Safari 'Teal Dawn // Clairestelle8 August Challenge 2019

My first entry for a Clairestelle8 challenge in months! Granted I've already missed a few for August and the Safari one was supposed to be out on the 13th but you know work'n'stuff so here it is:

I love this look. I wanted to do something a little different than all the orange sunset looks as they look great but I feel it's the obvious choice when you think of a safari mani. So I went for an 'almost' dark look with the moon rising in the sky. The gradient turned out perfectly and here is shot on it's on because it's beautiful and could be the base for so many other designs. Galaxy forest at night, canyon, desert road trip...endless.

I used one the new Nicole Diary plates as well as some Nicole diary stamping polishes and I'm pleasantly surprised. The white isn't completely opaque but I'm actually ok with that for this look because I didn't want the moon to be super bright. The plate has a load of interesting scenes on it from the safari to grass with bunnies, dense trees and mountains with dragons. There are also some great individual animal designs and solo trees to help flesh out your scene. For £2 off eBay I couldn't ask for more.

How I did it:-
I did the gradient on bare nails (2 coats) using Bohemian Rhapsody, Dance Party 'Teal Dawn, Take me to Heaven and Monoi; then applied a layer of top coat. Once that was dry I used a dotting tool and some of the white polish to create little stars and stamped on the image of the moon. Then, I placed the safari scene with the elephants, lion and tree on my thumb being extras I added to fill in the gaps. I then added another layer of top coat to seal it all in.

Polishes/Tools Used:

- Jessica // Bohemian Rhapsody (dark navy)

- OPI // Dance Party 'Teal Dawn (bright teal)
- Essence Shine Last & Go // Take me to Heaven (baby blue)
- H&M // Monoi (citrus green)
- Nicole Diary // Black Knight (black), Born Perfect (white)
- Avon Mark. // Gel Shine Top Coat

- Nicole Diary // L10 Plate

Beauty Box Review // Birchbox August 2019

Oh  my glob, this months Birchbox is hella cute. Last month I was serioulsy debating cancelling but when the designs are this cute and the items are much better; I don't think I will. This was a fantastic box to end the summer months on and I already know exactly the plate I'm going to use to get the design on my nails.

Absolute New York // Glow Balm in Rose Gold
6.5g Full Size - RRP £3.94

Another Birchbox exclusive, this one I don't mind so much because it's full size and I actually quite like it. I am a hoe for rose gold though and this is a delicate shimmer cream. It does rub off super easy and can look just like a glitter on your face after a while but I've never known a cream highlighter to not do that. 

Nuxe // Insta-Masque Exfoliating + Unifying Mask

15ml Sample Size - RRP £5.85 (based on £19.50 for 50ml)

This may be a sample sized but it's a decent sample size for Nuxe and I do love me some Nuxe. This smells wonderful; like their new Florale range. It's a pink gel formula with extremely fine powder in it to gently exfoliate. I also like how they mention on their website that it's quick and easy to use in the shower; always a plus in my book. 

Balance Me // Hyaluronic Plumping Mist

5ml Travel Size - RRP £6

I was surprised to find out that this is the travel size as I chose a 10ml version in a previous Latest In Beauty box but even more surprising is what Balance Me claims this does. Not only is it supposed to be an 'intense shot of hydration' but you can use it to fix your makeup?? The spray on this thing does not deliver a fine mist. Oh no, it feels like a hose pipe of concentrated liquid straight onto your face. This would ruin your makeup, not set it. Instead I use this as a toner as it's said to help combat hormonal spots and I need all the help with them.

Anatomicals // Great British Flake Off Summer Strawberry Scrub

50ml 'Full Size' - RRP £1.50

Anatomicals is this strange European brand and to me it feels like if Ikea had a skincare range. It's very weird with amusing slogans and their website doesn't work...or well they've replaced it with aliens right now...anyway, this is a body scrub. It scrubs your body. It smells nice and isn't to harsh. I don't know what more to say.

Love Beauty and Planet // Tropical Hydration Coconut Oil & Ylang Ylang Shower Gel

100ml Travel Size - £2.50

I always enjoy seeing shower gels in boxes because who doesn't use shower gel? These types of items always get used immediately and I'm happy to say that this one smells very nice. It's not Sol De Janiero; nothing is but it's a pleasant tropical/fruity scent that lathers up well and feels quite silky. The price full size isn't bad either. I also like that their bottles are recycled, cruelty free and vegan.

// Box Contents

// 2 Full Size, 2 Travel Sizes, 1 Sample

// £19.79 Estimated Box Worth

Holy hell, that's the lowest estimated worth I've seen on a Birchbox. In the 2 years I've been subbed, I've never seen it go below £20. Considering the box cost £12.95 it's not great but I have enjoyed the variety in the products this month and they are all practical things that I use on a daily basis (except for the highlighter). I hope Birchbox try to increase their box worth as they're getting very low.

Birchbox

P&P £2.95

Monthly - £10

6 Months - £60

12 Months - £110

pssst...the sneak peak for next month is a Benefit Lip & Cheek Tint in either Posietint or Lovetint...is this 2006? I've not used a lip and cheek tint since I was 14.

Summer Lovin' // Birchbox August 2019 Nails

Oh man do I love this box design. I think this is quite possibly the longest I have spent doing a nail design as well; it took me a good couple of hours trying to get the pattern just right. I love how it turned out and this is now my favourite look I've done so far. I literally can't stop staring at my nails and I kind of wish I hadn't worn a peel off basecoat so I could wear it for longer but I'm glad I get to keep the peelies. I can always do this again. I actually really liked how the pattern looked with just the gold and peach/pink shades so I think I'll do that.

I would've loved to have gotten the ombre effect in some of the patterns but that's beyond me right now. I tried and originally had a base that was a faded mix of orange and pink but it didn't look all that great so I stamped over it.

How I did it:-

I picked up the pattern off the Moyou Arabesque 06 plate using the gold polish and filled in random holes with the gold on each nail. I then took my time and filled in the rest of the stamp with the remaining colours. This was time consuming and took way longer than I thought it would as sometimes you can touch the design a little too much with the dotting tool and disturb the design. Once you've finished with the reverse stamping, I applied some liquid latex, let that dry and then applied a layer of topcoat to my nails. After letting it dry for around 30 seconds I then stamped on the design and applied a layer of matte topcoat after clean up.

Polishes/Tools Used:

- Born Pretty // #1 (gold)

- Nails Inc // Peach Tease (pale peach), Hot Fuzz (coral peach), 
- Sally Hansen Hard As Nails // Giant Peach (pink peach)
- Jessica // Bohemian Rhapsody (navy blue)
- Cuccio Colour // Water You Doing? (deep violet)
- Mavala // Coral Bay (dark pink coral)
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat

- MoYou London // Arabesque 06 Plate

Heatwave // Look Fantastic August 2019 Nails

Not the greatest box art I've ever done but still way better than last months Look Fantastic offering. I was completely inspired by the red sand/orange sunset combo and set about to recreate that. The sea foam on my middle and ring fingers are actually from the Nicole Diary marble plate and I placed it strategically to look like waves as I don't actually have a stamp like that...over 100 plates and only a few with waves on them. Looks like I need to buy more.

I was also very happy to finally do the ombre of H&M colours that I wanted to do when I first got them and mentioned here when I swatched them. They blend so beautifully together and the dark burnt orange stamps really well on light colours. I'll have to use that in a future design.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Cuccio // Flirt (white)
- H&M // Cantaloupe (mustard), The Heat is on (orange), Sun on Clay (burnt orange), 
- A-England // Camelot (black)
- Avon Gel Shine // Top Coat

- Harunouta //L080 Plate
- Nicole Diary // 076 Plate

Mani & Lola July 2019 // Nail Subscription Box

I am soooo late with this one. This came in the post the day after I left home last month and I had forgotten to change my address because I thought it would arrive whilst I was back so I only just got it last week when I went home. Suffice to say I've now changed my address so everything should start to be on time again. It was so hard as well seeing all the beautiful bright shades that came in July's box and it was just sat there all lonely. Let's start off with the neon shade.

Love at First Skate // Artistic Colour Revolution

15ml Full Size - RRP £8.95

Collection: A New Skate of Mind

Release Date: Summer 2017

This surprised me as I was expecting a gloopy thick polish but it's actually quite sheer (but not streaky) and very bright. You could use this to layer designs while still having a neon mani; I'm impressed. This is a hot pink Barbie shade though and will be perfect for summer flamingo nails. It also dries spectaularly fast. I'd say that this needs between 2/3 coats depending on how thick you apply your layers; I'm wearing two layers.

Flirt // Cuccio

13ml Full Size - RRP £4.95

Collection: Coquette

Release Date: Spring 2019

Yes a Cuccio shade, and a white! It's hard to do a good white and Cuccio tried but this isn't the greatest white shade I have. I'm still yet to come across the perfect white that doesn't have any streaks but Essie Blanc is pretty close. The first coat of this is super streaky and the formula is quite thick as well. The second coat is ultra gloopy and I've not had to do this much clean up in a while. It was just not nice to apply. I think this is the first time I've been disappointed with a Cuccio polish.

Dance Party 'Teal Dawn // OPI

15ml Full Size - RRP £8.95

Collection: The Neon Collection

Release Date: Summer 2019

This is a fantastic blue shade and it goes so well with the white. I really love another shade in this collection called "Pump up the Volume" and it's this super bright neon yellow/green. In fact I love the whole collection. It's also nice to see it's the regular formula as I'm not a big fan of the Infinite Shine (and I don't use gel). This shade is stunning though and quite possibly my new favourite blue shade I own. It has a silk finish, so not quite matte but not glossy. It also dries incredibly fast. I'm wearing two coats as 1 is still sheer but I love this shade. It's my favourite in the box.

Believe or Leave // Nails Inc

14ml Full Size - RRP £10

Collection: I Believe In Unicorns

Release Date: Summer 2017

Nails Inc briefly brought back this set for £30 for a while but now it's gone. I already have quite a few shades from it now and we just got another shade a few boxes back. I feel like this shade would've been nicer in a spring box though and we received another bright shade. That said it is a nice pale lavender shade and I don't actually have a shade quite like this in my collection. The closest is H&M Wild Lilac but that's a bit warmer. This needs at least two coats but applies like a dream. Not a bad shade at all.

Cuticle Oil + // Orly

9ml Full Size - RRP £7.85

Apparently this has won the Beauty Bible Anti Age award? The scent is bloody awful though. It could just be me as it's this chemical orange and cherry but it reminds me of this orange medicine I used to take as a kid and that stuff was revolting and always made me feel sick...yeah this stuff smells exactly like that. Great memories. I do like that this isn't as oily as some pure cuticle oils and it absorbs rather quickly. I eventually added up adding some of my own essential oils to it to try and mask the orange smell but to no avail. I'm not sure if I will use this up.

// Box Totals //

5 Items - All Full Size

Estimated Value - £40.70

// Verdict

Finally, a pretty perfect summer box. Even though the white wasn't the best formula it will definitely be useful for smooshing and drag marble. Oooo maybe that should be my first look with all the polishes; a drag marble with all the shades. I'm very excited for next month though, I'm hoping there are some burnt orange/green shades for autumn. I can finally do some looks using my new Uberchic lovely leaves plates!

Mani & Lola

Monthly - £20

3 Months - £62.85

6 Months - £113.70

12 Months - £203.40

£2.95 p&p every month