Julep Morgan

Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend! :-)

Today I am wrapping up the Julep polishes from my June It Girl Maven Box with Morgan. It is a purple with tons of shimmers in a metallic finish.

Morgan's base is a vibrant, royal purple with a slight blue influence. Julep describes Morgan as a "grape" purple, which does bring to my mind this color, although I'm not sure why since purple grapes aren't this color. :P The shimmers in the polish are blue and pink, which translates onto the nail and adds a lovely depth to this color.

I didn't have much trouble with the application. The one thing to remember when working with metallics to use thin coats and allow each coat to fully dry before adding the next one. Otherwise you could end up with some bald patches. Obviously this is a case of do as I say, not as I do, since in my impatience, I didn't wait long enough and messed up my pinky. :-)

What do you think of this color? If you are a Julep Maven, which box did you get this month? Do you like it?

Don't forget to enter my current giveaway for a chance to win three Barielle polishes, plus their speed dry top coat, nail protein base coat, and nail strengthener cream! <3

Julep Sandra

Hi everyone! Yay it's Friday! *does the happy-Friday dance* :D

Today I have Julep's Sandra, one of the polishes from my June It Girl Maven Box. Sandra is a magenta pink with lots of shimmery goodness in a metallic finish.

The shimmers in Sandra are predominantly pink, though there are occasionally flashes of blue and purple that peek through, which I love! The magenta pink base has some red undertones, which warm the color up and keep it from being too cool. The warm undertones work well with my warmer skin tone, while its blue shimmers would help it look equally flattering on cooler skin tones.

I had no problems with application. It flows onto the nail easily, without any pooling or clumping. It is neither too thick nor too watery, and is fully opaque in two coats. While brush strokes are typical of metallic finishes such as this one, I didn't see too much of that with Sandra.

That's it for now! Wishing you all a great start to your weekend! :-)

Don't forget to enter my current giveaway for a chance to win three Barielle polishes, plus their speed dry top coat, nail protein base coat, and nail strengthener cream! <3

Julep's June Mystery Box

Ooh look what Julep has just announced! :D

It's another batch of their popular mystery boxes for sale! :-) If you haven't heard of these before, they are on sale for $19.99 and you get anywhere from $60 to $200 worth of Julep goodies. Because these mystery boxes are so popular, they can sell out quickly (who doesn't love a surprise of polish goodies :D), so if you are interested, don't wait too long to act.

You can find the mystery boxes for sale HERE. Enter promo code JUNEMYSTERY at checkout. Shipping is free for Mavens. If you want to learn more about being a Julep Maven, including how to get your very first box for ONE CENT(!), take a look at my post HERE.

Don't forget to enter my current giveaway for a chance to win three Barielle polishes, plus their speed dry top coat, nail protein base coat, and nail strengthener cream! <3

Julep Sasha

Hello and happy middle-of-the-week! :-) That means the blissful weekend is almost here. But it could also mean you realize the week's almost over and you haven't done anything yet! Unfortunately, I fall into that latter category this week. I think I'm still recovering from the jet lag. Every night after dinner, I sit down to work on a blog post, and then—bam!—I tilt over and fall asleep. Even as I am writing this now, I am keeping myself from nodding off by sheer force of will. :D

Today, I have for you Julep's Sasha, one of the polishes from my June It Girl Maven Box. I was pretty excited when I saw the selection of polishes for this month's maven boxes, and I have been eager to try out the polishes from my It Girl box. Sasha is a bright and warm medium coral with a creme finish.

Julep describes Sasha as a "cantaloupe melon" color, and that's pretty accurate. Once on the nail, Sasha appears a little darker than what you see in the bottle. I think this is a very wearable coral for most skin tones. Its brightness is tempered by the warmth, so that it does not come across as neon or too harsh. Sasha is similar to Julep's Alicia, with Alicia being about two shades lighter than Sasha.

Sasha's formula is the right consistency, not thick or goopy like some other Julep creme polishes I have encountered in the past. It goes on easily and gives opaque coverage in two coats. The only thing to watch for is that Sasha dries pretty fast, so be sure not to take too long or go over the same area multiple times, or you will end up with a streaky application.

Don't forget to enter my current giveaway for a chance to win three Barielle polishes, plus their speed dry top coat, nail protein base coat, and nail strengthener cream! <3

Julep Maven June 2012

I was really excited last week to receive my June Julep Maven box in the mail. For my June box, I didn't need the SPF 30 cream that was being offered with my usual Boho Glam profile, so I switched to It Girl to receive an extra polish instead.

Everything came nicely wrapped in a black Julep box. The nail polishes for It Girl this month are Sasha (a cantaloupe cream), Sandra (a magenta pink metallic), and Morgan (a grape purple metallic). I am looking forward to trying all the colors and having the swatches for you guys. The box also includes some replacement brushes, a SPF 15 lip balm, and two Pixy Stix. :-)

If you are wondering about Julep Maven, it is a subscription program that normally retails for $19.99 monthly with free shipping. Over at Julep.com, you can take a style quiz to determine your personal style. Every month, you will receive a Maven box that best fits your style filled with over $40 worth of Julep goodness. The advantage of the Julep Maven subscription program is its flexibility. It allows you to skip any month free of charge, to send a box to someone else, or to switch your box to a different style. And of course, you can cancel anytime.

To join and get your introductory Julep Maven box for only ONE CENT, just click HERE and use code COLORS4ONE at checkout. The code is available for a limited time.

** This post contains my referral link. If you click on the link and sign up, I will earn credit towards free Maven boxes. 

Barielle Giveaway!

Hi, lovely readers! <3

Barielle is one of my favorite polish brands, so when they recently contacted me and offered to send me some Barielle goodies either for me to keep or give away, I jumped at the chance to be able to share them with you. They offered to let me pick out three polishes, plus their top coat, base coat, and nail strengthener cream. The three colors I picked are three of my favorites: Sky's The Limit, Polished Princess, and Elle's Spell (linked are my swatches of them).

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is open to US and international residents, so everyone can participate! :D The only requirement is that you are a follower of this blog. There will be one lucky winner who will receive all six items. I am super excited to be able to bring you this giveaway, and I hope you enjoy the prizes! <3

Please allow the widget to load in full; it may take a moment. Feel free to email me if you have any questions: thepolishhideout@gmail.com.

Barielle Lily Of The Valley

Hi everyone! Happy weekend! :-)

I am back from vacation. We went to Stockholm for a week. My husband lived there for part of his childhood and he thought it would be fun to introduce me to the city. It was my first time in Europe and we had a great time! The city is beautiful, and it was wonderful to experience the culture, the food, and the shopping. <3

Today I have for you Barielle's Lily Of The Valley. It is a bright, medium green with lots of shimmer in a metallic finish.

Barielle has just the most beautiful blues and greens, and this one did not disappoint. This is the green of mid-summer, when all the foliage is in full bloom and has darkened past the light green of spring. The shimmer in this polish is glowy and shiny, with mostly light and dark green colors, but you can also see some flashes of gold and blue.

The formula is a little thinner, so in my pictures with two coats, you will see some hints of nail line. A third coat should make it fully opaque if that is your preference. Otherwise, the formula is just as great as I have come to expect from Barielle. Brush strokes are typical of metallic finishes, but the brush strokes on this one are barely noticeable. Dry time is fast, and it leaves behind a shiny, reflective finish.

You can find Lily Of The Valley on Barielle.com for $8 for 0.45oz, but there is an ongoing sale for buy one get one 50% off.

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more information, please view my Disclosure Policy.