Julep Maven Introductory Box (Boho Glam and It Girl)

So the Julep Maven program has been surrounded with quite a bit of controversy.  Several nail polish lovers signed up for the program, only to find out that their referral links were bogus.  The controversy had to do with the fact that Julep seemed to have no intention of informing people of it before their corrected the problem.  After enough internet complaining, Julep sent out an apology letter to all the Mavens and gave us free October boxes.  Not a bad apology if you ask me.

So if you aren't already turned off on Julep, then this post may be for you.  I signed up for the Julep Maven program for a few reasons.  

1. It was kind of like BirchBox (a love of mine) for nail polish.
2. It allowed me to try a new brand.
3. It was half price to sign up.

So I figured what did I have to loose.  The normal price for a box is $20, but I got my introductory box at $9.99.  I was guaranteed to get 2 polishes, plus some other goodies.  I figured that was a good enough deal.  I'll keep getting the boxes every month, but I can cancel or just skip a month any time.  Also they promise to send your polishes ahead of time, and if you don't like them, you can opt to have another box instead.

So the first step to signing up was to take the beauty poll (warning! this link is a referral link that gives me a $15 credit if you sign up).  I ended up taking it 3 times to get the Boho Glam box, which had the polishes I was most interested in.  About a week later (boo on ground shipping from Washington State) I got my Boho Glam Introductory Box.  I was unfortunately dissapointed to find that they actually sent me the It Girl Box, which apparently happened to more than one person.  I called Julep the next day and they immediately sent me the correct polishes for free.  So this post has the benefit of two boxes worth of polishes!

So first up was my "It Girl" Introductory Box.  I got a full size Facial for Hands Glycolic Scrub, a few samples of their hand lotion with SPF30 (sweet), a nail therapy (supposed to be good for peeling nails - sweet), and 2 polishes.  Emilie and Sienna.  I wasn't thrilled with either color (which is why I picked Boho Glam), but at this point I was getting free polish.  Time to stop complaining and start swatching.

Julep Maven It Girl Introductory Box

It comes with this unnecessary bag in the box...

Let me start off by saying the Facial for Hand Glycolic scrub is nice, but nothing special.  I wouldn't repurchase it.  Smell is so so, and I have something similar from Mary Kay that is WAY better.  Same with the lotion.  I do love the 30 SPF, but the smell isn't particularly great.  I'll use these guys up, but I won't repurchase.

Sienna, Nail Therapy, Emilie

For swatching both of these polishes, I used the Nail Therapy as a base.  It was nice, went on easy, but I felt it took a little long to dry enough as a base to add the color.  Once I get through with my current base treatment, I'll use this on a regular basis and see if it does anything for my peelies!

Actually, now's a good time to talk about Julep's bottles and brushes.  Since they are relatively unknown, I'm guessing most of you haven't used these puppies yet.  They are long, skinny, cute bottles, but have way less mL of polishes than most $14.00 bottles of polish.  The brush isn't wide, but it's large enough and the polish flows well on it.  My only issue, is that since the bottle is so long, a lot of polish ends up on the brush stem, and I find I have to swirl the stem against the side of the bottle as I pull it out.  Otherwise while applying the polish with the brush, the polish soaked stem drips!

So Sienna is a core polish available on Julep's website.  It's a shimmery gold foil with tons of brush strokes.  I don't like gold, and I don't like brush strokes, so this was a miss for me.  Oh well!  This is two coats, which was necessary for total opacity.

Julep Sienna

Julep Sienna

Next up is Emilie.  I did actually like this one.  As soon as I put it on, I immediately thought of OPI's Jade is the New Black.  It also went on in two coats.  I really loved the finish on this.  Super shiny without top coat. I was surprised.  Emilie is a new Fall 2011 color, so it was fun to get a sneak peak with the Maven Box.

Julep Emilie

Julep Emilie

So turns out my suspicions were right. While Emilie isn't a dead on dupe for Jade is the New Black, it's AWFULLY close.  Jade is the New Black is a bit warmer.  It always reminded me of pool table green.  Emilie is a bit cooler, which instantly made me like it better.  What's funny in my comparison pictures below, the middle finger looks likes it's a totally different polish, but it's just the lighting.  Sorry about that!  Both pictures show, left to the right, OPI Jade is the New Black, Julep Emilie, and Julep Emilie.  As you can see, its really hard to tell the difference.

From Left to Right
OPI Jade is the New Black, Julep Emilie, Julep Emilie

The blue background makes it even harder to tell!

From Left to Right
OPI Jade is the New Black, Julep Emilie, Julep Emilie

So then a few days later, I got my corrected Boho Glam polishes.  I got Mirana, Olivia, and two more samples.

Julep Maven Boho Glam Box fix

Miranda and Olivia

I put on Miranda first, and I really really loved it.  It did remind me a lot of Butter London Artful Dodger though.  This one was different enough, but I threw in a quick comparison anyway.  It also went on in 2 coats.  This is without a top coat, again, super shiny.  Another creme, it's pretty seafoam green.  

Julep Miranda

Julep Miranda

Here is my comparison.  Artful Dodger is on the left, with the right two being Miranda.  Miranda pulls more green, but Artful Dodger doesn't looks this blue or bright in real life.  It's actually pretty dusty.  Miranda is totally dust free :).

From Left to Right
Butter London Artful Dodger, Julep Miranda, Julep Miranda

Olivia. Hmmm.  Ok, I know people love chocolate brown polishes, especially super shiny ones like his.  But I just don't get it.  I tried it.  It's not for me.  It doesn't look bad, I just don't like it.  Oh well.  Again 2 coats, no top coat.  Beautiful chocolate brown creme. So not for me.  Olivia is also part of the Fall 2011 collection.

Julep Olivia

Julep Olivia

So, was I blown away with my box(es) - No.  I hate gold, I'm not super into cremes right now.  Do I like the Julep formula - yes.  Was my full size facial for hand scrub, 4 polishes, and 1 base coat worth $9.99 - hell yeah!  I've already received the September box, but I haven't gotten around to it yet, so you won't see that for a week or two.

The polishes themselves are all available at Julep.com for $14 each.  Or you can sign up for the Maven program, just make sure you read the program details and FAQ first so you know what you are signing up for.  You can sign up with my referral link if you like here (again - warning, I get a $15 credit if you sign up with way) or sign up on your own by going to Julep.com.  Based on my September goodies, and my incoming free October box, I'm super happy, but I honestly don't see me continuing with this much longer.  I need more sparkles, shimmer, glitter, flakies, and other more fun-than-creme-textures in my life :).