Julep Maven February 2014 Review

February was a great month to receive your Julep Maven sub box!  For Valentine’s Day, Julep threw in a bonus polish in everyone’s box (everyone received the same color, Love).

I was really excited to receive February’s box because the colors I selected from the Boho Glam profile aren’t like any other nail colors that I already own.  I couldn’t wait to paint my nails!

**Julep Maven is a monthly nail polish subscription box that guarantees a value of at least $40 in each box.  The box will include at least 2 seasonal full-sized nail polishes, plus an additional beauty item.  And when you become a Maven, you automatically receive 20% off all your full-size purchases.  The cost of a Julep Maven subscription is $19.99/month.**

Now, please forgive me, but my nails finally succumbed to the nasty winter weather we’ve all been experiencing.  A few days ago, I broke 3 nails down to the nub within 24 hours.  So I decided to chop all my nails off and start the growing process again – starting fresh.  So because my nails are not in their best condition, I decided to pull out my press on nails again for the sake of the blog.

Goodies received:

 

Rooney – a walnut bark creme

Full size = $14.00 (received full size)

  

I’ve been looking for a brown nail polish for a while.  The only other one I have is more of an espresso color, making it so dark, it’s nearly black.  I’ve been looking for a warmer brown.  This is heading in the right direction, at least.

Rooney has a thin jelly-like formula.  It’s almost a little watery.  But it’s super smooth and has a really glossy, shiny finish.  I was worried when I applied the first coat that I would have to do several coats to reach opacity, as the first coat went on completely sheer and almost no color pay off.  But I’m happy to report it did reach opacity in just two coats!  It fooled me!  🙂

 

Cameron – a silver lilac stardust

Full size = $14.00 (received full size)

  

I know I’ve said several times on this blog that I don’t really like glitter polish.  And yet, I’m really drawn to these “stardust” or “fairydust” or “pixiedust” finishes.  I think the textures are so beautiful, so I was really excited to get one this month!

I think Cameron is such a gorgeous color.  In my photographs, the silver seems to really show through, but the purple lilac color is much more present when you see it in person.  It was opaque with just one coat, but I added a second coat to add more depth of color.

The formula was a bit on the thick side.  I felt like I was using A LOT of nail polish in just the first coat alone.  But the end result is stunning.  Love this polish!

 

Love – a full-coverage gold, pearl, and fuchsia microglitter

Full size = $14.00 (received full size)

  

I was happy to receive a bonus nail polish, but I’m not really in love with the color.  I’m not always a fan of a pearl finish, and the fuchsia and gold color combo is just okay.

I also found the formula to be really thick and gloopy.  It applied smoothly, but it clung to the brush in big globs.  The nail polish reached opacity with three thick coats.

(This color was also really difficult to photograph as the light reflected oddly).

 

Eye Sheen Liquid Eye Shadow in Pale Nude Shimmer

Full size = $18.00 (received full size)

  

I was really happy to see that Julep gave us control over which eye shadow color we received.  Back in November, when Julep was sending lip glosses, a particular color was assigned to each box.  So if you ordered Boho Glam, you got “this” color, and if you ordered Modern Classic, you got “that” color.  So this month, it was nice to be able to decide which color eye shadow I received, regardless of which box I selected.

I had a really tough time decided which color I wanted to choose for my eye shadow selection.  All the colors sounded beautiful (And they really are!  Check out Robyn’s blog as she received and swatched all four beautiful colors!).

I decided to go with Pale Nude because I wasn’t sure how these color would look on me, and Pale Nude seemed the safest (how boring am I???).  But I was really tempted to get Warm Fig.

So I really didn’t know what to expected when I opened the little jar.  The “liquid” eye shadow has a texture like a wet and thick souffle.  Very squishy and mushy.

I really wasn’t sure what type of applicator to use with this.  Fingers?  Brush?  Sponge?  I ended up using a sponge eye shadow applicator.  I was unhappy with the results, so I removed it.  Then I tried again with my finger, and I still wasn’t terribly happy.  But I didn’t remove it as I didn’t have a clean brush available to try next….

I had a difficult time applying this stuff because it was messy – no matter what I did, it got all over my eye lashes during application.  And it’s very difficult to blend.  Once it’s dry (which happens pretty darn quick), it’s not going to budge, so you have to work fast.

And, unfortunately, my deep set eyes destroyed this eye shadow.  Even though I thought I kept my eye closed long enough for it to completely dry and set, the crease of my eye rubbed the eye shadow off within minutes (as seen in my photo).

 

Overall, even though the liquid eye shadow was not a great fit for me, I was very happy with this box.  It has a great value and I really liked the nail polish I received!  I paid $19.99, and the total box value was $60!  I love Roony and Cameron and I have a feeling they’ll be worn a lot.

Which Julep profile did you choose for February?

 

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