Announcing the Julep Maven Program!

Good Morning! I have another polish post coming to you later today, but this morning I wanted to catch you all up on one of the best new ideas in nail polish that launched this month, the Julep Maven Program! I have been singing the praises of Julep Maven to anyone who will listen to me all week, and now I want to share with my readers the latest opportunity to dig your tips and toes into Julep polishes!

Julep Maven is an opportunity for Julep fans to receive their own Sneak Peek Box that Julep sends out to beauty editors and celebrity trendsetters every month to showcase current favorites and upcoming products available from Julep. Yes, the same exact products send to editors at Vogue, W, InStyle, Marie Claire, and more! Each Sneak Peek Box is tailored to your unique style and preferences - when you sign up, you'll need to take a fun style quiz to help Julep understand your personal style, skin type, and beauty concerns. It's a totally fun quiz, I promise! (Although, it may stump you - how can anyone choose between Bradly Cooper, George Clooney, and Robert Pattinson?!? I wanted an option to select 'all of the above'!)

To give you an idea, I took the style quiz Julep determined that my personal style is "Classic With A Twist":

'Classic and elegant, this timeless look is most famous for beautiful yet simple cuts and colors. You love to wear fine, natural fabrics that accentuate your prestigious leather accessories, and you are most often drawn to polished sophisticated hues. This timeless, iconic look exudes effortless couture and is always profoundly in style.'

I thought this description matched my personal style perfectly! One of my favorite movies of all time is Breakfast At Tiffany's, and I love Holly Golightly's style - refined beauty, pearls, and of course the classic Chanel little black dress (I did quit the smoking, though!). I won't spoil the surprise for my readers who haven't taken the style quiz yet, but let's just say I am thrilled with the sample of colors Julep will include in the CWAT Sneak Peek Box, as well as the actual polishes and products selected for my first month. Look for a blog post next week once I receive my Sneak Peek Box, showing you all the goodies inside!

Julep Maven is an awesome value, as Maven members receive over $40 worth of product each month for just $19.99. And between the polishes, nail treatments, and or hand care products you'll receive, the program is definitely worth it (this month's box alone is worth over $70!).

You can sign up for Julep Maven by visiting the Julep website and taking a short style quiz. The quiz will help Julep determine what type of Maven you are, show you samples of colors that will be sent to you, as well as the goodies you'll receive in your first Sneak Peek Box. The August boxes are currently shipping and include one of Julep's new fall colors that will be released in October, so hop on over to Julep now to sign-up!


What do you think? Are you excited for the Julep Maven program? Do you like these subscription programs that let you explore a new polish brand? And if you signed up, what kind of Maven are you?

The Untried Diaries: Julep Amy

Welcome to the weekend! Well, almost weekend. It's Friday! I am so ready to kick back and relax this weekend - just 9 (hopefully) short hours of work, and then I'm a free woman for a few days!

Today I have for you a mani I wore awhile ago, Julep Amy. Amy is described a "smoky turquoise", but I see a lot more blue in this polish than green to be a turquoise. It applied easily, as I've come to love from Julep polishes. It's very similar to the Butter LONDON formula and applies easily. You could probably get away with one thicker coat, as Julep polishes are so highly pigmented, but for this mani I applied 2 thinner coats of Amy. I apologize for the rough cuticles - I actually took these photos months ago, in my early days of blogging and before I stepped up my nail care routine. Oh, what a difference 6 weeks can make!


...and here's the close up:



Amy is definitely another winner from Julep! While this may not be the most original color I've ever seen, it's the only one I have in my collection and Julep's formula is fantastic. I've only ordered once from Julep, but Amy reminds me I need to do some more shopping at Julep for fall colors!

Amy is currently available online at Julep. Julep polishes retail for $14 for a 0.27 fl oz bottle. It's a little pricey (in comparison, Butter London is $14 for 0.4 fl oz), but I promise it's worth it!

What do you think? Have you tried Julep yet? Are you as in love with their formula as I am?

The Untried Diaries: Essie Sew Psyched

Happy Thursday! One more day till the weekend! Got any interesting plans? I put in an application yesterday for a new apartment - squee! - and so will be doing my least favorite task this weekend - going through my stuff to figure out what to sell/donate/trash. Maybe even packing some initial boxes. The move is taking place at the end of August, so life is about to get really crazy!

It's green week over at my favorite nail forum, and to celebrate I dug through my untrieds to find my most safe-for-work green and came up with Essie Sew Psyched. To be honest, I'm normally not much of a green person; greens tend to have a lot of yellow in them (duh, yellow + blue = green, right?) and are warmer, meaning they don't look great on my cool-toned skin. However, in my recent obsession with the polish brand Rescue Beauty Lounge, I heard Sew Psyched is a dupe for RBL Diddy Mow. After spending hours looking at swatches on the internet, I agreed, and Sew Psyched quickly made its way into my stash.

Sew Psyched is what I would call a grayed-green with the hint of a light blue shimmer. You can't see the shimmer indoors, but it really picks up outside in direct sunlight. Sew Psyched is the color of seaweed in a clear ocean; a muted, but gorgeous. I've struggled with loving Essie as a brand recently due to watery and streaky formulas, but I am happy to report that Sew Psyched went on easily, no wateriness or streaking, and only needed 2 coats for full opacity. Take a look! (Note: both photos were shot indoors under artificial light)


And here's the closeup:


I am definitely into this color on me! Like I said, it's rare for me to find greens that I absolutely love on myself - this is only the 2nd time it's happened, the first being RBL No More War, which was just epic. Obviously Sew Psyched is a keeper, and my desire to find my own bottle of RBL Diddy Mow is renewed!


What do you think? Are you feeling this murky green? Do you know of any polishes with a similar murky quality? And what is up with the inconsistencies in Essie's formula? Have you figured out the rhyme to their reason?

Pink Wednesdays: Zoya Areej

Good Morning! Oh, how I've missed you guys! I had a great long weekend in Virginia Beach with my family, but getting back to LA was heck on Sunday! First my flight from Norfolk to Charlotte was delayed due to storms, and then leaving Charlotte to fly to LAX we were delayed due to a disabled plane on the runway and later storms. I was delayed overall about 3 1/2 hours, crazy! It did make me realize, though, that I am so spoiled living in LA - it's not near any other airports, so we never have congestion issues with landing/taking off (like you have in NYC), and I've never had a flight delayed due to weather conditions. Aaah, there are so many benefits to west coast living!

Today we're celebrating Pink Wednesday with Zoya Areej. Areej is bright pink creme that has blue undertones. It applied easily in 2 coats, as I've come to expect from Zoya polishes. they really do have a great, consistent formula! I occasionally find 3-coaters with other salon brands, but not at all yet with Zoya. Take a look:


When I tried Areej on, I thought she looked familiar and I might have a similar color already in my collection. I dug around and pulled out one of my favorite pinks, OPI Dim Sum Plum, to see if I had a dupe on my hands. Check out the swatch below!

(Zoya Areej and OPI Dim Sum Plum; direct sunlight, no flash)

(Zoya Areej and OPI Dim Sum Plum; artificial light, with flash)

To my eye, in the direct sunlight they look identical. However, with artificial lighting and flash, I can see a slight difference. Areej looks at tad more blue than Dim Sum Plum. However, I don't think this is noticeable to most eyes, so for all intents and purposes I'm calling them dupes. I am a huge fan of Dim Sum Plum, which means Areej is likely going to make her way over to my share/swap drawer. She is a beauty, though, so maybe I'll change my mind!

Zoya Areej was released as a part of Zoya's Summertime Collection this summer. It retails for $8 per polish and can be purchased at Zoya.com (be on the lookout for promotions! they have them all the time) or in store at Ulta and other salon retailers.


What do you think? Do you think Areej and Dim Sum Plum are dupes? Which formula do you prefer, Zoya or OPI? And do you have any other colors from the Zoya Summertime Collection?

Pink Wednesdays: OPI Blushingham Palace

Happy Wednesday! (Really, every day is happy for me this week!) I'm up an at 'em early this morning, doing laundry and packing for Virginia Beach. I'm hoping to actually do a lot of blogging today to keep you all happy while I'm gone for the next few days - fingers crossed I get it all done!

It's another Wednesday, which means another pink polish! Today I have for you OPI Blushingham Palace. Blushingham Palace is a soft mauve-y pink with a pearl finish. I have to admit, this is not normally my kind of color - I usually do not like pearl finishes, as I constantly imagine they're something my mother would wear, and I don't normally go for (what I thought was) red undertone pinks; I prefer cooler blue-based pinks. So how would Blushingham Palace turn out? Let's take a look!

Here's the close-up:

...and another look, with flash:


Initially I thought Blushingham Palace had a red/warmer undertone, but as I was writing this I really am seeing a lot of blue/purple, especially under the flash, so the polish is much cooler than I thought. I definitely loved wearing this polish, and found myself checking out my nails throughout the day. It is a very sophisticated nail - perfect for work, or attending events where you want to show style without being overly 'look at me!' (think 'guest at a wedding').

Blushingham Palace was originally released way back in 2003 as a part of OPI's British Collection (I would have drooled over the entire collection, I'm sure, if I was into nail polish then - I love all things English!). It was discontinued at the end of 2010, but you can still find it fairly easily if you don't mind doing a little bit of searching. Online retailers such as Amazon, TransDesign, or AveYou are you best bets. Or, you may want to head to your local Trade Secret or Beauty First salon, as this is where I found my bottle in a clearance bin (even better!).


What do you think? Are you feeling this delicate pink color? Do you have any similar colors or dupes for Blushingham Palace, since it's now discontinued? Or are you still in the mood for the bright yellows, blues, and corals of summer? Sound off in the comments!

Comparison Swatches: Battle of the Blurples

Hi Everyone! It's Tuesday, Tuesday! Why am I so happy for a Tuesday, you ask? Well, in my mind, it's actually my Thursday - tomorrow is my last day of work, then I'm headed back east for a long weekend at Virginia Beach with the family. I'm super excited as I haven't seen a lot of my family since last fall (I rarely go home for the holidays - it's too cold!), but am a little leery of the heat wave that's been blasting the east coast. Must remember to pack a LOT of natural fibers and skirts!

Today I have for you a few comparisons - what I call the battle of the blurples. If you didn't know, I hang out a lot over at The Purse Forum talking nails with the awesome ladies on the board, and recently we've discussed known nail polish dupes. I had for a long time heard that the colors in today's review maybe/maybe not were dupes of each other, and so I decided to finally swatch them out. Up for battle are OPI Funky Dunkey, Rescue Beauty Lounge Mismas, and Butter LONDON Marrow. All of these polishes are purple with a blue undertone (hence, blurple), which is pretty much my favorite color of all time - I love purples because they're work safe but still have personality; the blue undertone goes well with my cool skin-tone; and they work in all seasons - spring, summer, winter, and fall. As a matter of fact, Funky Dunkey was released in Spring 2010 as a part as OPI's Shrek Collection, while Mismas was a part of the fall 2009 Bloggers Collection from RBL, and Marrow released in the Butter LONDON Fall/Winter 2010 Collection. It's a timeless color that never goes out of style or season.


I swatched all three polishes on a nail wheel (2 coats each, no top coat) and then proceeded to take dozens of photos to try to capture any differences. Take a look at a few shots:

(Funkey Dunkey, Mismas, Marrow; indoor artificial lighting, no flash)

(Funky Dunkey, Mismas, Marrow; outdoors, direct sunlight, no flash)

To my eye, Marrow is noticeably darker than the other two with more gray in it's color, making it almost an 'ashy' blurple. It's so dark that while I think you could pull this off for a summer mani, the color feels much more cool fall/winter than the other two. It's definitely not a dupe, and a keeper.

Funky Dunkey and Mismas, though, are really really close. I will say there are definitely formula differences - Mismas went on beautifully, in true RBL fashion, and didn't need a 2nd coat (although I did apply one). Compared to Mismas, Funky Dunkey was noticeably less pigmented per coat and felt a little more watery, but was fully opaque in the typical OPI-required 2 coats. It's definitely the same color of blurple; they even separated the same in the bottle. Mismas may be a hair darker than Funky Dunkey, but I also question if that isn't just pigmentation; with a 3rd coat, I think Funky Dunkey would be even more close to Mismas.

The verdict - their dupes. If I had to keep on or the other, it would be Funky Dunkey - same color for half the price, leaving me a spare $9 or $10 to go pick up another polish!

Funky Dunkey was a limited edition release. You can find it at various online retailers (retail price $8.50/bottle), and it was recently placed on clearance at ULTA for $4.99 (along with the rest of the fantastic Shrek collection). Mismas is currently sold out at rescuebeauty.com, but fans rallied for the recent Bring It Back vote, so it should be making another appearance some time in 2012. Marrow is currently available at ULTA, Nordstrom, and other places where Butter LONDON is sold; retails for $14/polish.

What do you think? Could you spot a difference between Funky Dunkey and Mismas? Do you agree this is an anywhere, anytime kind of polish? Do you have any other blurples in this color family? Sound off in the comments!

The Untried Diaries: Color Club Fashion Addict

Happy Monday!

Friends, we have a problem - my nail polish collection has BLOWN UP over the past few months. I bought an IKEA Helmer, which is a popular storage unit among nail polish addicts to store my polish, treatments, and nail-related goodies, and was traumatized to realize I had enough polish to nearly fill the Helmer. On a much more personal level, I also have decided I need to re-evaluate my priorities - or, at least, make living a healthy lifestyle more of a priority. I love nail polish, and could converse and blog and paint all day if I had the time. However, I need find a healthier balance in my life, so I joined Weight Watchers to help control my eating, and will be banning myself from shopping for polish, except as my reward for meeting weight goals. I'm still debating how to setup the reward system, but I want to tie my healthy goals to a non-food reward, and of course nail polish was the first thing to jump to mind. A polish for every 5 pounds lost, or a shopping spree every 25 pounds, I'm not sure yet, but stay tuned (and I hope you don't mind I use this blog to keep myself accountable and occasionally go off topic!).

If I'm going to seriously start working through my addiction, what more appropriate place to start than with Color Club Fashion Addict. Fashion Addict is a light lavender holographic polish. This is the first CC polish I've worn, and I promise it will not be the last! Fashion Addict applied smoothly with 2 easy coats; the brush is a little firm, and I did have issues with drag on a few nails because I didn't give it enough time to dry between coats. Don't make the same mistake! It was fully opaque in just one coat, but out of habit I did 2, just to ensure perfection. Take a look!

Fashion Addict in shade (surprising, I know!):


...and here is the holo goodness in sunlight:


...and another amazing shot:


What a fantastic holo! This is so much better than the OPI DS Coronation that I reviewed a few weeks ago. Fashion Addict was released in the Spring 2009 collection and sadly was limited edition. However, there are several available on eBay, or you can also do a search on Google shopping and find a few that are available.

What do you think? Do yo love this holographic polish as much as I do? What holos do you have - any I should be on the lookout for? And how would you suggest I use nail polish as a reward for meeting my healthy living goals? Sound off in the comments!