Julep January Box

So my love/hate relationship with the Julep Maven program continues.  I am still getting these boxes.  Some months are total loves, other months make me think why and I doing this?  For 20 bucks a month I ended up with a lot of dupes or polishes I don't like.  The extra products are either fantastic or terrible.  But then I get a box I love and I second guess canceling.

January was a box I wasn't that thrilled about.  It contained Heather, Blake, and a Pomegranate Body Scrub.  I also got a bonus polish called Demi.  While I was excited for a bonus polish, the options to pick from were all reds which made me sad.  I barely ever wear reds so this was not for me.  The other polishes were wins though!

Julep Maven January Box

Julep Maven January Box

Julep Maven January Box

First up is Blake, a really luscious pretty yellow creme.  It went on super easy in two coats and screams spring.  It's pastel and very feminine.  I don't think I will reach for this often, but I'm glad I have it in my collection.

Julep Blake

Julep Blake

Julep Blake

Next up is Heather, a metallic grey.  I expected this to be brush-stroke city but it was surprisingly easy to apply and had minimal brush strokes.  You can see them a little in the third picture.  The color is unique for me though, I don't have anything else like it.  This is two coats.

Julep Heather

Julep Heather

Julep Heather

Julep Demi is a fail for me.  It's a red creme.  Very traditional and on the darker side.  This is just boring and so not me.  Oh well.  This was two coats but it seems uneven to me.

Julep Demi

Julep Demi

Julep Demi

The Julep Maven program is $20 a month and you can sign up at Julep.com!  On their own their polishes will cost you $14.  If you want, you can sign up using my referal link.  You can also use the code SHAREONMAY to get your intro box for 1 cent!

Layla Jade Green

Hey guys!  I'm back!!!  Kind of... life is still super duper crazy, for both me and Courtney.  Work is insane for both of us, I just finished another semester of grad school, I'm 4 months out from my wedding and Courtney is in baby prep mode.  The good news is - I'm not taking a class this summer!  The aren't offering one I want to take that I haven't already taken.  It does unfortunately push out graduation, but it'll be ok.  More good news - my fiance got me a lens for our camera for close up nail pics!!! So now I'm dying to try it out.  That being said, I have about 5 posts in the draft queue of blogger.  I put the pictures in and then never get around to writing the text.  So before I start posting my new awesome camera photos I need to post these old ones.  It will also give me a little time to get my cuticles back in shape, I've been seriously neglecting them recently.

So on of my long awaited polishes to show you is Layla Holographic Effects in Jade Green.  As someone who is just getting into linear holos, these Layla's are full of win.  I splurged and bought the whole set :P.  I've only tried a few so far.  I use Aqua Base underneath them and then use my OPI DS Top Coat over them.  They aren't the most long wearing nail polishes, but they are so beautiful.  I usually only get 2 days of wear before they chip.  I think my nails hate the Aqua Bases.  Oh well...

Jade Green is a silver that wants to be green.  As you can tell from my pics, it is barely green.  Just a hint can be seen, and mostly when the holo isn't out in full force.  The tricky part is that the holo is almost always out in full force.  I took pictures in pretty much ever light I could find to try to show you the green.  Can you see it?

First up - outside - full sun.

Layla Jade Green

Layla Jade Green

Layla Jade Green

Layla Jade Green

Outside - indirect sunlight

Layla Jade Green

Inside - indirect light

Layla Jade Green

Layla Jade Green

So I've got a lot more Layla's to show you - what do you want to see first once I break out the new lens?  You can get this and the others at places like Aveyou.com and Ulta.com for $15.50 a bottle.