I love nail polish. But I’m also a sloppy manicurist. That being said, I don’t like to go get professional manicures because I had a nightmare scenario where my cuticle got ripped open down to the first knuckle. It scarred me for life. Not physically but definitely mentally. So, I’m a dedicated do-your-own-nails kind of gal.

Which is why I also got super pumped for Julep’s plie wand; an ergonomically designed tool that allows you more control with your polishing. I participated in the crowd funding campaign, which also means I prepaid for my May Maven box. Two birds, one very cool stone.

Image above politely borrowed from julep.com

How it works: the base has a magnetic connector, which attaches to a hollow cap. You can easily fit the hollow cap over most julep polishes by wiggling their own cap off, leaving behind what I’m calling the brush-cap. Using your dominant hand, you hold the plie wand like a pen between your thumb and index finger. Brush like normal. For your non-dominant hand the base of the wand gently rotates so it can be held in whatever way feels most natural. You really have to play with it, but that part is customizable to your own comfort level. This may sound slightly confusing but the plie wand is really intuitive.

Image above politely borrowed from julep.com

You can also purchase extra magnetic caps with precision brushes and some creativity tools–a striping tool and a dotter. All at a slightly discounted price, if you’re a Maven of course.

Since receiving my plie wand this month, I’ve used it three times. I’m getting better with every use, but here are my first impressions.

Pros:

Even after one use my edges are cleaner and more precise, particularly on my non-dominant hand.

Easy to adjust to. Using the wand doesn’t feel like a beauty science project. It just makes sense.

Comfortable weight and easy grip.

Most Julep polishes’ top caps can be wiggled off to reveal a brush cap. Even the ones that came before the plie wand.

An increased sense of confidence in my polishing skills. Woot!

 

Cons:

I’m stumped by how to fully clean the additional brushes I purchased for reuse. Even when I soak them in remover, I can’t get it all off.

Getting the interior brush-cap out from the magnetic cap can be very tricky. (Solution: take the narrow end of the wand and push the brush-cap out through the little hole on the top. Still, annoying though.)

Harder but not impossible to use with non-Julep polishes…hence my purchasing extra caps.

 

For myself, I have quite a budding collection of Julep polishes, so that last one might not be a big deal for me, but could certainly trouble you. Overall, I’m glad I purchased Julep’s plie wand. Since it’s user-friendly, I imagine I will only get better with the wand as time goes by.

Intrigued by the new tech? Get your plie wand here…

Plie Wand Page

Want to be a Maven? Click this link to get your first box…

Julep Maven