Let's start at the beginning...

Hi! My name's Helen and I am a nail addict! Well, I'm fast becoming one at least. I am a stay at home Mum to two boys aged 3 and a half and 8 months, so as you can imagine I don't get much time to myself. There was a time when I wouldn't leave the house without make-up on, but now doing the school run at 8.30 in the morning I'm lucky if I've had the time to brush my hair! All joking aside, being so unglamorous was getting me down - almost all of my friends managed at least a coat of mascara and a clean pair of jeans most days. So, I decided that I was going to make more time for me, whether it be a weekly bubble bath (without one of the boys getting in with me), making time to pluck my eyebrows or shave my legs, and find my inner girlie girl again! After picking up a bottle of Barry M Nail Paint instant nail effects on impulse and loving taking the time to do my nails, I decided that would be where I started - nails. As a teenager I loved doing my nails and I had hundreds of nail polished lined up along my book shelves (which drove my mother mad!). I would pierce my nails, use embellishments, glitter, do my own falsies and have lots of fun with it, even using a pin head to draw little flower designs on my nails. Since then things have come a long way, my mantra this week is stay away from ebay!
Now, I don't have fantastic nails. They are ridged and they peel, and since I do all the housework without gloves (wrist slap, if you will, but I am allergic) polish doesn't last very long before it chips. At the moment though, after a few weeks of twice weekly manicures, they are probably almost the best they've ever been (apart from a dangerous split on my right thumbnail - desperately praying it holds a while or it's gonna hurt). It's probably not helped by the products I use either. See I'm on a tight budget, bargain hunting on ebay or in supermarkets to source things, so they're often not best quality. I wish I could splurge on O.P.I or Chanel nail colours, but I just can't justify it when I have mouths to feed and nappies to buy.
So, that's all about me and why I'm here. My next two posts will be a picture of all the nail colours I currently own, and then the manicure I'm wearing at the moment (which I'll write about in more detail then, but I've made it last 4 days with a bit of ingenuity, which is a record for me!)
So, thanks for reading! Please feel free to suggest any hints and tips, or other blogs I should subscribe to. I'm determined to get good at this, and make doing my nails a fun new hobby :)
Helen x

EDIT: Just thought I'd add that I'm from the UK - a lot of the blogs I've glanced at are US based and some of the awesome products used aren't available here :( Another reason I can't spend a lot on polish - often the postage is more than the polish itself!

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