Maven Madness: Julep It Girl Box + Blakely and Fireworks Add-Ons July 2013

Hi everyone!

I hope all of my fellow American lovelies had an exciting July 4th holiday.

I'm boxes deep into my move, but things have been slow trying to move things in between rainstorms.

Everything polish related is still packed and ready to be moved over, so hang in there with me and I'll be up and running again within the next day or two.

Luckily I was able to photograph my Julep box before packing everything away, and I finally had some time to sit down and share it with you!

The Box

This month's selection was inspired by the California Coast. 

I live in Georgia on the completely other side of the country, so I have no idea how these shades specifically correlate with California beaches, haha.

With no interest in the featured hair products this month, I went with the It-Girl option which includes three polishes instead of two plus the beauty item.

Julep Maven boxes are delivered right to your door every month for $19.99 and usually include two polishes, a beauty item, and one or two random extra gifts.

For a more details on all aspects of the Julep Maven program, read my in-depth review here.

The Colors

Nadia is a pale, banana yellow frost with the ever slightest orange undertones, and silver microshimmer.

I wanted to like it, I really did...but I just couldn't.

The formula is on the thicker side, which is becoming more and more consistent with Julep polishes.
This can cause a problem with application due to the frosty finish. If applied too thick the stroke lines will be wonky and crooked. While it can be opaque in one coat, I recommend two thinner layers for best coverage.

If I could ignore the formula, I would love this color. 

It's an interesting pearly yellow, but at the end of the day the overall finish looks dated and formula isn't top Julep quality.

Angela is a black-based, shimmery teal with a slightly frosty finish and subtle color shift.

Once again, the formula is thick, so careful not to apply too thick. 

However, this one can provide nice, full coverage in just one coat.

The finish can be slightly frosty, but not quite enough to bother me. 

It's also a duo-chrome wannabe, shifting from deep blue to teal.

As much as I think this color is stunning, I think I have a dupe that'll cost you less than a dollar.
Remember my Polish4Pennies post back in May? If not, click over here and scroll down to Sinful Colors "See You Soon." Close enough?

In short, it's higher priced slightly frostier version of SYS or Essie's "Dive Bar."
Angela may have a smidgen more of turquoise tint, but not enough for most polishers to care.

Tracy is a shimmery denim blue textured polish - the newest addition to Julep's Sea Salt line.

This was the whole reason I chose the It Girl box.

I love the other three Sea Salts, mainly for the sophisticated neutral colors.

I was very excited to see Julep add a bolder color to the line, and at first I thought the color was totally unique to my entire textured collection. 

In truth, it's actually pretty close to JulieG's "Blueberry Fizz" from the Frosted Gumdrop Collection. 

There are two minor differences between the two. 

Both the glitter and texture are much finer in the Julep version, as opposed to the JulieG shade which contains slightly larger glitter pieces. Julep's version is also deeper while the JulieG shade is a lighter and icier.

I am also aware that there is a Nicole by OPI shade "Blue-berry Sweet on You" that might be even  more similar, but I don't own the shade to compare.

Which you choose is a matter or price or preference, but I love this one. 

The only complaint I have is that the texture took FOREVER to develop, which is a problem I didn't experience with any other of the Sea Salts...or any of my other brand's textures either. 

It also applies thinner than any other texture I own, so I recommend two god coats for full coverage.

The Extra

Included in every box this month was a new item, Green Tea Facial Blotting Papers.

This is another one of the items I prefer to save for when I actually need it, so unfortunately I don't have an personal comments on how well these work.

Other bloggers seemed to be more excited for these than the actual polishes this month.
Overall feedback notes that the green tea smell is extremely pleasant and that they are truly effective at removing oil during touch touch-ups throughout the day.

The Add-Ons

There weren't many other colors in the whole selection this month that caught my eyes, but the announcement of a true duochrome in the Bombshell box was something I just couldn't ignore.

Blakely is an oil slick reminiscent, purple-to-jade duochrome with a hint of frosty shimmer.

The formula is identical to Angela, except the frostiness is a bit more prominent.

In short, I wish it wasn't.

I was really excited for this shade, but once again the formula and finish brings the excitement down a few notches.

I can't deny how gorgeous the color shift is, and if nothing else it'll make an intense stamping color!

In addition to Blakely I picked up this year's 4th of July inspired glitter topper.

Fireworks is a patriotic mix of red, white, and blue fine and small hexes.

Now I deserve a slap on the wrist for forgetting to individually swatch this shade before packing up my stash for the move, but you did get a good glimpse of it in my Independence Day Nail Art look.
(Click on the photo below to see more of this design!)

It's not as full coverage as most of Julep's glitter selection, and I like it this way. 

It's much more buildable and is absolutely beautiful on it's own, built up as a full accent in three coats, or gradated as I did above.

What was your favorite shade from this month's box?

Let me know in the comments below or give me a shout on Facebook or Twitter.

Overall

In the end, I think Mavens appreciated the variety of finishes Julep had to offer this month.
Personally it wasn't my favorite box with my well-known bias against frosty polishes.
I do love the summer-inspired shades but the fact that I already had them  in better-priced, better formulated versions left something to be desired.

Lately, Julep's formula is become less and less consistent.

Sometimes the formula is a dream, and something the quality reminds me of polishes that have been sitting in a hot mailbox for quite some time.

I'm also catching word of other bloggers and Mavens alike become increasingly disappointed with Julep's customer service and overall value of the products. 

Cynthia from Of Life and Lacquer provided some important insight as a blogger affiliate in a comment left on my detailed review page which I really appreciated. 

Check her out by the way, she's always been one I've looked up to.

I don't share the same horror stories as her and others (except for DD creme debacle), so it's only fair that I not provide any insight into the matter.
It is something I'm keeping my eye on, but I'm not giving up on Julep just yet.

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Interested in becoming a Julep Maven?

The selection window for this month opens in two weeks, so join now with my referral link below and get your first box free!

 I think you have to pay shipping now, but it's still worth it!

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/45305/

If the link has not already filled it in for you, enter my referral ID# 3488485 and then enter promo code "FREEBOX" at checkout. It's that easy!

Thanks for reading!

-Melody

Avon Cosmic Collection Swatches and Review (Part Two)

Hi everyone!

I want to continue on with the second half of the Avon Cosmic Collection.

If you didn't warm up with the hot shades from the other half, just click the images below to see the rest of the colors along with information on pricing and availability.

Let's move on and cool things down with the icier shades from the collection, shall we?

From left to right:

Moonbeam

Celestial

Galaxy

Aurora

Eclipse

The Colors

 Moonbeam is a silver scattered holo.

Silver holos never disappoint, and under the sun this one is the exception to the "bolder the shade, bolder the holo" pattern this collection possesses.

You can almost see a faint, faint, super faint linear prism at the angle shown in the first photo.

All that holo goodness disappears indoors, but the shimmery silver that's left might just be one of my new go to silvers. 

The formula is just too good to let sit on the shelf.

Celestial is either an icy mint shimmer or a light, teal green with holographic shimmer.

When you look at it outdoors, it's more of the latter. 

The color is much bolder and the scattered holo really shines.

Indoors the color seems to lighten up, taking on a more pastel, minty hue with any icy shimmer.

Galaxy is a bold cerulean blue, with what's supposed to be holographic sparkle.

I was surprised at the hidden the holo is in this particular shade. 

Indoors or out, it just isn't really there unless your hands are positioned in the right way in the right light.

It's such a pretty color either way, does it even really matter?

Aurora is a scattered holo that shifts from violet to purple.

This is the only one that the camera disagreed with just a tad.

The holo is a tad stronger than what is pictured. 

Unfortunately, after rephotographing this shade TWICE the camera came up with the same results.

(Anyone else having Barney flashbacks when looking at this shade?)

This shade is another shape-shifter once you get inside.

While in the sun it's more of a violet, indoors it takes a step to the cooler side of the color wheel and becomes more purple. It also loses the holo, following suit with the others.

...and finally we have Eclipse, a teal going on black with obvious holographic sparkle.

I don't have to justify the holo here, do I?
This shade sparkles better then the twinkly Twilight vampires ever will.

(I apologize for offending at least 75% of you all with that one.)

I know what you're thinking though: "Are you sure that isn't just black?" I'm sure.
It'll look black on the nail while inside, sure. Before you even get to that point you'll notice the teal tinge to the color the second you open the bottle.

Personally I love it so much more this way.

It's so gorgeous and mysterious.

Overall

I applaud Avon for going out on a limb and trying a finish that's a bit ambitious for  a brand that doesn't technically specialize in nail polish.

The holographic is nothing compared to just about any other brand's version, but in fairness this collection was advertised as having a "holographic pearl" finish. To me, this implies that it's intentionally more subtle. If that's the case, then they succeeded.

Holographic or not, these shades are stunning -- every one of them.
They are all eye catching and catch the light both indoors and out.

As far as being cosmic? Well...the formula is certainly out of this world.

What are you favorites from all of these holo hues?

Will you be adding these to your list of shimmery lemmings?

Let me know in the comments below and make sure to give these shades some love on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest.

Big changes are happening soon here at The Manicured Amateur.

If you're not already, now there's time to be following on Twitter and Bloglovin' for all of the updates.

Thanks for reading!

-Melody

**Products in the post were paid for by me with my own money.

I am not an Avon representative but am proud to encourage readers to order through Julie Pruitt, a long time family friend.

Indie Spotlight: Windestine Peach Ice, Moana and OOAK II (Swatches and Review)

Hi everyone!

I am very excited to share with you a few more Etsy treasures, this time from the indie brand Windestine.

One of the primary reasons people flock to indies is for the uniqueness of the polishes. From the collections to the glitter combos, their is so much more imagination in handmade polishes that just can't be matched by the big box brands.

Windestine is a prime example. With no prior knowledge of the brand, I stumbled across the shop on Etsy and immediately fell in love. There is a subtle quality in each and every polish that makes it stand out, and I couldn't wait to purchase.

I have the following  three shades to showcase today:

Moana

Peach Ice

OOAK II

Moana is a jelly-based deep teal with coppery orange, hot pink and pastel green hex glitters of multiple sizes.

The application between the first and second coat was almost night and  day.

Intially I was prepared to be disappointed when first layer went on uneven. The glitters grouped together and dragged along the nail, but don't fret! The actual consistency was kind enough to make spreading the glitters an easy fix.
Once the first coat is down, the second goes on perfectly smooth with the glitters applying as they should.

How is that possible? I don't know, but I'm happy for it! 

This secondary color-combination is simply incredible. It's fresh and festive and strays far from the average jelly. It's as if you've got the depths of coral filled ocean on your nails.

Speaking of jelly...if left at two coats it will display the usual translucent jelly-like finish, but with a third layer (as shown in the photos) it managed to become completely opaque with no shrinking or excessive thickness.
Not many jellies can really achieve this.

Peach Ice is a true peach with different size white glitters.

The formula of this one is more opaque than Moana, and only required two coats to reach full coverage. There was no glitter dabbing or spreading required. Easy peasy!

It leans more orange depending on the amount of light, but no matter what is an extremely flattering color (atleast on light skin tones). The name is so appropriate and literally made me crave frozen yogurt when wearing it. 

Oh the wonders of color theory/psychology. 

OOAK II is a clear-based glitter bomb of lavender hexes, white fine and shredded glitters and yellow moon glitters! How cool!
(I have one coat over China Glaze "Aquadelic")

One coat is really all you need! The base was on the thicker side of average, but considering how dense the glitters are it's understandable. 

The white and lavender glitters spread evenly with no clumping and the moons sit nice and flat on the nail. The moons did take a bit of fishing as there's not as many of them, but were easy to obtain with one good swirl of the brush. 

The end result is completely worth it.

I mean, how stinkin' precious is this?! Light base, dark base, it's all a dream. 

Paired with CG Aquadelic created a look that was like a childhood lullaby come to life. 

I am so smitten.

If I could force all you lovelies to go out and make a polish purchase, it would be for these. 

These combinations are chic and original and a worth every penny. Even the name "Windestine" is whimsical in itself.

Want Windestine for yourself?

You can find all of the available Windestine polishes on Etsy priced between $5-8 per 15ml bottle.
Peach Ice is currently available for $5 on clearance. Get it while you can!
Moana is available for $9 (the only shade currently marked at this price).

Bonus! If you buy two or more full size polishes you get a random full size OOAK for free, which is how I obtained OOAK II. So worth it!

Make sure to check out Windestine on Facebook and Twitter for updates on promotions, new releases and more!

Don't forget to give these beauties some love on my Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest!




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If you know already a fan on Facebook, now's the time. Why? 

I'm having a giveaway once I reach 500 Facebook likes!
I'm not just a Manicured Amateur, I'm a social media amateur too.

You all have been so wonderful and supportive and I want to give something back.
But this little wallflower needs your help to spread the word!
So make sure to follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Bloglovin' for more nail art, new collections and more!

Thanks for reading!

-Melody