JulieG Bourbon Street

*Purchased By Me*

Hi everyone! Today I have a really awesome drugstore find from JulieG's Mardi Gras Collection, which I stumbled upon recently in my local Rite Aid. I found it to be sort of an odd time of the year for a Mardi Gras themed collection, but they are pretty, so who cares? The polishes in this collection are meant to be worn textured, but you can add topcoat and they have a whole new look! I only have one from the collection today, but BeautyJudy has the entire collection up on her blog, so you can check it out and you will see that this collection is pretty awesome! I can already see a few more that I want to pick up before they disappear.












 

Christmas Nails! Featuring Julie G Ho Ho Ho and Mistletoe

Hi everyone! I finally got home so I could upload pictures of my Christmas mani. I decided to use two polishes from Julie G's Holiday Texture Collection called Ho Ho Ho (red) and Mistletoe (green). I really could have worn them alone, but I layered them over a red and green creme base just to help eliminate glitter clean-up. Ho Ho Ho was ok, but the color was a little less vibrant and more pink than I cared for (I really wanted a Christmas red), but Mistletoe is absolutely fantastic! The green is so deep and rich and I like that the glitter is green (unlike in Ho Ho Ho where the glitter is silver). Both of them had a pretty decent dry time (I didn't use topcoat, I wore them textured). The formula was similar for both polishes. They spread easily and the glitter was very dense, so they build easily without the need for a base color. I then stamped with with Bundle Monster H02 plate and Konad Special White so I would have some semblance of a white Christmas here in south Alabama. (Ha!)

 

 

The Julie G Holiday Texture Collection is available at Rite Aid for a limited time during the holiday season (I saw a display still out at my local Rite Aid this week). For me, Mistletoe was a winner all around and a must by but I much prefer Zoya Chyna to Ho Ho Ho for a true red texture polish. Thanks for looking everyone! 

Favorite Oranges/Corals

So, probably a year ago, I wouldn't have had many polishes on this list. Orange was a color that I didn't think would work on me, so I just didn't buy many. I did have a coral or two, but they leaned very much to the pink side of things. Here are a few that I've come to love. Some of them border on red, but to me they are more orange (and my red post is going to be craziness as it is, so I'm putting them here).

Model's Own Hedonist. I'm not sure what you call this color exactly. Neon red? Neon coral? I really don't care what you call it to be honest...all I know is that it is HOT HOT HOT!!

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy (shown here with Lynnderella Connect the Dots). This is THE neon I think of when I think of neons. It was one of the first neons in my collection. It is a neon coral that is eye searing in real life. I will say, the formula (like with many neons) is not the greatest, but to me it is worth it for this one.

Scofflaw Nail Varnish David Bowie's Bulge. This bright coral polish is one I almost didn't get when I was placing my Scofflaw order, but it is one of my absolute favorites! The turquoise works so perfectly with the coral here. 

Julie G Sugar Rush. This polish is one of my stand outs in the "textured" category...but with heaps of topcoat added. I could not stop gawking at the amazing shimmer that came out when I slapped on some Gelous. It looks pretty cool with no topcoat as well...but the topcoated version is amazing.

(with topcoat)

(without topcoat)

Pahlish Anticipating and Pacing. Wow. This polish is just stunning. The shimmer is to die for. 

Quo by Orly Orange Pop. Bright orange crelly. Very summery and almost neon in some lights. 

Essence Get Up! I mainly use this one for nail art. It is a true orange. As orangey orange as you can get. 

Lynnderella Cauldron Drippings (over Essence Get Up!) This is the only (mostly) orange glitterbomb that I own so far. It is very orange and very Halloweeny, for sure. 

China Glaze Riveting. This was the orange that made me decide I could "do" orange. I adore it. It is perfect. 

OPI DS Luxurious. This is definitely a kissing cousin to China Glaze Riveting. I probably don't need both but gah they are so pretty!!

OPI DS Couture. Coral holo. So nice. Need I say more?

American Apparel Poppy. Once again...I'm not sure what color this is. In some lights it looks totally red (like in this picture) and other lights it looks totally orange. I really adore it and and it has a fantastic formula to boot. 

OPI Y'all Come Back, Ya Hear? This is a perfectly squishy jelly that I adore. And perfect for jelly sandwiches too (as you will see in my second pic with Icing Tiger's Blood). 

Layla Coral Glam. So...this isn't really coral...except for the name...but I still love it. 

Nail Pattern Boldness Seppuku (With a Frisbee) -1 coat over Zoya Heidi. Gorgeous matte glitter!

Zoya Heidi. This was one of my very first orangey corals and I remember I almost swapped it away because I didn't think I could pull it off. I was disappointed when my Zoya order came because I wanted it to be more of a pinky coral. I'm glad I rescued it from swap purgatory because now it is my favorite coral creme. 

Now, if I'm being honest with you, this is MOST of my orange/coral stash. Why do all of these make the list? I have to say, since orange is a color that I have historically been more leery of, I've been very careful when adding them to my stash and have only kept those that I REALLY love and think work for me. Therefore, I think it is a portion of my stash that is really culled down to only the gems.  

My New Obsession: Topcoating ALL of the Textured Polishes

I know the textured trend is in full force and I'm not a huge fan. Some I have liked ok, but for the most part I prefer my manis glossy and smooth. BUT (huuuuuge but) some of them are absolutely magical with topcoat added. Now the ones that pretty much just have colored or silver glitter in them are sort of meh with topcoat, like the Zoya Pixies, for example. I do like those in their gritty form for the most part. But the ones that have some super special magic hiding under the surface, topcoat just lets all of the magic come out to play.

My original love of topcoating these started with OPI Get Your Number which I posted back in January here. I have also found that some of them aren't very opaque once topcoated, so layering them over a coordinating color as I did in the case of Get Your Number is helpful. I used this same philosophy when wearing another polish from the Mariah Carey Liquid Sands, The Impossible. I used a base of OPI Too Hot Pink to Hold Em and then 2 coats of The Impossible and added topcoat. I have a mini bottle of this, so there are no stars in mine. This was magical in person. It has tiny holographic glitters in the base that I did not capture well in my photos, but they really bring this polish to life.

And yes 3 of my nails decided to break last week, so back to nubby nubs :/ Be sure to click on my pictures so you can see the detail of the shimmery base better. It is to die for!!

Next, after seeing Scrangie's swatches of OPI Jinx from the Bond Girl's Liquid Sand collection topcoated, I became obsessed with acquiring it. Then, I happened to stop in at Rite Aid and saw a display of the Julie G Sugared Gumdrops collection and grabbed Sugar Rush immediately. It looks quite similar to Jinx I think (perhaps more orange leaning) but it has the amazing golden sparkle in the base like Jinx. HOLY CRAP!! I can't stop staring at my nails with this on. There were some more in that collection with shimmer in the base and I will be going back to get them ASAP. This is 2 coats of Julie G Sugar Rush with topcoat. 

(Here are waaaaaay too many pictures) ---> click the pictures for more detail!

And I will have to admit...I actually love the way this looks without topcoat too. Of the textured polishes I have tried so far, it is by far my favorite look without topcoat. 

So what are your thoughts on the textured polish trend? I've found that most people either love 'em or hate 'em. For me, it really has depended on the individual polish whether I have cared for it or not. And the ones I have liked I usually like with topcoat...and then they've been elevated to some of my favorite polishes EVER! Thanks for looking everyone!