Coloristiq August Safari Manicure Box

Hi all,
I'm back again with another unboxing!  If you've read my previous blogs you'll know that I found a company called Coloristiq who do a nail polish rental option or a monthly themed nail box.  Since I loved the summer box I got from them in the sale I decided to go ahead and order the August Safari themed box.

 I'd like to take a moment to share with you all the way these items come packaged to you as I think it is very impressive.  Inside the cardboard box your package is securely surrounded by shredded paper.  You find a leaflet with an introduction to your box and a listed on the back the items included for this month.

Last months collection came in a cute polka dot box and this month to go with the safari theme it came in a zebra print bag which inside had more shredded paper to ensure no breakages of your parcel!

 So here we have what was inside the box.  There is 4 polishes and a nail file.  The brand on the file says TNBL (The Nail & Beauty Link) which I had never heard of before.  I took a look at their website and was impressed at the prices of some of there items and they also stock brand names.  The most interesting find for me was the pack of 100 nail tips to go on the plastic training hand.  I have the one from Essential nails and it cost me £100 for the hand (TNBL have a version very similar for only £30) and they are only £4 for a pack of 100 replacement tips where I was paying £20 for the refill packs off of EN!  I know where I'm buying my next refill pack from!

The first polish we have is Essie Snake It Up.  This is a magnetic effect polish and as the name suggests, gives a snakeskin finish.  It was very difficult to get a picture of this but I did do a live swatch of this polish on my review video.  You can find the video here:

Here we have Wild Cactus by Color Club.  This is the first nail polish I've owned by this brand (though I do use there black and white stripers for nail art).  The application was nice and smooth, the colour was also quite opaque on just 1 application but I like to do two to ensure perfect coverage.  For the picture this is two coats and top coat.

 

How pretty is this shade?!  China Glaze Don't Desert Me.  This is a beautiful pinky-purple shade with a very subtle shimmer undertone to it.  This is two coats and top coat.

OPI In A Holidaze.  You have got to hand it to OPI for their creative name choices for their polishes.  This is a very deep red, the camera picture has lightened it slightly.  I'm not actually a fan of red polish on myself, I don't think it suits my skin tone, but I got a lot of love for this picture on Instagram and I know red is a classic choice for many women.  The application is flawless and as usual I applied two coats and top coat.

So that's it for this post.  I'm looking forward to seeing what is coming in next months.  The only information Coloristiq have released so far is to say that September is going to include an indie polish brand and I'm so excited to hear this!  
If you'd like to find out more about the company, please see the following link:
Coloristiq Website 

 

 

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Buying A Light Box

Hi everyone,
I made a purchase yesterday of something that I think will help to improve my picture taking abilities.  I decided to buy a light box.  It had crossed my mind that I could try and build my own but considering my lack of DIY skills and the time it would take to make it, it was much easier just to buy one instead.  I picked up this one from Amazon:
Light Box 

So its a pretty basic model I'd say but I'm only looking to take pictures of nails and related items so I think it fits my needs perfectly.  Even handier that it comes in its own carry case too.

So here is an overall view of it with the 2 lights switched on.  The carry case it comes in acts as the support to help it stand up also (its the black part at the back).

I've used the white background but it does come with 3 other options; red, black and blue.  I think for me personally I'm going to mostly use white and occasionally black.  I like that you get the options though.

  Here is one of the two lamps provided.  They are lightweight but stand up securely on the retractable legs.  There is 3 pockets on the front of the carry case to hold the two lamps and a tripod (for your own camera).  This really is a portable friendly set up.

I took a couple test shots, one with my macro lens and one without, to see what sort of results I was getting.

Firstly I'm so excited I no longer have to try and deal with the reflection of light that comes from the lamp I had been using for photos.  I did notice I had to be careful of the angle I was at for taking this shot as you could see my phones reflection in the tip colour!  

Here's the second shot.  A nice clean picture in my opinion.  I can see the benefits in this shot from using the box.  I don't think it was really set up for doing macroshots thanks to the shadow cast by me/my phone trying to get up close, however, it is better than dealing with the round reflection cast from my current light.  I can't wait to use this more in the future for all my photos and I hope you'll agree it was a great purchase!

Lyn

 

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Opening August Nailboxuk

With the end of the month comes an exciting package; August edition from Nailboxuk!  You will have seen my previous posts on opening these items and I'm happy to share the next one with you now.

Now this was an exciting box for me because of the inclusion of CND Vinylux top coat and colour.  I've never tried this brand so I love when I get something new to try out!  There was also a small packet of Lovehearts included (which for some reason I managed not to photograph!!).  This months nail item was an elegant Touch toenail clippers.

So lets talk first about the polish I was most excited to try; Wisteria Haze by CND Vinylux.  This product is called a weekly polish.  It claims to be, as the name suggests, a week long wearable polish thats remains chip free for 7+ days.  It is also a two step system, they say no base coat is required.  Simply apply your choosen colour then apply topcoat.  For the picture I've done two layers of colour, though one coat was actually pretty opaque, and then used their topcoat to finish.  Application was nice and smooth, the colour is vibrant and I have no complaints about it.  I did only swatch the polish so can't comment on how the wear on it is, but overall I have no issues with wear on any of my polishes that I use.

Next up we have a classic China Glaze colour; Flip Flop Fantasy.  I already own this shade but I'm happy to have another as my bottle is have used and I love the colour!  It actually has a bit of a matte look to it when it dries but I used a glossy topcoat over it.  Once again this is 2 coats of colour.  I adore China Glaze as a brand and own LOADS of their polishes and I even went with them for my gel polish range.

Last colour we have is by NailsInc; Seven Dials (gel effect).  This is a gorgeous creamy yellow.  The application is brilliant on all of the Nailsinc polishes I've tried thanks to the shape of the brush; it has rounded bristles which help to give a crisp finish by the cuticle.  

Until I had tried these boxes from Nailboxuk, I had never owned Vinylux, Nailsinc or even Essie.  I love that I can pay £15 a month to get items I know for a fact I will love and I'm yet to be disappointed!  The next plus side is getting shades I would not normally buy myself.  For example I would not have thought to pick a colour such as Seven Dials but when I swatched it I fell in love with it and can't wait to use it for a future nail art design.

If you would like to find out more about Nailboxuk, check out the link here:
Nailboxuk Link

Thanks for reading!
Lyn

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