Miley and Mommy's Nails: Julep Product Collection and photos :)

So here is my Julep products collection so far. I am beyond ecstatic for November's box since the product is the Matte Topcoat but they also did a reveal on the polishes for the next boxes and it's the suedes! Now I haven't ever had a suede or matte polish so I don't know what I'll think of it on my nails but I am excited because Julep has a polish named Amber :) and it's one of their suede polishes. For once something is called Amber and isn't some odd orangey color. It's actually a beautiful bronze ish color from the swatches Julep posted online and from another blog I saw. Preview day and time to choose which box/add-ons is in just THREE short days :) Cannot wait.

Now for the collection of Julep products I have been lucky enough to own so far :)

First up was the very first product I received. The American Beauty Intro box came with two polishes (Emma and Renee) and Julep's "The Best Pedi Creme Ever!" While I haven't been too big into pedicures and pedicure products so I can't say that it's the "best" ever, I certainly think it lives up to its name in my opinion. It's smooth and silky. Rubs in without being greasy and has a pleasant scent. I use it from time to time when I change my polish on my toes (which isn't as often as my nails since I wear socks 24/7 and polish has a way of staying on my toes without chipping for a scary amount of time.

Next up was the product for September's Trina Turk collaboration boxes. There were actually two variations of the product for this month. It was a mascara and there was the American Beauty Volumizing Mascara that came in Jet Black. Then there was the Boho Glam Lengthening Mascara in Espresso Brown. Now I stuck with my beauty profile American Beauty for a few reasons. One I liked the colors that were in it (Eileen and Hoch) and the only other color that really caught my eye at the time was Gunta in the Boho Glam box. The Boho Glam box was also the only one that came with the brown mascara (Boho Glam obviously LOL) and while I have changed my mind since I had never used brown mascara before this product. I have always been loyal to black mascaras so I wanted to get the black one out of the two. (I did get a free add-on my first actual monthly box so I chose Gunta :) )

Now for the American Beauty mascara which is the one I received in my Maven box. I cannot say enough about this. I literally have never loved a make up product more and that's a big deal for me. I have never really loved a mascara. I've loved bits and pieces of what certain ones have done and I've been pretty loyal to Bare Minerals mascaras for a while since for me personally that is what has worked the best for my lashes without clumping them too much. But with that said I have stubby sad little lashes and in order to build them up I always have some clumping until I comb through them. NOT WITH JULEP THOUGH :)))) This mascara is incredible. It is amazing in one swipe but it layers over and over and over again so amazingly beyond words. I am forever addicted.

Now I fell so in love with this product that I actually really wanted the brown mascara. I saw it on Listia first and bid on it but lost the auction. I was really bummed I hadn't added it on my September box for the $9.99 add-on price and really didn't want to spend full price for it (even with the Maven discount). Then I saw the Boho Glam mascara on Copious's website for 7 bucks and some change. I was over the moon and ordered it. Once it arrived I became a believer in brown mascara for days where I'm just throwing on a simple natural make up look. And the formula is just as fantastic as the black American Beauty mascara. I haven't used the brown one enough to really see a difference in the "volumizing" black mascara and the "lengthening" brown mascara but in the few times I've used the brown I do think that it is more of a natural look in my opinion. That could be because of any number of reasons though. My make up was more natural, I didn't layer it on like I did with the black most of the time, etc. Either way I am in love once again. :)

So before October's Maven box I did receive a few boxes from a friend. The It Girl Intro box did not come with a product (the polishes were Blake, Claire and Morgan) (the It Girl style profile is the one with three polishes and no product every month) but the August Bombshell box that was purchased for me did come with one along with the polishes Harley and Kim. Julep's "Acetone Free Conditioning Nail Polish Remover". (I actually now have two of them because of the Manicure Kit I purchased through the secret store in October so that is why the photo has two bottles in it) This is a great polish remover for being acetone free. I've never had an acetone free remover that didn't drive me absolutely nuts with its inability to actually remove polish. Julep's version actually does its job. :) Which is becoming no surprise since they seem to have figured out how to perfect everything. It is a fairly small bottle (4oz) and I have already used up one which is sad since they're kind of spendy full price and I won't ever bring myself to buy one full price most likely. But I'll just keep an eye out for the deals that include them and get it then. The other awesome part is that they come with a pump top for one handed polish removal. My first bottle's pump was kind of defective and leaked if not standing upright. It also didn't lock close (which is probably why it leaked... duh Amber. LOL) I didn't bother Julep with it since I just kept it upright anyways but my second bottle's pump works fine so that was kind of exciting.

I forgot to mention! In my American Beauty Intro box, the It Girl Intro box and the August Bombshell box I also received Julep mini totes as free extras. I now have three and love them. Perfect for holding anything from my polishes to some of Miley's toys to random little things for on the go. I did not take a picture of one of those so I'll steal one from the internet but shhhh. :)

October's Bewitching themed boxes came with a pretty nifty product I was uber excited for. I again stuck with my beauty profile American Beauty (which came with Eloise and the orange crackle Sabrina). The oh so nifty product was Julep's new Quick Dry Polish Drops. They do the job which is no surprise now with Julep products. They were advertised as perfect for busy moms with young kids but I also discovered they are perfect for the young kids! Miley loves doing her nails but really won't sit still long after she's done painting them and they smudge every time. I hold her still and put the "drops" on her nails (she calls them the drops and loves them LOL) wait a minute and then let her run off. She would have perfect manicures for longer than a few hours if she didn't pick off the polish in an effort to get to do her nails again. :) And these too have a nice scent to them.

As an extra bonus in the October boxes I also received two glitter pots in orange and black, and a small package of candy corn. Now if Mason and Miley hadn't devoured the candy corn in a matter of seconds I would have a picture to include with the photo of the glitter pots but eh. I'm sure we all know what candy corn looks like :) Miley also adores the glitter. I found some craft glitter in silver, gold and green after Julep sent these glitter pots since it sparked some fun nail art ideas in my head but Miley got to those three craft glitters and decorated my bedroom carpet with them. So now I am down the to two glitter pots sent by Julep (which I now guard LOL and the last craft glitter she didn't get ahold of, blue, that I'm thinking will come in handy for a fun winter nail art idea in the upcoming months).

Now for Mavens who did not skip the October box we were given access to a "secret store" for a week beginning October 1st. I originally did not plan on buying anything from it but the deals were literally TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. :) They had a manicure kit/set that included the nail polish remover (which I was running low on at the time), one of Julep's glass nail files that I was really wanting to try, the nail therapy basecoat which is BEYOND AWESOME and Julep's Essential Cuticle Oil. That last one there being pretty cool too. I am not an expert at taking care of my cuticles and actually have no idea on what I'm supposed to do with them... I push them back and use this oil and I'm hoping that I'm doing it right? I need to Google on that and become more informed... LOL but as far as being an oil it's nice because it absorbs into my skin and doesn't stay greasy or oily for long. It has a decent scent to it also.

From what I read other Mavens saying about it it's a popular item I believe. And some people were awfully bummed it was sold out for a bit so that's good reviews I think. As of tonight I really hope it's non-toxic... since Miley decided it looked like lip gloss (it has a roller ball which is great for application but bad for a two year old who likes lip gloss and has some kiddy lip glosses with roller balls LOL) and started to apply it to her lips as I looked over at her.

The glass nail file is kind of cool. I haven't used it too much because my nails had to be cut down after breaking one and I only had to file a few spots before doing another manicure but so far it's a good product.

Now I included the Nail Therapy Basecoat in my polish collection post since it's a polish of sorts but it's also a product so it gets to be featured twice :) Plus I don't believe I reviewed it much on that post? I am writing this "journal" as if people are reading but I kind of like writing like there's an audience even though there's not. :)

My only "complaint" about the basecoat is I wish they had taken as much effort as they do with everything they do and given it a special bottle different than the polish bottles. Not necessarily different in shape or size but in the writing on the bottle. It is put into a regular polish bottle and actually has instructions on how to apply polish after you've used a basecoat and before you apply your top coat. I know it's really not much of a complaint nor does it matter much. It's just the only con I had in my mind and it's not really a con. Just a preference I guess?

I also have a few "random" products that aren't Julep that I have been using in my manicures/nail art/etc. My top coat which yes I am obsessed with currently is the Seche Vite one. I wasn't all too impressed with the Seche Clear basecoat and I'm especially glad Julep has a basecoat that I do love since I haven't been using one (shhhh) ;)

I now wish I had gotten the Trina Turk color Brandt for the fact that I've been using black A LOT lately but a black creme from Julep is now on my wish/to get lists and until then I've been using Wet'N'Wild Black Creme. It works great and I don't get too terribly upset if it smudges and I have to take it off and redo it like I do with my Julep polishes since they are so tiny... :)

I think that I've written enough of another novel once again with my post and I am promising myself that these posts will become more of actual one size posts with my random manicure posts now that these "collection" and intro posts are out of the way for anyone that does happen to stumble upon this journal blog of mine. I'll end with a few more photos. For now I have been keeping this new found addiction of mine in my zebra box I got at a Home and Garden party a few years back. I do have a nail polish rack I want to make that I saw on a YouTube video using foam board, glue and duct tape (my kind of project haha) but until then I have been storing the polishes and products that I use regularly in this box.

Last few photos are random also... My favorite lotion currently for my hands is one from J.R. Watkins. It's not actually my favorite product for my hands from the brand but it is in my favorite scent of theirs. Aloe and Green Tea. My favorite product of theirs is actually a little tub of concentrated hand cream but I cannot find it for the life of me. So I'm using the Hand and Body Lotion in the same scent. Amazingness. Check it out if you get the chance. They also have a Hand and Cuticle Salve in the same scent I desperately want. I have it in Lavender and it's nice but I'm obsessed with the Aloe and Green Tea scent. And the other photo is a better picture of my polish collection. The one in the actual polish collection post isn't really any good.