First, a little about Julep. Julep is a company that caters to the nail lover in all of us--the place that exists "at the intersection of beauty and fashion". The company specializes in marketing nail polish in enough finishes and shades to assure every fashionista is fulfilled. In addition, the company offers a monthly subscription box, and this, my friends, is where it gets interesting. First, readers take a quiz that leads to a Maven "label" based on the answers. You might be a "Modern Beauty"; shimmy barefoot into "Boho Glam"; vogue your way into being a "Bombshell"; or walk with dignity into the label "Classic With a Twist." Next, you are introduced to "your first Julep Maven Box with at least two gorgeous polishes and other beauty favorites chosen just for you." What if you don't like the selection? You can manually choose whichever profile suits your fancy. (The first box is an "introductory" box, followed the next month by a regular box, which you elect to either receive or skip based on the contents that are listed.) Finally, enter a credit card number, and for $20 a month you can call yourself a "Maven" and receive a box delivered right to your door.
When I took the quiz, I found myself in the "Classic With a Twist" category. After looking at the boxes, I decided that I was happy with the Classic With a Twist selection (which I got for just $4--more on that later!), entered my PayPal info and waited for the haul to hit my inbox. Within a week, my stash arrived.
The first item out of the box was a generous 3.5 oz. tube of Julep's "Instant Warming Foot Scrub". The product contains not only pumice for exfoliation, but also chili pepper oil to "stimulate circulation." I'd never really thought about seasoning my feet, but I'm saving this for a coolish evening when I have some time for pampering.
Finally, I received two full sized Julep polishes--Helen (described as a light lavender) and Claudette, a "smoky brick".
To be honest, the Helen looked more taupe to me in the bottle, so of course, I immediately wanted to try it! Before opening the bottle, however, I noticed a "Swatch Me" sticker affixed to the top of the polish.
Ok, so I totally get the idea--you swatch the polish on the sticker so you know what the color actually looks like, right? Also, I'm guessing if you have a huge polish collection, swatching in this way would make it easier to identify polishes that were packed closely together. GREAT idea, I'm thinking. So I unscrewed the cap to find that the sticker was on TOP of the cap! Now I'm not genius, but I don't think I'm the dimmest bulb either. Color me confused, however, as to how one is supposed to paint the top of the lid when the brush is attached to the lid! GRRRRRR. I eventually peeled the sticker off, painted it with polish, waited for it to dry and stuck it back on the lid. OK, let me retell that little story. I DID take the sticker off, and I DID paint it with polish. What I DIDN'T do was wait for the paint to dry. Instead, I tried to carefully replace the little sticker without touching the wet polish. EPIC fail. I had polish on my fingers, the bottle, and even my makeup counter. ::sigh::
Once I got the swatching right (or at least finished), I decided to try the Helen polish.
This photo shows what I thought was the case--the color, for me, reflected NO lavender whatsoever. Instead, it was a beigy taupe that was VERY transparent after the initial coat. I did love how easy the polish was to apply, but it took three coats to get decent coverage.
All in all, I realize this was just an introductory box, and the fact that I only paid $4 for it made it that much more appealing. I will say, though, that I am not over the moon about the polishes in either consistency or coverage, and the swatching thing is just really still bugging me. I am, however, going to give it one more month so I can see what comes in a regular box. If I'm still unimpressed, this is one sub that will have to go.
TOTAL VALUE:
2 polishes - 28.00
Foot scrub - 22.00
$50.00
TOTAL PAID:
$4
If you'd like to try Julep, here's a link.
Note that I will get credit for you signing up if you use my link. Also, use the code COLOR2012 or JULEPVIP to get your first box for just $4, including shipping.
If you decide to go for it, let me know what you receive in YOUR box--and I promise to update when my first "real" sub is delivered!
