Wanderlust and Polishes

Happy Monday my dear friends!
I hope you have a great start to your week.  We had quite a bit of rain last night that melted most of the snow outside.  But the week before that, it was sunny, blue skies with lots of snow.  Although it is certainly cold, it is absolutely beautiful and I feel very blessed to have the chance of living in a winter wonderland.  How is the weather like where you live?

As an aid-worker for an Alzheimer's Disease Patient, part of my day would be taking her for a long walk.  She loves the outdoors;  with the proper winter gear, we are set to walk and walk with no problem.  Recently, I had the idea of taking a few polish bottles with me and taking pictures with them when an opportunity arise.  I call this new fad of mine #WanderlustAndPolishes, hehehe...  The lake where we usually take our walks is so beautiful,  I can't help it.

Remember this water decal nail art?  It's been 6 days and look! besides the normal nail growth, there's no chips nor signs of wear.  Mind you, I also clean homes as 'another' job (part-time), I do wear gloves, but still;  this mani is probably bullet proof, haha! And no, it's not gel or shellac, just plain polish on my natural nails.

And here are my babies out on a walk with me.

"And they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of golden star light in your eyes are blue...."

These polishes are called "Stardust" from Avon... so reminds me of that Carpenter's song, though...

I am sending you warm love from my snowy lake... (yup, that is a frozen lake behind me).

I hope you spend some time outdoors too, breathe some fresh air and feel the sun on your skin...
Rumor has it, it's good for you *wink*

Thank you for visiting my blog again dear friends!
I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you...

Love, Maya

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The Best Gel Polish Removal Wraps | Julep Party's Over, Sensationail Foil Wraps and Hands Down Bandage Style Wraps

In this post, I will be showing you comparisons of Gel Polish Removal Wraps
~ Julep Party's Over Rubber Caps
~ Sensationail Foil Wraps and
~ Hands Down Bandage Style Wraps

Wanderlust | Julep Subscription Box August 2014

"I believe it's time for another adventure."

Wanderlust - noun, a strong innate desire to rove or travel about.

Origin: 1850–55; < German, equivalent to wander(n) to wander + Lust desire; see lust

I am guilty of being attracted to this box because of it's name "Wandelust."  If money was no object, I would surely travel the world... lol..  Although it's not the world right now, I still wish to rove about and see new places and experience new things. Why is summer in Canada sooooo short? :-(  So now, we try to do as much as possible and soak up the heat as much as we can.  I am so dreading the coming of winter right now... I am gearing up for the cold winter months by racking in some polishes, lol.  Then I'll sit by the warm fire and do nails... for now, I will show you the polishes that come in my mail faster than I could use them... wa ha ha!!!

Poolside Collection | July 2014 Julep Maven Subscription Box and a Little Customer Service Story

I just received my August 2014 Subscription Box called Wanderlust in the mail today.  I am very excited to show you that box.  Aren't the colors super pretty?  I am excited about this Stardust Finish as the first one I got was super pretty.  But first, Let me show you what I got in the July 2014 Poolside Collection box...

HELEN by Julep | Polish Swatch {My 100th post, wow!!!}

Helen - smoky pastel, lavender creme. 
I like how unassuming this color is, yet it is cheerful, not dark. Perfect for those days when you would like a well polished finger tips without the screaming "look at me! look at me" lol...

WANDERLUST - Another Julep Box | July and August 2014

Poolside Collection | Julep July 2014

 

Hmmm, just wanting to share my selections for July 2014 from the Julep Poolside collection.  It's that time again when Julep offers the 'window' for selecting what you would like to receive in your monthly box.  That window is now open for August.  I was a little disappointed that this window is already open when I haven't received my July box in the mail yet.  I almost forgot what I got in my July box until I revisited this draft that I made last month.

Three Wishes | Julep June 2014 | Special Post

If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?
I present to you Julep's June 2014 Collection named "Three Wishes"

This collection is composed of glitter (yay), metallics and chromes... Of course, wishes comes with shine and sparkle... right? I am very excited about these new polishes because....

I hope you would continue reading.  You'll find polish, swatches and haul photos with a little bit of a personal, very meaningful story (at least to me ;)  I hope that you would enjoy...

                

Red Flowers and Golden Glitter

Monica - Dark pink, almost red polish with blueish-purple and silver micro glitters. 

Julep Nail Polish Haul (Oscars Special Sales, Late Post :)

In this haul I have:
2 Oscars gold-sequin bag
From left to right: Ava, Yumi, Paris, Greta and Anisa
Holly, Greta, 2 Oscars (golden-glitter), Monica, Wendy and Portia
2 Freedom Polymer TopCoats

Julep have been offering great deals a few days before their Maven Window.  A few girls have been commenting on Julep's FB page that they have been missing these sales.  I feel bad that just days prior to this, they spend over $25 US without the added perks.  So, this would be a kind-of FYI to my dear fellow Mavens. ;) If you are not into Julep yet, please allow me to elaborate. ;)

Pink Glamour and Glitter (Featuring Julep's Ava, Yumi and Paris)

Pink Glamour and Glitter 

Featuring Julep's Ava, Yumi and Paris

A floral design featuring "HOLLY" from Julep

It was another stormy day and the snow is piling fast outside.  The cold wind and the gloomy skies make everything outside the window dark and sad...  Good thing I could cuddle up in a blanket near this lovely fireplace and enjoy it's warmth.  Oh, keeping up with it made my hands and nails black with charcoal and my right thumbnail was compromised.  That is sad but I cared more for the warmth.  The clean-up afterwards inspired me to do a whole pampering-session for my hands and walah!  I got inspired to finish up the works with a nice nail art.

I started with "Holly" from Julep - a beautiful, shimmery, dark green with a bluish tone to it.  It applied quite nicely over my basecoat.  It was opaque and the consistency was great.  But I opted to apply two thin coats as usual.  I added "Portia" also from Julep, a mix of green, blue and silver glitters, over a gradient-dab of "Holly" for some pretty effect. The minty green is called "Jade" from Avon.

Then staring at the polish to dry, waiting for a few minutes... You know what happens next - Yup, to add this and that... and I came up with some flower petals...

Finished it up with my favorite topcoat - the Freedom Polymer from Julep. What do you think of the outcome?

Please do comment below and let me know your opinion.  I hope you have a happy and refreshing weekend :)

~* Maya *~

For more Nail Art designs, please visit my Nail Art Gallery

Thank you and have a fancy nails day! 

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Julep Subscription: 

Frequency & Cost: $19.99/a month (price increases with add-ons)

[Thank you kindly if you use my referral link] 

Products: at least two nail polishes and one beauty product; or three nail polishes; or pure beauty products (your choice) 

Ships To: US and Canada 

Shipping Cost: FREE standard shipping (5 - 10 days) for "Julep Mavens" (subscriber)

Promo Code: use code FREEBOX or FREECOLOR to get your first box free! (small shipping fee applies for first order only; shipping is free with a minimum purchase of $10.00) 

If you'd like to know more about Julep, you can get more information about it here.

Have you heard about JULEP?

    

Nail art collection and 

How to get your first box free :)

    Many of you already know Julep and their Julep Maven Program.  For those who are new at this, it is essentially a Nail Polish and Beauty Products monthly subscription.  If you sign-up for this, you are then dubbed "Maven."
 

I just skipped this month's box :( so sad....

     How does it work? You can take a short fashion quiz at the beginning and then you are assigned a fashion style.  I took the quiz and I was dubbed the "Classic with a twist."  For the love of nail polish though, I opted instead for "It girl."  (Yes, you can change Fashion styles, lol)

From this, you are to receive either a box of 3 polishes or a box with 2 polishes plus a beauty product or a box with purely beauty products and no polishes. As of May 2014, Julep introduced a few more options such as customizing the contents of your box.

In the end, you can stick to the fashion style assigned to you based on your answers or try others styles by switching manually. Of course you can also get more than one box for that particular month or get the entire wardrobe (upgraded box)!  That means all the products in each style.  That is about 9 polishes and up to 2 beauty products.  Sometimes Mystery Boxes are also offered where as the name implies, you can't be too sure what you are going to get.  It will always have nail polishes of course. 

     Some girls had problems with being a Maven and eventually cancelled their accounts.  Personally, I love the polishes and I don't mind the subscription.  I can't always afford to get the monthly box.  So I am very glad that Julep allows you to skip a month for any number of months without loosing your membership.  Many complain that the polish does not stick well to the nails, therefore the manicure only last for a few days.  Well, this has always been the case for me even with other brands.  So I can't blame Julep for that.  Some complain about the formula or the consistency... bad frizzy brushes and the like... I must be a very good girl because I haven't had such troubles... yet :)  Seriously speaking, I think this are random occurrences which are unavoidable if you are producing thousands of polishes.  Customer service has always been accommodating as per my experience.

    

Smart Shopping
This is regular price $84.00
Got it only for $35.00 :)

     Price? A bottle of polish is very pricey ($14.00 or $11.20 for mavens).  This is so if you buy the polish at regular price.  My advice?  Stick to the monthly box or shop during special sales like a "warehouse sale"  or during special holidays.  You will be able to get polishes for as low as $2.50 each!  

For example, I have been drooling over Ophra's Favorite Things Collection but it cost $84.00. That's steep.  So I waited and waited and it paid off!!!  During the past "warehouse sale" it costs only $35.00 (see photo).  What do you say to that?  Other polishes were, as I mentioned as low as $2.50... Well, they were $4.99.  But when you do the Beauty-Bio quiz, you get a promo code for 50% off...  See what I mean by shopping during sales?  Now that is smart shopping :)

    

The three bottles on the right were from my first box ever.
I paid a penny for that :)
The rest is the Glamour Box Collection
I got for FREE courtesy of the referral program.

     Another perk that I really like is the referral program.  When you refer a friend, you get 1000 JULES (referral points).  Buying a monthly box gives you at least 300 points.  Jules increases as you upgrade your box. 

Your birthday and Julep anniversary earn your Jules as well.  This month, I had both my birthday and anniversary.  Hence, I was able to collect enough points to get me the "Party's Over" glitter remover set for free. 

What's the benefit?  Well, well... You can get a free monthly box of any style for 2000 points!  Or you can get the entire wardrobe for 5000 points! Guess what I did?  I told all my friends and family about it, showed them a couple of polishes and told them I want to earn a free box.  Then 5 of my ever wonderful, loving family and friends signed up and I got the points I needed to get the entire month's collection.  The happy, happy thing about this is... when I accumulated the points, the month's collection included the Polymer Topcoat and Oxygen Treatment.  Plus 2 bottles of polishes extra with the Lacquer Jewelry box!  How awesome was that?  Yup, I hit the jackpot, lol...

So dear, if you want to join Julep please give the referral bonus to a friend.  If you don't know anyone, uhmmm, I will be more than happy to refer you, lol... (no, really :)  O yeah, I got me the DD cream and concealer as well.  Cause you know, I had enough Jules.  Awesome huh? :)

     Overall, I love being a Julep Maven.  I wish that one day I would win a Golden box, where you get the entire collection as a prize.  Indeed, free! One Maven gets this every month.  Sometimes you can find a really great surprise on the box too like a gift card or vacation... yes vacation... I have not won any of these... but who knows?  Someday?

Would you be interested in knowing more about Julep?



Basics:

Frequency & Cost: Starts from US $24.99/a month or $19.99 if you pre-pay for three months each time. Price increases with add-ons, upgrades and contents-customization.

Products: at least two nail polishes and one beauty product; or three nail polishes; or pure beauty products (your choice).  You may swap and add products to customize.  Or you may also shop for individual products and deals besides the subscription box.

Perks:  New Mavens earns a "Skip" every 6 months.  You may also choose to send out your box to someone else as a gift.

Ships To: US and Canada 

Shipping Cost: FREE standard shipping (5 - 10 days) for Mavens (subscriber)

Promo Code: Use code FREEBOX or FREECOLOR to get your first box free! (small shipping fee applies for first order only; Shipping for free box is waived with a minimum purchase of $10.00) 

Point System: Referrals and Subscription purchases earns reward points called "Jules," redeemable for free Julep Monthly Boxes or add-ons.  Referrals who order for the first time will earn you 1000 Jules (2000 Jules = 1 free subscription box).  Subscription boxes earns at least 300 Jules and increases with upgrades.

Thank you kindly if you sign-up using my referral link.
Or copy/paste this URL in your browser: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/35704/

If you'd like more information, please feel free to 
email me at prettynailsandtea@gmail.com
or send me a message on my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pretty.Nails.And.Tea
or send me a direct message on my Instagram @prettynails_andtea
or kik me @pnat_jar

I am looking forward to hear from you...
~*Maya*~

  
    

Glam Up My Nails Serries: My Julep Obsession

"Sweet Alicia"
with Oscar accent nail

 

 ~~ Glam Up My Nails ~~

     Very modest as I am when it comes to fashion and accessories, I do like to glam up my style once in a while ~ a simple yet sophisticated look.  Nail art specially captured me.  It's very fashionable, yet it can be as demure or as outgoing as you want it to be.  What wonderful things you can do with your nails!  Express creativity, moods, and enhance well-being through those seemingly unassuming finger tips...  In other words... I developed a craze for Nail polish and nail art paraphernalia.

I painted this one while watching "Roman Holiday"
Did I capture some of the romance?

  
       Julep Nail Polish form an integral part of my nail polish and nail art collection.  Thanks to their program called "Julep Maven."  Although there are some kinks along the way with regards to my product experience, my enjoyment of the program and the products themselves still outweigh any troubles.  In a few of my articles, I wish to share this experience with you - from colors to designs even emotions :)  You can decide for yourself whether or not you would like to be a part of this program as well.

      For now, I want to share with you this two designs I made and have enjoyed using Julep Polishes.  To carry out the company's tradition, I named these designs in honor of the polishes' titles :)  What is your favorite nail art design?

 

   

"Bubbly Sandra"
I think a strip of Glitter can make any design 'sparkle', lol.

      *I used the ever raved about "polymer top coat" in this design and loved it.  My manicure held on for a week!  It was just allowed to air dry (No UV lamp used and no reapplication of top coat done, although recommended.) There were visible signs of wear on the tips as well as lifting on the cuticle part but no chips.  Thoroughly pleased :)

You may find more of my nail art designs here: facebook.com/nail.arts.by.jem

Up next: I'll tell you how it is like being a "Julep Maven" for me.

     

Disclaimer:  The products discussed in this article are private purchases and  not company-gratuities.

For Julep Polishes:

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/35704/

Use code FREEBOX at checkout to get your first box free (value of $19.99)