional industry.
Creative Nail Enamel comes in a standard nail enamel pot, it has a fairly long black lid, which a brush
attached inside the bottle. It has the brand across the front and on a small white sticker on the bottom of the pot is the colour of the product, and if you unfold it, you will find a list of ingredients and other information.
Creative Nail Enamel can be used on fingernails, toenails and acrylic or gel nails. It doesn't cause any problems to them, just make sure you apply a basecoat to prevent staining. It can also be used on both female and males, I have had many males in for manicures. To apply you should start with a clean, dry nail (remove any dirt or previous nail varnish with an acetone free nail varnish remover). First of all apply a basecoat, I would recommend Creative Toughen Up, let this dry and then apply the enamel with 3 long even strokes starting from just above the cuticle up the free edge. You should leave that coat to dry for several minutes before applying a second coat. Don't worry if you're first coat is messy, it doesn't matter, as you can fill in any gaps on your second coat. You must make sure you let each coat dry before applying another otherwise the lower layer will not be able to dry and can even lead to fungal infections as you are giving it a nice warm damp atmosphere to live in. You should polish uner the tip of the nail and over the nail, sealing the edges. Using a basecoat encases the nail, preventing staining and protects the nail from breaking or chipping. After you have applied a basecoat and 2 coats of enamel, you should then apply a Top Coat, this seals the enamel underneath, also helping to protect the enamel from breaking or chipping, it also gives a lovely shine finish to the enamel. After all this is dry, I would recommend applying a cuticle oil to the cuticle and enamel, it will rehydate your nail after using nail varnish remover and will also act as a barrier between your nail and the outside world. It takes 48 hours for enamel to fully dry, even though it may seem it, if you knock your nail in this time then you may smudge it so the cuticle oil protects this, if you knock it it will knock the oil rather than your nail.
The enamel provides an easy and smooth application with the best coverage I have found. The enamel goes onto your nail just thick enough without being clumpy nor is it too runny meaning you don't have to do too many coats. It is just the perfect consistency. I find this is the only enamel that doesn't go gloopey or clog up the brush if not used for a while, it also doesn't turn watery with the colour seperating which saves alot of money, otherwise you're forever throwing enamels away. If the varnish starts to get thick, put a drop of nail varnish thinner or remover in and shake well. To prevent this happening however, keep nail enamel out of direct sunlight or warm areas. It is also recommended that you clean the bottle neck with nail varnish remover regularly to avoid build up and the bottle lid sticking to the bottle.
Creative Nail Enamel paints onto your nails in even strokes. The brush is just the right size, it isn't too big that it swamps your nail and cuticle and it isn't too small that you have to do lots of different strokes which can take a long time. You should apply enamel in 3 strokes and Creative's brush is just the right size for this. Creative Nail Enamel is the best I have found for wearability, it lasts longer than any other brand. It can last for weeks, obviously this depends on how you treat your nails but Creative have designed their nail enamel to experience a certain amount of wear and tear and remain perfect. I have had clients that have had manicures and have not had a chip in the enamel for weeks! Applying cuticle oil daily will also improve the wearability of your enamel, you will be helping your natural nail to be flexible and to bend rather than break - helping your nails not to chip. The only thing after a few weeks will be that your natural nail will always grow up and this will leave a gap between your cuticle and nail enamel, but it will always remain as a perfect and defined line just like the day you got it painted. Because of this you never have to worry about always touching your enamel up and whether you are going to chip it, you can put it totally out your mind. Obviously it is not a complete miracle products, but it is better than I would expect any nail enamel to be. If you stub your toe hard, then you may chip it, but general wear and tear won't.
I have a client, who always came in for massages, they had always wanted a manicure but they had been allergic to most nail enamels in the past and feared this would happen again. One day, she decided to go for it anyway, she brought a pot of Creative Nail Enamel, stating it was her own fault if she was allergic. She called me up a few days later, she was estatic, it hadn't done anything to her nails and she didn't have a reaction, she was wearing nail enamel, which she had never managed to do before and she was so pleased, it's the reason I love doing my job, the feeling of satisfaction that you have made someone feel better about theirself is fantastic.
Creative Nail Enamel is easily removed, with any nailvarnish remover. If you have acrylic or gel nails, then you should always use an acetone free nailvarnish remover. It doesn't make a mess when removing or smudge over your surrounding skin, which I find some enamels do, instead it is clean, quick and easy. I would also recommend applying cuticle oil to your nails after removing the enamel to rehydrate your nail after dehydrating it with nailvarnish remover.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Range of Colours ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Creative stock the largest selection of colours of nail enamel over any other company, as well as stocking many different shades, Creative stock creme, frost, glitter, metallic, opalescent, shimmer, and sheer enamels as well. Redbook Magazine, earlier this year described Creative Nail Enamel as "a lip gloss for your nails with just a hint of colour".
Every season Creative release a new collection, for example Spring 2008 collection entitled 'Plexi Plop Collection'. This collection includes a range of the most up to date, fashionable colours at the time. I always find these new colours are popular with the clients, they go down really well and any new bright colours that come in are sold out immediately.
Creative have 25 neutral shades ranging from white to an earthy cocoa colour. There are four whites ranging from paper white to a tinge of lilac and there are also nine natural pinks. The white and pinks can be used alone, but are mainly used for doing a 'French' paint, which consists of white tips with a natural pink over the top. There are so many different shades, that you will find the perfect match for the perfect 'French' paint for you, whether you like a very subtle natural look or a more obvious and defined look. In Creative's Neutral collection, they have a lovely baby pink colour called 'Hope', it is a really girly, spring/summer colour, and it is a special edition for Breast Cancer where some of the proceeds go to the cause, which I think is fantastic. 'Retro White' has been featured in magazines such as Redbook and Cosmo Girl as a hot colour of the moment this year for the 'two-tone tip' look.
Creative have 30 pink shades ranging from Pale Pink to Hot Pink and some with some purple tones in. My favourite colour is 'Tutti Frutti' in this collection, which has also been popular with the clients too. It is a fantastic bright hot pink with fushia tones so it's not so in your face bright. I love wearing it on my toes, especially in the summer. 'Clearly Pink' was featured in Town & Country magazine this year as a must have pastel colour.
Creative have 30 red shades, whether you like classic, bright, orange tones, pink tones, earthy or maroon tones you will always find the perfect red for you in the huge selection Creative offer. My favourite and most popular with the clients is 'Gypsy Go Go' which is a beautiful bright red with hints of orange in, again like 'Tutti Frutti' it is a fabulous summer colour. The perfect classic red is 'Fiesta' and is also very popular, especially during the Christmas period. 'Orange-A-Peel' and 'Burn' were two colours used in this years Phillip Lim fashion show.
Creative have 37 Bold shades which are bright, dark, and glittery and you will always find one that's just you. These range from silver, glittery shades, yellows, oranges, blues, purples and black. You name a colour and shade and Creative have it. 'Turqouise Tint' has been featured in Nylon Magazine as a must have colour earlier this year and 'Trophy' was pictured in Cosmo Girl as one of the new bold nail colours that is currently in fashion. I don't find these colours as popular as the others, but they are more popular in the summer on toes.
As well as the magazine mentions above, Creative Nail Design have also been mentioned for their fashionable, high quality nail enamels in other magazines such as - Glamour, Ok, Star, All You, Woman's Day, Shape, Essence, Real Simple, Life & Style Weekly, Allure, Self, Marie Clare, Vogue, Lucky, Harpars Bazaar, Cosmopolition and many more - just showing how vastly popular and loved it is.
These enamels are quite pricey but are very much worth it, a lot of salon brands are expensive and some are the same price. There is a large range for the price, you can sometimes get it off the internet for as cheap as £5 and most salons tend to charge around £10 an enamel but you can get special offers.
~~~~~~~~~ Conclusion ~~~~~~~~~
Creative Nail Enamel is by far the best nail enamel I have found. With its huge range of colours, smooth application and lastability it beats all other brands hands down. I would really recommend it to anyone, there will always be there perfect colour for you.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Non gloopy, hundreds of fab colours, great size bottle, smooth application, great durability Disadvantages: Slightly more expensive than shop bought brands of nail enamel
Advantages: Non gloopy, hundreds of fab colours, great size bottle, smooth application, great durability Disadvantages: Slightly more expensive than shop bought brands of nail enamel
Oct 9th, 2007
(May 30th, 2008)
exceptional by (32%):
very helpful by (43%):
helpful by (22%):
somewhat helpful by (3%):
