Review: Julep Mani Essentials

I'm going to give my review and take on the January Julep Maven Box in which I choose the Modern Beauty box that contains only beauty products, no polish. I know what you're thinking: "3 months late!" -Well, I didn't want to just show the box, when I felt these products could have an impact on manicures in a big way. I wanted to be able to test them and actually give a full on review of them.

Products from Left to Right:

• Julep "Ta Da!" Quick Dry Drops
• Julep "Vanish" Cuticle Softener & Remover
• Julep Essential Cuticle Oil

Julep Ta Da! Quick Dry Drops: I can't say enough good things about this! I was skeptical about buying these. I had heard that the OPI one was not that effective and the Sally Hansen one had iffy reviews. This might not be essential to everyone out there, but if you're like most people who do not have a lot of time to spare in today's world and value your time then you'll want to pick this up. This stuff works within 2-3 minutes. Just drop on your nail after your final coat and they're dry in about 2 minutes. Retails for $14 or $11.20 if your'e a Maven.

Julep Vanish: Of the 3 products in the box, this has been my favorite and my life saver! I have horrible cuticles that are almost callus-like from my very hands-on job and it being winter/colder. This stuff actually does diminish your cuticles from the nail and makes them easier to push down. Just 1-3 drops on each nail is all that is needed. Then just push down with your cuticle pusher and you're done! Love it and helps free up time for me! Highly recommended. This retails for $18 or $14.40 if you're a Maven.

Julep Essential Cuticle Oil: Essentially, the name of the product says it all. This is an oil for your cuticles. I really like this. It comes in a rollerball form so it's not messy. I usually use this during the week, at night, and before I go to bed. I just roll the oil over my cuticles and let it sink in. For me, this is not something that's good to use during the day when you're working or running errands, because you need to give it time to sink into the skin. It's good for a little TLC though every night or when your cuticles need some love. I had already heard such great things about this product before it came to me, so I wasn't overly worried about the performance. This retails for $18 or $14.40 if you're a Maven.

Any questions or comments, please leave them below! Let me know what you think if you have tried any of these products!

Multi Purple Star Mani

I don't share my manicures very often, because I do them myself (except for like 2 times out of the year) and I do not consider myself a manicure expert. I am working at improving and hopefully you can see some improvement as time goes on from the pictures I post, but when I receive a lot of positive responses on a nail look I do then I like to share.

Today, I bring you a manicure I did using 3 different purple polishes and a silver tinsel sparkle on top! The 3 purple polishes are in the picture above.

From left to right:

• China Glaze in "#987 Crimson" (This is a limited edition color from their 2011 "Haunting Halloween" collection.)
• Wet N Wild in "Who Is Ultra Violet?" (This is a limited edition color from their "Pop Art Craze" collection from 2013.)
• SinfulColors in "#1180 Sweet Tooth" (This is a limited edition color from their "Sugar Rush" collection released in 2013.)

I apologize for the glare in the picture. I had to use the flash to get the true colors to show up. 

Here is how I painted my nails. I used "Sweet Tooth" on the thumb and pinky. I used "Who Is Ultra Violet?" on my pointer finger and ring finger. I used "Crimson" on my middle finger. (The mark on my pinky finger is actually not polish, but bleeding I had underneath the skin.)

The purples looked good on their own, but I'm the type of person who loves glitter and sparkle and I finish off most of my nail looks with glitter or some sort of a different finish. I don't know why I didn't take a bottle shot of the last polish, but I used "Stars At Night" by Nicole OPI. I'm not sure if you can see on the bottle, but this color was from the Selena Gomez collection released in 2013 which has since been discontinued. You can still find this collection around in some stores, but for the most part it has been clearanced out and discontinued.

I received a lot of compliments on this look and feel free to leave your comments below!

Pink Tinsel Mani

If you read my last post, you will see my review and my nails done in the Sally Hansen Sugar Coat "#700 Cotton Candies". - I just wanted to show you my finished look with that mani. While, I didn't put a top coat on it, I did put a tinsel finish on it!

Using SinfulColors' "#1394 Pink Icicles", I made a cascade effect on my nails from the top. This polish was part of the limited edition holiday polishes released last year (2013). This polish looks just like a reddish-pink tinsel combined with black and white tinsel. 

I quite like how it turned out. Not necessarily a holiday-only look in my opinion. If anything, someone might associate more with Valentine's Day than Christmas. The tinsel polish is pretty easy to apply and dries fairly fast.

Pink Mani

This is a quick post about a recent mani I did myself. I was really surprised how much I liked the combo of the colors and even more surprised at how many compliments I received. I decided to share, because so many people liked it.

Alright, so I'm not a great nail artist, but I'm getting there. I'm actually proud at the progress I've made so far in the past year. Anyway, I'm a simple person who does simple nail combos. I just alternated colors on the my fingers, but it turned out to be cute.

Polishes:

• "Pink Friday" by OPI from the Nicki Minaj collection. (This is a limited edition color you cannot get anymore and is the lighter pink.)
• "Make An Entrance" by China Glaze (This is the darker pink.)

Both polishes only took 2 coats for full opacity and went on fairly easily. If you're familiar with OPI for China Glaze then you know their formulas are pretty good and easy to work with.

Leave comments below and let me know if you want to see more nail posts.