NOTD: March 25th

  Ugh I hate how this looks like! It's hideous against my skin tone, or at least that's what I think. Either way I thought I should share it, also I said I would share swatches of all my Julep March colors. I know it's a bit late for this, but I'm sorry D: . That's two coats of Julep Debra, which is described as a "Smokey Taupe Crème". I don't like this color one bit on me, maybe on others it will look better, but it made my hands look sick.

 The accent nail has a coat of Essie's Shine of Times, which apparently was LE and can't be found anymore! Though I'm sure you could find it on...ebay...And as usual my top coat is Seche Vite.

 I'm sorry for the "mood" of this post, I just really hate how this looks on me.

Empties March 2013

 I've been saving stuff to make an "empties" post, for the longest time. The pile is big enough now, so might as well go for it. I don't know how often I can do a post like this because, I don't know how fast I will go through a product, so this could be a monthly thing, but likely it won't.

 I didn't really go through any makeup product yet, except for Makeup For Ever's HD powder(not pictured). I LOVE this thing, I went through a sample size, until there was nothing left. Today was literally the last day of it. I have a replacement, of course. I absolutely adore this thing, it's amazing! It mattifies without leaving me looking cakey and dry, it just works and I love that.

Clinique:(From left to right) Pore Refining Solutions, Stay Matte Hydrator and Correcting Serum and Clarifying Lotion in Number 3. I reviewed the Clarifying Lotion, in this post(http://beautymadn3ss.blogspot.com/2013/01/misc-sephora-samples-reviews.html).

 Both products from the Pore Refining Solutions line are definitely favorites of mine, I love the serum and I do see some difference in the size of my pores, it feels amazing on my skin, gets absorbed quickly and doesn't contribute to making me oilier. The hydrator is definitely something that might be short on the moisturizer end for the colder months. It's a really light moisturizer and it has no SPF, so you definitely have to take that into account. You might be fine on your T-zone if you are combo like me, but other areas of your face might need some more moisturizing powah! If you are normal or dry skin, you'll definitely need a bit of help for the colder months. 

 I definitely recommend these products if you have somewhat big pores. Mine weren't huge to be honest. I'm always extra dramatic when it comes to my skin, it's not perfect, it has it's flaws, but they are not as major as I think they are! It decreased the size of my pores, but they weren't that big to begin with. I have repurchased these and definitely will keep on repurchasing on and on, unless I find something else I like more, but so far, I haven't.

Neutrogena - Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes Hydrating: I talked about this in another post, which you can find here (http://beautymadn3ss.blogspot.com/2013/03/drugstore-haul-feb-23rd-and-some-reviews.html). These are great, not rough on my skin, moisturizing, smell amazingly great and remove my makeup! They don't remove eye makeup that well, though. Definitely will keep on buying these and have.

Murad - Clarifying Cleanser: I loved this while it lasted, it was a great cleanser for the day time. I miss it, oh I  miss it so bad! But, Murad is on the overpriced end, so I won't repurchase this product. I didn't get any breakouts while I was using it, which is great! So, it does kinda work for that, but my blackheads stayed. I wonder when will be the day where I see those nasty, evil little guys, leave my face! :'(

Laura Mercier - Flawless Face Polish: I loved this scrub and have a replacement(yay!). It works just as a scrub and does what a scrub does, it scrubs...LOL! It's not too rough, then again I am rough on my sensitive skin, we have a bad relationship sometimes!

Julep - The Best Pedi Cream: I like this, it smells good and definitely does help keep my feet soft. It does what it promises. Would I repurchase? No, I won't as usual with Julep products, they run on the overpriced side of the scale. I rather get my Flexitol Heel Balm, that works wonders for my feet and is way cheaper.

Philosophy - Hope in a Jar: First of all, I HATE the smell of this, it's nasty. I didn't really notice much of a difference while wearing this. It moisturizes without leaving an oily finish and it gets absorbed by my skin, nothing amazing or different, just a moisturizer. Would I repurchase? Nah, not worth it, at least not for me.

LaRocca - Hibiscus Cream Cleanser: This is supposed to be a cleanser and a gentle exfoliator, it doesn't remove make up and I felt no difference with the exfoliation part. Wouldn't repurchase, as I like cleansers that will remove any leftover makeup and this one just doesn't cut it.

Nailtiques - Avocado Foot Crème, Cuticle & Skin Gel and Nailtiques Formula 2: Both the Avocado Foot Crème and the Cuticle and Skin Gel, work fine, but I definitely won't repurchase. They are a bit overpriced in my personal opinion for something that just regular moisturizer will do. The Nailtiques Formula 2, on the other hand I will definitely repurchase and have repurchased. It has helped my nails a bunch and I really like it, definitely worth every penny, at least for me.

Sephora - Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover: This worked really well and I liked it, it removed my eye make up without irritating my eye or anything and without  lot of effort. I won't repurchase, because I know there are drugstore products out there that work just as well.

bareMinerals - Active Cell Renewal Night Serum: Didn't notice any difference at all while using this. I won't repurchase, because it didn't do anything for me.

Macadamia - Healing Oil Treatment: I love this! It definitely helps my hair be healthier and smells amazing. It's a bit on the overpriced side. I will be really happy if I get it in a subscription box, not so sure I will buy the full size because of the price.

 I hope you enjoyed this post, I don't know when I'll have enough empties to make another of these posts, but I will keep them coming for sure!

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, and this is my own personal opinion :)

NOTD: March 17th

 This is not my kind of color, but I really like it on! I got this polish in my March Julep box. That's 1 coat of Julep Joy, yup ONE coat! This one is amazing, not streaky or clumpy and one coat does it, but you can do 2 if you prefer that, I was shocked that it was opaque with one coat, really surprising! And as usual, Seche Vite as my top coat.

NOTD: March 14th

 Two coats of Julep Leila, under Seche Vite. This polish is from my Julep March box. At first it was a bit streaky, but I really liked the end result. The ring finger has 2 coats of Leila and one coat of OPI's Polka.com, isn't it gorgeous? I kinda want to do all the nails with it, but the bf said this looked cute, so I left it at that ^^

NOTD: St Patrick's Day nails

 I'm not a catholic, but I thought I'd do a nail look for this holiday :D Hope you enjoy.

  All nails except for my ring finger, are sporting two coats of KB Shimmer's Get Clover it. Accent nail has Julep Cindy and Julep Vivien, from my December Julep Box. And of course as usual, Seche Vite as my top coat. 

 I was trying to get the green glitter from Cindy to work with the champagne sparkle from Vivien and make it look like golden-ish looking glitter, so I did 1 coat of Cindy, then one coat of Vivien, another coat of Cindy, another one of Vivien and one more coat of Cindy. 

All thin coats though, both the KB Shimmer and the Julep polishes took a bit to dry, but I actually really like the end result :D 

 I know this is not the best and well it can't be, I did it at 2 am in the morning after a really long day, but I still like it :D 

 Hope you like this as much ad I do :D

NOTD: March 12th

 I give you Julep Simone, from my March Julep box. 2 coats under one coat of Seche Vite. Accent nail done with Simone and one coat of Lac Atacks's Death Day Party.

NOTD: March 9th

 I was getting bored of solid colors on my nails, so I decided to spice it up a bit and add one of my favorite shades from Julep.  I know I said I'd wear all the Julep polishes, but I can't just do solid color anymore! This is from the March box, bright and spring perfect! Great color to use and try to say goodbye to the winter(says the girl with snow in the pictures!)

 

  
 All my fingers, but the ring finger have 2 coats of Julep Teri under one coat of Seche Vite. This one was hard to work with, but I managed to get it to look decent. The ring finger has 2 coats of Julep Hayden under one coat of Seche Vite.

 Hayden was my number one lemming for the longest time! Until, one amazing day I finally got it through a trade, you don't know how happy that made me! It's such a gorgeous color, I absolutely adore it. And loving an orange type shade is strange for me, because I'm more of a purple or pink kinda gal, but Hayden stole my heart, amazing shade. The application could be better, but it's not bad and it dries matte, which is amazing! I love matte finishes! I know, there's like a million exclamation marks there, BUT words cannot express how much I adore this nail polish.

 Hope you liked my little dotted look and have an amazing weekend! I will spend mine with the awesome bf <3. Hopefully get to see Oz The Great And Powerful! 

NOTD: March 7th

This is pretty simple, but really cute and spring appropriate. Another Julep polish, from the March box. I absolutely LOVE this green shade! It's gorgeous!

  That's 2 coats of Julep Adrianna, under 1 coat of Seche Vite. 

 Since this polish takes forever to dry, I decided to use Seche Vite instead of the Julep Top Coat. 

 I left the first coat dry completely, then applied the second one and Seche Vite right away, it dried quickly because of SC of course! I love this color, same as all the other ones I have reviewed so far, it's a bit of a PITA to work with it, but the end result is just gorgeous!!

NOTD: March 5th

 I want to try out all my new Julep polishes on basic solid color manis before I play with something else. This time it's Minnie, super pretty "opalescent" coral-pink. I say "opalescent" because you can see that in the bottle, but not on your nails, sadly. I got this from my Julep March box.

 Either way, I think this is a gorgeous color! Really Barbie like, love it! I love my purples, but I will love a unique pretty pink too!

  That's 2 coats of Julep Minnie, under Julep Fast Dry Top Coat with natural light. The color is more pink than what it looks like. 

Hope you like it ^^

NOTD: March 4th

 I love this color, as I mentioned in the Julep post, it's a bit of a pain in the butt to work with it, but it's really pretty. The shade is supposed to have an opalescent effect, but you can barely tell when you swatch it. You can see the effect in the bottle, but what good does that make?

 I got this polish in my March Julep box. I applied 2 coats under Julep Fast Dry Top Coat. The polish Julep Shenae and I took these pictures with natural light. 

 You can actually see how clumpy it looks in that last picture. I love this color, it's super cute, but it took ages to dry and it was just so much work for just a color mani...

March Julep + swatches!

 I was so excited when I saw the colors for Julep this month, I just couldn't decide what to get. So, I did it again, I got the whole wardrobe! I'm so excited! There's only one color that is kinda meh...but the rest are gorgeous!!

 I didn't get a tracking email from Julep and I was so scared thinking I wouldn't get my box in time! But, it came, on Saturday, but that day I was heading over to a local anime convention with the bf. I'm not really into that stuff, I don't judge or look down on anyone, but the bf likes it, so we went there and had a good time. It was super cold though! Anyways, back to Julep, I didn't get to try anything out, so I just took the lip balm and put it in my pocket...more on this below on the lip balm review.

Gorgeous packaging as usual!

Loved the color combination for the pack of polish! Then again, I wuvs purple!

Minnie: Regular Price: $14/Maven Price: $11.20. It's a warm pastel pink opalescent shimmer. This color is gorgeous in theory, but the "opalescent shimmer" part doesn't really show up on your nails. Also, it's a bit thick and not too easy to work with, but besides that, the color is really pretty. It looks really girly and really Barbie-esque. 

Swatch: 

2 coats under natural light, it's a bit more pink than how it looks in the picture.

 

 Leila: Regular Price: $14/Maven Price: $11.20. This is a lemon yellow opalescent shimmer. The shimmer is definitely easier to spot in this polish. It's really pretty, sadly the swatch picture couldn't capture the color true to life, my camera takes off all the blue in pictures most of the time, so I couldn't really show the color as it looks in real life, but it's close.

Swatches:

2 coats, natural light, I'd say the color is a mix of both pictures.

 Simone: Regular Price: $14/Maven Price: $11.20. Soft pastel lilac opalescent shimmer. Such a pretty color! I die! It's purple!! It's a really pinkish purple though, still super pretty. The shimmer doesn't show in the picture, but I can definitely see it in the swatch.

Swatches:

2 coats, natural light. The real shade has more pink than purple, still pretty!
 

Joy: Regular Price: $14/Maven Price: $11.20. Smokey mauve crème. Gorgeous color! It's definitely not something that I would buy by myself, but that's what I love about the subs, stepping out of your comfort zone! If done carefully this can be a one coat wonder!

Swatches:

2 coats, picture taken under natural light.

Shenae: Regular Price: $14/Maven Price: $11.20. Pastel mint green opalescent shimmer. This guy is right in between blue and green, it's so pretty. Sadly, the opalescent effect doesn't really show much on nails.

Swatch:

2 coats under natural light.

 

Debra: Regular Price: $14/Maven Price: $11.20. Smoky taupe crème. This guy is the one I said I don't "love" much, but it's fine, I'm sure I will wear it. It's a really pretty color, I'm just more of a colorful shades type of gal!

Swatch:

2 coats, natural light.

 Adrianna: Regular Price: $14/Maven Price: $11.20. Smoky pistachio crème. This is a gorgeous green, sadly my camera makes it look yellow, so not close! I love this color, it's so delicate and pretty, it's an amazing pastel green.

Swatch:

2 coats, natural light.

Teri: Regular Price: $14/Maven Price: $11.20. Tropical coral pink crème. This color is pretty, I have a bunch of corals already, but the quality on them is not the greatest. I hope this one is different.

Swatch:

2 coats, natural light.

 

 Julep - Straberry-Mint Lip Balm: First of all, can't link to anything, since apparently they don't have this in their store. I will say that probably the price will round the $4 mark for Maven's. That is an estimate based on the price of their other lip balm. This was the first thing I tried out, as I said in the beginning of the post. It's OK, one thing I didn't like though is that is a little bit too soft. I don't know if you get what I mean, but it melts really easily. I had it in my pocket and when I went to use it, it was really melted. Not the whole thing, but at least the top of it was, as melted as another lip balm I had after circling around in the dryer...Oops! I like the scent, but it's a bit too intense. I think a softer, not so obvious scent would have been better. Overall, it's just another lip balm, nothing impressive.

 Rock Star Hand Crème: Regular Price: $20/Maven Price: $16. First thing I like about this hand crème- is that it doesn't leave an oily residue on my hands, that's always a plus. I loved the scent at first, but now I feel like it might be a bit over powering for my taste, meaning it might potentially give me a headache, which is never good. I don't like the cap design, I think product might dry out and get stuck in there, let's just hope that doesn't happen. The cap is a twist cap with a small hole in the middle for dispensing product. There is no flap over it to cover the opening, so some product may get dry and caked inside. I do like this product though, I just don't love the container or the scent too much. I do feel like it does it's job and moisturizes my hands, without making them greasy.
Update: I wrote this last night and as I was writing I applied this hand cream...I got super dizzy, I felt sick, this definitely has a scent that is way too over powering and lingers on for way too long! It's not a bad scent, it's just too much. I felt so nauseous and so sick! I definitely won't be able to use this lotion, which is really sad because I actually like it. If you are sensitive to scents/smells, this might be a problem for you. I hope it's not and I'm just too much of a PITA ^^ .

Glycolic Hand Scrub: Regular Price: $23/Maven Price: $18.40. I used this yesterday and I didn't feel a major difference. That might be because I had just used a scrub on my feet, which I rub in with my hands, so I guess my hands were already scrubbed from that. However, I do love the scent of this, it's really refreshing. I guess this will work, because it is a scrub and it does have scrubby thingies(things that scrub, sorry technical lingo, you know!LOL). I love the scent, which means I'll likely love the product. The price, I don't love so much, then again, I don't like the price of most Julep products since I think they are a bit overpriced.

Value and overall review:

Paid: $49.99 for full wardrobe.

Value for Mavens: $128

Value for non subscribers: $161

 I love the colors I got this month, I don't love the formula though. One coat takes ages to dry. After 40 minutes, it was still tacky, which is odd for Julep polishes. Also, some of these are streaky and end up looking clumpy. I wish the formula was like last month's, but as opaque as these are and of course without changing the shades. C'mon Julep, you can do better!!

 The colors didn't disappoint me, I absolutely love them, but the formula is not the greatest. Will that stop me from using them? Nope, not for a minute, it might just give me headaches and piss me off, but I'll still try because they are just so pretty.

 I've been subscribed to Julep for 5 months and so far this is the only thing I could actually complain about. Overall I absolutely love this subscription and plan on keeping it for a while. I don't see myself canceling any time soon!

 As for the products, they are OK. I needed a hand crème and didn't have a hand scrub, so that works for me, I'll just try to live with the smell...(that sounds gross!). The lip balm will be used because my lips dry like crazy, but it's definitely not my favorite. It's just too soft!

  If you want to subscribe to Julep, you can click here or copy and paste this link on your navigation bar: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/68437/

Which was your favorite for this month's Julep box?

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, and this is my own personal opinion :) Link is a referral link.