Let's Go Orange - NCAA March Madness Nails

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In my house March Madness is in full swing. The college basketball tournament is a really big deal in my family. Being from New York, of course I root for Syracuse! I decided since they made it into the Sweet Sixteen, I would celebrate with Syracuse GO ORANGE Nails!!

These are by no means perfect, but I had a blast putting them together :)

Here are the supplies I used:

• Born Pretty Studs (Provided for Review) 
• White Polish - Wet n Wild
• Black Polish - Wet n Wild
• Konad special stamping polish in White
• Black Striper
• White Striper
• Konad Plate M7
• Bundle Monster plate BM-209
• Zoya Sharon Nail Polish
• China Glaze Dessert Sun
• French Manicure Curve Tape
• French Manicure Chevron Tape

I made my thumb a basketball, my index and ring finger basketball nets, my middle finger a sneaker, and my pinky finger a jersey.

GO ORANGE!!!

What do you guys think? I'm really not great at Nail Art at all, so this was my attempt of breaking in to the nail art world and stamping!

**I added supplies per nail below so it all makes more sense**

THUMB: China Glaze Dessert Sun, Black Striper, and French Manicure Half moon Tape to create the basketball

INDEX and RING FINGER: BM-209 Plate, Konad Special White Stamping Polish, Black Striper, and a Born Pretty Stud (check out the 10% off code in the side bar for the born pretty store)

MIDDLE FINGER: Zoya Sharon, White Striper, Konad plate M7, Wet n wild Black Polish

PINKY: French Manicure Chevron Tape, Wet n Wild White Polish, Zoya Sharon, and Born Pretty Store Orange Gem

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Julep Spring Mystery Box

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I got my Julep Spring Mystery Box!! This was a special spring box that was only offered for a limited amount of time at Julep.com. At this point it is no longer available. The price of the box was $24.99 USD. I received version 1 (there were several versions of this).

What was inside the box:

• Chocolate Eggs for Easter
• Nail File 
• Julep 30 Daylight Defense SPF Hand and Face Lotion
• Julep One Step Nail Polish Remover Pad 
• 3 Julep Nail Polishes in Lauren, Camille, and Ashley

I am really pleased with the box. The hand and face lotion alone retails for $28.00 at Julep.com. 

The box arrived REALLY quick for me. I was really pleased with how fast it arrived. I was surprised to see it in my mail box yesterday. 

 I also really love the polishes I received as well in this. 

I have not used the remover pad yet, but I did use the Dalylight Defense. This morning on my way to work I decided to test it out.  Please note, I have only used this on my hands. My face is way too crazy to test anything new out on it right at this moment. I did use it as a hand lotion and I have to say I was pretty impressed. It is not greasy and and my hands felt so soft today. I use a lot of lotions, cremes, oils etc on my hands, so when a product comes along that makes my hands feel softer than they normally do, it gets my attention. 

I also love the fact that it is SPF 30. I don't think any of my hand products have sun protection in them. I know how important this is to many. I like the thought of protecting my hands.

The lotion is listed on the box as a one step solution to beautiful hands, nails and skin. It contains Vitamin E and hydrates the skin and strengthens nails. I haven't used it long enough to confirm the strengthening part, but it has made my hands feel great today. I'm glad I got the box because this is a product I would not normally purchase on my own. 

The lotion is:

• Paraben and Sulfate Free
• PABA free
• Ideal for every day use

I have to admit I got a thrill opening the box not knowing what was inside. The mystery aspect of the box was really fun. Once I opened it, I gasped lol. It's so cold out here today in my part of Missouri, and we are expecting a MAJOR snow storm tonight, so this bright fun Spring box really brightened my day. I love the shredded grass, it was like getting a surprise Easter basket!!!

Left to right: Lauren, Camille, and Ashley

The nail file is your basic emery board style file. I only use crystal files, so I will pass this on to someone else.The color polishes I got are so nice!  

Lauren is a fun bright Pink. This is totally my shade of pink, and I love it.  It's listed on the Julep.com as a hot tropical pink. Perfect for Spring and Summer too.

Camilie is not listed on Julep.com, so this may be Limited Edition. It's a pretty glitter top coat. 

Ashley is also not listed on Julep.com, so I believe it may be Limited Edition as well. It's a gorgeous copper color and reminds me of a shiny penny. 

I love my new box and I'm please that I ordered it.  I just recently became a Maven so you guys will see more Julep boxes in the future. My first Maven box is on it's way.

If you are a Maven, I would love to here your thoughts on it. Are you satisfied with your purchases? Did you have a nightmare experience with Julep?  I like to hear the negatives too.

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Asteroid Turf Take 2 - Matte

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Tonight is a short post. I have to be up super early in the morning for work, so I am going to make this post short. Please see the original post on this polish for all the details HERE. I promised you guys Hare's Asteroid Turf in Matte and here it is......

How beautiful is this?!!!!!

I used Hard Candy Matte top coat. This polish is just pure amazing in a matte finish.

Not ever polish can be made into Matte, and this polish seems like it was made for it.

 This is pure gorgeous. I love how glitter polish look once the Matte top coat is applied. It's almost like a whole different polish.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

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Hare Asteroid Turf

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At this point I will do whatever it takes to help bring on Spring! Yesterday for the first day of Spring we had snow showers. Sunday we are expecting a winter type snow storm, and there is talk of 7-12 inches! I am so ready for Spring!

I decide to wear Hare's Asteroid Turf.  This polish has always reminded me of Spring time. It's a pretty grass green with pink/purplish hex glitters. It's so very simple, but also so very pretty. I purchased this awhile back, and very pleased to finally being able to wear it. I'm going to keep it on for work tomorrow.

It reminds me of Easter eggs laying in the grass. The plastic grass that you place in Easter baskets.


This is 3 coats on it's own, and it is a jelly type base. It's topped with NYC Grand Central Station and Seche Vite Top Coats.

Maybe if I wear this for today and tomorrow, the snow will go away :)

 The formula on this was gloopy and thick for me. I did use a fair amount of thinner in the bottle, and I still struggled with the formula. It was not perfect, but it sure is beautiful.

 I'm going to wear this one day and then apply a matte top coat. I will post my matte version when I can.

If you love Hare polishes, this is a must have one. I hope everyone in the path of this new storm stays warm and safe!

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Top Coats - Part Three

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Tonight I have the 3rd installment of my Nail Care Series. We are going to tackle top coats today. As I stated in my other installments, I want to remind everyone these are just my preferences. Everyone reacts differently to products, and I can not promise that everyone will have the same positive experience with these products as I do.

TOP COATS

My Current Favorite combination to date that I use most often is:
 NYC Grand Central Station and Seche Vite.

Grand Central is a pretty impressive fast dry top coat that I apply under my Seche Vite. It is very inexpensive and works perfectly for what I need it to. It can be purchased at most drug stores.

Next is Seche Vite. Now, you may be asking yourself why I use BOTH. Why do I layer NYC Grand Central under my Seche Vite? Reason: Seche Vite is one of those top coats that has crazy behavioral problems. Mainly it causes what is called 'shrinkage'. This doesn't occur in all users, but it does with me.

Shrinkage: When the top coat causes the nail polish below to shrink ,so to speak, and pull away from the nail edges. It's most evident on the free edge (tip of your nail). The best and easiest way to describe it would be: It makes your nails look as if the polish you have on is worn out like tip wear.

Seche Vite is infamous for shrinkage. You can prevent shrinkage by thinning the polish with Restore or you can layer it over another top coat, and that is what I do. It may seem like a waste to use another top coat underneath, but it is very worth it. To date I have not found a better top coat than Seche Vite.

POSITIVES:
 *Self Leveling
(levels everything better than any other top coat)
*Best Shine
*Fastest Drying Time

NEGATIVES:
*Causes Shrinkage
*Needs to be thinned CONSTANTLY

Keep in mind if you would like to use Seche Vite you have to decide if the extra steps are worth it for you, and for me they are. Seche Vite can be purchased at Sally's Beauty Supply.



Next up is Posh. A lot of people that refuse to use Seche Vite tend to use this as an alternative. It does not seem to have the shrinkage problems that Seche Vite has. It is not without its faults as well. To me this tends to be too temperamental for me.  Some times I have great luck with it and others I do not. I have had polishes where it wrinkled the finish completely and I had to start over. It does not dry as fast as Seche Vite and it is not as shiny. The times it does work, it is a nice top coat. I have not decided if I'm going to purchase this again once I finish off this existing bottle.This polish also needs thinner regularly to keep it from getting too thick.  Posh can be purchased at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Next is Good to Go by Essie.  This top coat I LOVE. It does not dry as fast as Seche Vite, but it is very shiny. It does not require the thinning that the two others above do, and it does not cause shrinkage. Unfortunately, it does not have that beautiful self leveling property that Seche Vite has that I really love and think is very important in a top coat. This can be purchased at Walgreens.

(*please note that both the Good to Go and Posh do not have a normal faint pink coloring, this is because I used them on red polishes that caused the discoloration).

The next two polishes I use occasionally, they are both also popular favorites with the nail blogging community. Sally Hansen's Mega Shine and Insta-Dry. Both of these polishes can be purchased in any major drug store. I know many nail bloggers that swear by these two top coats. I like both, but to me they lack the self leveling power, shine, and drying speed that Seche Vite has.

Many will argue that they are better than Seche Vite, so I believe it is a personal preference. I think it's bet to try each, until you find the one that really wows you. 

Another top coat that I use often is Seche Vite UV. There are times when I have ZERO time and need my nails to dry yesterday.  This is when I turn to this.

This can be purchased at Sally Beauty Supply and is an absolute MUST for me at times. This does require the use of a UV LAMP/LIGHT. After applying this I place my hands under the dryer, and in minutes my polish is dried solid. I can be washing dishes and cleaning within 20 minutes or less. I swear by this stuff and if you can afford to purchase a light, this is a must have. I will go into more detail on my light in my last and final installment of this series, so stay tuned for that.

Another must have top coat for me is Glitter Food (aka Fix a Flat) by Nail Pattern Boldness. Glitter Food can be purchased HERE. This is a must for the glitter junkies out there like myself.  If you want a really smooth finish to a normally bumpy glitter... this is this answer. I apply one or two coats of this and then finish it off with Seche Vite. The reason I finish it off with Seche Vite is Glitter Food does dry matte, so add your favorite top coat to bring back the shine. I have had the bumpiest of all glitters feel smooth as glass after applying this.

Last in my arsenal of must have top coats is MATTE top coat. Everyone should own at least one of these. I have tried both China Glaze Matte Magic and Hard Candy's matte top coat.

I prefer, by far, Hard Candy's. It applies much easier for me and is much more affordable. Unfortunately, Hard Candy just discontinued this when they introduced their new line recently. It was pretty heart breaking for me because I will have to search for a new brand. I was smart enough to raid my local Walmarts and collect up as many as I could find before Hard Candy switched over to the new line.

These should last me for awhile. I will have to face it eventually, just not any time soon :)

I hope the following information was helpful. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below and I will address them as soon as I can! Thanks for visiting.

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