December Julep Maven Unboxing ♡

I got my December Julep box in the mail on Monday and I think it was my most anticipated box yet.

First of all, the December collection killed it. Not only were all of the polishes gorgeous, they also released an eyeshadow palette (which I think was limited edition) and some amazing orbital eyeshadow singles. I didn't end up getting any eyeshadows (my sister did! Here's her unboxing), however, but I did get three polishes and some dainty decals. I've linked each header to the Julep website if you want to buy them!

| Nell | $14.00, $11.20 Maven

It's described on Julep's website as "blushing holographic full coverage glitter," which made me immediately add it to my box. I automatically gravitate towards anything holographic, probably since I was obsessed with it as a little girl in the 90s, but I'd never seen a pink glitter like this. The photographs on the website don't do it much justice since the dimension and multicolor glitter is lost. I would say it could definitely be a full coverage glitter, especially with several coats, as you can see in the picture below. I'm imagining it as an accent or french tip on pink nails and completely swooning.

| Gold Decals |

I chose these because they're so cute and holiday-feeling. These would look amazing with Nell as a french tip as well, or simply on some red nail polish. I love Julep's decals since they're sturdy but so pretty. I got some black cats back in October. Plus, they also aren't the nail polish kind so you can open them and use them forever!

| Silk Effect Top Coat | $14.00, $11.20 Maven

I was so thrilled to see this as an option for this month. I've never used anything like it, but after seeing the amazing swatches online (check them out, you can see it way better), I knew I had to snatch it up. I can especially see this over a pale blue or pink or red for the holidays or literally any nail polish because it's so pretty! I tried to swatch it over a red in the shot below but it doesn't show up well on my camera.

 

| Rochelle | $14.00, $11.20 Maven

This is actually a present for my mom (who better not be reading this! I warned you) because she saw it online when I was selecting my picks and thought it was stunning. Julep describes it as a "boysenberry shimmer" and I think that's spot on. I never would've picked this myself since I'm a cream polish gal, but it's an amazing winter color!

How amazing are these polishes?! There's a gorgeous cobalt blue nail color called Paula with gold microshimmer that I would have loved to get but I already felt silly getting three other colors. If you'd like to read up on the eyeshadows they offer now, Miss Amelia Joy will be posting her unboxing soon!

If you want to sign up, here's my link. Use the code FROSTY to get a $58 box with three nail polishes and a liner for free!

Do you have Maven? How do you like Julep's products?

P.S. CHRISTMAS IS IN A WEEK!

Thanks for reading! xo

DIY Watermelon Nails

During the summer I love being able to do funky fruit accent nails. Recently I saw a picture on Pinterest of watermelon nails and decided I would give it a go. It's actually pretty easy but I got a lot of compliments on them! I think next I'm doing pineapples.

My apologies for the color difference in the pictures- the one above displays the color most correctly.

| You Will Need |

-Base coat (Orly's Rubberized Bonder)

-Top coat (Seche Vite)

-Pink/coral nail polish (Sally Hansen Coral Reef)

-Green nail polish (Essie First Timer)

-Black nail polish (China Glaze Smoke and Ashes)

-Toothpicks (plain wood, not colored!)

-Nail polish remover

| Steps |

1. Clean all oil and polish off with some nail polish remover.
2. Apply a coat of base coat and wait to dry.
3. Apply two coats of a pinky color to all nails. ("step 1")
4. Carefully using a green polish, apply a thin strip like a watermelon rind on your choice accent nail. Apply two coats if necessary. ("step 2")
5. For the watermelon seeds, drop some black polish onto a note card and dip in the toothpick. Apply a dot where you want the bottom of the seed and gently drag upwards to create a rounded, pudgy teardrop. Repeat until you like the pattern. I used five seeds- three on the top and two on the bottom. ("step 3")
6. Generously top coat, making sure to seal the tips so your watermelons last!

That's all! Easy peasy. Let me know if you try this out! You can tag me on Instagram @hannahvanhoozle. Also, I'm always posting pictures of my nails on Instagram as well!

Thank you for reading! xo

DIY Floral Nails

A few days ago I decided to remove my bulky rhinestone and pearl nail polish (they lasted for a whole week without any embellishments breaking free!). They looked similar to these nails on ShayMitchell.com which I was inspired by. They're so dang cute! I found most of my rhinestones and and pearls at Joann's and some of the crystals at Michael's.
Since my acrylic nails seemed to be having an okay time staying on my hands, I figured I should just paint them again. I had pinned this picture on my Hair & Beauty board on Pinterest a while ago and decided that I wanted to do it. I used very similar colors because who doesn't love mint and pink together? You don't have to use these colors though, you just have to have a base color for your nails and three nail polishes that are the same color but different values of light and dark. Several of the pictures pulled the mint rather baby blue, but it's mint I promise. I tried to fix the color differences as much as I could. Since I (hopefully) documented it well, let's get on with it! :)

| SUPPLIES |

1.  A base coat (Orly Rubberized Bonder)
2. A base color for all of your nails (Mint Candy Apple)
3. The medium color for your flowers (Shelby)
4. The dark color for your flowers (Girls are Out)
5. The light color for your flowers (Figi)
6. A top coat (Seche Vite)

| STEPS |

The first thing I did was apply a coat of the Orly Bonder base coat to my bare acrylics to prep my nails. Next, I applied two coats of the Essie nail polish in Mint Candy Apple. This is one of my all time favorite nail polishes. Who else is ready for spring colors? :D

Next, using a sewing pin with a plastic topper, I applied some of the Zoya nail polish in Shelby (a medium pink) on my nails, making blobs that kind of resemble flowers. 

To define the "roses" (used loosely), I applied a dark pink, using some of my Essie Girls are Out nail polish using a toothpick. I made kind of curved lines, accenting the outer petal shapes.

The last step to accentuate the roses is to apply a light pink by some of the dark pink lines, and also in areas by itself.

Lastly, I used the green color, Essie First Timer, and a toothpick to create one or two triangle-ish shapes on each rose.

Then to finish off the nails completely, I used the Seche Vite Dry Fast topcoat over all of my nails. Not only to make them super shiny, but to make them dry really quick so I don't have to sit around and watch Supernatural for hours while they dry. Not that I mind, I mean, helllllooo Sam and Dean. ;)

| FINISHED PRODUCT |

And that's all! It's pretty easy, but it looks fancy and complicated. People keep asking me where I get my nails done, then they promptly get wide eyes and grab my hands in awe when I say I did them myself. Also, even the right hand accent nail looks okay even though my left hand is confused when it tries to properly use anything. I think next time I do these I'll try to do less flowers and especially make them smaller on my right.

Thanks for reading! xo