Remember these? Yup! I didn't forget about them, OR the comparison I promised!!! Surprisingly, they are quite different. More so on the nail than even just in the bottles! Can you guess which one, ultimately, was the 'best'? :D One Coat The order they are shown in-bottle above is the order you see them on the nails. Index is Color Club, Middle is Sally Hansen, and Ring is SinfulColors. First coat went on pretty well for all of them, but the Sally Hansen had some mild streaking. Sinful's was a lot thinner than I anticipated, and Color Club's was actually a one coater! As you'll see when I add coats, it doesn't change much with each coat, where the others shift opacity and colour a bit. I WILL say the Color Club was much more blue than it looked in the bottle. Maybe it was the white lid, or it's just one of 'those' polishes that changes colour slightly once dry. Two Coats And as evidenced, the Color Club didn't change... almost at all. A few spots were filled in that hadn't been before, particularly by the nail and cuticle edge but beyond that it's the same as the first coat. The Sally Hansen clearly leveled out to near-perfection and became much more of a solid blue, and the Sinful VERY much improved it's opacity and true blueness [That's a bluegrass pun there.... My 'Cats fans will get it. GO BIG BLUE! lol] Three Coats Angled shot for the third and final coat [Unless otherwise specified, ALL my swatches are 3 even coats, for comparison purposes] so you can see the level of gloss each polish had naturally. Sinful's was a lot more glossy at first, but after it truly finished setting, it was the dullest one of the bunch. Color Club and Sally Hansen had a pretty level amount of shine, even well after drying had finished. Once more, you can see the extra coats of Color Club's polish are pretty much just wasted polish. Sally's didn't change significantly between coats 2 and three, but it did finish leveling to a perfectly smooth polish. And with the third coat, the Sinful was FINALLY [almost] opaque. Much more jelly-like in look, though not in feel. Unlike the other two, it has little pinkish violet flecks in a microshimmer form throughout, so it wasn't going to be as creamy as the others from the start. Much closer to the Color Club's shade of blue though when all were done, which surprised me. Yes, but how do they compare? Shown here are all three next to the bottle of SinfulColors' 'Cinderella' [Ring finger], with the final 3 coats of each. You can see here Cinderella is almost opaque, but not quite. Here, they are all next to ColorClub's 'Take me to your Chateau' [Index finger], with the final 3 coats of each. You can see how the Cinderella compares in hue, AND how significantly the polish changed once out of the bottle and dry. Much more blue than I thought it would be. And here, they are all beside Sally Hansen's 'Wet suit' [Middle finger], with the final 3 coats of each. It stayed most true to the in-bottle colour, but ultimately was the least true blue of the three. It came in leaning aqua/teal for me. Still light blue, but leaning towards the aquatic for sure. And the winner is...? Having owned exactly 0 pale blues, and jumping to a whopping 3 in as many minutes, I was pleased to have all three. They all will most definitely be used often, for different purposes. But the one that really stuck out, and truly impressed me and blew all my expectations out of the water? THE COLOR CLUB! Huzzahhhh! I was sooo impressed with it being a one-coater, and turning out to be SO blue. It's the perfect polish for on-the-go, and is GREAT as a base for glitter toppers so they pop without looking awkward.
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Godmorgen alle! [That's good morning everyone, in Danish! :D] Apologies for the silence, but I've been slowly working on swatches from July's Julep Maven box in between resting after a slight issue a couple of weeks ago. I'm feeling great now though, and working hard to get some great swatches of those [amazing!] polishes for you. Look for that post soon. In the mean time, it's time to see August's Julep maven box and I am SO EXCITE! Why am I excite? August 1st is my birthday! This collection has only ONE polish I'm not head over heels in love with, but the add-on polish more than makes up for it! Meet: The Wanderlust CollectionFeatured Polish Add-on?Limited Edition Anniversary Polish!Featured NEW ProductEYE GLIDERS!Hoorayyy! Today was a pretty great day. It started off pretty bleak with all of us lamenting that we didn't have the money to spare to go out and do anything on such a fantastic day. Resigning myself to shifting laundry through the cleaning and drying and folding cycles, I pulled a pair of my jeans from the washer, stuck my arm in the leg that got flipped to turn it right side out; And what should fall out? $60!! HOORAYYY! So, we went into town to "window shop" which usually means buy random crap we don't actually need. We trekked our way through shops to Meijer where we ultimately finally made a purchase. I went through phases of Joy when I found a location for Color Clubs and OPI's Toucan do it if you try; And phases of Frustration when Toucan was TOTALLY MISSING, and the Color Club selection was... well, sparse. For the first time EVER my spouse actually actively spotted a polish that caught his eye, and told me out loud "Ooh! I like that colour" and pointed to a purple/violet/fuschia Color Club [shown below]. I'm not one to wear a lot of purple, but I HAD to get this. How could I not??? And, I picked up three baby blues from various brands, since it came to my attention this weekend: I have none. NONE. And, I picked up a new basecoat and a new brand to join my collection! Swatches will come soon, right now these all have to adjust temps: They sat in a hot car for a while today, so they're too thick to use. :) Unforseen circumstances mean I'm not able to share swatches of the new collection - Yet! I am, however, able to introduce July's BEAUTIFUL Ruby Red addition to the Birthstone Collection!!! Meet: Martina! Martina is a tribute to the big-voiced, huge-hearted, country crooner Martina McBride. #TeamMartina! Missing the others? Check the links below to pick up any of the released birthstones you have missed, and stay tuned to know when new ones are available!!!
Hip hip, I do believe it's time for July's reveal! Man am I excited about this month. This will be the third or fourth month in a ROW now that I have truly been surprised with the collection Julep has released. Between untimely soft and delicate like last month, and wild pops of colour like the month prior; I've really been on my toes. It's quite refreshing! Without further ado, prepare for ye wall of pictures!! And, below are some of the featured products this month!! :)
A wonderful lady in a Facebook group I am in brought up a fairly well-known Youtuber that does nail-art tutorials, and love several of the designs. Having heard of the Youtuber, but not the specific design the gal was mentioning, I watched the video and was inspired not by the same art; But the following one. [The 3rd] I had a failing mani in its final hours of life, and rather than remove it decided to USE it, and save myself a ton of time while trying out the new nail-art. And it worked! I ended up with a fantastic 'recovery' mani, AND got to try out my Plie Wand's striper tool! [Spoiler: I LOVE IT!] Please note: While I was originally inspired by the Youtuber mentioned, my design is NOT a direct replica. As I was doing this, I felt drawn to go a slightly different direction, and I love where I ended up. Maybe someday I will truly replicate the design I liked, but that day was not today. What you'll need!
Step One: The dying mani [Flora] If you're doing a recovery mani as I did, you will likely already have a base coat, colour, and layer or two of topcoat on your nails. If not, this is the step to add all but the topcoat! If you're concerned the topcoat will affect the nail art, you don't necessarily have to worry. However, you can lightly wipe some remover that has been weakened with a little water [VERY little!] to remove some of the topcoat. 1-2 swipes at most, in an even manner to prevent streaking and thin spots. :) Step Two: The first colour [Kai] I wanted a pale blue to contrast the darker violet of Flora, and Kai was the perfect colour. Because she is a sea salt texture, I wanted her as far down the line of layers as possible, so the texture would be less prominent in the final product. So, she's the first colour! I went for an almost half and half diagonal swipe here. :) Step Three: The second colour [Lauren] For my second colour, I needed something from the warmer colours to bring a little balance back to the mani. Opting for a neon pink [Not the calm-pink it appears in these images] with Lauren my only regret was that I didn't add a third layer OF Lauren to even out the sheerness some more. Instead of matching the angle of Kai, I started halfway down the nail and gently curved to the tip of the opposing edge. Step Four: The details With my beloved copper glitter, Diamond Theory, and Julep's striping attachment for the Plie Wand, I lined the edges of all the colours with a single layer of glitter. I dipped my polish-brush in the polish, and dabbed the excess onto a plastic art tray, which I then used to pick up polish on the striping tool. A quick wipe with remover and my tool was clean! I was actually QUITE impressed with how well it performed! Step Five: Finishing touches <3 After my edge cleanup [Gotta love orange wood sticks soaked in remover!!], a single layer of Freedom to fuel my high-gloss finish fix sealed [and dried!] this beautiful recovery in minutes. You can't even tell this was a re-used mani! <3
Evening/Morning ladies! While scrumaging around this morning to find images of an old Julep polish that isn't sold anymore, I once more came across THIS article. Originally it caught my attention because of the hints and information it gave about the [now implemented] MyMaven program. This morning, I was struck by something I [of all people] should have seen sooner. Jane blatantly dropped by name and style a polish that would* be in the Fall 2014 lineup. "The Artemis color might be something bold that makes a statement" Given my own very personal affiliation with the wonderful world of Greek Goddesses and their modern-day use as names, it surprised me that I had missed this key name. That being said, I'm now hugely excited for whatever colour this might be; And, dare I say, hopeful I might one day see my very own Athena polish? SO. Ladies, let us discuss! What colour, finish, and style, do YOU think Artemis will be? What month do you think we will see it, and what THEME do you think it will be a part of? Comment below, and let us discuss! Maybe, if someone guesses it correctly come fall, I might just have a little prize ready for them? ;D *Since some have misunderstood this phrase, a clarification: Would is used in reference to 'Would, should it be included'. As I do not work for Julep's product development team [sadface!], I obviously cannot know with 100% certainty any upcoming polishes. This is simply my [obviously] hopeful interpretation, and I would like other opinions on what this polish WOULD look like, SHOULD it be made. :)
Ever have a vision in your head of just what you want to have... and then you try it and it does NOT end up like your brain saw it?
Welcome to my Nautical-themed stripes. For lack of proper white polishes, I substituted with China Glaze's "There's Snow one like you" on top of SinfulColors' "Rain Storm". Heart accents kudos to China Glaze's "Just Be-Claws". And only myself to thank for the horrid turnout. xD I had wanted petite but bold stripes, clean-lined; But, being one that not only has very little tape in the house, let alone of that size, I am NO master of striping tape. Of any degree. Tips from you all would be much appreciated! Comment below with tips for makeshift striping, or pics of your success! Or Failure, I won't judge :) I clearly have no room to talk lol. Yes! Julep has done it again! They've released a NEW Welcome Box theme, free to new Mavens! The theme? Nautical! Revel in a sea of beautiful colours, and get in SHIPSHAPE for summer festivities with this beautiful welcome box! What is a Maven? Here at Julep, as a Maven, you get a beautifully tailored [Sailored?] box full of beauty products and/or polish to YOUR preferences, each and every month. Including full customization, you can swap out products or polish as needed to perfect the look YOU want!
What do you get?? YESSSS. The new Oxygen Performance Top Coat is BACK IN STOCK!
Now is the time to try out the OXYGEN2 code to get 30% off when you buy the base and topcoats!! :D Need the base coat as well? Click below!! |
Whut is?With this blog, you can expect to see reviews, impressions, tips, inspirations, deals, and more. If there is something specific you would like to see, don't hesitate to let me know! Instagram feedArchives
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