Girly Girly Glitz

I am seriously obsessed with this manicure... I couldn't even wait to take decent pictures in good light to share this with you! These were taken with my phone under a desk lamp, lol. This is Orly - Kiss the Bride, a super light, almost-white, pink topped with a cheap cheap Wet N' Wild iridescent glitter. Watching the sparkle while I was typing today was really distracting! Apologies for the poor pictures (and my TERRible cuticles, I have not been drinking enough water), take my word for it, this combo is just so girly and cute! I love it!!

Julep - Helena

Since we are talking about Julep Maven, I though I would share one of the polishes that came in my Julep Maven Intro box. This gem is Helena, a beautiful magenta/fuchsia cream. A bright jewel tone, this polish is one of those that looks seriously rich and gorgeous on my hands and I bet would look great on any skintone. In terms of the formula on this baby, I wasn't overly thrilled with it. It was the first Julep polish that I had ever tried and to be perfectly honest, I haven't yet figured out how they can charge $14 a bottle for these things. For Helena in general, I just wanted it to be glossier. Even with a high-shine top coat it wasn't shiny enough for my tastes. So there it is: the color is gorgeous but I could do for a lot more shine!

July "It Girl" Julep Maven Box

Last week my July Julep Maven Box arrived in the mail! For those of you who aren't familiar, Julep Maven is a monthly subscription service (think Birchbox, just for nails). It's $20 a month and they advertise that each month you receive at least $40 worth of nail products. I signed up a few months ago when they were having a promotion to get your first box for $0.01 (who could resist that!). I really like that they allow you to look at what is going to be coming in your next box and give you the option to skip it if you aren't completely enthused. I have skipped the last couple of months due to the color selections, however when they offered an additional 4th of July themed glitter polish in this months box, I decided to treat myself. Four pretty polishes for $20 (when a single Julep will cost you $14 at Sephora) seemed like a pretty good deal to me! I did a little photo session when unboxing, so check out the pics below to see what you're missing!

 Such an exciting little package to see in your mailbox!

All decked out for 4th of July! Even included a simple tutorial!

The polishes all snuggled up and safe for travel.

From Left to Right: Kate, Mila, America, Daphne

  

They even threw in some of those Atomic Firebomb candies which I thought was a very cute touch and a nice throwback to middle school for me! If you want to check out Julep Maven for yourself click the link below and get excited for August!

HTTP://JULEP.COM/?R=20034334

Some Serious Essie Bling

Today we've got Essie's Luxeffects - Set in Stones over China Glaze - Pelican Gray. I love these Effects polishes... all the ones I have are gorgeous for layering and I need to buck up and go buy the rest of the collection. Glitter gradients like this mani are great for parties or a night out when you want a little hint of sparkle and using a neutral base like a grey makes it wearable from day to night. I wear this kind of mani alot with different polish and glitter combos. Hope you enjoyed!

Red, White, and Blue

Fourth of July manis are flying around the internet right now and I love it! Red, white, and blue is definitely not a combination I go for usually so I always take advantage of the opportunity, trying to get in at least 2 patriotic manis in the week around the holiday. This is the one I am rocking right now. The amount that these polishes sparkle make this mani even more festive and appropriate for a sunshiny 4th. You can recreate this look with China Glaze - Ruby Pumps, an AMAZING, glowing red glitter with tons of depth, and China Glaze - Blue Iguana. I just used a Wet 'N Wild white for the dots and the white Stripe Rite polish for the stripe. It is so difficult to capture the beautiful glittering of these polishes so I tried to take pics in a few different lighting conditions and even out of focus to show some of the depth of the glitter.... alas, these are way more beautiful in person. You'll just have to try it yourself!!

A Sunny Sunday and a Baseball Game

I got the opportunity to take in the Giants vs A's game yesterday at the Oakland Colliseum with the bf and a couple of friends. There are definitely worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than out in gorgeous weather with some good friends, hotdogs, and a game! And ours seats were awesome!

Orly - Kiss the Bride

Brace yourselves for another Orly polish! 

Kiss the Bride is one of those almost whites with a hint of pink, which I love. This kind of color was made super popular by the Kardashians as the whole family sports them on their show. I have a couple Essie polishes like this that I have loved and this one definitely gets added to the list. It is surprisingly opaque and super flattering against my skin - especially when I've got a bit of a summer tan :) This is another polish that can go virtually anywhere... the beach, the office, the bar... and is cute and appropriate. I also think that this would look great paired with Orly - Rage, so I will have to put together a combo mani here in the near future. Love Love Love.