Swatch and Review: Barielle AND a Promo Code

Recently, I had the opportunity to select three shades from Barielle to review for you all. It was an arduous process to narrow my choices down, but I finally landed on Blue Cotton Candy, Decadence, and Do Unto Others.

However, my all-time favorite Barielle is Elle's Spell, so I included that in here, too!

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!

Top of 2012: Purple

I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed your Christmas yesterday! Today, it's time to check out my FAVORITE color of all: purple! And it should come as no surprise that I chose a top FOUR, rather than a top three!

My favorite blurple was undoubtedly Cult Nails Flushed. With a fuchsia shimmer, it practically glows on the nail. Love. It!

China Glaze Jungle Queen may not have been the most unique (as a dupe of Chanel Paradoxal), but I give them credit for a good formula and giving me an awesome $8 alternative to a Chanel! Kudos, CG!

Maria, Maria! Maria of Cult Nails did it AGAIN with a gorgeous purple jelly flakie top coat in Seduction, pictured here with two coats over Cult Nails Iconic. I mean... look at that shift of color. There are just. No. Words.

The ladies of The New Black win the award for purple uniqueness, with this awesome five piece mini set. An easy way to put a little ombre in your day, I fell for this one upon sight. And it looks pretty cute with my blueberry plant, too!

If you could only have one purple from 2012... what would it be?

Top of 2012: Pink

Hey, everyone! Today starts my Year in Review, in which I post my top shades that were released in 2012. I'm going to go day by day, color by color and pick my Top 3. Although, on some occasions... that might turn into a top 4 or 5.

Today's color is pink! (Even though it's not Wednesday. Sorry!)

First up is Zoya Audrey, a ballerina pink jelly. It was released in March as part of the Limited Edition Peter Som collection. I usually do not like super fair pinks, sheer colors, or light shades. But I just loved this one. It's delicate AND if you're between gel fills, it actually creates a mini fill where your natural nail is growing in.

Second is another Zoya: Zoya Aurora. Really, does this surprise anyone? It's a gorgeous, rich fuchsia scattered holo that applies like a dream and makes quite the impact! Gah, I love it.

Saint Germain Pink Lotus is one from early summer. It's a magenta creme that applies like a DREAM. I absolutely adored this shade. I know Saint Germain isn't a well known brand yet, but this was a top notch polish that I didn't expect to love.

What would YOU pick as your top three?

Dupe or No Dupe: Layla Ceramic Effect 52 vs. Nfu Oh 51

Hello, lovelies! I'm so happy to report that finals have officially ended for me and I have a life once more. My last exam was on Wednesday and I'm currently typing from the Queen Mum's apartment in Florida, which is a nice change of pace from the cold, windy, and overall dreary New Jersey weather.

I picked up the Layla Ceramic Effect 52 a week ago after I spotted it at Ulta. It was kind of buried in a corner with the false eyelashes, oddly enough, and I really just stumbled onto it.

I've heard around the internet that CE 52 is a dupe for Nfu Oh 51, so it's time to play...

DUPE OR NO DUPE!

Here are the bottles: Layla Ceramic Effect 52 on the left, Nfu Oh 51 on the right.

Upon a closer inspection, you can see both have a wisteria purple base. Also, the flakies seem to be in the same color spectrum of cranberry red with lime and bright yellow shifts.

CE 52 is on the index and ring fingers, with Nfu Oh 51 on the middle and pinky. With one coat over Cult Nails Flushed, you can see there's a distinct difference. The Layla polish seems to have much finer flakes that can almost be mistaken for microshimmer. They're also kind of sparse. Nfu Oh 51, on the other hand, has much more visible, dense flakes.

With two coats, the distribution of flakes seems a little more dense for CE 52. But still, there is a noticeable difference in flake size and density.

Here's a close up of Nfu Oh 51 (left) and Layla Ceramic Effects 52 (right).

So what's the verdict? Definitely, no dupe. While they are similar for sure, CE 52 isn't a dense and doesn't flash different colors in quite the same way as its Nfu Oh counterpart. They're certainly different enough to allow you to own both, with equally good formulas.

Ultimately, I still prefer Nfu Oh 51.

What do you think?