Category: Nails
It’s Not Black, It’s Brown
Julep “August” is the final polish from February’s box. Much like “Maylee” – “August” looks black, but it really dark, dark brown. Julep calls it chocolate cherry ghost shimmer. The shimmer is barely there, you have to look really, REALLY hard.
This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and under “HK Girl”. Also like “Maylee”, “August” lasted a really long time – longer than I wanted it to.
My paternal grandfather’s name was August, but he died before I was born. My mom said she felt sorry for him when my grandmother hit him over the head with a frying pan…until he said she was mad at him for going “to the cathouse”.
Got Any More of Them Free Gifts with Purchase?
Been a while since I got one of these Ulta Bags – I’ve passed on the last one or two that Ulta offered. But this one looked fairly good…so when I was FINALLY getting my hair cut on Saturday, I decided to indulge.
The 12 products inside the snaky aqua bag: Amped Mascara in “Jet Black”, Full Size Matte Lipstick in “Petal” (limited edition), Full Size Brow Tint in “Medium”, Eye shadow Palette shades in “Lace”, “Charm”, “Nostalgia”, “Vintage”, “Delicate”, and “Seaside” (these shadows are the thing that drew me to the bag), Cheek Palette shades in “Fresh Glow Highlighter” and “Nude Pink Blush”, Eye Makeup Remover Pads, Full size Nude Matte Eye Shadow Primer, Lip Gloss Stain in “Treason”, Dual Eye Liner in “Majesty” and “Smoke”, Blush Brush, and a Cosmetic Pencil Sharpener. The bag also had a coupon for $5 off any $15 Ulta Beauty cosmetics or brush purchase.
So I had to spend $21.50 on Ulta products to get my free little bag – and it was easier than I thought it would be. I’d been wanting to try Ulta’s new Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($10) – a dupe of ABH Brow Wiz, I’m hoping. I grabbed a nail clipper for Lily, since she was using one of mine; an Ergonomic 3 Way Nail Buffer; some eyeshadow applicators and a couple of packs of Exfoliating Cotton Pads – I can always use more cotton pads.
PLUS, I had a $10 off coupon for my birthday AND a code for a deluxe sample of Benefit The POREfessional AND double points for my birthday month. All in all, I spent about $13 for all these goodies – SCORE!
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
…I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man. I’ll starve!
Julep “Jolene” – iron ore metallic – is a bombshell, just like her namesake. There’s the barest hint of gold and a rainbow of shimmer reflected in that iron ore. This might be my favorite from this month’s box.
I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, two coats of “Jolene” and finished with “HK Girl”. To be honest, it still looked pristine four days later, but I took it off just now to try something different.
Haute Koffee
Behold…Sinful Colors “Haute Koffee”. Why is this polish called “Haute Koffee”? Coffee is NOT supposed to be this color. Coffee is brown, not maroon. How about “Haute Merlot”?
Regardless of the ridiculous name, this polish is life itself. Perfectly matte, but with a touch of shimmer. This is the best yet from the Kylie “Trend Matters” Collection. I cannot believe I’ve been sitting on this polish since September.
This is two coats of “Haute Koffee” over Sinful Colors Base Coat. I could just stare at it for hours and hours…
Gold a la Mode
Light glitter is absolutely the best for going on a trip. It lasts well and hides tip wear. I had a short 2 days/1 night trip to Denver for work last week and this was my pic – Sinful Colors “Gold a la Mode” from the “Luxe Fragments” Collection. It’s a very yellowy gold – it reminds me of that Donald Trump idea of gold luxury – so much gold that it goes beyond luxurious and becomes tacky and ostentatious. Not that my nails looked tacky, but this much gold in say…a bathroom? Tacky as fuck.
This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”. It lasted well on my trip, but I noticed something odd. The polish began to darken at the tips of my nails and I have no idea why – al i did was sit in a conference room for two days. It began to look like ancient amber – it was weird, but kinda beautiful. I wish I had taken a pic!
It’s Not Black, It’s Blue
Julep “Maylee” is the first polish I selected from this month’s box. It’s described as midnight navy with gold microshimmer – and when they say microshimmer, they mean it. The shimmer is very, very understated and the light has to hit it just right. It’s so blue, it’s nearly black!
I was extremely careful when I painted my nails – I was able to get very clean edges and not stain my skin, as sometimes happens with these dark polishes. I was expecting less coverage from such a thin polish, but it covered like a champ. This is just two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat (I cracked open a new bottle – nothing like the first coat out of the bottle). I finished with “HK Girl” – so shiny!
Jamaican Gold
Sorry, but I’m gonna force you to look at my foot for a second.
For my birthday last weekend, my wonderful children got me a pedicure…and my husband got me a Shari! Somehow he secretly arranged for my friend Shari to come spend the weekend with me. I must be kind of oblivious, because he did it for my birthday 6 years ago and I still didn’t recognize the signs. She was more than happy to accompany me on my pedicure adventure.
The shop had an even better match for my car – Dare to Wear “Jamaican Coffee”. I’ve never heard of that brand before, but they had it and OPI, so I assume it’s similar?
I could just stare at my toes for hours…
February Julep Maven Box – Cozy in Love
Not sure what’s so cozy or in love about the February Collection, but I like it.
I skipped the lipsticks this month and went for all polish. I chose It Girl “Maylee” (midnight navy with gold microshimmer), Bombshell “August” (chocolate cherry ghost shimmer) and Bombshell “Jolene” (iron ore metallic). I also got gold metal studs to wear on my nails…those will be interesting.
I also used jules to get Voila! Nail Polish Thinner – I want to make sure my older polishes can still be used.
Oh, and a little sample of Love Your Bare Face Hydrating Cleansing Oil.
No candy this month – it’s a travesty!
Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!
20% off Vice
Anyone else get a 20% off coupon from Ulta the Saturday before last? I found it while we were sitting in traffic, on the way to buy my car…sure as shit, I used it.
I didn’t think to hard about ordering 3 more of the new Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks – I got “Studded” (a metallic gray-brown recently spotted on Ruby Rose – it’s so hot), “Tryst” (a neon-y pink/red that seems like a dupe for JS “Watermelon Soda”) and “Trap Queen” (I wanted this gold glittery red to be more glittery – a bit disappointed). Very happy to get these for 20% off!
I also added another Zoya Remove+ to put me over the edge for free shipping – I always need it.
There were a few freebies available – I got another tube of drybar Hot Toddy, plus a full size Honest Beauty Truly Kissable Lip Crayon in “Sheer Chestnut Kiss”. In my sample pack, I got it Cosmetics CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ and ogx Quenching + Coconut Curls Shampoo and Conditioner (I don’t have curls, but I love smelling like coconut).
Thank you Ulta!
Mandarin Gold
So…I got a new car this weekend – a 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring in “Mandarin Gold”. It’s the ultimate middle-aged mom car.
It is now my mission in life to find the perfect polish to match my car. I’ve never seen another color quite like Honda’s new “Mandarin Gold.” It’s not your ordinary gold, but more like a very sparkly brown with gold shimmer.
Julep “Penny” was near the top of my huge basket of untried polish. Julep describes it as burnished bronze metallic, but I detect more than a hint of copper. It is a rather close match to my new baby, if not a bit too light and a bit too copper.
I love Julep’s metallic polishes though – they have the best finish and self-level to be perfectly smooth. This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and under “HK Girl”.
The first polish was close, but no cigar. I will continue my search.