Tag: Glisten & Glow
Neely
Julep “Neely” was my second pick from the huge mystery box haul. I was just drawn to this sparkling cranberry full-coverage glitter…like a soccer mom is drawn to the glitter aisle at Hobby Lobby.
I started – of course – with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. “Neely” was almost full coverage in one coat, but I went for two coats. Holy shit – it’s perfect! The formula was the perfect consistency – not too thick or goopy. I didn’t get clumps of glitter – just smooth coverage. No chunky, sharp edges either. This is one of the best full coverage glitters I’ve ever used. Once I added “HK” Girl, the shine was off the charts. It was long lasting, too – I wore if through my move – nearly a whole week. It bit the dust when I started cleaning, then unpacking and washing dishes – all that Fabuloso and water made my nails start peeling and the tips got absolutely shredded. It will take my nails several months to recover from the move. It would be a tragedy if I didn’t love my new place so much.
I want everything I own to be covered in “Neely” – my phone, my car, my bed, my dog, my shoes…ESPECIALLY my shoes.
Construction Paper Orange
Julep “Jenna” – tangerine burst creme – was my first pick from my Mystery Box Bonanza. My mother-in-law was looking through the polishes with me when I opened the boxes and this is the first one she grabbed…so of course this was the first one I had to try. I also knew I had a good hour of signing my name the next day and I wanted BRIGHT. I may or may not have low-key pretended that I was a hand model while signing all those closing papers for my new house.
I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. This is two smooth coats of “Jenna”. The first coat was a bit streaky, but the second coat was absolutely smooth. I finished with my favorite top coat, “HK Girl”.
“Jenna” reminds me of orange construction paper. There’s something weird about orange and purple construction paper. It’s got a different texture than the other colored paper and the color is just off – almost muddy. Although “Jenna” is a vibrant orange, there’s a bit of muddiness in it as well.
I’m So Money
I’m so money…you don’t even know.
This combination reminds me of a crispy $20 bill – one of those new multicolored ones. I started with two coats of Sinful Colors “Moss Have” over Sinful Colors Base Coat. “Moss Have” is a creamy moss green pearl chrome – similar to “Tokyo Pearl”. I like this formula much better – fewer drag marks from the brush and it doesn’t leave streaks.
For contrast, I used Sinful Colors “Under Cover” on my thumb and forefinger – two coats. More glitter = more happy. I love glitters like these with a dense concentration of different sizes and colors of glitter.
“HK Girl” sealed the deal. I’m hoping that this manicure lasts a while…I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to paint them again…Shhhh…
Moist Stephanie
Doesn’t Julep “Stephanie” look like juicy, moist strawberries? So wet, so…MOIST.
I don’t care if Julep describes “Stephanie” as juicy cherry holographic – it’s moist strawberry holographic to me. I’ll say it again…MOIST.
“Stephanie” has the same fantastic formula as “Pam”. After Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, I painted two coats of “Stephanie” – it went on like a dream. It seemed a bit thinner and easier to work with than “Pam”. My middle fingernail had peeled a bit and “Stephanie” covered it like a champ. I sealed the deal with “HK Girl”.
I need to get the rest of the polishes from August’s Collection – I am totally in love.
Just one more time…moist.
Doritos Locos
As I was eating my lunch today, I was struck by how my nails matched my lunch – a tasty Doritos Locos Taco. Seriously – that taco shell was an exact match for my nails. (I considered taking a picture, but I didn’t want to get Mild Sauce and Dorito dust all over my phone.) I’m quite sure that I shouldn’t be eating food this color, but…
This is Julep “Pam”, tigerlily holographic. (I love tigerlilys – almost as much as stargazer lilys.) It’s so rich and juicy…and a fabulous formula. This is just two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. The polish was slightly thick, but not goopy. I finished with “HK Girl”.
I’d like to team “Pam” with a dark green metallic for a tribute to my alma mater – UTD. Orange and Green are absolutely horrible school colors, but it eventually starts to grow on you…
Pepto Monkey Nutz
Hands down, Nubar “Pinktober” is the most annoying polish I’ve ever worked with – an utter and complete pain in the ass.
It looks completely innocuous in the bottle, but don’t let that fool you…It’s ridiculously thick, but somehow streaky? It took three thick coats to get a somewhat opaque finish. It’s possible that it didn’t like the Sinful Colors Base Coat – it’s almost like it wanted to slide off. I also did three coats on my toes – it took nearly half the damn bottle to do both toes and fingers.
Even with three coats, I still had a few bald spots on my nails. Luckily, “HK Girl” made them less noticeable. As annoying as it was to apply, it last fairly well through four days of beach and pool action in Mexico – it didn’t look like utter shit until the very last day.
The only reason I picked this Pepto Bismol pink nail polish was to match the flamingos on my new flamingo swimsuit…but while on vacation in Playa del Carmen, I found something else that my nails matched…
Meet “King Monkey”.
The kids and I started calling him “King Monkey” because he is OBVIOUSLY the head monkey running this joint – I mean, look at his big, pink, swinging…gifts. My 11 year old son was utterly disgusted, while my 8 year old daughter was just confused by the “saggy skin bags”.
We were lucky enough to have “King Monkey” and his concubines visit our balcony several times during our stay in Mexico. Even though there were signs all over the resort warning us not to feed them, they delivered a fruit platter to our room – surely they had to know that we wouldn’t be able to resist “King Monkey”.
More Minty Fresh
There’s something about mint nail polish – I can’t not think of toothpaste. This is Jenna Hipp “Thin Mint”, a creme polish similar to the original Minty Fresh – Zoya “Dillon”.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat. The first coat of “Thin Mint” was streaky and blotchy, but the second coat smoothed everything out and self leveled to a beautiful finish. “HK Girl” was the finishing touch.
This polish needs silver glitter!
My nails are so short…I had to trim them all down again, after chipping my middle and pinky nail. I also mangled my ring finger – I cut the edge too close to the quick as I was rounding the edges…it’s all swollen and gross and pink. Ugh, I can’t wait to relax and be gentle to my hand again.
Magic Card Trick
Feeling like I needed something different…so I pulled out Sinful Colors “I’m All In”.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I started with “I’m All In”. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get several glitters on my brush…except they were mostly diamonds. I had to dig for hearts, spades and clubs. Yup, this polish has glitters to match the suites on a deck of cards. I was able to get a few of the other glitters on my nails fairly easily.
Looking at the bottle, I was expecting a darker purple finish, but it came out sheer pink. This is two heavy coats.
I finished with “HK Girl”, which smoothed most of the edges, but I’m still catching a few glitters on things. Argh…
I think this polish would look really outstanding over a black or red. I’ll keep that in mind for the future…
Silly Putty
Doesn’t Trust Fund Beauty “No Filter” look just like silly putty? Grayish beige with a hint of pink/lavender. It’s almost dirty looking.
I don’t know what’s up with the Trust Fund Beauty polishes that ipsy keeps putting in their bags…the colors just are not normal.
After Orly Bonder, I slapped on two quick coats of this thick creme polish. So thick. I was fairly careful, but I still got a few crinkled edges. Luckily, it wasn’t streaky after the second coat. A coat of “HK Girl” was just what I needed to make it super shiny.
My poor middle fingernail was a casualty of house cleaning activities this weekend. I weep for my fallen fingernail.
Nutcrackin’ Beaches
I just couldn’t stay away from Funky Fingers “Aloha Beaches” – I had to have more.
Actually, I wanted “Aloha Beaches” on my toes – to match my new Flamingo swimsuit. So after doing my toes, I decided to use it on my fingers. After Sinful Colors Base Coat and two coats of “Aloha Beaches”, I decided to get all fancy with a coat of Funky Fingers “Son of a Nutcracker”. Yes, I know it is a Xmas polish…but it’s green and pink and white and silver glitter – I had to do it. I finished with “HK Girl”. All the top coats changed the demi-matte finish of “Aloha Beaches”, but it’s still pretty, pretty.
This combination has lasted like a champ. I did it last Sunday night and I’ve been too busy to change it…I’ve got some edge wear, but that’s it. YASSSSS!