Nails Inc Unicorn Duo

How this Nails Inc launch slipped under my radar for so long I will not know.

With unicorns, mermaids and all things mythical being the top summer trend, Nail Inc were well and truly onto a winner when they launched this Unicorn duo a little while back.

I first saw these colours on a couple of girls I worked with at the department store. I stood there awe struck and went over to the Nail Inc counter and bought them straight away. The duo costs an amazing £15, which is such a bargain when you can usually expect to pay the same price for one gel polish from Nails Inc.

So here are some swatches of these beautiful polishes.

Dream Dust

The first polish is called 'Dream Dust' and it is a really fine glitter with a rose gold look. This is the sort of glitter that comes off easily which is a plus as I can't bare taking off glitter polish.

This is really long lasting and looks amazing on. In some lights it does have an iridescent purple/blue shimmer. It is perfect for summer.

Rainbow Wishes

Next is 'Rainbow Wishes' which is a pearlescent blue/ purple shimmer.

This again, looks amazing when it catches the light, and I think I will use this polish in a few nail art ideas I have coming up. This is the perfect Mermaid polish.

And the look of the polishes when paired together? I used 'Rainbow Wishes' on top of the glitter as it is slightly thinner consistency, and this was the finished result.

I think we can all agree that these are super dreamy?!

Victoria Beckham Nails Inc Polishes

I have long awaited these polishes and now I can finally swatch and show you them, be it a little after the initial hype. Nails Inc collaboration with Victoria Beckham AKA 'Posh Spice' was always going to be very sleek and glamorous. As a fashion designer herself, Victoria Beckham has influenced two very different but versatile and dynamic polishes.

The bottles themselves are a thing of beauty on their own, with a matte finish and peek a boo side panels to show you the colour. The black and white are very simple, and classic.

Firstly we have 'Judo Red' which I think is actually more orange toned, especially on my skin. This is the colour for more wow factor and more party look. It has a beautiful glossy finish and is so much more than a classic red. It gets heads turning straight away, and I imagine VB wouldn't have it any other way.

Secondly, we have this white is called 'Bamboo White' and it. is. stunning. I thought this would be the more underwhelming colour but words cannot describe this colour. It is so pretty and not like your normal tipex bright white. It has an almost pinky/ivory/cream undertone and it looks so chic and beautiful on. My best friend actually wants this as her wedding colour so you know it has the impact!

At £25.00 each these polishes certainly don't come cheap. I certainly can't afford them going travelling in two weeks so I had to try them on in my lunch break at work and take pictures at home (trampy I know!!)  They do have high shine and a flawless coverage though, so you get what you pay for. If you want the Judo Red punch but can't quite splurge that much, I know 'Amsterdam' by Mavala is a very close match and is a lot more affordable £4.75. However that white is a little more special and I can't think of a match for that, maybe just treat yourself to such an angelic polish!

I am wearing the 'Judo Red' to show the similarity. Look at the shine!

Do you think £25.00 is an extortionate amount to spend on nail varnish or are these too good to miss?

Don't Believe Me Just Swatch

I posted a picture on my Instagram the other day of this amazing Michael Kors nail polish I got for Birthday last week. My lovely friend Alex got me this colour which is called 'Envy', which is an amazing bright purple/ pink.

The polish is a really thin consistency so is easy to go on, and you get a really good pigment from one coat, but two coats really makes it pop. It lasts really well and looks fantastic with my matching Michael Kors watch. 

October Birchbox

I will go on to talk more about the 'Coppafeel' theme of this Birchbox later on, so for now, lets jump right in and see what the October Birchbox had in store for me this month.

KMS Hair Texturing Style Spray

This didn't give me the best hold, but the almost spray putty texture meant I could really mould my hair into any style. It could still be felt a few days after using meaning mouldable hair was always possible, and it didn't have a sticky, or hard finish to it. As I said, the hold wasn't brilliant so you would probaly need to use a bit of hairspray afterwards to keep it in your desired style.

Balance Me Cleansing Balm

This cleansing balm had quite tough granules in to get the smoothing effect which I find to be a little coarse to start. Other than that, I really enjoyed using this cleansing balm and have found myself being a bit lost without it now. I really like cleansing balms this time of year as they add a little more moisture.

Pixi Tinted Lip Balm

This Pixi tinted lip balm is the perfect colour for a more easily achievable and quick way to do the Kylie Jenner lips I talked about in my post the other day. This dark nude colour is really nice for this time of year, and it's highly moisturising so a bit more comfortable to wear in the colder winter months.

Lollipops Nail Polish

This Lollipops nail varnish is a really curte shade of red. It is proper red if you know what I mean?! It doesn't have any other tones in it so it is a very bright and fresh colour. The consistency was a bit thin so you definitely need 2 or more coats, but as a brand I've never heard of before, this has really impressed me and gone to my go to colour when I want that classic red nail. Perfect for Christmas time.

The Cool Fix

I thought this was an odd product to put in the October Birchbox, as I felt it would have been better suited in a summer box where overshaving legs for summer skirts everyday can cause a lot of in grown hairs and razor burn. Once the cold hits, limbs go back into tights and leggings, so shaving can be kept to a minimum and the inner gorilla in us can come out again. I am joking... kind of. Anyway, I found this to be a really useful product, particularly on my underarms as I have really sensitive skin under there, and this helped to soothe the skin and keep rashes at bay. It also meant shaving the next time could be done sooner than usual and not be a scary, painful experience.

Birchbox Lipstick Pen

The theme of this box was a collaboration with 'coppa feel' which is charity who aim to make sure you are regularly checking your breasts for lumps or any irregularities. This cute little lipstick pen means you can mark in your diary when you last checked, so you can make sure you are keeping up to date with it! I love this little pen, it goes perfectly with my diary!

For more information go to coppafeel.org

Mavala Metropolitan Collection

The new Metropolitan collection is the latest addition to the Mavala range. This launched in shops this year, but it was exclusively launched in salons over Christmas. The collection resembles some of the Autumn/ Winter shades from other ranges we have seen this year. Metallics and duotones have clearly been the trend this Christmas, as seen in collections from Jessica and Leighton Denny.

The collection is clever in the sense that each colour has a duotone, meaning in different lights, there is a different colour. This means you can wear two colours on your nails at once. I used to never be a fan of metallics, but the recent metallic craze that has taken over this season, has made me think twice about my opinion.

Pink Gold

I featured 'Pink Gold' in my latest piece of nail art which you can see here. In the bottle, I don't think Pink Gold looks very special. When on the nails though, the two toned shades really come out. I think out of the whole collection, this colour has the most dramatic duotone. In my nail art, I used a pink paint next to it, which I think brings out the pink shade more.

Silver Chrome

'Silver Chrome' reminds me of the silver foil Barry M brought out. Its a really metallic silver and has a really strong colour after just one coat. It looks like melted liquid metal, and will be a fantastic base for some nail art I have coming up.

Metallic Blue

This blue reminds me slightly of my favourite Mavala colour Flashy Violet. Its a much lighter and bluer version though, and will be great in the summer. In normal daylight this is slightly darker and changes between light and dark tones.

Gold Bronze

'Gold Bronze' is another colour that looks much more exciting when on the nail. This really bronze tone will look great with a tan in the summer. This is another duotone that changes from light to dark and changes more dramatically with light.

Copper Violet

This is probably the most iridescent shade, and needs a few more layers for the best effect possible. The purple shade is a cooler tone, but the copper hues warm it up when it reflects in certain lights.

Emerald Gold

This is probably my favourite colour in the collection. Emerald green was THE colour of 2013 and this combined with a metallic duotone is the recipe for success. The Emerald and the Gold really shine out. This is the colour I have kept on the longest from the collection, and it has had a lot of comments from people who have seen it. One comment was that it was very 'mermaidy' which is a comment I like a lot.

These colours have really inspired some ideas for nail art I am planning to do soon so keep watching to see what I come up with.

Mavala Sublime Collection

Ivory Beige

This is a beautiful brown nude colour which makes the nails look flawless. I don't usually got for nudes but this makes hands look so sophisticated. 

Poetic Rose

This is a dusty red colour that hovers on pink. It is a very cute colour and reminds me of winter berries. I have been told that it looks lovely on toes!

Amethyst

At the Mavala stand at work, this has absolutely flown off the shelves! I personally think it looks better with one coat as the vampy purple colour shines through more, and two coats dampens the purple. It is a really lovely colour though. Perfect for this season.

Espresso

As I said earlier, I don't really do brown shades but this is absolutely to die for. It has such a deep brown tone and looks really effective and beautiful just on its own. I added glitter on top and it really popped!

Twilight Blue

This is one of those colours that doesn't look all that in the bottle, but when its on it really shines. When I wore this I got so many compliments on the colour, and it really is like nothing else out there. Its a lovely matte deep blue.

Warm Grey

This is another colour that looked quite bland in the bottle, but again, once it was on, people really started to notice it. Its lighter than my favourite Mavala shade 'Elle' but has warm hues to warm up the skin a bit like the 'Ivory Beige' does. This colour reminds me of some big chunky knitwear.

I thought I'd do some autumnal nail art to go with this collection as the browns really inspired me to do somthing special. Below, I used the 'Ivory Beige' and 'Espresso' on the accent nails. For the gold glitter, I used the Mavala 'Gold Diamond' which is a lovely fine glitter, that has a soft effect. The Brown french tips were done with 'Espresso' also. For someone who stears aways from browns, I was quite happy with these and felt I had captured the golden autumnal season.