Friday, May 9, 2014

Julep May 2014 Review - Nail Polish Subscription Box!

Lately, I've been obsessed with Julep, a monthly nail polish subscription service!  I was excited to receive my May 2014 box in the mail today, so I'll be reviewing this month's box.

What's Julep?

Before I get into the review for the May 2014 box, here's a quick intro to Julep, in case some of you haven't heard of this it yet:

For $19.99 per month, you get $40+ worth of nail polish and beauty products mailed to you each month.  The products always come in a pretty box.  Part of the fun (and one of the reasons beauty subscription boxes are so successful) comes from the anticipation of getting a package each month...it's like unwrapping a birthday present every month.

To start, you take a short, fun style quiz to get sorted into one of 5 style profiles:  It Girl, Classic with a Twist, Bombshell, Boho Glam, and Modern Beauty.  Each month, you'll receive at least 2 nail polishes + 1 full-size beauty product (or 3 nail polishes if you choose "It Girl").  You also start out with a free welcome box (with the same amount of product as the usual monthly boxes)... keep reading to find out how. 

Julep


You can preview what's in your box during the Monthly Maven Reveal on the 20th-24th of each month.  Don't like what's in the box for your style profile?  You can swap items in and out of your box for free with their newly updated program terms, or you can also switch to another style profile at any time.  Boxes ship on the 1st of each month.  If you don't need / want new nail polish every single month, you can also send a box to a friend for the month --- they make for great birthday gifts! 

In terms of quality, the polishes are typically high quality and currently retail for $14 each at Sephora, so the monthly box is typically a good value.  I've been a member for 3 months, and I've been really happy with the program thus far. 

Lastly, if you're thinking of trying it out, you can actually get a free welcome box (with $40 worth of product) through this link: Get Your Free Julep Box. 

Just use the code FREEBOX!

May 2014 Julep Maven Review - Boho Glam

Although my original style profile was "Classic with a Twist," I switched to the "Boho Glam" box this month, since I couldn't resist one of the colors in that one --- namely, Paulette, a golden lilac tulle shimmer.

Here's a pic of all the May colors (includes all colors from all 5 of the style profile types).  The name of the May collection is the appropriately summery "Fresh Twist." 





Here's what I ordered for my box:




The products are:
  • Jeanne: Jet-set blue creme
  • Paulette: Golden lilac tulle shimmer
  • Julep Plié Wand

This month, all mavens receive Plié Wand (pronounced plee-AY, like the ballet term "to bend") in their box.  This is actually the item I was most excited about.

The Plié Wand is a new, innovative nail polish tool created by Julep --- designed to make polishing easier....especially with your non-dominant hand.   It's designed to let you grip it like a pen (when in use by your dominant hand) or in a comfortably bent shape (when in use by your non-dominant hand) and fits on every Julep polish (both old and new).  

I can't even count how many times I've made a mess when trying to apply nail polish with my left hand (being right-handed)... this invention is pure genius.  In fact, I can't believe no one else had thought to create something like this before.


This month, since I had some extra Points (you earn reward points for each month you remain active as a member), I also ordered a free Add-On Item:
  • Saaya: Golden apricot shimmer


It's perfect for summer! 
Here's what the inside of my May 2014 Julep box looked like when it arrived:






Julep also threw in an extra attachable brush for the plie wand, which was a nice addition.

I was happy to see that the nail polish colors looked just as expected in person, as color depiction can often vary from one computer screen to another (or in the case of some retailers, due to image editing, professional lighting, etc.).      

I'm wearing "Paulette" here - shown with no topcoat, so you can see how shiny the color is on its own.  I also needed only one coat, and the formula was nicely opaque and smooth when applied. I love it! 


Above: I'm wearing "Paulette" from Julep's May 2014 Boho Glam Box

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Get a free Julep box:

If you'd like to get a FREE full-sized Julep box (just pay the $3.99 shipping), click here and use the code FREEBOX.  

Happy polishing!  

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Lastly, apologies for the absence of posts recently - a demanding new job had taken over my life for the past few months, and I'm just now getting to slow down a bit and breathe.  I have some more personal style posts in mind for the next few weeks, along with a new series of beauty product reviews.  'Til next time, and thanks again for reading! 

Love, S

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for this short overview of the main trend in nail polish trends! I am very grateful to you for bringing all that to light!

    ReplyDelete