Category: Nails
Azalea
Oh my fucking GAWD, Julep “Azalea” is fucking beautiful. I could just stare at my nails for HOURS.
Julep says it is pink sunrise holographic microglitter – there is A LOT of gold in the glitter, but really there are hints of every color in the rainbow.
I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, then painted two coats of “Azalea”, and finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. There was a bit of texture to the microglitter, so it was a thick layer of top coat. It’s lasting FOREVER. I want to change polishes, but it still looks too good, even after 4-5 days and a shit ton of dishes.
W*tch Please
Time to try the Bebe Rexha “Wicked Neons” Collection!
So I never did find a blacklight – I know there’s one in this house somewhere, but it probably is in a mystery box that never got unpacked after the move…three years ago. Oop.
I’m just going to assume that Sinful Colors “W*tch Please” glows like a motherfucker under a blacklight. For a little extra, I added Sinful Colors “Glow for It” on accent nails.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and did two THICK coats of “W*tch Please”. It’s a very thin polish, nearly a jelly. Three fingers got an extra coat of “Glow for It” and then I finished with a thick goat of Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
This combination of colors lasted very well on my nails. I really like the Neon formula, although I am fairly certain it is a dupe for Sinful Colors “Let Me Flamingo”.
Twisted Obsession
…and Sinful Colors “Twisted Obsession” is the last of Bebe’s Shades from the Velvet Obsession Collection. It’s a matte dark, dark purple with silver shimmer. I put it on to honor my son’s school colors, since I would be helping out with his Marching Band competition last weekend, but he haughtily responded that it’s NOT Charger purple. Whatever, kid. I got compliments from the other moms, so THERE.
This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat, with NO top coat. I got the best results with the Sinful Colors Base Coat, so I better figure out where to purchase more – my bottle is almost empty! There were hardly any streaks in the first coat and the second coat was perfect. I didn’t notice the polish lasting any longer with this base coat, but it was definitely smoother.
Wicked Neons
Ooohhh…HEB has a mini display with the Bebe Rexha Halloween Collection – “Wicked Neons” for $1.98 each. I am so glad the prices are not inflated to $2.98 like the Vanessa Hudgens polishes – and they are blacklight reactive!
There are 8 polishes in the full collection – 4 cremes and 4 glitters – but like Velvet Obsession, the mini display only had the 3 designated “Bebe’s Shade” and a bunch of re-promotes from the Core Collection, like “Black on Black” and “Queen of Beauty”. Bebe’s shades are (left to right) “Blue in the Dark”, “Glow for It”, and “W*tch Please”. What’s with all the asterisks in shade names these days? First Lady Gaga, now Bebe Rexha…and witch isn’t even a curse word???
I was able to find one of the other cremes – “Techno Violet” – at Target today. I’ll have to pick the rest up at Walmart.
Growth
After taking advantage of Julep’s Labor Day sale, I couldn’t wait to jump into my new polishes. I didn’t realize how much I’d been missing my monthly Julep fix.
The first polish I grabbed was Julep “Growth”, sprouted green creme, from the Intention Collection. I was expecting a thin jelly polish, but “Growth” is a thick, full coverage creme polish. It was almost full coverage in one coat! This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat, except for my mattified pinky.
I am really loving this polish – it is a very unique color that you don’t ordinarily see in polish. I was reminded of toothpaste, and then mint chocolate chip ice cream, but ultimately, I decided that this polish color reminded me of a polished jade necklace that I inherited from my grandmother.
Target Beauty Boxes – August + September 2019
I don’t know how I managed to miss ordering the August Target Beauty Box – but I did. If an email was sent out, it got lost in my inbox and I didn’t see any social media posts either…BUT, it was still available to order when I went looking for the September box (which I also did not see an email on). I went ahead and ordered both boxes.
August’s box is “Hot for Fall” and includes products to help transition from summer to fall: MyBite Vitamins in Dark Chocolately Peanut; Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Moist Deep Conditioning Treatment (I’ll have to hide from my son – this is his brand); hello Activated Charcoal + Hemp \Flouride Free Toothpaste (sounds GROSS, but I’ll try it); Oral-B Interdental Picks (Ooooh yeah!); Herbal Essences Birch Bark Extract Sulfate-Free Shampoo/Conditioner (I tried it out and it was fine – not nearly as exciting as the old commercials want you to believe – no hair-washing orgasms for me); and Dove Men + Care Fresh and Clean 2 in 1. This was a stuffed box!
The September “Glow Into Fall” box seemed kind of skimpy: Schick Intuition Sensitive Care Razor (not a fan of the Intuition line, so gave it to my daughter); Trim Salon Emery Board (I can always use one of these); TRESemme Botanique Color Vibrance and Shine Shampoo/Conditioner (I liked this one slightly more than the Herbal Essences one, but it’s hard to get use to the low foaming formulas); Miss Spa Hydrate Facial Sheet Mask; and Dove Dry Serum Powder Touch. I was intrigued by a serum antiperspirant and tried it immediately. It was okay, I guess – but I did NOT like getting it all over my hands. I feel like it left a residue on my fingers, even after washing my hands. I did like the smell, but I don’t know that I’ll be buying this one.
Each box was $7, free shipping, plus 5% off with my Target Red Card. Understandably, the coupon in the August box had already expired, but I am annoyed that the September coupon doesn’t seem to be usable either. My app won’t recognize it when I try to scan it, and the code to use online doesn’t work either. Bummer.
Julep Labor Day
I didn’t realize how much I’d been missing my monthly Julep boxes…back on Labor Day, I got an email with a killer sale – 50% off polishes, plus an additional 60% off $35 orders. Since I was previously a Maven, I had to “reactivate” my Julep account – they basically reset everyone’s account when they dismantled the Maven program. When I logged in, it said I didn’t qualify for the 60% deal…but my previous Maven status gives me 25% off, plus activating gave me an additional 35% off, so it worked out to 60% off anyway. Long story short, I got 6 polishes for a few cents less than $20 – a killer deal!
I picked up the “Surreal World” 2 polish set, which includes Bombshell “Azalea” – pink sunrise holographic microglitter – and It Girl “Bri” – Purple Ember Holographic Shimmer. I picked just one from the Intention Collection, “Growth” – sprouted green creme. (I have no idea what that means.)
I wanted to get the whole Zodiac Collection, since I already have “Virgo” (for my mom) and “Taurus” (for my sister), but they didn’t have them all still available. I was able to get “Stirring Sagittarius” (my husband) – introspective mauve iridescent – and “Passionate Pisces” (both my kids) – shimmering seaside sunset metallic. I was irritated about not being able to get an Aquarius polish, but I was able to get one from the newer Birthstone Collection – “Bernadette – Black Onyx for February” – black onyx birthstone microshimmer with silver glitter.
I’ve been getting emails that Julep is now being carried at Target – I’ll have to check it out.
Glam N’ Roses
I couldn’t resist trying another Sinful Colors x Bebe Rexha Velvet Obsession polish – this one is called “Glam N’ Roses”.
That name sounds familiar, huh? It’s very close to “Gold N’ Roses”, a different Sinful Colors polish. The tone is very similar, but the finishes are different.
I used a different base coat this time – I used Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I noticed a very slight difference in the streakiness – but this polish is still really fucking streaky.
Again, this is two coats with NO top coat. This polish lasted quite a while longer than Dark Romance, but I think it is because I didn’t do any dishes while wearing it?
September 2019 Ipsy Bag – #DiscoverYourself
Ipsy is really taking it to the next level. Not only have they added Product Choice over the last few months, but they now have added additional product tiers – Plus (5 full size products for $25) and Ultimate (12 products for $50). I am content to stick with the regular Glam Bag for now, but maybe if I win the lottery, I can upgrade?
September’s bag is a cute Constellation printed canvas bag, filled with new discoveries. My product choice this month was Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask. It was an easy pick – all of the other choices were Ofra products. No offense intended, but it is kind of a “blah” brand to me. AND I got a product anyway – Ofra Cosmetics x Madison Blush in “Sweet Stuff” (I have no idea who Madison Miller is – do you?).
Also in this month’s bag: Haruharu Wonder Honey Green Aqua Bomb Cream (but it looks like a lip balm?); Sundays Nail Polish in “No. 35” (it’s a dark navy blue); and The Beauty Crop Eyeshadow in “Halcyon” (ugh, a dark metallic army green – so weird).
A strange collection of products, for sure. What are you even doing, Ipsy?
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Dark Romance
I couldn’t wait to get Sinful Colors “Dark Romance” on my fingers!
“Dark Romance” is from the Bebe Rexha/”Velvet Obsession” Collection. It is a brownish burgundy matte shimmer. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Base Coat, with NO top coat. The first layer was very, VERY streaky. The polish dries very quickly, which is great…but that also make the polish prone to cracking. I had to be very careful with the second coat – I think I filled in all the cracks. I suspect that the base coat didn’t smooth the surface of my nails enough, so next time I’ll use the Ridge Filling Top Coat.
Like all matte polishes, the lack of top coat means that the polish chips quickly, I feel like this one chipped even more quickly than usual, but it may just have been so obvious because it is a dark polish.
At first, I thought this might be a dupe for Sinful Colors “Haute Koffee” from Kylie’s Collection, but it’s not very similar at all. The base colors are similar, I guess – and they are both matte, but “Dark Romance” has a bold silver shimmer that is very prominent.