The Nail Collection is one of the latest subscription service boxes. Nail polish subscription boxes always intrigue me because I'm curious as to how a company curates each month with different products and brands.
The Nail Collection comes with 4 full-size polishes from either OPI, China Glaze, Essie, or Orly. They claim to have the "hottest" colours of the season every month. This means that each polish is from the latest collections of the curated brands. This also implies that a subscriber will never receive the same polish twice.
Note that you do not get to see what is in your box before it is shipped and The Nail Collection does not cater or customize for any sort of preferences. Though per Ana (the founder), they may add a customization option in the future. The Nail Collection simply provides the latest colours and collections of the season. From what I've been observing on the blogosphere, each subscriber receives the same or with slight variation within the same collections.
Upon its delivery to my apartment, I saw that the packaging was very minimal - a bubble mailer envelope and everything bundled up in black tissue paper with 4 full-sized polishes each individually wrapped in bubble wrap (which I thoroughly enjoyed popping).
WHAT I GOT:
OPI Solitaire from the Bond Girl Liquid Sands Collection 2013 - textured white with silver shimmer
Essie Using My Maiden Name from the Bridal Collection 2013 - periwinkle with fine fuchsia shimmer
Essie Bottle Service from the Neons Collection 2013 - creamy neon pink
Orly Mermaid Tale from the Flash Glam FX Collection 2013 - dark green glitters with green holo circle glitters in a clear base (I've paired it over Maybelline Tenacious Teal)
Despite not being able to customize and choose what polish preferences I have, I do like each and every polish in the box. I have never previously owned any of these colours. Two solid colours and two "special" texture and glitter polishes are a nice combination of products. I've tried both Essie and OPI (both of which I enjoy) so I knew exactly what to expect in terms of formula, pigmentation, etc. Orly is a brand that is quite foreign to me and I don't even know where to find it in Canada. Both Orly Mermaid Tale and OPI Solitaire are my favourites as they are very unique in comparison to the rest of my collection, but I'll be sure to get use out of the others as well.
I can't really tell you my customer service experience because I didn't really have one, but you can unsubscribe at the click of a button and Ana, the founder of the Nail Collection was very kind and responded to my questions within 24 hours or less if that tells you anything about it.
To me, the absolute bottom line is the price. Pricing for Canadians is $30 per month + $14.99 for shipping + additional duties/customs by USPS. Given that this includes 4 polishes x $10 each (retail) is $40, I could probably buy 4 polish colours that I really want without the element of surprise for less than the price of the box. However, it's not always easy to find polishes from new collections which differentiates this box from others. The Nail Collection does ship internationally and if you live in the USA where the box originates you'd likely have lower shipping costs.
I would recommend this box if:
- You want some new additions to your polish stash
- You are an avid follower of the latest Essie/OPI/China Glaze/Orly collections
- New collections are not immediately available in your country and you have no patience
- You like surprises
- The country you are living in charges ridiculous prices (upwards of $15 per polish) for new collections of China Glaze, Essie, OPI, and Orly (ex. Australia)
What do you think of the Nail Collection? Would you subscribe?
FIND THE NAIL COLLECTION:
Website - http://www.thenailcollection.com/join/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/TNailCollection