Spacrylic // Pink & Blue Space Nails using Paints

Not my favourite space nails but it's not awful so I decided to give it a post. I've been some more experimenting with acrylic gouache paints and I really love how the colours bleed together when some water is added. It works better when used on top of a matte top coat but I couldn't be bothered.

This is how it originally started off but I wanted the edges to be a little darker like the index finger, so I added some more blue. As well as sparkles...all space nails need sparkles.

I could've gone a bit darker but I didn't want to end up ruining it with my terrible painting skills. I then topped it off with a glossy top coat and was a little upset when it smeared the paint :(

Polishes/Tools used:-
- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // 
- Mavala // 213 Pure Diamond (scattered holo)
- Pebeo Studio Gouache // 11 Blanc , 49 Cyan , 50 Magenta
- Primark // Fast Dry Top Coat

Ready, Set, Glam // Birchbox December 2019 Nails

Ahhh this is so late. But, if you've read my New Year post you'll know that December was a weird one for me and I took a bit of a break so I've just got round to doing Birchbox nails! I also missed November as well but that was a Frozen 2 box and I'm not sure if I even want to do something on that design as it wasn't very inspiring to me.

Anyway, I actually really loved the December Birchbox; it came in a beautiful navy velvet-like bag with rose gold detail. There are actually two looks that I could do for this box and I'm still torn over whether or not to do both...maybe I will later on. This one was super easy and quick and would've been perfect for my Christmas party if I hadn't have procrastinated so much last month.

I'd say my favourite item from the box was the Rituals shower oil as it came in my favourite scent; ritual of Ayurveda. I don't actually use it in the shower; I use as just a body oil on pulse points because it smells so good.

Polishes/Tools used:
- Essie // Surrounded by Studs (deep navy)
- Barry M Liquid Chrome // Razzle Dazzle (pink chrome)
- Mavala // Glam Show (rose gold glitter)
- Essie // Platinum Finish Top Coat

ROUND UP // All The Nail Polish Advent Calendars for 2019

So, as a little bit of break, I thought this post would do a round-up of all the Nail Polish advent calendars I could find for 2019. Last year I bought the Ciaté and OPI ones and with the beauty calendars sold out, this years nail ones have finally started appearing. So, read on to check out what the nail polish world has to offer this year!

Ciate Mini Mani Month 2019
£50 - 24 items

First up is the calendar I'll probably end up buying as I'm a sucker for Ciaté products and it has quite a few shades that I need for my collection but almost 50% are repeats from previous calendars. I already have 47 Ciaté shades so £50 is a little steep to end up with so many repeats.

The main turn off though is that you receive "6 mystery shades", so you could in theory end up with 12 repeats in total.

If you haven't already signed up to their newsletter, you can do so for 15% off and I also found a voucher on the internet for 20%, use LIB20. It still works as of posting this.

OPI Hello Kitty Collection

£65 - 25 Items

After last years OPI calendar I knew I wasn't going to order again and 12 of the shades are repeats from last years Nutcracker box...yes they put the exact same 12 shades in as last years. OPI have hundreds upon hundreds of interesting and unique shades but they chose the same boring 12 as before.

It also contains 10 out of 13 mini shades from their new Hello Kitty collection and just like with the Nutcracker one, they missed out the best 3. I wouldn't recommend this one, it's pricey, the tiny 3.75ml bottles have no names on them and the formulas from the repeats are severely disappointing. Such a shame as their summer Neon collection was excellent and I enjoyed a few shades from their Spring Tokyo range as well. 

24 Days of Essie

£45.98 - 24 Items

It's currently out of stock but Amazon are still allowing you to order it for delivery when it comes back in stock. £46 isn't too shabby for 8 full size shades, 9 mini 5ml polishes, 1 mini bottle of polish remover, a sticker sheet and then "5 mystery surprises". What's with all the surprises this year? As I've never had an Essie calendar before the repeats will be low, especially because I don't have many Essie shades to begin with (I just never got on the craze).

Technic Perfectly Polished Advent Calendar

£25.50 - 24 Items

Oh Technic, you strange, bargain bin rip-off of similarly bargain bin W7 who's ripping off OPI...£25.50 though for Technic? I think they got their prices wrong. Apparently, Technic say all their items are cruelty free and suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans. If your product is suitable for Vegans then it will be suitable for Vegetarians, no need for the double clarification. That said, they do not state if their polishes are at least 3-free, so it's a no from me. I accidentally bought a W7 shade once and when I opened it, my eyes almost melted out of their sockets; it smelt just like the creosote mum uses to protect fence panels with. If you order this for a young niece/nephew/sibling/child, just make sure that you can give them a sniff first for formaldehyde as, wouldn't you know, there are no ingredients lists anywhere...

Mavala 12 Days of Christmas for Nails and Hands

£45 - 12 Items

Back to a 'real' polish brand this time and Mavala have two calendars again this year and they look hella cute. This slightly different version features 6 polishes, top coat, base coat, quick dry top coat and cuticle oil along with some handcream and tweezers. I think I prefer this one just because I like having more polishes and the rose gold glitter shade looks nice.

Maval 12 Days of Christmas for Nails and Skin

£45 - 12 items

Though the names are confusing because they're practically the same, this one does contain different products but I can only find it available on Amazon. That said please be careful when buying this as many reviews have stated that 2 drawers have been missing items. Not usually the standard set by Mavala. In this set you may notice that 14 items are being shown, the other boxes contain what I'm guessing is matching day and night creams in a 5ml size which is a bit stingy for face cream.

Essence Make Your Own Advent Calendar

£19.99 - 24 Items

Although it only contains 9 nail products, I actually quite like Essence products anyway and for £20, this is an absolute bargain. I would've have bought it for myself if I didn't already own all the shades included...

// Last Thoughts

And that's as much as I can find! If I do come across some others from actual brands (not just random £5 ones of eBay or Amazon) I will update this post but I think I'm most likely to buy the Ciaté one ('cause I'm sucker for gluttony) and one of the Mavala calendars. Nails Inc haven't released anything new yet but I imagine that should come out in the next few weeks and Orly have stopped doing their "Quo by Orly 12 shades of Christmas" calendar. I've checked with China Glaze, Sally Hansen, Cuccio, Morgan Taylor, Zoya and Barry M but to no avail. If I had my own polish brand I would be on that shit. Even W7 haven't done a nail one this year.

In non-nail related news though, I think my favourite beauty advent calendars are the ridiculously expensive ones from Harrods and Liberty...isn't that always the case? One can dream. In the more affordable range, the Rituals one is pretty enticing as is the Lumene...oh will power, please don't fail me.

Mani & Lola August 2019 // Nail Subscription Box

We round out the last of the Mani & lola summer months with an edit containing 2 neons, a soft taupe, top coat and an interesting remover. When I saw the spoiler for the box though I knew I would love it just for the fluorescent Orly shade. There's something about those green/yellow polishes that just do it for me. Both the neon shades this month feel every 80's and I'm cooking up a neon/white look.

Flip Flop Fantasy V2 // China Glaze

14ml Full Size - RRP £5.95

Collection: Poolside
Release Date: 2015

This is not the original version of FFF as I found out when googling this shade. Apparently the Poolside collection was first released in 2010 and the original was a beautiful bright coral whereas this is more of a neon orange/peach. Swatch and Learn has fantastic photos of the original if your interested. I love how tan this shade makes you look and it's hella bright but that's where the good points end for me. I wanted to love this but it has the same application as the god awful Paradise range from last summer (I swatched them here). They were all matte finishes and streaky and this no exception. The first coat looks awful, you need a minimum of two but even then it's still a little patchy in places and because it's so bright you can really tell. I think I would've preferred the original coral shade over this neon cheeto offering. Adding a nice glossy top coat helps though (the second photo), I really hate these built in matte finishes that CG keep doing.

Glowstick // Orly
18ml Full Size - RRP £9.95

Collection: Feel The Vibe
Release: 2012

I have so many emotions about this shade; I love it. I also appreciate that this is a newer version of the shade because it has the more recent brush that NailsInc use and it perfectly hugs the nail. Application was a breeze with this compared to the China Glaze polish. It does take at least 3 coats to cover streaks and reach full neon but it dries quite quickly between coats for a slight satin finish. Also, apparently this was the exact nail polish used by Queen Kim herself on one of her numerous vacations during summer 2018...I'm so late to this hot summer trend.

Rose Dust // Mavala

5ml Full Size - RRP £5.20

Collection: Grace Trio (??)
Release: 2012 ( I think)

Rounding out the nail polish is this beautiful transition into fall shades. Rose Dust is a soft rose/taupe with some slight shimmer mixed in. I'm not the biggest mavala fan however this shade is my nude. Everyone has a different 'nude' that is 'their nude'. This one is mine. It's so close to my actual skin tone. It also makes a great base for duochromes that need a base shade.

Lacquer Lock // Nails Inc

14ml Full Size - RRP £15

God damn man, this thing takes about 17 years to dry. It's always the same with these "daylight curing" top coats. They think they're being clever because gel polish is a thing. I really don't know why gel is popular, UV light causes skin cancer, they should be applying sunscreen onto someones hand every time they stick it under a lamp. Side note, I once had a conversation with a nail technician who told me their lamps were fine and didn't give out UV radiation because they were LED bulbs...I was like

But anyway, these types of top coat are all garbage unless like Kim K and Ko, you are on holiday every week in the sun where, you know, actual UV light can 'cure' the top coat. I don't know about you but we don't get much sun here in the UK and I always do my nails at night so these products are pretty much useless to me. 

Rapid Remover Pot // Nails Inc

60ml Full Size - RRP £9

I've never actually used one of these 'dipping' pots before to remove your polish but I'm intrigued by them. This one has been formulated though specifically for your toes! So you can either use this as a dip in or use the sponge built into the lid. I tried this with the Mavala shade; just 2 coats on top of my peel off base coat and it removed the the polish rapidly but struggled with the base coat. It did leave my fingers feeling dry and sticky; the strangest combination. It does smell quite nice though with the peppermint coming through strong. I'm worried about how hygenic this thing is though. After several uses all I'd be thinking about is the nasty acetone pooling at the bottom. Not my cup of tea for £9. I can buy about 4 of my 250ml Cutex bottles for that.

Also, I have to add this because I'm secretly 9 years old; removing polish from your fingers with this thing looks... suspiciously adult... 😂 

// Box Totals //

5 Items - All Full Size

Estimated Value - £45.10

// Verdict

A great box to round out the summer with and I'm hoping next month we get some burnt oranges and clay red. I'd say the only dud for me this month is the top coat as I enjoyed using everything else, even if the China Glaze shade applies like a nightmare. A part of me is toying with perhaps cancelling this sub though and seeing if I can buy similar items for £22.95...maybe I'll make a video about trying to curate my own autumn box for the same price.

Mani & Lola

Monthly - £20

3 Months - £62.85

6 Months - £113.70

12 Months - £203.40

£2.95 p&p every month

Mani & Lola June 2019 // Nail Subscription Box

Ah June's box is here! And it's like they heard my request for some brighter summery colours after last month as some beautiful bright hues were included. The Zoya shade is particularly stunning. This months box is a great all-rounder with even some new ranges included! Lets get straight into it. 

If you prefer to watch unboxings, check out the video below, it even includes swatches. Or you can keep on reading for the text version :)

Wipe Off! Acetone Free Wipes // OPI

10 Wipes Full Size - RRP £10.25

Great for those on the go, these wipes are formulated without acetone. And whereas I've not had a great experience with acetone free remover these wipes definitely changed my mind: clearly I've just not tried actually good acetone free remover. These wipes have actually shocked me. I loaded up my other hand with a basecoat, all the colours from this box plus an A-England & an all glitter polish and it removed everything in under 5 minutes. I'd watch the video for the results. Plus there was no scent apart from subtle lavender every now and then. My fingers were left moisturised (although the tell-tale remove white marks appeared once the liquid from the wipe evaporated but it was no where near as bad as pure acetone). I wish they did this formula in a bottle but they only have normal acetone free remover which doesn't appear to be the same. I'd highly recommend these if you need to remove your polish on the go and don't want to lug a nail bag around with you.

River // Zoya

15ml Full Size - RRP £11.70

Collection: Wanderlust

Release Date: Summer 2017

Described by Zoya as a "shimmering cobalt blue", I think this is a great polish to include in a summer box. When I first saw the sneak peak I instantly thought of what Cody Ko refers to as "blue-ass water" and I now want to do some pool/ocean mani's with it. This is a seriously sparkly shade that needs at least 2 coats for added depth. I don't know if I'd wear it by itself but I think it would go perfectly with white and some palm leaves. Unfortunately you don't get that purple shift you see in the bottle but the shade is still stunning by itself. I think I like it even more with the Cuccio matte top coat though as it gives it a silk finish and feels more tropical; I love it.

Water You Doing? // Cuccio

13ml Full Size - RRP £6.95

Collection: Heatwave

Release Date: Summer 2019

Oh man I'm so happy to see a shade from this collection. I would've preferred Seriously Celsius which is this beautiful olive/yellow green shade but I love anything Cuccio so this is very welcome. This is a bright bold dark purple that needs at least two coats. I'm not sure what I would use it with yet but it does match my skintone quite nicely and it mattes well.

Coral Bay // Mavala

5ml Full Size - RRP £5.20

Collection: Colour Inspiration

Release Date: Summer 2017

This is a super bright one coat wonder. This is a beautiful deep coral and looks even better matte. It annoys me that Mavala only sell in 5ml sizes as I think they cost a bit too much for the size; especially considering you can pick up 13ml Cuccio for £5.95. Even Barry M and H&M are 8ml/10ml sizes and they cost £3.99 or less and are just as good formula wise. I do like the shade though and it applies nicely so I'll let them off.

Matte Top Coat // Cuccio

13ml Full Size - RRP £8.95

OK, I am seriously impressed by this matte top coat. I've been collecting various brands in the hopes of doing a comparison video and the best one I had found so far is the Barry M one however, it takes a while to dry and sometimes causes the polish to bubble. This one dries almost instantly leaving the polish smooth. However, if it weren't for the fact that I read an amazon review stating that it left white spots in their mani, I would've just thought it was a fluke. I used this with each polish in this box and at least one had a white spot that developed after a few minutes. For me it's not such a big problem but if you're using this for clients it's a big no-no.

// Box Totals //

5 Items - All Full Size

Estimated Value - £43.05

// Verdict

Last month I found the two shades included to be too similar and frankly a little boring for spring and hoped that this months would include some bright tropical summery shades; I got exactly what I wanted. Whereas there are no greens or yellows, we did get three super bright polishes that all apply beautifully and a matte top coat to create those essential matte summer looks. I think River by Zoya and the OPI wipes are by far my favourite products this month.

Next month I hope we get some brushes or tools as I haven't really seen any in the box, like a good angular brush for clean-up or to practice the one-stroke technique with (i'm getting better...very slowly) along with a a vibrant leaf green. It'd be nice to see a stamping plate however, I have so many I feel I'd already have anything they include...maybe I should stop buying stamping plates...lol that will never happen.

Mani & Lola

Monthly - £20

3 Months - £62.85

6 Months - £113.70

12 Months - £203.40

£2.95 p&p every month

Mani & Lola December 2018 // Nail Subscription Box

Three months of Mani & Lola already??? Also, I'm super sorry about how late this is!!! They actually dispatched it earlier but when I received it on the 12th, I had a quick look at the contents then set it aside to be photographed and now it's almost January...That said, I like this month but it's not as good as the last two months. I think it was the two tiny travel sizes and sheet mask that did it. I'm already subbed to four beauty boxes; I don't need any face products from my nail box thank you.

Inc.Redible // Be Shore to Shine Mask (20ml Full Size Sheet Mask - No Retail Price)

Mani & Lola have given this an RRP of £10.95 which is ridiculous because these masks are only £5 full price so I have no idea where they got that price from. Also, this mask is not available outside of their Christmas gift sets so, really it has no retail price. I don't mind these masks, I do two sheet masks a week so it will get used but I would've preferred something nail related given than this is a nail box. The beauty boxes I'm subbed to rarely feature nail polish so it's kind of annoying to get skincare in a specialist box.

If you haven't tried these masks before though they have designs printed on them and they make you look like a serial killer. The cat one is particularly terrifying. You'll never need a Halloween costume as long as you have one of these on you.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Mavala // Pure Diamond Bauble (5ml size - £4.95)

I can no longer find the bauble set for sale however the mini is still being sold. I was a little upset to see a mini size after receiving all full sizes the past couple of months but this is a beautiful shade. It's a linear holo that can achieve full opacity if sponged on or needs 3 coats. The shine is unreal and even though there is silver glitter padding the holo pieces out, they really shine in the light.

Will it Stamp? No.

EDIT 06/01/2018 - This box still hasn't been my favourite however, having done some research I found out that this is a full size polish, so every polish once again is full size. It's actually mental. Apparently Mavala only sell in a 5ml size. I'm sorry but these retail around £5 each. With that I can buy 10-15ml sized polishes. Now I know stamping polishes come in 5mls sizes however they are always much cheaper around the £1-£3 (depending on how much you trust eBay).

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Zoya // Alegra (15ml full size- £9.95)

A third Zoya polish and this one is the weakest out of the bunch. It needs a good 4 coats and the beautiful gold shift you see in the bottle is non-existent on the nails. It's a nice shimmery raspberry shade but not one that I would've picked out myself.

Will it Stamp? Yes, but extremely weak with little colour pay-off.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

China Glaze // Merry Whatever (14ml full size - £5.95)

Now this is more like it! This is a brand new shade from China Glaze's 2018 holiday collection. This is chunky gold glitter with bits of holo scattered around; it's stunning. When I think of Christmas polishes; this type of shade comes to mind. I like how it looks next to the blue Jessica shade and I'm cooking something up with those two.

Will it Stamp? No.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Essie // Good as Gone Remover (25ml Sample Size - No Retail Price)

Another product which is no longer sold. It makes me wonder how long they've had these samples lying around? Also, mine isn't even filled to the top; it's missing a quarter. I've only used this once to remove a creme polish and it did ok. The scent wasn't overpowering given that it's mainly acetone with only 4 ingredients. My nails didn't look white or dry afterwards and there was no cold sensation. It does say salon performance on the front so I'll be testing it on it's clean-up ability but seeing as how you can't buy it, I don't see why it was included.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Jessica // Bohemian Rhapsody (14.8ml Full size - £8.95)

This is a true dark denim blue shade and I love it. I don't have many blue shades in my collection (I'm trying to correct that...) and so I was happy to see this. I'd say you need a maximum of two coats. If applied slowly and precisely you can get away with one. I found it easy to remove as well, with minimal staining around the skin.

Will it Stamp? Yes, but only on large designs. Colour pay off is weak and can't handle small intricate designs.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Price of Box - £22.95

Number of Items - 6 

Estimated Worth - £29.80

For a box that cost me £23, I don't think a £30 estimated worth is great...even Birchbox manages to double how much it costs in value. I could've bought most of these cheaper individually or using sales/discount codes, plus two items aren't even sold. The shades were nice this month but I am a little disappointed in the box. I'm hoping that next months will be much better as this is an expensive subscription but cheaper than the other nail box company; Meebox. 

EDIT: Looks done using these polishes -
- The Royal Splits (NYE 2018)