Finally, I'm here with the Mani & Lola January 2019 box! It's been a wild ride this month, with not one but two messed up nail polish orders this month. The first was from a haul and this package was the second. I knew something was up the moment the delivery guy handed me the parcel as I got a strong whiff of nail polish. As I opened the package, it got stronger and then I noticed the polish all inside the box :(
It only took me around 20 minutes to clean up the other polishes but the Jessica bottle had smashed completely so there was no saving it. However, Mani & Lola sent me a replacement polish the next day. So thank you to them for excellent and swift customer service.
When I first saw this box, I wasn't that impressed as the colours just didn't seem to match each other. You've got these two lovely neutral "new year, new me" shades from Jessica and Barry M but then you've got these bright red and green shades practically screaming
But, my opinion changed pretty quickly as I started using them and I'm going to stick to my self-made Mani & Lola challenge that I made last year; to make at least 5 designs using these shades (I've already done two, go me!). Let's get into the box!
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Jessica // Cheeky (14.8ml - £4.95)
This shade caused me a few problems this month but in the end I'm happy to report that this is a fantastic shade to add to your collection. It's a beautiful pale pink creme that's ready in two coats. This shade and Razzle Dazzle pair really well together and produce wonderful Valentines-esque looks:
When researching this shade, I found that Nail Polish Direct sells it for £4.95, whereas it's £11 on the official Jessica website so if you're interested, make sure you get it from NPD (which, I found out this week, owns Mani & Lola).
Will it stamp? // Surprisingly it actually stamps quite well. It looks thin and runny on the plate but has good pigment. I think it may look a little washed out on darker colours, but it does well on light/pastel shades.
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //Barry M Liquid Chrome // Razzle Dazzle (10ml - £3.99)
I wasn't expecting much from this shade, but holy moly, I think it's become one of my favourite stamping shimmers. This is a stunning true icy pink shimmer and stamps as good as any dedicated stamping polish. There are three other shades in this range and I think I might have to go buy them if they all stamp this well.
That said I'm a little disappointed at the state of this polish. It looks like it's been pre-owned and thrown around quite a bit. The cap is all scratched with chips and the barcode label looks like it was dipped in water as half the information on it is missing. It looks like I picked it up from a carboot sale for 50p.
Other than that, this is a solid shade. It only needs one coat and I just love the Barry M brushes as they fan perfectly across the nail. I rarely have to do cleanup when I use a BM shade.
Will it stamp? // Yes! And perfectly so.
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //Nailberry // Pop My Berry (15ml - £14.50)
My God, there's red and then there's RED. This shade reminds me heavily of Ciaté's Boudior (you can see a swatch here) and it's quite strange that they both have bedroom themed names....
Names aside, I wouldn't wear this by itself as I've never been a bright red person. I prefer darker crimsons and oxblood-esque shades but I was impressed with the application. The brush is similar to the Barry M ones and I found it easy to apply with minimum mess. I'm wearing two coats but that's only because I could slightly see my nail tips peaking through. One coat is definitely wearable though as there is no streaking in sight. I could see some nice Valentines look being created with this and the Jessica shade.
Will it stamp? // Yes, but it looks much darker and is no where near as bright or vivid. But it handles detail well .
Will it stamp? // Yes, but it looks much darker and is no where near as bright or vivid. But it handles detail well .
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I won't lie, I saw this shade in the reveal post and hated it the most. However, now I'm wearing it....I really like it. It's a different kind of green to what I was expecting. Apparently this is from the Zoya 2016 Summer Sunsets collection and I can totally see that. It's kind of one those pastel-ly 80/90's vibes shades that you would see on a Miami Vice poster. It's muted and subdued and kinda perfect for the upcoming spring months.
Also, I've seen a few comments saying that a lot don't really enjoy Zoya, and I know what they mean as often they're thin and streaky, with at least 3-4 layers needed. But this one is much thicker and you can almost get away with one coat. I'm really impressed.
Will it stamp? // Yes, actually. I know I'm shocked. It's a little translucent in some places but the pattern doesn't break on intricate details and it holds up pretty well against bright/darker colours.
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Orly // Won't Chip Top Coat (9ml - £5.95)
Like the Jessica shade, this is being sold cheaper from NPD than on Orly's website so I've linked the cheapest. I was looking forward to using this, however, this is not the best top coat I've ever used. I don't think anything can replace my Revlon Colorstay Diamond top coat but this tried. Even with a big drop on the top, it still caused stamping designs to smear and in some just removed the stamping completely. It also doesn't give that great a shine. I may use this on top of swatches on my swatch wheels but I won't be rushing out to replace it.
Price of Box - £22.95
Number of Items - 6
Estimated Worth - £36.34
When I first got this box I wasn't all that happy. There seemed to be no theme to the polishes, other than they're all vegan, and it kind of annoyed me that they seemed out of place with each other. However, after trying them all out I've grown to really like the shades; even the bright red one. The estimated worth isn't that high again, however, if I were to buy these all separately, I'd practically be getting the Nailberry polish for free which is ok I guess (I just love the design of those bottles).
I'm hoping that the shades next month kind of match each other a little more and we get some more nail tools. This month the extra item was a nail buffer/file but I'd love to see some stamping plates or decals; something different.
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