Tag: Julep
Kerry is So Very
Goodbye Halloween!
As soon as I got this month’s Julep box, I couldn’t keep my hands off the new Matte Metallics. I picked Julep “Kerry” to try first. “Kerry” is described as fluted gold matte metallic – I don’t really see any flutes…do you? The matte finish is AMAZING.
After Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, I did 2 thin coats with no top coat. It dried super quick, but I still managed to knick my ring finger. I think it happened as I was opening a tub of Triple Chocolate Gelato. Mama’s gotta have her creamy cold treat before bedtime.
November Julep Maven box – The Switch-Up Collection
Dang Julep…getting my box here on November 2nd. And in all new packaging! The shipping box is now plain cardboard with purple stripes. Gone are the white polish boxes – now they’re a shimmery dark gray. I love Julep’s new look.
“The Switch-Up Collection” is November’s theme. The beauty product is What Your Skin Needs Restorative Facial Milk – a lightweight treatment milk with olive oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, coconut oil and squalane. (I’ll save you my husband’s commentary on facial milk.) I couldn’t resist the new matte metallic polishes – I picked Boho Glam “Kerry”, fluted gold matte metallic, and Classic with a Twist “Jo”, brushed silver matte metallic. All Julep Mavens received an extra polish Shake It Up! – It Girl “Melody”, an iridescent, high gloss, glitter top coat. For a treat, there was a Tootsie Roll Caramel Apple Pop. I’m scared to eat real caramel apples, but maybe this one won’t be so bad.
Not a Julep Maven? Leave a comment and I’ll send you a referral email good for a free welcome box!
Taffeta, Darling
Yeah, I took this picture in my car – so?
I had a good reason – I just can’t remember what it was. I think I was afraid it would be raining when I got home from work (it wasn’t). Well, whatever the reason – the lighting in my car was really good today.
This is Julep “Cally” from August’s “Muse Montreal” Collection – festival fuchsia iridescent chrome. I can’t resist a fuchsia. There’s the slightest hint of an orange shimmer – it reminds me of those color shifting Taffeta Prom Dresses from the 80s/90s…I never had one, but Seventeen Magazine was full of them.
This is two coats with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and “HK Girl”. The polish is thin, but gives great coverage.
Devilish Lee
Sometimes, two polishes from different brands come together just right…
Julep “Lee”, spitfire red creme, and Sinful Colors “Devil’s Stare”, a red jelly with flakies – were separated at birth. My thumb and index finger have two coats of “Devil’s Stare” and my ring finger and pinky have two coats of “Lee”…but my middle finger has one coat of “Lee” and one coat of “Devil’s Stare”. You can’t even tell the difference between them! I did dots of “Lee” on top of the “Devil’s Stare” on my index finger and vice versa on my ring finger – again, you can’t even see it. A perfect tonal match!
What else did I use? Sinful Colors Base Coat and “HK Girl”, of course.
Punk Pirate
I feel like a gosh danged ole punk rocker pirate!
I decided to jazz up Julep “Michaela” with the NEON yellow skull and crossbones nail decals in this month’s Julep box. First off, these decals are VERY delicate. I only got one or two of them on my nails in one piece. Luckily, it was easy to match up the skull bones to make it look like one piece.
To keep it from peeling up, I topped with “HK Girl”. One coat was not enough – I did two thick, sloppy coats…and there were still a few edges that stick up – but they are frozen in place from the goop!
My husband says it looks like wallpaper. I usually hate wallpaper, but I would LOVE wallpaper like this!
Raisin Rave
Julep “Michaela” reminds me of the California Raisins…at a rave. Julep describes it as blackcurrant microglitter shimmer – aren’t all currants black? Currents are baby raisins, right?
“Michaela” is so purple that it appears black, but the shimmer is green! I’m dying!
This is a smooth polish – it went on like a dream…and NO bubbles. This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, with “HK Girl” on top. This is a GREAT Halloween polish.
October Julep Maven Box – The New York Never Sleeps Collection
They say “New York Never Sleeps”…and so does Julep with October’s Collection.
The polishes this month were nice, but none of them just blew me away. I was more interested in the new Eye Shadow 101 crème-to-powder shadow stick – I picked “Champagne Shimmer”. I tried it today and it went on smoothly and evenly. I am fantasizing about an extra 5 minutes of sleep on the days that I use it – just swipe and go.
I couldn’t go absolutely polish-less, so I chose Julep Boho Glam “Michaela”, blackcurrant microglitter shimmer. I also chose NEON yellow skull & crossbones nail decals. Obviously, if I want NEON yellow on my nails, I’m gonna have to use a sticker. I also got a little bag of candy corn, which I handed over to my husband. See, he benefits from my beauty boxes, too!
Not a Julep Maven? Leave a comment and I’ll send you a referral email good for a free welcome box!
I Fixed It!
I was so unhappy with my not-NEON nails…but instead of taking it off and starting over, I decided to make the best of a bad situation and experiment…
I started with OPI “Super Bass Shatter” on my thumb. (Yes, I own a Nicki Minaj Collection nail polish – wanna fight?) OPI makes the best shatter/crackle polishes and this one is the best of ALL. It looks AMAZING with the yellow. Next, I tried Julep “Shoshanna” on my index finger. The yellow holo glitter really brings out the NEON. I also used “Shoshanna” on my ring finger, underneath a coat of “Super Bass Shatter”. I used Julep “Rita” for polka dots on my middle finger – I love this finger the best! Finally, I went glittery with Orly “Bubbly Bombshell” on my pinky.
I finished all of my nails with another coat of “HK Girl”. So between the base coat, three coats of “The Bright Thing” and the toppers, there are 7-8 coats of polish on each of my nails. Either they will go a week without chipping, or I’ll try to take it off and it’ll take FOREVER.
I absolutely LOVE how my nails look now. All it took was a little fuchsia.
Vegas Recap
So…I already shared my Sephora Makeover, but I thought I would share a few other highlights from my Vegas trip.
First, I’ve gotta talk about my nails. I had no idea what I was going to wear, so I picked a neutral polish – Julep “Rachael”, graphite shimmer. I accented “Rachael” with Julep “Kirby” – silver jagged glitter top coat – on my thumb and ring finger. I had to use the Chandelier Bar at our hotel, The Cosmpolitan, as a background – it was just too perfect. I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and ended with “HK Girl” – and my nails looked pristine the whole weekend.
Next up…I made the mistake of letting myself get pulled into a skin place at our hotel called Skins 6/2. Before I knew what was happening, some chick was putting crap all over my face. Turns out it was SNAKE VENOM and according to her, it was like all-natural botox. I’ve gotta admit, it momentarily seemed to work. Of course, they were having a one day sale on their Forever Flawless Snake Venom Serum – just $500 instead of $1,500. Really? Did she really think I was going to fall for that shit? My bullshit scam meter was on high alert, so I high-tailed it out of there. A quick google gave me this and this and this. Looks like I managed to avoid a really nasty rash at the very least. Oh…my wrinkles were back by that evening.
Fast forward to the next day…walking through the Miracle Mile shops and a girl at a kiosk tries to get my attention to sample something. I am still irritated by yesterday’s snake oil, so I ignore her and keep walking until my slightly alcohol addled brain realizes that it was a moYou kiosk. I immediately take two steps back and say, “Is this THE moYou?” Yup, it was moYou nail stamping. I’d been wanting to try nail stamping and moYou London is the Cadillac of nail stamping, but I was under the impression that it was only available in the UK. Well, not anymore – they even have a US website now.
I picked up the starter kit + french manicure kit and the saleslady even threw in a free corrector pen and black polish, all for $90. So brace yourselves…nail stamping is coming!
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.