Meebox July 2016 - Rio Edition

I'm very excited to talk about my first every Meebox! This month's box is stuffed full of Rio-themed nail goodies, perfect for showing off some Olympic spirit.

It's no secret that I've been somewhat neglecting this little blog of mine, and to be honest the only excuse I have is that life sort of gets in the way. Also, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I've still been painting my nails a lot, and taking photos, but I constantly felt like they weren't 'professional-looking' and my editing was terrible etc. So they have stayed hidden (and absorbing all the memory on my phone!)

Fortunately I was yanked out of my blogging rut by a lovely email from the team at Meebox. I've regularly admired their monthly boxes on instagram, but never actually taken the plunge, so I was really pleased to try one out. Beauty subscription boxes generally aren't my thing, because the contents can vary so much in quality and usefulness; but Meebox is different since it specifically caters to people who love nails i.e. me :) Each month you get 3 nail polishes, plus some nail tools or treatments. This month's, July, was a great box to get started with - here's what I got:

It was stuffed to the brim! (I actually tried to repack the box after taking these photos and couldn't manage it - they must have some ninjas in their packing department!) Everything comes beautifully wrapped in some very jazzy tissue paper, and there's plenty of shredded padding to protect the polishes inside. As I mentioned, the theme this month is Rio, and you can see this is definitely reflected in the colours of the polishes and accessories.

Morgan Taylor - Later Alligator

2 coats + top coat
This is a really yummy green polish. I've never bought any Morgan Taylor polishes before, but this one had a lovely formula, a weighty bottle and a decent brush; so I would compare them to the likes of OPI and Leighton Denny. Later Alligator is a leafy-green shade that's really flattering against my fair skin, and I'm happy to report there was no staining once I removed it. The formula is well-pigmented, close to a one-coater though I did a second just to be safe.

Models Own - Luis Lemon

2 coats, over white base
The perfect neon yellow! If you've seen my instagram, you'll know I'm a big fan of Models Own, and I do actually own this polish already, it's from their Iced Neon collection. However it's such a great colour and I use it fairly often so I was more than happy to receive another in the box. This is a classic highlighter yellow, it's a sheer formula so it's best used over a solid white base (I used Barry M - Cotton). It also dries down to a soft matte finish, so just add a top coat if you prefer your neons shiny.

Trust Fund Beauty - Denim with Diamonds

2 coats + top coat
Another first for me as I've never tried Trust Fund Beauty before. I've had a quick nosy at their IG and it looks like a cool brand so I'll definitely be adding them to my 'to-buy' list! Denim with Diamonds is a lovely royal blue with blue shimmer throughout. It is slightly sheer; with two coats you can see there is a bit of VNL, which I don't mind but you could always use it over a solid blue base if you prefer. Apart from the gorgeous colour, I really love the long brush handle and tall, square bottle. I think these would look really cool lined up on my polish shelf (yes that's important!) but it was a bit tricky to hold so excuse my awkward hand pose here...

Tweexy - Sapphire Night

When I first opened the box, this was the first thing to catch my attention. A Tweexy is a wearable nail polish holder, so the idea is you wear it on the hand you're painting and you can slot the polish you're using in the hole in the top and paint away - no table needed. It looks like it would be really cool if you're trying to paint your nails while you're on the couch or waiting for a train etc. I have been known to paint my nails in bed and this usually involves balancing polish bottles on the edge of my drawers or leaning on books or even my laptop (hint - don't do this!) so I'm really keen to use this. I love how easy this is to just clip on to your fingers, you don't have to actually slide it on so you won't damage your nail polish.

Deco It - Designer Nail Decals

The fifth item in the box is a set of nail decals from iZ Beauty. Essentially, these are little stickers you can apply to your nails and create some detailed nail art without the fuss. This particular set is full of little flowers and leaves and even a few birds, so really in-keeping with our Rio theme. I haven't tried these out yet as I haven't decided what design to make (you can only use these once so I don't want to waste them) but will report back in a separate post when I do.

Swatch Sticks

Finally, a cute little addition to the box, 3 clear swatch sticks. I thought these were a really nice touch as they let you test out the polishes straight away and if you have a large polish collection they're great to refer back to when you're looking for a certain colour. I'm not sure if these are normally included in the Meebox but I hope they are as it would be nice to keep a record of all the polishes you have received.

Nail Art - Brazilian Tie Dye

Of course I couldn't resist a bit of nail art after all that swatching. This was inspired by the design of the card that came in the box; it's kind of a tie-dye, blurred, sponge effect (technical name tbc!). It was quite simple to create, I started off with Denim with Diamonds as my base, then I used a tiny bit of sponge held with tweezers to dab on Later Alligator, Luis Lemon and some white polish. I kept on layering the polishes until they looked well-balanced and sealed with top coat.

Finally, just to reinforce the Rio / Olympic theme, I used some Models Own polishes to add in these three 'medals' as an accent nail.

Overall, I'm really impressed with my first Meebox. After a bit of google-ing, I'd estimate the contents are worth around £45, and the box itself costs just £20 - or £18 each if you commit to a 3 month subscription. Aside from the value, I really enjoyed the theme and the contents; two of the polishes were brands I'd never tried before and all three were very different finishes (a creme, a shimmer and a neon), plus the accessories were really thoughtful. It's definitely something I'd buy myself as a treat, and I think it would make a great gift for a polish enthusiast.

*hint hint*

Amy

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