Tag: Julep
Raisin Flakes
Ugh, did you know that nail decals can go bad? The first set of Julep Snowflake Decals that I got back in 2017 totally shredded when I tried to peel them off the backing. No problem, I’ll just position them on the edge of my nails, like I meant to do that. Luckily, the second set is fine…
I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and two coats of Sinful Colors “Raisin the Roof”. (I’ve had this polish since 2019 – why haven’t I tried it before?) I tried to carefully place the Snowflake Decals – I’ll admit it, most of the shredded and torn ones ended up on my right hand. I attempted to tame the edges with Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber, but my biggest mistake was going matte with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat. Either two coats was two much or the Glitter Grabber, I’m not sure. There was too much product on my nails and it got a kind of Play-Doh consistency and made weird puffy lumps on my nails. I tried, okay?
…and I thought I was being creative, choosing a dark wine polish to go with snowflakes, but it turns out I did something similar back in 2018. Oops…
Connie
I absolutely HATE that Julep not only stopped carrying nail polish…they deleted all of the polish descriptions from their site. It’s like being a Julep MAVEN didn’t even happen. Sigh. It’s like all those years of polishing our nails together didn’t even happen. And how am I supposed to know what color this is?
Julep Classic with a Twist “Connie” was in one of the last few rounds of polish I got. It’s a magenta crΓ¨me, with a demi-matte finish, but it was so streaky that I had to go shiny with it. It’s a nice color, very 80s. The edges shrank horribly, but I’m not sure if it was the polish or the top coat. I lean towards the polish, because G&G doesn’t usually do that.
This is two coats of “Connie” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Turkey Skittles
Remember last year’s Thanksgiving Skittles? I am manifesting FALL WEATHER by doing another fall themed Skittle Mani…I need pumpkin spice and everything nice!
I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I decided to go with cremes instead of shimmers. Starting with my thumb, I used two coats of each polish: Julep “Mary Lee”, Julep “Jenna”, Julep “Lee”, Julep “Rosemary”, and Julep “Nan” on my pinkie. I topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
If it worked, it was SLOW. It was 95 today…but a cold front is supposed to hit Texas Thursday/Friday.
Missy
Julep “Missy” is another polish that has been chilling in the cabinet since 2016.
“Missy” is a silver foil polish. I love to hate foils – they are usually so fussy to deal with and streaky…but not “Missy”. I got smooth coverage and no bubbles – shocking! Is it me, or is there faint greenish cast to this silver?
This is two coats of “Missy” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Barbie: The Movie
Yesterday, I went with both my kids, LaLa and Miss Lisa to go see the Barbie movie in Lufkin…we’d been planning this for MONTHS, and I assure you…we were NOT disappointed. It was everything we wanted it to be, and more. But this isn’t knobbyverse, so I’ll save the rest of my thoughts for the official review.
Of COURSE, we all (except Logan) did Barbie nails for the film. After reviewing dozens of pink polishes, I decided that I wanted to do a combo of Color Street Nail Strips and a pink polish. I wanted to use Formula X “Astrolady”…but it was totally dried up! Even OPI Nail Lacquer thinner couldn’t save her…but I had a backup plan. Julep “Cadance” is a similar textured pink polish, just without as much gold sparkle. I painted two coats of “Cadance” over Vibrant Scents Base Coat in “Island Petals”.
The pink polish was an accent for black and white stripes and chevrons – I wanted to represent the first Barbie’s iconic swimsuit. There is NO WAY I could paint stripes, so I decided to use Color Street Nail strips. I started with plain white – “Swiss and Tell”. I then topped those nails with black and clear nail strips. I used “Between the Lines” for the stripes and “Keep Calm and Chevron” for the chevrons. Thank GOODNESS for nail strips!
I hope these nails last a few more days – I absolutely LOVE them.
Chira
I am really liking the change in scenery in my nail pictures. Since tearing down our old patio cover and building a new one, I don’t get the same quality of light on the patio. I’ve since moved to the area right outside my garage, which includes a few Sago Palms and my succulent collection. I am still experimenting, but I think the Sago Palm is winning.
Julep “Chira” is a rich teal microshimmer. If I was asked to describe this polish, I’d call it midnight teal.
This is two coats of “Chira” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Eras Tour Nails
About this time the Sunday before last, I was sitting in my seat at NRG Stadium, patiently waiting for Taylor Swift…
I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my day, and I am not exaggerating when I say that it might be the best concert I’ve ever been to – it was a Las Vegas style spectacle! Almost everyone there was dressed up in one of Taylor’s eras…but I chose to dress up my nails instead, copying Taylor’s own eras tour mani. (In case you’re curious, my son dressed as “Red” and my daughter dressed as “Folklore”.) I started off each nail with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, and finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. A few nails got Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber.
“Debut” was easy – Deborah Lippmann “Mermaid’s Dream”.
I have A LOT of gold polishes, but I chose Sinful Colors Sinful Shine “Rule My World” for “Fearless” because it was on top of the pile.
“Speak Now” was a bit more difficult. I started with two coats of Deborah Lippmann “I Put a Spell on You”, but it was too sheer and pink, so I topped with a layer of Julep “Queen Anne” and Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber. Yes, that’s perfect.
“Red” was a HARD one – I have literally 100 red polishes. Again, I resorted to just using the first shimmery red I found, which was Sinful Colors Power Paint “Shine, Honey”.
I couldn’t do just a plain black for “Reputation” – I had to have the gold flakies in Sinful Colors “Buzz Off”.
“1989” was totally screwed up. In the bottle, Sinful Colors “Poison Arrow” looks blue, but on the nails, it looked more aqua.
Julep “Hartleigh” was my immediate pick for “Lover”. The base is two coats of Deborah Lippman “Chantilly Lace”, topped with “Hartleigh” and Glitter Grabber.
Not quite sure why “Evermore” is silver, but I picked Sinful Colors Sinful Shine “Diamond in the Raw” for my silver.
“Folklore” is a boring old taupe. Julep “Kay” is the least boring taupe I could find.
Taylor’s newest album, “Midnights” deserved the sky at midnight, so I chose Sinful Colors “Witch, Please”. I loved this nail the most – I need to revist “Witch, Please” again in the near future.
And there you have it…my eras nails. Who else should I do? The first 10 Madonna albums? Or maybe Weird Al?
Blueberry Milk, NOW with Snowflakes!
Remember “Blueberry Milk”? My work trip got rescheduled after that freak ice storm, so I redid the nails I had planned on, with a small added touch…snowflakes!
This is two coats of Nailtopia “Blueberry Milk”, over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. I did sandwich in a coat of Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber over the Julep Snowflakes and under the top coat. What did I do before Glitter Grabber? Oh yeah, I just peeled the decals off when they started to lift.
As much as I pay attention to my nails, I know it’s not something that most folks pay attention to, ESPECIALLY not in a male-dominated industry like Telecomm. Imagine my surprise, when one of the Outside Plant guys noticed my snowflakes! I will take that single compliment TO MY GRAVE.
Hypnotic Frenzy Skittles
Mini Sets are a natural choice for Skittle Manicures…so I grabbed the Julep Hypnotic Frenzy Set and got to work. It is a 6 polish set and it was SO HARD to give one the boot. Sorry “Brita”, you did not make the cut.
I kept it simple and did two coats of each polish over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. The three glitter polishes got a coat of Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber for good luck.
Going from thumb to pinky, I used Bombshell βKirraβ β Icy purple multidimensional glitter; Boho Glam βMaryannβ β Lilac mauve shimmer; Boho Glam βAgathaβ β Gilded bronze multidimensional glitter; Bombshell βOβNeillβ β Sleek copper chrome; and It Girl βVinsyβ β Blooming pink multidimensional glitter. I don’t know that I got the order exactly right, but I really likes how this one turned out.
The Grinch Who Saved Xmas
It’s me…hi. I’m the Grinch, it’s me.
Another Xmas season in the books and I am exhausted. It was mostly good, with just a little toxicity thrown in for flavor. I admit, I had a few “mama bear” moments when I felt like my kids got the shaft, but they are much stronger than I am and just shrugged it off…never underestimate kids’ ability to immediately know WHO the asshole is in a situation.
ANYWAY, I was inspired to create another Julep Skittle mani, this time a GRINCH-y one!
I started with two coats of red (Julep “Stephanie”) and chartreuse (Julep “Sam”) over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I played around with glitters – I used Julep “Ruby Slippers” and Julep “Angelique”. I used Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber on the glittered nails and then finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
I got so many compliments on these nails…my little black heart grew two full sizes!