Review: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 2X Volume Top Coat*

Exciting news for fans of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel nail colours: the special top coat that seals and protects the polish has been redeveloped and improved to give twice the volume and shine! Miracle Gel 2X Volume Top Coat has been released, and I was generously sent a Duo Pack*, which includes Up The Ante, to try.

If you missed the whole Miracle Gel boat, here's the skinny. Basically it's a range from Sally Hansen that claims to provide you with a salon-calibre at-home gel manicure, without having to use light lamps to set the polish. Instead, the special top coat seals everything in and activates the curing, and natural light does the rest. The brand claims you can get up to 14 days of gel colour, so it's supposed to be long-lasting, just like a salon gel mani.

Although I never get close to 14 days without chipping at the edges, I was still eager to trial this new version, because a volumising top coat not only sounds intriguing, but also a bit out there! In hindsight, I should have used my original Miracle Gel Top Coat on one hand and the new 2X Volume one on the other for direct comparison, but I didn't think of it until afterwards. D'oh!

I am loving the pretty shade Up The Ante. It's a medium-toned plum that's perfect for Spring. And in fact, it's one of six Spring/Summer shades that have been released in Limited Edition Duo Packs, the others being coral, teal, blue, watermelon and spearmint hues. I love the sound of every one of these, they are right up my alley!

Up The Ante was very easy to apply, thanks mostly to the fairly wide, flat application brush. The new 2X volume top coat is quite gel-like, meaning it's not as runny as the coloured polishes. I found that the brush picks up a lot of product, so you really have to ensure you wipe the excess off against the inner neck rim of the bottle, otherwise you just get far too much on your nail. Other than that, this was a fast, easy application. I applied two coats of Up The Ante and one of the Top Coat. As you can see, the result is a super-glossy finish. I'm very impressed by the shine factor and would agree with Sally Hansen's 2X volume claim. However for me, this lost its impact over the next few days. My nails lost their glossy WOW factor, and what started off as a super-professional looking mani began to look, well, still good, but just not as fantastic. I also started to get minor chipping on four out of ten nails on Day 2. I really do use my hands a lot, and I am used to my manicures chipping early. Still, I was hoping it might last a bit longer.

Overall, I love Up The Ante, it's such a pretty shade of purple. I'd also give the Miracle Gel 2X Volume Top Coat a glossy thumbs up based on the stunning shine, wow factor and professional-looking finish. My only criticism is the early chipping I experienced. This happens to me across the board, with every nail polish I wear, so it's not specific to this product, although given it's a gel it should be lasting longer than normal polishes. Clearly I'm using my hands too much, and will cease all housework immediately :D

Limited Edition Duo packs containing a Spring/Summer shade and a 2X Volume Top Coat are $19.95, and can be bought from Priceline, Target, Chemist Warehouse, Terry White Chemists and independent chemists. Look out for sales and specials to get it cheaper!

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*Disclaimer: This product was provided for editorial consideration. All opinions are my own. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

What's your favourite nail polish shade for Spring?

FFS Friday: The Week From Hell

Oh hi. The is my first ever FFS Friday post. After living through The Week From Hell and not being able to blog since Monday, I thought if ever I had enough material for a FFS Friday post, it's this week. Here we go.

Last Wednesday I had to have a Biopsy on my right boob to see if what they found in there was cancer. I was supposed to call the Doctor at the Breast Unit 10am Monday morning to get the results. I was told he would know I was calling then and would have my results with him to discuss with me. I rang but he wasn't available. FFS

I left a message and was told he would ring me back that morning. He didn't. FFS

I stressed all fucking day not knowing if I had cancer, then rang back late afternoon. He still wasn't available. I was told he would ring me back that day and don't be surprised if I got a call at 6pm as sometimes he does that. He still didn't call me. FFS

Guess what? No fucking phone call Tuesday either. Wasn't that Melbourne Cup Day? He was probably watching the race instead. Maybe he was busy working, but still. Have some fucking consideration and make the time to call someone to let them know if they are dying or not. FFS

By this stage I was an emotional wreck. I was stressed, annoyed, frustrated, angry, depressed and worried. At the same time I started getting a huge pain in my right calf muscle, for no discernible reason. FFS.

On Wednesday, hubby was home sick. I reached breaking point and had a bit of a meltdown. The husband rang the Breast Unit on my behalf for the results and was told the Doctor will ring me that day. Not FFS

I shit you not, within 5 minutes the Doctor called me. What a fucking surprise. The mammogram and biopsy both came back benign although they can never be sure with the biopsy. I won't go into the details, but the end result is I have to go back for a mammogram in 6 months to check on it again. Not FFS.

On Wednesday the pain from my calf had moved up to my thigh area. At some stages of the day it hurt pretty badly. Then it started hurting in my arse area. LOL. I CBF looking up the medical name for it. FFS

I wanted to get a couple of blog posts done this week but couldn't because I was so fucking stressed and not in a good place mentally. Which means now I'll be even busier trying to get shit done, especially reviews for brands/PR I'm working with. I will get everything done on time, it just won't be as relaxed as I expected. FFS

Earlier in the week, the guy assigned to replace our linenpress that was badly damaged from a bathroom water leak asked if he could start working here Thursday 8am. I suggested Monday instead as I had an appointment Thursday and Jim's Mowing was coming Friday. He agreed. Not FFS

I had a Doctors appointment Thursday morning for my Pap Smear results. YAY! Let's talk about those results first. Because of course they were fucking inconclusive. Not enough readable cells. So that means I suffered through my last pap smear for nothing. FFS

I have to get another pap smear done in 3 months. FFS

I told the Doctor about my leg pain and she pushed and prodded and asked questions, and then she was concerned it may have been Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). FFS

This is a fucking serious condition as the blood has clotted and if it dislodges and travels to your lungs it can kill you. FFS

I had to have an urgent ultrasound on my leg that day. In a suburb I can't drive to. FFS

I couldn't reach my Dad who lives 10 minutes away from the Doctor Surgery I was at, so I rang for a Taxi instead. I'd have to leave my car at the Doctors. Thankfully Dad called me back while I was on the phone to the Taxi, in queue. Not FFS.

I went and had my ultrasound and blood test done and thankfully it wasn't DVT. Not FFS

I finally got a bit of grocery shopping done. I thought after avoiding death twice this week I might actually cook dinner for hubby. I had been too stressed all week and had been letting him get his own dinner every night. I had still been making my sons dinner nightly because he's 8 and can't really do it himself yet. So I planned to cook dinner but by that stage hubby was so used to fending for himself he had already eaten in town after work. LOL. FFS

Now when hubby leaves for work in the morning he says "try to not die today, OK?" LOL. Not FFS

This morning we walked to school as usual, but in the rush, I forgot to bring the class teddy bear and journal that was due back. I couldn't bring it in at school pick up as my son wouldn't have been able to share his story with the class and choose the next student to take the bear home over the weekend. So I had to walk home, grab the bag with the bear in it and walk all the way back to school. In the rain. Also, this aggravated the pain in my leg and by the time I'd finished two return trips, my leg was really fucking sore. FFS.

TGIF!!!

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November Goals!

Look, it's the Organic Coconut Chips from the Native Box sprinkled on top!

Look how well I did with my October Goals! It was a struggle to write 10 blog posts and I still haven't bought new clothes, but overall, a successful month!

• Publish at least 10 blog posts ~ YES!
• Remove makeup and stick to a strict skincare routine every night ~ YES!
• De-clutter emails by unsubscribing from as many unnecessary email lists as possible ~ YES!
• Go out for a walk every weekday for at least 30 minutes ~ NO :(
• Empty and clean the second Linenpress ~ YES! Finally completed on 25 October!
• Finally set my overdue Doctor's appointment for a Pap Smear and just get it over with ~ YES. Suffered through it on 22 October.
• Bake a Banana Cake and make Cream Cheese Icing for it! ~ YES! See the above photo
• First-time watch 5 movies! ~ YES! (watched Pixels, Minions, Jupiter Ascending, The Way Way Back, Interstellar. Check out my review post here: Max My Movies - October Wrap-Up!)
• Go through boxes and throw out as much rubbish as possible ~ YES
• Buy new clothes! ~ Still NO :(

I achieved 8/10 of my October Goals! It really was the month for getting stuff done, and I hope to continue that trend with my November Goals. I still can't manage to exercise daily (apart from the school run) but at least I'm taking my makeup off every night without fail. This has become second nature now, something I'm very pleased with. My banana cake sank in the middle (booo!) but was still delicious-tasting and the actual cake itself was well-cooked, despite being concave. Here is the recipe I used from the Taste website, in case you're interested. And now for my...

November Goals

1. Publish at least 10 blog posts again
2. Create a Beauty Spreadsheet listing staples with prices and dates
3. Finally change to my married name!
4. Clean out and re-organise cutlery drawer
5. Set up regular online grocery shopping and home delivery
6. First-time watch 7 movies
7. Clean out and re-organise makeup organiser
8. Clear and clean my desk
9. Be awesome (sorry, I wanted an easy one!) LOLOL
10. Buy a 2016 Diary!

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What are you hoping to achieve this month?