Mani & Lola May 2019 Review // Nail Subscription Box

Well this month was well and truly a surprise for me as M&L only gave out one spoiler leading up to this months release which was the Nails Inc shade. So, when I opened it I went through a range of emotions. This month there is only 2 polishes which is kind of disappointing for a nail subscription box however, then I used the hand cream and now I don't care about any other complaints I had. For me, this box is an amazing hand cream that came with 4 freebies.

Rescue RXX Treatment // CND (15ml)
RRP - £14.95

When I saw this I side-eyed it a little because strengthening products aren't actually good for your nails. There is a fine balance between hydration and protein that you need to hit for optimum nail condition. Too much moisture and your nails will become too soft and malleable and will snap off when bent too far. However, too much protein will cause the nail to become hard and brittle and will snap off because it has no bend. The same thing happens with hair. This is advertised as for daily use however I would restrict usage of this to once a week. It is a nice formula though and contains Jojoba oil which is the best oil for your nails and cuticles. It's not too oily and is absorbed quickly. I'll be keeping this next to my mani kit to be used once a week as a treat.

Retinol Hand Mask // Skin Republic (18g)

RRP - £6.99 

I'm not sure where their RRP of £6.99 has come from as Skin Republic sell it for £5.99 on their own website. I've used a hand mask before and it was ok. I do like Skin Republic though so I'm expecting a little more than the last random brand that I used. I'll be saving this for when my hands are sore and dry though or a day spent out in the sun. My only issue with these is that they're not reusable and you'd need to use them at least twice a week to start seeing results and that's an expensive habit when you can buy some normal gloves and just slather on some hand cream.

Enchanted Heels // Nails Inc (14ml)

RRP - £15

Collection: Rainbow Hooves / I Believe In Unicorns

Release Date: 2017

Ok, I'm getting confused now. We had a polish from this set in the last box (mermaid playsuit) and that's quite an old shade but Nails Inc are shipping this 6-piece set which is actually called the Rainbow Hooves collection for £30 that includes both of them?? Either way if you like this shade I recommend buying the entire set from Nails Inc as you get 6 polishes for £30. Anyway, as there are only two nail polish shades in the box I would've preferred something a little different. This a sheer pink shimmer that will never truly achieve full opacity but fortunately it isn't a shifting polish. I've seen a lot of these pink shades that either have the blue or green shift so it's different in that respect.

The problem with these Nails Inc shimmers though is that they always dry with brush strokes and that's a pet peeve of mine. The shade is also super light and almost looks off-white on my skintone. Given that the other shade is also an off-white pink shade, it's a little boring.

Avojuice Lotion // OPI (250ml)

RRP - £19.95

Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans, I've found it; the holy grail of hand creams. As I'm writing this I've already purchased another one and 2 more in 30ml sizes. I have no idea where Mani & Lola got their RRP price from as OPI UK sell the 250ml sizes for £9.95 but you can get them cheaper at NPD. This hand cream though; it's like walking around the desert for hours and then dipping your hands in cool refreshing water. It's beautiful. I normally hate ginger scents but this one is super sweet and tropical and the scent really lingers as well. I can't get enough of it. It comes in a variety of different scents from coconut & melon to vanilla & lavender as well as many more. They also do 30ml travel size versions for £2.25 which I think is very reasonable. Finding out I could buy this for £7.95 has made my year though.

Pink Nude // ORLY (18ml)
RRP £11.75

And the final product this month is what appears to be the exact same shade as Enchanted Heels but a creme formula. It is underwhelming to say the least. I've never really been a french manicure kind of person; I find them really boring. I'm not sure if you would use this shade for the tip though as it's too pigmented to be the sheer base but not pigmented enough to cover my actual tips. I'm trying to come up with something that I could use this for; a pink lace mani? If you're looking for a nice sheer off-white creme I guess this is it but I would've preferred an actual white polish. 

// Box Totals //

5 Items - All Full Size

Main & Lola RRP - £68.64

Actual Value - £43.95

// Verdict

I think at this point M&L are definitely inflating the RRP of items to make the box worth higher. I think it's a bit disingenuous. I pay £22.95 a month for my box and so I got an extra £20 worth of products this month. I still think it is a good box for that price; especially because I loved the hand cream this month but I found the sheer off-white shades to be too similar and frankly boring for spring. I would've preferred a nice pastel yellow and baby blue.

Overall, I'm not mad because this box did what it was supposed to; it introduced me to some new products and I've gone out and purchased those new products. It wasn't my favourite box though. Next month I hope they include some bright tropical looking shades like a pink, green, yellow and blue otherwise I'll be a little upset.

Flowers at Dawn // Duochrome Artist Paint Flower Design

So, this came about the day after my dissertation was handed in. I hadn't properly done any swatching or my nails in so long and I was super looking forward to denting my ever-growing swatch pile. The first shade I put on to swatch was Dawn Song from the new H&M collection (swatches here and here). I was like 'that would make a super cute background'. I then saw this wonderful design by @pinselpoesie using MoYou's scandi and artist plates:

Seeing as how I finally managed to get my hands on Artist 22 (I've been wanting it since July last year that's how long it's been out of stock) I was like, 'I should do that but with more pink and white cause I'm basic'. And that's what I did. 

It was annoying though because I loved the result and as such couldn't bring myself to peel it off to continue swatching so I only managed to swatch one polish that day 🙈 oh well.

How I did it:-

I started off with 2 layers of Dawn Song, followed by some random patterns from the Artist 22 plate in white. Then added another paint design in Razzle Dazzle (those chrome polishes by Barry M stamp so good). The flowers are from Botanical 1. I need to find a new black stamping polish though as the one from Born Pretty isn't that great.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- H&M // Dawn Song (gold to pink duochrome glitter)
- Barry M Liquid Chrome // Razzle Dazzle (ice pink chrome)

- Born Pretty Polish // #3 (black), #4 (white)

- Barry M // Plumpy Hi Shine Top Coat
- MoYou London Plates // Artist 22, Botanical 01

SWATCHES: H&M // Dawn Song, Haute Heat, Will-O'-The-Wisp, Colour Therapy & Wild Lilac

So I thought I'd bought all nine shades in this 'limited edition' collection. A day after ordering this lot, they put up three more shades....clearly they know that I am a ho for nail polish cause I bought those three new shades as well lol. I also had a 20% discount code so I may have ordered a few other shades....I have a problem.

Dawn Song // Chunky Duochrome Gold to Pink Glitter

This looks beautiful on the website and even more mesmorising in person but it's kind of a lie. If this was a gold to pink foil then they would've cracked it. But it's a chunky glitter suspended in a slightly orange tinted base. It's not flip-the-table-in-anger bad, in fact the more I use it the more I like it but damn if it was a foil...Anyway, this is like Barely Peach from the last post but so much better. The shift really saves it as it's this beautiful soft dusky pink. One coat is ok, but two coats is where the magic happens. I love how this is glitzy enough for special occasions but soft enough for spring and summer day outfits. This is one of those shades where you will constantly be moving you hand about in the light to see the shift; it's amazing.

If you layer it over black, the pink really comes to life as well but it looks naff on top of white. Either dark shades or bare nails are the way to go.

Will it stamp? Lol no. I mean, I tried to and the shape was there thanks to all the glitter but it really only shows up on dark shades and even then it's not great. I wouldn't stamp with this.

Haute Heat // Dark Yellow Shimmer

This is not what I was expecting from the photos on H&M. There it looks like a rustic gold shimmer but on the nails it's more rustic yellow mustard...It is a darker yellow shade but I'm not sure what to make of it. It reminds me of shimmery daffodils. It is nice and glossy and you could get away with one coat but I'm wearing two just to cover up some slight patches. I don't hate this shade mainly because it actually suits my skin tone but it is a weird shade.

Will it Stamp? It does and some of the colour and shimmer is still there but it's translucent. It would probably look the best on top of black or pastels. Not the greatest.

Will-O'-The-Wisp // Green to Pink Glitter in clear base

This was definitely my least favourite of the collection and if it weren't because I'm a weirdo who needs things in sets I probably wouldn't have bought it. It looks beautiful in the bottle; like sparkly unicorn dream with a pink/green/silver shift. On the nails it's a clear base with green and pink shifting glitter. It looks nice under light but other than that it doesn't look like you're wearing anything. I guess this is more of a top coat to make anything a mermaid mani. On top of black the green really comes out and it almost looks like a green glitter polish. It does look quite cool in the dark when the light hits it. I imagine this would look great at a proper 90's rave.

Will it stamp? Absolutely not.

Colour Therapy // Dark Pink Shimmer with Lavender shift

Holy moly. This looks amazing in the bottle  and amazing on the nails. This is the shade that Berry Fairy Fun from OPI wants to be. I feel like H&M were heavily inspired by OPI's latest Tokyo collection for this shade as it's strikingly similar to Samurai Breaks a Nail but this is way more pink. I do love the formula though, it glides across the nail. I'm wearing two coats.

Will it stamp? Yes and it's quite delicate but in a nice way. Or maybe it's just the new botanical plate I used. Either way it looks good on light shades and you get the added benefit of all the shimmery bits. It isn't fully opaque though.

Wild Lilac // Pastel Lilac Creme

This is perfect lilac creme for spring. It needs at least two coats as the first is super patchy. So much for H&M and their claim on the website that all the polishes are perfect in one coat. I think this would like nice in a smooshing design with white.

Will it Stamp? Yes, but as you can see it's very faint and smudges easily when stamping.

// Verdict
The shimmers are no where near as nice as their creme formula but I'm not angry this time. I really love how Colour Therapy looks when stamped and I'll have to do something else with that one. And Dawn Song is winning me over; it really is pretty even if it isn't what I expected. That one I wholeheartedly recommend.

The Marble Antidote // Red & Gold Marble Design

New nails! I finally got the 'new' watercolour polishes from Born Pretty that are constantly sold out and let me tell you; perfect marble nails. I only managed to get hold of 3 colours; blue, red and black but I'm going to try my best to get my hands on the other colours because holy moly. I'm going to do a full post on them because what a great invention.

Anyway, I saw a design like this on Born Pretty's instagram but they blinged it up with huge rhinestones stuck on top. I love these burgundy/blood red shades and decided to do my own version.

I love how these turned out. I'm gonna be doing marble watercolour nails all the time now. This polish makes it way easier than using acetone with normal polish or acrylic paint with water. You just pop a blob of the colour on, then use the clear solution to 'watercolour' it.

How I did it:-

I started off with 1 coat of The Antidote on my thumb, index and pinkie and then stamped on the gold designs from Tropical 36. I used one coat of White Heat on my middle and ring finger then applied a couple drops on the middle and only 1 drop of red colour on the ring finger. The more drops you add the more pigmented the colours will be. It will also be harder to get that watercolour effect so add drops sparingly. I added drops of the clear solution to create the effect. Once dry I stamped on some gold marble design from ND-076 then added a matte top coat to everything :)

I feel I may have to invest in some rhinestones to create a truly basic mani now...

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- ORLY // The Antidote (burgundy)
- Ciaté // White Heat (white)
- Nicole Diary // Watercolor Nail Liquid L12 (clear)
- Nicole Diary // Watercolor Nail Liquid ND08 (red)

- Born Pretty Polish // #1 (gold)

- Barry M // Matte Top coat
- MoYou London Plates // Tropical 36
- Nicole Diary Plates // ND-076

Geometric Heat // Tropical Geometric Print and Palm Leaves

What's this?? Nail art on THE OTHER HAND???!? Yes my other hand has come out from the shadows for one week only, or well I might start doing my other hand more often because it was nice to have a matching manicure for once...they're not completely the same but they match and that's all that matters.

This manicure has actually been one of the longest I've worn in a long time as I usually always wear a peel off base coat on my main hand. However, my dissertation was due today (praise be to Jesus it's over) and I made sure to do my nails last week with a regular base coat so it wouldn't come off. That way I wouldn't be tempted to do my nails all week. It's been really hard as well because the new H&M polishes arrived and they've been sat in my swatch pile staring at me...begging me to use them.

This manicure has been nice and bright and summery to keep me motivated all week. It's chipped quite a bit on my other hand but my main hand held up nicely against all the constant typing.

I don't love the geometric print as much as the palm leaves, it looks a little too messy which is surprising given that I'm better at painting with my other hand. But I love how the colours go together. I'd wear that palm leaf print all year round.

How I did it:-

I started off with two coats of White Heat then applied all the green shades onto the stamping plate and mixed them together a little when scraping off the excess. It gives that nice blended look once you stamp and is a quick and easy way to add more detail. I then did the same with the other main hand but used the geometric print from Tropical 35. The palm trees were from SummerVibes 03 and the palm leaves from Tropical 10.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Ciaté // White Heat (white)

- Born Pretty Polish // #12 (green), #284 (light blue), #333 (pastel teal)

- Barry M // Plumpy Hi Shine Top Coat
- MoYou London Plates // Tropical 10, Tropical 35, #SummerVibes 03