#nailartapr

I Bought This 

Sorry for the lack of posts!  I lost my camera battery and charger. :(  I've been looking everywhere, but I can't remember where I might have left it.  I'm going to borrow someone's camera or use my phone, until I find it (or maybe buy a new battery...).  But for now, here's the nail art I did in April for @californails' challenge:

Click for the nail art!

Julep Maven: April 2013 Classic with a Twist (Avery, Jackie) Swatches

I Bought This

I veered away from It Girl this month because I only liked 2 out of 3 of the colors.  Instead, I opted for Classic with a Twist, because I liked both colors and I wanted to try the cuticle serum.  And then I added on the 2 colors from It Girl that I did like, haha.  I'm quite happy with these colors because I don't really have brights and these will be great for the summer season. 

Classic with a Twist came with 2 polishes and the Nail and Cuticle Serum, plus a rock candy lollipop as an extra little something.  The 2 polishes in my box are Avery and Jackie, both cremes and both seem perfect for the upcoming summer!

Click for swatches.

Julep Maven: March 2013 It Girl (Shenae, Simone, Teri) Swatches

I finally received my Julep box for March!  It was delayed due to an error in their system, according to an email Julep sent me on March 8th.  I was quite annoyed because they waited so long to let me know, all the while I was waiting and thinking it got lost.  Anyway, I'm glad they fixed it and that the box finally got here!

I almost skipped this one, but in the end, my love of pastels overcame my willpower.  Julep also advertised this collection with a matte top coat, saying that it made the polishes look like sidewalk chalk from our childhood.  I really liked the look of it with the matte top coat, so that was another point in favor of getting it, haha. 

Click through for hand swatches.

Julep Maven: February 2013 It Girl (Joan, Marion, Rebel) Swatches

The amount of photos I have from London/Paris is quite intimidating, so I haven't taken the time to sort through them just yet.  While I'm procrastinating on that, I thought I'd share with you my February Julep Maven box.  This came while I was away, so it was nice surprise when I got home.

I actually debated getting the full collection this month because I liked quite a few of the colors AND there were several holographic polishes.  Also, I kind of wanted to try that Oxygen base coat thing.  But in the end, I decided on the It Girl box because it had the color I really wanted (Joan) and the holographic color that I really wanted (Rebel), and also because an upgrade wasn't quite in the budget for me.

(Side note: my profile is supposed to be Boho Glam, but I can't even remember the last time I got that one. I'm really glad they let you choose which box you want, and also that they let you skip.)

Anyway, on to the pictures!

All the February boxes came with the Freedom top coat which is supposed to be like a gel top coat without all the hassle.  I think all the boxes also came with an eyelash curler (in the pouch) and some chocolate (hidden under the eyelash curler, lol).

I think these Swatch Me stickers are quite handy, but you can't really tell from the swatch that Rebel is holographic.  You can't really see the pretty gold flecks in Joan either...But I still like the idea of these stickers. :)

And this time around, I actually had time to swatch all of the colors.  I feel so proud that I'm really working on swatching more now.

First up is Rebel.  I had a hard time photographing this one.  It's a silver holographic polish, but I find the holo-ness to be quite subtle compared to other holo polishes I've seen.  Still very pretty though!

Click through for more swatches of Rebel, plus swatches of Joan and Marion!

Julep Maven: October 2012

I'm back with my October Julep Maven box.  I almost skipped this month, because most of the boxes came with crackle, and I didn't like the 1 box that didn't have crackle.   The crackle trend is pretty much dead, IMO, and I think many people felt the same way because Julep came out with another option this month and that is the Maven's Choice box.  It came with 3 creme polishes from the October boxes, but no drops.  I really wanted to try the drops, so I debated whether to get the American Beauty box or the Maven's Choice box.  The American Beauty box came with a dusty indigo creme polish named Eloise and an orange crackle named Sabrina, which I thought was a pretty unique color for a crackle and was the reason I was thinking of getting it.  But then I decided it would be better to just get Maven's Choice and add on the drops, since I was also going to add on Sofia anyway.  And ta-da:

l-r: lisa, eloise, keira, sofia, quick dry drops

Julep included several extras this month.  As you can see in the last picture, there's glitter!  I got orange and black, which is perfectly fine with me because it's October and those will be great for Halloween.  But I know some people got white and silver, which would have been nice and more versatile.  The other extra was candy corn, which is a Halloween staple, but I'm not a fan of it.  I'll probably give it away.  Anyway, I hope to do swatches soon!  At the very least, I will do skittle swatches if I can't do full hand swatches right away.

Also, I was playing with lighting and angles and stuff today, so that I can try to be better about swatching and photographing for this little blog.  (Maybe you can tell, by some of the over-brightness of the photos, lol.)  That's one of the main reasons my blogging schedule is so wonky.  By the time I get home from school and/or interning, it's already dark.  And that'll be even more so with winter coming up.  Can't believe it's already October!!

Until next time~

Julep Maven: July 2012

Hello there!  It's been a while hasn't it?  I got caught up in school and my internship and just let this little ol' blog go.  Basically, I got lazy.  All I pretty much wanted to do was bum, when I wasn't at school or my internship, lol.  But I'm back!!  Summer is here, and I've got quite a bit of time to swatch and take pictures.  Yayy!

To start off, here's my Julep Maven box for July!

I usually get Boho Glam, but this time I decided to go for It Girl.  I didn't want the lip gloss the other boxes came with, but I wanted the America polish, so it kinda seemed like my only option, haha.  I wasn't thrilled with the polish colors, since I'm not a big fan of white polish (usually streaky) and I already have several colors like the dusty teal that Daphne is, but I could live with them.

l-r: Daphne, Kate, Mila, America

If you notice, America looks like it's not filled to the top.  It seems like the polish settled, but I think it's like that because it's a very thick polish.  It doesn't move at all when I shake the bottle!  And when I opened the bottle, it was goopy and you can hardly tell there are any stars in it.  I was quite disappointed by this, since this was the polish I was most looking forward to.  Also, I was hoping to wear it for 4th of July, but it arrived this past Friday, the 6th of July.  Bummer.  I've contacted Julep about it, to see if it's truly supposed to be like this.  We'll see what they say!  Maybe when I swatch it I'll like it better.  But for now, I'm sure there are better star glitter polishes out there...

add ons: O Canada! and Chelsea

I decided to add on O Canada! and Chelsea because I really liked the look of them.  I liked all the glitters this month, so it was tough to choose which ones to add on.  This was my best solution. xD  I'll just have to get Yumi some other time, I guess!

Swatches coming soon.  And lots of other things I want to post about, like my IMATS haul!  I'm going to try posting at least twice a week, starting now!  Stay tuned~! :]

Julep Maven: October 2011

I'm back with another Julep Maven box!  If you don't know what Julep Maven is, you can check out my other post on it, from when I got my first box.  It's basically a nail polish version of Birchbox.

I skipped last month's box because it didn't appeal to me...the polish color looked too much like Miranda, which I had gotten in my first box.  This month's box came with 2 polishes and a hand care product, and oh yeah, it was free!  Julep decided to comp this month's box for those who signed up during a certain period due to a mistake on their part during that time.  It was very generous of them!  Thank you Julep!  Now onto the unboxing:

it came in a bag again, though a smaller one this time...

with a cute maroon bow tied on top...

the polishes still all wrapped up...

the 2 polishes: gayle & malin and age defying hand brightener

top: gayle (eggplant purple), bottom: malin (frosty light pink)

I was really excited for Gayle!  It's definitely my kind of color and a perfect color for fall.  I have yet to try Olivia from my last box, as I was saving it for fall (should be swatching it soon ;]), but can't wait to try Gayle too!  Malin is not really my color...I like light pinks, but am not a fan of frosty polishes.  I'll have to see how I like it after I swatch it...

Speaking of swatches, no new ones just yet.  That manicure I got with the red polish?  It stained my nails, even though she used a base coat. =.=;;  I'm waiting for the stain to disappear before swatching again...probably another day or so.

P.S. If you're interested in signing up for Julep Maven, please consider using my link.  I get $15 in referral credit if you do. ^^

Julep Maven: August 2011

My Julep Maven box came this past Monday!  If you don't know what Julep Maven is, it's basically a subscription service like Birchbox, except with nail care items.  Julep Maven was created by the Julep salon (Seattle based), and is more expensive than Birchbox.  It's $19.99 per month, but you're guaranteed to receive over $40 worth of products in your box.  Also, the products in the Julep Maven boxes are full size, though you will also receive a few sample packets too.  Another thing I like better about Julep Maven is you find out what you're getting ahead of time and if you don't care for the products that month, you have options.  You can choose to skip a month, you can choose a shelf pull, which will switch out one of the products for another product, or you can send it to a friend that might like the products better.

So now, on to the unboxing!

First things I see when I open the box are a letter from the Julep team and a card listing the items in the box.

The products come in this bag, tied with a ribbon. :)

3 full size polishes: olivia, miranda, and a basecoat ($14 each)

glycolic hand scrub ($32) - can't wait to try this!

2 samples: 1 of the hand scrub and 1 of their hand cream

Overall, I'm very happy with this box.  It's worth a lot more than the $19.99 the box costs, and the polish is great.  I've already tried the basecoat and the polish in Miranda.  I can't really tell if the basecoat makes a difference, but I love the color of Miranda.  I wore it for my birthday, and posted pictures in my previous post.  But here's a picture of it again:

That's Nubar 2010 layered over Miranda.  I'll have the swatches of Miranda, by itself, up soon.

Anyway, what do you think?  Are you signed up for Julep Maven?  If you are, do you like?  

If you're not and are interested in signing up, please consider using my link. ^-^

(I get a $15 credit if you do.)

Happy Birthday to Me! + NOTD

Today is my birthday, and just happens to also be the birthday of one of my closest friends, Tiffany. :) We have been friends since elementary school.  So I just wanted to wish her HAPPY BIRTHDAY one more time!  It's pretty amazing that we are so close AND share the same birthday.  Another of my closest friends is born just ONE day before Tiffany and I, and the three of us are always having adventures together.  TRAVELBUDDIES4LYFE! lol :)

Anyway, I started my birthday celebrations a little early...having a birthday lunch this past Saturday, because my brother couldn't make it today due to work.  I've kind of had a birthday tradition to have lunch at Olive Garden with my Mom and brother.  My Mom would take off of work and take us.  Then, when my Dad got home from work, we'd go out to dinner and have cake after.

I kind of forgot to take a picture of my food, but I did take one of my brother's, lol.  This is what I usually get, anyway (just switched it up to Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara this time):

Braised Beef and Tortelloni

Today, I had a chill day and spent the day with my Mom, who is, of course, a big part of why I'm here today and why this day is possible.  Gotta appreciate your Momma!  We spent it mostly at the mall.  Had lunch, and then did a little bit of shopping.  I also got my free birthday pretzel from Auntie Anne's!  I love their almond pretzel with caramel dip...nomnomnom!!  Also stopped by ULTA for the free birthday brow wax at the Benefit brow bar.  And I actually left without buying anything! Go me!  Unfortunately...I did not take any pictures today...FAIL. =.=;;;  But I did take pictures of my cake...

I had actually mentioned wanting an Ube cake from Red Ribbon earlier in the year, when my cousin had it for his birthday.  It was really good!  But that was a few months ago, so it became a forgotten comment, lol.  Instead, I got this cake, which is good too!  And besides, I'm a big fan of Tiramisu. :)

And finally, here's my birthday NOTD:

What I Used:

ORLY Ridgefiller

Julep Basecoat

2 coats Julep Miranda

(from my Julep Maven box! post on that coming soon! :])

2 coats China Glaze Atlantis (on ring fingers only)

1 coat Nubar 2010

I'm really loving this combination!  And really loving layering Nubar 2010 over everything, lol.  I don't think the pictures do it justice though...let me know what you think? :)