Julep New Year's Mystery Box 2012

The box was big enough for an iPad mini but, of course...

Birchbox December 2012

I know in my last post I said I nixed Birchbox, well, I did and this is my last month.

I will show you why...

Ipsy MyGlam Bag December 2012

For those that know me, it is common knowledge that I love my beauty subscriptions but having been subscribed to several, I definitely have my favorites and one of them is Ipsy's MyGlam Bag. In the Spring of 2012, with extensive research I subscribed to Beauty Army, Birchbox, and MyGlam Bag. I have since nixed Beauty Army and Birchbox for reasons I will probably explain later but for now, MyGlam Bag...

Etsy Store COUPON CODE

In honor of my grand opening, 10% OFF COUPON CODE: OPENLACQUER

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LacquerEnhanced

NOW, check out this freaky piece of art I found in a Bay Area restaurant bathroom directly facing the toilet...

Etsy Store - OPEN

Hi to those few who follow, I opened an Etsy store but don't get too excited. I have very few postings. Right now, I have some empty nail polish bottles that I'm trying to get rid of.

Wait, where have I been you ask? Oh, no where. After graduating college I've been trying to do the grown up thing and catching up on lost time with my baby. No, I haven't neglected my nails...

Ski Teal We Drop - OPI w/ a matte top coat

See? Pretty, yeah?

Anyway, about my shop, right now all I have are these...

15 ml / 1/2 fl oz bottles with brush

I have several actually. So, you might ask, why do I have these empty bottles? Well, I'm trying my hand at making my own polish and I'm not really feelin' these bottles. I don't have my own indie polishes yet but they are coming. Check out my store HERE.

I'm glad to be back!

Julep Maven - September 2012 Trina Turk Collection

Boho Glam Box - Top: Eileen. Bottom: Hoch

IT Girl Box - Top: Otte. Middle:Alma. Bottom: Delaunay

Julep August 2012 Mystery Boxes

MyGlam Bag August 2012

Here is my August Glam Bag that I received about a week ago! 6 items!

It's always great to get cosmetics :)

Julep Mascara

Have you heard of this, yet? I just found out about it about five minutes ago and I'm super excited!! I hope they send these out in the September box!!

Go to Julep's Facebook page, HERE, and vote for which color you want to try.

If you're not a Julep Maven yet, I suggest you get on the bandwagon so you can be one of the first to try Julep's new products and shades of the nail polish before everyone else does. You can he a Julep Maven HERE.

-Go to the link that I have here
-Take the quiz (taking the quiz does not obligate you to anything)
-You will get a style tailored from your quiz
-Click on SIGN ME UP (you will be able to choose from the other styles on this page if you don't like the one that you got. Just click on "see other maven styles...)
-Choose the box you want for $19.99
-Check out
-Under the promotion code put in COLOR2012 or PENNY
-Choose the free shipping option (Your box will come in about 7-10 days, but mine usually come in about 4)
-Finalize!!!

REMEMBER! You can cancel anytime but I recommend that you try it for at least 2 months. The polish is awesome! Not to mention the treatments, appliques, that come with it also. I also got an email letting me know that I will be getting a Julep makeup bag as an introductory gift, worth $18 :) Loving my Julep...

Birchbox August 2012

I'm sorry for the hiatus but my Summer has been a busy one! I hope everyone else's is a fun one as well!

I got my Birchbox yesterday and I was surprised at the weight of it because it was pretty heavy! Upon opening I realized that most of my goodies were toiletries. I mean, I love them and all, and being clean should be everyone's religion but I signed up for makeup. I would never spend money on those makeup swabs because honestly, how hard is it to dip your q-tips in some makeup remover and sticking them in a baggie for later use? Huh?

I tried scanning my little card to show the details of the products but it's acting kinda funny so here they are...

My Glam Bag June 2012

Essie - Navigate Her

I haven't posted any NOTD's in a while for reasons that vary but here is one that is overdue...

My sister brought this back home from her vacay in SoCal. Navigate Her is from Essie's Spring 2012 collection and I didn't know that until now. I assumed this shade was an oldie because she purchased this at a trade store, which normally doesn't carry new lines from Essie so I am surprised that she was able to snag this at an awesome price.

I purchased Butter LONDON's Bossy Boots because I thought it reminded me of my favorite boba shake or milkshake flavor, avocado, but Navigate Her is a shade darker and more avocado-ish. So I loved this opaque creme lacquer on my nails.

2 coats of Essie
1 coat Poshe topcoat

Julep July Colors

Matching lip gloss and the respective country's glitter polish! How exciting!! Which style did you go with this month?

Remember, if you want to be a new Julep maven, you can get your first box for $0.01! Just click on the image above and the promo code is COLOR2012 or PENNY.

Julep Mystery Box 2012 Reveal

I ordered my box on the very last day. I did that on purpose because I told myself that if I was meant to get a mystery box then there would still be some boxes available on the last day to order. Sure enough there was and I ordered two.

Here is what I got...

 

Birchbox June 2012

I should have done this earlier but let's face it... I got lazy...

Here are the contents...

Click to enlarge

Julep June Mystery Box Info

I love me some mystery boxes! Here is Julep's latest... CLICK HERE to purchase yours and don't wait because quantities are limited. Promo code: JUNEMYSTERY

Zoya - Heidi

This shade is one of the bottles that I picked for the Earth Day Polish Exchange. From the pictures and description I thought it was more of a coral but in person it's more of an orange-red creme with more emphasis on the orange. It's pretty bright and a good Spring shade but I was a little disappointed because of my expectations.

I almost didn't post about this because I chipped my middle nail. So, ignore the botched filing and focus on the color lol.

Julep Maven - June 2012 Golden Box Winner!

Photo courtesy of... My friend lol

Okay, the title is a little misleading because I actually didn't win the box. My nearest and dearest friend whom I referred to the Julep Maven subscription won this awesome of awesome-est June 2012 Julep Maven boxes. That lucky B. She walked in to her mother letting her know that she got a box in the mail. Knowing that her Julep box came in that day, she thanked her and was about to walk out of the room when she glanced at the spot where the box was. She saw what looked like a gold box and her heart skipped a beat.

Win Entire Julep Nail Color Collection!

I have a pretty good collection of Julep polishes but I wouldn't mind winning this! Enter before June 15, 2012 9 a.m. PST for a chance on to win! Click on the image above or CLICK HERE.


Good luck!

Also...

For first time Julep Mavens, your introductory box is still a PENNY! 

-Go to the link that I have here
-Take the quiz (taking the quiz does not obligate you to anything)
-You will get a style tailored from your quiz
-Click on SIGN ME UP (you will be able to choose from the other styles on this page if you don't like the one that you got. Just click on "see other maven styles...)
-Choose the box you want for $19.99
-Check out
-Under the promotion code put in COLOR2012
-Choose the free shipping option (Your box will come in about 7-10 days, but mine usually come in about 4)
-Finalize!!!

REMEMBER! You can cancel anytime but I recommend that you try it for at least 2 months. The polish is awesome! Not to mention the treatments, appliques, that come with it also. I also got a Julep makeup bag as an introductory gift as well, worth $18 :) Loving my Julep...

May 2012 Beauty Boxes - MyGlam & Beauty Army

MyGlam

Graduation Day Nails

I graduated last Friday! Yay! I painted my nails with my school logo on it to show my pride :) I'm the first in my family to go to college and finish, so it was an especially proud day for my parents who are 1st generation Americans.

Watermelon Nails

Julep - Drew & Leah

I had an event I was a part of that was centered around fruits and veggies. I thought it would be festive for me to have some appropriate nails. The seeds a little messy but I thought the colors were perfect!

Battle of the Salmons

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, aunties, grandmas out there! Without you we couldn't procreate!

A color trend for 2012 that I'm absolutely obsessed with is SALMON. Ever since I got Julep's Alicia in my April Boho Glam box, I've been in love. My favorite dress for the last couple of years is this $20 cotton dress in salmon that I got on sale at Target. I think it complements my olive skin well!

For my Mother's Day gift to myself, I chose a couple of Essie polishes and one of them is Tart Deco.

I just had to! SO, I gathered my two other similar shades to do a comparison... (I'm sorry for the weird cropping, I excitedly painted over my red nails and I didn't want you to see it lol)

In natural light

With flash

I think the winner in my court is Essie. It's a little darker than Alicia, has more of an orange tinge than Trout Pout, and this shade could easily be an Alicia dupe. YES! Thank goodness, because Essie is cheaper!

NOTD - Julep's Anne in Matte

Honestly, Lacquer Lovers, have you ever stood in front of your lacquer collection and just stared at all your bottles for what seems like hours, trying to figure out what shade you want to wear next? If you haven't, well then, that obviously doesn't apply to you, but I have and this is when I convince myself that I need more colors. Yeah, right... that is just an excuse to buy more when you really don't need it. If you are obsessed like me than you do need it. You need it all!

I settled on Julep's Anne, a bright purple creme, and I used butter LONDON's matte finish top coat. This color reminds me of one of my favorite ice cream flavors. Ube (phonetically spelled, oo-beh). I gobble that stuff up like it's the first time I've ever had it. Ube is a Filipino purple yam, not to be confused with taro, but it tastes very similar.

The matte finish seemed to make this color pop a lot more. I never realized how bright this hue was until it was matte.

There will be another blog about this but I personally love butter LONDON's matte top coat compared to all the other ones that I've used. I've used Kleancolor, and Orly and neither of them hold a candle to this stuff. $18 well spent, I say!

Birchbox - May 2012

This is my first ever Birchbox and I am more happy about it than my Beauty Army experience in respect to getting recognizable cosmetics instead of a whole load of foreign skincare products.

You can't go wrong with polish.

This scent is a little too baby powdery for my taste.

They weren't kidding about sample size, I don't even know why they put it in a tube. They should have just put it on a postcard with a sheet of foil to seal it because the amount in here is for a one time use. Wasteful...

What I didn't take a picture of was the stupid twistband. You know what? Let me take of picture of it to show you how stupid this is...

A 12 pack of those is worth $18. Seriously? Go to a fabric store and buy a spindle of satin pink garter. No sewing necessary. Just some scissors. Ladies, if you're smart, you won't buy this.

I'm happy for the most part but I don't know how much longer I can pay $10 a month with the risk of getting a stupid rubber band. I know, I have a real issue with the twistband, but I don't watch Gossip Girl, so the significance of the products aren't really striking a chord in my book.

Julep's Cinco de Mayo Mystery Box is HERE TODAY!!!

   Okay, so a couple of my friends and I decided to open our boxes together so there will be three different boxes. No more talking here are the boxes....

Glycolic hand scrub, Natalie, Demi, Maya, Leah, & a crystal nail file. Worth about $64

Glycolic hand scrub, Drew, Alyson, Emma, Jessica, & a crystal nail file. Worth about $64

A BIG box!

Nail appliques, Christina, Hayden, Alyson, Parker, Vanessa, cuticle oil, & a fast dry top coat. Worth about $116

Christina, Hayden, Alyson, Parker, & Vanessa. This is a little annoying but I already have Hayden and it's a shade darker. You can slightly tell in the picture that this is an air pocket that suggests there is less polish in this bottle. It's shrink wrapped, too. I'm not sure where or not to complain

Close up of Christina. I wanted to show the gold shimmer in this one.

Please share what you got!!! I've been looking up other people's blogs and I've seen some boxes that are worth more than $200! LUCKY! Not that I'm complaining...

NOTD (2) - CG Re-Fresh Mint

In natural light

Cleaned off the Zoya and put this on...

This is one of the more fun colors that I've had on. I got a lot of compliments everywhere I went, asking me what kind of polish it is and where can they get it! It's funny because there are countless reviews about this shade and has been out for about 2 years. China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint from their 2010 Up & Away Spring line.

At first it looks like a pale blue, really pale, but after drying it comes out just a tad darker than what is shown in the bottle. This isn't new, but this is where the "mint" name comes from. It really does remind of a mint flavored anything because of the ultimate shade.

Like I said, this is a fun color to wear but because it is so light in color and it is a creme, imperfections are difficult to avoid. Especially around the edges. I will definitely wear this again!

NOTD - Zoya's Faye

In sunlight

Close up

Natural lighting

With flash

I felt like going a different route with my polish and wear something I haven't worn in never. Metallic-finish polish. It reminds me a lot of my mom whose go-to polish was always a metallic one. This particular polish is from Zoya's  2011 Sunshine Collection and one of the polishes I chose for the Earth Day Polish Exchange.

It's a rich bronze with purple undertones and an abundance of gold sparkle. I don't know when I will ever wear this color again but it lasted me a good couple of hours before I moved on to another shade.

This took 2 coats and the brilliance was more pronounced with a top coat. I use Poshe top coat.