This is going to sound like one long commercial...

You all know that I've been fascinated (obsessed) with fingernail polish lately. After living 60 years without even noticing the stuff, I suddenly need to have my nails polished at all times. I've even let them grow a little bit, and I've learned to type that way.

Over the past year, I've tried many brands, and I've been happy enough with most of them, though none of my home manicures lasted more than 3 or 4 days without needing a touch-up or a complete re-do. That is, until I started noticing other Facebook friends' mentions of Julep.

Julep is sort of a Nail Polish of the Month Club, and all of my friends who are members rave about the quality. It's not inexpensive, so I had to mull it over for a bit before joining. But I figured- hey, the first Maven box is free, and there does not seem to be a minimum number of purchases, and... all of my friends love it. So, I took the style test and:

This is not just the Maven box- I ordered a couple of extra polish colors- every month there are add-on sales and other polishes for $5 or so a bottle. I could not resist. Usually you get 2 polishes and another product (or 3 polishes, depending on the style you select, for around $19-$24) in a Maven box, which is shipped once a month.

I could not resist trying all of the colors out the first night.

I am seriously in love with this glitter (side note: this stuff does not come off easily).

First Julep home-mani. Color: Natalie. I love this creamy solid pink.

This is what it looked like 5 days later! It finally chipped on the morning on the 8th day! 8 days on a home mani! This is miracle stuff. (oops- I have the above 2 pics switched- this one is the newly applied polish, and the one above is 5 days later- not a big deal, but I see a little bit of edge bloopers in this shot, which tells me it was the new one). Seriously, the mani lasted 8 full days, and I wasn't easy on the nails either. I wrote an entire book proposal with this mani, and did a lot of yard work, and the nails looked great throughout.

Next color: Isla, a pearly white

After 5 days, still beautiful. But I had already proven my point about how long the polish lasts, and I was ready for a change.

Next up Sydney- which is an orangey red.

This stuff is seriously 50's glam (and it's more orange than it looks in this shot). I'm on day 4 with this color, and the long-lastingness of the others was not a fluke. It still looks brand new.

It's also great for Gma/Girlie afternoons!

In short- I love love love this stuff and give it my highest recommendation. And I have more colors coming. I promise, Julep did not pay me to say any of these things...

Oh, their customer service is great too- the blue polish arrived with the lid partially open and the polish thick and gooey. They sent a replacement immediately.

These are the colors (plus Julep base coat) coming for June. I cannot wait!