Julep Maven - Box 1

So last week, right after I showed you my review for Julep polishes, I caved and joined the Julep Maven program.  I thought it was a great deal at $19.99, and also, as nail mail is one of my guilty pleasures, I figured it was a good way to get a box of nail goodies every month.

I received my first box today, and I am very happy with it.  Here's what I found when I opened the box (it was all in a gift bag, btw)...

And here are the 2 colors I received...

Samantha - bright pink.  This one is amazing.  It has a jelly-ish finish, but it was opaque in 2 coats.  

Zoe - bright copper.  Seriously.  This is like the color of new pennies.  This is one of their not-yet-released fall colors.  3 coats.  

This is the "Bombshell" box.  Honestly, I had to do a little manipulation to get this box.  I took the "style quiz" at least twice, and it each time it came back as "All American Beauty".  Well, while that may fit my fashion sense, it's not exactly what I prefer on my nails.  So, I chose the strappy shoes instead of the platforms, Chanel as my designer, rather than J.Crew, and picked Colin Farrell over George Clooney (what?) and voila... I'm a Bombshell.

Also, keep in mind that Julep has a few coupon codes for the Maven program floating around.  I think there is one on Facebook, and also, when I took the quiz, I got a code in my email box to for 1/2 off my first month.  Unfortunately, I had already joined by that point, and I'm still trying to see if I can get that retroactively applied.  So be sure to check for those codes before joining.  

Even with paying full price, I still think this is a great deal.  I know Julep polishes get a bit of a bad rap for being such a small amount (.27 oz, compared to .5 for OPI), but as I have NEVER used a full bottle of polish, I think I'm good.  LOL.  Plus, there are other goodies, and 20% off all other items that you order (I am eyeing Stella) and free shipping (which when I get free shipping, I feel like I've won the lottery, so that's awesome!).

And, if you refer your friends to Julep, you will get $15 when they become a Maven as well.  You can join the Julep Maven program on their website, or by clicking here.

I paid for my own membership to the Maven program.  However, the links within this post are affiliate links.  I will receive $15 when you join by using my link.  When you join, you will get your own link.

Julep Polishes

You wouldn't think so, as I am someone that has an undisclosed amount of polishes (read TONS), but more times that not, I have a tendency to get in a rut and find myself only using certain brands.  As such, I absolutely love when I discover a new-to-me brand.  One of these brands, Julep, I recently had the opportunity to try.

UPDATE... Here's a better picture of Charlotte:

Charlotte - Dusty, plummy purple creme.  This color is absolutely beautiful.  It's a dusty purple creme, with enough red in the base, to not be a dead-on dupe for RBL Purple Haze.  That said, as RBL Purple Haze is currently discontinued (though I think it is coming back for a limited edition redux), Charlotte may just fufill and "dusty, mid-tone purple" lemmings you may have.  And since I know you are asking, here's a comparison...

Charlotte is on middle and pinky, Purple Haze is on ring finger.

As much as I love Purple Haze, and I do love it as it's one of the few RBLs I've actually kept, I think I may love Charlotte more.  First off, the formula on Charlotte was EXCEPTIONAL.  Both swatches of Charlotte above are one coat.  ONE.  That's it.  Y'all know how I love my one-coaters.  :P  Purple Haze is a 2-coater for me.  Also, the color just seemed to work so much better on my skin-tone.  If you have super pale pink hands like me, then you may find that mid-toned purples have a tendency to give you dead-hands.  Because of the plummy/red base in this, I didn't get that with Charlotte.

Emmanuelle - Pale, soft baby pink creme.  While I call this one a creme in my descriptor, it actually seemed more like a jelly to me, or at least jelly-esque.  It really reminded me of the soft shades from OPI Femme de Cirque.  However, this formula, again, was so much easier to work with.  I had zero drag with Emmanuelle, and I didn't even have to wait between coats (something I normally have to do with paler shades).  It's a super pale pink, so of course, it's a little on the sheerer side, but it is buildable.  The above picture is 3 coats, and I was able to reach opacity.  However, I bet if you used a sticky base coat, you may actually be able to reach opacity with 2 coats.

Natasha - Bright red-orange creme.  Ahhhh.  Natasha.  I swear, I have been craving this exact shade of red/orange, so when I opened my box from Julep and saw this little beauty in there... I admit it... I squealed.  This one, like Emmanuelle, did have a bit of a jelly quality to the finish.  It almost looks like hard candies.  I was able to reach opacity in 2 coats, however, so it's not a true jelly.  And, I know I sound like broken record, but again, the formula on this one was great. 

All in all, I really like all 3 Julep polishes that I had the opportunity to try.  As it was a brand I was unfamiliar with, during my review, I happened to check out their website, and I was happy to see they had around 70 colors (I'm currently eyeing Stella).  They also have something called "Julep Maven" which is a monthly shipment program.  For $19.99, each month, you get $40 worth of nail polish and treatments (and extra goodies like free shipping).  I haven't joined it yet, but I must say... I am EXTREMELY tempted.  Also, $1 of each bottle purchased goes to Julep's "Powered by Girlfriends" program.  Plus, and this is a HUGE plus, the formula on all of these was fantastic.  It makes me tempted to try more.  :)

Julep polishes are available for sale on their website (and if you are in the Seattle, WA area, I'm guessing they are for sale in-store).  Price is $14/ bottle.

these were sent to me for review