Category: Nails
April Julep Maven Box – The Paradise Collection
I got my Julep Maven Box on Friday (Yay for quick shipping!), but I have been so busy with Easter festivities that I hadn’t had time to post it.
April is “The Paradise Collection” – colors like a bright tropical bouquet. This month’s beauty product is “Don’t Leave Your Brows at Home” – a two-in-one tool includes brow powder and an angled brush. Even though I love my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, I’m excited to try it. I got “Cool Brown”. For polishes, I picked It Girl “Danielle” and Bombshell “Cassidy”. I normally wouldn’t have picked 2 blues, but I kept thinking about my Cuz’s little girl Cassidy – so I had to have it! For an Easter treat, my box had a little bag of Everlasting Gobstoppers – one of my favorites!
I just did my toes and nails in “Danielle” – pics tomorrow!
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Cadbury Mini Eggs
Cadbury Mini Eggs – that is what my nails look like!
I tried out Julep “Kimberly” last summer, and I thought to myself that I would pull it out next Easter – I am shocked that I remembered. Last time, I left it shiny, but I decided to use Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat. Matte is SO much better suited to this polish.
“Kimberly” stuck well to Orly Bonder and I didn’t have any crinkles like I did last time. I’m getting pretty good at this…
NO MORE PURPLE – I’m purpled out.
Purple Diamond
I said goodbye to the Grease nails, but the Jamberry “February Host Exclusive” still looked good – at least on my left hand. My right hand was peeling and shredding to shit, so I peeled it off.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I did two coats of Sinful Colors “Purple Diamond” and then “HK Girl”. I was disappointed that it wasn’t a deeper, richer purple. Look at the bottle and then look at my fingers – maybe with 6 or 7 coats I could get that rich purple. SIGH. Even so, “Purple Diamond” is a nice lovely lavender-y purple.
We Go Together
So I finally got a chance to try out my new Jamberry Mini Heater – it’s SO much easier than the one-handed hair dryer method. Not only is application easier, I was able to avoid wrinkles. Now the only thing I have to figure out is how to trim the wrap on my right hand without stabbing myself.
I paired the Jamberry “February Host Exclusive” with Funky Fingers Grease themed polishes – “Pink Ladies” & “Beauty School Dropout”. These are some intense jelly glitters! They look very “little girl-ish” – I may be using these on Lily more than myself.
I used Orly Bonder to make the glitter stick and “HK Girl” to make my nails smooth as glass.
Truffle Butter
Whatever you do…do NOT google Truffle Butter. Here’s a link to Emeril’s recipe for Truffle Butter. Trust me, you don’t wanna go any further than that. It’s not for the faint of heart.
You googled it didn’t you? Nasty, huh? Don’t say I didn’t warn you…but doesn’t this polish make you think of Truffle Butter? It’s Sinful Colors “Nirvana” – so named because…it’s grungy, maybe? It’s not doo-doo brown or even dirt…it’s a brown I cannot describe, except as…Truffle Butter.
Sinful Colors Base Coat, underneath two coats of “Nirvana” and then topped with “HK Girl”. So, so shiny! I am thinking I need to add gold flakies…
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Sometimes polishes on your nails don’t look anything like they look in the bottle.
This is Julep “Aretha” – Aquamarine for March. It looks so blue in the bottle, but it’s NOT blue on my nails. It’s almost like crushed opals.
“Aretha” is reasonably dense, but doesn’t fully mask my yellowy stained nails – damn that green polish. This is two coats of “Aretha” over Orly Bonder.
The Finger
Nothing galls me like a polish with no name. Not only does this polish have no name, I don’t even know who made it – but it the bottle was shaped like a skull and it was only $1. I’m going to call it Dollar Tree Skull Pink.
Yes, it is a disgustingly neon pink. I feel like like Miami Vice and Sixteen Candles and Culture Club and just 80s. After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I did 2 coats. I am astounded that a cheap mystery polish could have such a smooth and easy to work with texture. it went on flawlessly. I don’t have any particular plans to give anybody the finger over the next few days, but just in case, I wanted to make sure my middle finger was ready – I gave it an extra sparkle with Sinful Colors “Queen of Beauty”. I finished off with “HK Girl”, which made it look like plastic. Shiny, 80s plastic.
Grease is the Word
I must have seen it on Instagram, but I really don’t recall how I knew that Five Below just came out with “Grease” themed polishes. Even though it was raining cats AND dogs yesterday, we ran in yesterday after a rat funeral (RIP Cyril) and lunch at Panera.
The purple one is Funky Fingers “Beauty School Dropout” and the pink one is Funky Fingers “Pink Ladies”. There were blue and orange ones, but instead, I picked out Funky Fingers “Jawbreaker” because JAWBREAKER! And it looks like a jawbreaker.
Just the Tip
All matte polishes chip immediately – they just do.
Before I even went to bed Wednesday night, Charming Charlie “Magenta Me Crazy” had chipped on my right thumb. It was in a place that was already beginning to peel, so it was my fault for not trimming that nail, but still. The next night, I used Zoya Pixie Dust “Noir” to paint just the tips. It wasn’t an exact match, but it still looked pretty good, even if I do say so myself.
Magenta Me Crazy
My sweet Loo bought me a polish when she was out shopping – Charming Charlie “Magenta Me Crazy”. I like bad puns, but that one is really bad…
I didn’t even know that Charming Charlie sold polishes, so I didn’t know how this one was gonna turn out. Turns out – it is a matte polish, very similar to Zoya “Harlow”, but brighter and without the underlying shimmer.
Like all matte polishes – this one chips like a sonofabitch – even with my best base coat, Orly Bonder.
Time to go get a Pixie Dust…