Tag: creme

My March Julep Maven Box!

Happy Wednesday! Today I finally have a review of my March Julep Maven Box, just making it in before the month is over! This month Julep had some technical difficulties, and for some reason my box got missed during the original shipment. Luckily Julep emailed me to let me know of their mistake, and I got my box in the middle of the month. I decided to go for the It Girl box this month, and received three beautiful spring shades. Let me show you what was inside my box!

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This month the theme was pastels, and each maven got a bonus strawberry mint lip balm in her box. I love lip balms, and was happy to get that as a bonus! I’m also loving all of the polishes this month!

 

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First up is Teri, a gorgeous peach creme that leans towards coral. Teri is opaque in two coats and has a good formula that is a bit on the thick side. This polish is a little streaky, but the color is so gorgeous that I don’t mind. Teri is perfect for spring! I put this on as soon as I opened my box this month and got a few compliments on it at school!

 

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Next up is Simone, a pastel lilac that leans towards pink. Simone is also opaque in two coats, and has an amazing formula! My one disappointment is that the blue shimmer effect that is prominent in the bottle is very subtle on the nail. Nonetheless, Simone is beautiful and a great color for all skin tones.

 

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Last but not least is Shenae, a shimmery mint green polish. Shenae is opaque in two coats and the formula is great! I had no problems whatsoever with application. As you know, I love mint greens, and this is the first I’ve tried with shimmer. This is an all-around great polish, and the color is just stunning! Shenae is definitely on trend for spring.

All in all, I’m very pleased with my March Julep Maven Box! Each polish is beautiful, and the formulas are amazing for the most part. If you would like to join the Julep Maven program and get a box of polish and other goodies each month, you can sign up HERE! Your first box is free with code FREEBOX at checkout, you just pay shipping. The best part is you can skip your box each month if you don’t like the colors, or if you don’t have room in your budget. You can also cancel at any time. Let me know what you think of my March box!

My January Julep Maven Box!

Happy Wednesday! Today I have a review of my January Julep Maven Box. Better late than never, right? January was the month of neons and nudes over at Julep, and for the first time since I joined the program I was a bit disappointed with the polishes. Let me show you what was in my box.

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Here is a quick Instagram photo of my box and its contents. I chose the It Girl style, which guarantees three nail polishes. My extras were “swatch me” stickers to put on the top of the polishes with a dab of polish, and three yoga hair ties. I love the hair ties so much and have been using them every day since I got the box! Since I was home for the holidays at the time, my mom even gave me two of hers. That was a great bonus. The polishes, on the other hand, were not as thrilling.

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Up first is Amelia, what Julep calls a “light champagne frost”. This polish, as I’m sure you can tell from the photos, was just awful. I needed three coats to achieve opacity, and each layer was uneven and extremely streaky. Amelia’s formula was goopy, and hard to see during application due to its opalescent nature. It did have a nice shimmer quality to it, but this was so hard to work with I’m not sure if I would ever use it again. Amelia is the first dud I have ever received from Julep!

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Nikki is the first of the two neon shades in my January box. According to Julep, Nikki is a highlighter yellow polish, but in reality is is a mix between pea soup green and mustard. I needed three coats to achieve opacity with Nikki, as it was very sheer. Formula wise I didn’t have any problems, and it actually dries really quickly. I am really disappointed with the color, as it is not neon on its own as advertised. I definitely would need a white base underneath to bring out the color. Nikki also has a satin finish instead of a creme look. Finally, it stained my nails upon removal! I’m not too happy with Nikki either.

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Last but not least is Nina, a tangerine orange neon. Finally! A polish I love! Nina is opaque in two coats, and while the formula is a bit goopy, it’s not streaky and dries quickly. Nina also has a satin finish, and reminds me a bit of macaroni and cheese color. It is definitely my favorite from the box.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed with my January Julep Maven box. This was the first month since I joined the program that my polishes were not top notch. I do have to say that with all of the Juleps I’ve tried to date, I am more than okay to accept a few duds and move on. Spoiler alert: I’ve already tried the polishes from my February box, and those formulas are great quality! I still support the Maven program, and will continue to receive a box each month even after one bad experience. If you’d like to join the program for $19.99 per mont, go to the Julep website HERE. You can also get your first month for FREE with the code FREEMAVEN at checkout!

Zoya Lovely Collection for Spring 2013

Happy Saturday! It’s Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil is predicting an early Spring! That means it is time to break out the Spring nail polishes! Today I have the Zoya Lovely Collection to show you. It’s a a fabulous collection with three shimmer polishes and three creme polishes. Let me show you everything that is Lovely!

 

Zoya – GeiGei Zoya – GeiGei

Up first are the shimmer polishes! GeiGei is a bubblegum pink with a shimmery finish. It is opaque in two coats and has an amazing formula. I had no problems whatsoever with the application. GeiGei has a very smooth finish that sparkles in the sunlight. I love this play on a pastel pink! GeiGei also has a frosted look, so it’s perfect for the transition from winter to spring.

 

Zoya – JulieZoya – Julie

Zoya Julie is the next shimmer in the Lovely Collection. Julie is a lilac purple with pink and silver shimmer mixed in. It is opaque in just two coats. The formula was a bit on the thin side, but it wasn’t runny so it didn’t cause me any problems. Julie is a very light shade that is classy and feminine. It is a bit too light for my personal taste, but it is a beautiful purple.

 

Zoya – Piaf Zoya – Piaf

The last of the shimmers is Piaf, a light yellow with green and gold undertones. Piaf’s formula was a bit thin and sheer. I needed three coats for opacity, as two coats seemed a bit patchy. I didn’t think I would like Piaf, but it is a very unique polish! It is not the best shade for my fair skin, but the shimmer in the yellow is beautiful. Piaf is a great alternative to a neutral shade.

 

Zoya – Jacqueline Zoya – Jacqueline

Zoya Jacqueline is the first of the creme polishes. Jacqueline is a light beige color. It is very streaky with the first coat, but evens out and is opaque in two. I wanted to love this polish because it looks so pretty in the bottle. For some reason it just looks odd on my nails. I think it would be great for layering, but I’m not sure I would wear Jacqueline on its own. Again, it may be the wrong shade for my skin tone. My favorite thing about Jacqueline is that it dries instantly! I was very impressed with that.

 

Zoya – Neely Zoya – Neely

Neely is a mint green creme, and my absolute favorite from the Lovely Collection! Neely has a great formula and is opaque in two coats. Mint green is my favorite polish color, and I plan on wearing this one as often as possible! Neely is classy and trendy. An all around perfect nail polish! Have I mentioned that Neely is awesome?!

 

Zoya – Blu Zoya – Blu

Last but not least is Blu, a gorgeous light blue creme. Blu has an amazing formula — I had no application issues whatsoever. It is also opaque in two coats. I love that this polish has just a “dash” of blue pigmentation. It is almost off-white, with just the perfect shade of blue. I love this polish, and even used it as the base for a glitter manicure that you will see soon. If you are looking to try out blue nail polish, I would start with this one!

All in all, the Zoya Lovely Collection is a beautiful choice for Spring. Whether your prefer shimmers or cremes, this collection has something for you! You can purchase the entire Lovely Collection for $48 or each bottle separately for $8 apiece on the Zoya website HERE. Make sure to follow Zoya on FACEBOOK where the company often shares promotional codes to save you money! Stay Lovely this Spring!

 

The products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

 

Favorite Friday: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow

Happy Friday! Today I will be showing you a special polish in my collection — Mellow Yellow from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. Although yellow is not usually my favorite, this is the first polish I bought after I started this blog! In fact, you can see it HERE! I have come a long way since then, but I still love when I get the chance to use this nail polish.  Let me show you Mellow Yellow!

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Mellow Yellow is a banana yellow polish with a creme finish. The formula on this polish is not the best — it is a bit watery and streaky on the first coat. Thankfully it evens out well and is opaque with the second coat. Mellow Yellow dries surprisingly fast, too. For only around $3 at drug stores and department stores, this polish is affordable, and I don’t mind if the formula isn’t perfect. The end result is beautiful! Plus, since I don’t wear yellow a lot, I prefer to buy a bargain brand. Overall, Mellow Yellow is a great polish, and one of my favorites!

What do you think of yellow nail polish? Which yellow is your favorite?