lena – Adventures in Polishland

Tag: lena

Dare to Compare | Wet ‘n Wild Fergie Miami Spirit vs Julep Lena

Posted on May 6, 2016April 6, 2016 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Friday! Today’s Dare to Compare post is one featuring two nail polishes that I’ve absolutely loved for years. I never thought that they would be so similar until I held the bottles next to each other! Wet ‘n Wild Fergie Miami Spirit and Julep Lena are both teal polishes, and I knew they weren’t exact duplicates because one of these dries to a matte finish while the other does not. Nonetheless, I wanted to swatch them side-by-side to see if it was really necessary to keep both in my collection. Let me review each polish for you, and then share the comparison results!

First up is Wet ‘n Wild Fergie in Miami Spirit. This is a teal polish with teal and silver shimmer that dries to a matte finish. I applied two coats to achieve opacity, and really like the result. This line of polishes comes with a wide, flat brush that I enjoy using. Miami Spirit is a fun and affordable polish!

Next up is Julep Lena, a teal polish with gold and green shimmer that dries to a glossy finish. Lena has an excellent formula that is opaque in two coats. I absolutely love this polish, and I even did a full wear test on the blog HERE a few years back. I’m so glad I rediscovered Lena, because I forgot how great is.

Here is a side-by-side look at Miami Spirit and Lena. I am wearing Miami Spirit on my pinky and ring fingers, and Lena on my middle and pointer fingers. I did apply a glossy top coat over Miami Spirit so I could really see how these polishes compare. The teal shade is almost identical, but I find that in person Miami Spirit has a much stronger shimmer effect than Lena. I prefer creme polishes, and so I’ve decided to keep Lena in my nail polish collection and destash Miami Spirit.

All in all, I’m so glad I tested out these polishes side-by-side, because I might not have discovered how similar they are otherwise. I highly recommend both of these polishes, and have worn them both many times over the years. There is just no reason for me to keep both of them, especially as I’m paring down my collection. I would love to know in the comments what your favorite teal polish is, or if you’ve tried either of these!

Julep Lena: The Wear Test

Posted on December 30, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Julep Lena: The Wear Test

Happy Monday! Today I’m doing something a bit different, and that is a true wear test of one of my polishes. I recently posted about my experience at the Julep Pop-Up Store in NYC (see that post HERE), and I received a couple comments warning me that Julep Lena is a stainer. I was quite surprised to hear that news, so I decided to put my nails to the test! Let me share my experiment with you, and how it turned out!

My experiment began with two base coats – Sally Hansen Double Duty and Sephora Collection. I used Sally Hansen Double Duty on my right hand as a control, and then painted my left hand as follows: one coat Sally Hansen, two coats Sally Hansen, one coat Sephora, and two coats Sephora (I wore one coat of Sally Hansen on my thumb). Because one of my commenters mentioned that she used two coats of base coat, I wanted to do the same to see if it made a difference. Once my base coat was completely dry (a very important step!), I applied Lena in two coats.

After three full days of wear with no top coat, I had slight tip wear and just one substantial chip in my manicure. I was a bit nervous to take off my polish, but to continue my experiment I grabbed two removers to test out as well – CVS Strengthening Polish Remover and Julep Acetone Free Conditioning Nail Polish Remover. I used the CVS remover on my control hand, and the Julep remover on the experiment hand. Are you ready to see the results?!

Ta da! No staining at all! The only places you can even see remnants of the polish are under the nail on my ring finger (where I accidentally got polish stuck during application) as well as a tiny bit on the ring finger’s cuticle. Other than that, I did not experience any staining whatsoever, and both nail polish removers worked equally as well. I am thrilled with the result, and glad I don’t have any stained nails!

All in all, my Julep Lena wear test turned out well! Of course, I’m not 100% sure why others experienced staining, but it could be due to an old formulation, body chemistry, or even the type of base coat. Whatever the case may be, you should be safe to wear Lena with either of the base coats I mentioned. My biggest tip is to just make sure it is completely dry before applying Lena. You always want to have a strong, impenetrable base for your color no matter what polish you’re using. Please be sure to let me know in the comments if you’ve tried Lena, and what your result was. Also, if there are any polishes that you want me to do a wear test on, let me know that as well!

Beautiful NYC | Julep NYC Holiday Pop Up

Posted on December 13, 2013December 12, 2013 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Friday! Today I’m super excited to bring you the second official post in my Beautiful NYC series. I’ve labeled a few other posts into this category if it was an NYC event, or simply some shopping I’ve done around town, but today I’m highlighting the Julep Pop Up store that is officially opening today! I was lucky enough to be invited to a special Maven night at the store yesterday, and heard from the wonderful Jane Park – Julep’s CEO and Founder. As a huge Julep fan, it was really exciting to meet Jane (who is extremely nice, by the way!) and learn a bit more about Julep as a company. Let me show you some photographs I took inside the Pop Up shop!

Julep NYC Holiday Pop Up — The nail polish was separated by style profile. Look at how gorgeous the displays are!

Favorite Beauty Products — Helpful signs shared about the Maven program, and you could even vote for your favorite beauty products!

Modern Beauty — Of course, the beauty and skincare products were for sale as well!

Check out this cool nail polish bottle flowing from the ceiling!

Maven signatures — All of the Mavens were asked to sign this placard with our favorite nail polish! It will be brought back to Maven headquarters. Can you spot my name?!

Adventures in Polishland was here! — There I am! I chose the nail polish Drew!

The Pop Up store sells all the Julep polishes and products you love, plus some gift sets for the holidays. One great thing about the store is that you are able to build your own custom Maven box, and you can build as many as you want for the $19.99 price. Of course, I built my own custom box!

I decided to build my own It Girl box, complete with three nail polishes, and then grabbed the Julep Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover. While this remover is definitely a bit on the expensive side, it is my all-time favorite remover, and I decided to treat myself. If you would like a complete review just talking about that remover, let me know in the comments!

The first polish I grabbed is the same one I added to the Maven sign – Drew. I’m not sure why I didn’t already own this polish, because it is perfect for me! Drew is a bright pink creme, with just a flawless formula. I applied two coats, but it was nearly a one coat formula. I could literally wear this every day and not get sick of it! I really do love my pink nails.

Next up is Bette, a gorgeous purple polish that leans towards fuchsia. Bette has a “crelly” formula that is not quite a creme and not quite a jelly. It applied really well, and I am wearing two coats in the photos. Bette is very similar to a limited edition Wet ‘n Wild nail polish that I own, but I’m so happy to have this one because that bottle is halfway empty and not available any longer. Plus, Bette definitely has a better formula!

Last but not least is Lena, a beautiful teal polish with subtle gold shimmer. When I first spotted Lena at the store, I thought it was a creme polish, but I actually love the shimmer added in! This polish is also a winner because it has a one coat formula! I just love when I make that discovery! Lena also reminds me of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Any other fans out there?!

All in all, I had a great time exploring the Julep NYC Holiday Pop Up and attending Maven night! If you will be in NYC during the holiday shopping season, be sure to stop by! The shop will be open starting today, December 13 through December 22. It’s located at 102 Fifth Avenue, amongst several other places to shop. You can find more details on Julep’s website HERE. Be sure to let me know if you visit the Pop Up!

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