JULEP Nail Polishes

I have just discovered this brand thanks to MissJenFabulous on YouTube. When she swatched some of her favorites in one of her recent videos, I knew I had to get my hands on some!

Julep Nail Parlor is an actual salon with several locations in beautiful Seattle and surrounding cities (beautiful because I spent some of the most awesome years of my life in Seattle :)) Julep offers a wide range of colors in different finishes. They specialize in "healthy" products meaning their nail polishes are 3-free. They also donate $1 from each nail polish sale to Powered by Girlfriends program that helps support organizations empowered by women!


Anne 
An ultra-saturated violet, as described by Julep. Applies like a dream and only one coat is enough for opacity. Anne's finish is creme semi-matte; I personally am not a fan of matte or semi-matte finishes, so I apply a top coat for some shine! Of all the 3 shades, Anne was the hardest to photograph. In some of my photos, it came out as more of a cornflower-ish periwinkle, just try to imagine it with more violet/purple and less blue. I think the color is the most accurate on the photo taken with flash which is on lower right in my collage above.

Alicia 
Julep describes Alicia as sunny salmon. I agree, it's salmon-y coral/peach in creme finish. Again just like Anne, it passes the one coat opacity test. Application was a breeze.

Pippa 
Ok so I'm on a nude nail polish kick! Pippa is a camel/nude in creme finish. I just knew Pippa would be super close to one of my favorite nude nail polishes which is Essie's Topless & Barefoot. Yes, they are insanely similar. The only difference is application. 

Let's do some math.

1 coat of Pippa = 3 coats of Topless & Barefoot

I personally hate having to do 3 or more coats of any nail polish because it takes forever to dry! Pippa is just a bit more nude than Topless & Barefoot whereas Topless & Barefoot has a tiny bit more pinkness to it. It's nothing a non-nailpolish addict would ever notice but I do :)


I have compared Pippa (L) to Topless & Barefoot (R) on the right photo. I have done 1 coat of Pippa and 3 coats of Topless & Barefoot. They are darn similar! Like I've mentioned above Anne is much more violet/purple in reality. It's just physically impossible to photograph the real color.

Julep, China Glaze, Essie, O.P.I.

Brush is a decent size and very user-friendly. It reminds me a bit of China Glaze brushes. It's just as long as CG and OPI brushes, not as thick as OPI but not as thin as CG. It's safe to say that Julep brushes are right in between. Not even mentioning Essie, I think you can see why!

Verdict!

It's ♥
These nail polishes are just amazing. Pigmentation is out of this world. Only one coat is needed for perfect opacity. Due to that fact, drying doesn't take forever. Naturally one coat dries faster, I'd say in 5 minutes they dry to perfection. I happen to be stuck with bare nails a lot of the times I'm in a hurry. There is no way I can paint my nails (at least 2 coats 99% of the time), have them dry in a timely manner and be on time! I will be absolutely enjoying slapping on a coat of Julep nail polishes when I'm in a hurry from now on! :) I'm so looking forward to trying many more shades!

You can get $15 off on your purchase of $30 or more with the code "GIRLFRIEND", which is what I did. Julep nail polishes retail for $14 for 2.7oz bottles.

Have you tried Julep nail polishes? Any favorites?

*Also check out my Apothica giftcard giveaway if you're interested! :)

33 comments:

  1. I've heard of this brand too from youtube and have been curious to get some for myself! Ahh...the application sounds so lovely and the color pay off with just one stroke is super amazing! *_* I'm already falling in love with Alicia. Super pretty! Thanks for sharing~

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  2. Love the colors you picked out.

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  3. All three colors look so lovely! I've never tried them, and I may in the future now that I've heard of them! :D

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  4. i'd love to try anne :D looks so pretty!

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  5. these colors look so gorgeous! especially anne. and the formula sounds good!

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  6. The color Anne looks amazing!!

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  7. JessicaGettingCheekyJuly 10, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    Me want! I never thought I was a polish girl, but lately I've really been enjoying trying different brands. These looks marvelous, and with health consciousness and social responsibility in mind you can't go wrong!

    ♥ Jessica

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  8. The bottles look so cute ^.^

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  9. Pippa looks like the perfect everyday office color that is not boring but chic!!!

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  10. I heard about these in Holly Ann Aeree's videos :) The Anne shade looks AMAZING!! I think the packaging looks so cute and compact too :)

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  11. Thanks for the comment :) WOW I have heard about these on Youtube, and now you have just convinced me to buy some!! I simply adore the colors you chose~ And the bottle is so cute!

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  12. Thanks Youtube for all your enablings :) I can't lie, I was skeptical at first to try a brand which was barely known. But I am so glad that I tried, I love these nail polishes :)

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  13. Totally recommend them, I know how much you love nail polish I think you would love these :)

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  14. The picture really doesn't do it justice, it's gorgeous and brighter in person :)

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  15. Anne seems to be so popular already, it's really pretty! The formula is amazing!

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  16. Everyone is a nail polish girl believe me, some of us just don't know it yet :) I know, I really love the fact that their nail polishes are toxin-free; one reason why I love them already!

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  17. Your comment made me realize I didn't talk about the packaging at all oops! They're different, I kinda like it actually!

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  18. You're right lady, that's the word...CHIC! :)

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  19. Anne was the color I saw on Jen's nails that day and I was like, I MUST make it mine. It's a gorgeous color which I don't have a dupe of. I don't even own any dark purple/violet polishes so it was meant to be :) I love the packaging too and that they don't take much space like regular nail polish bottles!

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  20. You're welcome :) I hope you enjoy them too, looking forward to seeing the colors you pick!

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  21. Oooooh! I've never heard of this brand but who wouldn't love a quick drying opaque polish? Thanks for sharing!

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  22. Alicia looks soo pretty!

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  23. the next time you're in town we need to do a julep date :) they have martini manis!

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  24. Never tried them before! I've never seen any purple like Anne before. gorgeous!

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  25. Thanks for your review and swatches. I've also heard about this on youtube and placed an order last night with the code Girlfriend. However, I started getting worried that it was just advertising since most youtubers got them for free through Mylikes. However, my worries are put to ease with your post/swatch and watching msjenfabulous videos! :)

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  26. It's a pretty new brand, probably that's why :) I wouldn't have known about it had I not seen people talk about it on Youtube! :)

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  27. It's a perfect summer color :)

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  28. Ah I am just seeing your comment, yes we MUST! Omg martini manis, I could fly out there for just this! :)

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  29. It's a really unique color, I've never seen a color like this before either :)

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  30. You're very welcome. I cannot blame you for feeling this way at all as I was skeptical at first as well. I don't find receiving free products for reviewing purposes wrong but there are a lot of people who abuse this. She is one of the few people that I really trust and really believe that she is always expressing her honest opinions even if she did receive the product free. I don't think the polishes were sent to her though, regardless I really loved her swatches and knew I had to pick some up for myself :) I hope you love your Julep polishes, I cannot wait to get some more colors already!

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  31. Virginia ChristensenAugust 23, 2011 at 11:33 AM

    Thanks for the swatches and the review - I like hearing that the hefty price tag ($14) per polish is justified by not having to use as much. I just signed up for the Julep Maven program and can't wait to get my sneak peak box!
    -Jen
    http://makesitup.blogspot.com/

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