The First MeeBox! **Nail Art and Review**

Hi guys!

I was so excited to have received the first ever MeeBox this week, and couldn't wait to open it and try out my new goodies! If you haven't already heard, MeeBox is a brand new nail specific subscription box that has launched in the UK. Although there are various other subscription boxes available, MeeBox caught my eye due to their fun Instagram page and I just got caught up in all of the excitement! So, without further ado, here is what is in the August 2015 MeeBox (nail art at the end of the post!):

Aside from the gorgeous packaging (which was super sturdy to make sure of no damage to the contents), I was pleased to find three polishes that I don't have in my collection - all from great brands, too! Although the polishes aren't from new/recent collections, they are all bang on trend and worthy of representing the first MeeBox theme - California Dreamin'! 

This month I received: 

• Models Own - Turquoise Gloss
• Color Club - Disco Dress
• China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy
• Whats Up Nails - 30 palm tree vinyls
• CND Solar Oil (3.7ml)

MeeBox are selling these boxes for £20 on a month-by-month basis, or you can buy three months for £54. A quick search on all of my regular nail polish-buying sites (Amazon, FragranceDirect, brands own store) tells me that the contents of this box alone are worth £23.50 - and that is without shipping on top! I think it's a bargain!

Nail vinyls and cuticle oil were a huge bonus for me in this box, as they are both products that I am always wanting to buy! The CND Solar Oil is lovely and has a strong almond scent to it (which may put some people off, but I think it's nice!) It rubs in easily and doesn't leave your hands too greasy. I've only been using it for a day so can't comment on the long-term results, but my first impressions are very good! As for the nail vinyls, I have heard amazing things about the vinyls from Whats Up Nails and couldn't wait to try them out. Plus, a large pack of 30 vinyls will last me a while!

Models Own - Turquoise Gloss

Color Club - Disco Dress

China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy

CND Essentials - Solar Oil

Whats Up Nail Vinyls

Whats Up Palm Tree Nail Vinyls

 One thing that I love about this is MeeBox have made sure to include popular shades that have been mentioned in more than one 'summer must-haves' polish list! All of the shades are gorgeous together in any combo, or worn alone as block colours. I think this box has managed to capture a great 'holiday' vibe and I can totally see myself packing these three polishes in my suitcase when I go away!

Of course I created an appropriate design to fit the theme. I used all of the colours in my MeeBox to create multiple gradients, and added white accents/detail using Essence 'Wild White Ways'. I also recycled my palm tree from the centre of my vinyl and stuck it to my thumb - sealing it in with two coats of topcoat.

Overall I am really impressed with the whole MeeBox experience, from the ordering and delivery (which is tracked using Hermes postal service), to the cute, thoughtful and extremely protective packaging (gotta keep those polish bottles safe!). Personally, as someone who spends well over £20 per month on nail products this is a great product as it restricts my impulse buys and it's almost like receiving a gift from a friend who knows exactly what I need in my life every single month! Ways to improve? I can't really think of any, but if MeeBox decide to include a holo or two in the upcoming boxes I know I'll be a happy lady.

You find out more about MeeBox on their website, and follow them on Instagram for regular updates and mani pics :)

I can't wait to see what's in my MeeBox next month!

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

Sponging and Stamping!

Hi guys!

Today I have some pretty stamped nails to show you that I created after being inspired by this manicure by Sveta Sanders on Instagram. I loved the colours together and thought it seemed simple enough to recreate without too much hassle! 

I started with a base of Fuse Gelnamel 'Intens-so-fly' which is a muted turquoise gel. You can't actually see much of the base on my nails as it was mostly covered by the sponging, which I am counting as a good thing as I really don't like the colour! I then used Models Own 'Pukka Purple', Models Own 'Sun Hat' and China Glaze 'Grass Is Lime Greener' to randomly sponge the colours onto the nail, making sure to overlap them. I love how this looks! It reminds me of graffiti :)

Not content with the base as it was, I decided to add a touch of white stamping using MoYou London Pro-08 plate and one of the cute flowered designs.

To finish the look, I used neon studs as the centre of the larger flowers and topped with topcoat to seal it all in. 

Hope you like these as much as I do!  <3

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

Pretty In Pink Nails

Hi guys,

Today I have some super simple and girly nails to show you. This was inspired by UK indie maker PolishedbyLeanne who is giving away her sparkly 'gemstone' polish collection to one lucky winner over on Instagram. And all you have to do is paint your nails pink! Pink is my favourite colour, and I definitely don't use it enough in my nail art, so I really enjoyed this manicure :)

The polishes I used here are Barry M 'Kiss Me Quick', China Glaze 'Sexy Lady', and Seche 'Opulant'. I also used my new fave one-coat white - Essence 'Wild White Ways'. As soon as I placed brush to nail I knew that this was a winner, and such a bargain purchase at only £1.60! I think I need to stock up on this polish as I'll be using it a lot! Unfortunately, my topcoat picked up some of the darker polish and spread it onto the pastel shade, leaving me with a dry-brush effect streak. Lesson learned: don't be so hasty!

Barry M - Kiss Me Quick

China Glaze - Sexy Lady

Seche - Opulant

For those who are interested in the progress of my stubby little thumb nail after it snapped halfway down about two weeks ago, take a peek at the pic below. Ugh, it still looks so silly! I think I'm going to be leaving her out of photos for a little while yet :(

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

Travel In Colour Gradient Nails

Hi everyone!

This post was meant to have some nail art in it, but I liked the base to the art so much that I have dedicated a whole post to it! Let's take a look:

I used three colours to create a mix of gradients: OPI 'Ski Teal We Drop', Barry M 'Sugarplum' and Maybelline 'Grey Beats'. I added one coat of China Glaze 'Travel In Color' to each nail and topped with Ciate Speed Pro Topcoat.

'Ski Teal We Drop' by OPI is, as the name suggest, a dark teal colour, however this was hidden by the glitter topper goodness of China Glaze. The topper made the colours below it shift to beautiful purples, pinks, golds, blues and greens - so pretty! The photo below kind of demonstrates this over the teal and grey polish gradient.

I actually added some nail art to this after taking these pics, but I'm unsure as to whether I will post them as they were a bit rubbish. This is definitely a set of nails that look best left simple!

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

NEON WEEK: Strawberry and Lime!

Hi everyone!

I've got a quick post today to show you the mani I have been wearing over the last couple of days. For once I have kept it nice and simple and opted for block colours (neon, of course!), and a complimenting accent nail:

Simple pink and green :)

This colour combination is super summery and reminds me of strawberries and limes! :) 

For this I used Models Own 'Sun Hat' and China Glaze 'Grass Is Lime Greener'. The accent nail is a base of OPI 'My Boyfriend Scales Walls' and a mix of two matte glitter toppers from Claire's: 'Junk' and 'Sea Green'. 

L-R: Sea Green / Junk

Such pretty colours!

I'd love a Twister ice lolly right now!

I hope you like these summery nails :)

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

NEON WEEK: Mani Swap

Hi guys!

Today I have a special post for you - I have collaborated with Nailpocolypse on Instagram to take part in a mani swap. I love doing mani swaps, there are so many talented people out there and it's really nice to try out other designs!

Ciara chose my pink and blue half moon nails, and I chose her gradient with glitter placement design. As this is NEON WEEK, I thought that this one fit in quite well :)

Mani Swap with Nailpocolypse!

For this manicure I used Barry M 'Blue Grape', Sinful Colors 'Dream On', and Nina 'Orange Flame' to make the gradient. I then placed glitter pieces from Nicole by OPI 'Be Awesome' to create the effect of little cubes! The neon-ness of this was way brighter in real life, especially the orange, but my camera just didn't want to capture it...

This mani was super difficult to clean up, and you can easily see the white basecoat that I used before sponging on the gradient. Oops!

Go check out Nailpocolypse on Instagram, she has some gorgeous designs!

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

NEON WEEK: Radial Gradient and Stamping

Hi!

I've been *loving* the weather here over the last few days and today we saw the temperature reach 30 degrees Celsius which is lovely! I'm so glad I have a neon theme going on at the moment because it's complimenting the sunshine wonderfully :)

 Stamped Neon Radial Gradient

Today's nails include a technique that I have only tried a couple of times - a radial gradient (where the gradient works outwards from the centre of the nail, rather than horizontally or vertically across the nail). I found it really difficult to get consistent gradients across all ten fingers, but I'm pretty happy with the results anyway. I added a pretty circular-style stamped image, and of course I had to stick some sparkly gems on there too!

The polishes used for this were all Models Own - 'Bikini' (yellow), 'Sun Hat' (pink) and 'Pukka Purple'. I used Pukka Purple and Bundle Monster stamping plate #BM-618 for the design. Oh, and a sprinkling of China Glaze 'Fairy Dust' was added to the gradient.

My left hand came out better than my right hand (even though I'm left handed...)

FYI my stamping is *meant* to be off-centre...

A bit blurry but look at the pretty Fairy Dust! <3

Hope you like them :)

Thanks for reading!

Helen x