Blogger event in Ikona: The New Black nail polish

Hello everyone! How are you on this hot day? It is proper summer at last. Luckily for me I had the most yummy raspberry ice cream ever just now, so I am pleasantly cooled off. :) This post was in my head ever since in the beginning of July I got invitation to a blogger event in Ikona Ljubljana. It is a fashion store in centre of Ljubljana with brands that I never even heard of, so of course I was intrigued. The blogger event was about two labels, The Kardashian Beauty and The New Black. The New Black is a nail polish brand so I went there for it especially. 

The Kardashian Beauty didn't really catch my attention, but if I found anything I would like, I would of course try it. I know there is a big hype about the Kardashian sisters, but honestly, as I do not watch much TV or follow pop culture, it kind of goes pass me. I know there are three of them and thanks to the blogger event I know every one has a signature look, but that's about it. They said the cosmetics is of high quality and prices were quite reasonable, so if I ever read anything about any of the products on beauty blogs, I will keep in mind we have them in Ljubljana as well. I did check out the prices and they really are decent, so if the quality is as good as they say, they are actually affordable.

But anyhow. My attention went to The New Black. It looked lovely on the shelves. Tiny bottles, packed into sets of complementary colours and combinations.

There was a nice lady that welcomed us to try the polish, and as my mani was getting pretty tired, I said why not. Usually I do not really trust anyone else to polish my nails, but I really wanted to try a few shades. This is what we came up with.

The swatch is the way it is, I took it quickly in the Ikona so the conditions weren't ideal. :) I effing love the green shimmery one!! Gorgeous shade! Anyone knows which one comes close to it from more affordable brands?

And a few sets I took pictures of:

Basically, the system of The New Black is to put colours/toppers that look good together (either as a contrast or complementary colours) in one set. It can be from two bottles to eight, or a colour and a lipgloss in matching colours. They follow trends of lace mani, newspapers mani, matte/glossy combo and many others. All in all sounds like a good deal.

It abruptly stops for me at the ridiculous price tag. One bottle holds 4ml of nail polish. Not that I would be bothered by that, as in general I do not need big bottles of nail polish. But a set of two is the cheapest at, lo and behold, 13,95€. Bigger sets of 6 nail polish cost about 30 euros, The Party Rock set on the last photo is 44,95€. Most sets cost around 30 euro, some 25, and some lower or higher than that. I find the sets to be way, way too pricey. Yes, you get a nice set of complementary colours or a set for a trendy newspapers mani or lace mani or whatever. But you get 4ml bottles of colours that are not in general all that unique. I love the green shimmery one that I got to try, but it is in a set for 30 eur and the other four colours were far from being unique.

Before I saw the price list, I really wanted to buy this set:

Matte and shiny set, looks lovely. But it was just too costly for my wallet.

A quick (and shaky) photo of Kardashian Beauty nail polish, some of them at least. They cost 9.95€ (for 11ml), they have some nice colours, but nothing groundbreaking.

We also got very cute gifts at the event:

You already saw the nail polish on my nails here, we also got a tester of a perfume (not really for my nose, too orange-y), some bracelets and teas from Palais des Thés, they offered tea for us at the event, it was insanely good. We got to take home three different kinds of teas, and they are all so yummy. I love Palais des Thés teas, they are worth their money. Yum! Oh, and also we got a candy from Matcha tea, it was actually really good.

It was all in all a short but lovely event. I wish I met more bloggers there, by the time the event ended and I was finished with my manicure, most girls already left, so we didn't get chance to meet. I hope the bloggers event will stick in Slovenia too, I think they are a nice chance for us to meet and get to know new brands. Ikona staff was incredibly nice, so if you are strolling through Ljubljana, go and check Ikona out, they will be happy to help you. As for me, the price tag on The New Black nail polish is way to high, but if you like the idea, we have a place in Ljubljana that offers them and The Kardashian beauty as well. :)

Have you ever tried The Kardashian Beauty or The New Black brands? Any recommendations? Can you recall any dupe for the green shimmer on my mani in the post?

Thank you for reading and commenting!