Yay! It’s Julep Maven box time! Since Jill and I both get this box and we both get different things, this review will be split in two parts. Lauren is up first!
I was a little apprehensive about the October box because I had heard there had been some box issues/shipping issues in the Julep Swap Facebook group I am in. However, my box came with zero mistakes, though I never got a shipping notification whatsoever.
The box always comes with a card that explains the collection and inside was a sneak peek at the mascara they are debuting next month, so I’m kind of curious what that will look like.
I’m always a sucker for trying new mascaras even though at this point so I’m intrigued by their sneak peek at mascara for November. I’m a Cover Girl Clump Crusher 4 LIFE but I like to try new things that could serve as my Work mascara or my Purse mascara or possibly a layering mascara. I like options. Anyway… Nail polish!
In the terms of colors, at first I thought my box was wrong because I knew I didn’t order that orange or yellow but apparently those were the bonus items for ordering 3 Add-On’s. They totally do not look like they are part of the Black Magic collection and I do not need a yellow or orange but the other colors are lovely. I’m always looking for new royal blues because that is Matt’s favorite color. I’m trying to decide which one to use first! They are all so lovely and so Fall.
In order from left to right: Briana (the blue), Marla (the burgundy-ish shimmer), Logan (the dark grey shimmer), Nancy (silvery greenish shimmer), Catrina (canary yellow), Karmen (orange shimmer)
I’m also all about the Julep Lip Gloss in Splendid that was included in this box. I’m all about my Julep lipgloss in Posh that is a lovely berry color but I love Splendid because it’s a perfect Nude that looks great with my coloring. I look like a hobo right now because I drove from San Antonio to Fort Worth today and failed to shower and I’m too vain for a selfie, but I promise it looks more awesome than the rest of me.
Lauren is going to give this box an A. The colors are all ones that I gravitate to, I got free things I didn’t order and I love free things, and I love the lipgloss. I didn’t get a shipping notification but that made it a surprise so I’m not going to hold that against them.
Jill’s turn! First let me say that my absolute favorite polishes are dark neutrals with a creme finish, and I hoped to see lots of those for fall. I’ve been really tired of bright shimmers (they’re really not my thing), and was slightly bummed that the October collection was full of dark shimmers. At least there were no yellows! Lauren and I rarely get the same Maven box, and this month was no exception. I went with the It Girl box, after much debate. When it arrived I was a little sad to see that I was one of the lucky ones whose order got messed up, but hopefully they will send me the right items soon.
One of the colors that I was most looking forward to was Shailene, which is a deep purple with gold shimmer. It sounded pretty interesting, but in reality it looks nothing like the picture. I actually thought they screwed up and sent me two black polishes! I’m not sure how that can pass as purple, but we’ll see how it looks when it’s on my nails. Well, if it ever gets on my nails, because it’s a giant clump in the bottle. Allow me to channel my inner seasonal-appropriate ghost and give that one a big ol’ BOOOOOOOO.
The second color that convinced me to go with the It Girl box was Ledi, a black shimmer. As much as I like dark polishes, I just don’t wear black on my nails. I love dark gray and super dark blues, greens, etc, but black I just never get into. I thought a black shimmer might be more interesting, and I will definitely wear this one. In person it looks pretty nice, I’m glad I went with this one!
The last color of the October It Girl box was Dana, which…. eh. It’s a throwaway for me. I could have upgraded my box to the My Maven and swapped it out for a different color, but I just can’t justify spending an additional $5-10/month on polish. I already have a hard time justifying the amount I already do spend on all of Julep’s amazing sales! Dana is white (gross. I’m sorry, but gross) and is black light reactive. So under a black light, it glows blue. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been near a black light in the past 5 years, so this one is getting gifted to a small child who would enjoy this gimmick.
I also added on a bottle of Cynthia (one of my absolute favorite polishes) and two chevron nail sticker sets, but only one showed up. I’m assuming I’ll be receiving the two polish bonus that Lauren received, the yellow and orange shimmer polishes. Truthfully, I’ll end up gifting those too. I have been getting so many oranges and yellows in mystery boxes (which I have sworn off!) that I have absolutely no desire to have them.
I have to rate this box a sad little C. Shailene was a let down and Dana is icky. Lately I’ve had more boxes that I’ve been disappointed with than I’ve liked, so Julep and I are fighting. I like the My Maven option where you can customize your box, but I dislike how you can’t switch back to the regular Maven subscription for months that you don’t want to customize. If they allowed Mavens to choose month to month if they want to pay a little extra to get polishes they’ll actually like, that would make me happy. Fingers crossed that that’s an option in the future!
xo
Jill
PS Become a Julep Maven and get your first box for free, plus get discounted polishes all the time!