Julep February 2015 Swatches, Comparisons, and Nail Art

Hi everyone! I know it’s kind of late in the month (the March reveal is, like, today) but I of course need to do my monthly Julep Maven box post! Today I have a post about my picks from the Julep Maven February 2015 collection (Afterglow), which is the first box I’ve customized. That’s right – I reluctantly switched to My Maven so that I can get what I want out of each collection, and avoid things I don’t. It makes sense at this point, since I usually never want the beauty products and Julep has been putting more and more of them into the Style Profile boxes. Now it’s just polish for me! Yay!

This month, I chose my three favorite polishes from the February collection, plus I got another one (Hartleigh) as a freebie, for a total of four polishes. I used them all to create a nail art design that somewhat echoes the dark, rich florals that were part of the collection artwork.

Three OPI Swatches – Warm Me Up, Right Off the Bat, and First Date at the Golden Gate

Hi everyone! These past few weeks have been a little busy for me, so I haven’t had much time for nail art. Instead, I thought I’d show you all some swatches of the three random OPI polishes I wore!

Julep InstaGrim Part I: Haunted Hollow

Hi everyone! I have some exciting news today – something SO incredible that I can’t believe it’s even real! In short (more details after the cut!), Julep asked me to create Halloween-themed nail art for their ongoing “InstaGrim” contest, and I accepted! WOOHOO!!! I was given free reign over the design I chose to do, so I went wild and made, not one, but THREE designs because I couldn’t choose just one idea! Julep makes some fantastic polishes and products that inspired me in different ways, and that’s how I ended up with three good ideas. So I’m writing about each in a separate blog post!

This post is about my first design in the three-part InstaGrim series: the Haunted Hollow. It’s the hardest design I did out of the three, and the one that Julep used as the featured picture for their page (and my personal favorite!). You know how in some movies, there are those creepy trees whose bark patterns kind of look like faces? Yeah, that’s what I was going for. I wanted to put those trees in a spooky forest with mysterious, glowing eyes coming out of the darkness. In order make this design extra-awesome, I used a black light reflective white polish (Julep Dana) to make the eyes really glow in the dark!

OPI Nordic Collection Nail Art – Fall Foliage

Hi everyone! It’s autumn! Yay! I think this is the first time I’ve ever been excited about summer transitioning into fall; I have always associated autumn with the start of school, making me dislike the season as a consequence, but I think I’ve finally gotten rid of that feeling since I no longer have a summer break that I have to drag my feet from. Fall actually seems appealing now: brightly colored leaves, the upcoming gingerbread lattes, Halloween, Thanksgiving, apple season…fun stuff! Summer was pretty saturated with things to do, and, even though I had a blast, I think I’m ready to move on. Even though autumn is shaping up to be a pretty busy time of year for me work-wise, I think I’ll have enough delicious gingerbread lattes to savor while powering through (and enjoying myself along the way)!

So today I have some seasonal nail art to show my excitement for the beginning of fall! In my last post, I mentioned having a “Star Trek Manicure Party” with my sister, where I brought the entire OPI Nordic Fall/Winter 2014 collection along so that we could both paint our nails. My manicure used a whopping seven colors – mostly browns and pinks – to create a design of a tree with golden leaves and clusters of pink berries (like the tree in my family’s front yard). Check it out:

Swatch – Urban Outfitters Pistol

Hi everyone! I have a swatch today of Urban Outfitters Pistol: a smoky, purple-toned neutral polish with a subtle red-brown shimmer that comes out in direct light. This color needs a lot of descriptors because it is really peculiar, in a good way. Usually I shy away from neutrals, but I’ve worn this for almost a week without being tired of it yet. On the contrary – I’m completely smitten! It’s plushy and soft-looking, like animal fur, and feels luxurious and sophisticated.

Swatch – Julep Boris & Nicole

Hi everyone! First up I have a quick PSA for nail polish wearers: nitrile gloves are NOT fully resistant to acetone. I repeat, NOT fully resistant. I had the misfortune of discovering this fact when I removed my gloves after I wiped down some tools with acetone. The left index finger of my manicure had gotten smudged, but thankfully not beyond repair.

I have a quick swatch today of Julep Boris & Nicole! This polish is a deep red-brown (Chestnut? Mahogany?) shimmer polish that applies easily in two coats – very autumn-appropriate for sure. It’s very sexy.

Julep Boris & Nicole

Southwest Cactus Landscape – Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Contest

Hi everyone! I’ve created another manicure that I want to share: this awesome desert landscape with a bunch of cacti! Since this mani turned out so well, I will be submitting a photo of my nails to the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art contest. For this month and the next two months, Sally Hansen is holding a nail art contest inspired by different themes. The theme for this month is “Color Destinations”, so I figure this design inspired by the American Southwest fits the bill. I worked really hard on this design, and I like the result, so I think it would be great to participate in the contest. If you want to vote for me, you can do so here:

http://www.sallyhansen.com/i-heart-nail-art/contest/entry-emismanis-1400816457