First Impressions | Mont Bleu Glass Nail Files

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Mont Bleu, a company that specializes in the making of Czech glass nail files and other Swarovski embellished goods. Fast forward a few days, and a very exciting package made its way to my doorstep all the way from the beautiful city of Prague.

In this post I shall be showing you everything that they sent me and first impressions on the traditional glass nail files, while I shall be showcasing the other products in more detail in separate posts.

First of all, I cannot not command the way everything was packed to ensure nothing got broken during transit. I was really impressed with how everything was wrapped in plenty of bubble wrap and placed into two smaller boxes which fit in a larger box. Plus, I really liked the Prague postcard which greeted me upon opening the parcel! I thought it added a nice touch!

So, here is a look at what the company sent me:

Hand-painted glass nail file (€6) - beautiful, intricate flower design in purple, gold and white

Libra Zodiac sign glass nail file (€10) - adorned with a silver zodiac sign and two clear Swarovski crystals

Set of 2 glass nail files with pink Swarovski crystals (€15) - standard size and mini glass nail files set

Purple glass cuticle pusher (€5.49) - dual ended glass cuticle pusher

Cyan callus remover (€16) - glass foot file

After a lot of deliberation on which nail file to use first, I settled on the hand-painted one because it looks so pretty! I have to point out that the glass on these nail files is of better quality than others I have tried in the past which I bought from a souvenir shop. I also like the fact that each individual piece comes with its own pocket. The nail files have a velvet pocket while the foot file and cuticle pusher have a plastic sleeve. I was really careful not to ruin the hand-painted design while filing my nails though to keep the nail file as pristine as possible. I like to use glass nail files on my nails for they seem to help prevent splitting of the nails.

Here are some more close-up shots of the other nail files which I'm sure perform really well as the one I am currently using. Also, the embellishments feel they as if they are there to stay so I don't think you will have any problems with gems falling out with time and use.

So far I am really enjoying using the Mont Bleu glass nail files and there are loads of designs to choose from too! If you feel like getting something from their e-shop, don't forget to type the code BLOG for a 20% discount. You can also buy Mont Bleu products from their Amazon store page. 

Have you ever used glass nail files? Watch out for my review of the foot file soon!

PR Samples

Review: Born Pretty Store 144 Swarovski flatback Rose crystal rhinestones

A few weeks ago, Kevin from BornPrettyStore.com contacted me again and asked me to choose another product off their site for review purposes.  This time, these Swarovski flatback rhinestones caught my eye.  From the vast range of colours, I chose the ones in Rose because they go with a vast array of colours yet I still wanted to deviate a little away from the usual silver rhinestones.

I received the rhinestones within two weeks from the date they were posted which is a good time, considering they had to come all the way from China.  They came in a simple padded envelope and were contained in this plastic sleeve.  I took them out of this plastic sleeve and put them in a small container as it is more practical to pick them to use for nail art.

The first thing I noticed about these rhinestones is the size of them... they are quite large in comparison to the usual resin rhinestones many of us are accustomed to.  In fact, they are 4mm in diameter (the other rhinestone shown next to the Swarovski one is a 2mm one).  Born Pretty also stock the same colour of Swarovski rhinestones in the 2mm diameter size as well.

The Swarovski rhinestones are also much more shiny than the resin ones and BPS claim that they are made out of genuine Austrian Crystal (the same material Swarovski jewellery is made out of).  The size of these rhinestones makes them ideal to use not only for nail art, but also for crafts like card making as well as to embellish mobile phone cases.  I have also counted these rhinestones one by one and you really get 144 of them so they are bound to last you for quite sometime.  Being Swarovski rhinestones, these retail for $7.27 for one pack and the price per pack decreases the more you buy in one order.  However, you can get the rhinestones at a 10% discount by using the code EBABK31 at checkout.

Basically, you just apply these rhinestones in the same way as you would any other rhinestones... just put on some clear nail varnish and lower the rhinestone gently over it and seal with a top coat.  You may notice that the rhinestone loses some of its colour at first but when the top coat dries, it will be its true colour again.  Also, it retains its high shine, unlike the resin ones.  Moreover, if you handle them with care when removing them, you can also re-use them!

Here's how I used the Swarovski rhinestones and you can also see what I meant by the resin rhinestones losing their shine and the Swarovski ones retaining it (bot rhinestones are pink in colour but for some reason they are showing up as silver.  The flower stamp is from BornPrettyStore M60 image plate and I used Orly Dazzle as a stamping colour):

Do you like Swarovski rhinestones better then the resin ones ladies?