NOTD

Happy Fourth of July!!!

I painted my nails with the new polishes I got in my July Julep Maven box. I really love Mischa (the color I'm holding), I think I'll paint my toes with it tomorrow. I'm trying to think of the next time I'll use the shade "America- the Beautiful" though. It would be good for a baseball game. I guess you can be patriotic year-round. :)

How was your holiday? Mine was a bit hectic. We had people over for dinner and fireworks, and a lot more people showed up than we had planned for. Then, the fireworks weren't where we thought they were going to be, lol. When we moved in, someone told us that the fireworks were launched right across from our apartment, so this whole year we planned on having people over and watching the show from our porch. It turns out that they're actually launched from a spot about a mile away that's not visible due to the tree line. Party foul.

Oh well, we had a good time with fun people.

~ Susan

July 2012 Julep Maven

The Julep Maven program is a monthly mail subscription of nail polish/nail polish related things. There are several different sets of boxes that are sent out each month. This is the Boho Glam set/box. American Beauty was the style assigned to me when I took the style quiz when I initially signed up, but each month subscribers receive an email with the option to switch to whichever style you prefer. You can also choose to forgo a month or sent your box to a friend.

They've started adding sweets to each box. I usually end up giving these to the children I teach.

This box contained three nail polishes:

• Georgia -golden coral micro-shimmer
• Mischa - a cherry scarlet micro-shimmer
• America- The Beautiful - a shiny red with royal blue glitter and silver stars

I'm going to paint my nails with Mischa and America- The Beautiful tonight for July the 4th tomorrow! 

•  Julep Lip Vernis in Poppy, a peachy coral creme

I'd much rather have had another nail polish... but whatever. It's a pretty color, but the only thing I have more of than nail polishes are lip glosses.

If you'd like to receive monthly Julep Maven boxes, you can sign up here. Use the promo code "COLOR2012" to get your first box for only a penny.

~ Susan

NOTD

Happy Memorial Day!

For the first official weekend of summer and in preparation for my trip to Vegas, I painted my nails a pretty, party-appropriate orange-y, reddish pink.

It's a lovely color, that I think is PERFECT for the "first weekend of summer!" The shade is called Sarah, and according to Julep's website it's a "sheer pink coral with iridescent glitter." 


Julep nail varnishes are 4-free, meaning that they don't contain formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, or DBP. I like them because they're much more chip resistant than other brands I've tried.


Did you paint your nails a special color for Memorial Day weekend?

~ Susan

May 2012 Julep Maven

I received this box the first week of May. I received the American Beauty selection.

Julep Maven is a monthly subscription service that costs $19.99 a month. Each month, Mavens receive nail polish and other products for nails, hands, and feet. Every month, you get an email letting you know what you'll receive with the option to switch to a different set of items if you don't like what you see. You can also choose to forgo a month or sent your box to a friend.

I have to say though - the style quiz I took when I signed up was pretty accurate. I usually stick with my chosen selection.

They seem to add more and more extras each month!

My box contained:

• The Best Pedi Prep Ever! - Super exfoliating AHA's combine with chamomile extract to soften and prepare calluses for foot filing. It's easily applied with a roll-on.
• Eva Nail Vernis - a juicy raspberry creme
• Renee - a spring lilac creme
• a magnet
• a foot file
• a small sample of The Best Pedi Creme Ever! - this creme exfoliates with alpha hydroxy acids, hydrates with shea butter and coconut oil, and nourishes with vitamin E. Julep suggests that you apply it nightly.

While I really like what I get each month, I'm not sure how much longer I'll keep subscribed to Julep Maven - a girl can only have so many bottles of nail polish!

You can sign up for the Julep Maven subscription service here.

~ Susan

April 2012 Julep Maven Box

I love all the bright colors!

The Julep Maven program is a monthly mail subscription of nail polish/nail polish related things. There are several different sets of boxes that are sent out each month. This is the American Beauty set/box. American Beauty was the style assigned to me when I took the style quiz when I initially signed up, and I have to say that they really got my style down! However, each month there's the option to switch to whichever style you prefer. You can also choose to forgo a month or sent your box to a friend.

My April American Beauty box contained:

• The Best Pedi Cream Ever! - this foot creme "exfoliates with alpha hydroxy acids, hydrates with shea butter and coconut oil, and nourishes with Vitamin E." Julep suggests that you apply it nightly
• Nail Vernis in "Eva" - a juicy raspberry creme
• Nail Vernis in "Renee" - a spring lilac creme
• Toe Separators
• Chocolate Eggs

If you'd like to receive monthly Julep Maven boxes, you can sign up here.

 ~ Susan

March 2012 Julep Maven Box

Julep Maven is a monthly subscription service that costs $19.99 a month. Each month, Mavens receive nail polish and other nail/hand/feet-centric products.

My box contained a nail file, 100% organic argan oil, and nail polishes in the shades Kelly and Emma.

I was really excited to get 100% pure Argan Oil, not some watered down stuff with a little bit of the oil added. Argan oil is high in Vitamin E, essential fatty acids, and free radical-fighting antioxidants.

This month, they started emailing tips about how to use the products each box contained.

One email suggested three different ways to use the argan oil:

1. Mix argan oil half and half with lemon juice, then soak unpolished fingertips or toenails for 15 minutes.
2. Apply a generous amount of oil to dry hair and massage in. Wrap hair in a warm towel and leave for 30 minutes or overnight.
3. Massage one or two drops of oil into face at night after cleansing. Or, mix a few drops into body lotion and apply all over.

Another gave instructions on how to do some cool nail art with the shades I received, though you can use it with any shades you like. :)

I'm still loving this monthly subscription service! You can sign up at julep.com. Enter the code "SHAREONMARCH" to get your first box for a penny!

~ Susan

February 2012 Julep Maven Box

Yesterday, in honor of Valentine's Day, I painted my nails a lovely red-pink shade. It came in this month's Julep Maven box. The Julep Maven program is a monthly mail subscription of nail polish/nail polish related things. Every month, you get an email letting you know what you'll receive as well as the option to switch to different items if you don't like what you see. You can also choose to forgo a month or sent your box to a friend.

Everything is always neatly packaged. Over the past couple of months they have switched to smaller packaging, and I hope that they continue to eliminated as much waste as they can.

The boxes always come with a little extra. This month, it was a piece of dark chocolate in the shape of an Oscar. In the past the extras have been small sample packets.

The second polish is the one I used yesterday. It only took one coat to make it completely opaque. I really enjoy this subscription because I love these polishes and it's nice to know that I have control over what I'll be receiving.

You can sign up here. If you use the code "SHAREONFEB" you can get your first box for $1.

~ Susan

NOTD

Here are my Nails of the Day!

 

I love the nail polish I'm wearing right now! This is "Anne" by Julep. It's a very vibrant violet, and people always comment on it when I wear this.

I know these pictures aren't the best - I took them on my phone at the nail salon!

~ Susan

Fix for Split Fingernails

My nails starting splitting a few months ago, I think around the start of Spring. It was really frustrating because I usually have really strong nails that I can grow out without having them break.

Enter: Julep Essential Cuticle Oil

This is an all-natural blend of essential oils and Vitamin E. Julep says that this strengthens your nails and softens your cuticles, and I agree! My nails have completely stopped splitting since I started using this two weeks ago! I've never been overly concerned with my cuticles, but the two rough parts I had are now gone. I like the roller-ball applicator because with a couple of rolls I've got the perfect amount of oil on my nails. It's not a hassle to get the oil applied, and it doesn't feel like I've got a ton of oil on my hands.

Ingredients: jojoba seed oil, sweet almond oil, castor seed oil, rosewood wood oil, tocopheryl acetate, lavander oil, ylang ylang oil

This received a Skin Deep Rating of 2

I've really been enjoying this, but I think once I've used this up I'll just use a mix of jojoba and sweet almond oil (Skin Deep Rating of 0) on my nails.

The Julep website is a bit wonky, but I can tell that they're working on fixing it. They have a monthly mailing program that you can check out.