Julep Maven: January 2016 (Lauren’s Box)

It’s Julep Maven time again!

For those of you just joining us, the Julep Maven program allows you to customize a box of 2-3 nail polishes and other beauty products for just $24.99/month. They also allow you to add the appropriately named “Add-On” products to your box for extremely discounted prices. You also earn points or “Jules” for taking your monthly boxes and you can apply these Jules to purchases. This month, I added 3 Add-Ons to my box but also applied my remaining Jules which brought the total of my box to right around $25. Score. Julep will also reward you for adding the 3 Add-Ons to your box and give you another polish.

You might have noticed that I didn’t publish a Julep December blog… but more on that later. This month’s theme is New Year, Fresh Look. I focused more on polishes than their other products but I did change things up with an Add-On. Let’s see what I got!

Here is my monthly box! In addition to the products, they included some Junior Mints and a coupon to use in the Secret Store! The Secret Store is a Maven-only online shop that contains tons of great deals and sales on Julep products. There’s no need to pay full price for anything when you have access to the Secret Store each month! I tend to shop in the Secret Store pretty regularly, so I will hold onto this coupon for sure.

These were the three polishes I chose for my box. Normally, you only get the three products but they also allowed us to add nail decals, which was really cool! I was really happy to see these vine decals because I got them in my November box and then promptly lost them. I blame Franklin because he tends to like chewing on plastic wrap. 🙁

Tali: Glacier breeze linear liquid holographic
I love all of Julep’s Holos. I know they aren’t “true” holos like the Nail Polish Mafia will tell you, but I like them, so I tend to grab them when they pop up.
Jade: Frozen forest metallic
I’ve wanted Jade for a long time, since it popped up in a mystery box. Every month, Julep will put together a mystery box of products for around $20/$25 and they will reveal a polish or two that is in the box and the rest is a surprise. They revealed Jade but I held back from buying the box because I have so much stuff already. But now… Jade is MINE. 😀
Shay: Celadon iridescent chrome
I can’t really resist buying pretty, mermaid-y green polishes. This one looks like it will be slightly sheer, but I think a couple coats will make it super pretty.

Here’s a slightly better look at the polishes!

And here are this month’s Add-On’s:

What Your Skin Needs: I actually got this in my November box and liked it so much that I bought it again! At that time, I hadn’t used it very long so I wasn’t able to really write a full review of it. What I learned is that you don’t need as much as you think. They instruct you to use only a couple of drops and when you first use it, that doesn’t feel like it’s enough! So I started using 6 drops at a time and then I ran into an interraction with Jane Park on a Facebook group and she explained:

“It’s a blend of five skin-boosting oils – so it packs in more benefits than just a single oil formula: hydration, cell turnover, healing, repair, softness, calming, and anti-inflammation. It has: Jojoba, Argan, Coconut, Olive and vegan Squalane. BUT it doesn’t FEEL like an oil because the particles are blasted using microsperse technology. So think physics, not chemistry – your skin drinks this in within 10 seconds. The formula doesn’t behave like an oil – there is no residue left behind! So if you’ve been afraid of facial oils you HAVE to try this unique formula. This is a truly next gen moisturizer – blending my love of facial oils from my Korean heritage with the latest in technology. I’m so thrilled to share this with you. I use it as a primer, essence, moisturizer, and facial oil every morning (and Night Shift at night). You only need a few drops – your skin is just drinking it all in. If you are using more because you are expecting a filmy residue (the way you get with other moisturizers) you don’t have to with this one! No residue = good for your skin.”

So once I started using less, I feel like it works much better. My skin has been behaving for the most part but I’ve still only been using it about a month or so. Time will tell what kind of long-term results we will see!

Brandy: Steel grey with blue microglitter liquid holographic
This reminded me of one of my favorite polishes, Blakely, but in a semi-holographic
Janae: Cool charcoal crème
I apparently already had this but I love the dark colors, so I don’t mind having an extra. Or I might gift it to a friend!

So this is confusing… I thought that Roxanne (Glam black and gold jagged glitter top coat) was the free gift for taking 3 Add-ons but apparently was put into my box by mistake because I was supposed to receive Scout as an Add On but got Janae by mistake. (I used to have a cat named Scout so I wanted the polish namesake.) But I really like this black and gold a lot, so I’m glad about the mixup. Julep realized the mistake before I did and they are sending Scout separately which is super cool.

As for my December box… I received my December box really, really late. Like, I think December 27th. At that time, I was still caught up with holiday stuff and also super annoyed that it was so late. (Long story short, I’m pretty sure my box got lost in the mail so they had to send another one out and it just took a really long time.)

Since it took so long, I wasn’t super in the mood to write a whole blog about it, but I really wanted to touch on their new lip product, It’s Whipped. I actually bought three of them but the shade below, At Midnight (currently sold out) was my favorite.
There are a few things I like about the It’s Whipped lip color but a pretty major thing I dislike. First with the good: I love the applicator! It’s sort of shaped like the number eight, which allows for very easy application. These aren’t glosses so you won’t be applying them without a mirror but they are still pretty easy to apply and you likely shouldn’t need a liner. I also really love the color At Midnight! It’s such a dark, pretty red that is perfect for the holidays! However, the big negative is that these are NOT long wear lipsticks. A lot of matte lipsticks I’ve worn lately (like this one from Colourpop) are very long-wearing and once you apply them, they just won’t budge. And I like that! The It’s Whipped formula is really kind of tacky and will smudge off with the smallest movement, which is kind of a bummer. When I’m wearing a dark lipstick, I want to be sure that they won’t smudge all over my face which is a definite worry with this one. However, if you can find an occasion where you won’t really move much and have the ability to reapply often, the formula and colors are definitely nice.

Here I am wearing At Midnight at Christmas with my family! I had to apply after we ate and another time after we opened presents and stuff. I also felt like I had to keep checking my makeup in the mirror because I was afraid my lipstick was smudging. It really didn’t, but I was still nervous about it which makes me hesitant to wear it to work or out on the town.

Final Grade: A

This month I went back to my roots with Julep and got mostly nail polish and I’m excited to wear all of them! I had forgotten all of the colors I had chosen by the time my box came and I was pleasantly surprised by everything. Good job, Past Lauren. Way to be there!

Want to join the Maven program like Jill and I? Click here to get your first box 50% off with the code BRAVE.

Purchased; All Opinions are my own
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