Month: September 2015
Gorgeosity
I have been dying to try Julep “Mila” – charcoal multi-colored glitter, an add-on to my August Julep Box. Since the base is clear, I decided to use a color underneath it. I chose Julep “Annemarie” – warm cocoa crème, a polish I picked up over a year ago from Julep’s Red Marker sale. It’s just been sitting there, waiting for me. I can’t believe I’ve let it sit there that long!
I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. I did a single coat of “Annemarie” and a single coat of “Mila”. I used “HK Girl” on all my fingers, EXCEPT my ring finger. I couldn’t resist seeing what it looked like matte, so I used Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat. My nails are the height of gorgeosity.
So my husband says that “Annemarie” is skintone. As I tried to argue that it wasn’t, he made me hold the bottle up to his arm…and it matched fairly closely. (He’s a whiteboy, but that 1/16th Cherokee comes out in his – and my kids’ – skin.) I would highly recommend “Annemarie” as a nude for olive and darker skintones.
Black Out
Kat Von D has a matte black lipstick called “Slayer” that I have lusted over. I just can’t justify spending $21 on a lipstick I will likely never wear. I already did that once.
Face it, 39 years old and working for a Fortune 25 Company makes black lipstick a once a year event.
BUT…I can justify spending $3 at Target for e.l.f. Black Out.
You know who isn’t too old and corporate for black lipstick? My seven year old daughter, Lily. We both tried it out last night and she LOVED it. Now she wants to wear black lipstick every day.
I guess I should dig out my Cure posters and CDs…she’ll be ready soon.
Blurple?
Is it blue or purple? Blurple? I don’t know exactly what Sinful Colors “Let’s Talk” is. It looks more purple in artificial light, but in sunlight – it is definitely blue.
“Let’s Talk” was recommended to me by two different nail aficionados – Angie (from my Dallas crew) and Rachel (from my Work crew). Great minds definitely think alike…this is a fantastic polish! Luckily, it’s a permanent shade – I didn’t have any trouble finding it.
This is two quick coats of “Let’s Talk” over Sinful Colors Base Coat. (I was watching Impractical Jokers and only half-ass paying attention to my nails – I amazingly didn’t fuck them up.) There’s nothing like breaking open a new bottle of “HK Girl” – I just started my third one! I’m seriously going to look into buying this stuff in bulk – it’s THAT good.
Fool’s Gold
What to pick first from this month’s Julep box…such a hard decision.
I decided to try Julep Boho Glam “Lydia” first. “Lydia” is pyrite stardust. Pyrite is also known as ‘fool’s gold’, as miners would mistake it for gold. To me, it looks like sparkly doo doo mud…pretty, but potentially stinky.
I used Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat with two coats of “Lydia”. “Lydia” was rather goopy on the brush, but it went on absolutely smoothly. The texture is like an old emery board that’s been used for years – just a hint of roughness. I find that the Julep stardust polishes chip less than the Zoya Pixie Dusts, though they’re not quite as pretty. Julep microglitter though – that shit chips within an hour. I’d love to hear reader experiences with textured polishes…
Soap Fix
In between Semi-Annual Sales, I have to get my Soap Fix – so I’ll settle for 50% off for Labor Day. I only got three – they didn’t have much of the deep cleansing soap I like – just the foaming kind. I hate the foaming kind. I did get one foam for the kids – “Strawberry Lemon”. I got “Honeydew Cooler” and “Pineapple Sorbet” for myself. “Pineapple Sorbet” smells just like the Pineapple Dream at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii! I also grabbed 4 Scentportables (4/$10) and 2 bath poof (not on sale).
Of course, when they send you an email that says “Surprise – up to 40% off” – it’s never 40% off. I had to make do with 20% off. Sigh.
September Julep Maven Box – Kisses, London Collection
Julep, first again this month!
“Kisses, London” is September’s theme – inspired by London’s fall runways (Whatever that means). I decided to go all polish this month – I didn’t really want more lipstick this month. I chose Wonder Maven “Delores” – iris linear liquid holographic; It Girl “Aubrey” – rosewood shimmer; and Bombshell “Rachael” – graphite shimmer. I also added Boho Glam “Lydia” – pyrite stardust – to my box. All Mavens received “Julep”, Julep’s signature creme, which matches their boxes and logo.
I love how color coordinated my box turned out this month – all purple and metallic. Which one should I try first? I think…”Lydia”?
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Wicked x 3
I couldn’t try just ONE of my new Deborah Lippmann Wicked polishes – I had to try them ALL.
After Orly Bonder, I painted a thin coat of “Defying Gravity” on each nail. I then did a coat of “Popular” on my thumb and ring finger – who knew that green + pink = purple? I did a coat of “One Short Day” on my index and pinky. I finished my middle finger with another coat of “Defying Gravity”. I topped them all with “HK Girl” for shine.
By far, my favorite polish of the collection is “Defying Gravity”. A single coat reminded me of Jade. (I’ll be trying it with gold glitter for the full jewelry effect). After two coats, it reminded me of the green chalkboards of my grade school days – I also need to try a matte top coat with it. Speaking of chalkboards, schools don’t have them anymore – my kids will never know the horror of nails on a chalkboard. Lucky.
Yup, 5 More…
I couldn’t resist the 99 cent Sinful Colors sale, but I controlled myself and only grabbed 5.
I got “Purple Haze” (the only one that caught my eye from the new “Oh Snap!” Collection), “Let’s Talk” (upon the highest recommendation), “Starfish” (for the name alone); “Gold Medal”, and “Rich in Heart”. Unfortunately, the Walgreen’s by my work didn’t have the “Truly, Madly, Sparkly” display – so I see another trip happening before the sale is up.
You…yes, YOU…have until Saturday at Midnight to snag Sinful Colors nail polish for 99 cents at Walgreen’s.
A Galaxy of Toppers
I couldn’t let this black manicure (Zoya “Anais”) go to waste before I took it off – I decided to play with top coats.
From left to right – Sinful Colors “Pinky Glitter”, SpaRitual “Opaline Luminary” Matte Top Effect, Zoya “Monet”, SpaRitual “Citrine Limunary” Matte Top Effect and Sinful Colors “Green Ocean”.
The 5 different polishes look very different in the bottles, huh?
I was shocked at how similar in tone and palette these polishes looked on my nails. I used those polishes in the very same order from thumb to pinky. There’s not a hint of pink in “Pinky Glitter”. I was disappointed in how subtle “Opaline Luminary” was. “Monet” took on a rainbow of colors. “Citrine Luminary” was fantastically striking. “Green Ocean” came to life with blue and greens – I’d always been unimpressed with it before.
Each fingernail is like looking into a different galaxy with different stars.
VIB, Bitches!
A few weeks ago, I finally made Sephora VIB! I was buying a birthday gift for my Loo, so no celebratory post at the time…but I can celebrate the 10% off code that I got to use on this order!
I’d had my eye on the Deborah Lippman Wicked Nail Lacquer Trio on the Sephora Sale page for a couple months, at least. $15, down from $20…and even sweeter with 10% off. I just can’t resist Oz-related beauty products – I’m still kicking myself for missing the Urban Decay Theodora Palette. The set includes “Popular” – Glinda’s glistening pink, “Defying Gravity” – Elphaba’s unlimited green, and “One Short Day” – positively perfect emerald. Maybe I should watch the musical at some point? Oh yeah – these are my FIRST DL polishes!
I say stupid stuff – like that I don’t want to spend $21 on a lipstick – but $18.90 is acceptable? Well, whatever – but I fell in love with Kat Von D Studded Kiss in “Piaf” when I swatched it on my arm in the store. It’s a rich dark chocolate with purple shimmer – I’ve never seen anything like it…
…and then I wore it to work today. I am still not used to dark lipstick on myself. I felt like a freak – even though 20, even 15 years ago, I only wore dark lipstick. I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror at work and spooked myself – I looked like nightmare Laura Palmer.
By the middle of the day, I was loving “Piaf”. Phew – I was afraid I would never wear it again and had flushed $18.90 down the drain.
Oh yeah – my samples: NUDE Progenius Omega Treatment Milk (I have no idea); Bumble and bumble. Surf foam wash shampoo and creme rinse conditioner; and Moss Commodity eau de parfum (I *think* it is the men’s version, but I cannot even tell).