Julep Essential Cuticle Oil Review

I'm running low on my favorite TamTam's Cuticle Oil, so I decided to tack on Julep's Essential Cuticle Oil to my February Maven box. I was apprehensive about trying something new when I already have a favorite, but the convenience of adding it on to my Maven box wooed me. I haven't been using it long enough to make any long term claims about what it does, but I do have some first impressions to share about how it stacks up to my usual brand.

No touch up on my cuticles in this photo

Essential Cuticle Oil comes in a .28 oz rollerball bottle, perfect for everyday carry. It's similar in size to a Julep polish bottle. The main ingredient is jojoba oil, and it also has rosewood, vitamin E, sweet almond oil, and ylang ylang. On the Manna's Manis review of TamTam's oil someone mentioned a lavender allergy, so unfortunately this one isn't an alternative in that respect. However, it's a good quality oil. Nothing weird on the ingredient list, does what it says it does, and isn't that bottle pretty?

I wasn't sure what I would think about the rollerball, and I like it more than I thought I would. I think my preference is still for the brush, but it dispenses enough product without having to fight with it. One thing I could take or leave on this product is the smell. It has a sort of woodsy overtone, which I didn't mind, but didn't love. If you prefer a sweeter smell, this may not appeal to you as much, but if you like a more earthy smell, this will be right up your alley.

After about a week of normal-for-me use, which is a few times a day, my cuticles aren't perfect, but are definitely improved from the state they would be in, especially considering the wonky weather we've been having here in the Midwestern US. The oil is very light, and absorbs into the cuticles quickly, leaving them smoother and soft.

All in all, I think I prefer my old cuticle oil (you can find it at TamTam's Etsy shop). I love the smell of her oils, and they feel a little thicker and richer. This one is lighter, but I feel like I reapply it a little more often, and didn't get the instant impact that I did when I first started using TamTam's. They're also half the retail price of the Julep oil for a bigger bottle (.5 oz vs .28 oz). However, many of the reasons I'm going to be repurchasing my old brand rather than switching to this one are based in preference. This is definitely a good quality cuticle oil that's well reviewed on the site. If you prefer a rollerball to a brush, like a light formula, and enjoy a more earthy smell over the more "girlie" scents, this may be a good cuticle oil for you. I have no problem recommending it, but when I look at the relative value of buying a good cuticle oil I like for $18 versus a great cuticle oil I love for $9, I'm going to be switching back myself.

Have you ever tried a high end version of a favorite product? What did you think?

Second Chance Mani Do Overs

Have you ever tried a polish and said "meh," dropping it in your stash as unimpressive, only to decide later that it very well may be your Favorite Polish of All Time? I know I have. I hate the idea of having great polish going unused, so I decided to dust off a few of those "meh" shades for polish Do Overs! The rules were that it couldn't be a polish I use regularly for manis or nail art, has to be a polish that I disliked because of the color itself, not formula or some other reason unrelated to the particular shade, and I wore them all for at least a full day. Here's what happened.

I started out with Julep Rochelle. When I first picked it up, I tried it on and thought it was...fine, I guess. It was purple. I have a love/hate relationship with purples-I have dozens, and some of my best loved shades are purple, but I tend to find purple polishes uninspiring in general. Then I kept picking up Sinful Shine Haute Shine and thinking "I already have Rochelle, it's nothing special, and this one looks just like it," so I decided I needed to crack out Rochelle again before buying a dupe. Turns out, I love Rochelle! It's a gorgeous, glowy shimmer that applied beautifully and looks rich and elegant. It's almost chromy, and the shine is fantastic. I have a coat of Sinful Shine topcoat over it here, but it shines on its own as well. This is two easy coats. I did have some tip wear pretty quickly, but this one is still officially back in the rotation.

My next Do Over was Sinful Shine Prosecco. I was so disappointed when I bought this one a few months ago. I had oohed and ahhed over it in a display but didn't buy, and when I went back for it, it wasn't there. It suddenly became a unicorn. I needed it. I obsessed over other bloggers' swatches. I scanned the displays in multiple stores looking for it, only to leave dejected. So when I finally found it on eBay for $7.99, I snatched it up.

You have to understand, I'd just paid eight dollars for a polish that retails less than $2, waited a week to get it, then put it on my nails and hated it. Not just didn't love it, straight up hated everything about it. Super thin formula. Terrible with my skin tone, even though on paper it should have looked great. Between the formula and the finish, couldn't even use it for nail art. Three strikes. I pushed it to the back of my Sinful Colors stash and growled a little every time I looked at it.

My relationship with this polish is now better, but still strained. This was 4 coats, and it took a very long time to dry. I still think it's completely wrong for me, but when I was wearing it, I had to appreciate that gold shimmer. I probably won't wear it alone again, but maybe there's some hope with layering?




The last polish granted a do-over this round was Essie A Cut Above, from their LuxEffects lineup. I've used this polish here and there for nail art, but it never really struck me as a headliner. A Cut Above is kind of basic: shimmery pink hex glitter in different sizes in a clear base. It's my only Essie polish, gifted to me by someone who didn't think it was her style. Since it is a topper (and I don't think it was ever intended to be a standalone), I paired it with Julep Linda, a cool pale grey. I love pink and grey together, especially in the winter for some reason, so I hoped it would bring out the best in it. For the most part, I was right. Linda and A Cut Above seem to play well together. Linda is warmer and more lavender toned when they're teamed up, which looked nice with my skin tone, and A Cut Above's sparkle was more sophisticated on a neutral base. I really like this mani.




That being said, I don't particularly like this polish any more than I did before. Because all of the glitter is the same shade, it falls a touch flat. What really tipped the odds against it was the application. Because I was going for gradiation, I had to do quite a bit of manipulating to get the glitter where I wanted it. I like the finished effect, but it wasn't very cooperative when I was trying to get it. All in all, the re-try didn't improve my opinion of this polish. It's just not exciting enough to be worth the price tag.

Even though two of my three do-overs still struck out, I enjoy retrying polishes I wasn't initially in love with every now and then. My tastes change sometimes, or I notice a new way that this polish could fit into my style. And you never know when a polish will be exactly right for the look you're going for, so pulling out colors I don't wear often reminds me what I have available. What's a polish that didn't win you over right away, but now you love it?

March Maven Swatches and Review: Danica, April, and Angie (a Julep holo!)

This month as an add on, Julep introduced a holo! I tried so hard to say no, I really did, but it didn't happen. Angie had to be mine. Wanna see it, and the other colors I picked up this month? Here you go!

Angie is a silver "liquid holographic," which I would call an apt description. When you're applying it or looking at it in the bottle, it has a really cool flowy quality. It does pool in the cuticles a little bit, so application isn't crazy, but is a touch delicate. What surprised me most was how rich the coverage was. Angie is opaque in two to three coats. To my delight, this is not a holo topper. It's almost like a holo that applies like a creme. It even cleans up surprisingly easily. I hope Angie will be the first color in a series of liquid holographics. I'd love to see this finish in just about every color (mint green first, please!). I would call it more scattered than linear, and it scatters even more with topcoat (I used Julep Freedom Polymer). This made me a little sad, because it's a touch dull without it. It's kind of strange-it clouds up when you apply the topcoat, but as it dries, it gets the most of its holo-y goodness back. If you like a good silver holo, this is a solid one, and I'm more than happy with this add-on. It's my full mani right now, and it is effectively slowing down your ability to read this post because I keep stopping to look at my nails instead of writing.

The second color I got was April, a "vermilion" creme. I'm not sure what the heck vermilion is supposed to be, but I'd call this a cheerful red based poppy orange. April's the kind of color that will get a fair amount of mileage for me. It's a bright that compliments my medium skin tone, feels seasonal 3/4 of the time (not much of a winter tone, I'm afraid), and applies nicely. I don't have any real complaints about it. It's not a revolutionary shade, but it's a lovely staple red-orange.






Finally, I picked up Danica, a unique purple-blue shimmer. I found it almost impossible to photograph this one accurately! When I went back to Julep's photos, theirs were also much more blue than Danica looks in real life. I'd hoped that it would lean more purple, and I was wowed by this shade, but if you want blue-blue, you may want to try a different shade. Or you can layer it over a brighter blue...because this shade is much sheerer than I expected. On the first coat, it's pretty much a jelly, and it builds to the opacity you see here in about four coats. It's listed as a chrome, but it's not similar in consistency to other Julep shades that I'd call chromes, like Greta and Karmen. And one more gripe: it smells pretty bad. All that said, while I wish it were a little more opaque, I like the flexibility that the consistency gives, and the actual color is fantastic. It has fine blue and purple shimmers that make it totally different than anything else I have. The blend of blue and purple is interesting and unexpected-I like it a lot.

Oh dear, I got wordy again, sorry! The TL;DR version is that all of these were really nice, but Angie's the one that really stands out. I'm sure not everyone will love it, but I'd definitely recommend it. Did you get a Maven box this month? What did you pick?

Nail Crazies Unite: Good Luck Goldfish

This week in Nail Crazies Unite the theme is Good Luck Charm. I like the idea that surrounding oneself with certain items, colors, or furniture arrangements could tip the odds, even if I don't necessarily believe in luck. I did some casual Googling, and I found out that goldfish are considered good luck in some cultures. Goldfish nails-how fun!

The base color on this mani is Julep Kiki. I love this color. It's so bold and shimmery, and ranges from what you see here to almost a light slate color depending on the light. My goldfish is freehand with Julep Ingrid, Karen, and Zoya Jesy. I didn't think I liked Jesy at first, but I've used it several times recently, and I'm falling in love with it. For this mani, it gave the perfect amount of sparkle and really set off the goldfish's underwater glow. Around the goldfish, I used dots of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Tulle Kit for some shimmery transparent bubbles. I enjoyed this mani-I may have to do a full goldfish bowl look sometime!

Check out the other Nail Crazies in the link up:

An InLinkz Link-up

Nail Crazies Unite: Rainbow

February was such an awesomely bad month, and the beginning of March was super busy, so I'm glad to be back to the Nail Crazies Unite challenge. This week's prompt was Rainbow, a pattern I love, but can never quite get right. After a few much more complicated ideas, I finally went with something simple.

For this design, I used a new-to-me shade, Sally Hansen XTreme Wear Golden-I. I really like this one a lot. I bought it because my go to gold metallic, Revlon Copper Penny, was running low, and this turned out to be not quite a dupe, but an acceptable substitute. I used three coats thin coats here.

My other shades, chosen for their super shimmer sparkly qualities, were Julep Karmen (red), Sephora for OPI What's Your Sign (yellow/orange), Sinful Colors Happy Ending (green), and Black Dahlia Lacquer 90 in November (purple). I didn't want a glitter rainbow (this time), but I wanted it to sparkle like crazy. While the level of bling looks subtle here, I assure you, it is obscene.

Have I said lately that I love rainbow nails? They're fabulous. I may even do some more before the week is out. Be sure to check out all of the other delightful rainbow creations from the NCU ladies below!

An InLinkz Link-up

March Julep Maven Review and Simple Dotted Nail Art

I got home Tuesday from a weeklong trip to fabulous Las Vegas! One of the only moments the whole trip when I wished I was home was when I found out that my Julep Maven box had arrived in my absence. This month I wasn't as excited about the beauty products as the polish, so I ended up with four polishes from the Pop! collection: Janet (a pale peach in their new soft focus finish), Ali (a mint green soft focus), Nayely (a peach/papaya creme), and Nedra (a denim creme). This month, I was all over variations of hues I've been passing over lately like peach, mint, and blue. Every month it seems like I go for a more unique shade and end up kicking myself for passing on something I know would look good in a staple shade...so this time I snatched them up. Take a look at how they look together.

First up, the soft focus finish. I'm not really sure what the difference is between "soft focus" and regular old matte pastels, but they do have a soft, hazy quality without topcoat (I used Julep Freedom Polymer topcoat in the pictures here). Both are very pretty, and I would say I got what I expected from them. Ali is very, very similar to the swatches on the Julep website, and Janet is a little paler than it looks on my monitor. Janet is the base color for my accent nails. Both are more matte in person than they appear on the website. As pastels tend to be, they're a touch uncooperative in application and required three coats for full, clean coverage.

Nedra and Nayely are well behaved cremes, opaque and shiny in two coats. I wondered if Nayely would be super similar to Princess Grace, a papaya shade I regretted passing on last year, but it appears to be lighter and more peachy. It's a great seasonal transition color for people like me who aren't nuts about most pastels but don't want to completely skip spring shades altogether. Nedra, the main color in this mani, is a great all season shade. "Denim creme" is an accurate descriptor. It's rich and cool with the tiniest hint of grey undertone, not a weird color, but also not like any of my other blues. Even though I liked all of these enough to recommend them, Nedra would be my must have from this box.

What did you get in your Maven box? I love how well all of the shades this month coordinate with each other. If you're not a Maven and decide to give it a try, do me a favor and click here or on the cute little "Classic With A Twist" button on your right to use my referral link.

Weekend Nails: Sunrise/Sunset Gradients With China Glaze Fairy Dust

A few days ago I picked up Fairy Dust, the much loved holo micro glitter topper from China Glaze. I was eager to try it out, so this weekend I whipped out my sponges and got to work on a couple of sparkle infused gradient manis inspired by the Indiana skyline. The results made me feel optimistic about my progress with gradients, and I absolutely love the subtle sparkle of Fairy Dust!


For this cheerful "sunrise" gradient, I started with one coat of white over my basecoat, topcoated, then sponged a few coats of a trio of Julep Catrina (sunny deep yellow creme), Sinful Colors Boogie Nights (juicy orange based coral), and Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Sweet Sunrise (shimmer kissed warm pink) an finished off with one coat of Fairy Dust before topcoating again. This mani looked even better in person. I did have a little bit of bumpiness, which I think is because I wasn't very patient with my white base. I'll have to learn to go slow with gradients to really get the flawless results I want. I also love these colors together. Finding the right bridge shade seems to be the key, and the crelly texture of Boogie Nights helped meld everything together. I loved how the pink tips softened the whole look to a rosy glow.


When I was ready for my second go, I kept the same theme, but I used a dusky "sunset" color scheme of soft purples. I added in a second coat of Fairy Dust on just the tips to add extra sparkle to my night sky, but otherwise used the same strategy-white base followed up with two or three spongings of a three color set. This time I used Julep Octavia (deep blue-violet), Sinful Colors Dream On (bright purple crelly) and Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle in Loyal Lavender (pale lavender shimmer). At first I thought it was a funny little coincidence that I chose polishes from the exact same makers as the first gradient, but when I thought about it, it wasn't such a surprise-I just chose polishes with the exact same finishes in a different color scheme. For both of these manis I used Avon ridge filling base coat and Sally Hansen 3D Gel Shine topcoat.


With the exception of my obsessive love for all shades of green polish, I tend to be more partial to warm colors than to cool ones, so I think I liked the first one a little better, but both of these were a huge improvement on most of the gradients I've done in the past.Which of these skyline inspired looks is your favorite? Are you a fan of Fairy Dust?

Nail Crazies Unite: Anti-Vday Negative Space Heart of Stone

Recently I joined the Facebook group Nail Crazies Unite, a new group for weekly nail art prompts. I probably won't be able to hit all the prompts all the time, but I definitely saw the potential on the first one: Anti Valentine's Day. While I don't have anything in particular against love, I've always thought Valentine's Day was kind of silly, so this prompt piqued my interest right away. After several botched ideas, I was inspired by this photo for the mani that finally made me happy. While I don't agree with the sentiment (men have feelings, too!), the "heart of stone" concept was cute and perfect for my anti-Vday nails.

I've wanted to try a negative space mani for a while, and this seemed like as good a prompt as any to get my feet wet. I wouldn't say it's one of my best, but for a first try, I think it's pretty cute! Be sure to check out the other Nail Crazies Unite Anti-Vday looks this week below.

An InLinkz Link-up

February Julep Maven Swatches and Review: Becky, Hazel, and Hartleigh

My February Maven box is here already! I don't typically have trouble with my box arriving on time, but the past few months have been a little slower than usual, so I was pleasantly surprised to have it in hand today. This month I was only particularly infatuated with a few colors, so in my customized Maven box for February I got another bottle of Freedom topcoat and picked up Becky (an "oil slick" silk finish polish) and Hazel (a bronze fuchsia duochrome). I also got a February freebie that came with every Maven box, Hartleigh. Let me show you!

I was really excited about Becky this month. Even as I went back and forth on what other polish to get, Becky was always on the list, and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. Not because there's anything wrong with the polish itself-that was pretty good. Becky applies well (this is two coats) and is very pretty. The silk finish isn't as matte as some of their other silk polishes, but the hazy quality I like about the silk finish is there. It's a little less purple than it looks here, a little more green, but not as oil-slickish as it looked in the Julep swatches.

Where my disappointment came in was its similarity to Blakely, their popular "purple and green molten." I noticed the similarity when I chose it, but the Julep swatches of Becky were different enough that I decided to take a risk. Now I kind of wish I hadn't, because they're almost identical. Becky is easier to work with; my major complaint about Blakely was its thick, streak prone formula, and neither is an issue with Becky.  Here I swatched them side by side, along with China Glaze Choo Choo Choose You, another purple/green shifter. Choo Choo Choose You leans much more strongly gold/green and is frostier, so I'd say it's in the same family but not the same, but Blakely and Becky are very, very similar. There are some slight differences with the finish, with Becky being softer and more scattered and Blakely more metallic. I would say you probably don't need them both, but  which one you'll like better will be a matter of personal preference. I think I prefer Becky, but since I already have Blakely, I didn't really need it.

Left to right: Choo Choo Choose You, Blakely, Becky; no topcoat.

The other polish I got was Hazel, billed as a duochrome. I love me some duochromes, so I couldn't resist. I like this one, but the shift isn't nearly as strong as I expected, again based on the Julep swatches. The color itself, though, is really pretty, with a kind of iridescent quality. It has a touch of pink that these photos don't really show, but otherwise they're pretty accurate. You can see more of the bronze end of the spectrum on the pointer finger. No problems with application; two coats shown here. It's thin enough that if you wanted to bring out one of the undertones, you could probably layer it over something else in the family of the tone you wanted to highlight to get a different effect.

Finally, Julep sent all of us Mavens who got a box this February a special gift- Hartleigh, a glitter topper with small holo glitter, two sizes of white matte hex glitter, and large shiny red heart glitters in a clear base. This topper is packed- no digging for glitters here! While it's not something I probably would have chosen for myself, I think it's fun and I really like it. The different sizes and colors of glitters might be fun for a V-day jelly sandwich, something I haven't tried before. Here I tried it over bare nail, a pale pink (Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Hard-core Party), a medium bright pink (SH Nail Growth Miracle in Kiss of Pink), and a darker purple based pink (SH Nail Growth Miracle in Sugar Plum).

Fun, isn't it? I like this one. I think the medium pink was my favorite with it. What do you think?

Did you get a Maven box this month? What did you get, and how do you think you'll be wearing Hartleigh? If you're not a Maven and want to join, be a doll and use my referral link. You can also get 50% off of your welcome box right now with code WOW. It includes 2 Plush Pout lip crayons (one of my favorite things) and two polishes, which is basically like getting one Plush Pout crayon free. And while we're talking awesome free gifts, have you entered my giveaway for a bottle of TamTam's Creations cuticle oil yet? Only a few days left, and I assure you, you will love this stuff. Ok, advertising part of the post over. Let me know what you think about this month's Julep Maven shades!

Weekend Nails: Inspired by Meghan Trainor

Unless you've been completely off the grid for the past year or so, you've probably heard Meghan Trainor's All About That Bass, and if you've really been paying attention (or are one of the over 100 million people who have watched it on Youtube), you've seen her Lips Are Movin' video, too. After hearing these two songs, followed up by the absolutely adorable Dear Future Husband, on a car ride with a friend today, I'm officially a fan.  I had so much fun listening to her songs today that I had to bring back Weekend Nails with some Meghan Trainor inspired nail art!

Meghan's videos have a fairly consistent color palette so far: pastels with pops of brights (usually red). For this nail look, the main mani was inspired by this screenshot from the All About That Bass video, with Meghan laying in a pile of wispy pastel pink, purple, yellow, and blue cloth. I started with one coat of a white base, then used a cotton bud dipped in acetone to sponge on the color. I used Sally Hansen CSM in Tulle Kit (sheer blue glitter), Insta-Dri Lively Lilac (purple), NYC Robin's Egg Blue (pale blue/green), Nicole by OPI Naturally (bubbly pink), and Julep Lilou (yellow). Usually when I use this technique it comes out too bright, but this time it was actually a little softer than I'd planned. The timing isn't great, but maybe I'm finally learning to match up my pastels! For my accent nail, I took my inspiration from a Lips Are Movin' setpiece, a bright blue striped background with a talking lips cutout in the center. I knew that if I tried to make it too complicated I'd end up frustrated, so I started out planning for just a closed mouth. Then I realized that fleshing out the shape would be just as easy with an open mouth as a closed one, so I went for it. Up close you can see a little peek of the blue stripe underneath, but from a normal distance, it looks smooth. I'm pretty happy with how it came out as compared to what I imagined. For the accent, I used Sally Hansen Cherry Red for the lips, with a no-name Sally Hansen white with Julep Lissa for the stripes-it was a perfect match for the inspiration photo!

As the mother of a daughter, I'm constantly trying to toe the line in pop culture between being hypersensitive and shielding my little girl (and, just as importantly, my teenage son) from messages that women are props rather than people and that her worth is tied to her weight/clothes/relationship status/etc., which is harder than it sounds. No artist can be all things to all people at all times, but Meghan's overall attitude of confidence and self respect is something I can feel comfortable sharing with my kids. I had a lot of fun honoring her unique vibe and playful videos with my nail art look, and I wish all the best for her as she continues to turn heads!

January Julep Maven Review and Swatches

Once again, customization was too much for me-I passed on Julep's new Luxe Lip Treatments this time (I'm trying to go bolder with my lip colors, and these were super sheer) in favor of another bottle of Bare Face cleanser, and now I'm kicking myself for not getting more topcoat, too. Bah! The struggle is real, people; I need all the things. But enough of that, let me show you some of the new pretties that came in my box this month! Warning: this one is pic heavy. We'll start with Alicia, one of Julep's "from the vault" polishes.

Alicia is a "sunny salmon creme," cheerful even if not particularly original. Peachy corals are a shade I can't seem to get enough of, and this is a really nice one. It does go on a touch streaky, so apply carefully for best results. I'm pumped about Julep's announcement that several polishes will come out of retirement this year. There are certain colors I never got a crack at that I'm hoping will be on the list (lookin' at you, Ginger).

Next we have my one acquisition that debuted in the Chrysalis collection: Margit. You caught a sneak peek of this one earlier this week as an accent to my marsala roses with January Maven mystery add on polish Coco. On its own, Margit has a pink shimmer that warms it up and makes it a great SFW neutral. My job doesn't stifle my polish spirit (thank goodness!), but if yours does, you can still get a unique polish fix during the work week with Margit.

"But wait," you say. "Didn't January have a free gift in the Maven boxes?" Why yes, it did. Each Maven that checked the e-mail or blog and opted in got one of three metamorphic topcoats. I was delighted to find that mine was purple tinted Tyra. I don't know if these will go on sale, but they're pretty cool. I decided to sample Tyra with several colors, including a couple that I'm...less than in love with to see if it could transform them into polish I could adore. Here's what I got.

Left to right: Tyra over Julep Amy, Greta, Ryan, Sally Hansen Black Out

I tried Tyra over Alicia first, but wasn't wowed, so next I tried a warm blue creme, berry shimmer, matte teal green, and basic black. The biggest transformation was the teal, which changed to a shimmery purple-blue duochrome. Nice! The pink is Julep Greta, which I mentioned before isn't my favorite in my Maven anniversary post. I was so meh about it I didn't even have a decent swatch! With Tyra, it becomes a shimmery dark pink that I much prefer over the original. The black was ok. From the photos Julep provided I expected a bit more dramatic of a transformation, but it's a fun option to have. The blue was probably the most subtle transformation, but it added a distinct purple shimmer, I liked it enough that I put it on all of my nails when I was done playing.

Now that you've seen this month's Maven polishes, I have a bonus for you. Last month the weather was gloomy and grey, and I didn't have my lightbox yet, so I couldn't seem to get a decent picture of my December Maven polishes. I really fell in love with Paula, so I went back and snapped a few pictures to show it to you. Paula is a cobalt with gold shimmer, and it is absolutely fabulous.

Did you get your hands on one of the metamorphic topcoats? I'd love to see the blue and green ones, so tag me in your pictures @SecretNailBlog on Twitter or on my Facebook page SuperSecretNails!

Marsala Rose Nail Art

So I haven't been such a good blogger this week. I wanted to at least tweet my simple NYE mani, but I maaay have trashed it in some NYE shenanigans before I had a chance to take photos (for the record, I wore Sally Hansen Insta Dri Wined Up with NYC Top o' the Gold Topcoat on the tips). Then I vowed to make it up to you with a full swatch and review of my January Julep Maven box, but I can't bring myself to take this mani off yet!

I chose a Mystery Polish add on with my Maven box, and it turned out to be Coco, this magical oxblood red. At first I thought, "oh...red." Then the light bulb went off. This isn't just any red! This is marsala!

Yes, marsala, Pantone's Color of the Year for 2015, an honor heralded as the indicator for the trends in fashion and beauty for the year. According to Pantone, "flattering against many skin tones, sultry and subtle Marsala is a great go-to color for beauty, providing enormous highlight for the cheek, and a captivating pop of color for nails[.]" When I first saw it I was underwhelmed, but it's grown on me, and the range of polish that fits into the marsala family is phenomenal. It seemed fitting that my first post of 2015 should show you one of them, especially one named for style icon Coco Chanel, the embodiment of the "message of glamour and luxury" that Pantone says a shiny marsala conveys-you know I love my shiny nails. 

Paired with Coco for my accent nail is one of January's new Maven colors, Margit. Margit is a "mushroom with rose shimmer." Julep's glowy shimmers have been hitting on all cylinders for me lately, so even though I've not been crazy about mushroom in the past, I gave it a shot. It proved to be a wonderful balance with the earthy tones of marsala. I kept the earthy+glamorous marsala theme with a rose design, going for bigger, all over roses rather than my usual tiny rosettes along the edges. It is such a gorgeous, sophisticated manicure! I used a large dotting tool and a small detail brush, then followed the same technique I use for the rosettes, just bigger, which allowed me to be a little more deliberate and get a nice effect with just two shades rather than my usual three. The leaves are Julep Ryan. It's topped off with Sally Hansen Super Shine topcoat.

So in the coming weeks, I'll give you a proper swatch and review of my Maven box as well as a review of some natural products I'm trying right now from a brand new maker. I'm also starting to experiment with my lightbox for better photos, thinking about blog design, and kicking around some ideas on what direction I want to go in with nail art this year. 2015 is going to be a lot of fun for SSNB, and I hope to hear all of your thoughts, feedback, and ideas as I go!

My Christmas Nails: Pink and Grey Sweater Nails

I finally picked my Christmas nail design, and I'm really happy with how my mini-series of Christmas/holiday themed nail art wrapped up (haha, that's a pun!). This design was inspired by this look from Nailstorming. I've always liked pink and grey together, so I chose that color scheme for a soft, pretty winter design with just enough glitter that reminded me of a cozy winter sweater.

For this design, I used Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Hard-core Party as my baby pink base, then Julep Devon as my grey. The glitter is Zoya Lux (word on the street is that Zoya PixieDusts are going away in 2015, so if you like this one, you'll want to pick it up soon). Lux has pretty good opacity, but carefully dabbed over the baby pink of Hard-core Party gave it a lighter, more subtle sparkling pink snow effect. One warning about Hard-core Party: the color is lovely, but like many pale pastels, it's very streaky. Here I used a coat of matte topcoat in between layers to limit the number of coats of polish needed for decent coverage.

I've seen several different methods of doing the fair isle snowflake, so I sort of cobbled them together for mine. First, I carefully striped Devon once horizontally and once vertically over the pink base, meeting in the center of the nail. Then I made another set of diagonal stripes from top right to bottom left and vice versa. Next I pulled out my detail brush and made a triangular tip between the lines at the top of each wedge. Finally, I used a small brush to fill in outside the tips and dotted a daub of Lux in the center.

I loved this design, and as I get more practiced on my detail work, I'd love to recreate or do a similar design again. One holiday design I drooled over but didn't do myself this year was a full fair isle mani, so that may be on the docket for next season. If you're interested in a pictorial on the snowflake, let me know as well-it will be great practice. I hope you've had a great holiday season, whether you celebrate yourself or not. Now to start plotting my New Year's Eve mani!

Christmas Nails-Round 2

As I hoped, I have two more winter/holiday nail designs for you today. They didn't come out as well as I wanted, so now, one day before Christmas, I'm still in search of my elusive Christmas day nails. 

First I tried some ruffian stamping, with mixed results. Even though the photos on this design weren't fantastic, I really liked it on my nails. I used Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Pumping Iron as my base, then created a curved side ruffian with Julep Lacey. I stamped the cute little snowflakes with Pumping Iron as well. This mani gave me a few issues, but I think the overall result wasn't bad and I enjoyed wearing it. On the downside, I had tip wear at breakneck speed, which you can see here. This photo is only a day into wearing this mani. Silvers tend to give me that issue, so I was disappointed even if not surprised. I did try a new topcoat, Sally Hansen Super Shine. It was slightly slower drying than my standby topcoats, but otherwise a good substitute-easy to work with and quite shiny.

Here's my second look, the one I'm wearing now. It falls strictly into the realm of "ok I guess," to the point that I'm marking it as a fail. I'm just not in love with it. The color combination is great, though. This is NYC Crown Gold with Fashion Queen on the tips, then Sally Hansen Insta Dri Wined Up for my tree and ribbon and NYC Queen of the City and Fashion Queen for the bow.

*Sigh*. Not good. But I'm still dreaming up that mani that will make me squeal when I wake up to it on Christmas morning. Wish me luck!

November 2014 Julep Maven Review and Nail Art

My Julep Maven box was a home run this month! I ended up with three polishes, and I have to say that all three are likely to end up in regular rotation. November was a great month to be a Maven.

A closer look using the flash (blech!)

This month I ended up with three polishes. The first was Devon, this month's must-have when I was choosing my box. I looove greys. Devon is a "slate grey with fuchsia microshimmer" according to Julep, and I'd say that's pretty accurate. I expected the microshimmer to be a little more prominent, maybe giving a slight duochrome effect. That didn't happen, but it did add something extra that makes this polish different from the other greys in my collection and kept it from leaning metallic. The subtle shimmer reminded me of an indie polish-a very good thing. It's most definitely a baby elephant grey rather than a silver, and it makes a nice alternative to neutrals. It felt warm and fuzzy to me, so I accented it with a quilty pattern. While it doesn't bear much resemblance now, this design was inspired by this one at Amateur Manicure. To intensify the bling, I accented with A England Her Rose Adagio for the quilt lines and Sleeping Palace for my "buttons." The holo arc and dusty pink base of Her Rose Adagio was a perfect pair up with Devon's more subtle shimmer; I can't wait to pair them up in a gradient.





My next pick was harder. After much deliberation, I swapped out my other Classic With a Twist option for Kiki, an "oceanic silver shimmer." I'm not sure why they implied this color was silver, it is straight up blue. "Oceanic with silver shimmer" would have been quite appropriate, though. Look how pretty!

I spotted a mini-tutorial from www.rijah.dk (the caption where I found the video isn't in English and I had trouble figuring out who to attribute it to, but you can check it out on Facebook) and was inspired to use Kiki as the base for a sugar spun design. I loved the black/metallic look in the video, so I flipped it and put Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out on top rather than the bright contrasting colors I usually see with sugar spun nail art. Mine came out less messy than hers, but I think the same feel is there.










Finally, I just couldn't resist-I cashed in some Jules (basically reward points that you spend to add on to the monthly boxes, for those non-Mavens among us) for Joanne, a "smoky plum creme." I am SO glad I did! Joanne is beautiful. It was a good match to the swatches on the website, and has a ton of shine. It's a little thin, but not so much that I had trouble working with it. I kept it simple with this polish, starting with a thick coat of Devon (the swatches above were two thinner coats), then carefully adding a ruffian of Joanne over the top. Since Devon's slightly darker than Joanne, one coat worked well for a neat, clean ruffian, but I would use two if wearing it alone.




This month's polishes seem to have hit the mark for a set of distinctly fall colors that skew away from traditional autumn fare in favor of a fabulous cozy sweaters vibe. I wasn't very interested in the new mascara that debuted with this month's box (their makeup is hit and miss, and I'm currently in love with Rimmel Scandaleyes, so no rush to try out new mascara), so I traded it in for another bottle of Oxygen base coat. In other news, winter is coming in Indiana, and my photos are suffering for it big time. It might be time to construct a light box. Anyone built one for your nail art photos? Tips?

If you decide to try Julep Maven yourself, feel free to use my affiliate link here or in the cute little "Classic With A Twist" button on your right. I get a Julep credit, and you get your intro box for only the $3.99 shipping cost with code FREEBOX.

Julep Maven Anniversary: Hits and Misses

I have officially been a Julep Maven for one year! Last October I took my first ever subscription box risk and joined the Maven program. Between my monthly Maven boxes and a ridiculous number of outside purchases, I've amassed over 50 Julep polishes and an armload of beauty products. In honor of my Maven anniversary, here are a few of my very favorites and least favorites from my first year of Maven boxes. My style profile is Classic With A Twist, for the record, but I think I may be a closet Bombshell. I focused in on products and polishes from the past year's Maven boxes, so the whole Julep catalogue isn't represented here, or this would be a verrrry long post!

Hits: Polishes

Laree 
May "Fresh Twist" Collection
Laree has been out of stock almost since it was released, and I understand why-it's amazing. This is not just another pink. That's why I'm kicking myself for not getting its purple shimmer twin, Paulette before it went out of stock. If Laree ever becomes available again, I may have to say polish budget be darned and get a backup.

Joelle
December "Glitterati" Collection
I actually did get a backup of Joelle, and now I need a backup for my backup. Joelle is endlessly variable, stunning, and equally sophisticated and playful. It's a must have for me.

Lissa
July "Poolside" Collection
Lissa is nothing special on the surface, but it's turquoise done just right. It's a little smoky, a little bright, and all around fun. I went back and forth on which polish to choose in July, but I am SO glad I ultimately chose Lissa over the lovely but predictable Beverly.

Misses: Polishes

Greta
February "Dramatic" Collection 
Keeping it real, I don't like Greta and I don't know why. It's just not "me." The finish is weird and foily, and the color isn't exciting to me at all. I've only used it once, in nail art, right after I got it, and I just don't feel inspired to pick it up again.

Jillian
December "Glitterati" Collection
I almost didn't get Jillian. I swapped out my December Classic box for Boho Glam to get Misty (surprise! the must have for that box was Joelle), but I couldn't stop thinking about Jillian, so I ended up picking it up as a free polish (more on that later). While it's...fine, I guess, it just didn't have the depth I expected for an "eggplant bronze molten." It's red. A pretty red, but red. I was equally perturbed when I got Sinful Colors Rich in Heart and discovered they were pretty much the same polish. I haven't done a side by side, but they look identical to me, and Rich in Heart has a more agreeable formula. NOT happy to find out I wasted my freebie on a polish that has a $1.99 dupe when Julep has so many more unique shades.

Mariska
April "Vivid" Collection
I think Mariska's a love it or hate it polish. I loved the "juicy tangerine" description, but I just couldn't love the polish in practice. It's ugly. My daughter, however, loves it. She's dying to know when I'm going to finally destash and give her my "traffic cone orange." There's also quite a bit of love for it in the reviews on the website. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Near Misses

Shailene
October "Black Magic" Collection
I got Shailene as an add on, and it has been plagued with issues. My bottle, like many others apparently, was so thick and gloppy that it was barely wearable. I put it on my toes for a few days, but didn't care for it. When I saw that others has the same issue, I asked for a replacement. Julep shipped one out immediately, but the new one was just as bad, so I declared defeat and attacked Bottle #1 with polish thinner. It's still pretty thick, but why it went in the near misses column instead of the fails is that this color is absolutely beeyootiful. Once it got on my fingers, I saw it was a shimmery browned purple that's different depending on the light- it's rich and complex and interesting, and I think I love it. It's  If a color is going to be this much work, it better be special, and I don't have anything at all like Shailene. However, I also don't have any other Julep polishes with such major application issues, and I would never recommend it without a disclaimer, so Shailene gets filed as a near miss.

Love
February-Free Gift
Love was free, and I like free. A lot. However, when I got it, I was kind of underwhelmed. It wasn't quite a glitter, not quite opaque, and the magenta glitter scattered throughout didn't really go with the rest of the glitter. I didn't think I'd ever use it. However, Love's saving grace is that it's incredibly versatile. It looks washed out on its own, but gives great coverage over other colors and really stands out as an interesting accent. On its own, Love is a miss, but with a little creativity, it's unique and a great addition to my collection.

Products: Hits

Glow Pore Minimizing Blush in Peach Bellini- April
I'm weird about blush, but this stuff looks and feels amazing. I was nervous about buying it, but as soon as I put it on, I was wowed. It's pricey (I wouldn't have initially spent even the Maven price for it if it didn't come in my box), but I use it almost daily and have barely made a dent.

Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat-June
Oxygen Base Coat has quickly become a favorite for me. I always use a base coat and a top coat, and Julep's are my favorite. I have other good topcoat options, but Oxygen is my go-to base. My nails are getting stronger without getting so hard that they break, growing faster, and splitting less since I started using Oxygen Base Coat. I ordered my third bottle with this month's box!

Products: Misses

Sweep Eyeshadow Palette-December
This is another item that fell in the "nothing special" category. It was a set of uninspired neutral shadows that don't apply, last, or look any better than the shadows I already use. I didn't hate them, but if I would have chosen something else if given my druthers.

Eye Sheen Liquid Eyeshadow- February
The Eye Sheen shadows were a sneak fail. They were a product I was really looking forward to. When I got it, the pot was tiny and it applied poorly on me. I also do my day to day eyeshadow with a finger- no tools for me- so the fact that I can't get to the shadow without getting it under my nails was not fun. I wanted to like it so much, but I just couldn't make it work, and eventually it hardened into an unusable ooblecky plasma. Now they aren't even available on the Julep site anymore, so maybe they're going back to the drawing board? The little glass pot is pretty cute, though; maybe I'll scoop out the shadow and make a custom lipstain or something fun like that!

Maven Experience: Hits and Misses

Whether Julep Maven is a good program or not is a hot topic in the beauty blogs. Honestly, I can only speak to my own experiences, and there are plenty of people whose experience was very different, but I am quite content with the service I received this year. I've always gotten quick responses to my e-mails (I hate the phone, so never tried to call), any issues, like the goopy bottle of Shailene, were resolved to my satisfaction, and I've never received a broken or incorrect item. Looking at the comments on their Facebook page, you would think Maven is a total nightmare, but I have had a wholly pleasant experience. They did used to give a free polish code on your third consecutive box (how I got Jillian), and I was disappointed when they unceremoniously discontinued that. They also changed the skip policy and raised the cost of the lowest subscription tier unless you prepay. Even though I got to stay under the old terms (I did decide to upgrade to My Maven, I'm in love with customizing my box!), I didn't think it was a positive change across the board. Part of the reason I joined was because the option to skip anytime made it risk free. Fortunately,  I have only skipped once all year, and now with the option to customize, I don't expect to need to skip very often at all. [Update: Julep recently announced the "I'm out this month" feature, which is essentially just bringing back the option to skip anytime. They can call it new if they want, I'm just glad it's back!] I will say this: Maven is not a budget program. They're expensive products, and while you get a good deal for their sticker price, you're not exactly getting a steal for $20-25 a month. I love that I get free shipping on my copious amount of Julep purchases, and this is more about treating myself to a fun splurge and maybe trying something new every month than saving on products I probably would have bought anyway. I haven't saved much money, but I am getting what I wanted out of joining and don't have any major complaints.

Ok, so it was still a very long post, but I hope it was fun to read. If you're not a Maven and want to try it out, hook me up and use my referral link to get started, and be sure to use code FREEBOX to get your introductory box for only the $3.99 shipping cost.