July Julep Maven Box – The Poolside Collection
Finally…GOSH! At least Julep was nice enough to send me an email letting me know that my box had shipped late…
July brings us “The Poolside Collection”. It turns out that I did sign up for My Maven Customized boxes last month, so I chose the “Classic with a Twist” box, so I could get “Bare Body Milk”. It smells great and is cooling to the skin. I kept “Vicki” – Pink flamingo crème – but swapped out “Kelsey” for “It Girl” “Braiden” – Graphite stardust (textured matte glitter). The “treat” was a few tootsie rolls. Come on, Julep – at least Pixi Stix are REAL candy!
No add-ons or mystery items this month…
I’m so excited to try the flamingo polish!
Not a Julep Maven? CLICK HERE to join! Get a special 5 piece Welcome Box with code SHIPSHAPE!
The Perfect Nude
Say hello to RUFFIAN “Sahara” from the Endless Summer Collection….the perfect nude.
Well, the perfect nude for ME anyway. It’s almost a perfect match for my skin. It’s almost freaky looking – like I don’t have any fingernails at all. It’s like that nude patent pump trend from last year – to me, it looked like the illusion of no feet. Now I have no fingernails!
After starting with Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, I did just one coat of “Sahara”. It was a bit streakier than “Blue Lagoon”, but since I cut my nails, I didn’t have to worry about peeling ridges. I topped with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat. These Revlons are quickly becoming my favorites!
Ipsy Redemption
The squeaky wheel gets the grease…
Actually, the saying should be that the “polite” wheel gets the grease. See, there was a bit of a debacle with last month’s Ipsy bag. The Be A Bombshell “Lash Out Mascara” was stinky. It smelled like a diaper full of burning tires. I tried it once and it didn’t make me go blind, but the smell put me off and I trashed it. Instead of posting a barrage of complaints on every social media platform (I literally saw HUNDREDS), I sent a polite note to IpsyCare through their website. Within a few days, I got a polite response and a notice that they were sending me 2 Be A Bombshell products! Now THAT’S how you do customer service.
I received a deluxe sample of “It’s So Big” Volumizing Mascara to replace the stinky mascara. It smells fine! I also received a full size tube of “Last Call Girl” lip gloss – it’s bright ass pink!
Kudos, Ipsy!
The Dude Abides…and Glitters…
This fingernail polish really pulls the room together…
Behold Funky Fingers “Gnarly, Dude”. It’s a solar polish that is supposed to change color in sunlight.
Indoors, “Gnarly, Dude” is a pink jelly with a veritable Hobby Lobby Bukkake of glitter. (I just want Hobby Lobby to be forever linked with “bukkake”, kinda like what happened with “Santorum”. Please don’t Google “bukkake”, Grandma.) There’s silver glitter, pink glitter, holographic hex glitter, black hex glitter – every kind of glitter, just globbed on my fingernails.
I suspected it was a specious claim, but “Gnarly, Dude” proved me wrong – it did EXACTLY what it was supposed to! Sunlight turned the pink jelly dark purple – almost black. In fact, this picture was taken after cloudy sun. I went outside at high noon full sun and my nails were very nearly black.
I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat in case of staining. I covered with a thick coat of Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, but it still didn’t smooth the curling edges of the hex glitter. If you like smooth nails, this is not the polish for you.
This is a great summer polish, but the hex glitters do peel off easily, leaving blank spots. Luckily, it mends easily with a little dab from the brush.
How to Ruin your Carpet
So I’ve heard about this happening with Julep polishes, but I never thought it would happen to me…
I didn’t realize that the neck of the bottle had broken in shipping. As I attempted to pop the overcap off of Julep “Sabrina” to swatch the top, it snapped off in my hand….and sprayed bright orange polish all over my leg and bedroom floor. SONOFABEEEEETCH!
So pouring half a bottle of polish remover on my carpet seemed to do the trick – I was able to get the polish out, but there is a faint orange tinge if you really look close.
Be warned! Check your Juleps…and open over a table or put a tarp down or go outside or something. At least this was a polish I had only paid $2 for….
Ulta Clearance
I held back and held back, but the call was too strong today. I had to see what was left of the Ulta clearance sale.
I found the Urban Decay 2012 “Feminine Palette” for $16. I grabbed one for me and one for my BFF. I knew there were a few duplicate shades – I already have “Skimp” and “Gunmetal” in my “Mariposa” palette, but no big deal – I can always use more!
I grabbed 3 NYX Chunky Dunk Hydrating Lippies in “Berry Mojito”, “Cherry Smash” and “Happy Buddha” for $1.59 each. I also got 2 Ulta Double Duty Lip Stain and Balm in “Drama” and “Suspense” for $4 each. My lips will be bright and well hydrated!
Of course, a $3.50 coupon – I like them so much more than the 20% off one item ones.
I was showing my husband my haul and he was shocked that there was no nail polish. Oh ye of little faith…there just wasn’t any polish cheap enough!
Black Dahlia
I’ve been wanting to try Zoya Pixie Dust for FOREVER…so finally…this is Zoya Pixie Dust “Dahlia”.
No base coat, no top coat, just 2 coats of “Dahlia”. Isn’t it divine?
Oh, and I finally cut my nails. They were starting to break, so I just expedited the process. Imagine how much sexier this polish would be on longer nails…
I am getting obsessed with Pixie Dust…I just bought three more! It’s the last day of Zoya’s Fourth of July Promotion – 3 free polishes for $12 shipping. Click NOW before it’s too late!
A Good Red is Hard to Find
A good red is hard to find…but I’ve found the best red fingernail polish ever created – Zoya “Sooki”.
This is a single coat of “Sooki”, topped with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat. Absolute full coverage in one coat. It was very shiny on it’s own, but the top coat makes it look like glass.
Plus…it was FREE.
Rapture Light
I’ve been wearing Victoria’s Secret “Rapture” since its launch in 1992. Stephanie Seymour was the face of “Rapture” and she was one of my idols in high school. (I totally thought I would be getting married in her mini-skirt wedding dress from “November Rain.” Don’t judge.) Funny, when I was 16, wearing it made me feel all grown-up, but wearing it now…it makes me feel young.
“Rapture” is a heavy scent and it’s easy to put on too much. Victoria’s Secret just came out with a lighter version – “Sensual Fragrance Mist”. It’s in a bottle like a body mist, but you can’t give yourself 8-10 sprays, like a mist from Bath & Body Works. Even though it’s lighter than perfume or cologne, it’s stronger than most body mists. Use with caution!
Regular price is $25, but it was on sale for $15 at launch a month or so ago. It was backordered and I just received it today. Youth in a bottle!
Soap Addict
As the Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale winds down, the deals and coupons get a little better. The best stuff is gone and they want to get rid of whatever is left.
I’ll admit it, I went to Bath & Body Works yesterday and didn’t buy anything. I’m so glad I didn’t, because this morning, I got an email that ALL soaps are $3 today. That’s a sale I can get behind. I’m not even going to list all the scents I got…because I bought 14. That’s right…14. The current coupon is either $10 off $30 or $20 off $50. You know what I did…
In addition to the 14 soaps, I picked up a 75% off “Coconut Lime Breeze” Body Cream for my desk at work, a 75% off “Citron for Men” Shower Gel for my husband (because he always complains that I buy crap for myself and the kids, but never for him) and 2 50% off “Honolulu Sun” Hand Creams for my purse.
$35.15 <throws microphone down>