I have this bad habit of wearing polishes and not taking photos of them… Julep Leah is not the first Julep I have worn, but it is somehow the first Julep I have photos of! It’s a bright green creme with little bits of shimmer. Really pretty if you are into bright colors! Pictured above is two coats.

Julep retails for $14 a polish and can be purchased here. If you are a Maven, Julep polishes and products are 20%, and you can join by taking this quiz.

Hand Cream Quest (HCQ) is a journey on which I embark to find the perfect hand cream… not too thick, not too light, not too greasy, not too dry, not too fragranced, and most importantly, incredibly moisturizing! I will judge based on price, packaging, texture, absorbance, scent, and the Zoo Factor (a combination of all the above + staying power + working at a zoo).

If you feel that a product should be considered for my HCQ, please send me an email at paulina@thegoreprincess.com and I will add it to my to try/to buy list!  To view other hand creams on my quest, click here!

Price: Buy at Bath and Body Works for $4 each or 2 for $5! Each container contains 2 oz.

Packaging: The packaging is nice. Standard. The lotion is easy to dispense and fairly compact to fit in your purse or backpack.

Texture & absorbance: The lotion is light and absorbent. My skin is dry to the touch after applying.

Scent: I love the scent of this! It smells like crisp winter with sweet apples.  I think Bath & Body Works usually does a good job with appetizing scents. The scent is strong initially, then fades away.

Zoo Factor: It smells good, which is why I’ve been using it, but staying power = zero. I don’t think this is even very moisturizing, since my hands seem to be dryer after usage, even if I wear gloves on top.

Buy it again? No. I’m not going to buy something that dries my hands out.

Hand Cream Quest (HCQ) is a journey on which I embark to find the perfect hand cream… not too thick, not too light, not too greasy, not too dry, not too fragranced, and most importantly, incredibly moisturizing! I will judge based on price, packaging, texture, absorbance, scent, and the Zoo Factor (a combination of all the above + staying power + working at a zoo).

If you feel that a product should be considered for my HCQ, please send me an email at paulina@thegoreprincess.com and I will add it to my to try/to buy list!  To view other hand creams on my quest, click here!

Price: EOS Hand Lotion retails for $3.99, but is often on sale and you can find it at nearly any drugstore.

Packaging: The small oval package is cute and fits nicely in your hand, purse, or pocket. However, the lid is? Not really open friendly. This is one container you don’t want to mess with after doing your nails and needing some moisture. You will dent  your nails.

Texture & absorbance: The hand lotion is light and absorbs quickly. It’s not very greasy and doesn’t leave any residue on your phone, keyboard, or pen.

Scent: I’m not a fan of this cucumber scent. It smells like chemical cucumber, which is not that appealing. It is on the fainter side, and not noticeable when your hands aren’t near your nose.

Zoo Factor: This is my go to lotion for the zoo so far. It’s cheap, so it’s not a big deal if I keep washing it off my hands. And because it’s cheap, I don’t mind having to constantly reapply. Like previously mentioned, it is light and absorbs quickly, but it only seems to moisturize briefly. Staying power isn’t too strong, and if my hands are really dry, I have to really reapply. It also takes a couple applications after acetone wreaks havoc on my skin post-manicure.

Buy it again? Maybe, if I can’t find anything better in its price range. You get what you pay for. It’s not horrible. It’s not amazing, I would die without it! It serves its purpose for the most part, and that’s to keep my hands hydrated, even if it means having to reapply a lot.

Nefertiti… Titi or Tits for short. I got her last May, and I think she was the best $100 + a couple hundred in vet bills that I ever spent. She is such a little goofball. She loves this little wicker stool chair thing on my balcony and will sit in it whenever it is sunny. Sometimes she likes to chew on it. I got lucky somehow and was able to snap a few shots of her under it. She usually runs away when I bring out the camera. Yup, that’s my cat.

Zoya Kelly, a cool-toned medium grey with a hint of blue. I don’t know why I didn’t try this sooner. It’s gorgeous. I bought this when Kelly was super hyped up about two years ago, but never wore it. Greys aren’t really my color, and most of the time, I think they look awful on me. This is pretty though.

It is a nice creme, but a bit on the watery side. Nothing that two coats of polish won’t fix though.

Buy through Zoya for $8.

American Apparel Meteor Shower. Is this what a meteor shower looks like? Because I sure as heck want gold flakes raining down from the sky on my head. Meteor Shower is a clear polish with bits of irregular shaped gold glitter suspended in it. They’re not flakies in the “regular” sense, but rather flakes cut out from the same material that “regular” rainbow, bar, hex, etc. glitter are made of. The result is this.

Pictured above is two coats. I found this to be on the thick side, which made it difficult to place the glitter on the nail. I did not try thinning it since my thinner is still wrapped up and lost in my room. Because of the material this is cut from, the some of the flakes do curl up and stick up off the nail, which I find rather annoying because I keep randomly scratching myself. I used two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri on top, but I still find edges poking through. Still very pretty though.

I think this could be a cheaper alternative to Rococo Gold Leaf, which I have but have not tried yet. They are by no means dupes, but are similar enough so you don’t have to shell out $32 (I think?) for it. A look for less, if you will.

American Apparel Meteor Shower is available online here or in-stores for $6. Just as an FYI, if you purchase in-store, all nail lacquers are 3 for $15.