August 2015 Julep Box: Muse Montreal Collection

It's been a little while since I shared my monthly Julep Box with you! A couple months back I switched to a customizable account. I now pay 24.99 a month, but I can pick and choose exactly what I want in my box! I love the feature. I can choose from all of the new releases or I can swap them out and put in some older items from previous collections. Here's what I picked out this month! (Swatches are from Julep's Website.)

Laure- Julep Describes Laure as a Blazing Red Orange Stardust

Mari- Julep Describes Mari as Peony linear liquid holographic

I got the rethink your shower Body Cleansing oil last month and have been loving it so I decided I really ought to try the konjac sponge that they recommend you use with it! It's huge and I can't wait to try it!

It's Fun to Exfoliate All Natural Body Konjac Sponge

And then I couldn't resist adding on this gorgeous purple shade!You guys know me and purple!

Cally- Julep Describes Cally as a Festival Fuchsia iridescent chrome

 

What did you get in your Julep Box? Not subscribed to Julep? If you're a polish lover this is the sub box for you! I highly recommend it! Click here to sign up!

April 2015 Julep Maven Box

I got my julep maven box for April yesterday. The theme for the month is the Paradise Collection and it's full of fun bright colors. The collection featured beauty products that included some awesome looking eye brow products. But, even though I have been obsessed with eye brow products lately, I opted for the It girl box, which included two gorgeous bright polishes and a new base coat from Julep - the Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. I am super excited about the base coat. I imagine it will be something like the Orly Bonder sticky base coat which is my current favorite. The color polishes that came with the box this month are Randi, a bright pink plumeria creme polish and Danielle, a gorgeous cerulean wave duochrome blue. I think that these shades are going to be perfect for summer. I was quite excited not to see yet another pastel collection. I love the bright shades!

And of course, when I saw that Julep was offering a gorgeous holographic polish as an add on I had to jump on it! I had enough julep maven points to pay for this little beauty, so it's almost like I got it for free. The polish is Angie, and it's considered a boho glam polish, though it definitely seems more like an it girl polish to me! I can't wait to put this gorgeous polish on! I love holographics.

The box this month also came with a little package of gobstoppers, which my husband snagged since they are his favorite. Also, a coupon code for a free polish when you spend $15+. The coupon code is SPRINGFUN if you are interested.

So that's it! That's my julep maven box or April! I hope you enjoyed this post! Did you choose a Maven box this month? Which selection did you choose? I would love to hear from you! Please leave me a comment down below!

March Nail Polish Picks

Hey guys! This is usually something that I do on my youtube channel (If you aren't subscribed there you should be. www.youtube.com/Jwhackers) but I decided, in an attempt to use my blog more, that I would bring this series over here! I am going to be sharing with you all of the nail polishes I wore this last month! These photos were all taken from my instagram, so if you are interested in seeing my manicures in real time, you should follow me over there (Jwhackers).

March was a pretty rough month on my hands. The winter was so long here (and still sticking around, apparently, as it's currently snowing -Argh!) and it really did a number on my hands. They have been so dry, and my cuticles and nails have been really damaged. Plus, I suffered a pretty bad break near the beginning of the month, so I didn't wear quite as much nail polish as I usually would. But I did manage to get a few manicures in that I really enjoyed, so let's go ahead and get into them,

Julep Lynn and Julep Natalia

Julep Marcy 

Sally Hansen Hard as nail Xtreme wear Ivy League
with Butter London Swinger on top

Probelle Into the blue with Sinful Colors
Petal Be the Day on top

Julep Lulu with Funky Fingers Teen Spirit on Top 

Lip Products for Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is tomorrow! Thinking about that special someone you're going to spend it with? Or maybe you're thinking about celebrating your single-dom and getting out for a girls night! Either way you are going to need a great makeup look! Personally, my favorite look for valentine's day is a pretty simple eye and a gorgeous pink or red lip! Not sure which lip product to choose? No worries! I've done the work for you! I've picked out 5 great, affordable drugstore lipsticks, in a variety of shades so no matter what look you're going for, you'll have the perfect lipstick! And Bonus! I've selected 3 glosses from my collection as well that I think would go great paired with the lipsticks I've chosen, or would be great on their own for a less bold look! So let's get into it!

1. Maybelline Vivid Rose- This is a great lipstick option if you're going out on the town with the girls, or having a day date with the man of your dreams. It's a bright, bold, look at me rose shade that brightens up your face! The formula on this lipstick is incredibly smooth, and majorly pigmented!

2. e.l.f. moisturizing lipstick in Rosy-Go-Round- I love these rose toned shades, can you tell? This one is a little more subdued than Vivid rose and that makes it more wearable in my opinion. If you're scared of a bright in your face rose toned lipstick, go with this one. It's just as beautiful but just a tad more demure!

3. Revlon Cherries in the snow- This is a gorgeous pink-y red that makes it incredibly beautiful and easier to wear than a true, tomato red! It's stunning on all skin tones and the formula is impeccable.

4. Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake- If you're looking for a gorgeous sweet blue toned pink, look no further. This one is a tad frosty, but super comfortable to wear and great for a sweet baby pink lip!

5. Wet n Wild Spotlight Red- Want that classic bold red lip? You can get it at a super affordable price with this beauty! It's a matte lipstick which makes it a tad drying but keeps it lasting for quite a while. You'll need a lip balm and a liner with this baby but if you're bold enough to pull it off, you won't be disappointed!

6. Julep Lively- This lip gloss from Julep is the prettiest rosy pink you ever did see. Pair it with any of the rose toned lipsticks above to add some shine or wear it alone for a perfect, subtle rose lip.

7. Nyx Butter Gloss in cherry pie- this is a great subtle red gloss that can be worn on it's own for an easier to pull off red lip, or layered with Spotlight red to add some glossy shine! The butter glosses from nyx have a great formula and a yummy smell!

8. e.l.f. lip color in pink- this baby lip lip gloss is great for a girly pink lip or can be layered on top of that pretty pink lip butter in strawberry cake for the perfect flirty, girly, glossy pink kiss!

My Favorite Beauty Products from 2014

Happy New Year! I know it's been a while since I posted a blog! One of my New Years Resolutions is to stay more up to date with this blog, so hopefully you'll be hearing more from me in 2015! But before we start thinking about 2015, I thought it would be fun to talk about some of my favorite products that I used in 2014. These are tried and true favorites that I used a to throughout the year. Not necessarily products that were new! I will just give you a quick laundry list of my favorite products.

Makeup:

Foundation
Maybelline Fit Me Foundation, Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation

Concealer
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer, Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles

Powder
Elf HD Powder, Elf HD Undereye Setting Powder, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Blush
Tarte Blushes, Elf Blushes

Bronzer
Revlon Photo Ready Bronzer, Pixi Subtly Suntouched Bronzer

Highlighter
Elf Baked Blush in Pinktastic

Eyeshadow Primer/Bases
Mac Painterly Paint Pot

Eyeshadows
Wet n Wild Color Icon Singles, Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

Eyeliners
Urban Decay 24/7 Liners, Julep Gel Eye Glider Pencils

Mascara
L'oreal Voluminous Mascara

Lip Balm
EOS Lip Balms, Maybelline Baby Lips

Lipstick
Maybelline Lipsticks, Elf Lipsticks

Lip Gloss
Juice Beauty Lip Gloss, Nyx butter glosses

Nail Polish
Zoya, Julep

October 2014 Julep Maven: The Black Magic Collection It Girl Box + add ons

My Julep Maven Box arrived in the mail today! I was so excited to see it. In case you weren't aware, Julep recently changed their shipping procedure! They now ship Julep Maven Boxes from their warehouse in Ohio and they now also ship Fed Ex! No more DHL! That means much faster shipping in general. And since I am in Michigan, once my Maven box is shipped it takes just a couple of days to arrive. So much better than the week to two weeks I was waiting when they shipped DHL. So happy about the change! 

The box was packaged absolutely beautifully. I always look forward to opening my maven box. This time it was full of burgundy colored paper shreds and wrapped in black tissue paper with glitter! Very halloween-y! 

The collection this month is the Black Magic Collection. It's full of a lot of darker vampy shades that are perfect for the fall and upcoming halloween season! The Beauty Product that was featured in the collection is a Nighttime Mask, which sounded intriguing, but I was all about the polish this month, so I chose the It Girl Box. As always, the It Girl Box came with three nail polishes. I also chose to add on one of the polishes from the bombshell box this month because I couldn't resist. There was also a fun little extra this month! Candy Corn! I was so psyched to see it. I love candy corn and I think this was the perfect little addition to an October box! Let's take a look! 

Let's have a closer look at the contents of the box this month. The polishes this month are really neat! 

The It Girl Box contained Ledi, Dana and Shailene! 

Ledi- Black Pearl Shimmer

Dana- White with an electric blue shimmer (this one glows under a black light! So cool!) 

Shailene- Bewitched Purple with Gold Iridescence (My favorite from this collection) 

And I also added on Nancy from the Bombshell Box because she's just gorgeous! 

Nancy- Silvery Sage Metallic

L to R: Ledi, Dana, Shailene, Nancy

Other than the candy corn and the polish, there was a little card with a quote. They do this every month, but I especially liked this month's quote. It's an Edgar Allan Poe Quote. "There is no beauty without strangeness" 

There was also a sneak peek from November's Maven Reveal. It looks like the beauty products that they will be featuring for November is not one but two mascaras. I don't have a good track record with Julep's mascara, but they have been killing it with their beauty products lately, so it might be something to consider. 

And the last thing was a coupon code! I always love being able to get nail polish at a discount. Here's the code if you want to take advantage of it! 

So that's it! That's my Julep Maven box this month! Julep is a monthly nail polish subscription service! You pay just 25 dollars a month and get great nail polish delivered to your door. For more information and to sign up check out Julep's Website and Julep.com or you can feel free to use my referral link! For every two people that sign up through my referral link I get a 15 dollar gift card to use on Julep's website! You can sign up using my referral link by clicking here 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to contribute more to my blog more often. I know I have neglected it for far too long! 

My favorite Yellow Nail Polishes

sally hansen hard as nails xtreme wear in mellow yellow
2 coats (needs 3 to get opaque)

Wet n Wild Megalast in lemon drop 2 coats over white

Julep Leila 2 coats (needs 3 to be opaque)

Lime Crime Crema De Limon 2 coats

For more about these polishes check out my video!

Happy Independence Day!

If you are one of my American readers, happy Independence Day! If not, happy Friday! I thought I would share my patriotic manicure with you today!

The red nails are Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar with Julep's America the Beautiful on top. The Blue Nails are Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Blue It with New York Color Disco Inferno Top Coat. The white nail is Julep Brigitte with accents of Sugar Sugar, Blue It, Sally Hansen Celeb City and a bit of Disco Inferno right in the middle. I love the way these turned out!

My favorite Orange Nail Polishes

I already shared with you my favorite Red nail polishes so next up I am moving on to my favorite oranges! Here they are in no particular order. 

1. China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy- this one is really more of a coral shade. It's got a lot of pink it in, but I figured I would share it with the oranges, since I am bound to have a ton of pinks to share with you when I get around to that post. Flip Flop Fantasy is the epitome of summer. It's a great neon coral that dries super fast (as most neons do) It dries matte, so if you want that super shiny finish you'll need a top coat. But, I love this polish! It makes my skin look super sad in contrast to the bright pop of neon coral fun! It's perfect for the toes in the summer. Guess that's why they named it flip flop fantasy! 

2. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Sun Kissed- This is a great basic cream polish. It's a great crayola crayon orange that applies like a dream. Not much else to say about it! 

3. Wet n Wild Megalast in Club Havana- This one is a near exact dupe for the one above, so if you like the color but you love the formula and the brush on the megalast polishes as much as I do, go for this one. This is opaque in two coats, dries relatively quickly and is just a great orange! 

4. Elf Party Peach- This is another great, super affordable bright orange polish. This one has gold shimmer running through it which adds a little something extra. It's super opaque as well. Just one coat is all you need! 

5. Maybelline Color Show Classic Camel- This is one of the polishes from the vintage leather collection. I was not much of a fan of the line of polishes, but for some reason I really like classic camel. It's a sort of rust brown-y orange, so it's completely different than any of the other oranges I am sharing with you today. Very fall appropriate. These polishes dry to a matte type finish, but this one is beautiful with a top coat to make it shiny. I just find it so unique that I had to include it. 

no top coat

with a top coat

6. Wet n Wild Fast Dry 9.0.2.1.orange- honestly, I think what I like the most about this polish is the name. So fun and I love that show! But I also adore the polish. The fast dry polishes are pretty watery, so be careful not to flood your cuticles! But they dry quickly and this one is a gorgeous sheer jelly orange base with a TON of gold shimmer running through it. It's a beautiful unique polish that can be worn on it's own in 3-4 coats, but I love it most when used as a topped for other orange polishes! 

7. Julep Kyla- I hate the formula on this polish. It's super goopy. BUT, it's stunningly beautiful. It's a sheer orange base with iridescent orange and pink glitters. This is beautiful on top of any other orange polish. It's not the type of polish you can wear on its own, but it's so pretty. 

top two nails are julep kyla on top of Elf party peach
bottom two are wet n wild 9021orange on top of Elf party peach

8. Julep Mariska- This is another goopy formula from Julep. I swear, their formula is really hit or miss. But Mariska is this gorgeous neon sort of orange that is just something else. It dries matte, so you do need a top coat if you want that shiny finish. But, if you're in the market for a neon orange and you can stand the formula on this one I highly recommend it! 

So that's it, those are the favorite oranges from my collection! I hope you enjoyed this and found it helpful. Be sure to stay tuned for the next post in this series where I will share with you my favorite yellow polishes! Take care 

June 2014 Julep Maven Box: Boho Glam

This month's Julep Maven Collection was called The Three wishes collection. I was absolutely in love with most of the polishes, and I almost bought the entire selection. Then I wised up and realized I couldn't afford to do that and instead went with the boho glam box.

Even though I am technically an It girl, I find myself purchasing the boho glam box a lot recently. The colors that were part of this box are Julep's Harlow and Natalia.

Julep classifies Harlow as a Golden Dragonfly iridescent chrome. It is truly a unique polish. It's sort of a gold/green duochrome that is gorgeous on the nails. The formula on this is a little bit tough to work with, but I think it's just stunning. You can see it featured on my nails here:

Julep classifies Natalia as a refined copper metallic. This one to me leans more towards a metallic pink than a copper. When I think of copper I think of a more orange-y brown shade. It's absolutely beautiful and one of my favorite Julep polishes that I have tried to date. You can see it featured here on my middle finger and thumb in this mani.

The product this month was something that I sorely needed. A base coat! The Oxygen smoothing base coat. I actually really like this base coat. It goes on and smoothes the nail as well as matifies it, and I think it makes for a great base, so I am very pleased.

Overall  Ireally enjoyed this month's Maven box. If you are interested in signing up for Julep, you can do so for just 24.99 a month. It's an awesome deal and so much fun! If you want to sign up, feel free to use my referral link: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/158571/

May 2014 Julep Maven Box: Boho Glam

When Julep announced that they were going to be crowdfunding to raise money to create and produce the Plie wand, I was totally intrigued, and immediately pre-paid for the box. When I heard Julep was offering double jules this month I was psyched! When I heard that Julep was shipping out the crowdfunders boxes I was even more excited! Unfortunately, due to an error, my box didn't end up getting shipped out early like the rest of the crowdfunder boxes. Julep Customer service was super great and got it shipped out asap, and offered me jules to make up for the delay, which I gladly accepted. And my box arrived soon after with my maven selections as well as my add ons, and all was right with the world. The only problem with my box was that they didn't send the bonus polish they gave to all crowfunders, and so that arrived in a separate box a few days after my May box. Still, I got everything I was supposed to get, so I am not complaining.

For the May box I chose Boho Glam this time. It was the box that had the colors that I liked the most, even though I have similar colors already in my collection. As someone with over 300 nail polishes, it would be amazing if they had polishes available that were completely unique to my collection. Boho Glam came with two polishes and the plie wand. The polishes are Jeanne and Paulette.

Julep describes Jeanne as a jet set blue creme. It is a really pretty, but not terribly unique bright baby blue polish with a creme finish. I haven't used this polish yet, but when I swatched it, it had a very nice formula. Paulette is described as a Golden Lilac tulle shimmer. It's a beautiful pastel lilac purple with a ton of gold shimmer running through it. I wore this polish last week, and it applied beautifully. The formula was fantastic, and the color was stunning. It's become one of my favorite Julep Polishes.

In addition to the polishes, I also got the plie wand. It's a tool that Julep created to help make polishing nails easier. It is ergonomically  designed to bring more control, accuracy, and fin to every polishing experience. It is designed to work with julep polishes. I've only used it once so far, and while it was a bit awkward to hold in my non dominant hand, I think that with practice it will greatly help my polishing skills.

Julep sent everyone who crowdfunded a bonus polish. It's Yumi, a glitter topcoat with pink, silver and holographic glitter pieces. It's a really pretty polish, but again, not terribly unique.

I also added on the mod art kit to my monthly box. It seemed like such a great deal.It was just $19..99 and I actually used Jules, so it didn't cost me anything out of pocket! It came with the plie wand creativity kit, which comes with a dotting tool and striper that works with the plie wand. It also came with 5 polishes that I didn't already own. The 5 polishes are Brigitte, a bright white creme, Sienna- a gold shimmer polish, Madison- an electric neon hot pink creme, Bette, an electric neon purple creme and Jet- a jet black creme.

So that's it, that's my May Box! I hope you enjoyed taking a little peek inside! If you are interested in becoming a julep maven, you can feel free to use my referral link to sign up! http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/158571/

April 2014 Julep Maven Box: Classic with a Twist

I have been a Julep Maven for about a year now. If you are not familiar Julep is a nail polish subscription service. You pay just 20 dollars a month and you get nail polishes and products delivered to your door. The wonderful thing about Julep is, there is a window of time towards the end of each month where you can choose between multiple boxes, so you can customize the box to your liking, and you can also add on additional nail polishes from the other boxes at a discounted rate. Also, if you just aren't feeling the collection, you can choose to skip the month and not be charged. I generally tend to skip the monthly boxes and instead opt to order from them when they have sales. I have gotten a ton of Julep polishes for 99 cents, and since I am a maven, I get free shipping with every order. It's a fantastic deal!

But, I just couldn't skip this month. I was way too drawn to polishes this month. The collection is called the vivids collection, and it was all I could do to keep myself from buying an upgrade and getting every single one! Plus, The beauty item this month is blush, and if you know me, you know I am a sucker for blush! So I immediately logged on as soon as the maven window opened and made my selections. After much hemming and hawing I went with the Classic With a Twist box (I am usually an It Girl!) and decided on the pearl pink blush. My maven box shipped on the 27th of March and arrived in my hot little hand on April 1st! Super fast!

I chose Classic with a Twist because the nail polishes are just gorgeous. These are going to be perfect on my toes for summer. The polishes included are Caitlin and Mariska.

 Julep describes Caitlin as a shocking hibiscus with Gold shimmer. It's a bright in your face beautiful pink with the tiniest hint of shimmer on the nail. The formula is fantastic. A little thin, but not too thin, if you know what I mean. It's got a bit of a sheer jelly finish but is opaque in 3 coats. It's beautiful!

Julep describes Mariska as a juicy tangerine shimmer. It's a gorgeous bright orange shade that I instantly fell in love with. I am generally not an orange nail polish fan, but there is something about this polish! It's a bit thicker in consistency than Caitlin, but not at all gloopy. Very easy to work with, and very opaque. It's practically a one coater. The shimmer in this polish is not discernible on the nail, and it's so bright that it's practically neon, which means it dries to a sort of matte finish. But that's easily remedied if you don't like that look. Just add your favorite shiny top coat!

Caitlin and Mariska, with flash, so you can see the finish

Caitlin and Mariska, no flash, best representation
of the true color (sorry for the blurriness)

I am very pleased with the nail polishes and I can't wait for warmer weather so I can pull these beauties out and wear them. I think they would even look good together in a color blocking manicure! 

The blush that I chose to accompany my pretty polishes is pink petal. The other choice was a peach-y shade, and I had a really hard time deciding but ultimately went with the pink. The packaging is really nice and sleep with the julep logo in the corner. And the blush itself is really nice. I am very impressed. It's a very pigmented bright pink with a nice sheen. It's very soft and easily blend-able! I haven't worn it on my cheeks yet but it swatches beautifully! It's supposed to be a pore minimizing blush, so I have high hopes for it! 

petal pink blush, with flash

petal pink blush, no flash

So there ya have it. There's my overview and mini review on the April Julep Maven box. I am very pleased with it! If you are interested in signing up for Julep, feel free to use my referral link. 

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/158571/

And you can also use the coupon code FREECOLOR and receive your starter box for free (just pay shipping) It's a great service, and I think you will really like it! 

St. Patrick's Day Manicure

I thought I would share with you my st. patrick's day manicure! I am Irish and proud so of course I had to do some green nails! I didn't do any fancy nail art or anything, mostly because my stamping attempt failed. But I was still quite pleased with the end result!

On my index, middle and pinkie fingers I used the China Glaze Magnetic polish in con-fused. I am not a big fan of the magnetic polish trend, but the magnetic polishes can still be used, just without using the magnet. It's a beautiful green shade that I think is perfect for St. Patrick's Day! On my ring finger and thumb I used Julep nail polish in Adrianna, which is a gorgeous light pistachio green shade that I absolutely love. And on top of that I used the Hard Candy nail polish in Emerald's Eve, which is a great glitter topper. It's got small pieces of emerald green glitter and larger gold glitters. It made the perfect glitter topper!

Overall I really love the finished look, and I was very pleased with all of the polishes I used! I highly recommend them all! Did you do anything special with your nails for St. Patrick's day? I would love to hear about it, so leave me a comment and let me know!