Tag: Julep
Pink Dots
I just can’t leave well enough alone.
Dookie Glitter looked great, but I had an idea to make it even better. I kept thinking of my favorite dress of Lily’s, from when she was a year or so old. It was an Easter dress that I picked up at Kohl’s – a chocolate brown sundress with pink dots and roses. About half of the dots were sparkly and holographic. I put it on her every chance I got. Of course, I’m a hoarder and never got rid of the dress…so I was able to give it to my niece, Olive (pictured yelling at her mother on the left).
After 2 coats of Julep “Candace”, I topped with a coat of essie Luxeffects “A Cut Above” . I had tried this glitter before, but it just wasn’t striking over another pink or fleshy tone like “Set in Stones” is. But over a dark color…”A Cut Above” is AMAZEBALLS. Now you know…
Dookie Glitter
After having bright, bright nails for several days, I had to go dark.
The first polish I picked to try out of my Golden Ticket Mystery Box is “Candace”, described by Julep as golden chocolate microglitter. Well alright, it’s chocolatey enough and it has a lovely golden sheen….it reminds me of the chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…but it also kinds looks like my fantasy of a poo-poo after drinking an entire bottle of Goldschläger. I always claimed that I would look for gold in my poo after drinking Goldschläger…but I never really did it. IF I DID, this is what I would have hoped to find.
I broke out the Plié Wand again. I’m getting better with it…I just have to remember to go slowly…
Golden Ticket Mystery Box
When I opened up my Golden Ticket Mystery Box, I felt just like Charlie Bucket on his birthday, when he opened that Scrumdidlyumptious Bar and didn’t find a Golden Ticket. I was convinced that I would be the one to get a Julep Golden Ticket and get to name my own polish. That was really the main reason that I bought this month’s Mystery Box, sight unseen. I didn’t find spoilers until after I had already purchased #2. Looking at the spoilers, I really wanted #1 and #3 more. At least my BFF ordered #1, so I can borrow from her…
The #2 box came with 5 polishes, “Vanish” Cuticle Softener & Remover, “Tada!” Quick Dry Drops and more damn Forget-Me-Not Seeds. At least my son is happy about my Mystery Box. Even though I already have “Vanish” and “Tada!”, at least I know that I’ll use the hell out of them.
The 5 polishes I got were “Michelle” – midnight, inky blue crème, “Carol” – sheer coral pink jelly Rock Candy nail glaze, “Estelle” – midnight black with holographic shimmer, “Celia” – icy green metallic and “Candace” – golden chocolate microglitter. No duplicates!
Aquamarine
Some nail polishes just don’t mix.
I started with 2 coats of Color Club, Gala’s Gems Collection – “Aquamarine Azulino“ from my April Birchbox. It was thick and creamy – but still needed 2 coats. I then put a coat of “Aretha” – Aquamarine for March”. “Aretha” was thick and goopy, but it seemed to go on pretty even. As it dried, it started to crinkle around the edges – NOOOOOOOO! The dreaded crusty cuticles!
It doesn’t look horrible, but it doesn’t look flawless. The polish isn’t chipping off the tips, but it’s chipping around the cuticle…I’ve been in a funk all day, obsessing about it. Tomorrow, it goes…
Plié Believer
Although I happily crowdfunded Julep’s new Plié Wand, I was a bit skeptical about how well it would work. How could a longer, paintbrush-like handle make much of a difference when painting my nails? As Channing Tatum so succinctly said in 21 Jump Street – SCIENCE. I don’t know what type of brush Leonardo used when paining The Mona Lisa, but I’ll bet it wasn’t a 2 inch long one.
However it works, the Plié Wand WORKS. My close friends know what a slob I am when I paint my nails, but using the Plié, my nails were nearly camera ready after I painted them. This tool may change my life…
I felt a twinge of regret that I didn’t also get the striping and dotting tools, but realistically, I’m not the Pinterest-y, flowers type of person. I just want glitter and sparkle. I may pick it up at some point, but if I do – it will likely gather dust.
I started with 2 coats of Julep “Paulette” and added Julep “Yumi” on my shocker nails. My nails look FABULOUS.
On a sidenote, I actually started filling out the “Swatch Me” stickers on the tops of my Julep polishes. Until the Plié, I had no idea that the overcap comes off and I was scratching my head trying to figure out how to get the polish on the top of the brush lid. DUH.
Mardi Gross
This is not what I had in mind at all. Imagining the two polishes together, I thought my nails would look like the beach at high noon, the sun’s rays glinting off the sea foam, seashells glittering in the surf. I was dead wrong.
Instead, my nails look like Bourbon Street the day after Fat Tuesday – cheap beads floating in a river of vomit and piss. Mardi Gross.
To be fair, I only put down one coat of Julep “Kennedy” and I should have put down two. I totally misunderstood how Sinful Colors “Bombshell” would look. I should have swatched. ALWAYS swatch.
Excuse me while I go remove this crap and try something else…
Shit Nails
Sooo…I’m back at home and my nails look like absolute shit. Not only do my nails look shitty, but my hands are parched and the skin on my fingers is starting to flake. Too much handwashing in public bathrooms with cheap soap.
The “One Week” manicure looked great until Friday morning…when the middle fingernail on my right hand started peeling. I was in the middle of packing to leave town, so I left it and then patched it with more essie Luxeffects “Set in Stones” that evening. They looked tolerable enough, but by Saturday evening…I broke down and covered everything with a coat of Sally Hansen Gem Crush “LadyLuck”. I went to sleep happy…
…but today, the polish has worn off around the edges of all my nails – nothing wants to stick! I’m too damn tired from all my traveling to fix my nails the right way, so I’m just going to go to sleep and worry about them tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.
One Week
One week…this manicure has to last one week. So I chose the flashiest, yet longest lasting look from the past few months.
See, I have a business trip in Chicago, leaving tomorrow on a 5:55AM flight. I won’t be back until late Thursday night. Most paint jobs would last that long, except I turn around Friday morning and drive to Dallas for Texas Frightmare Weekend – our yearly girls’ trip. I may have time to paint my nails at the hotel, but then again, I may not feel like it…but I can easily touch up chips with more glitter. I’ll be back Sunday, but I may not feel like painting my nails then either….so…ONE WEEK. Can I handle that?
Whereas I used Artmatic “Dusty Rose” on the original, I used 2 coats of Julep “Jennifer” as a base. The difference is like the difference between buying “nude” pantyhose vs. “Suntan”. Or maybe Katy Perry in a rhinestone bodysuit vs. Britney Spears? The glitter is essie luxeffect “Set in Stones”. The TSA better not steal it out of my luggage…it’s THAT valuable.
May Julep Maven Box – The Fresh Twist Collection
This is the earliest I’ve ever gotten my box – thanks, Julep Maven!
Several months ago, Julep offered the opportunity to “crowdfund” (think IndieGoGo or Kickstarter) their new invention – the Julep Plié Wand™. I paid for my May box in advance, in order to ensure the successful launch of this product. It’s a novel idea. Those who know me, know how much I struggle with painting my nails – for the most part, I have a “spray and pray” philosophy. If I screw up, it will always peel off in the shower the next day. With the Plié, I may not have that problem any longer? Looking forward to trying it out…
Here’s the description from the site:
Julep Plié Wand™: An ergonomic nail polishing tool designed to bring more control, accuracy, and fun to every polishing experience. The weighted handle twists, pivots, and bends, making it easy to polish with either hand.
Plié Overcap: Fits over any Julep nail color and magnetically interlocks with the Plié Wand.
Precision Brush: Features a shorter stem that allows you to polish closer to your nail.
May’s theme is “The Fresh Twist Collection”, with another set of Spring colors. Again, I denied the “It Girl” box and went with “Boho Glam”. In addition to “Jeanne”, Jet-set blue crème, and “Paulette”, Golden lilac tulle shimmer, us Crowdfunders received “Yumi”, Pink, silver and holographic glitter. It matches the other two perfectly.
Julep truly listens to their customers, because just this morning, I got an email announcing that we will be able to customize our boxes starting next month. Of course, the price goes up to $24.99 monthly, but you can still get the $19.99 price if you pre-pay 3 months at a time. This might be one of my favorite boxes so far, but now that we can customize our boxes – every box will be my favorite!
Not a Julep Maven? CLICK HERE to join! Your first box is free with code FREEBOX!
Cold, Hard Betrayal
This is what COLD, HARD BETRAYAL looks like.
Dr. Goddess suggested a manicure that depicts cold, hard betrayal and this was my brainstorm – the bleeding cracks represent broken trust. Deep, huh?
Actually, I just put a coat of Julep “Glenda” over my Arrest Me Red – Sinful Colors “Under 18” and Sally Hansen Gem Crush “Cha-Ching!”. I finished with Julep Freedom Polymer Topcoat.
Of all the crackle coats I’ve tried, I think I like Julep’s the best. Sally Hansen is goopy, Revlon doesn’t work and OPI is unpredictable. I wonder how “Glenda” would look over chunky glitter?