31 Days of Giveaways - Day 3: Julep

Welcome to Day 3! If you haven't read about the giveaway and the rules, click here.

Day 3's giveaway prize is a quad of Julep prizes!! Up for grabs are two Julep lip glosses (Zinnia and Peony) and two polishes (Chelsea and Brielle)!

Fill out the Rafflecopter widget below to enter! And check back tomorrow for the reveal of the Mystery Holiday Trio prize!

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ANNOUNCING: 31 Days of Giveaways!

Hello, everybody! I'm super excited to bring you this giveaway that I've been teasing on Facebook the past few weeks!

Starting on Monday, November 24th, I'll be kicking off 31 Days of Giveaway that will run through Christmas! Each day will feature a different prize and the giveaway for that prize will be open for exactly 24 hours.

Rather than reveal every specific prize ahead of time, I've created a handy calendar below that lists each day's giveaway by brand or by category. Tune in each day at midnight EST for the big reveal across the main blog and all social media pages (including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!)

Many of these products are limited edition or are discontinued items!

This giveaway is open to everyone 18 years and older AND is open internationally.

Are you as super excited for this giveaway as I am? What products are you hoping are included based on the listing above?

ANNOUNCING: Back in Action Giveaway

Hello again, everyone! Thank you for sticking around during this crazy month. Now that the publishing issue with Blogger is fixed, Princess Polish is officially back in action!

As a thank you for standing by me, I decided to create this giveaway featuring some awesome prizes:

The prizes include: Illamasqua Poke, Zoya Audrina (mini), butter LONDON Champers, Milani Carnival, Julep Zelda, and OPI Light My Sapphire!

Here are the rules:

1) Due to mail restrictions, the giveaway is open to US and Canada only. Sorry. :-/
2) All winners will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond.
3) All participants must be over 18 years of age.
4) All rules, as well as entry requirements, must be followed. Failure to follow any of the aforementioned will result in a disqualification and a new winner will be selected.
5) The giveaway starts today (8/25) and will end at 12am EST on Sunday, September 1st.

Now that all of the technical stuff is out of the way, enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. And good luck!


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Swatch and Review: Julep Joan

Happy Tuesday, lovelies!

Today's post is a quick one, as my schedule is jam-packed from 6am to 9pm today.

I received Julep Joan, named for Academy Award winning actress, Joan Crawford, in my February Box! Right now, you can receive your first Julep Maven box for FREE by clicking here and entering the code FREEBOX. All you pay is $3.50 for shipping. A $20 box for just $3.50? Sounds like a steal to me!

Julep Joan is a deep magenta polish with gold flake shimmer. The above is with two coats.

I like the flakey effect, but the glitter seems to sink into the polish a bit too much for my liking. That being said, I still think it's a very pretty color. But the pop of the gold flake would have made it spectacular.

So what do you think of Julep Joan? Are you a maven? Are you planning on becoming one?

Have a great rest of the day!

Swatch and Review: Julep Marion

Good day, lovelies! A very quick post for you all while I'm in Florida on vacation! Because I'm dipping my feet in the pool, I thought a shimmery blue would be perfect for this post.

I received Julep Marion, named for Academy Award winning actress, Marion Cotillard, in my February Box! Right now, you can receive your first Julep Maven box for FREE by clicking here and entering the code FREEBOX. All you pay is $3.50 for shipping. A $20 box for just $3.50? Sounds like a steal to me!

Julep Marion is a rich teal nail polish with aquamarine shimmer. The above is with two coats.

I love that is has such depth and dimension to it. It's very glowy, in a way.

So what do you think of Julep Marion? Are you a maven? Are you planning on becoming one?

Have a great Hump Day!

*Disclaimer: The Julep links in this post are Princess Polish's referral link. You may also visit Julep.com if you wish to enroll in a Maven subscription without the use of her referral.*

Hump Day Holo: Julep Rebel

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

Today's post is Julep Rebel, which is billed as a silver scattered holo. It came in my February box and is named for star of Pitch Perfect, Rebel Wilson.

Well, as it turns out, this is not as holographic as billed. Not even scattered. It just seems like a matte silver foil. I was rather disappointed by this. Oh well.

Even though this isn't holographic, do you like Rebel as a matte silver foil?

2000 Facebook Likes/1000 GFC Followers Giveaway

I've been teasing this for a month now, so I'm incredibly excited for the giveaway to go live!

Check out all of the available prizes and enter via the widget below! (Please note: Due to the ongoing issues with international shipping, this giveaway is open to the United States and Canada only!)

The mega giveaway ends at midnight EST on 3/13... Good luck!

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Chinese New Year Gradient

Hello, lovelies! And Happy Chinese New Year!

Today, I'm going to show you my most recent glitter gradient featuring, what else? Red and gold!

In order to achieve this look, you need a cosmetic wedge and two chunky glitter polishes. I chose Julep Oscar and China Glaze Ring in the Red, the latter of which I bought my junior year at Rutgers and hadn't used up until this manicure.

Fair warning, my nails are going to look SO much longer here than the last few posts because I rocked this gradient long before I chopped my nails down! I like them so much better now!

I used three coats of Oscar as a base and sponged Ring in the Red from the tip of the nail down. I really like how this turned out. I think that using chunkier glitter makes for a better fade. The pieces of glitter start to get wedged between each other creating a speckle effect that lends itself really well to a gradient.

The main tip I have is to do VERY light coats when you sponge with the glitter for a good speckle fade. Leaving too much on the sponge makes for a big blob... and nobody wants that!

What do you think of my Chinese New Year gradient? Will you be rocking red and gold today?

Julep's November Preview and the $.01 Maven Box!

Hello, everyone!

I just received word that the November colors are officially out and the long-awaited suedes have arrived!

Don't forget that Julep is currently running another Penny Promo. Click here and use the promotional code COLOR2012 to pay just $.01 for your first box!

Here are the colors in this month's boxes:

American Beauty - Amber and Brit (plus Pink Body Frosting)

Boho Glam - Nora and Amber (plus Pink Body Frosting)

Bombshell - Trina and Donna (plus Pink Body Frosting)

Classic with a Twist - Brit and Minka (plus Pink Body Frosting)

It Girl - Hailee, Nora, and the Julep Matte Top Coat

The Pink Body Frosting is rich and moisturizing Pink Grapefruit lotion made with aloe vera and vitamin E, meant to keep your skin moist and soft all fall and winter long. I don't know about you, but that's one of my biggest cold-weather problems.

I'm personally going for Bombshell because I'm not a fan of mattes, but you can get your first maven box for just ONE PENNY! Click here and use the promotional code COLOR2012 to pay just $.01 for your first box! Remember, you can cancel your box at any time, so don't feel like you need to commit. Just enjoy your super-cheap Maven Box!

So what do you ladies think? Still on board the matte train? Are you liking this month's box better than the last?

Princess Polish

Please note: The links above are using my referral link. You can also use the code just by logging onto Julep.com!

Falling Forward Challenge: Day 1 - Neons

Good morning, polishaholics! Today, I'm beginning the Falling Forward Nail Art Challenge and am very excited. This is my first nail art challenge!

As you can see above, today's theme is neons!

I'm not a big fan of neons, so I had to do something that I would be willing to rock on a daily basis.

I went with a pale green base in Julep Courteney and used It's So Easy Stripe Rite paints in neon colors to make a stringy French manicure.

I really like how it turned out. The stripes remind me a bit of ocean ripples. And the muted green of Julep Courteney makes it a little less in-your-face.

Before we bid farewell, to summer neons, be sure to check out the posts of my fellow bloggers who are undertaking the challenge!

College Polished
Tall Girl in Heels
Nail Polish Anonymous
Peace Love Lacquer
DIY Polish
XO, Noelle
Galactic Lacquer
Princess Polish
Munchy's Nails
Pishposh and Polish
Beyond Beauty Lounge
Beauty Dish
Jilltastic Nail Design

Have a great rest of your Monday!
Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: R. Hobby Cosmetics

Happy Tuesday!

I have another indie brand on tap for today, R. Hobby Cosmetics!

Please note that while the bottles below are labeled Black Cat Lacquers, Rachel changed the name of her company to prevent confusion. All you need to know is that she is now making polishes under the name R. Hobby Cosmetics! :-)

Today, I have three lovely shades from R. Hobby... and I'm really excited to bring them to you!

Polished Professionals: Weekday to Weekend

The weekend is nearly upon us, a three-day weekend at that, and I don't know about you, but I'm SO ready! So here's a little weekend-themed post as part of the Polished Professionals series. If you missed last week's post, you can check out my Beauty Survival Kit!

With Labor Day weekend officially here, I'm sure that many of you, like myself, have plans for a party or barbecue. Weekend plans can often throw a little bit of a wrench into things when it comes to your nails.

Maybe you've just gotten a manicure at the start of the week and it's tough to part with your perfect polish job. Or maybe you have gel polish in a neutral color that's just not going to cut it for a party. You could have last minute plans. Or perhaps, as this is often the case for me, you're too lazy/tired to take off your polish, put on new, and wait for it to dry. After all, it's a long process!

Today, I'm going to show you a few weekday to weekend looks that can be accomplished in just fifteen-twenty minutes. And most of that is just drying time. You could really even do this on the way to the party in the car... not that I've done it before or anything...

The best part about the looks to follow is that they're very simple and easy to achieve. All you need is two kinds of top coat: your normal quick-dry brand (I use either Seche Vite or HK Girl) and a special effects top coat.

Special Effects top coats are those that change the look of your polish in some way. They can be your ordinary glitter/sparkle, a flake-filled fiesta, or even a holo top coat. It's totally up to you.

So, let's get started with some transformations!

Swatch and Review: Julep January

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday so far!

Today, I have for you a blood red creme polish that I have been waiting to try for a while now. I received it in my Easter Mystery Box... and unfortunately, it was obliterated. So that pushed it back for a while. However, I finally got to break it out this week!

Julep January applied like a dream and dried pretty quickly. I usually have an issue with reds that lean towards the orange end of the spectrum because of my skin tone, but because January is more of a violet red, it was much more flattering.

I know I'm a bit delayed on the July box, but I'm STILL waiting on my add-ons, so I will wait for those to arrive before reviewing it.

Julep January, and all other Julep products, are available at Julep.com. January retails for $14.

Until tomorrow!
Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: June Julep Maven Box

Happy Monday!

To kick off the work week, I thought I would show off my June Maven Box. I receive American Beauty, though I did switch for the July box that is due to arrive any day now. You can receive your very own Maven box for just $.01 by clicking here and using the code MAVENINTRO. You can cancel after that first box if you would not like to receive any more boxes.

So without further adieu, here is my June American Beauty Maven Box!

WARNING: This one's a little pic-heavy.

July Julep Maven Boxes Reveal and a CRAZY Deal

This month, Julep is featuring a combination of cremes, pearls, shimmers, and sparkles in their boxes, with four out of the five also featuring a duo of nail polishes with a matching lip vernis.

But the biggest surprise of all was shared earlier in the week on my Facebook page with the news that Julep would be including one of the following glitters (depending on your shipping address) in ALL Maven Boxes!

HOLY STAR GLITTER, BATMAN!

And of course, Princess Polish is bringing you the deal! If you click HERE and enter the code COLOR2012 to sign up, you will receive one of the two glitters above (retails for $14) PLUS one of the Maven boxes (that retails for around $42) for A PENNY! Seriously, $56 worth of products for $.01 and that's not including the bonus freebies Julep always includes.

You can also cancel at any time, meaning you don't have to continue after your July box arrives and pay any more than the penny.

So take a look at the following boxes:

This is my box! I'm not a fan of the nude colors, so I'm probably going to switch. It will be my first time switching a box.

I'm on the fence about which box I'm going to pick instead, but I'm really leaning towards Bombshell because of my love of purple. Although...

I don't think I own any shades similar to Daphne, though I'm not sure I really am in love with Mila or Kate. Kate is the common denominator between It Girl and Bombshell. Downside... no lip vernis. And yet...

I also like Classic with a Twist. I think my main attraction is to Freida. But I'm not sold on Audrey (which will likely be sheer) and can't see myself ever wear Camellia on my lips.

I'm REALLY thinking about Bombshell. Which box would/will you pick?

Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: Julep Maven May Box

Hello, everyone! This is Princess Polish, B.A. writing to you today! YES, I finally did it. I graduated Rutgers University on Sunday with honors, earning my Bachelors in Political Science.

Today, I'm going to discuss my Julep May Box. For now, I'm going to focus on the polish because I'm doing a trial with the pedicure products. I'm currently taking a one-week Julep pedi challenge and a two-week Tweezerman nail care challenge. So we shall see how this goes!

But back to the topic at hand...

If you're not a Julep Maven, you can sign up today to receive your first box of $40 products for just A PENNY! Click here and use the code SHAREONMAY to pay just $.01 for your box!

Now, onto the box...

Easter Mani Day 3: Julep April Maven Box and Eggshell Flowers

Hello to you all! I hope you're enjoying my 22nd Birthday Extravaganza currently going on over at the Princess Polish Facebook Page. It's been so much fun so far!

Today, I'm combining my Easter mani with my Julep Maven box for the ultimate blog post. A new promo code was released from this month, so you can still get your first month's Maven box for just $.01! Click here and use the code PENNY. (Full disclosure, this is my referral link. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can just go to Julep.com)

I got the American Beauty box which came with two polishes, Eva and Renee, as well as pedi cream. That's still in the testing phase, but I will update you in another week on that one!

It was wrapped so beautifully, a perfect spring package. And best of all... it came with chocolate eggs! Although, they were gone in a matter of fifteen minutes after I kept telling myself I wouldn't. Oh well.

 You can see here it also came with toe separators in a cheery pink shade. I loved everything about this box. It was so much better than the St. Patrick's Day box and the chocolate wasn't melted! Bonus points for that!

 This is Eva, a gorgeous raspberry creme. And just like her name sounds, she's a sassy shade that is PERFECT for summer! The application was super smooth.

Now this is Renee, a lilac creme that was opaque in two coats. I wanted to do something with a little egg-theme, but nothing too over the top, so I went for just some art on the ring finger.

 I mixed in Sally Hansen White Out in with Renee to lighten the color and used my dotting tool to make sort of kiddie versions of flowers. I loved that light and dark contrast, combined with the subtlety of the accent nail. The egg tip was actually REALLY simple to do. I just used the side of the brush with the white polish to make angles. It literally took me sixty seconds to do it.

This would be something that would still be okay to wear to Sunday services without being too gaudy.

Remember, you can get your first Julep Maven box for just a penny, using the code PENNY here. These shades are available for purchase at Julep.com for $14, as well.

I've already gotten a bunch of Easter nail art submissions for Saturday and am really excited by them all. I can't wait to see what else you guys plan on emailing me. Remember, the contest ends on Friday at 8pm EST.

Oh! And be sure to hang around my Facebook page and check your tweets for more awesome birthday prizes!!!

Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: Julep St. Patrick's Day Mystery Box

Here's a little Julep to hold you over until I receive my next box. You can also receive a Julep Maven box for just $.01 using the code SHAREONMARCH here. (Full disclosure, I do get a referral credit. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can sign up at Julep.com on your own.)

I know that when I got this box, I did some complaining. Many of the shades shipped out were shades that from February or March. Because of a weird clause in the agreement, I am not receiving any of the March shades because I signed up too late. So I received February for a penny and will be receiving April pretty soon. In fact, I think it ships in two or three days.  Regardless, I won't double up on those shades. I did, however, double up on Oscar. So that will be a future giveaway... I think.

I received Oscar, Sofia, Jodie, and a basecoat, as well as Hand Brightener, Glycolic Hand Scrub, a glass nail file, and some chocolate! Unfortunately, the chocolate had melted. But hey... it was just Valentine's Day. I have more than enough. (And God knows, I don't need any more!)

First up is Sofia:

While the name and spelling instantly make me think of Sofia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family), the color itself is not exactly reminiscent of the actress. A translucent spring green with mint sparkle, Sofia is definitely a color that needs to build up. This was with four coats and it finally became opaque. What's cool about Sofia is that she actually glows in the dark! There aren't many wearable glow-in-the-dark shades out there, so I highly recommend Sofia. She'll be on my mind for Halloween, that's for sure!

 

Next up is Jodie, a deep rose metallic with copper shimmer. Jodie is really pretty, though not terribly unique. I feel like I have seen this color a thousand times over at the nail salon, even though I don't already own one. Out of the two, I think Sofia is much more unique and impressive, but I will be keeping Jodie nonetheless.

Though I was a little disappointed in my mystery box, I am very excited for April's box! Remember, you can get the box for $.01 (including shipping) and can be canceled at any time. Other than free, you can't beat two/three nail polishes for a penny!

All polishes are 4-free and available at Julep.com for $14. Julep will soon be available at Sephora, as well!

Princess Polish

First Julep Maven Box!

This is my VERY first post as a Julep Maven and I'm rather excited about it! As you may recall, I signed up last month to become a Maven for a penny. Since then, I have received my first box in the mail. It included two nail polishes and cuticle oil in roll-on form, which was perfect since I have begun to make a concerted effort to improve my care of them. Hopefully, you have noticed in my pictures!

You can still sign up to be a Julep Maven for the month of March and only pay $.01 using the code MARCHINTRO here. (Full disclosure: That link is to my referral page and I get a point if you sign up. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can sign up at Julep.com)

This was the February American Beauty Box, which featured Glenn (named for 2012 Best Actress nominee, Glenn Close) and Oscar, who needs no introduction.

First up is Glenn, a GORGEOUS rich, metallic berry shade. Though it is not remotely reminiscent of the movie Ms. Close was nominated for, Albert Nobbs, it does remind me of her turn as Cruella de Vil in the 1996 live action version of 101 Dalmatians. I had nightmares from that for weeks as a terrified six-year-old. But this shade was a total dream. The application was smooth and opaque in two coats, as you can see above. 

My mom has yet to see this color, but I can guarantee she'll be stealing it as soon as she discovers the bottle. And when my grandmother comes back to Jersey from snowbirding in Florida, I can't imagine she won't do the same, as well. That's the beauty of this color. It's incredibly versatile and wearable for women of all ages. I won't disclose Mom and Nana's ages, though. *wink*

Now Oscar is definitely up my alley, rather than Mom and Nana, but that's because I'm all for the glitz and glam of glitter! In fact, before I decided on "Eat your heart out, Kate... you too, Pippa" as the tagline for Princess Polish, I was toying around with the phrase "So glamorous, she cries glitter."

While I'm sure I could get Oscar to fully cover my nails with enough coats, I wanted to use the pair in my box as a duo. So I threw on a coat of Oscar and had a glammed up look. I could totally see myself rocking this for a party!

So that is the February Maven box... and I can't wait for the March box from Maven. Though, I might have to switch to the It Girl box. A holo top coat is SO hard to resist!

Near-Freebie Alert: Become a Julep Maven for $.01!

So, I've been dragging my heels on becoming a Julep Maven. But after seeing an awesomely irresistible special a few hours ago, as well as a few nice polishes coming down the pipe, I actually gave in.

For those who don't know about Julep, it's actually a pretty interesting idea. For $19.99 a month, you receive $40 worth of products and at least two of them are nail polishes. You take a style quiz and are given one of five beauty titles: American Beauty, Boho Glam, Classic with a Twist, Bombshell, and It Girl. (Note: I was chosen an American Beauty!) But don't feel locked into that. You can preview the next month's box and switch types between the 20th-24th and your box will ship on the 27th. For example, I switched my box to a Classic with a Twist. Though I keep going back and forth between that (a shimmery purple and a sheer pink) and Boho Glam (a salmon and a sheer blue glitter). Please give me your thoughts on that, by the way... photos are at the bottom.

You can pay for the whole thing up front, bi-yearly, quarterly, or monthly. I chose monthly because it looks a heck of a lot better on my credit card bill. And literally, this month there will be a $.01 next to my Julep charge. Seriously. With shipping and everything.

So how do I get a Maven box for a penny? You can click HERE and enter the code COLOR2012 when you sign up.

Full disclosure, that link is my referral page and I do get a credit for every person I refer. So if you are uncomfortable with that, you can just visit Julep.com to sign up.

And here are the photos of the Boho Glam and Classic with a Twist boxes, as well as the others. Help me make a decision and tell me which you would pick for the March box. (I would DEFINITELY click on them to make them bigger for the full effect.)

Happy shopping!
Princess Polish