Half Magic

Inspiration: Half Magic on page 44 of the March/April 2016 issue of Nail It!

Products: Julep Nicolette, Art Club Nail Art Duo Silver Glitter, It's So Easy Foil 'Em Kit

Thoughts: I think my foil glue was getting old because it was not working as well as it used to.  Also, instead of using striping tape like in the tutorial, I did a strip of silver glitter because a.) I didn't have enough silver striping tape and b.) I am horrible at applying striping tape.

Electric Halo

Inspiration: Electric Halo on page 46 of the January/February 2016 issue of Nail It!

Products: Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat, Zoya Maya, Art Club Nail Art Duo Gold Glitter

Thoughts: Once again, I started with a good base of Oxygen since this was another negative space tutorial.  Since the hole reinforcers need to be removed while the polish is still wet, a good one-coat polish is definitely needed.  Unfortunately, Maya was not that, but I got the reinforcers up without too much damage.

Gypsy Goddess

Inspiration: Gypsy Goddess on page 45 of the January/February 2016 issue of Nail It!

Products: Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat, Madam Glam Text Me Later, Pipe Dream Mas Fina, Art Club Nail Art Duo Silver Glitter

Thoughts: When doing negative space art, I like to start with a good base coat so the nail peaking through can look its best.  Oxygen is matte, but a good top coat will take care of that. The tutorial called for a third silver line between the other two, but a.) I did not leave enough room and b.) the silver was not dark enough to really pop anyway.

Blue Moon

Inspiration: Blue Moon on page 44 of the January/February 2016 issue of Nail It!

Products: Julep Shelby, Sanaa, Kris, and Harley

Thoughts: This tutorial showed a technique for filling in the moon - place three dots and then connect them to form the outer line as a guide for where to fill in.  I tried this and it is a good technique, but the glitter in Kris was not cooperating, so I had to free hand.  For the accent nail, I used the hole reinforcement method since I decided to do Sanaa on top of Harley since it was glittery (but smaller glitter than Kris).

In the Box: September 2015 Julep Maven

This month, all Mavens received Julep (polish name) in their September Julep box (clicking will take you through my referral link).  I still went with my normal Modern Beauty, which got me Length Matters Mascara (which I already had - oops) and Light on Your Lips in Last Call (my choice).

Pink Zebra

Inspiration: July 2015 Julep Maven Box (clicking will take you through my referral link)

Products:Julep Alexa and Brittany

Thoughts: My best attempt yet at stamping!  Brittany is not my favorite color, but it makes the perfect base to stamp the more purple-y Alexa.

In the Box: July 2015 Julep Maven

Normally I go for Modern Beauty for my Julep box here (clicking will take you through my referral link), but for July, it included the new shower oil, Rethink Your Shower, and a giant Konjac sponge, which did not interest me. I did want to try the shower oil, though, so I went with Classic with a Twist, which included Brittany and Alexa.

Street Art Chic

Inspiration: Street Art Chic on page 71 of the March/April 2015 issue of Nail It!

Products: Julep Nicolette, Abbie, Harley, Annie, Leah, and Max

Thoughts: Absolutely love this look - and no special tools were needed at all.  It's hip, fun, and can work with any four colors.

Hearts on My Toes

Inspiration: February 2015 Julep Maven Box (clicking will take you through my referral link)

Products: Julep Hartleigh

Thoughts: Sometimes, I just like to put three coats of glitter on my toes.  I find three coats is what works best for full glitter coverage, and it lasts longer on my toes than on my fingers.  These are my Valentine's Day toes.

In the Box: February 2015 Julep Maven

For the second year in a row, Julep has added a nail polish for Valentine's Day in all Julep Maven boxes (clicking will take you through my referral link).  This year, the polish was Hartleigh, a fun heart glitter.

What other goodies did I receive?  Glow Highlighting Powder in Champagne, Illume Eye Brightener in Rise and Shine...and more Hartleighs to give to friends!  I am giving one away here; just fill out the Rafflecopter below.  Winner will be contacted on Valentine's Day.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Metamorphic

Inspiration: January 2015 Julep Maven Box (clicking will take you through my referral link)

Products: Julep Sandi and Bjork

Thoughts: Julep said they had a new top coat that will change the color of any nail, and they were right.  The top picture shows Sandi by itself (it's more purple in real life).  The bottom shows with a coat of Bjork.  What was a smoky purple turns into a lovely duochrome of sparkly blue/teal and iridescent purple.

In the Box: January 2015 Julep Maven

Normally I go for Modern Beauty for my Julep box here (clicking will take you through my referral link), but for January, it included the new Luxe Lip and Brilliance.  I have so many Brilliance, that I have been giving them away.  I opted for the Bombshell box which had Sandi, a lovely smokey grape creme.  Also, if you clicked through an email last month, you were able to get a free random Metamorphic Top Coat.  The color I received was Bjork.

What other goodies did I get?  Luxe Lip in Sheer Fig, Gel Eye Glider in Navy Smoke.

Christmas Star

Inspiration: Solar Attraction on page 73 of the November/December 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products: Julep Stefani and Bunny, Art Club Nail Art Duo White

Thoughts: The tutorial showed how to do a white-on-white sun, but as I cannot even draw a circle with my right hand, there was no way I could with my left, so I went with a simple star for the holiday season.  Out of all the whites and greys I have, I went with these two because they both have gold microflecks, although they are more noticable in Stefani than Bunny.

Thanksgiving Spice

Inspiration: Color

Products: Julep Ingrid and Tatiana

Thoughts: I wanted to do a horizontal stripe of Tatiana across each nail, but my painter's tape (which is amazing), was pulling up Ingrid even though it had been on for half an hour.  I ended up just topping Ingrid with Tatiana, but even after two hours, Ingrid still seems to be wet.

Divergent Diagonals

Inspiration: Color

Products: Julep Stefani and Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat

Thoughts: I was trying to imitate a sweatshirt I had with my nails, and this actually turned out really well.  My secret?  Painter's tape!

Digging for Diamonds

Inspiration: Libertine: Digging for Diamonds on page 32 of the July/August 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products: Julep Tin Man, mystery color, Camille, and Max

Thoughts: I love the sparkle of these nails (I mean, I did use four glitters after all)!  I didn't do the last step of applying craft glitter diamonds because I thought that would be just a tad too much.  The black and gold glitter does not have a name, but it came in the Julep New Years Eve 2012 mystery box.

Golden Arch

Inspiration:  Nail It! Nailtini Nail Art Contest #2

Products: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rosy Outlook, Julep Monaco, and foil in Gold

Thoughts: To celebrate their partnership with Nailtini this month, Nail It! Magazine is running three Instagram contests based on the mood boards for each of their three polishes.  The second contest focuses on Blue Magic and is all about Moroccan architecture and the artwork of Lauren Clay.  One of the artwork pics features a pink triangle, so I combined that with the gold and blue arches found in Moroccan architecture.

Purple Dots

Inspiration:  August 2014 Julep Maven (clicking will take you through my referral link)

Products:  Julep Avni and Katie

Thoughts:  Normally I choose Modern Beauty, but as the second product for the Modern Beauty box this month was the Sweep Eyeshadow Palette in Neutral, which everyone received towards the end of last year, I switched for the first time ever.  I love Chromes and Metallics, so I was totally in love with this month's Wanderlust collection.  I chose Classic with a Twist so I could get these two gorgeous purpley colors and chose Plum for my Gel Eye Glider.  Avni is beautiful, but was a pain to apply.  It was really thick but would run off the brush.  Katie applied was closer to their normal formula.  I chose the design that was close to what Julep showed when the announced the colors.

Negative Space Knit

Inspiration: Emerson: Negative Space Knit on page 32 of the July/August 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products: Ruffian Ruffian Cire Noir, China Glaze Hook and Line, Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat

Thoughts: I have never tried a negative space mani before, but this was really simple and the painter's tape worked excellently!  I love the look of the soft grey sponged over the black.

Bikini Beach

Inspiration:  Color

Products: Essie Bobbing for Baubles, Square Hue Wailea, Finger Paints Art Nouv-Yellow, Deborah Lippmann Defying Gravity, Julep Olivia

Thoughts: These muted hues made for a rather fun summer look - a good alternative to bright neons.  I do have to say, though, that I am very disappointed with this Square Hue polish (the tan).  This was my second time using it after getting it last month, and the polish in the bottle is forming an wonderful gradient as the dye all sinks to the bottom and it won't mix no matter how much I roll it.