I’ve been a Julep Maven for three months now, and each month has tempted me to upgrade my box so I get the whole set. But each time, there has been something holding me back: May was my first box and I could only get it free if I didn’t upgrade, June had the DD cream (which I totally didn’t want). But July’s California Coast box finally did the trick: ten beachy polishes, sea salt spray for hair, and beach oil tonic for skin. Yup, sold.
Click for a bigger image; image courtesy of Julep
I tried to come up with some patriotic designs for the 4th of July, but I just wasn’t getting anywhere. And then I thought, well, why do I need to do a flag design? I wanted to think of something distinctly American. What’s more American than Levi’s blue jeans?
Here in New England, the saying goes that if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. I’ve waited five days for some sunshine, and there appears to be none in sight. I had some outside work to do that I put off because it looked like rain this morning; sure enough, it’s pouring down now like a monsoon. So I thought it would be a good day to do a stormy color design on my nails.
These are the color of the sky today. And yesterday, And presumably tomorrow.
I’m ambivalent about indie polishes. Some, like a-England, I think are on par with luxury brands, while others aren’t my cup of tea. I love looking at all the myriad glitter combinations and yet always wonder how such a look is actually wearable without looking like a teenager. But after seeing Glitter Daze‘s Rainbow Bridge featured on Chalkboard Nails, I decided to take the plunge and get my first indie glitter.
Macro shot of the bottle
Such an appropriate theme for this week! And while that wasn’t our thought when we planned this challenge (rainbow is one of the themes from the 31-day challenged Becca and I used as a template), this little bit of serendipity makes me smile. Hooray for another step for equality! If only the Voter Protection Act decision had been equally on target. *sigh*
Okay, back to nails.
Click image for a bigger view
I’ve been eagerly awaiting butter LONDON’s fall collection, because let’s be honest, fall colors are my fave. I’m an autumn, color-wise (medium brown hair with a hint of red in the sun, hazel eyes, fair to light skin), and all the russets, coppers, bronzes, and golds of fall make me happy.
So how bummed am I at this collection?
The colors in this collection are as follows (descriptions are from the butter LONDON website).
I guess this fall is all about brights, which I think will be fun in clothing, but it just doesn’t satisfy my desire for all those burnished reds, oranges, and greens of autumn. The collection is available now at the butter LONDON website.
What do you think? Are you going to pick up any of these?
I’ve never thought much about nail files. My mom has used Revlon emery boards since the dawn of time, so that’s what I’ve always used. Julep sends me files in nearly every box, and I’ve acquired others in pedi/mani kits, impulse drugstore purchases, and random marketing gifts. But now that I pay more attention to hand and nail care, I did some reading of various blogs and decided to give glass files a try.
Julep and I are having a sort of love-hate relationship right now. I keep getting suckered into buying mystery boxes with the promise of beautiful polishes and goodies, and I keep getting disappointed. But they seem to take much more care with their Maven boxes; I’ve gotten two so far and absolutely loved them. So clearly I need to stop buying boxes if I don’t know what’s in them.
Julep Nan: Nantucket red crème
I still have a few more days of school, but summer is officially here in New England; it’s 60% humidity right now. Someone once joked that New England has four seasons: nearly winter, winter, still winter, and construction. So true.
formul8edphrase 