Tony Moly // Style over Substance?

A few weeks ago it was my 21st birthday so in the run up to that big day I was browsing the Internet trying to find what I wanted to receive as a reward for being alive for another year and then I came across this...

Tony Moly is a brand I hadn't heard of before however, as these products are based around cats it isn't a surprise that it came to my knowledge through a popular hipster post on Tumblr.

As soon as I saw it I knew I just had to have it, whether the actual product itself was of decent quality or not. 

Tony Moly is a major brand in the Korean beauty industry and has a wide variety of products, a lot with cute packaging and design like these cat products. I've yet to test it out as, although the order for these items was placed around 4 weeks ago, they only arrived a few days ago so that's something to keep in mind if you're planning on ordering anything from this brand for a special event or occasion.

Along with the order, I also received a free gift.

Although the English translation on the front of the packet leaves something to be desired, you can never be displeased with receiving a little surprise gift for free!

I'm looking forward to seeing if the products stand up to their great aesthetics. I'm hoping it's not a case of style over substance, but even if it is, they're items that'll look great to display with your other beauty products and will no doubt cause envy amongst your friends.

Have you ever tried anything from Tony Moly? What do you think of the brand?

Review // £1 Fashion Nails

Okay, so something a little fashion related for my once in a blue moon blogpost.

I'm not exactly the girliest girl you could ever meet but over the last 18 months my style has been changing and one thing I've always fancied is a manicure. However, my job doesn't allow nail polish or fake nails (the downsides of a supermarket retail job, sigh) so that isn't really much of an option for me. Plus, to be honest small talk is something I really hate so also makes manicures less appealing to me. 

But, while I was doing a bit of retail therapy earlier on in the week, I came across some fake nail sets in Primark (and one in Superdrug) that I fancied trying and since I've got a week off work, I thought why not!

Being a self-confessed cat lady, I couldn't resist the cat/polka dot nails (but who could, they're adorable!) and for only £1, I just had to buy them.

The nails themselves were easy to get on, seeing as it's my first time applying fake nails I'd say I did a pretty good job so I'm sure if you're more experienced you'd do a much better job. I had bought nail glue from Superdrug to use and good job I did as I struggled with the free adhesive that comes with the nails. I did struggle to find enough nails in the pack that fit well. I don't know if that's a common issue with fake nails but I reckon they still look good considering. 

However, I put them on before applying my make up for the day and while opening my blusher palette, one of my thumb nails cracked - pretty disappointing after only having them on for about half an hour. But then again, what would you expect for £1?

Overall, these nails are adorable and an absolute bargain. When buying something for that cheap you'd be deluded to think they're going to be top quality and highly sustainable so for the price, they're great. But if you want ones that'll last longer without getting damaged, obviously you get what you pay for.

Review // Kukee

A girl can never have too many accessories so it was a nice surprise to come across a website full of great jewellery that I'd never heard of before.

Kukee.co.uk offers a range of quirky (or kooky) jewellery at what can usually be seen as 'too good to be true' prices. However, don't let the low prices put you off: the cost may be cheap but the quality is not.

After seeing someone I follow on Instagram posting their purchases, I had a look at the website and couldn't resist buying something from it myself.

The website is too good to order just one thing so I decided to buy the rings in the above picture along with a crescent moon necklace and an ear cuff. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the items: they feel solid, robust as they're made from a metal plated material and not cheap plastic (which you may assume from how little they cost). As well as this, all the rings are fully adjustable which is a major plus as I've had several experiences in shops, such as New Look or Primark, where it has been difficult for me to find a ring which fits perfectly so making the rings adjustable means they can fit any sized finger comfortably so this instantly puts this website one above other retail stores, for me. But that's not the best thing. If you were to guess how much this haul cost me, what would you say? £25? More? Maybe, if you were shopping at a different store but at Kukee, I spent just £10.50 (plus £2.20 on p&p).

If that doesn't make you want to take a look at the website then I don't know what will.

After receiving this purchase, it's safe to say I've become a Kukee loyal. I wear my rings with every outfit and today, I made my second purchase.

Two rings and two necklaces for £9

The low prices they offer got me thinking: why don't all shops offer jewellery at similar prices? Even Primark, which is probably the cheapest fashion retailer, rarely have jewellery items on sale at £1 or £2. I did a quick search online and came across this:

On the left, a set of rings from Topshop priced at £8.50 and on the right, a ring from Kukee priced at £2.
Now, fair enough you get four rings for your £8.50 but looking at them just from the pictures, there's already - to me - a great distinction in the quality of the rings.
With the ring from Kukee, you get a choice between gold or silver plated and they look of a much higher quality (and like they should cost much more than £2) as well as looking far more representative of a cat than the Topshop items. I have seen someone on Instagram with this ring and they've expressed nothing but joy over it. I know which one I'd choose.
This just shows that although they're a cheap store, they keep up-to-date with the trends and offer good (if not better) quality items.

If you like the sound of Kukee, the owner of the store has recently announced that she is also setting up a vintage clothing shop - called Wild Wolfy - with just as low prices (items at £5, £10 and £15 - stated on the Facebook page). You can find out more about that here and here.

Enjoy!