Lacquer or Leave Her!: August 2018

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Beautometry's June My Mani Box!

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

So a few days ago, I reviewed Beautometry's May "My Mani Box," a subscription box that sends you a sweet package of nail stamping goodness each month, and reported that I thought it was an excellent value, and a lot of fun...Well, I'm back to take a look at the June box, and see if it holds up to what the quality of the first box.

Here's a look at the full contents:

Beautometry's June My Mani Box

The theme for this box is 'travel', so I think it's really cool that they include a travel-sized glass file in the box:

Beautometry's June My Mani Box

This box also includes some cuticle barrier for your nail art:

Beautometry's June My Mani Box

The box includes two MoYou London plates, Mix & Match collection 13, which has a very cool retro 90s Miami Vice kinda vibe:

MoYou London Mix & Match Collection 13

And MoYou London Explorer Collection 33:

MoYou London Explorer Collection 33

And here are some shots with a ruler so you can judge the size of all those little images:

The polish in this box is Femme Fatale Fates Bound Together, which, OMG--is one of the prettiest polishes I've seen ever, including a duochrome blue/purple element, flakies, and a thermal blue/purple element, so pretty much all the time you've got beautiful shift:

Femme Fatale Fates Bound Together

Here's what it looks like on--tell me this isn't ah-maze-ing:

Femme Fatale Fates Bound Together

The box also included Hit The Bottle Polish Holo There Beautiful, a stunning silver holo stamping polish:

Hit The Bottle Polish Holo There Beautiful

So, to recap, here's what all you get:

Beautometry's June My Mani Box

Okay, before we get into manis, let's do a recap. I am again impressed by the contents of the box. It's clear after seeing two boxes now that Beautometry takes care to pick a really special polish for the box that matches the theme and images on the plates--not just a run-of-the-mill polish. And, of course, the quality of the items are great--MoYou London plates are the best.

So let's count up the value:

Two MoYou London plates: $19.98
Femme Fatale specialty polish: $13.00
Hit The Bottle Mini: $4.00 (approx)
Peel Putty: $9.50 (based on similar cuticle guards)
Travel-size glass file: $7.50 (based on similar product)
Total value: $53.98

So yeah--I'd say this is well worth even the most expensive $35 price for the box (the cost of the box goes down if you subscribe for more than one month). Great value and great quality--that combo doesn't come along every day!

Okay, now it's time to play! For my first mani, I couldn't resist playing with those llamas on MoYou London Explorer Collection 33!!! I started with a base of Zoya Cole, then stamped and did some reversed stamping with Messy Mansion Carbon, Misty Jade, and Hydrangea Blue and Zoya Jack. Here's how it turned out:

Mani with Beautometry's June My Mani Box: MoYou London Explorer collection 33 over Zoya Cole

For this next mani, I went simple. I just wanted to play a little with holo stamping over the beautiful colors in Femme Fatale Fates Bound Together, so I stamped what's supposed to look like a moon reflecting off a pool...I'm not sure it came out like I hoped, but I still think it's crazy pretty:

Mani with Beautometry's June My Mani Box: MoYou Mix & Match collection 13 over Zoya Cole

And to celebrate the color change with the thermal, I grabbed a shot of the polish when it was a little colder:

Mani with Beautometry's June My Mani Box: MoYou Mix & Match collection 13 over Zoya Cole

For my final mani, I went full-on retro, baby! I started with a base of Zoya Daisy, then stamped and did some reversed stamping with MoYou London Mix & Match 13, Messy Mansion Misty Jade, Hydrangea Blue, and Petal, and Hit The Bottle Polish Holo There Beautiful:

Mani with Beautometry's June My Mani Box: MoYou Mix & Match collection 13 over Zoya Daisy

And here it is matted:

Mani with Beautometry's June My Mani Box: MoYou Mix & Match collection 13 over Zoya Daisy

This box is just so fun! Those llamas and those 80s images--it all just makes me smile. I'm definitely a believer--Beautometry's My Mani Box is a cool way to get your mani on. You can sign up for the next one here, and you can follow Beautometry around the interwebs here:

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/119197305341275/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Beautometry/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautometry/

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

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Friday, August 24, 2018

Dixie Plates Marbled 02!

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

Today I have another new Dixie Plates plate to show you: Marbled 02!

Of course I did a video review, and did a few sample looks:

And here's a close-up look:

Dixie Plates Marbled 02

Here are the combinations I tried out:

That pink over the yellow! I wasn't expecting to love it, but I really do!

Now on to the manis! For the first mani I started with a base of Zoya Gardner, and then stamped Messy Mansion Purple Reign and Hit The Bottle Polish Holo There Beautiful and Champagne shifter over it. But, I also did a masking technique and stamped an "M" from Dixie Plates Typography plate, to sorta make it look like my initial was set into the marble...:

Dixie Plates Marbled 02 over Zoya Gardner

And here it is matted:

Dixie Plates Marbled 02 over Zoya Gardner

For my second mani, I started with a base of Zoya Devin, then stamped with Hit The Bottle Copper Haired Girl and A Rose By Any Other Name:

Dixie Plates Marbled 02 over Zoya Devin

And here it is matted:

Dixie Plates Marbled 02 over Zoya Devin

And if you want a few more ideas for how to use her Marbled plates, check out my post on Marbled 01 here, and my video review of that plate here.

You can find this plate in Dixie Plates' store, and if you're in the US or Canada, you can find it at Lantern & Wren. And you can follow Dixie Plates around the interwebs, here:

Dixie Plates Facebook Fangroup: https://www.facebook.com/groups/461694520667496/

Dixie Plates on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dixie_plates/

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

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Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Beautometry's My Mani Box: Unboxing And Review!

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

So, I have to admit...I love subscription box services. I've belonged to a few, and I love getting a little box of surprises each month that makes me feel like I have a little piece of Christmas all year long.

If you haven't heard of it, Beautometry has a monthly subscription box they call "My Mani Box", designed for nail stampers that gathers goodies from all around the world according to a different theme every month. And, they recently sent me two boxes to evaluate. So today we're going to take a look at the May box, which has a dinosaur theme, and see what we see.

Beautometry's May My Mani Box

First up--a gorgeous multichrome magnetic flakie polish, Ms. Sparkle Fallen Kingdom:

Ms. Sparkle Fallen Kingdom

Here's what it looks like on--I applied the magnet at the top of my nails, diagonally:

Ms. Sparkle Fallen Kingdom

Oh, my, gosh--this polish is amazing! Even without using the magnet on it, it's stunning, but then when you add the magnet--just wow.

The box also included a pot of dried flowers and leaves:

Dried flowers/leaves from Beautometry's May Mani Box

And this box came with THREE plates!

MoYou London Mother Nature Collection 18

MoYou London Mother Nature Collection 19

Clear Jelly Stamper LC-36

So, to sum up, here's what you get:

Beautometry's May My Mani Box

Okay, before I show you the manis I did with this, let's talk about whether or not I think this is a good value. If you buy only a single box, the cost is $35, plus $5 shipping. If you sign up for more than one box, the price goes down depending on how many months you sign up for. So, let's assume that we're looking at the most expensive version of this, $35. I'm not going to count the shipping, because you'd have to pay the shipping if you bought the items anywhere. So, let's do a tally:

2 MoYou London plates = $19.98
Clear Jelly Stamper plate = $14.50
Ms. Sparkle magnetic polish = $9.75 (Probably more than this because it's a specialty polish)
Magnet = $8.00
Dried flowers = $0.50 (I couldn't find single pots, but I found 12 pots for $10, so I rounded down)
Total value: $52.73

So, yes, I'd say this is a very good value for the money--especially since the products, like MoYou London plates, are top-notch quality. Of course, you don't get to pick your items, so you risk getting something that you don't like. But, I think what that comes down to is whether the experience of getting a box full of surprises is something you enjoy--if so, that more than makes up for the risk. If you're not, these sorts of curated boxes probably aren't the best way to go. :)

So, on to the manis! For my first mani, I started with Ms. Sparkle Fallen Kingdom, and stamped images from MoYou London Mother Nature 19. I stamped with Messy Mansion Soft Gold:

Mani made with Beautometry's May "My Mani Box"

For my second mani, I wanted something simple. I started with a base of Zoya Alyssa, and then stamped an image from MoYou London Mother Nature 18 with Hit The Bottle Polish Holo There Beautiful:

MoYou London Mother Nature 18 over Zoya Alyssa, stamped with Hit The Bottle Holo There Beautiful

For my final mani, I started again with Ms. Sparkle Fallen Kingdom. Then I used Clear Jelly Stamper LC-36 to stamp images, with Messy Mansion Sterling and Hit The Bottle Polish It Mossed Be Love:

Mani made with Beautometry's May "My Mani Box"

I have to admit...I've been admiring that dinosaur plate for a while, so I had a blast making a pterodactyl manicure. :)

You can find Beautometry's My Mani Box here, and you can follow Beautometry around the interwebs here:

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/119197305341275/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Beautometry/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautometry/

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

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Sunday, August 19, 2018

Dixie Plates Mega Mani Mix 02 and Typography plates!

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

A few days ago I showed you this manicure I made with Dixie Plates Mega Mani Mix 02...today I'm going to take closer look at that plate, along with Dixie Plates Typography plate.

Here's the video I made reviewing the two plates:

And here's a look at the plates:

Dixie Plates Mega Mani Mix 02

Dixie Plates Typography

Here are two shots of the Typography plate with a ruler; click to get a closer look and sense of scale for the fonts:

And here are the swatches I did with these plates:

For my first mani, I started with a base of Zoya Cole and Karen, then I stamped my images with Girly Bits Cosmetics Fire Engine Red and Little Black Dress:

Dixie Plates Mega Mani Mix 02 and Typography Plates over Zoya Cole and Karen

For my second mani I had to play with that splatter image...I started with a base of Sally Hansen Get Mod, and used gradient stamping with Messy Mansion Banana Bender, Forest, Blue You A Kiss, Purple Reign, Red-y Or Not, and Happy Now:

Dixie Plates Mega Mani Mix 02 over Sally Hansen Get Mod, stamped with Messy Mansion polishes

And here it is matted:

Dixie Plates Mega Mani Mix 02 over Sally Hansen Get Mod, stamped with Messy Mansion polishes

I like both manis, but I am over-the-top in love with that splatter mani! the rainbow effect came out so much nicer than I imagined! What do you think?

You can find both of these plates on sale now in Dixie Plates' store, and if you're in the US and Canada, you can find them at Lantern & Wren. And you can follow Dixie Plates around the interwebs, here:

Dixie Plates Facebook Fangroup: https://www.facebook.com/groups/461694520667496/