Showing posts with label Julep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julep. Show all posts

Monday, April 1, 2013

Juelp Maven April 2013 Turn on The Brights Collection

Did someone just turn on the lights or did you just paint your nails? Ok, corny joke, i know but i had to! This month Julep decided to bring us a collection of nail polish that is so bright and bold you will be asking yourself, why am i only wearing these now? Inspired by bright neon lights and bright spring accessories these shades will get your nails noticed!

Julep Turn On The Brights Collection
For the month of April i chose to upgrade to the entire collection which included 9 bright shades, a Mighty nail and cuticle serum, a bottle of Dry Clean - dry shampoo,  a Rock Candy nail polish, and a delightful piece of rock candy itself! Non upgraded box contained style profile specific shades (2-3 polish), candy, and the add(s) of your choice. Overall not a bad deal to anyone this month!

Julep Turn On The Brights Collection April 2013 back lighting
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection April 2013
Some general notes about this collection:
I really did love the color scheme. I feel like so far this year Julep has been giving us nail colors that are season specific along with allowing us to experiment as well. When considering the series of color themes  (Nudes and Neons for January, Classy smokey and creme shades for February, Playful and pastel shades for march...) these shades make sense. They are a nice way to transition from the more smokey shades of the end of winter and pastels of the early spring into the brights of the warmer weather. While they are just a tad early, they give you time to really think about what shades you favor. What i mean by this is if you typically wear greys, reds, or dark blue's (for the winter season) you can easily slide into shades like Joy (smokey mauve) and Debra (smokey taupe) from the March box into shades like Jackie (maraschino cherry creme) and Ally (electric Blueberry frost) from the April Box. If you are someone who likes to be playful with color and like bold, bright shades, or just experimenting and stepping out of your comfort zone, this month must have made you so happy!

Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Avery, Jackie, Eden, Abbie, Mackenzie, Kaylen, Lena, Janel, Ally, Candy
Overall i really liked the formula this month. There was only one shade that i honestly did not like the quality of. Eden was very thick and goopy. While i love an opaque shade this shade was just too thick to achieve any even coverage. Applying a second coat to cover up the first one only made it worse. I will need to use nail polish thinner on this one. All the other shades i had no issues with. They applied without any issues. I saw no streaking, fast drying, even coverage and bright in just one swipe. Most of my swatches below are only one coat, the only reason i used two is if i missed an area on the side of the nail. The shades with shimmer were not very visible in indoor lighting but in natural light and in direct sunlight they were stunning. These polishes look beautiful and glossy on their own, aside from Eden and Kaylen. Eden and Kaylen had a bit of a matte finish to them but Kaylen did not have the problems of Eden.

Time to turn on the brights!:

1- Avery (classic with a twist)- Hot pink creme
2- Jackie (classic with a twist)- Maraschino cherry creme
3- Eden (it girl)- Bright Violet Creme
4- Abbie (it girl)- Sunshine yellow creme
5- Mackenzie (it girl)- Sour apple green frost.

Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Avery, Jackie, Eden, Abbie, Mackenzie
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Avery, Jackie, Eden, Abbie, Mackenzie

Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Avery
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Jackie
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Eden
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Abbie
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Mackenzie

6- Kaylen (Boho Glam)- Neon orange creme
7- Lena (Boho Glam)- Teal with a hint of gold shimmer
8- Janel (Bombshell)- Red raspberry frost
9- Ally (Bombshell)- Electric blueberry frost
10- Candy (Boho Glam)- Sheer jelly gape purple nail glaze

Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Kaylen, Lena, Janel, Ally, Candy
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Kaylen, Lena, Janel, Ally, Candy
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Kaylen
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Lena
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Lena
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Janel
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Ally
Julep Turn On The Brights Collection- Candy


For the modern beauty profile (product lovers), this months products were Mighty Nail and Cuticle serum and Dry Clean dry shampoo. What i like about these two products are one is purely a nail product while the other one is a beauty product. I personally love dry shampoo. I am a mom and sometimes life gets a bit too busy to wash the hair everyday or every other day and sometimes you just want to look your best but do not have the time. I like this dry shampoo and can honestly say it compares to the more higher end brands i have tried. I wouldn't say it is the best but it a few steps above drugstore to say the least. I was happy about that. As for Mighty, which is a keratin treatment for the nails to prevent and stop your nails from being brittle. This is my MAIN problem with my nails. My nails are always peeling and looking terrible no matter what i do. So i have started to use this product twice daily and it has only been a few days now but i have faith it is working. I guess you will see in my post next month for the colors of may if it has really made a difference. I will let you be the judge.

Thank you julep for this wonderful piece of rock candy! I haven't had any since a school trip to Salem back in 2004 so this is much appreciated and makes me feel like a kid (well at least 18 again!).


If you are new to Julep or just want a little more information here is what you need to know. Julep is a nail polish company that offers a monthly subscription box that delivers nail polish, manicure/pedicure products, and/or beauty products every month for $20. There are lots of options that allow you to have the best experience. First you start by filling out a survey to determine what is your style profile so you can receive products that match your personality. Every month on the 19th/20th your maven profile will open for selection. You can choose to change your box to a different style profile, upgrade to a full collection box  (for $30 more), or skip altogether. Plus you can earn Jules from referring friends or even just buying your monthly box! They add up pretty quick! You can sign up here! Use promo code PENNY and your first box is only a penny!

And with that i leave you with a fun quote..


Julep Maven March 2013 The Playful Collection



What is more playful and fun than pastels! This month Julep pulled out all the stops to bring us not only one theme, but two, along with some great products.


As you know this year March is the month of the Cristian/Catholic holiday of Easter and the Irish celebration of Saint Patrick's day. Not religious, christian/catholic, or Irish? That's alright! Spring is the time of the fashion season where pastels start popping out anyway. So regardless of what you are you can have a pop of fun, yet soft, color on your nails. So put away the dark shades and transition into something a little brighter.


Julep got their color theme this month from the colors of chalk. Ever see kids playing outside and drawing hopscotch in bright yellow, orange, or even lilac? What a better time to let the kid in you come out, in a more adult and fashionable way of course! Time to meet the shades!

(Disclaimer: I have upgraded to the full collection box, see details after review)

Just a few notes on the formula's this month! Unlike the thick and goopy Neons from January (Nudes and Neons) these shades apply a lot nicer. They still apply opaque in about one coat, i always do two for good measure. They were not streaky, dried fast, and the bit of shimmer in these shades was just noticeable in natural light. Which is nice if your looking for something girly and soft but not overly childish. Don't worry! These do not cross that fine line.

1- Teri (It Girl)- Tropical coral pink creme
2- Adrianna (Bombshell) - Smokey Chartreuse creme
3- Joy (Boho Glam)- Smokey mauve creme
4- Leila (Boho Glam) - Lemon Yellow opalescent shimmer.


5- Minnie (Bombshell) - Warm pastel pink with opalescent shimmer
6- Debra (Classic with a Twist)- smokey taupe creme
7- Shenae (It Girl)- Pastel mint green with opalescent shimmer
8- Simone (Classic with a Twist)- Soft pastel lilac with opalescent shimmer


This month Julep offered Lucky an opaque kelly green glitter with flecks of gold glitter as well. This allowed mavens to be able to have colors themed for spring, Easter, and Saint Patrick's day. Each add on is $4.99 (up 1$ from previous months)



As a bonus all Mavens this month received this delightfully scented lip balm in Strawberry-mint. This minty, fresh, and fruity lip balm is the perfect thing to keep lips good and moisturized through the sometimes cold, breezy, months of spring. Appears clear on the lips, non heavy, and does not have a weird taste.



 Since the full upgrade includes items from every style profile this month i got both items from the newly created style profile Modern Beauty which is for product lovers (kind of like how It Girl is for polish lovers). The two items included were Rock Star Hand Creme and Glycolic Hand Scrub. I love that these products got a great make over in terms of their packaging. Both the hip boxes they come in to the new color scheme on the bottles themselves i really like it. My only complaint is the Rock Star hand creme opening. It is a twist cap and the product comes out through a hole. I did not read this and almost ripped the tip off. Once i figured it out i used the hand cream, which smells amazingly soft and feminine. I did not like that the tip stays dirty unless whipped clean so unless you hold the bottle vertically and let it drip into your hand you will be left with a dirty tip. That is my only complaint. 





Overall i thought this month was great in terms of color, product, application, quality, and theme. I like that it is on par with other brands such as Zoya (like the Zoya lovely collection). The range of colors from cremes to shimmers was a nice touch and the addition of a product profile is also a plus for mavens who just don't need/want polish that month but want to receive a box from Juelp that month.

If you are new to Julep or just want a little more information here is what you need to know. Julep is a nail polish company that offers a monthly subscription box that delivers nail polish, manicure/pedicure products, and/or beauty products every month for $20. There are lots of options that allow you to have the best experience. First you start by filling out a survey to determine what is your style profile so you can receive products that match your personality. Every month on the 19th/20th your maven profile will open for selection. You can choose to change your box to a different style profile, upgrade to a full collection box  (for $30 more), or skip altogether. Plus you can earn Jules from referring friends or even just buying your monthly box! They add up pretty quick! You can sign up here! Use promo code PENNY and your first box is only a penny!

And with that i leave you with a fun quote..


Saturday, March 23, 2013

Julep Maven February 2013 Glamour Nail Wardrobe Review and Swatches


Hello lovelies, I am a bit behind on my blogging and have been even cutting some entry's from my to post list. I however could not pass up on blogging about the great box I got from Julep for the month of February. Since most subscription boxes and beauty boxes chose to focus on awards rather than valentines day, which is fair enough since beauty is based on fashion and fashion is often based on celebrities.

You are probably wondering why the box is so big. Well I've mad it my mission to purchase every upgrade that julep has for the entire year of 2013. This month was actually so amazing deal wise I would have upgraded anyway.

This month, mavens who chose to upgrade to the wardrobe box were treated to not only all the nail colors for the month, along with the Oxygen Nail Treatment and Freedom Top Coat, plus chocolate hearts, an eyelash curler, two extra nail colors (Oscar (gold glitter) and Ellie (creamy soft pink with a purple iridescent), but also a white lacquered white jewelry box. Talk about a deal! Pre-paid mavens paid $35 extra for this while month to month Mavens paid $55 which is a fantastic deal no matter how you put it. You of course could opt for the monthly box which included two- three nail colors plus the Freedom Top Coat and eyelash Curler. It girl was the only box to not have the Oxygen Nail Treatment.

I think the bonuses for this month (all boxes contained the above except it girl which lacked Oxygen Nail Treatment) where pretty good. While companies like Illamasqua have had Oxygen treatment nail polishes for a while its nice to  see a clearer one for those in between days where you still want clean looking nails but don't want to have actual polish on. The eyelash curler is pretty compact and good for your purse. The chocolate was plain milk chocolate and I can't complain.


The white lacquered jewelry box doubles as a nail polish holder with dividers that can be individually  adjusted. This was featured over the holidays as a stand alone item as well as featured as one of Oprah's favorite things. My guess is either julep wanted to treat the faithful mavens with this great deal or they had excess inventory they were hoping to move. Either way I liked that they filled the box with all the polishes from February along with two bonus shades. Each shade this month was given a Hollywood actress name from classic Hollywood to new starlets. While there was some disagreements over names and color choices on the message boards it's nice to see that julep included an insight to some colors on their information card this month. 



Color names, swatches, and thoughts
Oscar- full coverage gold glitter (Two coats to opaque)
Joan- Raspberry Plum with Rose Gold shimmer (The shimmer is only really noticeable in natural light)
Sally- antique ivory cream (creamy, full coverage in one coat, not too thick)
Claudette- smokey brick red cream (one of my unexpected favorites, creamy, darker on the nail)

Claudette, Sally, Joan, Oscar without flash
Claudette, Sally, Joan, Oscar, with flash. 

Helen- Smokey pastel lavender creme (perfect color for spring, opaque in two coats)
Marion- Smokey blue with silver shimmer (shimmer is most apparent in natural lights)
Laura- Olive khaki creme (color can appear different on nail depending on light, see swatch below)
Ingrid- Burnt orange creme (classic retro orange red, fits the starlet whom it is named after, two coats to opaque)

Ingrid, Laura, Marion, Helen without flash
Ingrid, Laura, Marion, Helen with flash

Julianne- Smokey grey blue creme
Rebel- Silver holographic
Ginger- Sand holographic
Ellie- Ivory pearl with purple iridescent.
(Mystery Holographic polish from Mystery box included in swatch)
Evangeline- Brick read holographic

Ellie, Evangeline, Ginger, Rebel, Julianne without flash
Ellie, Evangeline, Ginger, Rebel, Julianne with flash
The extras:
Julep Freedom Polymer Topcoat- Overall i had a positive experience with this polish. It allowed me to have smudge proof nails in under 5 minuets. It made my polish feel stronger on the nail and i did not see chipping as fast.
Julep Oxygen Nail Treatment- This pink tinted polish allows your nails to look chic while in between manicures. It allows oxygen to penetrate to keep your nails looking healthy. Hides any yellowing of the nails between manicures as well.


Note: While my box is not the typical maven monthly box since it is an upgrade, Julep does allow you to place add on's to your monthly box for $4.99, use Jules (which you earn every month just for receiving your maven box, or referring friends) to upgrade (3,000 Jules required). A typical monthly maven box contains 2-3 colors of nail polish and bonuses (usually a known and a surprise). Upgrading to a full wardrobe is an additional $30, but with each polish valued at $11.50 (maven price) or $15.00 (non maven price) it is a fantastic deal no matter how you look at it! You can sign up here!


Some closing words...