Stuff & Things: Nail Polish Edition

Most of my blog posts around here lately have been about books or teaching.  I thought it would be nice to do something a bit more fun.

I also thought I'd take advantage of it being Thursday and link up this post with Kristin & Joey for Stuff & Things!

So let's talk nail polish!  I've been taking the time more often to give myself at home manicures.  This is probably mostly due to the fact that Scott is working all of the time, and I have nothing better to do with my time, but that is neither here nor there.

Here are some of my manis from the last month:

1. Julep "Nancy"
2. Julep "Linda" with Pure Ice "Beware" on the accent nail
3. Essie "Smokin' Hot"
4. Julep "Sandi" with Julep "Sigourney" accent nail (That purple is actually darker than the flash made it appear.  There wasn't quite as much contrast between those nails and the accent nail.)
5. Julep gray polish (the sticker with the name came off!) and Julep "Yumi" on the accent nails

Julep is a monthly box subscription service for nail polish and beauty products.  While I certainly don't get a box each month, you can do whatever works best for you (and your wallet)!  You choose a style that fits best for you and can even customize your box.  Boxes start out at $20, but you just pay shipping on your first box!  If you'd like to sign up and join the fun, click here!

Free Stuff!

I've mentioned before that I'm a Julep Maven!  You can see my profile on the left sidebar (I'm a bombshell ;) )!  You can read my other posts here, here, and here.

via

So, why am I mentioning it again?? 

Because there's the chance for you to get a free Julep Maven box!  Here's how it works:
When you sign up to be a Julep Maven, you take a style profile quiz, and they set you up with a particular style based on your answer.  As I mentioned above, I'm a bombshell!  My friend, Tarole, is a Boho Glam.  Every month, you get a box with full-size products.  Most boxes include 2 nail polish colors and another beauty product for you to enjoy.  My first box had a warming footscrub, the second had a cuticle treatment, and the last box I received had a DD cream. 

Being a Julep Maven is $19.99 a month...BUT WAIT.  Don't run away yet.  You don't have to order every month.  If you can't afford it, don't like the products, or any other reason you can think of, you can opt out of the month.  As long as you do it before a scheduled date, you will not be charged for the month.  You could also choose to send your box as a gift if you want.  OR if you don't like the colors offered within your style profile for a month, you can switch and get the colors from another profile.

You're wondering about the free part now, aren't you?

When you sign up for Julep, your first box is totally free.  PLUS if two of you sign up, I'm going to be able to get my next box for free, too! 

So what do you say??

Head on over and sign up today: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/136185/

Summer Mani

Before I get started, have you read about my Blog Party??  I'll wait......









Ok.

I really do love painting my finger nails.  I get to do it more in the summer because I have more time.  I can't stand it when polish starts to peel and chip.  Then I have no time to take it off and repaint. 

I digress.

I've mentioned before that I'm a Julep Maven.

Julep is a fun company that offers you an opportunity to receive a monthly box of full-size nail polishes and beauty products for just $19.99.  The best part is that you don't have to get your box each month.  If money is tight, you can just skip the month.  To become a Maven, you take a style quiz.  I'm a bombshell.  :)  HOWEVER, you're not stuck with your style profile.  If you don't like it, you can change it.  Or maybe you like another style's nail polish colors better, you can try those for a month instead.  With each purchase, you earn Jules that can be applied to future purchases.

This was my Maven box for June:

The nail polish is wrapped up in a colorful paper bag and tied with the ribbon.  I love it.  :)  This box also had a few pieces of taffy.  There's always a little surprise in your box!

My colors for the month: Payton and Raegan

Though I probably shouldn't have (for budget reasons), I wanted to try the DD cream, and I really loved that green (Payton).  I have a few outfits I've been wearing that have a green that shade.  I thought it would be a great compliment to them.  It still will be, but that's not the first way I chose to use it....

 

 

Pink and green go great together! 

 

I'm going to try to be a little more adventurous next time, too.  I thought that if I paint the thumb pink, go around the outside of the nail with green, and paint on some black dots, it may look like a watermelon!  What do you think??

 

If you're interested in becoming a Julep Maven, use this link to sign up: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/136185/.  I get Jules if you join!  :)

Friday Fashion: Julep Nail Polish Review

In March, I became a Julep Maven.  I shared my first Maven Box, and reviewed their foot & hand scrub that I received.

I have finally gotten around to trying out the nail polish from that box.  (And since, I've received my second box.  If I ever have time, I'll share that with you.  Maybe next week.) 

As you may have read yesterday in my "It's Ok Thursdays" post, it's been warm in Pennsylvania, and I was able to wear flip flops this week.  I really don't like wearing open toed shoes without my toenails painted.  So on Monday night, I grabbed my Juelp nailpolish, and quickly painted my nails.  To refresh your memory, this was the first Maven box I received.

 

I chose to use the color on your left.  I believe it's called Eva.  I honestly had a hard time telling whether it was red or dark pink.  I'll be honest, I still can't completely tell!  haha  I quickly put a drop on a piece of paper, and it looked pink to me.  I'm still going with pink, but I even questioned it myself yesterday.

 

Either way, I like it.

 

 

I love having my nails painted...toenails AND fingernails.  I just hardly ever paint my fingernails because I feel like I have to take so much more time with them, and my right hand always looks like it was painted by a two-year-old because I am just not that coordinated with my left hand!  haha PLUS, I also don't like having to take it off, and chipped fingernail polish (especially in dark colors) doesn't look so nice.  But, toenail polish always seems to last forever on me. 

 

So anyway, here's what I liked about this nail polish:

1. I only used one coat.  (It says to use two, but it was late, and I felt that one was sufficient.)

2. It dried pretty quickly.  (I played a round of Candy Crush Saga, and they were pretty much dry after that.)

 

I did use a base coat.  I don't always do this with my toenails, but I do when I'm using darker colors.  I used Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base & Top Coat.  After that dried, I applied one coat of Eva.  I didn't use a top coat.

 

I'm looking forward to trying my other Julep colors soon!

I'm a Maven!

The other day, Ashley from Being Ashley tweeted about Julep.  I was intrigued because I've heard her talk about them before.  When she said that I could get my first box of full-size products for FREE, I was all in!

Julep.com is a beauty product company.  By becoming a Maven, you receive a monthly Maven box of beauty products with free shipping.  You also get special pricing in their shop.  You become a Maven by taking a style quiz.  You answer the questions, and they use your answers to select products just for you!  Then they mail you your first box for free...you just pay shipping!  After that, you can get a box each month for $19.99 (free shipping).  You can opt out if money is tight or you don't like the products for the month, and you won't be charged.

I was so excited when my box arrived (and it came super quickly)!

 

My Style Profile is currently Bombshell.  If you decide you don't like your profile, you can change it.

So what did I get?

 

 

 

Clockwise from Left: Warming Foot Scrub, Hand Scrub, nail polish

 

The other night, I decided that I really needed to pamper myself a bit.  I started with the warming foot scrub.

 



Oh my gosh, this was so nice.  It smells great, but it's not over powering.  My poor, dry, achy feet really appreciated this scrub.  It warms on contact, and gently exfoliates your skin.  It was a wonderful 5 minutes of my life!

Julep also promises a special little surprise tucked in each box.  Mine was this sample size of the hand scrub.

This smelled AMAZING.  My hands have been dry lately (stupid winter).  It felt so good to scrub my hands.  They felt so much softer after I used this scrub.  It's crazy how putting lotion on my hands felt 10x better after this scrub!

I haven't tried the nail polish yet.  I had colors that I had purchased over Christmas break, and I decided to pamper myself with those first.  (I do love doing one color with an accent nail!)  I'll be sure to let you know when I try them!

Do you want to get in on the fun?  You don't have to write reviews or anything.  I just decided that when I do get boxes, it would be fun to share the awesomeness!

If you'd like to be a Maven go to http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/136185/ use code 10486245.  Remember, the first box is free!