nails Archives - Bloomzy

bloomzy / March 15, 2017

A Recipe for The Perfect Pamper Session | Beauty

A Recipe for The Perfect Pamper Session

Whether it’s by yourself or with friends, everyone needs a pamper session every now and again. But I’m not just talking about lighting some candles, putting on some music, and chilling out. Although those are all pretty great for relaxing and taking care of ‘moi’. However I’ve got some of my own tips, and I’ve decided to share some of my favourites with you here.

Get your Nails did

I can’t get enough of doing my nails. In fact I love it so much you’ll find it hard to catch me without a pristine manicure. So it’s only natural that it’s my number one go-to when pampering myself. But not everyone shares my love – point in fact: my best friend VA (chopstickpanorama). So my tactic is to do her nails for her. And it’s actually pretty relaxing whether you’re the one painting nails, or having them painted.

Recommendation: Nails Inc Mindful Manicure* – each polish is infused with real gemstones, which is said to intensify one’s aura, channel energy, clarify thoughts, and heal. Whether you’re a believer or not, these shades are on point right now.

Snacks, and lots of ’em!

It just wouldn’t be right to not include snacks in this list. Although when I’m having a pamper session, I do like to go the extra mile. For me that means splurging a little on food I wouldn’t usually buy. Such as nice cheeses, cured meats, high quality chocolate, and some prosecco (of course). After all, you’re pampering your body on the outside, so why not inside as well?

Recommendation: Ocelot Chocolate – not only is this chocolate ridiculously stylish, it comes in some amazing flavours too. Where else would you find Bee Pollen & Mango, or Fig & Orange? Delicious!

Face masks are the one

I have been swearing by sheet masks for years, and I can’t sing their praises enough. They’re a fun, and effective way of treating your skin to a little extra care. Whether it’s extra hydration, brightening or anti-ageing – there’s a sheet mask for everything! I normally buy in bulk when I’m in Japan, or my sister and friends send me them from overseas. However a lot of UK brands have cottoned on to their fantastic abilities, and I’ve started dabbling in the options available here too.

Recommendation: Nails Inc Sheet Masks* – I chose these because I love that they have kept their sheet masks fun! A lot of the brands selling them in the UK have chosen to go with plain designs. But let’s be serious, we’d all much rather use skincare that is effective and cute. Also, who needs a Snapchat filter when you got these?

Feel The Good Vibes

Whether it’s watching your favourite movie/tv show, listening to music, or just having a chat. All of these can help keep the atmosphere chilled yet lively. Have a laugh, and if you’re with friends, chat until you’ve run out of things to say!

Recommendation: Netflix – there’s a variety of awesome shows on there, with some of my personal favourites being John Mulaney, What We Do in The Shadows, and Archer.

bloomzy / July 8, 2015

Latest in Beauty Get The Gloss Summer It Kit

Latest in Beauty Get The Gloss Summer It Kit*

Everyone has their Summer travel essentials: sunglasses, notebook, city guide etc. This year I’ve been trying to simplify how I travel, and that includes my make-up and beauty favourites. Old me would have brought along half the bathroom cabinet. Convincing myself that I really do need to bring an extra 3 moisturisers. Now I’m doing better, but truth be told, I still need a little help. So when Get The Gloss offered to send me their Summer It Kit Box (a collaboration with Latest in Beauty), I was over the moon. Latest in Beauty say: “We have teamed up with the editorial team at Get the Gloss to bring you the Summer ‘It Kit’ for 2015. Bursting with 8 amazing products, from Nuxe to Nails Inc, this is one beauty kit you don’t want to be without!”

Inside the box is…
+ NAILS INC Gel Effect Nail Polish (full size)
+ NUXE Huile Prodigieuse® OR (10ml)
+ Bourjois Aqua Blush (full size)
+ Anne Semonin Eye Express Radiance Cube (full size)
+ Salon Science AquaCacteen Hydrasoothe™ Cooling Spray (full size)
+ Philip Kingsley Swimcap (50ml)
+ Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Facial Hydrator SPF 8 (15ml)
+ Aurelia Probiotic Skincare Refine & Polish Miracle Balm (15ml)

Thoughts?
At only £19 this is slightly more than the usual beauty box. However the box features 4 full size products, and Latest in Beauty have claimed that the box values at over £85. Taking that into consideration, you’re getting one hell of a deal here. But what did I think of the products? I was really happy with most of the products. They’ve covered hair, skin, body and nails. I can definitely see myself packing most of these for a weekend away. Sure I probably won’t use NUXE Huile Prodigieuse® OR (pasty skin 4life) or the Bourjois Aqua Blush (I prefer powder blush), but that’s not to say I didn’t like them. In fact I happen to think Get the Gloss have curated this box with expert precision. They’ve chosen some great brands, and an eclectic mix of products. I think what I like the most about this box is that it hasn’t taken the easy route. My only niggle: how can you have a Summer box without sunscreen?

Head over to Latest in Beauty to purchase the Get The Gloss Summer It Kit.

bloomzy / April 14, 2015

Review: nailbox – A Nail Polish Subscription Box (April 2015)

nailbox April 2015 box*

I don’t know why there hasn’t been a nail polish subscription box before. Clearly nailbox have also picked up on this gap in the market, as they have brought us a brand new nail polish subscription box. The April box is limited to only 100 boxes, and it contains four full-size nail polishes from iconic industry brands: OPI, China Glaze, Essie and Revlon.

Inside the box is…
+ Essie nail file (£1.99)
+ China Glaze Peachy Keen nail polish (around £5)
+ Revlon Buttercup nail polish (£7.99)
+ OPI Kiss Me On My Tulips nail polish (£12)
+ Essie Muchi, Muchi nail polish (£7.99)

Thoughts?
For a nail polish addict like me – or those who just want to discover some new polishes – this is a wonderful idea. The packaging of the box was pretty plain (a brown cardboard box), but the polishes were packaged safely inside at least. I noticed that the nail polishes included are from past collections (yet still on sale), but the shades are all pretty on-trend right now. I mean there are only so many colours, and the usual shades are on-trend year on year. So it doesn’t really matter whether these polishes are brand new to the market or not.

The total value of the box comes to £34.97, so you’re obviously getting your £15 back! At the end of the day, all I could ask for from a nail polish subscription box is in nailbox. Well known, quality brands: check. On-trend shades: check. Value for money: check. Would I purchase this? Yes, I definitely would!

You can purchase the April 2015 box at nailbox.

bloomzy / January 25, 2015

Giveaway: Win a GlossPod Manicure!

Women and men alike no longer need to worry about being caught out with chipped or untidy nails. Why? Because GlossPod are a starting a nail revolution. Their high profile, hand-picked nail technicians will come right to your home or office (even your hotel!), and they offer a variety of services to boot, such as: manicures, pedicures, shellac manicure/pedicure, and gel removal. I recently booked myself in for one of their classic manicures* at my office. They arrived right on time and got straight down to business. It took around 25mins for my manicure, which included shape, cuticle tidy, buff, hand massage, paint and top coat. It was so relaxing and my nails looked amazing afterwards. My little break had left me feeling very relaxed, and the best part was I could just go straight back to work! I didn’t need to worry about rushing back on the tube from a salon and inevitably smudging my new manicure in the process. I just hopped into the elevator and headed back up to my office. It was the perfect Friday morning indulgence.

You can book an appointment via GlossPod or by downloading the app on iTunes and Android.

What can you win?

You too can win a visit from GlossPod (to your home, office or hotel) with my giveaway! To celebrate my blog’s 5 year anniversary, I am giving away 5 GlossPod classic manicures* to 5 of my London-based readers (sorry they’re not available outside of London yet).

How to enter:
+ Be a follower of ‘Bloomzy’ via Bloglovin
+ Earn extra entries via social media.
+ This prize is provided by Glosspod and is only open to London based participants.
– Accounts created purely for giveaways will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

bloomzy / September 17, 2014

Review: The Micro Nail

MICRO Nail by Emjoi*

When I attended the Pegasus Showcase a few months ago there were whispers of a new secret nail product being tested on the press and bloggers, from the makers of Micro Pedi. The lovely ladies offered for me to test the product out but as I would have needed to take my nail polish off (and I’d just had a manicure) I declined. Still, I was intrigued to find out what this mystery product was and so they promised to keep me up to date. Fast forward to last week whilst I was in France – I received an exciting press release revealing the secret and offering to send me along one of the products to try out. Of course I jumped at the chance, and now I’m going to share that secret with you.

The Micro Nail is a revolutionary new nail care product set to take the nation by storm. The innovative device claims to gently smooth, buff and polish your nails quickly yet effectively.

“MICRO Neil leaves your nails with a gorgeous natural shine lasting for up to two weeks. Using two micro mineral rollers it gives the illusion of a glossy top coat when you are actually nail varnish free, also helping to smooth ridges, reduce staining and improve the appearance of dryness. Battery powered, it takes the hard work out of buffing, with rollers that rotate up to MOO times per minute you can have a salon smooth manicure in seconds. The MICRO Smooth roller buffs away ridges and stains while the MICRO Shine roller works instantly, to leave nails with a beautiful, natural shine.”

What did I think of it?
I wasn’t sure what kind of product to expect when I first heard all of the hype behind the now announced Micro Nail. If I’m going to be honest I’m not sure if this is really needed. I can’t say I’ve ever wanted a battery powered buffing/shining device. That said the product does work, and I was very pleased with the results [See before and after photos]. I’ve been playing around with negative space nail art lately, and it’s good to know that after using this, my nails are shiny enough by themselves and no top coat is needed. If you wear a lot of nail polish you’re probably not going to be too bothered by this, which is why I think I’m on the fence about it. However if you’re the opposite to me, but you’d still like to add a bit of shine to your nails, then this would be perfect. The device itself easily fits into a handbag, and although I’m not a fan of pink I do like the kitschy appeal of it. As for price, the Micro Nail retails at £39.99, which is certainly not pocket change. It is an investment though, as you can buy replacement rollers (£12.99 for a pack of four) so you won’t need to throw it away once you’re done with it.

Fancy giving it a go yourself? You can buy the Micro Nail in-store and at Boots.

bloomzy / July 15, 2014

Review: Birchbox July 2014 Beauty Box

Birchbox Beauty Box July 2014

Where did the love go? Yes, only a few months ago I was professing my love for Birchbox to anyone that would listen. However the last couple of boxes have left me feeling as though something was missing…then July’s box happened. It’s been a crazy mixture of squished boxes, poor customer service and everything in-between. Let me tell you what was in my box first though, before I bore you with my decision for finally unsubscribing from Birchbox.

Inside my box was…

Benefit – The Porefessional

Whish – Lavendar Body Butter

Balance Me – Wonder Eye Cream

Laqa & Co – Lip Pencil in Menatour

Models Own – Nail Polish in Rocket

Thoughts?
This month’s box was very underwhelming, but maybe I should first mention how it turned up in such a state…and completely by surprise! For the past two months I haven’t been receiving any dispatch emails from Birchbox, meaning I didn’t know if my boxes had been sent. Now this isn’t a terrible thing by itself, however the (always disgruntled) courier has delivered my box to other people in my apartments before, without letting me know. Therefore knowing when my box is on it’s way is helpful. Thankfully I have lovely neighbours who noticed the mistake and didn’t nab my box for themselves. Anyway, I mentioned that it turned up in a state. All of my products were ok, but I think I got lucky. Even so, this is really not the way you want your product to turn up or how you want to represent your brand. I did tweet and message Birchbox about both of these problems. In hindsight I should have emailed them, but when they asked me to message them on Twitter I thought the problem might be solved pretty quickly. However it took forever to receive any kind of reply from them, and they completely ignored the dispatch email problem. They did apologise and said they would investigate the courier situation though, so hopefully no one else will have this problem.

As for the contents of the box itself, I can honestly say that there isn’t one product I can be certain I’ll use. I did appreciate that some of the products such as the full-size Models Own polish (not a great shade) and the decent sized The Porefessional (shade is too dark) are well-known and loved products, but they’re also nothing new. The eye cream, nail buffer and body butter are products I have coming out of my ears (thanks to pr samples and beauty box products) and I haven’t heard anything about these ones that make me want to jump to use them. Finally, the lip pencil – the quality seems good but this shade is really not me. I plan to give everything away, minus the nail polish and the eye cream, in the hopes that I will eventually use them at some point. All in all July’s box left me feeling pretty “meh” and along with all of the other problems, I have decided to unsubscribe from Birchbox. Maybe if a future box takes my fancy I may start my subscription again, but right now I really don’t need anymore beauty products that I won’t use.
Sorry for the downer – check out my more optimistic Birchbox reviews.

You can subscribe or buy this month’s box at Birchbox.
Using my link will give you (and me) £5 worth of points to spend in the store.

bloomzy / June 13, 2014

Review: Birchbox ‘World Cup’ June 2014 Beauty Box

Birchbox ‘World Cup – Brazil’ June 2014 Beauty Box

This month’s box had a lot to live up to after last month’s Harper’s Bazaar collaboration box.

I was actually surprised when the ever enthusiastic delivery guy (can you feel the sarcasm leaking through you screen?) turned up with my box, due to a lack of correspondence from Birchbox themselves. Still, I’m not going to complain about a box turning up without a dispatch email when it could have easily been the other way round. Opening up my box I didn’t really know what to expect. I hadn’t seen any mention of a theme, and honestly, my heart dropped a little when I saw the green and yellow. I’m not a football fan and lately every brand out there is trying to be included in the World Cup glory.

The branding was clever with this box, but I wasn’t drawn in by the theme.

Inside my box was…

Embryolisse – Lait Crème Concentre

Silk + Honey – Shea Butter Hair Mask

OPI Nail Polish – Next Stop…The Bikini Zone (The Brazil Collection)

Yves Rocher – Sheer Botanical Lipstick in #21 Litchi

Naobay – Body Radiance Lotion

Birchbox – Brazil Inspired Keyring

Thoughts?

I’m not one to judge a book by it’s cover, however my dismay at the month’s theme did translate to the products slightly. I don’t really know where to start. Maybe I should talk about the products I’m happy with first. The reasonably sized Silk + Honey Shea Butter Hair Mask is certainly something I will use and enjoy, so I’m more than happy to have it in my box. I was excited by the Yves Rocher Lipstick, but when I tried it on it was no different than a lip balm, as the ‘tint’ of colour wasn’t present. I was also a bit sad that the YR logo had scratched off my tube slightly, making me think these were seconds. The OPI polish is a lovely shade, and certainly something I’d wear, but I have a love hate relationship with OPI. I’ve found some of their polishes to be poor quality, but I have high hopes for this one. The Naobay lotion, and the Embryolisse moisturiser are items I could take or leave. I already have a bunch of moisturisers and sample size lotions, so these will just go into my ever-evergrowing pile. Finally, the keyring. Maybe I’m a buzzkill but it reminds me of the tacky souvenirs found at so many British seaside resorts. I do see the fun in it though so I can’t hate on it, I just won’t be using it.

Overall I’m a bit disappointed in this month’s box, and if it wasn’t for the quality of the

previous boxes I’ve received I would be unsubscribing. Here’s hoping next month’s Birchbox gets back to form!

You can subscribe or buy the ‘World Cup’ box at Birchbox.

Using my link will give you (and me) £5 worth of points to spend in the store.

1
2
3
4
…
11
Older Posts