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elle & ish

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elle & ish

Tag Archives: nailpolish

Julep Maven Unboxing – “Boho Glam” for February including Best Dressed Add Ons

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by elle & ish in nails, Shopping

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Tags

julep, maven, nail polish, nailpolish, nails, polish

 February’s Boho Glam Maven Box (Including Best Dressed Add-Ons)

I received this month’s box using credits, and you can too, by sharing this deal with 2 friends via referral.

Go to Julep.com to get your first Maven Box (after taking a style quiz) for FREE shipped and use FREEBOX at checkout.  For USA and CANADA residents only.  For a little more info, please see my original post here.

Again, if you decide to subscribe, make sure you know when to skip a month if you don’t want to order for that month.  Or just cancel if you’d like.

 You can skip any month free of charge- just login to ‘My Account’ between the 20th and 24th of the month and select ‘skip the month’. Please note, you must submit the ’skip the month’ form by 11:59pm (PST) on the 24th.

For this month, I decided to switch my box to the “It Girl” style, which normally comes with 3 polishes (instead of 2 polishes and an extra gift).  You can switch styles or skip the month in the time window described above.

Here are the contents of my two packages: February Boho Glam Maven & Best Dressed Add-Ons

This month’s box came with a little travel eyelash curler and a handful of chocolate hearts (which Justin promptly gobbled up, so they are not in these photos).

The colors (from left to right): Rebel (silver holo), Ginger (sand holo), Ingrid (burnt orange crème), Julianne (smoky grey blue crème), Jane (rose gold glitter), Oscar (gold glitter)

The official February 2013 Maven box:  Ingrid, Julianne, Oxygen Nail Treatment & Freedom Polymer Topcoat

The add on’s I received in the Add On were: Rebel, Ginger, Jane and Oscar.  There were too many pretty polishes this month and I REALLY wanted to see the rose gold glitter in person so I splurged :}

NOTD featuring 2 coats of Ginger and Freedom Polymer Topcoat on top

Phew!! Holographic polishes are so hard to capture.  In real life the holographic qualities are amazing… but no matter how hard I try the rainbows just never translate to pictures.

First impressions:  Compared to the Milani HD polishes that I have, this is a very fine holo.  The Rebel and Ginger holos are fine enough to wear to work without much attention, but in the sunlight they are very beautiful.

Freedom Topcoat:

Extend the life of your manicure in minutes with Julep’s Freedom Topcoat. Activated by natural light, this innovative formula creates a unique polymer force field that prevents chipping for days longer than regular top coat, leaving your nails with a gel-like shine (but without gel-removal hassle). Any nail polish remover does the job—you’ll never pay for painful gel removal or soak your hands in nail-weakening acetone again. Freedom will give your nail color a whole new lease on life. Who knew technology could be so gorgeous?

Freedom Topcoat impressions: I’m so used to Seche Vite that I don’t use any other topcoats anymore.  But I was curious about this one.  The dry down time was  a little longer than I’m used to, and it did impart a nice shine.  But I honestly don’t think I’ll be replacing my Seche Vite anytime soon.  But this will be a nice backup.  As far as wearing time, I only wore it for a couple days and it did chip after 2 days with one coat of topcoat.

Oxygen Nail Treatment: 

Complete nail care and make-up all in one bottle. Made with a patented Hexanal formulation, nails are restructured to a stronger, thicker, and smoother condition in just one stroke. Advanced plant stem cell complex provides anti-aging benefits, while ground-breaking oxygen technology forms a nonocclusive film on the nail, proving resistant to water penetration and improving the permeability to oxygen. Results are nails that are structurally stronger, and less prone to breakage and splitting. How to use: Apply in layers on clean nails to achieve desired high gloss and subtle “Nail Makeup.” Use once or twice a week regularly to promote strong, healthy nail growth.

Oxygen Nail Treatment impressions:  Between this and the topcoat, I really do like this much better.  Aside from being a nail treatment, the polish is lightly tinted with pink, giving it a nice french manicure gel effect.  Strangely enough, I like the smell too!

♥ E&I

Julep Maven September: Trina Turk Fall 2012

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by elle & ish in nails, Shopping

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

julep, maven, nail polish, nailpolish, nails, polish, trina turk

 September’s American Beauty Maven Box (just in time for Fall!)

I received this month’s box using credits, and you can too, by sharing this deal with 2 friends via referral.

Go to Julep.com to get your first Maven Box (after taking a style quiz) for $0.01 shipped and use COLOR2012 at checkout.  For USA and CANADA residents only.  For a little more info, please see my original post here.

Again, if you decide to subscribe, make sure you know when to skip a month if you don’t want to order for that month.  Or just cancel if you’d like.

 You can skip any month free of charge- just login to ‘My Account’ between the 20th and 24th of the month and select ‘skip the month’. Please note, you must submit the ’skip the month’ form by 11:59pm (PST) on the 24th.

For this month, I decided to switch my box to the “American Girl” style, which normally comes with 2 polishes and an extra gift.  This month’s gift is a Volumizing Mascara.  As for the mascara, it’s nothing to write home about… The volumizing effect is very natural.  Maybe a little too natural.  I’ll keep it around for emergencies :)

From the Julep blog:  ”For her Fall 2012 collection, uber fashion designer Trina Turk was inspired by the German Bauhaus movement and the strong colors, geometric shapes, and bold life of avant-garde artist Sonia Delaunay.”  I wanted to go with darker colors for fall.  See the rest of the Trina Turk collection here.

The colors I received:

NOTD featuring 2 coats of Sophie in taken in sunlight (with 1 coat of Seche Vite topcoat)

Sophie is a taupey mushroom brown in a cream finish.  The formula for this polish is not streaky in the least… I could have used a single coat but I added a second coat to make things more even.  Unfortunately when applied the color is a bit darker than the bottle in real life.

NOTD featuring 1 coat of Brandt in taken in sunlight (with no topcoat)

Brandt is a blue-based-black cream polish.  I only used one coat here which is pretty impressive!  The shine is amazing even without topcoat.  I think is one is my favorite of the two.

♥ E&I

NOTD: Tiffany Blue, Silver and White

17 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by elle & ish in nails

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Konad, mani, Manicure, nailpolish, nails, NOTD, polish

I wanted to try out a different look instead of just 1 color or my usual “one color + glittery accent” so I included white in the mix!

Thumb: China Glaze For Audrey, Zoya Trixie on the tip

Index: Essie Blanc then I created dots using a cheap Ebay dotting tool with Parado Nail glitter polish (bought in Japan, I can’t find it online).  You can also use L’oreal Sparklicious. This is my first time dotting a precise arrangement!  I love how this turned out.

Middle:  China Glaze For Audrey, then I used a recent find of mine from Marshalls:  Martha Stewart Glitter Glue!!!   I found it for $12.99 yesterday and I’ve always wanted it especially after seeing Love Maegan’s nail tutorial using these.  Craft stores also have it, usually above the $20 range, but cheaper with coupons if you can get some.  After applying the glitter glue (top row, third from the right), I waited for it to try (it takes a while) and then topped it with Seche Vite topcoat.

Ring: Zoya Trixie as a base layer, then Milani Jewel FX in Silver.  I moved the glitter bits around with a stick to cover any missing spots.

Pinky: Essie Blanc and I used China Glaze For Audrey on the Konad stamp.  I used a plate from an Amazon MASH set (or Konad M61) for the crystal heart band.  Little glitter dots of Parado polish were dotted on with the dotting tool.

Happy Fridayyy :D <3

♥ E&I

Julep Maven Unboxing – “It Girl” for April

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by elle & ish in nails, Shopping

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

julep, maven, nail polish, nailpolish, nails, polish

 April’s It Girl Maven Box (very Easter inspired!)

I received this month’s box using credits, and you can too, by sharing this deal with 2 friends via referral.

Go to Julep.com to get your first Maven Box (after taking a style quiz) for $0.01 shipped and use COLOR2012 at checkout.  For USA and CANADA residents only.  For a little more info, please see my original post here.

Again, if you decide to subscribe, make sure you know when to skip a month if you don’t want to order for that month.  Or just cancel if you’d like.

 You can skip any month free of charge- just login to ‘My Account’ between the 20th and 24th of the month and select ‘skip the month’. Please note, you must submit the ’skip the month’ form by 11:59pm (PST) on the 24th.

For this month, I decided to switch my box to the “It Girl” style, which normally comes with 3 polishes (instead of 2 polishes and an extra gift).  You can switch styles or skip the month in the time window described above.

Here are the contents:

This month’s box came with toe separators for pedicures and a handful of chocolate eggs (which Justin promptly gobbled up, so they are not in these photos).  There was also supposed to be a makeup bag included, but they made a mistake and its on its way to me.

The colors (from top to bottom): Penelope, Niecy, Jessica

NOTD featuring 1 coat of Jessica (with no topcoat in this photo)

First impressions:  What an interesting robin’s egg blue!  For a single coat I’m very impressed with the opacity.  I don’t have any polish close to this color since I don’t own a lot of blues.  And (bonus) this one coat dried quickly which is really nice.

♥ E&I

Julep Maven Unboxing – Boho Glam for February

02 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by elle & ish in nails, Shopping

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

julep, maven, nail polish, nailpolish, nails, polish

My Julep Maven box is here! That was quick.  I ordered it on February 26th, $0.01 was charged to my credit card the day after, and now 5 days after ordering the box is in my hands!

If you haven’t seen my earlier post, I bought the February Maven box for $0.01 shipped!

Click HERE to get your Maven Box and use COLOR2012 at checkout.  For USA and CANADA residents only.  I’m unsure of when the code ends, so just FYI.

Again, if you decide to subscribe, make sure you know when to skip a month if you don’t want to order for that month.  Or just cancel if you’d like.

 You can skip any month free of charge- just login to ‘My Account’ between the 20th and 24th of the month and select ‘skip the month’. Please note, you must submit the ’skip the month’ form by 11:59pm (PST) on the 24th.

Here’s the contents:  A cuticle oil, Oscar glitter polish, and Marisa polish.  It also came with a little packet of SPF 30 hand cream, which is nice.

At first I would have preferred an extra polish instead of a cuticle oil… but actually my cuticles have been all kinds of dry lately.  Hopefully this oil will help a bit.  I’m going to put it in my makeup bag for on-the-go cuticle moisturizing.

A closeup of the polishes:

I just painted my nails today so I haven’t tried these out yet.  We’ll see how they fare when I do!  These colors seem a bit better suited to colder winter months.  For $0.01 I shouldn’t complain though.

I really wish I got the next March box for $0.01 though:   I LOVE CORALS!!!

Sigh.  I guess I should have waited.  And it comes with Moroccan Argan oil too! Haven’t tried Argan oil before but I’ve heard a lot of good things.

♥ E&I

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Janelle


About:

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