Julep Amber

Tonight I have Julep Amber for you, one of the polishes I got with my last Maven box. This is a polish from Julep's new suede formula, so these dry down to a matte finish but the shimmer in the polish gives it the look of texture. Julep describes Amber as a "golden bronze suede." This is a pretty spot on description-- this shade has golden tones in it, but definitely isn't just gold.

The formula on Amber is a little bit on the thick side, but fairly easy to work with. I did notice that my bottle is becoming a little gunky around the neck where I wipe off the brush, so that's something to watch out  for. Because it dries quickly, you definitely need to watch how many brushstrokes you use so you don't drag the polish away from your cuticle if you go over it again. I'm writing this review after the second time I applied this polish (now as a full manicure) and I did notice that I got a few bald patches when I went over areas I had already painted-- so that's something to be careful of. However, two coats was still good enough to get nice opaque coverage. The finish on the nail is smooth, but I did notice my edges were a little rough. You also need to be careful about getting too much polish on your brush, because you can get streaks of pigment when you apply it (you can see this on my middle nail).

Artificial light with flash:

Artificial light:

Natural light - shade:

In real life Amber has a sort of antique feel to it, which I love. I also love the suede finish and how it looks, even if it's not a new thing.