NOTD: Rimmel - 301 Ash Rose (also Julep box)

This is such a ovely color, dark enough to make me think of blueberry yogurt somehow, which I love. But the pink makes it permissible for work, which I why I grabbed for it. I really liked application, it was slick but not too watery, and not a bubble in sight as it dried. Several things discouraged me though. First was how I messed up, by smudging a nail on the first coat, then when trying to do the second coat. Then later, after those had dried (and I’d been sleeping, goofup #3), I applied my China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat... and did stuff too soon, before it dried as well. Namely scratching off some paint as I left for work. On top of my own booboos, though I LOVE this color, I just don’t like it against my skin tone :/ Maybe I can try in winter again, and see if maybe it’ll go nicer with me when I’m not so tan (this full sun picture looks nicer than indoors, so it sounds like a good theory). Hopefully that’ll work, because I did think this was such a pretty little polish. Pics obviously suck for the pre-named reasons, and I didn’t do any real cleanup.



And in other news, got my introductory Julep Maven box! Several pics, because I was so excited:







But upon opening and getting all the things out, I was a little sad. I had not thought to research the size of the NP bottles, and was upset to see they’re only 8mL :( The colors (I got Cameron, a bright pink, and Alfre, a shimmery purple) are gorgeous on their own, but I repeat, small. I also got a similar sized bottle of “Nail Therapy” which has vitamin E and is supposed to hydrate nails while serving as a basecoat. I have been in the mood for an ‘improving” kind of basecoat, because while I love the stain-prevention and sticky powers of my China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat, I’m sure my nails could benefit from a little extra loving every once in a while :] Also got a 3oz/89mL bottle of “Facial for Hands”, something labeled as a “Glycolic Hand Scrub”. Decently sized, and though I’ve used it only once, it was nice. Gave my hands an extra bit of softening-ness. My hands are usually soft because I moisturize them like crazy at work. As a nurse, I wash my hands A LOT. So to prevent drying, I use hand lotion (Yes for Carrots) afterward at least half the time. The moisture carries over on my off days, at least in summer when swamp coolers make sure the air isn’t so dry at home. I will report after repeated use for a while, see how it does. On top of this, there were two tiny sample packets of the same hand scrub, and a hand creme that had SPF 30. So all in all, this was totally worth the $4.99 after a coupon code I used for the first month (“smh9oxu” , but there’s also “get10” for $10 off a purchase in case the first one doesn’t work anymore), but maybe so-so on the normal $20 payments. Still think I’ll keep it a month or so and see how I like future boxes before I consider canceling it. If anything, it’s a lot of fun to receive goodies in the mail. Then there’s always the option of skipping a month, or sending it to someone else, and even changing your selection of stuff in case you don’t like the preview they send you :D