Over the last few months I have been having my nails gel overlaid ready for my wedding, the gel coating keeps my nails hard and virtually impossible to bend reducing breakages. However even though my nails are extremely and have the feel of false nails I can still knock them and chip the corners. The first couple of months this didn't happen I think I was overly careful with them and watched everything I did so as not to knock them on anything, after several weeks I got so used to my nails being extra hard and also longer that I kept forgetting they were there this resulted in me chipping one of the nails, nothing major but enough for it to be a bit rough, I decided that I needed to keep a small nail file in my handbag for incidents like these so brought myself Boots Mini Emery Boards. They were cheap, small enough to fit into my bag but big enough to keep my newly grown nails in shape.

The packaging that Boots Mini Emery Boards come in is very basic, it is a small plastic wrapper slightly longer than the emery boards, it is sealed at the top and has a small hole in it which was used in the shop to hang the packet up on the plinth. The back of the wrapper is a beige sort of colour but totally clear on the front allowing you to see the 3 emery boards inside. Written on the front of the packaging are the words "Mini Emery Boards x 3" this is written in white and just above this is the Boots logo which is a dark blue oval and the word Boots written inside it in white, that is basically it for the packaging it is very simple and straight forward

You get 3 emery boards with this pack, on one side of the emery board is a colourful pattern this is made up of a pinky red and black coloured semi circle, this covers the whole of one side of each board, they all have the same pattern on them. The other side of the emery board is the side used to file your nails, these are plain black and have the feel of a very light sand paper, compared to some emery boards this side of the board is quite rough, however having the gel on my nails means they are slightly thicker and a lot harder so I need the extra roughness to file them. As you file your nails this side of the board does gradually turn whiter in colour and also looses its roughness slightly.

Each emery board is about 3inches in length meaning it is the perfect size to fit into your handbag, I find these files an ideal size as it means I can keep one with me even when I go out for the evening and have a much smaller handbag with me compared to during the day. The boards are also very thin, literally a few millimetres thick so again this helps with fitting them into small bags, they are even small enough to fit into a make up bag. The emery boards are also ideal for holidays, they take up hardly any room in your toiletry bag at all, they are also slightly bendy meaning they are quite flexible so it would take a lot to break one. I have not taken mine on holiday with me yet but they do get bashed around a bit inside my handbag especially with all the stuff I carry around with me and they are still in perfect condition.

Now as I have said I brought Boots Mini Emery Boards to keep my newly long nails in check, I try not to use them that often as the gel means that I hardly have to file them, however small knocks do mean you get little nicks taken out of the from time to time and filing them smooth means that you will not catch them on anything. I have used the emery boards several times now and they do work, they quickly smooth out any little chips my nails might have despite them being thicker and harder than regular nails. I'm not sure how long they would last if used on a regular basis especially on harder nails, they are quite small and regular use may wear out the file quicker than when using larger emery boards.

The Mini Emery boards are reasonably cheap to buy, obviously I purchased mine from my local Boots and they cost be £2.04 for a pack of 3, I could probably have purchased a similar item cheaper than this else where however I needed them to be of a reasonably quality in order for them to work on my nails. My emery boards have proved to be hardwearing and long lasting, however this is probably due to the fact that I do not use them on a regular basis just every now and then when I chip a nail which isn't that often with the gel overlays.

I would definitely recommend Boots Mini Emery Boards, they are a perfect size for travelling and also for you handbag, they are cheap to buy and going on my experience long lasting and hard wearing, however I imagine this depends on how often you need to use them. I wouldn't be without mine in my handbag as they are extremely handy to have and take up hardly any room at all, for me they are an essential.