Julep New Year's Mystery Box

I love Julep's Mystery Boxes. They rarely disappoint and are always filled with the best products and nail polish.  This month Julep is offering a New Years mystery box that will be filled with at least $100 dollars worth of polish for only $19.95 (there is a little glitch on the site at the time of posting that says it is $80 dollars, once you add to cart the price corrects itself.). Each box also enters you in to win an iPad mini, and you will receive a brand new mystery glitter!  There isn't a better way to bling in the new year!
Aren't a Maven yet? Sign up for Julep Maven and receive a box of beautiful nail polish delivered to your door every month for only $19.95. You can try your first box for only a penny, use promo code PENNY. Sign up here!

Julep September 2012 Mystery Box- Polish Lover Review and Swaches

I tried so very hard to resist yet another mystery box but i was left powerless... and impressed! Julep did a great job this month with their mystery boxes by offering two different kinds of boxes- Polish Lover and Product Lover. This is perfect if you are on a budget and cant afford 5 boxes (but it was so tempting!), and you want to be able to have all the fun of a good mystery box while getting items you want. I purchased both types and this review will focus on the polish lovers box.

If you loved the tote bag from the August Maven box you are in for an awesome surprise! Each mystery box came with one!  These convenient little bags are the cosmetic way of staying green. How many times have you gone out to sephora or the drugstore to pick up some essentials and have left with a mostly empty plastic shopping bag? Now you can tuck this little tote away in your purse and use it instead. It is green, it has an inspiring quote, and it is quite cute.

 As for the polishes, i once again got the smallest box but as always i love the colors. These shades remind me of the spring and are off trend completely but who says you cant go against the trends!

 Renee-
Creamy, lilac, soft purple. One coat opaque. I love how beautiful this shade looks on my nails. If you own D'lilac by Limecrime wear it with this shade to match your lips!

 Sasha- 
This is described as a fresh cantaloupe melon cream, i think it looks like a fresh strawberry smoothy. Either way, when wearing this you will be craving something fruity! It is such a soft pink. This would look great on toes or fingers.

 Sienna-
This shimmery light gold metallic is one of the few non-streaky metallic's out there. You may require two coats to get this color to look completely opaque but that just means that you can always apply it lightly over another color or do two coats for completely opaque color. This shade is fast drying so work quick!

 MYSTERY COLOR!-
Mystery alert, this new shade has no name but is a shimmery yellow. A thick yellow cream with tons of gold shimmer laced throughout. I love the new flat brush. While it is a little thick it is easy to work with and helps to distribute the polish more evenly. I wonder what they will name this!

 

Brush Comparison: 

 Did you get the mystery box this month? What colors did you get?

What to sign up for an amazing monthly polish subscription for only a PENNY to start? Sign up here! and use code PENNY!

September Julep Maven American Beauty Box Review and Swatches

Hello my lovely viewers and followers, and welcome to September! I will try my very hardest to stick to fall posts and fall colors, but i make no promises (I have some summer posts yet to go up still so bare with me!) Even though i have already posted on some amazing fall collection this is the official transition so to kick off a long few months of deep, rich, fall colors, what better way then to highlight a brand, designer, and fashion all in one!

This month Julep (see description below!) teamed up with Trina Turk. Not sure who she is? Click here for some quick information on her from her site! Trina Turk's designs have bold and modern patterns with rich colors, so it was no surprise that when she teamed up with Julep her collection is equally bold and modern. What better way to adorn our nails this fall!

When this months Julep box arrived it looked rather small, i feel like the boxes are getting smaller and smaller, guess what isn't getting smaller? Their quality! This month was impressive just as every other month has been! Not only did i receive two amazing colors in my Maven box but i also received a magnet (which i derived fashion inspiration from), beautiful and high quality mascara, an inspirational quote, and some information on Trina Turk!

While i loved every color in her collection because of how cohesive they are and how they really make sense together (kind of like a fashion show - while you might love every piece you wouldn't buy every piece, just the ones that would suit you), i only purchased the ones i felt would be best for me.

Julep Nail Color from the Trina Turk collection Fall 2012

The shades that were included in my box were Eileen and Hoch. Typically Julep goes with inspiring female names. I am still not sure where these names come from but i do like how different they are. Lets face it not everyone has common names. I feel like Julep stepped it up this month to really keep it real.

- Eileen is a bit of an off white. I can't really put words to this color. It is white, but there is just a little more dimension to it. This color is creamy, opaque, and  long lasting (lasted a week no chipping, longest a polish has lasted on me).

Hoch- is a creamy blue green which i feel leans more on the blue side but can also appear more green in certain lights. It is very rich so you will only need one coat.

 The add on's i purchased are-
Alma- A medium mustard yellow. I love this yellow it reminds me of kitchens from the 70's. This shade applies evenly, is thick, and only requires one coat. How many yellows can boast those kinds of results?

 

Sophie- A light chocolate color. I oringally thought this was more of a taupe but turns out it is about the color of light chocolate milk. I love it, because of its neutralness it can be paired with any other color in the collection and compliment it.

Gunta- A medium blue that is a true blue, this shade is no navy! It is creamy, opaque, and very nicely pigmented.

Do you want Trina Turk inspired nails?
Pick up a nail stamping kit like this one and nail plates like these.

To create my Trina Turk inspired nails i used a double diamond design.

I know they don't look perfect but i do like how they came out. I used Hoch over Eileen.

 Last but not least, Julep American Beauty Volumizing Mascara in Black.
I have to say i am thoroughly impressed. I wasn't sure i was going to be but wow. I got this in on the same day i got my Lancome Hypnose Star in (which cost $28) and i will be damned. Julep mascara was of equal quality. Very impressive Julep.

Julep American Beauty Volumizing Mascara

 What did you think of this month's box?

If you aren't a Julep Maven let me tell you how you can become one! Julep is a nail polish company that has a subscription beauty box service. Every month a box of beautiful nail polish and other goodies can be delivered to your door for only $20 a month. There is no shipping cost to you. Being a maven will entitle you to discounted polish ( at Sephora they are close to $20 dollars just for one!) 11 dollars for polish from the maven boutique or 4.99 as an add on to your monthly box with always free shipping. If you don't like your box that month you can skip or even choose a new style! Best of all you can try your first box for only one PENNY. Find out your style profile by  signing up here and use promo code PENNY!


And to end this blog here is some iconic words by Yves Saint Laurent and some great style.

Julep Add On's August 2012 Kim, Piper, Sienna Review and Swatches

This month (even though we are still in July) I received my Julep Maven box add on's before my Maven box. Wait whats a Maven box? Well its a subscription box that comes to your door every month filled with nail polishes and more! Does that sound awesome? You can sign up here and try your first box for only 1 penny! Use promo code PENNY.

The theme of this months box is metallic! This goes hand and hand with the Olympics which is pretty cute. I will talk more about my box when it comes in.

I love the idea of, even though there are differnt box options, you can choose extra colors from extra boxes for only $4.99 each as add on's. It's a steep discount and you can check out the colors that you weren't getting, or were iffy on.

Sienna, Piper, Kim

 I love the continuous attention to detail that is always given when Julep ships. The confetti packaging always seems to match in some way.

Sienna, Piper, Kim

 The fact that Julep names the polish after female figures is very inspiring.

Kim:
 From afar it looks really nice but close up you can see flecks of blue glitter just faintly. I like how this shade is almost black without being black. The ribbons of metallic shimmer transfer well from bottle to nail.

Sienna:
I officially love this color.  It applies so evenly and is so shimmery. It is the perfect light gold!

 Piper:
This shade i wasn't too thrilled about. After two coats i still could not achieve an even or opaque coverage. I like the color, i just don't like how it applies. Maybe if applied over a white base this shade would work better.

I can't wait to receive my actual maven box so that i can share those shades and extras as well!