Latest In Beauty: Ultimate Summer Nails - Review of the beauty box

Hello lovelies,

Latest In Beauty have introduced a new one-time beauty box on 26th May 2013, this time the theme is Ultimate Summer Nails. When I got offered to review, it I was over the moon to do that...it's about nails, right?

So lets have a look at the box and what it contains...

The products come in sturdy black box with metallic writing on it. It is a bit hard to open for somebody like me who has long nails..the whole lid needs to be lifted up if you know what I mean. 

You'll also get Ultimate Summer Nails Menu with some nail care tips and a bit more about the products in the box.

(Click to enlarge)

First up is L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream. I find it very nourishing and since I do have dry skin it is a great hand cream for me. It smells like shea butter with addition of jasmine and ylang-ylang, the scent is not very strong. I've already had sample of this hand cream prior to receiving this box and I like to use it in the evening and then put on cotton beauty gloves. It does sink in nicely but my hands always feel sticky afterwards so I don't use it during the day. This is a travel size (30ml) and is worth £8.

The next products are nail file from The Vintage Cosmetic Company and Rituals Nail Varnish Corrector Pen. I'll start with the nail file - it has flower design on one side and polka dots with company name on the other. It has very fine grain, it is one of those nail files that feels like they have just fine sand stick to them. It's not great for filing your nails down but rather just finishing the edges.

The Rituals Nail Varnish Corrector Pen has black glossy packaging and comes with three spare nibs. It works well for cleaning up the sides of the nails but it wasn't ideal for cleaning the cuticle line, brush is more gentle. It is good for regular person who is not perfectionist nut like me :D Value of this product is £7

Then there are two mini Nails Inc. products - Notting Hill Gate polish and Caviar Topcoat. I was excited to try both as Notting Hill Gate is pretty neon pink (and there's never enough of those) and I've never tried Caviar Topcoat before.

I've applied  three coats because the polish is a bit on a sheer side. It would be better to apply it over white. The Caviar topcoat is quite thin and easy flowing. It doesn't dry as fast as Seche Vite.

Butter London Yummy Mummy - neutral beige with subtle silver shimmer. It is a nice polish with good formula just like I'm used to from Butter London. It applied well and two coats were enough for full coverage.

Swatches of both polishes in direct sun

The next product in the box are Essie Sleek Stick nail wraps. I haven't tried them on because I don't wear nail wraps (my nails are too curved for them) however they look very pretty. They are bright red with gold dots and the retail value is around £9.99

Then there is Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover. It claims to remove nail polish in just 1 second...well that's just not truth :D I dip my finger into it, let it soak for about 20 seconds, twist few times and it usually removes the polish. However if you wear glitter, nail art or more layers of polish it might take longer. It is good though, very effective (just not in 1 second) and it smells lovely after you pull your finger out. The nail has oily coat afterwards which I feel moisturised my nails nicely instead of drying them out. I am very happy to try this product, I like it but I don't think I would purchase for regular price of £4.99

Last but not least....




Overall, I would be very happy to pay £14.99 (+P&P) for this box. The contents are worth £55 so the value is very good. My favourites are definitely the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover and Nails Inc. Notting Hill Gate.

This box is available at Latest In Beauty website but I've just checked and it's sold out. However you can add your name to the reservation list and might get one if more boxes come in stock.

*This product has been provided for a review

How about a nail art with Nails Inc. Bling It On Black Leather & Skulls set?

Hello lovelies,

I couldn't resist to doing some kind of nail art on the Nails Inc. Black Leather polish I've reviewed yesterday. I opted for the textured/glossy look and painted just simple double chevrons with Seche Vite topcoat.

I liked this look even more than the plain textured nails so hope you'll like it too!

 

So where can you get the Bling It On Black Leather & Skulls set and the other sets? Shop Nails Inc. Littlewoods and at Nails Inc. website. I think Sephora US carries these as well.

Nails Inc. Bling It On Black Leather & Skulls set - Review and swatches

Hello lovelies,

I'm sure you've all already seen the Nails Inc. Bling It On Black Leather & Skulls set which is spot on trend right now! That's why I was so excited to be able to review it. It contains Leather Effect polish in Noho with leather effect cap, four crystal skull embellishments, nail glue and orange stick. There's also 'Tan' and Rebel' version of this set available. The Rebel set looks really good too!
 

 

Instructions at the back of the box might come handy...

Noho - chic black leather effect polish. It applied very easily just like you would be applying any other polish. I would have thought that the formula would be thick due to lots of particles but it's not thick at all. It however could be slightly more pigmented. I have applied two thicker coats to get full coverage without any light patches. I think one coat of Noho could be applied over black polish and it would work just fine too.

The finish is nicely textured, like grainy. It is not sharp at all in comparison with e.g. OPI Liquid Sand polishes. The polish dries within 10 minutes to the point where you can touch it without ruining it. But since there's no topcoat to be applied it does take a little bit more time to dry properly. The removal is easier than glitter polish but it's not as easy as regular creme shades if you know what I mean ;)

I usually don't wear plain black polish but this one just made my hands look like I'm a rock chick! I was very pleased with the final result and I'm starting to eye the Rebel set which includes rhinestones in addition. Simple nail art with this polish is coming tomorrow!

So where can you get the Bling It On Black Leather & Skulls set and the other sets? Shop Nails Inc. Littlewoods and at Nails Inc. website. I think Sephora US carries these as well.

Nails Inc. Buckingham Palace - Review and swatches

Hello lovelies,

I'm back after a non-blogging weekend and Monday. I'm quite ill with some kind of flu so I wasn't feeling like posting anything but after three days I feel like I'm neglecting you. I'll show you this lovely Nails Inc. purple shade to make up for it :)

Buckingham Palace - red based half-jelly half-creme purple. I liked this purple as it flattered my nails and my skin tone. It applied very well despite the half-jelly formula. I expected some patches but that didn't happen. Also the pigmentation was good. I'm wearing two coats and the polish is fully opaque. I did not apply a topcoat just to show how glossy this polish is! Overall a very nice polish that has comparable formula to OPI.

Parrot nail art manicure for Summer Challenge - Scarlet Macaw in the jungle

Hello lovelies!

Thanks to the Summer Challenge I participate in (Thank you for putting it together Debbie!) I take on 'projects' I wouldn't normally do and it pushes me to do very elaborate and creative manicures. Like today's one!

The topic for today's Summer Challenge is Jungle mani or Parrots and I chose to paint my favourite parrot - Scarlet Macaw (Ara Macao). Macaws are magnificent birds and I love them! My first ever boyfriend had 24(!) of them so I've spend years in their company, could admire them and sometimes even touch them. Don't get me wrong, they can be very angry, aggressive and dangerous birds but they are beautiful. They could snap your finger in half if you'd just give them a chance :D

I used to paint and draw macaws so this mani wasn't as hard for me. Firstly I've used KIKO 343 and CND Urban Oasis to create the jungle background. I dipped dots of CND into the wet KIKO polish and dragged the needle through it to create two-colour background. Then I started to paint the macaw with acrylic colours.

Hope you like it and hope you'll share it to spread the love :)

Aren't they just beautiful?

Other lovely ladies that participate in Summer Challenge:

Ice Cream Sundae nail art manicure with tutorial! Part of Summer Challenge, Day 19

Hello lovelies!

It's a lovely sunny day and that requires holographic polishes or at least holo topcoat ;) It's also Day 19 of the Summer Challenge and the theme is Ice Cream Sundae.

For this manicure I've used Models Own Lemon Meringue, Nails Inc. Warwick Avenue and topped it up with INM Northern Lights Silver holo topcoat. Then I painted the Ice Cream Sundae on the ring finger using acrylic paint colours.

This was the base manicure before I started to paint the ring finger. i wanted to show it to you too because it was cute colour combination :)

And here's how I painted the Ice Cream Sundae :) Please don't forget to give a credit if you recreate this mani, it's a very nice thing to do ;)

Other lovely ladies that participate in Summer Challenge: