Julep Maven Review + #H54F Link Ups / My Monochromatic Life

I am super excited for Friday how about you? This was the first week since the week before Christmas that was a full 5 day work week. I realize this is not a sympathetic statement, I do not mean it be so much as to say this week was an adjustment. That being said ,part of this week was getting back into a routine. One of my routines is following the actual

1. YOGA

After a week off from yoga, cause I got my tattoo, I went back. I won't lie it was super hard. She did this crazy twisting side plank thing. Woof. It was hard. I am surprised I got the motivation to go back. It does help that I go with a friend so I am accountable each week. What was positive this week was even though I took a week off I was still able to do up dog. This may seem silly to some, but this legit took me weeks to build up enough strength to do. So #winning #yogawinning

2. LOAFERS

It has been really chilly lately so I wore my new boots a couple of days. Rest assured though that the second it warmed up above 10 degrees theses loafers were on my feet. I love them!!! Downside is the bottoms are super slippery and I almost fell square on my face walking in to work one morning. But I can't stop/won't stop. Get yourself a pair of burgundy loafers pronto-squanto.

3. SISTERS
This week I finally got to see the movie Sisters with my sister. I did not have super high hopes for it. The reviews I read were pretty lukewarm. Basically attributing the success to the chemistry between Fey and Poehler. It was much funnier. Basic plot: two different personalities, throw a party, chaos ensues, role credits. But each of them basically played against type which was amazing. I laughed hard and cringed a few times. Go see it!

4. ANNOUNCEMENT
I am very excited about something that his happening on Sunday. I cannot tell you what just yet, but follow me on instagram @mymonochromaticlife and I will announce it soon. I am really excited about this so stay tuned!

5. JULEP MAVEN BOX

Have you heard of this Julep before? I knew of it for a while but was not totally sold on the idea of a monthly nail polish box. At my birthday I got a notice, I think on facebook, that I could get my first box free because it is my birthday. I did a little reading and turns out you can skip months if you want. I figured, what's the harm? I get a free box, maybe skip a month or so or eventually cancel if I wanted.

Unfortunately I did not get time to actually paint my nails but I did paint a swatch. Also, in the picture of the swatch I painted is not a completely accurate representation. The purple is a bit lighter and more muted in person. It seems the deal is in each box you get two nail colors and another beauty item. The purple "Joanne" is really pretty. I loved a dark nail polish, especially in the winter. I really enjoy contrasts and this color against my skin is a standout. When painting the swatch you can tell it is a rich color. Some polishes go on thin and require multiple coats, but this one it seems I could almost get away with one coat...almost. The other color is from their birthstone collection. As I am January, I was surprised to see such a pink color. January's birthstone is garnet, which is a deep, beautiful red. I had real problems with this one. There are several reasons I do not like this one 1) It's pink. I really do not love pink 2) There are gold flecks in it. I do not want 10 sparkly nails 3) remember those thing polishes I was talking about? Yea, this is it. Lastly the beauty item was a liquid eyeliner. I have been using a gel eyeliner for some time that I love. Liquid liners, if not done perfect, can look too stark and uneven. This one in particular was very thin. Too thin really I did not like it. I had to go back over my lid several times to get a decent line and to even it out. I was not a fan. Overall the box was ok. I will try it one more time. What do you think? Are you a Maven? Would you do it again? Leave a comment below I would love to hear from you.