Julep Maven: Intro Box

Who doesn't love getting packages in the mail and who doesn't love nail polish? I know I love it! The Julep Maven program is perfect and designed specifically for that.

I had never heard of this program until a few weeks ago, but had heard of Julep nail polish. I have always wanted to try out their polishes. So when I heard about this program and checked it out it sounded like a great program.


How does the program work?

First, there is a quiz you take that "defines" your style. I got Boho Glam (others include: Modern Beauty, Bombshell, Classic with a Twist, and It Girl). Each month Julep puts together five separate boxes all with different polishes and beauty products. Each month you will receive a preview email. If you don't like the polishes they have chosen for you in your box, you can always change your style and choose a different one. If you don't like any of the boxes they have put together you can always skip the month at no charge. Another great thing about the program, when you become a maven you enjoy 20% off all products plus free shipping!

For my intro box, even though I got Boho Glam I decided to choose Bombshell. I also added two other polishes (for an additional charge).

Inside my intro box I received, Madison (an electric neon hot pink crème, but from my photo it comes off as orange) + Oscar (a multi-dimensional gold glitter, let's be honest the whole reason I picked the Bombshell intro box instead of my Boho Glam intro box was for Oscar. It's gorgeous!) My add-on nail polishes are, Blakely (a purple and green molten in a metallic/chrome finish) + Dianna (a mint green crème).

The box also included a full size Mint Condition Pedi Crème which I can't wait to try out!

I'm already getting excited for my next box!

(If you are interested in seeing how these nail polishes look or any of my nail polish/NOTD looks, I always post them on my Instagram so check it out!)

xoxo, Alicia

Nicole by OPI: Vio-Let's Talk About Red

 (All photos are in natural light. Last photo is in natural light with flash. I used 2 coats and with Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Anti-Chip Top Coat.)

 

Nicole by OPI: Vio-Let's Talk About Red is such a gorgeous color. The formula is great. I don't think I have ever used a nail polish that was this nice to apply. The brush is great as well, which made the application that much better.

 

The color is like it says, a violet-red. It reminds me of a reddish colored plum. It also has some shimmer in it. I believe this came out in spring, I'm not sure on that. I think it would be a great color for this fall!

 

♥ Alicia



NOTW: e.l.f. Coral Dream

(Taken in natural light)

(3 coats and with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat)

Coral has to be one of my favorite nail polish colors for summer. I have searched for that perfect coral for awhile now. When I stopped in at my local Big Lots a few weeks ago I found a pack of e.l.f. nail polishes. It came in a 4 piece set. The colors in the set include - Coral Dream, Party Peach, Flirty Fuchsia, and Smokin Hot. All the colors in the set are gorgeous!

The formula of this nail polish is ok, I did get a little frustrated when after 2 coats I still had brush strokes. I just figured I would only have to do 2 coats instead of 3. It turned out fine after 3 coats and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri was applied.

Have any of you ever used an e.l.f. nail polish, if so did you have problems with the application?

♥ Alicia

Haul: MAC (CCO) + B&BW Outlet + Ulta

I hope all of you are having a great weekend! Mine has been fantastic so far! Just to let you in on my weekend, this is how it has been...

On Friday, after my kids went off to school me and my husband headed out to the outlets. We hit up the CCO (Cosmetic Company Outlet) and Bath and Bodyworks. On our way home after the outlets I stopped in at Ulta to pick up a few things. Later that night we took the kids to my parents for the night, and me and my husband went out to a nice dinner to celebrate Valentine's day and my birthday (which was Januaury 31st). We went to a resturant called The Chophouse where we both ordered a filet mignon with blue cheese butter on top! Dinner was fantastic! On Saturday, we went to my parents to pick up the kids and to celebrate my mom's birthday! That has been my weekend so far!

Now on to what I picked up at the CCO!

I have no idea what collection this was from. If anyone knows I would love to know! With this set you get 4 pigments and 1 glitter in the colors: Reflects Gold, Jardin Aires, Rushmetal, Copperized, and Museum Bronze.

Mega Metal Shadow in: Sexpectations (left) and Noir Plum (right)

Pigment in: Melon (left) I think I squealed when I seen they had this! Ever since I seen Pixiwoo use Melon in a tutorial awhile back I knew I had to have it! Reflects in: Duo Purple (right) I'm always a sucker for purples!

Beauty Powder in: Too Chic - Really loving this so far! It's absolutely gorgeous for highlighting!

Dazzleglass Creme in: Totally Fab - Of course I was starting to take to long in the CCO my husband had to come get me, so in a hurry I was asking him what he liked and he picked this out. He has good taste! It is gorgeous!

Viva Glam Lipstick in: Cyndi - I also squealed when I seen this! I am in love with this lipstick! So gorgeous and I think it looks great on everyone. Now I wish I would have picked up a backup!

So that's it for my CCO goodies! I am very pleased so far with what I picked up. I just wish they had more blushes, which the girl there said they don't get too many of them. Everything at the CCO is 20-30% off the orginal price. To find the nearest CCO click here.

While at the outlets we stopped in at Bath and Bodyworks where I picked up a lotion and spray in Country Chic - This smells amazing! I am thinking this is my new favorite scent from B&BW! I think this is still sold at the regular B&BW stores, if so everyone needs to stop in and take a sniff of this! I also picked up a shower poof (or whatever you call those things!) and also a lotion for my mom for her birthday. My husband also picked up a shower gel for himself. I just wish they had bigger jars of the fall scented candles when we were there. They did have small, or well to me they were really tiny candles but I decided to pass on them. Now I wish I would have went ahead and picked up a few.

Now on to my little haul from Ulta, which to me I was excited about because of the nail polishes!

Essie Polish in: Topless & Barefoot - I have been wanting this color for the longest time! Nicole by O-P-I (Kardashian Kolor) in: Kim-Pletely In Love (middle) and It's All About The Glam (right) - After seeing swatches of the Kardashian Kolors here I fell in love with these 2 colors the most! So I was so happy to see that Ulta still had these in stock! And so the main reason I went to Ulta was to pick up the LA Splash Splashproof Sealer eyeshadow sealer/base for my Mac reflects and glitter I had picked up. I have heard really good things about this so hopefully it works out!

And that is all for my haul. I did stop at Walmart that day and picked up 2 cowl neck sweaters that were on clearance for $3! They are actually really nice sweaters and Walmart had a ton of stuff on clearance! So if interested, check out your local Walmart to see if they are having a crazy clearance sale like at mine!

♥ Alicia

NOTW: Sinful Colors - Sharon's Heart

I finally decided to do something with my nails this week. I have been slacking when it comes to my nails. I finally broke out my Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Sharon's Heart. I have had this nail polish since I purchased it from CherryCulture in March of last year. This is my first time I have worn it! It's a shame, because it is absolutely gorgeous!

(Natural light with 2 coats)

(Natural light with sun, 2 coats)

(With flash, 2 coats)

The color is gorgeous, a little hard for me to describe. It looks to me as a coral/orange with some gold shimmer, but in the photo with the flash it looks a bit pink with gold shimmer. I can't get an accurate color description because Sinful Colors site is down. I would lean more toward coral/orange as the color. The formula is really nice, especially since I had a hard time with the formula of another Sinful Colors polish I picked up when I purchased this. Link to that nail polish here. I would have to say that this is my new favorite nail polish in my collection!

You can find Sinful Colors Nail Polish at most drugstores (I seen some at my local Walgreens not to long ago), I also think Walmart carries them, but not certain on that. You can also find them at CherryCulture.com where I purchased mine. The price for these are around $2 - $3!

♥ Alicia

NOTW: Hard Candy - Beetle

I finally picked up a bottle of Hard Candy nail polish in the color Beetle after seeing it on someones blog about a year ago. It is such a gorgeous color and as soon as I seen it, I knew I had to have it!

You also get a cute little ring. Which I ended up giving to my daughter.

This is with 2 coats and no topcoat. Left picture is in natural light, right picture is with flash.

I loved how well this nail polish went on, and for only around $4 I think I will go back and check out the other colors they have and pick up some more!

You can find Hard Candy at most Walmart stores.

♥ Alicia

FOTD + NOTW

Hi everyone! I just wanted to post a quick FOTD and my NOTW! I guess I am not with it today because I was thinking that today was St. Patricks Day. So of course I wore green, even had my kids wear a green colored shirt just to find out later that Thursday is St. Patricks Day! Ahaha! I must be getting ahead of myself. Oh well, we will just make this my St. Patricks Day inspired makeup!

Face -

• Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation (103 True Ivory)
• Coastal Scents Eclipse Concealer Palette
• Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder (Translucent)
• BonneBell Powder Bronze (Golden Tan)
• NYX Powder Blush (Taupe) Used as a contour
• Milani Baked Blush (Luminoso)

Eyes -

• UDPP
• Wet n' Wild Palette (Comfort Zone) Used the green side
• Loreal HiP Cream Eyeliner (Black)
• Milani Liquif'eye Pencil (Black) Used on waterline
• Maybelline One by One Mascara (Blackest Black)
• Andrea Lashes (#53)

Lips -

• NYX Round Lipstick (Ceto)
• NYX Girls Lipgloss (Sorbet)

On to my NOTW ....

(Top is with flash and bottom is with no flash and in daylight)

For my nails, I am wearing Essie - Sew Psyched I am in love with Essie nail polish now! Love the formulation. This is with 2 coats. Such a gorgeous green!

Hope you all had a great day!

♥ Alicia

NOTW: Sinful Colors - Beautiful Girl

Just as the name says, Beautiful Girl. That's how I am feeling when I wear this. Ahaha! Gorgeous bubblegum, barbie pink. I think it will be a great color for spring and summer!

Top is with flash, bottom is with no flash and in daylight. As much daylight as I could get. Gloomy day.

Love this color, but I think I am going to have a love/hate relationship with this nail polish! Why? The color is absolutely gorgeous but the formula is really runny. I had to put three coats just to get a good pay off. Three coats is good for me because I want it to last but to build up the color it was sort of a pain! Even four coats would have been better but after three I was getting alittle frustrated.

I got mine through CherryCulture.com but I do think they sell Sinful Colors at drugstores and Wal-Mart here in the US. Not quite sure about finding this color there or not.

I am going to have to work with this more to see if I'm really going to love it. The color I love but the rest is uncertain. I also got another Sinful Colors nail polish when I got this one. I'm really hoping I don't have a problem with the other one.

If anyone has any of these Sinful Colors polishes, do you have a problem with them? Or is it just maybe this color?

♥ Alicia