Manicure Monday: Tickle Me Pink (Julep + Zoya)

So a joint effort was made by Julep and Zoya to create this "Tickle Me Pink" look for your nails. Off course my nails are super ugly right now ... not only am I biter but winter is really rough for my hands. In the winter I tend to bleed a lot and chaff also I am still recovering from a BOTCHED acrylic with gel overlay procedure by Studio Nails in Southgate Mall. (Another Entry on this MISHAP later)

 so this is a no flash snapshot of the nail colour using the two types of nail polish. Julep one is a darker more robust pink called "Nicey" and Zoya is a softer hue, more girly called" Shelby". I have a small pedastool with poka dots I use as my sit on the group manicure table as to not drip onto the carpet, floor and other objects etc. I got this thing at IKEA, quite useful esp when I can't really reach the top shelf of my nail polishes. (refer to this blog entry for a look: fashion sense page )

Those are three shots using flash of the nails and how they look out of the bottle. Sometimes nail polishes looks quite different in the bottle versus on your nails. 

I think this look is perfect for those who love pink. Or even for those wanting to be a bit girly. The use of both colours makes it FRESHER and gives it a bit of edge. I suppose when my nails grow longer I will revisit this look and put other colours or designs. But I am a simplist and enjoy looks like these. 

What I noticed from the two different types of nail polishes is that Julep is quite thick and one application sometimes is enough to get that nice coated look on your nails. Zoya is not as thick and may require a few more swipes. Both have great colour and dry relatively fast. (I use Julep's quick dry drops) Despite the size difference Zoya actually has more ml n the bottle. 15 versus 8 ml. So bottle size can be a bit deceiving. 

I got both in BEAUTY BOXES so I do not really know how much I would be willing to pay for it if I saw it at the stores. I know that SEPHORA carries JULEP in their stores though their selection is limited compared to the BEAUTY BOX and online selection. 

I do enjoy that ZOYA has a disclaimer on the back of their bottle saying that their nail polish is "formaldehyde and etc FREE" which is great. My nails are already weak and brittle. Julep's contents are smaller and on a tiny round sticker at the bottom of the bottle. I would put my glasses on and read it but I am too lazy... maybe another time.

I believe that the quality of these two nail polishes are awesome in and I dare say eve better than OPI which was the craze .. I EMPHASIZE on was.  

For those interested in JULEP subscriptions click this button  below: (or this is my manual code :2860858) 

        I have put both buttons here since I switch between the two profiles

Relax Sunday: Beauty Routines to Start the New Week

Its sunday again, the day of rest, the day to rejuvenate so you can once again face the upcoming week. This week was relatively relaxing for me already since I had reading week so I really have no complaints. The only dread on a sunday is that next day. I swear when the clock strikes 5PM i start to hate a bit, I start to complain and whine because I KNOW in a few short hours it will be that time again. TIME TO FACE THE WORLD. So what do I do to help me relax, so that I can once again go into the trenches and DO WORK?

First of all I go for a nice hot bath with a bath bomb. During Xmas times there was a booth set up in Southgate where they sold bath bombs that worked out to be 1.50 per bath bomb. FOR THOSE who know about bath bombs and love them you know how expensive they can be. The ones from LUSH are extremely extravagant and expensive. I think the cheapest one there is around $3.50 something. I haven't gone there in a while since I am really allergic to all the smells. Too much at once results in teary eyes and people think I had a breakdown. So I went for a tangerine bath bomb that made my skin silky smooth and the EXTREMELY hot bath felt like a great detox.

 here is one of my bath set up samples . it turns your bath into a nice pretty colour and  who could forget! the useful bath pillow I actually have two now.

I also advise using a beauty mask. I usually go for the restorative ones on a Sunday but this time I went for Taiwan brand "My Beauty Diary" series. The Pearl Mask. 

I bought this box of 10 pieces on SASA.com (for more information please click on my entry on How to Combat the DRYNESS of Edmonton ). I don't really follow the instructions and leave it on for 15 min. I tend to leave it on till it is almost dried so thats about 30 to 40 min. After I took the masks off I do want to say my skin seemed to shine brighter, I am not proclaiming that my skin as whiter or white like a "white person" but it seemed to glow more and there was less of a "dead skin" darkness look. I would say the look is almost equivalent to what KOREAN's look for in perfect skin. Off course, I'm super asian so I used the remainder of the JUICES on my neck (very important area for girls that are often ignored) my arms, scar tissue etc) Its wasteful not to use it all. You can find this series on SASA.com or even at TNT supermarket.

Though Edmonton may not be as dirty as major cities in terms of air pollution, you can still get some nasty plugged up pores. I use pore strips for my nose once a week to unplug and get rid of the nasties. I didn't take a pic of the after since it legit looks like little white worms sticking onto your nose strip. EWWWWwwwww

I bought these BIORE strips from ASIA in WATSONS but I have seem similar packages here. Note I have ones for white and dark heads nose strips these particular ones are for white head. 

For those who do not have super long eyelashes and want a fuller look you can use 

I also bought this in WATSONS (3 of them) and have been using them daily. I found that my lashes are stronger. I do have to be careful not to put too much during the day since it does clump up and ends up looking like eye boogers. It is relatively cheap I believe I go this stick for around $30 CAD. I don't have any before and after pics yet since I had a bit of a set back after I got eyelash extensions from L. Lash Bar. The technician was so new and ended up doing such a poor job that my eyelashes kept falling off or becoming twisted. I lost so many lashes. Hopefully this serum will help me regain what I have lost. 

But if you want to see some proof here is another blogger I found who has used it and has some BEFORE AND AFTER . and after googling it some more I found even white people use it... NOT ONLY ASIANS. This is great for the price you pay. ! 

After all week of walking around, the feet needs some loving and caring. I use  a variety of foot scrubs and balms to keep these babies happy. But recently I have been using Julep's INSTANT WARMING FOOT SCRUB. Like what it says on the back, it does make you say WOW. After using cold water on my one foot I put about a dime size on (it says to use nickel but my feet are tiny) The smell was awesome, def needed if your feet don't  exactly smell like roses. and it was warm and exfoliated my feet at the same time. You are left with a softer foot and it feels moisturized and not dry. You can instantly feel the difference. 

 This pic above is before the scrub (note the tiny hello kitty bandaid on my pinky... yes my nail ripped off at the gym =.)

EWWWww yes I have nasty feet. 

So that is my routine for a nice Sunday relaxing and pampering yourself. 

Nailpolish Addiction: Julep Maven (Feb Box)

I am subscribed to various beauty boxes and one of them is the nail polish/ beauty product geared monthly subscription box from the US: Julep. Though I often bite my nails( the nervous type) I do at times grow my nails out and can utilized my massive nail polish collection. As seen under my Beauty tab, and the picture of my two rows of nail polish from OPI, ESSIE, JULEP, NAIL FOOD (korea), I adore nail polish.

So JULEP costs 19.99 a month plus taxes and it includes 2 nail polishes usually and some sort of other beauty product. In the past I have gotten quick try drops, cuticle butter, mascara, lip stick as the additional beauty product. All of the high in quality and made in USA. Like any subscription they gauge you by using a survey to determine what nail polishes they should choose. You can also add on another nail polish or two during a set period of time for a low price of 4.99.

This is this months box plus the extras I ordered:

As you can see my box this month was super loaded I added 2 extra polishes. Included is a eyelash curler that is portable.

Originally 18 dollars and 14 for members I am already more than half way their for the cost of my box.
"Made with a patented Hexanal formulation, nails are restructured to a stronger, thicker, and smoother condition in just one stroke. Results are nails that are structurally stronger, and less prone to breakage and splitting. "
I have yet to use it so I do not know how great it works * more updates later* I had a similar bottle from Sally Hansen but I also didn't use it long enough to see if it actually had beneficial effects. But if it does work it is perfect for those who have brittle nails from biting, and from those who often use nail salon services to get acrylic and gel nail sets

According to Julep it is originally 18 dollars and for members 14. "Activated by natural light, this innovative formula creates a unique polymer force field that prevents chipping for days longer than regular top coat, leaving your nails with a gel-like shine (but without gel-removal hassle)."

This is perfect since my manicures chip due to me using my hands and or being really clumsy.

I also adore the fact that each nail polish has a person's name such as "ginger, laura, rose" etc. They are quite matching to their colour.I also like how they have an area on the top of the nail polish cap for a swatch (says swatch me" so you know the colour of what it looks like out of the bottle)

I also love how they include a candy every time , during halloween it was these orange candies that look like teeth and in xmas it was cute candy canes. This month for feb we got little hearts.

Here is a pic I found of another person's box , as you can see they got different colours due to their profile.

Shipping for additional products outside of your monthly box is free and if you want it faster it doesn't cost to much. When it ships free it usually gets there within a week. I recommend this box and i think it is SOOO WORTH IT for the money.