Julep Maven - September 2012 Trina Turk Collection

Boho Glam Box - Top: Eileen. Bottom: Hoch

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

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 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...

 

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.

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!

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 - butter LONDON's Trout Pout

Over the Earth Day weekend there was a special on butter LONDON nail polish at our local Dillard's and the makeup department employee had me at FREE butter LONDON.

Buy 2 get Come to Bed Red FREE

butter LONDON winners are...

Trout Pout - a bright pink salmon color
Bossy Boots - avocodo
Come to Bed Red - a very sexy red

I decided to go with Trout Pout first because I wanted to know if it is a close shade to Julep's Alicia.

Proven in the following pictures, it doesn't really come close. While Alicia may be very close to a salmon color that I am currently obsessed with, Trout Pout is a lot more orangey-pink than I would like.

Two layers

One layer

Also, I am finding that this brand is a little streaky which can easily be fixed with a better brush. The brushes for these lacquers are a little skinny and doesn't cover a whole lot of nail in one stroke. I found myself having this dip the brush 2-3 times per layer.

Overall, it's a very fun color and perfect for Summer!

NOTD - Kelly by Julep

With flash...

Without flash...

I wanted something more calm on this particular day. I chose Kelly from my Spring mystery box and looking at the bottle, I thought it looked a lot like their Penelope but this is a little less pink and more peachy to me. It's a very nice neutral shade.

I put two coats on to achieve this level of opacity but next time I'm going to try just painting one coat to make it look more natural.

This is a very nice choice on days you don't want loud, screaming nails. Those days are few in my world...

NOTD - Julep's Jessica

 With flash...

Without flash...

"Wow, those are bright." Is what the boyfriend said when he noticed them. The color is eye-catching is it? I think I'm going to go back and add a little accent to it, maybe that will tone it down but I kinda like it. Reliable Julep only took one coat to get it that opaque.

My sister got this in her "IT Girl" April 2012 box and she was complaining about the brush being wonky. That is why I decided to try it out today because I am, by far, a firm Julep supporter and if she's not happy with it, I need to see for myself...

You see how thick the lacquer is on the brush? That is why this brand is an awesome "one-layer" kinda polish. I had no problem putting it on and I don't want to call my sister a liar but I can see where she had trouble. I'm a little upset that it went to waste because she took it right off after putting it on. The stuff isn't watered down and it's going to come on a little thicker than OPI or CG. 

Anyway, NOTD... there it is.

NOTD - OPI Who the Skrek are You?

I know I post a lot about Julep, I just can't help it, I love the stuff!! So, here is a break... I bought this dress at Target...

 

I looked through my stash to see what matched...

Perfect! I didn't have any top coat for these pictures because I wasn't sure whether or not to put crackle on top. I ended up just putting it on one. OPI, you are a good friend to me.

2 coats of polish

I use Orly's rubberized base coat and Poshe's top coat, my polish lasts for days!

NOTD - Julep's Charlotte

This has got to be one of my favorite shades. Julep's Charlotte is a soft purple creme that only took one coat to get that opaque layer.

The picture shows the shade is a little brighter than it actually is. It's more subtle and dusty, such as lavender. That's it... lavender, but if I were to compare it to another shade, it would probably be like Color Club's Uptown Girl

NOTD - Zoya's Carey

Zoya's Carey, that is!

Like I said, Luxe and Lush was next and there she is atop my one nail.