Julep Maven March 2014 "Rivera Collection" Review

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Oh lawd. Where did the time go? Is it already the end of the month? Shame on me, I received this on the 3rd! But shh, don't tell! Better late than never right? Ok, let's not waste more time, I'm going to jump right in!

Julep Maven is a monthly nail polish and beauty subscription service. For $19.99 a month you receive three polishes/two polishes and a beauty product/two beauty products each month depending on your preferences at sign up. Each month Julep creates unique colors to go with each "style profile" so you always have fresh colors for the season. It's like getting a present each month! To be totally transparent, this is a recurring subscription service, if you don't cancel your sub before the 24th of each month, you will be charged and sent your monthly maven box. However, you can cancel at absolutely any time without a fee or penalty! There is a code for your first Maven box free at the bottom of this post!

March's collection was SO wonderful. I think I loved EVERY SINGLE POLISH! But, I could only afford my regular box...(plus two  addons >.> ) As I'm so late posting this, I only have the polish swatches and unfortunately not the picture of the box or the lip gloss that came with it. (Which was beautiful.) Each polish shown below is two coats. 

Julep Maven Rivera Collection

Blazing in Brazil

Purchased by Me

Hello Spring beauties! Are you suffering the cold front, too? Yesterday there was snow falling from the sky and flowers falling from the trees as I walked to my car. It was an interesting juxtaposition! It seems like it may be warming up a little, and I surely hope it does. My brother's outdoor wedding is in just over two weeks! Cross your fingers for us that it's warm for the ceremony and reception.

I literally JUST glanced up at the "Title bar" on this page and came up with this outrageously corny name. I used two colors from OPI's Brazil collection, so I thought, Brazil! I was trying to summon the warm weather gods with this one, doesn't look like it worked. : /

Roses for Audrey

Purchased by Me

Hello lovely ladies! Where have I been for two weeks? Where have I been? I don't even know! As many of you may know, this is my final semester as an undergraduate in college, so I'm about to graduate! YAY! Unfortunately, that means less time for nails. : / I have around 5 weeks left and I'm drowning in homework and projects. So, I've been MIA. 

Today I have a "Welcome back Spring! We missed you!" manicure. Just a few delicate roses covering the cult classic, For Audrey. Doesn't every polish lover own this color? Funny note, it was my FIRST China Glaze ever! :) (/Pats own back - I've come so far!)  

Delicate Doilies with Julep Carrie

Purchased by me

This is the manicure that I wore on Valentines Day (While I worked Friday night!) I thought the simple mix of pink and white with little doilies looked so feminine and dollish.

Square Hue Feb. 2014 The Passport Collection: Tokyo

Purchased by Me

Wow, that's a long title for a short post! As one could guess, this is a swatch and review of my very first Square Hue subscription box. I have February 2014 The passport collection and the city is Tokyo, which is fun because I'm currently taking a Japanese linguistic class in college! :) I should ask the Japanese students if these colors represent Tokyo. ;)

Square Hue is a monthly nail polish subscription service that is $14.99 a month plus about $5.00 in shipping. (It equals out to be about a dollar more than Julep each month.) All the colors are full size 0.5oz polishes, 5 free and made in the USA! One last thing I can mention in their favor is the shipping was lightening fast. I mean seriously, skin falling off your face fast. I was charged on the first of February and I received my box on the third! I couldn't believe it! The company also donates a portion of the proceeds from each box sold to the prevention of Human Trafficking, you can read more about that here.

 I should mention that I did pay for this box myself, but I got it at a heavy discount due to a sale that Square Hue had at the end of January, so my first box was a mere $5.00. 

Onward! To the Polish!

Here is how my box arrived, except I turned the bottles on their sides to better show the colors! Each polish has a little cardboard area that keeps it snug and in place. :) from left to right - Roppongi, Shibuya, and Ginza. I looked up these names and I believe they are each a place in Japan, like small cities. 

If I can be completely honest, I will say that when I opened the box, I was disappointed with the colors. They reminded me of Lisa Frank! However, I was surprisingly pleased when I actually painted my nails. Keep reading to find out más!

The Lacquer Legion: Adoration

Purchased by Me

So The Lacquer Legion is a monthly nail art challenge set up by the awesome Sarah from Chalkboard Nails and the best part is anyone is welcome to participate! The Lacquer Legion gives a prompt around the middle of the month and then posts their mani's once a month on the final day and everyone gets to see all the other artist's interpretations of the monthly theme. Isn't that fun? So I decided to participate this month and the theme is adoration! I really thought and thought before deciding, what do I adore? Art? The beach? Family? Spanish and linguisitcs? Photography? My cats? Nothing felt proper until I laid eyes on my fiance and I thought "now this is someone I adore." and so it was!  *Cue cheesy music*

Maybelline Knitted Gold

Purchased by Me

Hey dolls, I know it can't be just me. You know when you see a polish that you just need? I mean, you NEED it. The world may stop spinning if you don't paint it on your fingers? (Ok, I'm being a little dramatic, but you don't what I mean.) Well, that polish for me was A England She Walks in Beauty. Wow, what a stunner. Gold shimmer with chunky rose glitter; I needed it in my life! That was until I couldn't find a single place that had it in stock! Guess everybody needed it. Then I stumbled across this, which to me is a pretty dead on dupe - Check it out and tell me what you think.

Maybelline Color Show Knitted Gold 

Handmade Floral Decals - Dreaming of Summer

Purchased by Me

Winter is raging here in the South and I continue to dream of Summer. I honestly wish I were a bear and could hibernate during the cold months. I would do it. However, keeping me on task is some fun decals I made sometime ... last month? My posts are so back logged. So.many.pictures.to.edit!

AIS: Valentine's Day Nails

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There is an awesome Facebook group named Adventures in Stamping and thousands of talented ladies share their stamped manicures. Every Wednesday a new challenge is released and everyone who participates posts their manicures on Sunday - This week was Valentine's Day nails. I was inspired by all of their great stamping decal art so I thought I'd try my own.

______________________________

Valentine's Day is coming up. Is anyone a fanatic? I'm not, I think in the seven years my fiancé and I have been together we've only went out once! He's bought me chocolate and what not before, but neither of us really make a big thing of it and for that I'm thankful! I have too much stuff as it is! However, I was feeling a little festive and whipped up some decals to go with the holiday. Tell me what you think!

Zoya Sooki

Julep Maven February 2014 "Dramatic Collection" Review

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Hello ladies! It's time for another Maven box review! (Already? Didn't I just do one of these posts? Time flies!) Today I have the Dramatic collection to share. I ended up purchasing a few add-ons and a free polish came this month, so there are more than normal.

For those of you who don't know, Julep Maven is a monthly nail polish and beauty subscription service. For $19.99 a month you receive three polishes/two polishes and a beauty product/two beauty products each month depending on your preferences at sign up. Each month Julep creates unique colors to go with each "style profile" so you always have fresh colors for the season. It's like getting a present each month! To be totally transparent, this is a recurring subscription service, if you don't cancel your sub before the 24th of each month, you will be charged and sent your monthly maven box. However, you can cancel at absolutely any time without a fee! There is a code for your first Maven box free at the bottom of this post!

I hope you enjoy this months swatches!

Julep Maven Dramatic Collection

My first mani-tage!