Straight out of the box they look and smell divine. Lit for a few hours however, supposedly allowing the scent to permeate my house, or even my living room and they are not so great. I have almost finished one of the two candles I purchased and only once has my boyfriend come home from work exclaiming “oh it smells nice in here” to which I found myself responding “does it?” I have struggled to notice any scent at all from it which means either my sense of smell is extremely bad (which could be a possibility, in which case I need a stronger candle) or the smell is so subtle that you only notice it when you have been on a smelly train for a hour and then walked through a bustling city for 10 minutes subjected to car fumes, restaurant odours and cigarette smoke – and if that is the case...you can keep the subtlety and give me Yankee candles any day!
Now I know that the smaller candle pots are known for their lesser perfume content or in Neoms case less essential oils but for £13 per 75G I was expecting something a bit more obvious for my money.
If you have had success with the larger Neom candles please let me know, as until my confidence is restored in Neom candles or I have to start taking smelly public transport to work in order to notice the subtle hints of Ylang Ylang and Patchouli in my home I am sticking to what I know best and can afford, a big ole jar of Yankee for £16.
On to things more pretty and polished now – check out my latest beauty find, and I know I may be slightly behind the nail fashionistas around me on this one but better late than never! I have very difficult and troublesome nails. While they are soft and bendy and therefore rarely make it more than a few mm above the end of my finger tip before they break, they also split really easily and therefore nail varnish is extremely prone to chipping with a home manicure lasting about 2 days before the glossy coloured varnish looks dull, old and tacky looking.
The new instant manicure nail strips popularised by Nail Rocks heat activated transfers are the best thing I have ever tried on my nails. I used the brand nailease which is a no heat required sticker for your nails meaning gels and awkward doubly thick overlays can be a thing of the past leaving your nails looking AMAZING while feeling natural and you can still fasten your own shirt and jacket buttons – Hoorah!
I have a few nail rocks packets in my collection which I am yet to try as I fear the heat requirement may make them slightly trickier to apply. I have also recently purchased one from the Mylene Klass collection in Boots in the quirky love heart design meant for Valentine’s day but I just couldn’t bare to part with my gold black glitter zebra print design yet.
In each nailease packet you get 20 self adhesive nail strips which you simply stick to the nail and file down meaning no dry time unlike nail polish or a shellac/gel manicure. The 20 strip packet means you should also be able to get two uses out of each packet and at £5.99-£6.99 per packet a potential 3 week manicure saves you a fortune compared to the astronomical price for other professional manicures.
With over 45 patterns and colours including the French manicure option you are not restricted in choice and of course if you become proficient in application you may feel brave enough to venture into the world of heat activated strips which again increases your options.
Feel free to elongate their life span too by applying a topcoat. I didn’t with my fist application as I was at a friends house who unusually didn’t have a clear varnish for me to borrow but I did with my second and it has definitely lasted longer. My preferred choice is Sally Hansens Insti-dry and this is what my nails look like after 12 days, also bear in mind that I wash dishes every day and frequently spend my spare time lounging in the Jacuzzi at my local gym which should affect the life span of my beautiful nails, it certainly does with regular polish, but not with nailease.
So far 5 random people have commented on my nails saying how amazing they look and that’s not bad for 12 days of wear.
My next sought after patterns will be the French manicure , pink black polka dots and blue floral design although the limited edition Meadham Kirchoffs version for Nail Rock Topshop look absolutely adorable and I will certainly be purchasing while stocks last for my more braver days.
You can find nailease at:
http://www.nailease.co.uk/nail/gold-black-zebra-glitter
You can find Nail Rocks at:
www.topshop.com
www.nailrock.com
