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

Butter London - Bargain Haul **Swatches**

Hi guys!

TK Maxx are selling Butter London! Naturally as soon as I found out about this I went to my local store to browse the goods on offer, and I wasn't disappointed. I managed to bag myself five Butter London polishes for under £25, which I'm sure you'll agree is an absolute bargain!

L-R: Blowing Raspberries / Jasper / Wellies / Fiver / Knees Up

First up is 'Blowing Raspberries' which is a gorgeous deep pink-leaning red. This was by far the best out of the bunch in terms of application and went on perfectly in two easy coats. Shown here is two coats plus topcoat.

Next up is 'Jasper', a pretty pastel yellow creme. This is three coats plus topcoat.

'Wellies' is my favourite! This one doesn't look like much in the bottle, and I very nearly didn't buy it, but on the nail it comes alive! Wellies is an almost-neon green which is just absolutely gorgeous. I just know that I am going to be wearing this colour all of the time! This is three coats plus topcoat.

Next up is 'Fiver', which I think might be my least favourite of the lot. It's a lovely pale blue shade with slight grey undertones, however I feel I have a few polishes that are very similar in my collection already. Not a winner, but still lovely all the same. Again, three coats plus topcoat.

Finally, I pounced on 'Knees Up' as I've seen this quite a few times in Boots and have always been tempted to buy it. For me this is the perfect festive red - a stunning shade with the faintest shimmer of orange-gold throughout. It truly is something special and I can't wait to use this towards Christmas time! This is two coats plus topcoat.

TK Maxx are currently selling all Butter London polishes for £3.99! Last time I checked, they were retailing at around £12-15 in other high street stores, so this is definitely a bargain price! I'm super happy that I finally have some Butter London in my collection, and can't wait to add more :)

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

ILNP - Electric Carnival **Swatch**

Hi!

I am not going to say anything about this polish, I'll just let the pictures do the talking. This is 'Electric Carnival' multichrome flakie by ILNP <3:

Isn't it just beautiful?

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

Chameleon Thermal Gel Polish

Hi everyone!

Last week whilst I was away visiting family I tested out one of my newer purchases - a thermal gel polish from a brand called Aimeili. I know that the quality of gel polishes can be awful if you don't buy the right ones, but I find a price tag of £15+ a little too expensive for most regular gel shades. So I turned to Amazon for inspiration, and along came this polish for £4.49 and free delivery! I chose the shade named 'Hot Pink to Glitter White' which is product number TC04, however there are loads to choose from and I'll definitely be ordering more.

I applied this gel alongside Red Carpet 'Structure' basecoat, Red Carpet 'Brilliance' topcoat and Le Mini Macaron LED lamp. I have read conflicting reviews about mixing brands of gel polishes, but so far I have had no issue with this combination. This is by far the best gel manicure I have had in terms of durability and staying power! 

This gel is a gorgeous creamy-translucent white when it is warm, turning into a deep hot pink when cold. As my nails are at quite a long length at the moment, I found that I had a cute French manicure type effect going on most of the time. On shorter nails I imagine this wouldn't be quite so obvious, and the 'resting' colour would be more in line with the picture below.The white shade is not opaque (even with three layers), however it is still beautiful!

I am incredibly pleased with my purchase here and can't wait to try out more. I wore this manicure for one whole week (which is unheard of for me!) and I had absolutely no issues with chipping, dulling or general wear-and-tear. All of these photos were taken just before I removed the polish, so you can see just how great this one lasted.

What do you guys think? Have you tried out any of Aimeli's polishes before? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

Claire's Liquid Metal - Rose Gold **Swatch**

Hi guys!

I've had a busy week of visiting family and celebrating my boyfriend's birthday, so I've not had time to post any new nail art. However today I have a swatch of Claire's 'Rose Gold' from their Liquid Metal range, I love the look of chrome polishes but often find the application quite streaky so it puts me off wearing them. Claire's have done a pretty good job with their Liquid Metal products, and I found the application is similar to that of Model's Own 'Chrome' collection.

As you can see this is a lovely dusty-pink rose gold. The colour was incredibly difficult to capture on camera, but I got it as close as possible to real life! This is why my skin tone looks a little 'off' in these photos, so please excuse that!

On my ring finger I am wearing two coats of Maybelline 'Knitted Gold' which is a gorgeous rose-gold glitter and compliments this chrome polish perfectly!

Claire's currently have their Liquid Metal polishes (and others) on sale for only £2 - what a bargain! I picked up this one plus a gorgeous teal chrome that I can't wait to swatch. I have also tried using this polish to stamp with and it works well (see my lace stamped nails for pics).

Overall these polishes are fantastic value at £2 a pop, and I have no complaints. Although the application is somewhat difficult and a little streaky, this is an issue with most chrome polishes that I have tried so I expected it. I'm wearing two coats without topcoat on the pics above - I think an addition of topcoat would smooth out the imperfections and make it almost perfect!

Helen x