*Binky London Nail Polish*

*PR Sample*

I received these 2 nail polishes from the new Binky London collection last week and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked them. Binky, in case you weren't aware, is the Binky Felstead of 'Made in Chelsea' fame and although  I love her on the program, I was worried that these polishes would be a bit...gimmicky. You know how you see some celebrities go and try their hand at their own make-up line etc and it's just a bit wrong? That was my concern, but actually they are kind of lovely.

The shades that I was sent is a blue - which has a metallic sheen to it - and a  pink- which has a slightly more gel like finish to it - and they look gorgeous in the bottle and strangely go really well together, not sure if that was intentional but the colours really do compliment each other, perfect for future nail art ideas, always good for me! Sadly I couldn't find any shade names, which I thought was a bit odd?

The brush is of a good quality. It is thicker and flat and shaped at the tip, which is perfect for painting the entire nail. It was slightly streaky in the metallic finish so you had to be a bit more careful with that one, but the pink was incredibly simple to apply and looked great. The above picture is also after just one coat, you can imagine how great and bold these look after a standard two coats.

Durability wise, I applied the pink shade to my toes about 5 days ago and there has been no chipping from what I can see, and I have been wearing sandals all week! It looks so bright and girly and just perfect for the summer. I really do think these are pretty damn good. For a celebrity product, I like it an awful lot.

Ok so the bottle I think tries to copy Rimmel a little bit too much, with the Union Jack and little crown detail, but it is quite appealing. Nothing too over the top but enough that it doesn't look a bit bog standard and boring.

Overall I have liked these a lot more than I thought I would. They tick all the right boxes for me at least. There are 31 polishes in the Binky London collection with many different shades and finishes - including gel effect, denim effect and metallics - to choose from and so really is worth having a look at.  Order these, and other shades, here.

Birchbox - May

I finally received May's Birchbox on Wednesday, felt like I had been waiting forever!! What makes it worse is the fact I knew this month's was a collaboration with Bazaar and so I was literally desperate to get mine! But here it is, and it did not disappoint. Even the box looks great:

This month's products are Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanse and Polish, Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath and Shower Oil, Beauty Protector Protect and Shampoo & Protect and Condition, Benefit They're Real Mascara and Soigne Nail Polish in shade Persimmon.

This oil actually smells delicious. The sample size is pretty small, which is a bit disappointing, but I think if I use it before showering it will last. I am really looking forward to trying this as I have heard brilliant things about Aromatherapy Associates.

These shampoo and conditioner bottles are really handy for taking to the gym as they fit nicely in my wash bag and have dispensing lids which are always good on  the go. I was kind of hoping that the samples would be a bit bigger as they are a Birchbox own brand and so they could have been a bit more generous. They are literally tiny bottles, 2 washes at the very maximum. Being that the full sized product is around £16 though, I am hoping I will be impressed.

What an amazingly packaged nail polish! It was in this very chic box, surrounded by a foam packaging to stop it getting damaged, very nice! I love the shade, even though I have so many polishes in roughly this shade but never mind. I couldn't test it yet as I have just painted my nails but I will do soon. It does look a very nice, high end product. And it's a full sized sample!

I have heard so many brilliant reviews about this Benefit mascara and so I was really excited to get my hands on it. I was slightly put off by the applicator as I prefer the brush fiber ones to the plastic like ones like this, as I think they just do a much better job of separating the lashes and making them appear longer. After trying it though I was very happy with it. It beautifully separates and lengthens my lashes with no clumps in sight. What I like about the wand is that it is shaped to catch even the little lashes in the corners, which really gives a great wide eye effect. Love.

This Liz Earle cleanser has got to be my favourite item from this month's box and the product I was most looking forward to. I think it's hard to miss the amazing reviews and awards this has been receiving and I wanted to try it out to see if it lives up to it's reputation on my oily skin. It really did and then some! I use this at night before bed and the improvement in my skin by the following morning is already noticeable. Truly a wonder product. I have already ordered myself a full-sized bottle and more muslin cloths as I know it will be a product I really miss when it runs out!

So that was my box! I may have had to wait ages for it but it was definitely worth the wait. If you're a subscriber to Birchbox, what products did you receive this month? Were you impressed with your box?