NOTD: Julep in 'Kate'

Today's nail of the day is one of the polishes I got in my Julep Maven intro box. It is the opaque white with pearl color called 'Kate' (2152)

You can definitely see the sheen of the pearl color in the bottle here. Super pretty right?!! I was so excited to put this on my nails but then when I did, I realized that the pearly shimmer is non existent on your nails :( 
Very sad.  The application of this polish was interesting. It was very VERY thick, almost too thick.  The thickness made the color super opaque (rare for a pure white polish) however pretty hard to work with. The brush is about the same size as an OPI brush, maybe a tad smaller.

I also found it difficult to use the little brush handle with this one... overall application was pretty tough but I was left with an opaque white finish.
I think it is hard to judge a nail polish collection based on a white color--whites are generally pretty kooky colors so I'm going to wait to try out the raspberry color I got in my box as well.
As of now I'm feeling pretty 'meh' about Julep nail polishes... I'm happy I have an opaque white now but the application was almost too rough to be worth it.

What do you guys think? Do you have Julep polishes that work well?

xx SJ

Save or Splurge? Butter London Nail Polish

Today's Save or Splurge is on Butter London nail lacquer, a '3 Free' polish with English inspired (and super cute!) names:

From left: Tart with a heart, The full monty, Trout Pout, Primrose Hill Picnic, Victoriana, Bluey

Butter London polishes cost $14 for a .4 fl oz bottle. The price is due to them being non-toxic, and in fact the first non-toxic polish sold in the US.  The polishes are free of parabens, formaldehyde, and tuolene (all things we've heard before that are dangerous).
The packaging of this product is so pretty. The cap comes off to reveal the smaller brush handle inside:

 The brush itself is very small. Even smaller than an Essie brush:

For those girls that love OPI for the size of the brush may want to steer clear of this polish for that reason! As far as application is concerned, these polishes are amazing. It takes two coats (sometimes one) for full opaque color and it applies so creamy smooth. The polish also smells a bit better than normal! A little less alcohol-y if that makes sense.
I started buying these polishes because they are what is sold in my University's bookstore on campus, so they were just what was easily available. I probably would have never picked one up had it not been for that simply because they are expensive.
However, I do recommend these polishes. They are great quality and also non-toxic (always a plus!). I would recommend splurging on one. Just try out one of their more unique shades in a cream color. You won't be dissappointed and then you have a super nice polish in your collection. Save on more mainstream shades like red or baby pink though. You can find the same color at a cheaper cost.
http://www.butterlondon.com/

I hope this was informative and helpful! Look for future NOTD posts where I wear my Butter London colors!

What's your favorite Butter London color?

xxSJ