Julep Anne & Hungry Asian Mumbling

Hello world!! Man... it has been AGES since I have posted on here. Luckily, Shbecky's dedication to Legally Lacquered (and her polish addiction) has kept the blog afloat.

Just yesterday though, I got a couple of polish shipments in the mail and had to post my NOTD. I have been hearing great things about Julep Anne for so long now - highly pigmented vibrant purple. It is about time that I snagged my own bottle. I did note, from other bloggers, that the formula on this polish was not great. Boy were they right. My first coat of Anne was a complete disaster. The polish was thick and clumpy. I had high hopes that the second coat would even it out - especially since I added some thinner to the polish - but I was wrong. It was still a thick, uneven mess. The color is certainly brilliant, but I couldn't leave the disaster on my nails. It would drive me nuts!! So I added Hungry Asian's Mumbling - a decadent mix of gold and silver holographic hex glitter in small, medium and large. When I tell you that Mumbling is to die for, I mean it. We all have those polishes that are literally show stoppers. You can't help but stare at your own nails every time the light hits them. Mumbling is that polish.

1 coat Orly Bonder + 2 coats Julep Anne + 1 coat Seche Vite + 1 coat Hungry Asian Mumbling + 1 coats Seche Vite

Blurry picture that does NOT do the holo-ness of Mumbling justice!

I SO wish I had a picture of my mani for you before I added the Mumbling so you could see the Julep Anne disaster. The color is really brilliant, so I can't blame you for snagging a bottle. I just expected more from a polish that is on the pricey end. And I know everyone has their personal take on Julep bottles but I have to admit - not a fan. Because the brush is submerged in the bottle, you have to wipe off access every time you dip it in. Not to mention, you can't really set this bottle on the table while you paint your nails (at least I can't cause I don't trust myself not to knock it down). Makes the whole process a struggle. I bought a couple of other Juleps during my binge - so hopefully they won't be a disappointment formula wise. With regards to Mumbling - loved the bottle and the brush just as much as the polish itself. OBSESSED!

You can buy Julep from their website and Kae from Hungry Asian sells her fabulous handmade polishes on Etsy. She is also just an incredibly sweet girl and loves what she does - which is always a plus in my book.

Anywhoooo I am off to work on my note (aka. ginormous paper) for my journal. Not a fun process, as you can imagine. Especially when I am on Spring Break! Hope you all enjoyed your weekends and I hope to be a bit more regular with the blogging =)

Peace, love, and polish galoreee

Sony T

Julep: Natalie - Pink Wednesday

Hey everyone!  Sorry about the late post, I was busy with work adventures today.  I got to go to the FEC's meeting on political ad disclosures on Facebook.  Petty interesting stuff.  I meant to take pictures of this mani last night, but the boyfriend was asleep and looked pretty darn peaceful.  I managed to chip it at the gym this AM, but I really wanted to share this so I swatched it for you all.  For our 3rd Pink Wednesday I have Julep Natalie.  This is the 3rd Julep I am showing you, so you probably have gotten the details pretty well now.  Julep polishes are 3 Free and come in the lip gloss-esque bottle.  Natalie has a great formula and is perfectly opaque in 2 coats.  It's also remarkably self-evening. 

2 coats Natalie + Seche Vite, artificial light

If this looks a little familiar to you, don't worry - you aren't crazy.  This looks A LOT like Misa Push Up Bra.  I even had the same photography issues.  Push Up Bra is the slightest bit brighter though.  They are both bright peachy pink cremes that I love.  This one is way more bright AND pink than this IRL.  No color tweaking fixes this.  My guess is this just must be a camera quirk.  The one thing strange about Natalie is the brush.  It's great, but the wand and brush are way longer than my other 2.  See what I mean?

Natalie and the long brush

Amy with a short brush

It didn't change application at all, I just thought it was peculiar.  I hope you all enjoyed Pink Wednesday this week!  Get ready for a new holo gem of mine tomorrow :) (No not MPJ yet!)

Don't forget to enter our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!

~Shbecky

Julep: Amy and OPI Navy Shatter

Hey everyone!  I just got back from an AWESOME day at the outlets and Ikea.  I'm tuckered out but very happy.  They opened a Bloomingdales outlet which I think may become a problem for my finances pretty soon.  I grabbed the wide Ikea Alex to shift my polishes into tomorrow.  It seems way sturdier and can fit way more than my Helmer.  It also looks like real furniture instead on a filing cabinet.  I will put up pics tomorrow after Warren kindly assembles it for me.  I have lots of polish goodies that came today that I can't wait to swatch.  I have my first Ginger & Liz polishes, Kleancolor Chunky Holos (even though one shattered and they are effectively a statue of polish for now), China Glaze 2nite and Deborah Lippmann GITA (YAYYY).   Expect reviews and tons of pics soon. 

Tonight I am showing you another Julep and OPI Shatter combo that I love almost as much as Julep Helena and OPI Turquoise Shatter.  This is Julep Amy with Navy Shatter.  I will spare you a full on explanation about the brands and polishes since I went through most of it yesterday for you.  (See that post here).  I included an image of the Julep brush so you could see how small it is!

2 coats Amy + Seche Vite, artificial light

Amy is a dusty light blue creme.  Just like Helena it was a dream to apply and it is naturally super shiny.  It is totally opaque in 2 quick coats and a pretty unique looking blue IMO.  I think it looks like it should be part of the OPI Pirates collection.  It has that faded dusty creme thing going like Planks A Lot and Steady As She Rose do.  Basically if they had added a blue, it could have or should have been this one.  Below are 2 more bottle shots and if you bear with me to the end I have a shatter shot!

Julep Amy

Teeny weeny but great brush

I topped this mani off with OPI Navy Shatter.  While Blue and Turquoise are shimmery shatter polishes, this is a jelly (om nom nom).  It painted on really smoothly and I loved how the brush seemed to fit my nail perfectly to cover in 2 smooth swipes.  Amy peaks out just the right amount to give a really subtle but beautiful shatter mani.  Another A+ shatter from OPI!

2 coats Amy + 1 coat Navy Shatter + Seche Vite, artificial light

Verdict?  Maybe I should stop including a verdict since I am going to keep everything I don't despise . . . Stashing both for sure!

Don't forget to enter our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!  I have found 2 nice extras to throw in with it!


~Shbecky

Julep: Helena and OPI: Turquoise Shatter

Good afternoon!  I have been dying to show this polish and this shatter combo to you guys for a few days now.  I just knew that when I finally showed it to you I'd be sad I didn't get to reveal this beauty again and again.  This polish is a new brand to me.  I got these on special at some point a little while ago.  I saw these on The PolishAholic's blog a few weeks back when she was running a giveaway.  I drooled over her swatches, but resisted the urge to buy these as they are $14 each.  However, I got my hands on a coupon code and got 4 of these for a steal.  They came in a great little box with a bow and a little gift of their roll-on cuticle oil.   Like Zoya polishes, these are all named with women's names.  As you can see in the pictures below, the bottle looks like a rectangular lip gloss package.  The bottles are extremely unique and I love them.  They also have this little design that lets you gauge how much is left.  Helena is a really bright fuchsia jelly/creme.  This image does little justice for the color, which is about 3x brighter than this picture shows.

2 coats Helena + Seche Vite, artificial light

These polishes are 3 Free, and surprisingly easy to apply.  They stay put on the nail and the top is easy to manage.  The cap and the brush are REALLY short.  I was upset at first that a $14 polish would have such a dinky top and brush.  However, I was impressed by the ease in application here.  I've tried another Julep polish already, and this seems to apply to all of their polishes.  Now if only my camera could register the level of brightness that Helena brings to the table.  LOVE IT!  Julep polishes can be purchased on their website!

Nifty way to determine how much polish is left!

lipgloss-esque bottle

Now - I apologize for the heavy post, but these polishes happened to arrive the same day as my Turquoise and Navy OPI shatters.  I now own ALL of OPI's shatters, and I must say that Turquoise and Navy may have the best formulas yet.  They are 3 Free and feature a brush a that is flat and wide, but not as wide as the Pro Wide brush.  Black and Silver Shatter got thick really quickly, but I haven't noticed that with this polish.  Maybe OPI stepped its formula game up when the shatters exploded into the market from every brand.  Anywho, Turquoise is a light blue shimmery shatter.  It is really easy to get opaque coverage in one coat.  This looked insanely great over Helena.  I want to wear this combo every day.  I HIGHLY advise clicking these images, because you get a really great look at how pretty these are in full size. 

2 coats Julep Helena + Seche Vite + Turquoise Shatter + Seche Vite

Very Shiny!

A really pretty contrast (ignore the very not straight cuticle area, sorry!)

Sorry, that was extremely picture heave.  Hopefully this shows you how I feel about these polishes and this particular combo!  


Verdict?  I find myself torn, because I want to wear so many of my untrieds but I want to wear this as a full mani for the next year straight.  LOVE!

Don't forget to enter of Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!

~Shbecky