Julep Elixir Organic Argan Oil Review

Hey everyone! I was totally planning on painting my nails today but the cold weather has not been playing nice. A couple of my nails are totally jacked up and need a few days to recover, so I'm just wearing my OPI Nail Envy.

In the meantime, I've got a review for you! A few weeks ago I got the Julep Elixir Organic Argan Oil and I've been doing a pretty long test run so I can give my honest opinion of it.

I have absolutely been loving this stuff. I've already noticed a difference in my skin. I like to use it after I shower mixed with my Aveeno moisturizer. I add about three to four drops and pat it into my face and neck. I've found that this has helped to combat my sometimes oily skin. I'm so excited that the product has no scent at all, since I'm very sensitive to scented things. Argan Oil is also great for your cuticles, so I like to rub some in before I go to sleep. I've read that you can use it in your hair, but I'm a bit more hesitant to do that since my hair tends to get oily when I put any products in it.

If you're in search of a good Argan Oil, I highly recommend Julep's. Be on the on the lookout for good deals on their website. I used 600 Jules for mine, but it is often available as an add on to the monthly boxes for a discounted price.

I'll have a new mani for you all by the end of the week! Stay warm out there.

xoxo,
   Brooke

Julep Love & Hartleigh

Happy Friday! I'm so excited that the weekend is here because next week is February break (I totally forgot this was a thing in elementary schools). The BF and I don't have anything crazy planned for Valentine's Day, just dinner and maybe a movie. It's also going to be hella cold (yes I just said hella. Deal with it) in NYC so I don't want to spend too much time outdoors.

For my second Valentine's Day manicure I decided to use Julep Love, which I thought would be super appropriate! Love is a gold, pearl, and fuchsia microglitter and it is oh so pretty. The red on my accent nail is from SquareHue's December 2014 box topped with Julep Hartleigh. Hartleigh just came out with the February box and it is a holographic heart glitter top coat. My only complaint about this polish is that you kinda have to fish the hearts out, which to me isn't really a huge deal.

Funny story about the red XO I painted on my middle finger nail. The first time I painted it I was super bothered by it because I made it too big/thick. I finally decided that I would just remove all the polish on that nail and repaint it with a smaller XO. As I went over it with my q-tip dipped in remover the XO disappeared but left my base color behind! It was a magical moment.

I hope you all have an awesome weekend. Stay warm!

xoxo,

   Brooke

Rimmel Provocalips I'll Call You

Hey everyone! I've been hearing great things about Rimmel Provocalips 16 Hr Kiss Proof Lip Colour so after checking out swatches online I picked up I'll Call You. This is a really wearable and pretty mauvey pink shade.

First of all let's talk about the packaging. SO CUTE!

I love the little different colored smooches. This is a dual ended product and each side has a doe foot applicator. The first side is the color, which is a little runny so you'll want to scrape extra product on the side of the tube before you apply it. Try to work quickly as it sets in under a minute. DO NOT rub your lips together after 60 seconds because your lips are going to be pretty tacky before the topcoat. I made this mistake and messed up my paint job! The second side is the topcoat, which is used to lock in the color. Kinda like nail polish, huh? After applying the topcoat my lips felt super smooth. It really didn't even feel like I was wearing anything on my lips because the product is so lightweight.

Here's a swatch of I'll Call You on my wrist.

Rimmel claims that this product is kiss proof, transfer proof, and food proof. After wearing it all day I can safely say that this stuff does not budge. You even need to use an oil based makeup remover to take it off!

Here it is on my lips. I wore this shade all night and it stayed put!

Overall I am super impressed with this product and can't wait to pick up a few other shades. I think Make Your Move is the next one on my list! At around $6.00 a piece (less with a coupon!) these are a steal especially because of the quality.

xoxo,
   Brooke

Julep Aphrodite

Happy Manicure Monday! Today I'm going to share with you the first of two Valentine's Day looks I have planned for this week. I'm not a huge fan of the holiday itself, but I do like the colors that go along with it.

Julep Aphrodite came out last year in their Valentine's Day mystery box and they've brought it back for regular purchase so I jumped on the chance to buy it! This beauty is super HTF so if you had your eyes on it definitely get it now before it's gone. Aphrodite is described as a rose with silver metallic microglitter and it is seriously stunning. I used one coat for this mani and the coverage was perfect. For those hearts on my accent nail I used Aphrodite and Julep Alex.

I hope you all have an easy start to the week!

xoxo,
   Brooke

Zoya Margo & Thea

Happy Friday! I'm so glad this week is over. I haven't been having the best week so I'm very ready to lay on the couch and watch Netflix.

I have a quick mani to share with you. I decided to pull out Zoya Margo, a gorgeously creamy red plum. This is definitely one of my favorite colors. I paired it with Zoya Thea, a beautiful amethyst holographic glitter. I also added those cute little studs from bornprettystore.

This was a short and sweet post, but I have a couple of in depth reviews and one or two Valentine's Day manicures coming up so get excited for that! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm!

xoxo,

   Brooke

January Favorites!

Hey everyone! Remember that time I completely forgot that we are now in February? Yeah, that happened. So I quickly threw together my January favorites!

For my food favorite I have to talk about my birthday dinner at Scarpetta. Everything we ate was fabulous but the standout dish was their famous spaghetti. I have dreams about this deliciousness.

Ughhhhhh get in my stomach now.

The next two favorites are beauty and skincare. I will be posting full reviews for these soon, so you can think of this as a little preview.

First is Julep Elixir Organic Moroccan Argan Oil. This is good stuff you guys. Detailed review coming soon! I wanted to give it a good test run before sharing my thoughts.

The beauty product is Rimmel Provocalips in 200 I'll Call You. I am obsessed with the formula of this lippie and will be picking up other shades very soon. Detailed review with swatches on the way!

My favorite purchase this month was my first (and sadly last, explained here) purchase from Cult Nails. These polishes are gorgeous and I wish I had gotten into them sooner! I'm happy to have added a few to my collection.

My last favorite is my favorite mani for the month of January, which also happens to be my birth month. I did a special manicure to celebrate using my namesake polish, Zoya Brooke.

How cute is that little cupcake?!

That does if for my January faves. I'm hoping we get through February super fast because this girl is ready for spring! See you soon.

xoxo,

   Brooke

L'Oreal Masked Affair

Happy Manicure Monday! Today's post is coming a little late because I didn't have time for a mani last night with all the Super Bowl excitement going on. I also wasn't expecting to have school today but we just had a delayed opening so unfortunately I had a pretty scary drive to work. The roads were awful but luckily I made it there in one piece.

Anyway, today I have L'Oreal Masked Affair to share with you. I went on a crazy search for this polish and eventually I ended up purchasing it from someone, which was worth it for me just to stop running around hunting for it. I am so happy to finally have this polish in my hands! I was a little worried that it wouldn't be worth it but I absolutely love it.

Masked Affair is a dusty pale lilac linear holo. The formula wasn't fantastic and tended to be a little patchy so I used three coats for full opacity and the end result came out pretty smooth. I think maybe next time I would do a "holo sandwich." (Base coat, holo, top coat, holo). My gold diamond decal came in a huge set from bornprettystore.

With flash. Gorgeous!

If you happen to see Masked Affair at the store grab it while you can! It is really beautiful for a drugstore brand polish. Believe it or not this is my first holo and now that I've experienced one I will definitely be purchasing some true holos from indie brands. I hope you all have a great week!

xoxo,
   Brooke