Julep #1

About a week ago, I bit the bullet and signed up for Julep. It's a subscription service, kinda like Birchbox, which sends out beauty products once per month. It's definite claim is nail polish, although there are cosmetics and face/nail treatments as well. I'd found a promo code somewhere (FREEBOX), was highly intrigued, and just so happened to have a fresh manicure.

Unfortunately, regular manicures at a nail salon just aren't in the budget. This is a real bummer, because I LOVE having a fresh manicure. I'll catch myself admiring my freshly done nails throughout the day and then I'll tell myself to paint my nails more often. So the fact that I was already loving my greige-colored manicure definitely played in Julep's favor that afternoon.

I'd heard and read up on Julep and about how fun-slash-great it was and decided to go determine my color profile. Even though I was matched as a "Classic with a Twist" after my style questionnaire, I was really digging the Boho Glam colors so I opted for that instead. The It Girl polishes were also super cute, but after digging through the polishes I already owned, I realized I had both of those colors! No wonder I liked them so much... Anyway, my Boho Glam box came with 2 colors and a cuticle pen. I also added a third color and the freedom polymer top coat.

Colors L to R: Michelle, Blakely, Aisha. The bottom is also Blakely. Not pictured is the cuticle pen or top coat.

Aside from learning that I am pitiful at painting my own nails, I also learned that I really liked the Julep polishes. I went with Aisha first, which is kind of a dark raspberry shade. For some reason, it photographed much more brown (see below), but it's actually a nice berry/purple shade. I was really surprised how much I liked it and got several compliments on it yesterday at work, which is always a great thing. It went on easily, despite my clumsiness, and was perfectly opaque in 2 thin coats. I started out with an OPI base coat and topped it with the Freedom Polymer top coat. Julep says the top coat will create a gel-like finish.

So, I put it to a real test.

A 12 hour shift. Complete with 2 vaginal deliveries. We're talking lots and lots of hand washing-slash-alcohol foam.

Please forgive my painted cuticles. L to R: Before work, after work, this morning.

(Side note: After spending a manicure-centric weekend with a group of high school girls, I learned the absolute importance of the "accent nail." Hence, the extra coat of OPI's Princesses Rule! on each ring finger. Final verdict? I kinda hate having one different nail. It feels like I have two different socks on, or like I'm wearing a brown belt with black shoes. Meh. No thanks.)

After a long work day, my nails looked surprisingly fantastic! A little bit of wear around the tips was all I noticed. Also, the top coat dried totally hard in about 20 minutes and left a shiny, smooth surface (my nails were pretty rough after peeling off the shellac polish that was on them). Unfortunately, I broke a nail this morning trying to get Isaac into the Ergo backpack-style. I guess now I have a good reason to remove the polish and try a new color!

It also just so happens that Kate from Small Things Blog is also talking about Julep today, so apparently we're on the same cosmetic wavelength. I consider that to be pretty good company. I should also tell you this isn't a sponsored post, just something I'd like to share!

Interested? Check out more here (or see the button in my sidebar). And use the FREEBOX or FREECOLOR promo (if it still works) to get your first order for free!