Nail Polish Talk is a once-a-month feature where I talk about the nail polish I wore and bought over the last month.

This month, I wore Lilou, Danica, Alicia & Maren, Rose and Chloe, all from Julep.

The Week Of August 2: Lilou by Julep

I LOVE Lilou!  It’s such a pretty shade of yellow, and I want to wear it again.  It’s definitely a keeper! It is a pretty thin polish, and it did go on a little streaky.  And it was a sheer as well, at least in the first coat.  But it does even out with a second coat. You’d think by now I’d be better with applying nail polish but apparently not.

The Week Of August 9: Danica by Julep

Danica is such a pretty violet, and if you want something a little more sheer, one coat is definitely enough! Otherwise, two is more than enough if you need something with a little more coverage.  I found the description of blue violet to be a little odd, because blue didn’t come through for me at all.  I would wear it again.

The Week Of August 16: Alicia by Julep

I definitely veer towards blue, purple and green, as far as colors go.  And I wasn’t sure about Alicia when I got it in July’s Maven box, but I liked it a lot more than I ever thought I would.  It’s a pretty coral, and peach came to mind as far as colors go.  I would totally wear it again, and I’m glad I got it! Like Lilou, the first coat was uneven and it was a little streaky, but that did even out.  2nd coats are magic, I swear.  It was also a little thick, but it worked out.  I also wore it under a coat of Maren, which is a really sheer bubblegum pink.  It turned out better than I expected, and made it more pink. I really need to try this layering thing more.

The Week Of August 23: Rose by Julep

I really was in a mood for red…really, anything not purple, blue or green.  And Rose isn’t a color I normally wear (for some reason, red isn’t a color I typically wear) but after wearing, I wondered why I don’t wear it more often!  It’s such a pretty watermelon red, and it went on really well- it wasn’t streaky or uneven, and it dried really fast.  I am determined to wear this color more often.

The Week Of August 30: Chloe by Julep

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk about this week’s polish in this post, or if I wanted to wait but I decided to talk about it this month.  But I decided, why not talk about?  I really liked Chloe, and for whatever reason, I don’t wear a lot of brown.  But I really liked it, and it’s such a warm shade of brown.  And it’s really pretty.  I don’t know why I don’t wear it more- I wouldn’t mind wearing it again.  It went on really well, and you get really good coverage with one coat- I did two, and found that the second coat added a little something special to it, but you could definitely get away with one coat.

August Maven Box + September’s Box:

I did skip August’s box, since I liked the colors but not enough to go for the box.  I am excited about September’s box, because I got a couple of colors I wouldn’t have picked last year…or even a few months ago, but I really wanted something I wouldn’t normally pick out.  I can’t wait to see how they look!

Happy September!

Nail Polish Talk is a once-a-month feature where I talk about the nail polish I wore and bought that month.

So, for July, I wore Linden, Jacqueline, Joyce and Princess Grace.  It didn’t occur to me to wear something for the 4th of July until after the 4th of July, otherwise I would have done something patriotic.

The Week Of July 5, 2015: Linden

I wore Linden by Julep, which I really liked!  It reminded me of a pool of water (really, any body of water), and it was darker and more grey than I expected.  It looked a little bit lighter in the bottle and slightly different on the website (which I never fully trust, because it could just be my computer screen).  And it did go on a little thick, but it did even itself out after a couple of coats.

The Week Of July 12 2015: Jacqueline

I really like Jacqueline!  It definitely lives up to the description of bright grenadine shimmer, and it’s really pretty and bright, and I just want to look at it all the time because it’s so pretty.  Never have I wanted to repeat a color more than this one!  It’s a good summer color, but it would also add a nice splash of color during the fall or winter (especially if you live in a place that actually has seasons).

The Week Of July 19 2015: Joyce

Joyce is such a good Christmas red!  And a few days in, I remember I was going to wait until around Christmas time to wear it, but it’s too late for that now.  (I do have a few other reds that will work for Christmas, so it’s not too bad). But it is a pretty red, and for whatever reason, I was in the mood for this shade of red.

The Week Of July 26 2015: Princess Grace

This is one of my favorite colors- I kind of forgot how pretty and spring/summer-y it was until I wore it.  It did go on a little thick and goopy (more than I remembered) and the first coat was a little streaky, but that evened itself out with a 2nd coat.

Maven Box:

I opted for the mystery box (which caught my eye after not liking any of the nail polish/beauty products offered, and kept me from skipping this month).  I also got a couple of add-ons, which I don’t normally do, but I had some Jules (their rewards points system)  saved up, so I used it for that.

First, the mystery box.  This is the 2nd mystery box I got from them, and I was pleasantly surprised!  I was nervous going in, because I had no idea what colors I was getting.  So I wasn’t sure if I’d get any duplicates (just one) or if I’d get colors I liked.

This month’s box had 5 colors:

• Hazel, which I wore a few weeks ago, and liked, so it’s good to get a color I know I love.  The fact that I never finish a bottle of nail polish is a completely different story.
• Sienna, which I really like!  I’m looking forward to wearing it a lot.
• Drew, which I like (and can see myself wearing) but I don’t know that it’s a color I’d pick on my own.
• Ali, which is a really soft mint.  This is a color I’d probably pass on, if given the choice.  I’m really pale (the sun is not my friend, but sunscreen is) and while Ali will probably be fine, I have the feeling it will look a lot better on someone who has the ability to tan.  I’ll definitely give it a try though.
• Alicia.  It’s a salmon color, and like Ali, it’s probably a color I’d pass on if I had the option of picking.  And like Ali, I’ll give it a try.  Who knows, maybe I’ll really like it!

Now, the extras:

• Danica, which looks much more violet in real life, and has a lot more shimmer.  Like Sienna, I can’t wait to wear it.
• Oxygen Bonding Base Coat.  I feel like I’m always trying out new base coats, but I was intrigued by this one, since it’s supposed to help your manicure last longer.  That’s always good.  And my nails have a tendency to crack and peel (no matter how hard I try to not wear nail polish for a week, it never seems to work), so hopefully this will help make them a little bit healthier!  I did get a chance to wear it (starting with Jacqueline) and it help better than expected.  My index fingers had their normal amount of chipping (on one side and after a couple of days) but the rest of my nails didn’t start chipping until the end of the week. And even then, it was the tips and not super-noticeable.  All in all, I’m pretty happy with it so far!

Looking Ahead At The August Maven Box:

I skipped the August box because while I liked a couple of the colors, I don’t know that I liked them enough to get the box.

Happy August!

Nail Polish Talk is a once-a-month feature where I talk about all things nail polish- from the colors I wore to the colors I got.

In June, I wore Nellie (with Adele as a top coat), Octavia, Sam, Farrah, and Hazel.

Technically, Nellie (by Julep) was a May color, since it was the week of May 31, but I decided to talk about it in June, since most of the week happened in June.   I love Adele (also Julep), which is one of my favorite top coats, and I wish it weren’t a retired color, because that makes me not want to wear often because I don’t want to run out of it.  I wasn’t sure about Nellie, because it’s fuschia, and fuschia is not a color I normally go for.  But I liked it a lot more than I expected, especially with Adele on top!

I also wore Octavia (Julep), which I like!  It’s a dark indigo, but pretty, and I really want to wear it again.  Other than that, I don’t have anything else to say about it.

Next was Sam (it’s Julep, and part of June’s Maven box, so we’ll talk about that later).  It reminded me of a highlighter, and it was more green than it was yellow.  I like it, but I didn’t love it, and I might wear it again.  It’s described as limeade, which is fairly accurate, but on the website, it did look more yellow, so I was surprised that it was more green with some yellow.  What I also thought was interesting was that depending on the light, it sometimes looked more yellow, and sometimes it looked more green.

I also wore Farrah, which I wasn’t sure about at first, but I actually ended up liking it a lot.  It is pretty muted, which I have a tendency to not do with my nails as far color goes.  It’s more grey/stone-colored than lilac, and it goes on very sheer.  It took me three coats to get the color you see in the picture, but two would work if you wanted more coverage.  One would work if you just need a little bit of color or if you need something neutral.  I think, if you work in a place where something like Sam wouldn’t go over well, Farrah actually would work.  I was surprised that it was probably Wednesday before it chipped a little (Thursday the chipping was much more noticeable), considering I had a couple layers of base coat, three of Farrah and a top coat, and overall, it also a pretty forgiving color so if you mess up, it’s not obvious.  It doesn’t look great with pale skin, but again, if you need something neutral/muted, this is a good choice.

And lastly, I wore Hazel (not surprisingly, it’s by Julep).  So, it’s supposed to be a bronze/violet duochrome, but unfortunately, the bronze didn’t show up when I actually put it on.  You could see a little bit of it in the bottle.  It looked pretty, and I really felt like that this week, so that’s what I went with.  I can’t stop looking at it, and I’m glad I wore it because I want to wear it again!  It kind of reminds me of that gold leaf stuff but in purple.  And it’s shiny, which can be really distracting but I don’t care, because I love it!

As for the Maven box, I got Sam, which I already talked about.  I also got Isabela and Jacqueline.  Sam is the only one that was in my usual It Girl box, but I wasn’t into the other two colors, which worked out well, because I really liked Isabela and Jacqueline.  I hope they’re as pretty as they look.

July’s box should be interesting since I opted to get the mystery box they had!  I’m a little nervous about it, but it was either than, or opt out since I wasn’t too into the colors (or the beauty products they had for the month).  I also got a couple of add-ons, which is rare, but I really need a base coat, and one of the colors looked pretty, so I figured I’d go for it, especially since I had some Jules that I could use.  I like their version of a rewards system, and once or twice, I’ve had enough to get a free box or two…not lately, of course, but maybe I’ll get to the point again someday.  I really can’t wait to see what I end up getting!

Happy July!