American Apparel Neon Nails

 AA Nail Polish £9 each

I wouldn't say i'm much of a nail enthusiast, I don't really get excited by nail polish or painting my nails. I always see it as a chore, and much prefer someone else to do them for me. I'm very good at perfecting the 5-year-old-girl-paints-her-nails look. I'm not one for fancy nail art, or anything spectacular either. I find it fiddly, and have no patience for something so delicate and time consuming. Having said this, I have been a huge fan of "stand-out nail colours" recently. Something that contrasts with the rest of my outfit and is effortless. Neon colours have been a go-to for me this summer. I love the neon trend, but don't feel comfortable enough to rock out some neon trousers or bright neon dresses, so i've injected a teeny bit of neon to my hands instead. I love the AA nail polishes as the quality is really good. They are definitely on the pricey side, but they have such an amazing collection of colours, the packaging is unique and they stay put for a good amount of time with no chipping. I also bought a glitter polish as I just couldn't pass it up. Look at the amount of pretty! The glitter instantly makes the nails a whole lot more interesting without spending ages fiddling about with nail art or glue. The middle nail was 2 coats of glitter, I feel like it spreads out well on the nail too (something I thought it wouldn't do). 

Have you used any of the American Apparel nail polishes? Would you happily spend £9 on a nail polish if you felt it was pretty enough? or am I a bit crazy? 

The colours above are Neon Green, Neon Yellow and the glitter is called Galaxy Glitter. 

♥

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JolieBox UK | May 2012

JolieBox UK £10 monthly subscription + £2.95 P&P*

This months JolieBox was created to inject a little flower power and plant based products into your beauty routine. I'm just going to throw this out there and say that this is possibly my favourite JolieBox so far. It may only have 4 items as opposed to the normal 5, but I feel like the good choice of samples and the full size nail varnish thoroughly make up for it. I also wanted to mention how much I enjoy reading the JolieMag. This little 23 page magazine which has been edited by the oh so gorgeous Anna of ViviannaDoesMakeup, excites me just as much as the box of goodies. It's full of great content, including product reviews, interviews and helpful information. I like to read it in the bath as a wind down! This magazine has become a little bonus when receiving your JolieBox each month, and I think it's a wonderful idea. 

Products included in the box:

Talika Lipocils Expert 2ml - An eyelash growth product with extracts of natural nettle to stimulate the growth of short or frail eyelashes. This sample is quite small, i'm not overly sure how much 2ml of product is going to help stimulate my eyelashes. I'm certainly not expecting to wake up with long fluttering lashes after using it once but i'm intrigued to see if it does in fact do anything at all. I've not ever dabbled in eyelash growth serums before, so this is all new for me! 

Essential Care Organic Rose Moisturiser 15ml - Being quite the skincare junky I'm looking forward to trying this moisturiser. It has rehydrating, regenerative and toning benefits of organic rose and aloe juice. It's also suitable for vegans and they've not tested on animals, which I know is an important factor for many of you when making cosmetic choices. After checking out the ingredients, it also appears to be free of any nastiness too. Skincare is always best when it's kept as natural as possible so this look promising. 

RMK Make up Base 15ml - This makeup base claims to prime the surface of your skin, add moisture with shea butter and provide the perfect fit for foundation. I'm the sort of person who skips on priming before applying my makeup because sometimes I just prefer my face to have as little on it as possible, I always feel like priming just adds another layer, and I can't say i've ever really needed to do it. However, more recently, I have been trying out some different primers, and my eyes have been opened to the world of longer lasting makeup and a smoother, easier foundation application. This looks to be a very good primer, and I'm excited to give this a proper whirl. The cute little bottle will also be perfect for travelling. 

China Glaze Nail Lacquer Wicked Style (full size) - I was so happy to see this nail polish in my JolieBox this month, as China Glaze are one of my favourite nail brands. I find their polishes to be very long-lasting and just of excellent quality. I see them as O.P.I's main rival in the high end polish stakes. I'm not a massive fan of the pink, as I don't tend to wear pinks all that often, although that could all change once the sun comes out :) Saying that, pink is always my top choice for a pedicure!

What do you think of this months JolieBox? 

♥

Topshop Makeup | Nail Polish

Left to Right:
Crystal Clouds, Green Room, Sketch, Louder*, Dead Ringer*, Awol*, Parma Violet

Hidden Treasure & Gypsy Night

Polishes from the "Sandstorm" Collection last year.
L-R: Cylone & The last two were a duo called "Wilderness"*

New Glitter polishes! 
L-R: Ice Crush*, Adrenalin*, Razzmatazz*

L-R:

Adrenalin, Ice Crush, Razzmatazz, Sketch, Wilderness Duo, Parma Violet, Crystal Clouds, Cyclone, Awol, Green Room, Louder, Dead Ringer, Wilderness Duo, Hidden Treasure, Gypsy Night

Following on from my post about the Topshop Lipsticks, I thought i'd write about the nail polishes. I own a fair few, as you can see. I am a huge fan of these little beauties. I do remember when they first came on the scene, I wasn't massively impressed with the size or shape of the bottle, I just didn't think they looked very pretty and were quite small, but now I absolutely love them. They could be deemed slightly smaller than the average nail polish, but actually, I think they are just right. I own so many larger nail polishes (like O.P.I & China Glaze) and I never come anywhere close to using the whole bottle up before it goes thick & gloopy. 

The quality is really good, I have yet to use any shade which hasn't delivered a nice opacity, or painted on appallingly. I also think there is a fantastic range of colours. Whenever I see the makeup stand in Topshop, and all the pretty colours lined up so beautifully, I always feel as though I need to own more of them, so I can stand them in my bedroom looking equally as pretty. 

The standard range of basic colours are priced at £5 (your reds, blues, pinks, pastels & brights) & the more exciting/special polishes (The multi-tonal, glitter & crackle) are priced at £6. There are a few on the website at the moment which are part of the "Sisters of the New Moon" collection and they are priced at £6.50. I think the pricing is very fair. I'm quite happy to pay this nice mid-way price for a decent nail polish, compared with higher, more well-known brands at a much higher cost. I don't particularly look for a nail polish with the highest of quality, I'm definitely more of a "if I like the colour, i'm buying it regardless of the price" person. So if it's a gorgeous colour, i'll buy it if it's 50p or £10. I do know that some of you will be reading this who DO look for decent quality in a nail polish, possibly if your job involves you looking immaculate, and chipped nails are a nono? I can honestly say, I've NEVER come across a nail polish that doesn't chip on real nails. I'm an acrylics girl, so my nails aren't real most of the time, therefore polish is usually on there until I decide to change it. However, anytime I haven't had acrylics, and I've worn the Topshop nail polishes on my real nails, they've lasted just like any other polish. I'd say 5-6 days totally chip free (with a top coat). Even the more expensive polishes chip on me in this same amount of time (I don't think my natural nails take well to polish haha)

My current favourites are Green Room, Ice Crush, Hidden Treasure, and the metallic silver one from the Wilderness duo (annoyingly, they don't have separate names that I can see, and they aren't on the website anymore, but they do have a metallic silver which could very well be exactly the same)

Have you tried the Topshop nail polishes? Can you think of any colours that I'd love and don't already own? (not that I need anymore clearly)

♥