Julep Natasha

I have a bright polish for you today for the beginning of Spring! I wasn't too sure how this color would look on me, what with my pale vampire skin, but I actually think it looks pretty good.

 Unfortunately I am disappointed in this polish. I don't usually have a problem with Julep's formula but this one I did. First off, I was expecting a creme and this is a jelly. Not a problem if you like jellies but I am not a big fan. I don't like a polish that I have to use a gazillion coats and I can still see nail line. But, even leaving that out of the equation, once I applied it and let it dry I got in the shower (it was thoroughly dry before I did) and when I got out I had several nails that were peeling or chipped. This is my typical routine after painting my nails so it is definitely the polish and not me. 

The color is a little off in these pics (my camera hates me, remember? LOL), the true color is more coral and not quite as orange. A deeper orange I guess would be the best way to describe it.

Please excuse the lack of cleanup and the chip on my middle finger. Most of the chipping/peeling was on my right hand and I decided I wanted to change it after I took the pictures. 

What do you think of Natasha? Do you have it, maybe mine is a bad bottle perhaps?

You can purchase Julep polishes from julep.com. If you are interested in becoming a Maven click HERE to take the quiz!

Julep Oscar

I'm back! Are you sick of me yet? I am trying to make up for not posting since Thursday. LOL Last post of the day, I promise!! I still need to paint my nails tonight and would like to do my toes as well so I'm gonna make this a quick post! 

Before taking off OPI Hussy (still LOVE that name LOL) I decided to layer Julep Oscar over it. I love red and gold together, such a pretty combo. Oscar is a lovely gold glitter in a clear base. What you see here is one coat so I think you could get this opaque in about 3 coats if you wanted to wear it alone. It is not overly hungry, no Gelous needed.

Isn't Oscar lovely?! You can purchase Julep Oscar at julep.com

If you want to become a Julep Maven  click HERE. Thanks for reading all the posts today!

Mom's Birthday Cupcakes!

Saturday was my mom's birthday (Happy Birthday again Mom!) and I had the brilliant idea (or maybe not so brilliant LOL) to attempt nail art and put cupcakes on her nails. I started out doing them on all 10 fingers and didn't like the way they looked. So I took off all but 4 of them and went with it. LOL I loosely followed the tutorial I found HERE. I ended up working on her nails until after 1 in the morning. 

Polishes used in this mani

On the "solid fingers": 

Julep Carrie and OPI Teenage Dream

On the cupcake fingers:

OPI Rumples Wiggin' for the background

Julep Carrie and OPI Teenage Dream for the frosting

Revlon French Roast for the cake

Barry M Indigo and Avon Aqua Fantasy for the sprinkles

Nubar Fire Sparkle for the cherry

Everything was topped with Seche Vite

This mani is not 100%, I did these Friday night and didn't get pics until today (Monday). For 3 full days of wear I think they look pretty darn good!

What do you think of my cupcakes? I am fairly pleased with them, I think I may be able to master these eventually with some more practice.

Julep Blake

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Today I have a simple but lovely polish to show you. I used to be a hater of all things yellow and orange but lately I have found my tastes changing and am loving orange and liking yellow. I am still not a fan of yellow ON ME, with my skintone but I do like soft yellow in decor and such. 

So today I have a very lovely yellow to show you, it reminds me of the exact color of butter. It went on very nicely, especially for a yellow (they are usually very streaky). It did take 3 coats but they dried quickly and I had no issues.

This is 3 coats topped with Julep's Fast Dry Topcoat

Isn't Blake a gorgeous yellow??

If you are interested in becoming a Julep Maven click HERE to take your style quiz and get started! I am having so much fun being a Maven. :-)

You can also purchase without being a Maven at julep.com.

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Julep Maven Promo

Just a quick post to let you know Julep is running a promo where you can become a Maven and get your first month's box for only $1!!! Click the link below and use code SHAREONFEB to stop missing out on the goodies!!

Click HERE to become a Maven!!!

Julep Maven Promo!!!

Just a quick post to let you know that Julep is offering another promo!! You can get your first Maven box for only $9.99!!! Use code OSCARS2012 and follow the link below to try out the Maven program for less than $10!! It is so nice to get that fancy box of goodies every month!! And don't forget you can choose to try a different style each month, skip a month or even send to a friend as a gift!

Click here to become a Maven!!

Two Julep Boxes and International Nail Mail!!!

Happy Thursday everyone!! The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for me! I want to welcome my new followers and I hope you enjoy it here! I love having giveaways because they are fun for both me and my readers but I think my blog has a lot more to offer than just the giveaways. :-) So I hope you genuinely enjoy all of my posts, I try to make them fun!! OK, onto the goodies!!
I received both of my Julep boxes yesterday (I have two subscriptions) as well as an AMAZING package from my friend Denise in England!! Let's get to it, shall we?
The BEST kind of mail there is!!!
First up is my February Bombshell Julep Box!!

 

I loooove the red and gold shredded packing paper! I may start using them for every pic I take!! LOL

Two polishes (will tell the names in the closeup), my chocolate Oscar and my Julep Hair Topcoat!! I can't wait to try this! I looove hair products!

L-R: Oscar and Viola

I also got an It Girl Box but I really wanted American Beauty. It was my fault, not Julep's, I just completely forgot to change my box before the cutoff date. But my friend SuiLing from Lovely Little Things saved the day!! She is getting American Beauty and we are going to swap. So two of my It Girl polishes will go to SuiLing and she will send me a polish and a cuticle oil. Yay!! (As it turns out I am IN LOVE with the two polishes I am sending her so I will have to purchase them at some point. LOL)

L-R: Oscar, Elizabeth, Rachel

And last, but certainly not least, is my package from my friend Denise!! I am sure you have all seen Max Factor Fantasy Fire polish floating around the blogosphere. It is amazing and supposed to be a dupe for the much sought-after Clarins 230! I am so grateful Denise, thank you so much!! She also included a lovely gold glitter polish from George called Starry Eyed.

Max Factor Fantasy Fire

So there you have my nail mail!! What do you think?

Lynderella Connect the Dots!!!!

Happy Thursday my lovely readers!!! I have surpassed 800 followers today!! I cannot believe it!!! I want to thank each and everyone of you for following my ramblings and polish adventures!! Without all of you I would be talking to myself, which has been known to happen. LOL 
OK, onto the epicness that is Lynnderella Connect the Dots!!! I wanted to put this over a bright, fun color and decided Julep Helena would be perfect!! I must take a minute to say that Helena has worn like iron! I have been wearing it for nearly 3 days and have no chips and only very minimal tip wear on a couple of fingers, and I have been doing a lot of stuff with my hands. (AND ONLY TWO OF MY FINGERS HAD TOPCOAT OVER HELENA!) I am very impressed!
Back to Connect the Dots! I waited a long time for this polish and it was definitely worth the wait!! It is simply amazing. It is classy and fun all at the same time, and there is so much going on. There is black and white micro glitter, as well as black and white glitter in hex, square, round and bar shapes! There is also a white shimmer to it that makes it extra special! My camera didn't capture the shimmer very well but you can see it a little in the closeup. :)
I usually put Gelous over my glitters but this one didn't seem all that rough so I tried it with just Orly Won't Chip and it is ok. The bar glitter still sticks up in a few spots. Next time I will wear Gelous over it. OK, on to the pics!!!
**Please keep in mind, once again, this is not an accurate color pic for Helena. The first one is the closest but still not accurate**

If you are not familiar with Lynnderella polishes, they are handmade frankens by a sweet and very creative woman named Lynn. Because these are gorgeous, handmade and unique they are in very high demand.They are hard to come by but worth the wait. They can be purchased two different places when they are in stock.

They can be purchased directly from Lynnderella's blog HERE for $12 each but she has a minimum order of 5 bottles. Her store is currently closed but is supposed to re-open sometime in January.

They can also be purchased from Llarowe for $15 each but she is also currently out of stock. She is expecting a new shipment in mid-February.

Julep Helena is available at Julep.com. If you are interested in becoming a Julep Maven, they are running ANOTHER penny promo!!! You can become a Maven and get your first month for only $.01!!! Use promo code NEWYEAR2012!! Click  HERE to take your style quiz and  join! Don't forget, you can skip a month, switch styles to cancel at any time. :-)

Julep Helena

Hello everyone!! I'm going to tell you first thing today that I am IN LOVE with this polish BUT my pictures do not do it justice. I literally took HUNDREDS of pics of this color in every lighting situation I could find and not one of them turned out true to color. The ones I finally settled on (and I literally mean finally, I started working on these pics 24 hours ago) I am still not happy with. I actually feel bad using these because the color appears more muted than it is in real life. In real life this color is a very vibrant, bright, purpley fuschia. They are also blurry because these came from my phone, my camera did not get anywhere near the true color of this gorgeous polish. OK, onto the rest of the post...

The finish of this polish is very interesting. It is not a creme, it is more of a "rubbery" finish, it reminds me of the finish in the pics I've seen of the Illamasqua Theater of the Nameless Collection (you can see pics of this collection on All Lacquered Up HERE). It's somewhere between a creme and a matte, very satin-y and smooth. In my swatches I left my middle finger and pinky WITHOUT topcoat so you can see the difference in topcoat/no topcoat.

Index and middle fingers have topcoat, middle finger and pinky are without topcoat

I really wish I could have had better pics for all of you. I think this color is a must have, especially for Spring and Summer. 

If you are interested in becoming a Julep Maven, they are running ANOTHER penny promo!!! You can become a Maven and get your first month for only $.01!!! Click  HERE to take your style quiz and  join! Don't forget, you can skip a month, switch styles ot cancel at any time. :-)

Julep Maven Penny Deal!!!!

This will be my last post for tonight. LOL I just wanted to share with all of you that Julep is offering their Penny Deal once again!!! This is such an amazing deal!!!!

Click HERE to join and become a Julep Maven for only a PENNY!!! You can't beat that price!!!

I'm Going in Circles!!!

Happy Friday everyone!! Thank goodness the weekend is here!! I had a great idea for stamping over Julep Leah that I posted yesterday. I wanted to stamp and post last night but I didn't get a chance until tonight. Why must work get in the way of polishing and blogging? LOL

I really like the stamp design I used (BM19), I love circles so this is right up my alley.  The stamping turned out a tad messy which bother me but I though it was still worth showing you.  :) I used OPI Black Onyx for the stamping. I hope you enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this mani!! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Julep Leah!!!

Hello everyone!!! I want to welcome all of my new followers!! I hope you enjoy it here! I know most of you have found me through my giveaway but I hope you enjoy my posts, I love interacting with my followers and making new friends!! 

Today I have a polish that I have fallen in love with. This is a color that a few months ago I probably wouldn't have even given a second look at. I have noticed since I started blogging my taste in polish has changed (and expanded) greatly. Has anyone else noticed that? Or has the PHD  (polish hoarder disorder LOL) completely taken over? Well, either way I am so in love with Leah. Leah is a beautiful green with a slight shimmer in it. Something I noticed when I was snacking on a few M&M's this afternoon is that Leah is almost the exact same color as a green M&M!! There is just a very SLIGHT difference in the two. 

The formula on this polish was amazing, it went on so smooth and creamy. I used 2 coats and topped it off with Julep Fast Dry Topcoat. This mani is so super shiny!! I have a stamping combo I want to try on this, I just haven't had the chance yet!

AND A BONUS PIC TO PROVE I AM NOT CRAZY! LOL

(M&M's were harmed in the making of this post LOL)

I hope you all love Leah as much as I do!! Julep polishes retail for $14 at julep.com but you can get 20% off plus free shipping if you become a Julep Maven!! For more info on becoming a Maven see my post HERE (just negate the info on the penny box, that promo is over). 

If you want to become a Maven click HERE to be taken to their site and start your style quiz!

EPIC NAIL MAIL!!!!!!

Today has been an amazing day for a polish addict like me!!!!! I received my holo goodness order from Llarowe and TWO Julep boxes!!!! I ordered a second Julep box in December, which I received today, as well as my January box!!! So enough babbling, on to the pics!!!

PACKAGES!!!

Up first, my Llarowe order!!!

 Leah Ann has THE BEST PACKAGING!!!

L-R: Glitter Gal Lizard Belly and 10 to Midnight, HITS Ares, Demeter and Dionisio, Ludurana Aurora Boreal Supremo

DROOOOL

I almost cried when I opened Ares. I have been wanting a red holo forever and this one is perfect.

Now for my December Julep box!! (Yes, I already had one of these LOL I couldn't resist the second one hehehe)

It Girl!!

 L-R: Julep Fast Dry Topcoat, Kim, Helena, Chloe, Hand Brightener and Scrub Samples, GLITTER POT!

 You can't tell in this pic but Chloe has magenta glitter!!! Can't wait to wear it!

And SURPRISE my glitter pot is STARS!!! I LOVE STARS! Can't wait to use this!!

And now for my January Bombshell box!!!

 January boxes included a free upgrade for a polish of your choice or a Nail Therapy. I chose the polish (eventhough I love their Nail Therapy), it was out of stock so they sent a Nail Therapy and a code for me to get a free polish of my choice!! WOOHOO TOTAL WIN!!!!

 Such pretty packaging!!

 L-R: Julep Nail Therapy, Carrie, Megan, Pomegranate Scrub (smells so yummy), and Julep Nail Polish Remover Pads. I can't wait to try these!

Loving these colors!!

I hope you all enjoyed my nail mail!!! I know I did!!!