Julep’s Marion

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Jane Park, Julep, Julep Maven, Marion

My first manicure for February was Julep’s Marion.  I received Marion in my February Maven Box along with Joan, Rebel, and a bonus Freedom Polymer Topcoat.  My February Maven box was on Julep for my being a loyal brand ambassador.  My Maven box came with a hand written note from CEO founder Jane Park.  How cool is that? I love the little personal details Julep puts into their boxes every now and again.  I learned from a previous Maven note that Jane Park went to law school with my mayor Cory Booker.

Marion is a tealy blue packed with silver shimmer.  It has a smokey quality too it.  It’s beyond lovely.  I had trouble with the application on this one since it was quite thick.  It was a bit tough to get the second coat to apply evenly.  The color is so gorgeous, that I’ll try to restore it with nail polish thinner before I throw in the towel.  I also used the Freedom polymer top coat which was quite shiny but it took forever to dry since my polish application was quite thick. Still worth it though.

Speciallità Hits no Olimpo Zeus

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Hits, no Olimpo, Speciallità, Zeus

Speciallità Hits’  Zeus  was my last manicure for January.  Zeus is a black holographic polish and is one of thirteen polishes in their no Olimpo collection of holos named after Greek gods and goddesses.  I purchased my bottle from llarowe.com.  The first coat went on a bit sheer but it built up quite nicely and was opaque in 3 thin coats.  It looks a bit gray in indirect light but once the light catches it, it sparkles quite nicely.

butter LONDON’s Branwen’s Feather

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Branwen's Feather, butter LONDON

My second to last manicure for January was butter LONDON’s Branwen’s Feather.  A blackened purple much like the raven’s feathers it is named after.  It is opaque in 2 coats and applies beautifully.  I was having topcoat issues so these pictures are a bit awful.

Zoya Aurora

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Aurora, holographic polish, Zoya

This next mani is Zoya’s Aurora which was released as part of the 2012 Ornate Holiday collection.   Aurora is a gorgeous magenta holographic.  I do not know why I skipped it when I originally purchased a few of the other colors in the collection,  but I lucked out  and picked this polish up with the Zoya 3 free polish promo.  You had to pay $10 for shipping so it was not totally free but that still works out to less than $3.50 for a good quality holographic polish.   Perfect!  It is a bit thin but built up well and was fully opaque in 3 coats.  The holographic payoff is definitely worth the hassle of a third coat. 

butter LONDON Fiver

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butter LONDON, Fiver

This next manicure (also from January) is butter LONDON’s Fiver.   Fiver is an opaque icy mint creme polish.  Fiver is part of the Spring Sweetie Shop collection.  The first coat was a bit streaky and it took some patience to get it to even out but it ended up being opaque in 2 coats.  It was worth the hassle but I am definitely a sucker for mint green creme polishes so I may be biased.

 

a England Jane Eyre

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a England, jane eyre

I am so behind on posting.  This manicure of a England’s Jane Eyre was from early January.   Jane Eyre was is part of the Gothic Beauties Collection and is a deep red shimmer in a black base.  It’s lovely though it looks black in most lights.  It applied well and was opaque in 2 coats.  I did not get great pictures of it since the sun ran away but it is lovely none-the-less.

butter LONDON’s Posh Bird

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butter LONDON, London Fashion Week, Posh Bird, taupe

My manicure for this week is butter LONDON’s Posh Bird.  Posh Bird was released for London Fashion Week last September.  Posh Bird is a taupe base with more than a hint of purple and is packed with silver microshimmer.  It has a smokey feel and can also be classified as a mushroom color but the silver microshimmer gives it life in an elegant understated way.  It looks better on lighter skin-tones but I do like it on my darker skin-tone too.  It applied well  – it was a bit on the thicker side  but I am not sure if it’s the polish or my bottle.  I used 2 coats for neatness but it was opaque in one coat.  It surprising dried quickly for a thicker polish too.  I purchased my bottle directly from butterlondon.com for $14.00.

natural light

NYE – A England’s Camelot and Sinful Colors Glitterazzi Loose Glitter

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a England, Camelot, glitter, New Year's Eve, Sinful Colors

I wanted something blingtastic for my New Year’s Eve manicure.  My dress was gold sequins so I opted for a basic black manicure with a gold loose glitter moon.  I used 2 coats of a England’s Camelot (aka my favorite black polish eve.  I let that dry and then added clear top coat to the moons of my nails and over it I applied the loose glitter with a fan brush.  The Sinful Colors container does come with a built-in shaker to apply the glitter but I used a fan brush for more precision.  Even though I only applied the clear to the moons a bit of the glitter got on the tip of the nail and I did not want to risk denting my tips to wipe it off so a few of the nails had an unintended gradient effect.  The glitter was nice and fine so it packed on well and added a nice sparkle.  I’m a bit OCD and prefer my polish to be perfectly smooth so I did have to apply 3 coats of topcoat to cover the grit and bumpiness from the glitter.     I purchased the Sinful Colors glitter pot from Walgreens for $1.99.

Natural Light

Color Club Halo-graphic

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Color Club, Halo-graphic, holo

This next manicure is Color Club’s Halo-graphic.  Halo-graphic is a light pink holo that was released with the 2012 Halo Hues collection.  I purchased my bottle from Harmon.  The formula was great – fully opaque in 2 coats.  Like all holographic polishes Halo-graphic is stunning when the light catches it.  Pictures below are with topcoat taken in both natural sunlight and artificial light.

Natural sunlight

Natural sunlight

Artificial light

Artificial light

EOTD – Everyday Nude with Attitude

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EOTD, Urban Decay

I usually prefer color for everyday eyes but a nude eye here and there is a great way to mix it up.  I used Urban Decay’s Naked 2 palette and Sabbath 24/7 liquid liner for this look.  I used Verve on the inner lid and Pistol on the middle lid.  I then used Busted on the outer lid and blended it into the crease. I used Sabbath to line the upper lid and to add a bit of edge to the look.