Falling out of love with Nails inc

Part of me really hates that I'm writing this post. Long-time readers of my blog or followers on Instagram will know that I've always been a big Nails inc fan. You may also remember that last month I posted my first 'In the Magazines' and mentioned how excited I was that InStyle magazine was giving away three different NI shades. And I really was, until this happened...

Yes, that is my carpet. Yes, that is an NI polish. And yes, somehow the glass bottle has come apart round the top. It didn't smash, it literally came clean apart. It went all over the products in the top left picture. Thanks to a fabulous girl I met at uni, I managed to get the majority of the polish out of the carpet (eventually) but some of the products are still covered in the stuff.

Anyway, Nails inc don't have a customer service line that operates at weekends (this incident occurred on a Friday evening) and their website tells you to send complaints in via email. Not that it was easy to find out how to send a complaint... I had to google it in the end. For anyone wondering, it's under Terms and Conditions on their website. This section also states your complaint "will be acknowledged within 3 working days". So, I emailed in my complaint and attached the above photo along with an explanation of what happened on the 3rd of May. I finally received a response on the 14th of May. That is definitely not 3 working days.

My reply (which, to be fair, was from a lady who sounded genuinely lovely) stated a couple of relevant things:
1. "This is the first problem we have encountered with our polishes breaking without force" - False, I know someone who experienced the same problem AND emailed to complain.
2. "I am pleased to send you a fabulous gift box full of goodies worth over £200 including bestselling products and just-launched items as well as replacing the Nails inc products you had purchased." - What a great response to receive, right? I should add here that the faulty bottle damaged products that I had also received in an online order from them that very same day, hence "products you had purchased". I was pleased with this response and thought it was very good of them to handle it so generously. 

On the 20th of May, I received this package...

After doing some research, I found the total value of this box to be roughly £68. None of these products are replacements for those damaged either. So, on the same day I emailed the lady I had been in contact with to ask if I should expect another package, given that it did not match the description she gave me.

I didn't receive a response.

Because it was a week day, I tried to ring the two numbers I could find - the number she attached to her email, and the number on their website - nobody answered. 

Someone finally answered the phone on Monday. I explained that I had emailed because I hadn't received the package promised and the response I received was "I'll get some additional products sent out to you today." So, I'm now waiting for a package that I'm doubtful will actually arrive. And on a side note, I've been having to get up early everyday to wait for said package because last time it arrived first thing in the morning. Because it's not an order I've placed, I can't track it or get an ETA for it. Brilliant. 

I know every company has customers who unfortunately are on the receiving end of terrible customer service, but seriously. It's been over a month since my initial email and in five days it will have been a month since I received that box. I've spent a lot of money with Nails inc over the years and if you took a peek into my polish collection you'd find a whole drawer dedicated to their polishes. I doubt I'll be spending any more money with them after this experience. I certainly won't be dealing with their customer service team again anytime soon if I can avoid it, though I have a feeling I'll have to. 

Have you ever experienced terrible customer service from Nails inc? Or from any other company too? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo

Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti

Instagram: iRachey

Email: rachel.soshedances@gmail.com
Tumblr: lookintothestorm.tumblr.com
YouTube: soshedancesxo

Recently on the nails...

1. My nails for the wedding reception mentioned in my last post. I used Essie 'Blanc', Orly 'Glowstick' and a few random brights.

2. Beach themed nails! I based these on an image I spotted on Tumblr and looking back on them I'm in love with them. The sandy colour is Essie 'Sand Tropez'. How appropriate ;-)

3. I don't necessarily get along with bright, vibrant blues like this, but there's something special about & Other Stories 'Twill Blue'. 

4. Oh, how long I spent on these nails! I used my Rio nail art pens over Essie 'Blanc' and Rimmel 'Double Decker Red'. I think I prefer the white background to the red though.

5. Glitter and ombre, how exciting! I intended to wear this design to the wedding reception but when I compared the colours to my dress, they weren't bright enough. I'm still not in love with plain ombre on my own nails though.

6. Bourjois 'Amande defile' (which I can no longer open after only one use, excellent packaging there Bourjois...) with white striping over the top made for a gorgeous, pastel design that I thoroughly enjoyed wearing. 

7. Orly 'Glowstick' and Nails Inc 'Portobello' with a kind of tribal design... making bright and neon a little bit 'edgier'?

8. Rimmel's 'Tangerine Dream' with white stripes and plain rhinestones. This is another design based on an image I saw (this time on Instagram) though I'm not convinced the rhinestones look brilliant on shorter nails. Not a bad design though. 

Please let me know if you'd like a tutorial on any of these designs! I have plenty of time and polish on my hands at the moment, so I'd love to do some if you guys would like :)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo

Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti

Instagram: iRachey

Email: rachel.soshedances@gmail.com
Tumblr: lookintothestorm.tumblr.com
YouTube: soshedancesxo

In the Magazines: June 2013

It's a little known fact that magazines - specifically those of the beauty and fashion variety - often like to draw in the consumers with freebies. The simple truth is that we all love a good freebie and the publishers know this. I've found more than one holy grail product through freebies or sample sizes given away in the glossies and I have to say, I have been known to make multiple purchases of one magazine to collect all of the shades or scents. Being such a fan, I decided to start running a monthly feature on the products you can get your hands of in the magazines, and seeing that magazines are always running a month ahead, today I present you with June's freebies...

Marie Claire: This month, MC are giving away a variety of Avon products to choose from, including (eyeliner) and a lipstick in the shade 'Smitten Red'. Evidently the lipstick has proven the most popular (in the centre of Leeds at least), as I only managed to find one copy with it included... which I snapped up as quickly as I could. I haven't worn this lipstick properly yet but I did try it on last night and I'm impressed with the pigmentation and how easily it can be applied. If you like a good, strong red then you might like this product. You'll also get a sample sachet of their (new?) BB Cream thrown in too.

InStyle: The sister magazine of MC is giving away my all time favourite nail brand this month, Nails Inc. There are three full sized shades on offer (worth £11 each!) including a light pink and the two shades that I went for, 'You're A Peach' and 'It's Red, Babez'. I'm not so much a fan of that second name, but we can ignore it for the time being. Given that these polishes are worth £11 and the magazine costs (£3.90), it would almost be criminal not to give them a go. ;)

Elle: When my uni friend Isabella and I were browsing the racks in WH Smith recently, I was absolutely thrilled to see a mini 'They're Real' mascara (yes, the famous Benefit 'holy grail' mascara). Mine recently dried out and I've been trying to use up an Urban Decay one, but to get my hands on a product worth £9 for so much less was fantastic. If you've been hearing lots about this product but not wanted to shell out £19 on a full sized product, see if you can get your hands on a copy of Elle and I promise you won't be disappointed!

Harper's Bazaar: Perhaps a bit more 'upmarket' than some magazines, but I've heard good things abut Ren Skincare recently and this month they are offering a sample of their Moroccan Rose Otto Body Cream and being a lover of rose products, I felt it would have been silly not to give it a try. I'll let you know my thoughts on this when I've tested it out.

So, that's it for magazine freebies this month. I feel like this month has almost been decided based on my favourite things haha. Will you be picking any of these up? Are you a bit of a freebie junkie? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo

Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti

Instagram: iRachey

Email: rachel.soshedances@gmail.com
Tumblr: lookintothestorm.tumblr.com
YouTube: soshedancesxo

NOTD #3 - Art Attack

Having taken a little break to concentrate on my second semester of university starting, I'm back with a beauty-related post today and I thought I'd share my nails of the day!

I can't really figure out what I think they look like, but I've called the post 'Art Attack' because I basically went mad with different colours and a paintbrush. Sometimes I think they look kind of feathered, sometimes I think the colours look a bit like those of a peacock... I like the fact that they're all completely different and some nails have more of one colour than the others.

What do you think? Would you try this out yourself? Would you like to see any more designs using this technique? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo

Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti

Instagram: iRachey

Email: rachelelizabeth.xo@googlemail.com

(New Year's Eve) NOTD #2

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Today's post is just a quick NOTD because I've been so busy spending time with family and being ill in bed (booooo!) to blog for a while. 

I went fairly simple for my NYE nails. I started by applying a base coat, then one coat of Nails Inc's South Molton Street. After that, I added white tips as I would for a normal french manicure, but I followed this up by creating the black stripes and adding a gem in the middle (except one finger, where I clearly can't judge distances between things...). I finished this with Sally Hansen's Insta Dri, which is my favourite top coat at the moment.

What do you think? Did you do your nails for NYE? Let me know in the comments below :)

Happy new year and thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo

Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti

Instagram: iRachey

Email: rachelelizabeth.xo@googlemail.com

Christmas Sparkle #2

Hi guys! I'm straying a little from the usual format of my Christmas Sparkle series today (two days in, I know!) and bringing you a Christmas gift suggestion. It's still nail polish and it's still glittery, but I think it's the perfect little gift for a beauty-lover...

Nails Inc 'In the Spotlight' is a set of three mini glitters. I bought two of these in my local Boots for £10 each, though it's not listed on the Boots website. If you like it, I'd recommend going to your local (or biggest local) Boots and having a look for yourself, because the website often doesn't correspond to shop stock. The Nails Inc website also no longer lists this item, but they do list one that contains two of these polishes and a black holographic third, which you can find here. 

This set, however, comes with three cute little glitter miniatures that I think are beautiful. The red, Covent Garden Market, was featured in my November Favourites post and I think it's the perfect Christmas red. 

The holographic glitter in the middle, Electric Lane, is a really pretty holographic top coat, and is also available in a full version from Nails Inc counters (e.g. in Debenhams) and on the website too. 

Soho Street is a really pretty chunky glitter that just looks fun and gives off a real 'party' vibe. It's also similar to Edinburgh Gate, which was a mini they released around Christmas last year and is also a much-loved polish in my collection (P.S. if you're my friend [you know who you are] and once told me you liked Edinburgh Gate, around this time last year, don't buy this for yourself...just sayin').

Here's an out of focus shot that shows the glitter a little better...

What do you think? Would you be happy to receive this for Christmas?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey