Bella Sassy Nails : Another Mani Monday
Allow me to introduce Laree, my new fave color from my very first Julep Maven Box. Julep is a 5-free, vegan brand, meaning it doesn’t contain any “formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, DBP, camphor, and animal ingredients or byproducts” according to their site. And now that I’ve tried it I can understand its cult-like popularity among polish aficionados.
Being the serial nail polish hoarder that I am, you’d think I’d be more adventurous with my color selections. Although I have nearly 100 bottles of polish in my personal stash, I’d still say that my color palette is on the conservative side. Which is why, despite my freakish control issues, I (kinda) like the idea of being surprised with bold, new colors delivered to my doorstep every month.
I’m trying to work on my “surrender and just go with it” attitude. Pray for me, y'all. My little monthly surprise colors were ones that I doubt I’d gravitate towards and try out if they were staring at me on a shelf. Yet, I must confess, somehow they are working their way into my heart.
I decided to try Laree first, a bright pink with a gold sheen, mostly because it seemed right for summer. It’s fun, flirty and most important, long lasting. I used it in conjunction with Gelous Nail Gel Coat applying a layering technique that consists of six thin coats of polish– Gelous-Color-Gelous-Color-Seviche Topcoat-Gelous– and my nails are four days old today without one chip.
Not only am I surprised at how much I love the color, but this Gelous stuff though– it’s my new fave go-to clear polish. This is my second time giving it a go, because the first time I bought and tried it, I was sorely disappointed and ended up tossing it aside for months. But now that I have a technique down, Gelous has really impressed me with it’s ability to not only strengthen my nails (must be all the keratin it claims to have), but it helps my polish to last. I think it’s the layering.
Anyhoo, can’t wait to see what surprises await me in next month’s Julep Maven box!