ooooh, Julep!!

Let me preface this by saying I historically haven't been one of those ladies who always has to have her nails looking fabulous. Truth be told, I worked in an office setting for about the last hundred years of my life, and, in the case of red or darker polishes, they tend to leave swipe marks on just about everything. No bueno for legal documents and such. As well, I'm really quite hard on my hands - always doing dishes, washing something, scrubbing something, digging up something, planting something, etc., so manicures were really just a big waste of money.

I frequent many of the beauty-related subreddits and blogs on the internet and have seen people rave about Julep, have viewed tons of ads for Julep, and was totally taken in by the adorable and unique bottles they use. So, the other night I decided to see what all the hullabaloo was about and visited the Julep website. I didn't want to commit to a monthly box, thinking, "wtf would I even do with all that polish?" I decided to try out a bunch of colors that were on sale, so I ordered a handful of them.

I received my box yesterday and couldn't wait to play with the pretty colors. First, I used the lime-green color, Korin (far right) from the Boho Glam line. It went on nicely, wasn't clumpy, dried very fast, but not too fast - I had time to work with it where needed. I threw on a second coat and while the color was funky and cool, I hadn't yet completely scratched the Julep itch and wanted to play with another color. Rather than taking off the green, I thought I'd put the iridescent, shimmery pink / gold color, Ellie (third from right) from the American Beauty line over it instead. Well, it looks great!!!

Most importantly though, I can't believe how well this stuff lasts!!! Seriously, I'm shocked! I've tried all kinds of polishes in all kinds of price ranges, including Opi, Zoya, etc., and have found that they chip off under the best of circumstances. God forbid you wash your hands, or a dish, or move wet laundry or anything at all.  You'll look like a grubby street urchin almost immediately.

Since last night, when I put the Juleps on, I have washed things, used my hands for things, snow-blowed and shoveled, cleaned off the vehicles and there isn't even a chip! Not a single one! I'm seriously, completely shocked and very, very pleased!!!  Heck, I might have to sign up for the monthly box, if this is the kind of performance I can expect from Julep!

If you like nail polish, you will LOVE Julep. LOVE. I can't wait to try the other colors I bought, and their color selection is UNREAL. Run, don't walk, to Julep and buy your little heart out!!! Details on their monthly Maven box here!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part.

So, due to some unforeseen circumstances there has been a significant decrease in the amount of time I'm able to spend with all of my pretties, concoctions, etc. But please, fear not, I will be back and better than ever. In the meantime, I will shamelessly plug a few of my faves for you to check out. I wholeheartedly recommend these folks and have done multiple transactions with them, tested / worn their products and ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM!! Squeeeee!

SHIRO COSMETICS: 
My absolute fave indie. The shadows, OMFG, the shadows. The colors, the textures, the shifts, the depth, breadth, complexity. UNGHHHH they are AMAZEBALLS, which is my highest rating. Truly. I don't know what kind of insane alchemy the owner, Caitlin, is capable of, but when I tell you I absolutely LOVE every single shadow (and lippie and OMG, the finishing powder, "Fatality", HOLY CRAP, that stuff instantly turns you into Sophia Loren. It's RE DICK!!), I'm not kidding.

I'm relatively artsy, I like blending stuff, I like off-beat stuff, but the colors and finishes and UNPH everything that Shiro comes up with is just craaaaazy!! Her creations are so multifaceted; a shadow might look like a nice, tame brown in the wee jar or sample baggie, but then you dip your brush in it and you swatch it and the universe simultaneously explodes and folds in on itself, and the many layers of color, tone, hue, shimmer and shift are revealed. The variation, the sheer number of looks you can create with even a handful of Shiro's creations are just off the charts. OFF. THE. CHARTS.

If you even remotely like makeup, eyeshadow, etc., you (like me) will be a convert after your first purchase.  The sample bags are quite generous - two of them (I always buy in twos) will last you quite a long time - definitely long enough to test drive them under just about every set of conditions you can imagine. Important note: with loose shadows, you will need a primer of some sort. Glitter Glue, Pixie Epoxy, Lorac Eye Primer, NYX shadow base - doesn't matter. To get the maximum (and inherent) WOW from loose shadows, you need to give them a good base to sit on. And Shiro's deserve nothing less, honestly.

Oh, and can I also just say, CUSTOM LIP GLOSSES, uber geeky cool names, themes, etc.??

Next Up: TKB Trading, THE source for all the shit you need to make your own cosmetics. Yep, you read that right, make your own!!! I've made a number of lippies so far and plan on branching out to glosses too! Woot!

Supplize!

Received my latest package from TKB Trading yesterday, which included Versagel, a big, honkin' syringe thingy for filling tubes, a bag of lip gloss tubes, etc. Praise be to Koren of Enkore Makeup Online, for his awesome post on how to properly use Versagel. Just wanted to throw a shout out out there. :)

As an aside, if you have ever wanted to make your own cosmetics (which is actually a lot easier than you'd think), you should definitely check out TKB's website. They offer a whole host of different kits which come with everything you need  to make your own lippies, shadows, nail polishes, mineral makeup and more.


They also offer tons of individual items (e.g., palettes, pans, tools, lippies, ingredients, even recipes!!). Their shipping is fast, their products are excellent quality, and they have soooo much information on their site.  Yeah, I pretty much LOVE TKB!!!!

I'll let you know how it pans out once I've created my first gloss. And of course, I'll post swatches and, if you're really good, I'll offer them up for sale! Shameless, I know.

Ta for now!