Beauty Boudoir: Julep Maven Nail Polish

               Who doesn’t love a nice bottle of nail polish? As I mentioned I am an avid nail polish addict.
                Up until recently I did not have any Julep Nail Polishes until I joined the Julep Maven program for .01 (and $4.95 shipping). I decided to join the program because I love nail polish and loved the idea of the program. I recently cancelled a subscription service and several magazine services so I decided my budget could handle it. The colors from Julep are absolutely gorgeous!

Colors from Top to Bottom: Petra, Lisa, Anne, Janel, Ally, Lena

                My first box was an introductory box where I received two nail polishes and a cuticle product. Sadly they are not spring colors but I definitely plan on wearing these colors when fall and winter approaches next year. I got the colors Lisa and Petra from the Boho Glam collection. Lisa is a grayish color and Petra is a burgundy shimmer color. They offer you a suggestion for colors that you can get and then you can change them as needed. I decided to purchase my most favorite color from Julep that I have seen everywhere Anne (a beautiful purple color). It reminds me of Anne Hathaway (which may be the namesake?). I absolutely love this color. I bought it full price but I didn’t mind since I got two other nail polishes for such a low price.  I also got a cuticle product that is absolutely wonderful as well! I love the smell and how well it works. I keep it in my nightstand to use as needed when I give my nails a break from nail polish.
                My next box is all about the bright colors. On the 20^th of the month you are given four days to select new nail polishes. I decided to go for the colors from the Bombshell collection and ordered Ally (royal bluish color) and Janel (burgundy color) and then did the add-on polish of Lena (a tealish color) for $4.99. I love the colors and am content. One of my favorite aspects of this program is if you are not a fan of the nail polish colors you can skip a month and come back when you really like a box. I wish I had been a subscriber during the pastel collection month but I can always order then later if I decide to. I really want the America the Beautiful polish for the 4^th of July so I will be adding that to my wish list.
                I can’t wait to see what is in store for my next box. I definitely am much more content with this subscription service then others. What subscription services do you use? What is your favorite?

Beauty Boudoir: Makeup Cutback April Update

Beauty Boudoir: Makeup Cutback April 2012 Update: The Balm Jovi Palette

                Makeup cutback is not going as well as can be expected. Sadly, I have purchased more than one makeup item a month over the past few months, but I’m determined to get back on track. 

              I decided to make one purchase a little early for my April item this year. I purchased the Balm Jovi palette on Amazon for around $30. Again, as stated previously, I want to have quality products rather than quantity. I purchased this item based on the recommendation of Emilynoel83. She talks about this palette and the benefits of it. One of the best aspects of this palette is that is offers you a variety of eye shadows, a highlight, blush and two lip products all in one slim package. It is about the size of my Kindle Fire. The quality of the product is also amazing and pigmented. I’m quite impressed with my purchase and am not disappointed.  I feel I really got the most bang for my buck. 

                I am contemplating my next purchase for the month of May. I may allow myself a second makeup purchase or two as it is my birthday month, but I’m still debating. I’m thinking about purchasing a YSL or Chanel Lip Product or the Laura Mercier Silk Cream Foundation. All three types of items are much more expensive than normal, but since it is my birthday month I want to splurge just once on a product. I’m definitely going to do some research before making such a purchase. What high end items do you recommend? What items do you feel allow you to get the most bang for your buck? 

Beauty Boudoir: Top 5 Nail Polish Picks

                I am an avid nail polish lover. As a teen I was not a fan of nail polish because I did not know how to take care of my nails, paint them and keep them lasting long. However, thanks to the beauty (no pun intended) of YouTube and beauty books, I have learned how to take care of my nails and purchase quality products. I have a ton of nail polish (stay tuned for a nail polish collection post). I have so many bottles that my dad made me a nail polish stand to hold all of them. I love it! I recently pulled it out of my closet so I could look at each bottle and get good use out of them. These are the five polishes I would repurchase first if I lost my entire collection. 

Long Kiss, Lacey Lilac, On a Trip, Charismatic, Blue Year's Eve 

1 Long Kiss by China Glaze: This is one of my go to shades when I don’t know what color to paint my nails. I love this nail polish in the fall and when I want to wear something that will make me feel strong and confident. I love the color and the fact that it is a more burgundy red rather than just a red.

2 Lacey Lilac by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear: I love this nail polish. It makes my nails look absolutely gorgeous. One of the best benefits of this nail polish is how well it goes on (the formulation) and the fact that when it starts to chip it’s less noticeable then darker polishes. While I do not wear nail polish in a very professional setting (interviews, meetings etc), I feel that this polish can be worn effectively in a semi professional setting.

3  On a Trip by Wet n Wild: I heard about this nail polish brand from YT. I love this color so much that I had to get it. I love the formulation of the polish, how smoothly it glides on and how long it lasts. I love how opaque the polish is and the beautiful color. I only wish they had more colors that I liked.

4  Charismatic by Revlon: I love orangey cream shades and this one is no exception. This nail polish reminds me of a vacation with my boyfriend. I painted my nails this color on our road trip this past summer. I love the color and find that it is not too orangey and appropriate for work. 

5   Blue Year’s Eve by China Glaze: Another China Glaze product makes my list! The formulation of China Glaze is also as nice as other products mentioned on this list. I love this color and love the name. I enjoy wearing this product around New Years and other times when I don’t know what to paint my nails.

What are your top 5 nail polishes? Stay tuned for a later post on my very large nail polish collection! I plan on doing some de-cluttering before I post, but expect to see lots of polishes! 

Beauty Boudoir: Makeup Cutback March 2013 Update

                I have to admit that this makeup cutback is a bit harder than I expected. Going shopping at Target, Wal-Mart, and some drugstores is not as fun as before, as I don’t get to purchase more than one item a month. Recently, I got an email from Ulta about a “1 Day Sale!” I have to admit that any company that does a one day sale on products is very smart. Vera Bradley often does this as well as other stores like BBW.

 Ulta had a one day sale on Bare Minerals eye shadow palettes. As you may remember from my makeup cutback post, I want to get quality, not quantity with regards to my only ONE purchase a month. They had their eye palettes for 50% off! The 4.0 eye shadow palettes are usually $30.00! I got one eye shadow palette (to make sure I follow my makeup cutback) at $15.  

 I will admit I slightly bent the rules and purchased it in February, but I couldn’t use it until March because it was not shipped to me until then. I figured it was such a good deal I couldn’t pass up. Of course, the hard part is that I am stuck waiting until April to purchase any more makeup. My boyfriend was joking that maybe the Easter bunny will purchase me some makeup for Easter. I hope so, but I am happy with my newest purchase. The colors are pretty and I spent half the price on a quality product.

Before I close my post, I must admit that because I am cutting back on purchasing makeup, I feel the need to purchase other things.  I am now working on only making necessary purchases. Stay tuned for an update on my purchases! How are you doing with regards to your makeup purchases? Is there anything out there that I should really purchase? I am seriously contemplating the Essie Spring 2013 set as my April purchase or a Benefit set, but I will see!

Beauty Boudoir: Makeup Cutback of 2013

                So as you can probably tell from my previous blog posts relating to beauty that I love makeup. Some people who see me daily might be surprised because I don’t wear it often. This is somewhat true because I’m not a morning person and prefer a few more minutes of sleep rather than a fully decorated face of makeup. However, I am slowly making myself put more makeup on to make myself feel better and to use my makeup products. While I love writing blog posts about makeup products I purchase, and I’m sure some of you love reading them, I have to stop purchasing makeup to the extent that I do.

I watched Pinksofoxy’s videos on makeup and while I do not have nearly as extensive collection as her, I do have a bit of makeup. She once counted all of her makeup products. I did the same and was shocked that, while I did not have as much as her, I have way too many products. So I decided to do the makeup cutback of 2013 after hearing about how she is cutting back. Pinksofoxy’s plan included purchasing only 10 makeup items a year. These do not include personal hygiene items and nail necessities. I decided to follow through with her plan with a small change and only purchase 1 beauty product of my choice a month. I plan on setting other goals for myself, like putting the money I could have spent on makeup in my savings account. I might use that towards a vacation.

I created a “contract” for myself that I have placed on the inside of my closet that I can see daily. As soon as I purchase my one item a month I will add it to the list. I’m excited to give this a try. Of course the shopaholic in me is already considering my monthly purchases for the year. I really need to consider and think about what I purchase. I am only purchasing 1 item a month. I may purchase 1 high end product for a little bit extra so that I get a quality product. I may consider purchasing a value kit so that I get a few products in a set so I get a better bang for my buck. I haven’t fully decided yet but that’s the beauty (no pun intended) of my makeup cutback of 2013. I am not depriving myself of products but I’m allowing myself to enjoy one beauty item. I definitely do not intend to purchase an item that costs more than $25 (I could never allow myself to do that). 

Have you ever had a problem you decided to fix using a contract? How did it work? Check back monthly for a post on my one beauty purchase of the month. Feel free to gently scold me if you see me post more than one beauty haul a month (or more than one item). We have to support each other!