Scratch Subscription Box - March 14

Lua P from Le-Happy.com

 This month's box was designed by fashion blogger Lua P from Le-Happy.com and it comes with the following items:

• 3x Nail Wrap Sets
• Circle Studs
• Star Studs
• 1x Mini Color Club Polish in Williamsburg
• 1x Nail Art Tweezers
• 1x Heart Shaped Ring (gift)

 These nail art tweezers are seriously a GOD SEND and I don't know why I never thought to buy these before (well now I don't have to). If you're some one who likes to put all sorts of embellishments on your nail these are a MUST HAVE!

ADORE THIS COLOUR!!!!

'GRRL' 

 

As soon as I opened up the box my eyes were immediately drawn to this set and it is my favourite for this month by far! I love the details and especially the see through feature of the diamond design. 

 'EMBOSSED'

 

 These wraps are really cute and preppy. They totally remind me of that 90's movie 'Clueless' and the song Fancy by Iggy. When I opened these ones up I noticed that they REALLY smelt like wet nail polish, which I kinda like - weird huh?

'LA LUNE'

 This one was my least favourite design for the month. This will probably be donated to one of my lovely friends - lol!

These Scratch boxes are definitely getting better with each month. When I first subbed I was mostly skipping each month but now every email preview I get keeps getting better and better but my wallet is not happy with me!

If you live in the US these nail boxes will set you back $30 a month with free shipping. International is an extra $8 shipping which equates to about $43.00AUD once you also include conversion fee from your bank. In the end it ends up being a little pricey but I love the variety in each box as well as the gifts that come with it. Next months gift is GREAT! Review coming super soon for that one :)

PS - some people have asked why my reviews on these come at the later end of the month/early in to the next month. The reason being is that shipping takes about two weeks for the boxes to reach me, then I take photos and do a manicure etc but I try and get it out asap!

LA GIRL DIY NAIL KIT - MOD

Image from http://www.amazon.co.jp/GIRL-D-I-Y-Nail-Kit-Mod/dp/B00DNK67K6

 The next set of the LA Girl DIY Nail Kits to be reviewed is the 'Mod' set which contains four polishes, nail art brush, manicure stickers and instructions just as the 'Fabulous' kit does.

Again, these polishes do not have individual names.

I was hoping that this set came with a better brush but unfortunately it was just as bad. The ferrule also came apart from the handle and even after gluing it on it didn't stay on (le sad face).

 'Mod' comes with three creme polishes and one glitter. All the polishes are nicely pigmented and go on easily. None of them were streaky like the 'Fabulous' set. The glitter polish layered really nicely as it also had different sized glitter within it.

 It's great to have more creme finishes to add to my collection and I love the fact that each set comes with at least one set of glitter.

This is design I came up with when I saw the set - I love me some bling! Again, this set is definitely worth it for $4.00. If you have this set, let me know what you think and show me your nail art! x

Scratch Subscription Box - Feb 14

Feb14 Scratch Sub Box

February's Scratch box contains nail wraps designed by Hannah Lee of Hannah Rox It blog/vblog. Before this box I had never heard of her before but I adored her designs, especially the Enchanted Windows set.

This month we received three nail wraps, rhinestones, nail file and orange stick, as per the norm every month. The freebies this month was a wax pencil rhinestone picker, sharpener and a dark chocolate bar with cherries and almonds which tasted AWESOME!!!!

SWEET SPOT

Picture courtesy of www.goscratch.it

Sweet Spot is colourful dotted nail wrap design which totally reminds me of 'hundreds and thousand' sprinkles. Super cute, bright and punchy.

HUG ME, KISS ME

Picture courtesy of www.goscratch.it

Hug Me, Kiss Me was really hard to take a picture of. They're a transparent/clear base nail wrap with red and pink heart features.I was planning on wearing these for Valentine's day but I was so snowed under with work that I didn't get the chance to do it. Can't wait to use these - I have something in mind for them. Keep an eye out for it on my instagram (@jolinaohair).

ENCHANTED WINDOWS

Picture courtesy of www.goscratch.it

Enchanted Windows was what made me want to purchase the February box. The design and the colours are just PERFECT and totally reflect my style/personality.

Macro shot of the Enchanted Windows nail wrap

The nail wraps were easy to apply and the majority of them fit well on my nails except the thumb nails as I have really big nail beds, which you can see in the images below, but the other fingers fit okay.

Scratch It is definitely one of my most favourite subscription boxes as they send you a preview for each month and if you don't like what you see you can skip it or gift it. Check them out at  www.goscratch.it - you won't regret it! x

Monday Motivational is BACK!

For those of you who have followed me for a while on facebook may remember that back in the day I used to do #motivationalmondays or #midweekmotivation or #inspiration and I figure it's time to bring it back!

Every time I post one of these I'm talking to myself as well and I think that if at least ONE of you can benefit or feel better from these words then it's worth it.

This week I'm kicking it off with a topic that comes up all the time in the chats that I have with other creatives; COMPETITION. No, I'm not talking about a competition where you win a prize. I'm talking about competing and comparing yourself and your art to other people's art/work.

The makeup/photographic world is a highly competitive industry to be in. Whenever you see other people's work that blows your mind you are usually inspired and in awe, but then there are also times that you find yourself comparing yourself to them and their work. As an artist you invest so much of yourself into your work that you feel the pressure. That's when the negativity kicks in (usually in my case) and you'll find yourself saying things like:

"I'll never be that good"
"I wish I was that talented"
"My work sucks compared to theirs!"

Firstly, stop breathing negativity into your life. It will only start you on a downward spiral of negativity, and in some cases, you may find it hard to get back out of.

Secondly, appreciate their work for what it is but don't compare your "journey" (I despise that word as it's overused in reality tv but I can't think of a better word) with someone else's.

The only person you should be competing with is yourself. Have a look at where you started and where you are now.

When I start to feel that I am losing my makeup mojo I pull up photos of my work from when I was in school, then I go through my first folio images, then fast forward to where I am now and I can see my progress.

I still have a long way to go and have now made more goals to reach and set out a path for what I need to do to get there, but I have learned that in order to be happier I need to stop comparing myself to those in the industry and focus on myself.

Have you struggled with comparing yourself to others? Let me know in the comments how you've overcome this and what you do to stop the negativity.

LA GIRL DIY NAIL KIT - FABULOUS

 When I saw these kits on Ozsale I knew I had to get them straight away! At only $4.00 for a box of four I knew it was a steal, and if they were duds I wouldn't be too upset about it. I ended up buying four different sets which I will review one by one in the coming weeks.

Each set comes with a set of instructions on how to do different nail art designs, a nail art brush and a set of nail stickers to help with chevron designs.

Unfortunately, the stickers were just TERRIBLE and a nightmare to use as they didn't stick properly and were just way too big to use, but in the scheme of things it wasn't such a big deal. I mean, for $4.00 how much can you ask for?

 The nail brush was also a bit of a miss. The hairs just weren't of a very good quality and made it practically impossible to do any sort of nail art work. I'm hoping that the rest of the brushes in the other boxes are a little better.

The polishes do not have any specific names or numbers assigned to them.

Fabulous has three creme finish polishes and one glitter base polish. All the colours are very easy to apply and are a little bit thicker in consistency in comparison to China Glaze or OPI but some of the nail brushes were a little uneven and made the application a little streaky, especially the nude colour.

Overall, this set is DEFINITELY worth it, I don't think you could find a cheaper set on the market that still delivers great pigmentation, durability and versatility. As a bonus, this polish is also thick enough to use in your nail stamping kits.

If you are lucky enough to have an LA Girl stockist near you definitely keep an eye out for these sets or sign up to Ozsale as they tend to become available a couple of times a year.

 This was the design I came up with using this set. Please excuse the black around my nails, the Chalkboard Manicure was EXTREMELY hard to get off! :)