Julep July 2014

Julep July 2014 Review

Now that Julep is in its second month of "customize your own box" boxes, I have to say, I am just as happy fully customizing my box as I was when the colors were set in pairs already.  Also, I apparently have boring polish color choices.

Julep July 2014

The beauty item this month was the Bare Body Milk lotion.

Bare Body Milk lotion and bonus Tootsie Rolls.  Because 'Mur'ca.

This lotion is light and smells very, very faintly like something tropical.  Other than that, it is pretty unremarkable.  I like it, and I needed a new bottle of lotion, so this is working out nicely.

The Chosen Ones

This month, Julep released the Poolside collection.  It was filled with brightly colored creme polishes, with a stardust (matte textured glitter) thrown in as an add-on option.  Bright chartreuse! Bright fuchsia! Bright cerulean!  ...And the colors I chose.

Lorenzana and Kelsey

I think I picked the two colors closest to neutrals in the collection.  This is why I can't be left up to my own polish-making decisions.  I'd just pick neutrals, every time!

They are pretty, though.
Lorenzana, top, and Kelsey, bottom

Lorenzana is more greige than purple (like it looks above).  Julep calls it a "shiitake creme" to sound fancy.  It is a nice understated color, and it is on the unusual side for a neutral, therefore I like it.  I've been more into demure nail looks in the past few months, and this will be a nice polish to wear year-round.  Julep does cream finishes really, really well.  They barely need two coats, never are streaky, and last for almost a week without chipping on me.

Kelsey is a pale peach creme (yeah, like I need another one of those), and it made my skin look a little redder than I would like.  I think this would look fantastic on someone with a darker skin tone than me.

I decided to use them both at once in a Ruffian-style manicure that I wore for a full week.  Yup.  A whole week.  That's how busy I have been! I don't even have time to do my nails any day other than Sunday!

Julep Lorenzana over Julep Kelsey

Julep is now a minimum of $19.99 per month if you prepay for 3 months at a time.  New customers also only get to skip twice per year.  If you want to sign up, you can try a starter kit with the code FREEBOX and you only pay shipping!  Julep polishes last almost a week on me without chipping (and that's without a base or top coat) and are some of my favorites.  I think the quality is worth the price.

To try it, please use my link here.  I'll get a discount on my next box for each referral.

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.

Julep June 2014

Julep, June 2014

This month, Julep is a little different for me.  I decided that since Julep FINALLY listened to the people and is now letting you build your own box, I should take advantage of that.  I pre-paid for 3 months to keep my $19.99/month price (and then my sister gifted me 4 months for my birthday! Thanks, Beth!) so I wouldn't have to pay $24.99 for the custom box.

Julep June 2014 First Look

Julep's new system allows you to pick two polishes and one product (or additional polish) for the small box.  The larger box is a higher price point and you probably get to pick more things.  I'm not sure, as I did not choose this option.

Julep June 2014, Pixy Stix, Natalia, Phia, and Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat

Because I got to customize my box, I got exactly the colors I wanted from this month's collection.  I chose the Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat as my product, Natalia from Boho Glam, and Phia from It Girl.

Three Wishes collection

The base coat goes on milky and matte, and dries in about a minute.  I have similar base coats that cost way less, but I like that Julep products are all compatible and my polish won't dissolve my base coat, and my top coat won't dissolve my polish.  That's always a mess!

Labels

Natalia is supposed to be a copper metallic, but it looks more like a rose-gold foil to me.  It's pretty, whatever you want to call it!  It dries fast, like most things packed with shimmer, and is not streaky at all.  The shimmer is more foil-y than chrome-y, so you get a more even finish that's super shiny but not mirror-reflective.  This is one of my favorite Julep colors ever!

Phia is called an orchid iridescent chrome, but it is just a sheer purple-gold sparkly duochrome to me.  There's some iridescent sparkles to it, but I don't think Julep knows that chrome finishes are supposed to be mirror-reflective.  It's pretty, but it is more subtle than I wanted it to be.  It definitely needs two coats, as it is on the sheerer side of polishes.

The bonus this month was some Pixy Stix, and I got 3 of the same color/flavor.  Booo!

Not the best nail pick, but Natalia as an accent to Phia.  Both are really shiny and Natalia is definitely pink IRL.

All in all, I'm loving Natalia, I like Phia, and the base coat is kinda boring.  I do like that I can pick my two favorite colors each month, now, though!  That makes this a little more worth-it to me.

Julep is now a minimum of $19.99 per month if you prepay for 3 months at a time.  New customers also only get to skip twice per year.  If you want to sign up, you can try a starter kit with the code FREEBOX and you only pay shipping!  Julep polishes last almost a week on me without chipping (and that's without a base or top coat) and are some of my favorites.  I think the quality is worth the price.

To try it, please use my link here.  I'll get a discount on my next box for each referral.



No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.

Julep May 2014

Julep May 2014: It Girl

Why are all of my subscription boxes so late this month? It was a little annoying, especially because Julep usually arrives around the 1st of each month!

All May boxes came with Julep's Plié wand- a tool Julep crowd-sourced for funding.  The "It Girl" style profile usually has 3 polishes and zero other things, but this month it came with 2 polishes and the wand.  I *had* to get this one, because one of the polishes was named, "Jules"! 

Julep May, First Look

The polishes in this style profile are Jules, a warm powder pink creme, and Kam, a vintage spearmint creme.

Julep Kam and Jules

I'm sooo glad my namesake polish is such a "me" color! I have way too many pale pinks, but I can always justify another.

Julep Kam and Jules

Onto the good stuff...

Julep Plié Wand, Extra Caps, and It Girl Polishes

Julep included extra brushes with the Plié wand, so you can use it with your non-Julep polishes.  They also included a replaceable cap, so you can use it with your entire Julep collection.  I took some pictures of the simple cap exchange procedure.

Top Left: Julep polish with normal cap and Plié adaptor cap
Top Right: Pull the normal cap straight off
Bottom Left: Push the adaptor cap onto the bottle
Bottom Right: Snap the magnetic Plié wand into the magnetic adaptor cap

It's pretty easy!

Julep Jules with Plié Wand

The wand extends the polish cap, making it so you can hold it like a pen or pencil.  It also bends and swivels, so you can find the perfect polishing position.

Top: My handwriting grip
Bottom: My traditional polishing grip
Julep Alexandra on my nails

I'll update this post with swatches of the polishes.  I've been wearing Jules since Saturday afternoon, when the box came, and it's now Tuesday.  That's a pretty long time for me...

Julep is a monthly nail polish subscription service.  They are making some changes to their available choices, taking effect in June for new subscribers.  If you want to try it out for free, use code FREECOLOR to try it out! I do really like their polishes, they last a long time without chipping on me.  My referral link is here, I'll get bonus points for referring you, and you get a free box.  Win-win!

"My Maven" is $24.99/month (or $19.99 per month if you prepay for 3 months at a time) and is customizable- you pick 2 polishes from the current collection, and one beauty/makeup/hair item that is offered.  That is the normal box, but now you have the ability to customize.

"Maven Luxe" is $39.99/month (or $34.99/month if you prepay for 3 months at a time) and is also customizable, but you get to pick more products.

You earn 1 skip every six months, get a discount any time in the Maven shop, and have access to special deals and sales. You do earn points (Jules) for every box you take, other purchases, and referrals.  These can be spent on more boxes, products, etc...

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me. This post contains a referral link.

Julep April 2014 Classic with a Twist Review

Julep April 2014 Review

I had some Jules saved up, so I decided that I wanted this month's featured product enough to spend them on a box!  I liked the polish colors in the Classic with a Twist box the most, so I chose that option.  Julep also gave you a choice of two blush and two bronzer colors.  I went with the lightest blush, called Peach Bellini.

The Vivid Collection
Julep April 2014

First look!  Julep included 2 hard candies as an extra this month, and they were gone within 10 minutes.  Non-chocolate candy doesn't last long around me!

Caitlin, pink, and Mariska, orange

As you can see from the bottles, Caitlin is a bright hibiscus pink with golden microshimmer, and Mariska is a tangerine with a more subtle shimmer.

Caitlin and Mariska

These will make great pedi polishes this summer! Nice and bright for the beach :)  Now, if only the weather would get the notice...

Caitlin with Mariska accent- 2 coats, no topcoat

These went on really well, and dried to a rubbery finish.  Mariska looks more rubbery than Caitlin, which has more apparent shimmer to add some dimension.  They dried fast, and needed two coats for evenness.  There is still some visible nail line under Caitlin, but it didn't bother me enough to do a third coat.

Caitlin and Mariska, 2 coats with Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat

With top coat, these polishes really come alive! I love them!  The above picture was taken on day 2... some tip wear and apparently my cuticles are really awful at the moment.  Sorry.

Glow Blush

The blush is the reason I got this box.  I have to say, the hard plastic packaging with included mirror is a HUGE improvement over the packaging that the eyeshadow palette came in a few months ago!  That cardboard isn't holding up well to my abuse.  This, however, is sleek and stylish and is way classier!

Glow Blush in Peach Bellini

The plastic protector layer is a nice touch, and the blush is gorgeous.  It is very shimmery, though, so beware!

Peach Bellini swatched once over bare skin

This is a really light color, but the pigmentation is good.  It is hard to apply too much with a color this light, but it looked very natural on my super-pale skin.  It is a very soft, smoothly applying powder.  I really like it, and am very glad that I opted in this month.

Peach Bellini on my stupid face in the stairwell at work

Julep Classic with a Twist, April

Overall, I'm definitely satisfied with this box!  The nail polishes are fabulous as always, and Julep has seriously stepped up their makeup game with the blush packaging.  It was the great quality I expected, but the compact added a nice touch.

Julep costs $19.99 a month, and you can sign up with my link here.  Use code FREEBOX to get your first month for free, just pay shipping!  Cancel at any time by calling Julep.  You can skip once every few months now, which is unfortunate.  The people who signed up prior to December 2013 can skip any and all months. You do build up points every month you take, and can redeem them on boxes in the future, which is what I did for this one.  You also get discounted pricing on regular items in Julep's online store.  Julep allows you to pick which box style you receive each month, which is nice.  You always know what you are getting!  Selection windows are from the 20th-24th of each month.

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me. This post contains a referral link; I will get 1000 Jules for each signup through my link (1/2 of a Maven box).

Julep Maven, Boho Glam February 2014

Julep Maven, Boho Glam February 2014

This month is the last one from the 6-month subscription my sister gave me for my birthday!  I'm sad!  If I want my Julep fix, I'm going to have to pay for it now.

Julep Boho Glam, February 2014

This month, Julep featured liquid eyeshadows called 'Eye Sheens' and everyone got a bonus polish from Julep's founder, Jane.  This month's Dramatic Collection also featured "stardust" polishes (textured with glitter, much like OPI liquid sand or Zoya Pixie Dust) and polishes named by Jay-Z's ROCNATION.

I wanted a Stardust polish, so I opted for the Boho Glam profile.  I love that Julep allows you to choose the style you want that month!  They have an all-beauty box now, as well as a "basics" box, in addition to the 4 polish-based styles.

This month, we were allowed to choose what color Eye Sheen arrived in our boxes!  Great job, Julep!  They listened to their subscribers when the lip glosses came out.  At that time, each color gloss was assigned to a particular style, you could not pick.  I like being able to choose.

Pale Nude Shimmer Eye Sheen

I chose the pale nude shimmer and it is very subtle and gold.  Definitely shiny.  Definitely stays put!  My hand swatch stayed on for 12 hours.

Pale Nude

From the original pictures, I wasn't expecting something so liquidy.  But, Julep did say these were liquid eyeshadows, so I'm not disappointed.  They go on easily and a little goes a long way.  Good thing, because the pot is SO SMALL.  The diameter is that of a quarter.  The box looked huge, but it was totally an illusion.

Pale Nude Shimmer

See? Subtle.  I might try using this as an eyeshadow base.

Top to bottom: Love, Rooney, Cameron

This might just be my favorite month of Julep, yet.  These polishes knocked it out of the park.

Julep Love on ring finger, over Julep Abigail

Love is a gold, pearl, and fuchsia microglitter polish.  It was so hard to take a picture of, but it is stunning in real life.  There is a major flash of gold over the pink glitter, it is super pretty.  This was one coat over my existing Abigail mani (2 coats).

Julep Love

Cameron is the stardust polish that I wanted.  It is a silver liliac with various sizes of glitter.

Julep Cameron

This was one coat.  I used two for the real thing, but one covered very well and you could get away with just that.  It also removed very well! I did not have to soak or foil or pick off random left over glitter pieces.  Very impressive, although it could have been due in part to the layer of Abigail underneath.

Julep Cameron

Rooney is the polish that I was a little hesitant about.  I don't have any brown polishes, and I was a little hesitant to order this walnut bark creme, but I wanted Cameron.  I'm so glad I picked this style!  Rooney is perfect.  I'm a brown-polish believer, now.  It is so flattering against my skin, and isn't as harsh as a deep purple or navy.

Julep Rooney

This was a two-coated, but barely.  Like most other Julep cremes, it went on like butter.  So smooth and easy!  

Boho Glam polishes

I can't wait to try Love over a darker polish! I'm sure the gold will stand out even more

Julep Rooney with Julep Cameron accents.

Julep Maven costs $19.99 per month and includes shipping.  You get at least $40 worth of products, and being a Maven gets you a discount on anything you buy on their site.  There are 3 profiles where you get 2 polishes + a beauty item, one 3-polish profile, a 2-beauty item profile, and a nail-care based basics box to choose from each month.  HOWEVER.  If you sign up for Maven now, you can only skip your box once every 6 months.  Anyone who signed up before December (20th?) 2013 can skip any and all months, but Julep has changed this policy for new subscribers.  You can still cancel at any time by calling the company, but not being able to skip boxes kinda sucks.  

If you are still interested in Julep, you can use code FREEBOX to get your first box for free, you just pay a few dollars in shipping.  You can use my referral link here and I will get 1000 Jules (Julep points).  

This post contains items purchased by me.  All thoughts and opinions are my own, and no compensation or consideration was received for this post.  This post contains a referral link; see above for details.

Julep Maven January 2014

Julep Maven: Classic with a Twist, January 2014

Wow, it looks weird to be writing 2014 on everything! I went to work today and managed to get it right every time... not a 2013 in sight ;)

My January Maven box came a few days ago, but things have been pretty chaotic with the holidays.  I've been working a LOT to try to get things ready for the two weeks I'm going to be out.

Oooh, Purple Box!

When I opened my mailbox, I was pleased to see a fuchsia Maven box!  They are normally black, and this was a nice surprise.

I did not notice that my picture of all the items together came out blurry until after I had already unwrapped everything and put away the packaging to reuse later.  Sorry :(

Julep Ta Da! Quick Dry Nail Drops

The new item this month was a cuticle remover liquid... and it was not the item that was included in each Maven profile.  Bummer!  Instead, Julep sent out a reissue of their quick dry nail drops.  I didn't already have these, so I'm not *too* disappointed, but it is kinda lame that they would spend all this energy marketing a new product, and then not send it to everyone.

The drops smell like lavender (like their cuticle oil).  In fact, these drops have a lot of similar ingredients to the cuticle oil, with the addition of some silicone oils (specifically, hexamethyldisiloxane and cyclopentasiloxane).  The drops work pretty well.  You wait a minute for your polish to start to set, then drop it on.  I haven't really done anything crazy after using the drops, but they did help me not get dents or smudges in my polish whilst typing or getting into my coat and into the car.  I approve.

Julep Mona (top) and Abigail (bottom)

This month's polish collection featured two new finishes: Satins and Silks.  I chose the Classic with a Twist box, and received a graphite gray creme (Mona) and a peony pink silk (Abigail).

Julep... orange things

The extra this month was a set of two orange things.  I think they are buffing sponges?  I don't know. Let me know what to do with these if you have any idea what they are!

Julep Abigail

Abigail is a soft pink silk.  Julep's silk finishes are semi-matte with "a hint of opalescence".  I guess that means it is not a flat matte?  I'm not sure.  I AM sure, however, that this polish is amazing.  Most of the mattes and suedes (semi-mattes) that I have chip really easily.  They just don't last long.  This, however, does.  The picture above is my third day of wearing this, with no top coat, and there aren't any chips or tip wear!  This color was very subtle and lady-like.  I was wearing it for a New Year's Eve party and felt pretty darn classy holding my champagne flute with these nails.  This was two thin coats.

Julep Mona

Julep calls Mona "storm cloud gray," but I think it looks more like graphite.  I pretty much only wear gray, black, and white in the winter, so these nails will match anything I wear! ha.  I'm boring.

This is a very pretty color, though.  I usually use Julep Meryl as my go-to gray, but that is nearing the end of its life.  I'm almost out!  This is a good replacement.  It's a little darker than Meryl, but I like it just as much.  Two coats is almost unnecessary, but I never like to do just one.

If you want to try out Julep, use my link here and the code FREEBOX to only pay S&H for your first box.  Julep polishes are all 4-free and in my opinion, are good quality.  They go on nicely and last a long time before chipping.  Maven boxes are $19.99 per month and being a Maven gets you a discount on their site as well as access to sales and specials.

This post contains items purchased by me.  All opinions are my own, and no special consideration or compensation was received for this post.  This post contains a referral link; see above for details.

The Week in Nails, December 8

This was a boring week, as you have seen these colors recently in my Julep review.

Julep Cara with Andrea as an accent

Two coats each, with OPI Natural Nails base coat and Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat.  I wore this for 4 days.

Julep Celia

Julep Celia.  No base, 2 coats, no top.  I wore this for 4 days as well (up until yesterday, Monday).

All 3 of these polishes wore really well with minimal tip wear and zero chipping.  I was impressed!

Julep December 2013 Bombshell Review

This was a really tough month to decide what style I wanted from Julep- everything was so pretty!

I ended up picking the Bombshell profile.  You can pick whatever style you want each month, or skip any month.  You can also add on products at a discount, or upgrade to the whole collection (and now, there is an option to upgrade to just get all the polishes and not the beauty products!).  Julep is $20 per month for nail polish and beauty/skincare items.

Glittery Tissue Paper?!

I was already excited when I saw the silver holiday box and the glittery tissue paper inside.

Twistbands as a bonus!

This month's bonus item was two Twistband hair ties, which are the only things I wear in my hair now.  (Don't pay full price for these! Search Etsy for fold-over elastic and cut it down to size and tie knots in it... make 100 hair ties for like $8).

Packaging

This month's beauty item was a neutral eyeshadow palette.  I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the eyeshadow, and a little disappointed in the quality of the palette packaging itself.  The cardboard case feels flimsy.

Eyeshadow: swatched once with finger, no primer.

The eyeshadow is nicely pigmented and feels really creamy when you apply it.  Every color blends into the next very easily.  Plus, who doesn't need more neutral shadow? I know I do!

The nail colors in this month's bombshell box were Andrea and Cara.  Andrea is described as a full-coverage bronze glitter, and Cara as a cranberry frost.  I think these are appropriate descriptions, but Andrea has much more depth to it than just one color of bronze- there is gold in there, too.

Julep Bombshell December 2013
Neutral Eyeshadow Palette, Andrea, and Cara

In addition to this month's two colors, I added on another one! I had the Jules for it, and it was so pretty that I couldn't resist.  I don't own anything like Celia, so I'm glad I went for it!

Polish and Add-Ons, Top to Bottom:
Celia, Andrea, Cara

Labels

Celia is an icy green metallic and is stunning.  Sometimes with foil-looking polishes, you see every single brush stroke.  That is not the case with Celia.  It has a perfect formula and you could totally get away with one careful coat, but I usually do two anyway.  This is an amazing holiday color and I'm really glad that I added it on!

Julep Celia (2 coats)

I've been wearing Cara with Andrea as an accent nail for two days now, and I've gotten a number of compliments on the combination.  I can't stop looking at the glitter! It's so pretty!

Julep Cara with Andrea accent

I again used two coats for both polishes, as well as OPI Natural Nails base coat and Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat.  I have some tip wear, but I can't bring myself to take this off, it's just too pretty and festive.  Even though Cara is a frost, like Celia, it doesn't show any brush strokes.  It went on so smoothly.

If you want to sign up for Julep, please use my link here.  I'll get 1000 Jules (Julep points) for referring you, which is enough for a free polish.  You can get your first box for free with the code FREEBOX.  After that, you can cancel at any time!  You can also skip each and every month and remain a Maven to get their discounted pricing on their site.

All items in this post were paid for by me, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.  No compensation or special consideration was received for this post.  This post contains a referral link, see details above.