Julep Kylie

2 coats of Kylie with 1 coat of Essie's Good to Go topcoat

Showing off the magnet that comes with the nail varnish.

Oh and I'll include this section for those of you like me with no prior experience with magnetic polishes ahaha;;;

How-to: applying a magnetic polish like Kylie!

0. To prep your nails, apply a base coat (optional)

1. Apply one (1) coat of Kylie and let dry

2. Apply second coat of Kylie to ONE NAIL ONLY!

3. Immediately after, hold the magnet as close as possible to your nail without touching the nail

4. Keep holding for 10-15 seconds....

4.5. Admire your pretty nail for a while :)

5. Repeat steps 2-4 for your other nails

6. Allow your nails to dry fully

7. Apply a top coat (optional) and you're finished!

Color - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - Kylie is a nice, slightly muted and almost berryish color. I like it and it goes well with my skintone!

Formula - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - The formula is thick and looks good even with one coat! But, for the magnetic effect, you do need that 2nd coat.

Smoothness - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - You can probably tell from the photos but it's SO SMOOTH! I loves it. 

Price - ♥ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ - At $14 full price, I wouldn't buy it. But again, definitely worth one penny, or the $4.99 I paid to get it as an add-on to my May box!

Overall - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - I really like this polish! I just wish I didn't get a janky brush with this one and that the magnetic stripes would come out straighter than wavy like how it is...

I was really amused, because I got this as an add-on to my May Julep Maven box, but it arrived a day before my actual box did! It even shipped out later...

The brush that came with this polish was really weird... It was all flared out and just looked bad. :( I heard that almost everyone's May box had at least one polish with a messed up brush. Bummer! But, I also heard that we can contact customer service and be sent some replacement brushes, so I am glad for that. The formula for Kylie was good enough that I could still apply the polish without the brush affecting the end result too much though. :)

[[[Update!!!!]]] --------------

I emailed Julep customer service about the brush issue and got an email reply (same day!!) saying they would be sending me replacement brushes soon, and will be giving me a tracking number when that happens. Seems like it happened to almost everyone for the May boxes. Julep really has the best customer service!

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More about the May box later when I do a proper post for it! I'm waiting to film another video before I try everything fully~

Remember, you can still take advantage of the penny deal for your intro box to Julep Maven if you haven't already! 

Just use the codes:

PENNY

or

COLORS4ONE
or
SHAREONMAY

Let me know if you decide to try out Julep Maven! :]

Julep Blake

2 coats of Blake

I'm not sure this color goes too well with my skin tone, haha.. but the formula is excellent! 

Color - ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡ ♡ - I think the color is nice, just not on me.

Formula - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - The formula is quite thick, but probably needs 2 coats to look even. Or maybe if the first coat is thickly applied. Otherwise, it's nice and feels pretty scratch/chip resistant.

Smoothness - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡ - It's easy to tell where I didn't properly cover up the first coat with the second... 

Price - ♥ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ - At $14 full price, not worth it. But definitely worth my one penny. ;)

Overall - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡ - I didn't like the polish as much as I thought I would, especially because I loved the grey one. 

Gonna go back and do the same rating for Meryl now! 

Julep replacement package!!!

Cutest packaging ever.

Free Julep emery board that will definitely come in handy.

My Julep polishes!!! In Meryl (grey) and Blake (pastel yellow).

Glycolic hand scrub that will apparently make my hands appear younger haha.

A swatch of Meryl (2 coats). I quite like it!

Color - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - I am in love with this color. My new favorite neutral.

Formula - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - The formula is needs 2+ coats to look even, but after it's fully dried, it's incredibly chip-resistant. Went for about 3-4 days without any chipping, even at the tips.

Smoothness - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - Very smooth and shiny, but still not completely opaque throughout in places.

Price - ♥ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ - At $14 full price, not worth it. But definitely worth my one penny. ;)

Overall - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - Love this polish so much. 

I emailed Julep about my lost package and they were kind enough to mail me a replacement intro box at no additional charge! I am so appreciative of that. Best customer service! I haven't tried Blake or the scrub yet, but I'll do a proper review/swatch for those when I do. I still cannot believe this was just one penny. Take advantage while you can!

February Hauls ♫

Near the end of February, I received 2 purchases from elf and the Urban Decay sale on Hautelook! Let's take a look~

From elf: studio retractable lip brush, liquid eyeliner in stardust, nail polish in nude, individual false lashes, studio complexion perfection/tone correcting powder compact, blending eye brush, and studio eyebrow treat & tame in ash.

Nail polish in Nude. After this, I definitely need even more nude laquers, haha.

I love how the eyelash glue comes in a bottle now instead of a tube! I wonder if it'll be easy to use, though.

Stardust looks awesome. Can't wait to layer it over all my liners.

Eyebrow Treat & Tame in Ash. Hopefully this will help my brow hairs match the filled in color as well as lighten them for when I do gyaru makeup, although it looks a bit dark in the tube...

Cheap, awesome mattifying and color-correcting powder compact for $3?! I'm down.

I love this! Great new studio brush. It's so handy and I think I'll be keeping this in my purse from now on since the cap will keep any product from getting onto the contents of my purse too. :)

I'm glad the bristles of the Essential line has gotten softer! But, this brush is pretty much the exact same as the Studio Contour brush. So I can't really get much use from it since I have the 15-piece Studio set. Maybe it'll go into a future giveaway. ;)

And finally.....

Urban Decay Urban Lash Kit!! At $10 a box, it was an absolute steal. It's still on sale at UD's website, so get it while you can! I have so many fake lashes but have never really used mascara on them since I like to keep them clean.. but I'm so excited to try the mascara with fake lashes! I still can't believe it was only $10. The mascara is $18 normally, the 24/7 pencil is apparently a travel-size so....I dunno...$6.40 ($32 for a set of 5 travel-size haha), and the lashes are normally $15. So seriously, that's a $39.40 value packed into a now-$10 set. I don't understand the business logic behind this but I'm not complaining lol! ♥

Stay tuned for another haul from Too Faced Vintage sale coming up~ x) 

I'm such a shopaholic when it comes to makeup....

'Till next time, lovelies!

O.P.I. Holiday 2010 Mini Collection Set Swatches

I FINALLY got around to swatching all the colors from this set! It's really weird, I initially liked all the colors, and it is a great variety, but all the colors took time to grow on me when I swatched them. Out of all of them, I think I like Teal We Meet Again the best, but I like it best with some sort of topcoat! $OPI Flurry Up or Essie for Rock & Republic Clearly Matte are WONDERFUL over Teal We Meet again.

Onto swatches!

Dear Diary

Still Shopping!

Looks Like Rain Dear

Sample Sale

This color was so hard to capture on camera I had to include 3 pictures.. It came out very orange in most pictures. :\

Teal We Meet Again

Just a Little Dangerous

Maybe I will do a proper review later. Please click on the images for a larger size!

Orgasmmm!

Day 10. Glasses today...

NARS ORGASM POLISH ARRIVED TODAYY and of course I had to try it on/swatch immediately. I fangasm'd. Little did I know, it's sooo difficult to photograph! But, looooooove! 2 coats with $OPI Strengthener as a base. Maybe I would have better luck with 3 coats? I can't imagine using that much nail polish all the time though, haha. I only recently started using 2 rather than just 1! My apologies for the small preview :( Please click on the image for a better view!

Color - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - Not as pink/peachy as I had expected from looking at online swatches, but still SO GORGEOUS.

Formula - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - Thin enough to apply easily and quickly, but not too quick-drying. It's been over an hour and I still feel like I could possibly create dents if I'm not careful.

Smoothness - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - Veryyy smooth.

Price - ♥ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ -Ugh. I paid $13 for a nail polish...I paid $13 for a nail polish.........

Overall - ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ - Love this polish, love this color. Just look at the gorgeous gold specks down there!!! Would totally be 5 hearts if it weren't for the price.

Mmmm gold specks~~~

XXI Love & Beauty Nail Polish Swatch - Gold

I went to Hollywood/Highland today and, even though I walked in with the intention of buying some form of clothing, I walked out of Forever 21 with a bottle of nail polish and a nail jewels set to bling out my nails. I thought I would swatch the nail polish. :) It's a very nice orange color that doesn't stand out too much because the actual color is so light. I was most attracted to the sparkles in the polish. This is 2 coats with no base or top coat.

To rate this color... (kind of making this up..maybe I'll have a better scale for the future if I decide to swatch more varnishes)

Color - 3/5 - Soft and pretty, but not as vibrant as it looks in the bottle even with 2 coats. Maybe 3-4 would do the trick.

Formula - 2/5 - Thin enough to apply easily and quickly, but not thick enough for a good color.

Smoothness - 1/5 - I can feel every bump from the glitter. They will probably chip off easily.

Price - 5/5 - Can't go wrong for price with a fairly large/average size bottle for $2.80!

Overall - 3/5 - It's a nice color, but not one that I love and would wear all the time. Bumpiness is weird for me since I prefer very smooth polishes.

I'll post my recent Sephora hauls soon too~ Look forward to 3 hauls coming up, haha! Just today I bought $40 worth of purely O.P.I. Oh me oh my.

What is your favorite Love & Beauty varnish color?