Manicure Monday: Leopard Nails & Julep Maven Review/Giveaway!

I am SO excited for Manicure Monday today, because I have a super fun tutorial for you! I'm guessing you've seen all of the amazing leopard print nails on Pinterest.  Well, guess what? They are actually pretty easy to do...just slightly time consuming! I received a Julep Maven box to review (I will tell you more about this great program at the end of the tutorial), so I wanted to come up with a fun way to showcase the nail polish they sent me.  I have been too scared to attempt leopard-print before, but I'm so glad I finally did! Here is how to get the look:

Start by painting a base coat.  I used Julep's hot-pink "Eva" on all my nails, except the accent nail.  For my ring finger I chose Julep "Sienna", a gorgeous and shimmery gold (looks silver in some lighting).

Next, paint on some irregular-shaped spots in a contrasting color. You don't want them to be perfect.  As you can tell, I used too much polish on the accent nail spots...it's ok though, I just had to wait a bit longer for those to dry.

Now, you want to paint around the spots with a dark color.  Just place the polish around two or three edges of the spots, don't paint a full circle around them.  Add a couple random dark spots to fill in  some empty space.  

When I was at Walgreens the other day, I found a great black nail polish from Sinful Colors, called "Time Off". It was in a Halloween display and it's specifically made for nail art (it has a skinny brush built-in). This makes it SO much easier.  There are also nail art pens, which I haven't tried yet, but I imagine they would be even better.  If you don't have a skinny brush or nail art pen, you could just use a toothpick. 

Now, just add a clear top coat and you are done.  Mine didn't turn out perfect, but I love the fun leopard-print look and I will definitely be doing this again!  

Ok, let me tell you more about the Julep Maven program.  First, you take a little quiz to determine your style.  Each month there is a different box to choose from in 5 categories: Boho Glam, American Beauty, Bombshell, Classic With a Twist, and It Girl.  I love dark, vampy, sparkly nail colors...so I went with the Bombshell box.  The nice thing is that you can choose one style to start off with, then change it the next month if you want.  You also have the option of skipping the month, or you could even have it sent to a friend at no extra charge.  Here is what came in my September Bombshell box:

There was a hot pink nail polish ("Eva") and a shimmery gold foil ("Sienna").  The gold really looks silver to me in most lighting, but either way it is beautiful.  Also included was a moisturizing Pedi Creme, which I haven't yet tried (I can't wait to test it out though, because my feet need a pedicure...bad).  Each box has over $40 worth of product included, but only costs $19.99 each month (including shipping).  I think this is a great deal for what you receive.  I would say the quality is comparable to my Butter London nail polishes (which are my current favorites). 

Well, guess what?  You all have the opportunity to try out a Julep Maven box for only 1 cent!  Yes, you read correct...one penny.  You can cancel at any time too, so I honestly don't see why you wouldn't give it a try!  Just visit Julep.com, enter promo code MODERNMODESTBEAUTY at checkout and all you will have to pay is 1¢.  Also, Julep Maven is giving away a free box to one of you lucky readers!  The giveaway will run through October 8th and is only open to those with a U.S. or Canadian address.  Make sure to enter using the Rafflecopter widget below and good luck!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway