Julep: March 2015

It’s March Maven time! I was really excited to receive my box after the super fun Dallas Maven Meetup! Julep Maven is a box that both Jill and I receive. For $25/month, you are able to customize a box of nail polish and beauty products. Julep Maven started out as all nail polish but now they are introducing more and more beauty products which I find very exciting.

While Jill and I both get Maven boxes, we often get different products in them so this will be another joint review! (Joint reviews are my favorite.)

Lauren’s Box: 

This month I chose 3 polishes and the Fluid Eye Glider. The polishes I chose were Ali, hint of mint with a soft matte finish, Lulu, wisteria mist with a soft matte finish, and Nedra, worn denim creme.  When I was at the Maven Meetup, I was very excited about the Soft Focus finish. I’m always very into the “non-traditional” finishes– the mattes, satins, stardusts, etc. While I like creme finishes, I like finishes that feel a bit unexpected and this one is interesting. They call it semi-matte and we at the meetup called it “eggshell.” I really love this finish and I think it’s so pretty!

I was most excited about Ali because it reminds me of Shelly which has been my jam for the last couple months so I was interested in a different finish. I’m also getting excited about Lulu because I’ve always been a dark grey polish type girl but these lighter polishes feel more modern these days. And since I am still that dark grey polish girl, I needed that grey blue Nedra!

From the meetup, I was very excited to try Julep’s new liquid liner. From my swatch test, it had excellent staying power and the tip was very precise for that perfect cat eye. I’ve had a chance to use it once and I feel like it’s better than any liquid liner I’ve ever tried. (And I feel like I’ve tried them all– Stila and Kat Von D make some of the best) but I feel like this tip was more precise and the formula was darker than both of them.

Here’s Jill’s Box!

I went a little crazy and ordered a ton of stuff this month. I usually pass on add-ons or grab one at the most, but this month I got FOUR. That’s kind of unprecedented for me. I was just so damn curious about these new products that I had to try them.

Like Lauren, I was totally enamored by Nedra (look how pretty!), but on screen it looked more periwinkle than it does in person. In person it’s a nice grayish-blue – the description “worn denim” really is appropriate. I’ve been spoiled with many of my polishes being one-coat, but this one took two to look perfect.

I also ordered Marcy, described as “prosecco silk” (see here) and Janet, a pale peach (check it out) because I must have been in a pastel mood. Janet is one of those “soft focus” finishes that Lauren mentioned, and I was genuinely curious about what that meant. I still don’t know because I have only had it in my possession for a few days and haven’t had a chance to find out. Marcy seemed lovely, it’s got a soft cream shimmer that seems downright bridal. Maybe I’ll have a chance to wear it during one of my bridal-type activities that are in my near future. Those smarties pictured above were Julep’s idea of a cruel joke, given that they are the most disgusting candy on earth.

Two of my most anticipated items were the lipstick and the eye illuminator. Julep debuted a new line of lipsticks, Light On Your Lips, that were pretty intriguing. They boasted extreme lightness and claimed to be super hydrating, which we all know is a dubious combination, and then topped it off by mentioning how long-lasting the color is. Since that would be the holy grail of lipstick, I had to try one. I opted for the shade Chit Chat (look at it) because it was pretty natural looking in case I actually wanted to wear it. The other item that piqued my interest was the Illume Eye Brightener, which comes in two shades – Champagne or Pink. If you look at the pictures (here), you can see where I ran into trouble. There is virtually no difference between the two options. I am REALLY bad at making unimportant decisions (just ask Lauren what it’s like to wait for me while I try to decide what to order at a restaurant), so I literally stared at the pictures for hours trying to decide which shade to go with. In the end I opted for Champagne (what a fool).

The verdict? The lipstick is everything Julep claims it is and more. I have been wearing it for 3 hours now and it has not faded one bit. My lips don’t feel moisturized, but they don’t feel dry either. They just feel completely normal, as if I am not wearing lipstick at all. The color is really subtle, so I put a lot on and it still looks really nice. I will definitely be grabbing more of these in different colors because I have never liked a lipstick as much as I like this one.

The eye brightener is less awesome. I had to put extra on in order to actually notice a difference, and then it looked yellow. Granted, my skin is on the pinker side, so of course I should have ordered it in Pink, but even then I don’t know that it would have done anything. You can see from the picture above how little it changed the color under my eyes.  Lauren says it should be extremely subtle, but the pictures on Julep’s site suggest otherwise. I am wearing no other makeup, so maybe it would be noticeable if I had on foundation or concealer.

Ok, the last thing I was really looking forward to trying was Julep’s new CTRL + Z Eye Makeup Remover, which is a makeup correcting pen (check it out here).  When I opened it up and realized the head had the texture of sandpaper, I decided to try it on my wrist instead of putting it near my eyes. Overall, this pen is not what I expected, but it is effective. There’s some oil inside that removes smudges or other eye makeup mishaps, but really it scrapes against your skin to remove the makeup. I predict that I will be really glad I have this on hand one day.

I added on this clear lip liner that I thought was pretty revolutionary until Lauren said I am the last human on earth to own one. I really wanted to put this on with the lipstick that I now love so much, but two things prevented that from happening – 1. The cap seems to be welded on and cannot be removed, which is fine because… 2. There is no tip. They sent me one with the tip broken off and I don’t have an old school sharpener to dig more out. Basically this thing is useless to me. Thanks, Julep!

To demonstrate their deep appreciation for their customers who purchase 3+ add-ons to their monthly box, Julep throws in some little gift to say thanks. Since I got 4, they gave me an extra-special gift – a bottle of polish in a color that can only be described as infectious mucus.

Lauren’s Final Grade: A

Jill’s Final Grade: A-

Lauren: I am extremely happy with this box! I love the colors I chose and the Soft Focus finish is so pretty. But the real star of the show is the Fluid Eye Glider which is AWESOME.

Jill: The lipstick was the major winner this month, but between the broken lip liner and the anticlimactic eye brightener, it’s not a home run for me. I like the polish colors and find the corrector pen useful, so things balance a bit.

If you want to join Jill and I in enjoying our Maven Boxes every month, click here for our referral link!