Zoya Earth Day Haul

Recently, Zoya had their Earth Day sale, where you get polishes for 50% off for the good faith that you will return the shipping label to recycle current polishes you’re no longer using. This was so exciting because I have a collection of polishes I want to get rid of safely, and I love Zoya polishes! Here are the polishes I got and likely what I’ll be wearing all summer:

Zoya colors

Swatches:

Jacqueline

Heather

Shelby

Wednesday

Ling

America

Did you take advantage of the Earth Day special? What Zoya polishes do you love?

 

March Julep Maven Unboxing

It’s time for another Julep Maven unboxing! This month’s box was the “Pop!” collection that introduced some new finishes, lipsticks from Julep and a lipliner. Here’s what I got in my box:

 

I got 2 polishes in my customized box and Julep’s Get in Line invisible lipliner. It’s a clear liner to keep your lipstick in place, and reminds me a little of Bite Beauty’s lip primer, but in a lighter formula. It’s not waxy at all and really comfortable.

Onto the polishes!

Marcy: “Prosecco silk semi matte opalescent” polish. So pretty. It seriously looks like golden candlelight on the nail. It’s very romantic, and I love the finish. It’s seriously beautiful.

LuLu: “Wisteria mist soft-focus semi-matte” is a really pretty twist on a light neutral nail. The difference in the soft focus finish is very subtle, so I don’t notice it a lot. I wore it for a full manicure this week, and I’ve really liked it to transition into spring colors.

I was pretty happy with my box this month, and I must say, I am so happy I was able to customize and get exactly what I wanted from this collection. What did you get in your Julep box this month?

 

February 2015 Julep Maven Unboxing

With a new month comes a new Julep Maven unboxing! My February 2015 box was a little different for me, so here’s what I got!

This month, Julep launched a new highlighter to go along with their pore-refining blush. I got this in my box with a fan brush, plush pout lip crayon and 2 polishes.

Here’s what these two look like:

The highlighter isn’t super sparkly like it may appear in the pan, but it does give a really pretty glow. It reminds me of the Wet n Wild “bronzer” in Reserve Your Cabana that I love. I’ve never used a fan brush before, but this one seems very well-made and a little heavier than I expected. I’ve used it a few times with the highlighter and I’m not convinced how well it works, but I’m going to keep playing with it.

From left: Hazel and Hartleigh

And now onto polish!

Hazel: a “wild violet and bronze duochrome” does not quite look like what I thought it would be from the swatches I saw online. It looks more purple than the fuschia it was on the website, so we’ll see.

Hartleigh: This was a bonus polish for all Mavens this month! I have it layered over OPI’s Dutch Tulips and by itself above. I don’t love these kinds of top coats, and I couldn’t really get it to work for me this time, but it is a fun polish for Valentine’s Day. Overall, probably not something I’ll use very often.

And here’s Julep’s Plush Pout Lip Crayon in Aurora Pink. These Crayons have a moisturizing core and are very moisturizing on the lips. They remind me of a creamier, more pigmented version of Revlon Lip Butters.

Overall, I’m not in love with this month’s box, but there are some interesting products. What did you get in your Maven box?

 

January Julep Maven Unboxing

It’s time for the first Julep Maven Unboxing of 2015! I told myself I would start being good and skip some boxes, but…I was a sucker for this collection. This month’s theme was the Chrysalis collection, and it surprised me by how pretty it was! Here’s what came in my box:

Phyllis (Classic with a Twist) is described as a “soft petal pink creme.” I really enjoy neutral pinks, but I didn’t have anything like this in my collection.

Margit (It Girl) is a “mushroom with rose shimmer” polish. I’ve been really into neutral greys lately as well, and this one adds just a little bit more punch to a regular neutral creme. I like it a lot as a winter neutral – reminds me of snow!

Shawn (Bombshell) is a “bright poppy creme.” I love how bright it is – not just a red, but not really a true coral either. This warm, bright polish will definitely brighten up winter gloom.

The beauty product in this month’s box was a Luxe Lip Conditioning Treatment. I added on the Luxe Lip Conditioner, a basic lip balm, and its tip is supposed to also help heal, soothe and improve circulation in the lips. The balm is a little thick, and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. But with winter on its way into the harshest part, I’ll take all the lip conditioning I can get!

Close-up swatches

The allegedly fancy tip to this lip balm

This is a really nice January collection, and I’m pretty happy with it. What are your favorite polish colors for January?

Mani of the Moment – Soleil

Julep Soleil. A pretty, shiny rose gold in preparation for the holidays! What are you wearing this week?

December Julep Maven Unboxing

Another Julep Maven box has arrived! I was so excited about these pretty colors – perfect for winter and the holidays. I got 4 polishes instead of the the eyeshadows they brought in this month, and I really enjoy all of them. Here’s what came in this month’s box!

December Julep Maven box – with cute peppermints!

Ilga (Classic with a Twist) – “a rich Bordeaux creme” is yes, another winter red. I know, I have plenty of them, but I love the darker wine finish of this creme polish. It takes two coats to be completely opaque and is a a classy medium between a dark vampy polish and a regular classic red.

Rochelle (It Girl) – This polish is a “Boysenberry shimmer,” and I love the berry color of this polish! Two thin coats gives the perfect finish, and I love this color as an alternative to a traditional holiday red or purple, too.

Soleil (Bombshell) – “a rustic rose gold chrome” is nicely opaque in just one coat. I am fully on the rose gold trend train, and I love this shade and finish. I think it will be perfect for holiday celebrations and the depth of winter.

Nell (It Girl) – “a fully festive full-coverage glitter that adds a bit of blushing sparkle to a nail look,” this polish was an add-on only and I love it. I’ve been looking for a great blush-tinged sparkle polish for a while, and this is perfect. It looks great by itself and would be a great topper for other polishes as well. I am so excited about it!

From left: Ilga, Rochelle, Soleil, Nell

These polishes are delightful by themselves, and such a great combination together! It just looks like a classy holiday collection of colors and finishes. I’m so glad to fit this into my holiday rotation. Did you get a Maven box this month? Are there other holiday polishes I should try?

 

Zoya Haul!

I love Zoya polishes, and over Halloween, they had one of my favorite kinds of promotions, where you can get 3 polishes for $15…a great time to get some nice fall polishes. I didn’t want to go super crazy, so I only picked up three, but they are lovely.

Here are the polishes:

From left: Normani, Veronica, Genevieve

Normani – I love this light greige! It’s a great semi-neutral for fall. The only downside is that it takes several coats to be opaque, but I’ll be interested to see how this holds up in a full manicure.

Veronica – a great fall/winter red. It was also opaque quite easily in one coat, and it looks really lovely. I’ll have to compare it to other reds I own, but while not a must-have, this is a really nice red.

Genevieve – a lovely greyish navy creme. It has a tiny microshimmer if you look really closely, too. This was opaque in one coat and lasted really nicely in 2. I love this color for fall/winter and think it’s a great option for a dark blue. I wore it in a full manicure this week and loved it.

Zoya is running some kind of other promotion for cheaper polishes now, as well, which I’m passing on because I’ve gotten  too many polishes recently (look for a cleanout soon), but they are wonderful! They last the longest on me of most polishes I’ve tried, and they have some great colors and finishes. I especially recommend their Pixie Dust polishes…so unique and fun!

Overall, I love Zoya and definitely recommend their polishes! What are your favorite shades from them?

November Julep Maven Unboxing 2014

My November Julep Maven box has finally arrived! It took forever to get here, and the mascara is still on its way, but here are the polishes I got from the Friendsgiving collection for this month.

November Julep Maven Box

I love the way all the polishes in this collection go together! Fall is my favorite season for nail polish, and these do not disappoint. I got the Classic with a Twist box and added on  a polish, too.

Polishes from Left:

Devon (Classic with a Twist): “slate grey with fuchsia microshimmer.” This is really beautiful and opaque with 2 light coats. The microshimmer is really pretty and such a fun fall color.

Shari (Classic with a Twist): “a delicate sweet pea creme.” This is a lovely neutral polish for fall. It was a little streaky (maybe because I was too impatient to let polish dry between coats…), but has a really pretty opaque finish with 3 coats.

Bonnie (Bombshell): this gold microglitter was available as an add-on. It’s also opaque in 3 coats but would be really pretty as a topper to another polish, too. It’s a great addition for the holidays!

Swatches:

The microglitter in Devon doesn’t show up in this swatch well, but it is really pretty. Overall, I love this collection and this box. I could see myself loving all of the other polishes in the collection, too, so they may show up in a later Julep sale, too…

I’ll be happy to share the mascara when it finally arrives. Even though this box came really late, I’ll take the extra Jules and these gorgeous polishes! Did you get a Julep box this month? what are you loving?

 

Fall Nail Picks

I recently published my Fall Lip Picks, and now it’s time for my absolute favorite part about fall beauty – nail polish! I have an obsession with cool-toned neutrals and vampy polishes, so I am really excited to share these picks.

Here are my polishes (sidenote: this was super hard. I probably could have done 20):
1 – OPI Deutsch You Want Me Baby?
2 – OPI Bogota Blackberry
3 – OPI Lincoln Park After Dark
4 – Zoya Odette
5 – Zoya Ciara
6 – Juelp Erin
7 – Julep Veronica
8 – Julep Mary Lee
9 – Sephora Formula X Perfection
10 – Ruffian Hedge Fund

The swatches on the left hand are all 2 of my favorite formulas: OPI and Zoya. I find that these 2 nail polish formulas last the longest on me, particularly Zoya. 2 coats will last 5-7 days with a base and top coat.

And the right hand! Julep polishes don’t last as long on me, but I love their color selections and monthly boxes. The Mary Lee in the middle is a satin finish, but it also looks beautiful with a glossy top coat. I love this Formula X polish because it’s another one that lasts really nicely. It also layers really nicely in thin layers. The Ruffian I’m not as familiar with because it was from a Birchbox, but this polish has a beautiful gold duochrome shimmer running through it. It’s such an interesting, gorgeous polish, and it is perfect for cooler fall weather.

Do you love any of these polishes? What are your other fall nail favorites?

 

 

October Julep Maven Unboxing

This is a little late and a little different, but here’s my October Julep Maven box!

October Maven box

I have a lot of the dark, vampy polishes that came in this month’s collection, and I had been needing to replace these two products, but they hadn’t been in stock. Customizing them for this month’s box seemed like the perfect solution!

Two of my favorites for damaged or peeling nails: the Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat and the Julep Oxygen Nail Treatment (which I am wearing right now!) I’ve really seen a difference when using both of these. Lately, I’ve had some issues with peeling nails for various reasons, but when I use this base coat or the Oxygen treatment, I see results. I would highly recommend them both!

And something I’m excited about for next month…

Mascaras!

What did you get in this month’s Maven box?