Ombre isn’t a new trend–it’s been around for a few years, on everything from clothing to nail art to hair. And yet, its popularity still isn’t fading! Why? Probably because ombre is so fun to create and so easy to DIY. Julep has shared a new ombre nail art tutorial that uses colors from their ‘Fall Into Ombre’ Welcome Box – FREE when you join Julep Maven.  I’ll have more info on that at the bottom of this post.

Here we go!  Let’s get started.

1. Choose three polishes that blend well together, spanning from dark to light. Not sure what to pick? You can’t go wrong with a deep, opaque color, a lighter shade of the same color, and white. Polish your nails with your darkest color. Allow them to dry.

2. Pour two small dollops of your medium and light colors on a smooth surface (like a piece of wax paper). The two dollops together should be about two-thirds the length of your nails. Use a toothpick or orangewood stick to swirl them together slightly so they mix in the middle, forming a gradient.

3. Dip the edge of a cosmetic sponge directly into your dollops of nail polish then align the sponge so that the lightest color is at the tip of your nail. Press the polish onto your nails with the sponge, dabbing and repeating until you achieve the desired effect. This doesn’t have to be precise!

4. Clean up the edges with our polish corrector pen or a thin brush dipped in polish remover. Finish with a top coat. Voilà!

Get the colors used in this look for FREE when you join Julep Maven, the subscription beauty box program. As a Julep Maven you’ll receive a box of brand-new, full sized nail color and beauty products each month – and you deserve it!  

Info on Julep Maven:

• – Julep Maven is affordable. Every month you get more than $40 of full-size products for just $24.99 per month (tip – prepay for three months at a time and save $15).
• – Julep Maven is the only customizable box of full-size, limited-run nail colors and beauty innovations. That means no surprises, no dupes or colors you don’t like. You can see what is in your box each month and have the option of swapping out colors/products you already have or don’t want.
• – Julep Mavens get 20% off all single product purchases, free shipping, early access to secret sales. If you are passionate about your polish, that adds up to some amazing savings!  This is a great way to save on Christmas gifts!!

LIMITED TIME OFFER! Join Maven and get the 4-piece Ombre Welcome Box FREE ($50+ value) – just pay $2.99 shipping with code FALLGIRL. Want an even better deal? Pre-pay for your first three months of Maven and get the Welcome Box and shipping FREE. Either way, you are going to LOVE being a Maven.

Jennifer Aniston is the epitome of classy and chic.  I love, along with many other women, love, love, love her style.  Her look last night at the Oscar’s was no exception!  Stunning!

Palladio’s Silk FX Palette in Debutante ($12, palladiobeauty.com) has the perfect eye shadow shades to replicate her makeup at home.  Use the top, champagne shade over the lid of the eye, into the inner corner, and on the inner third of the lower lash line.  Apply the second, ivory matte shade onto the brow bone to define and lift.  Use the third, matte taupe shade as a liner on the lower lash line as well as in the crease of the eyelid. Smudge the darkest shade into the upper lash line to accentuate your liner. Finish off the look with a swipe of Dermelect ‘ME’ Nail Lacquer in Moon Kissed ($14, Amazon.com). Celebrity manicurist Elle recommends using the Dermelect Memento Manicure Extender Top Coat ($16, dermelect.com) to achieve the perfect, long-lasting gel shine on your polish.

Now if I could only afford those shoes!

Did you know that Julep’s very popular monthly beauty box just got even better? Yes! Maven subscriptions can be customized to fit your style, your likes and your favorites even more now. Each month, Julep Mavens get:

• – A fully customized monthly delivery of over $40 in nail polish and beauty products for $24.99 a month, or just $19.99 a month if you sign up for the 3 month option
• – Flexibility to try one of five beauty styles each month or upgrade to get them all
• – 20% off and free shipping on other products at Julep.com
• – Exclusive access to the Secret Store each month
• – First dibs on monthly Mystery Boxes and the opportunity to win one, too

Not sure you want to be a Maven yet or know what style you are? Take the Maven Style Quiz and then use the code FREEBOX to get your first box free. Your box will ship for free and you are signing up for the monthly subscription service, however you can cancel at any time by simply contacting Julep Customer Service.  I’ve been signed up for 2 years now and I love it.  I look forward to my box every month!

Julep also makes a great gift. The Gift of Maven is perfect for birthdays, Mother’s Day, Graduation, your best friend’s birthday or any occasion. The Gift of Maven is available in 2, 4 or 6 month increments and does not auto-renew.

Become a Maven today!

If you haven’t heard of Piggy Paint nail polish let me tell you all about it.  It’s incredible!  It was made by moms for moms.  Once upon a time, a mom was painting her daughters nails on a styrofoam plate and she noticed that the nail polish that spilled on the plate actually ate through the plate.  It was at that time that she decided to research nail polish and make her own nail polish for her kids.  That lady was Melanie Hurley and her nail polish is Piggy Paint.

Piggy Paint is a water-based polish that is specially formulated of natural ingredients. Finally, a kid-friendly, pregnant-mama polish!  They say it’s as natural as mud!  It is free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate and acetone…and it’s made in the USA!  Check out their cute new spring colors:

(From left to right)  Girls Rule, Forever Fancy, Dragon Tears, Tea Party for Two, Sometimes Sweet, Jazz it Up, Ice Cream Dream, & Mac-n-Cheese Please.  Aren’t those cute names?  Speaking of cute…check out my little girl!

I think she’s cute but I might be more than a bit biased.  She loved having her nails painted!  I was worried because I’ve never painted them before.  We played with the bottles all week and worked on her colors with them.  (So far she can say them all except orange!)  Then on Saturday I got my hair dryer out and sat in the floor.  She sat in her little red rocking chair and held perfectly still while I painted each nail.  Then I held her hand and sang the ABC song twice while I blew her nails dry.  The song and hair dryer helped keep her distracted and she was happy the whole time.  I occasionally blew it in her face and she liked that.  Then we painted the other hand and repeated the drying process.  Perfect nails without a smudge!  The bottle recommends two coats but one coat covered well and I didn’t want to press my luck.

Here’s a picture of my little princess with her Daddy.  Her nail polish matched her Easter dress perfectly and everyone at church commented on her nails.  I was surprised how well the nail polish stayed on considering it’s a water-based polish.  It stayed on for two good days before it began chipping at all which is all I would expect anyway.  I think there’s going to be a lot of fingernail painting in our future…and I’m excited about it!

Want to buy?

You can buy Piggy Paint at Walmart and at PiggyPaint.com. To save 15% off your order enter “PiggyFun” at checkout.  This code expires April 30, 2013.

Want to win?

I have one “Toe-Tally Fancy” 3 polish set to giveaway to one lucky reader.  This is a $24.99 value!  Enter via the Rafflecopter code below.  Winners must be 18 years or older and from the continental United States.  Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Piggy Paint. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Spring has officially sprung!  However, if you live in a place like me you aren’t exactly seeing the trees blossom and hearing the birds sing just yet.  In order to help get us in the mood for spring I’m hosting a HUGE nail polish giveaway!  These fun colors will help boost your spirits and get your toes ready for sandal weather.  This giveaway will last for a few weeks and then it will end on the most dreaded day of the year.  That’s right, April 15th.  There will only be one winner but hopefully it will make someone’s April 15th fabulous.  Even if you don’t win, this gorgeous 35 piece nail polish set is very affordable so you might just want to order your own set.

What we’re giving away:

• A 32 piece set of vibrant nail color.  0.34 oz each.  This set contains glitter, metallic, & neon shades!
• 3 scented nail polish remover pads.

Why:

We love you!  That’s right, you!  Our readers are what keeps us doing what we’re doing day in and day out here in the blogosphere and we want to take a moment and say thank you!  We truly appreciate you.

How to enter:

Enter via the Rafflecopter below.  This giveaway is open to those who have a US shipping address or anyone who is okay receiving an Amazon gift card worth equal value.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are the perfect hues to wipe away those winter blues!  That’s a pretty catchy phrase, huh?  I made that up myself; feel free to quote me.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of blue nail polish.  To me it’s always been too bold and even a little child-like.  However these new richer blue shades have won me over.  Aren’t they elegant?  You can choose any shade from a deep cornflower to a midnight blue and still being in style this season.  Just be careful to not use this bold trend if your nails are too long because you don’t want to veer into tacky territory.

If you’re interested in any of the polishes above you can buy them at these locations:

• Butter London, Blagger $15 – Beauty.com
• Yves Saint Laurent, Bleu Magorelle $25 – Saksfifthavenue.com
• Ciate, Power Dressing $25 – Amazon.com
• ORLY, In the Navy $4.99 – Amazon.com
• Nails Inc London, Baker Street $19 – Amazon.com
• Illamasqua, Force $14 – Sephora.com
• Julep, Eloise $14 ($12 if you’re a Julep Maven) – Julep.com
• Sally Hansen, Co-bolt Blye  $7.72 for two pack – Amazon.com
• Opi, Unfor-gret-ably Blue $6.79 or in the Gelcolor for $17.66 – Amazon.com
• Max Factor, Royal Blue $16 – Nelly.com
• Essie, Aruba Blue $8 – Beauty.com

Please note that these prices could change at any time; this is just what they are listed at today when I wrote the post.

I am super excited to share this beauty program with you!  Do you love beautiful nail polish like me?  Has Pinterest inspired your love for beautifully manicured nails?  Would you like top of the line polish at a discount?  If you’ve answered yes to any of those questions, this deal is for you!

Julep has a new program called Julep Mavens and for $19.99 a month you can have $40+ worth of polish and goodies delivered to your door!  That’s a good deal on it’s own but I have a coupon code that will make your first month only $0.01.  You can cancel your account at any time but after you try this marvelous polish you might not want to!  Simply go to Julep.com, register, take the style quiz (to see which colors suit your style), enter code COLORS4ONE at checkout, select the Free Shipping for Mavens option, and proceed to purchase your $40+ bundle for only $0.01!

I would love to see which colors come in your monthly Julep box.  I’ll be posting pictures of my July box soon!  It included my three Maven style colors pictured above and a bonus 4th of July polish!

The latest trend in nail polish is minted manicures.  It will keep your tips looking like a million bucks and leave others green with envy.  Mint can be subtle or sharp, but it’s perfect to accent your summer florals.  Whether you wear an aquamarine shade or stay true to a pistachio hue, your minted nails will have you in style for the rest of the season.

• NARS Cosmetics nail polish in Kutki, $18
• Essie nail in Turquoise & Caicos, $8
• Forever 21 mint green nail polish in Minted Mean, $2.80
• Illamasqua matte finish nail polish in Nomad, $14
• L Oréal Paris nail polish in Club Prive, $5.99
• Deborah Lippmann glitter nail polish in Mermaid’s Dream, $18
• Revlon nail polish in Minted, $5.49
• China Glaze nail polish in For Audrey, $4.76
• Nicole by OPI Nail Lacquer in Baby Blue, $6.99
• Opi nail lacquer in Mermaid’s Tears, $16 {My personal favorite and can be seen in this Dyson post here if you look close!}

Update: You can get this shipped for only $0.01 when you use the coupon code COLOR2012. 

I am super excited to share this beauty program with you!  Do you love beautiful nail polish like me?  Has Pinterest inspired your love for beautifully manicured nails?  Would you like top of the line polish at a discount?  If you’ve answered yes to any of those questions, this deal is for you!

Julep has a new program called Julep Mavens and for $19.99 a month you can have $40+ worth of polish and goodies delivered to your door!  That’s a good deal on it’s own but I have a coupon code that will make your first month only $1.  You can cancel your account at any time but after you try this marvelous polish you might not want to!  Simply go to Julep.com, register, take the style quiz (to see which colors suit your style), enter code COLOR2012 at checkout, select the Free Shipping for Mavens option, and proceed to purchase your $40+ bundle for only $1!

I would love to see which colors come in your monthly Julep box.  I’ll be posting pictures as soon as my first box arrives!

Thanks, Week99er for the $0.01 coupon code!