What Would My Julep Custom Nail Polish Color Be? Mindy!

Hey Pandas!
I have a really exciting post for you today! I was contacted by Julep; they are looking for inspiration for a new nail polish color! I thought about it, and here is what I came up with!

(Picture credits to Fox.com, Lilly Pulitzer, and Pantone.com)
Julep has a ton of gorgeous colors that you can see HERE, and they are all named after strong, beautiful, passionate woman. Currently, though, they are missing a 'Mindy'.
My custom nail polish color is inspired both by Mindy Kaling and her alter-ego Mindy Lahiri on her show 'The Mindy Project'. Both Mindy's are smart, funny, and colorful, so I wanted my polish to reflect that.
My dream polish would be a vibrant hot pink cream polish with green and ocean blue shimmer running throughout. It would not be overwhelming glitter because after all, Mindy is a classy and professional OBGYN, but she still knows how to have fun with color in and out of the office.
The blue shimmer is also representative of the color of her scrubs on the show, as well as Danny Castellano's, because, well, we can't forget her cuter than cute love interest!
A pretty hot pink base with an unexpected pop of green and blue that positively glows in the sunlight would be the perfect 'Mindy' color, and for me as well!
I also want to invite you to enter the Julep New York Fashion Week Sweepstakes!! You can win a chance for you and your BFF to go to New York with a $5,000 shopping spree, a $500 Uber credit, and to attend a fashion show! If you enter via my referral link below, you'll be helping me win this as my custom color! A win-win!
Enter HERE!!!
Thanks everyone and good luck!!

Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Eyeshadow in Beach Sand: Swatches and Review

I have heard the buzz about these new Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Eyeshadows and seen them on Sephora.com, but when I saw them in person, I just had to play with them. Call me curious, but I really wanted them to be something special! Were they? Let's find out!

After playing with them, I was pretty impressed, and decided to pick up the color Beach Sand. This is normally not a color I gravitate towards. I would have picked up the brilliant green, but I need to round out my stash a bit more and a dark bronze is something I am missing.

For $18, you get .16oz of color in a little bottle that remind me of the LUSH cosmetic bottles. It comes with a cap and then you replace it with the brush top, which I like, so I KNOW no one has used that brush. As you can see in the first picture, the color is separated and in the above picture it is mixed together. You have to shake this before each use otherwise is separates into color and coconut water/argan oil mix.

This color is stunning...a rich chocolate...and is formulated without all the bad stuff (as per usual Josie) and is supposed to be a bi-phase shadow with the first layer being a nourishing coconut water and the second being argan oil that makes your eyes look younger. I have to be honest, I thought this would be a hot mess on my oily eyes...especially since reviews of the new cheek/lip creamy oils were pretty terrible.

But before I get into the wear time...let me show you my swatches of all the other colors taken in Sephora:

Don't you love that Rainforest Green?! I am still in love with it!!

Here is another swatch of my color, Beach Sand. I love that it is darker and has a nice depth/almost metallic look to it. Now, let's discuss application and wear.

Good:

You only need a drop per eyelid---saving product

Buildable if you so wish

It feels cooling and refreshing

It dries down quickly

It didn't budge on my oily eyes (with primer) for 9 hours!! (And then I took my makeup off)

Comes off easily without any special makeup remover

Bad:

Dries almost TOO Quickly

A bit hard to blend out

Brush it comes with is hard to use

Not waterproof

Now, the fact that it isn't waterproof isn't bad. It wears like iron as long as you aren't going swimming, so do not worry about some tears, etc. I would also be hard pressed to use this in any other situation other than a complete wash of color on the eyelid because it is already panic-inducing to blend. You have about a second or two!

So, if you want something to lock onto even the oiliest of lids and give you a gorgeous, good-for-you dose of color, I love this!! Stay away if you dislike application that has a steep learning curve. Or maybe I am just very klutzy. Either way...

Overall, I am really happy with this and will probably purchase the green! What do you think? Yay or nay on coconut water eyeshadow?

Jason Wu for Lancome Pre-Fall 2014 Blush Subtil in Pressed Rose: Review and Swatches

I can't believe it is only June and there is such a thing as 'Pre-Fall', but for me, right now, that only means joy as I have my hands on an amazing item from Jason Wu's second collaboration with Lancôme.

Can we just talk about how I have the most awesome Mom? She picked this up for me at Nordstrom (they were still in the shipping boxes when she spotted them) so they were brand brand new. A purchase of a blush or eye shadow palette gets you a limited edition floral print bag as well, so hop on that!

She picked up the other color (Sheer Macaroon Pink) and mine is Pressed Rose, which is the pinker of the two and retails for $30 for a powder blush and cream highlighter. There is a plastic insert that keeps the blush and cream separate between uses. 

This collection is supposed to be inspired by romanticism and dark glamour, and I can see that in the pretty pinks of the collection, the slightly gothic-victorian flower print adorning the packaging and the deep jewel tones of the eye shadow palette. This is the Blush Subtil formula which is silky smooth and oil free.

Here is an up close shot of the blush. I find that this doesn't swatch well with a finger as you will see in the following pictures, but it is easy to overdo it with a brush because it is so silky and powdery, so be careful. It builds to a pretty luminous finish and lasts about 8 hours on my skin.

The highlighter looks shimmery, but translates into more of a glow on the cheeks. It has a nice slip to it and is easy to apply, but wears well. On my slightly oily skin it sticks around for about 6-7 hours, but I only like to apply a small amount. You can easily build this for a more glowy effect.

The pink is a bit dusty, which I like, and the highlighter runs pinkish as well. They are very easy to blend, but you can still make them very subtle (hence the name, Blush Subtil). I am not one for trying to look like I am wearing blush, so this is perfect for me. 

My momma is really knocking it out of the park lately (thanks Momma!).

Overall, the packaging is simply stunning...the bag as a gift with purchase is to die for, and the colors are wearable and soft. I am definitely picking up the lipstick in Hibiscus when I get back into a Nordstrom (she got the Rose Royce (love that name!!) lipstick and it is gorgeous as well). 

Anyone else loving this new Jason Wu for Lancôme collection? I will be doing a look with this duo soon!