Julep Maven - Worth the Hype?

Hi. I went to Vegas this week to visit two of my best girlfriends from college. We had the. best. time. I wasn’t expecting to be as quiet on LWR this week as I have been, but I decided that focusing on being in the present with my friends was way more important then being plugged in all day long. It was so refreshing to just live in the moment, have meaningful face-to-face conversations and spend lots of time shopping and I was reminded of how important it is to be fully present in my relationships.

But I’m glad to be back.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for my mailbox; my apartment managers literally think I’m crazy because I have picked up a package from the office every day last week. #sorrynotsorry. I am always trying out new subscription services because I love mail and I love getting new products to try out and glam up with.

you may also like: Trendsend Review: Better Than Stitch Fix?

When one of my good friends, Summer, from Coffee with Summer, reviewed her first Julep Maven box last month, I knew I needed to try it out for myself. I’ve been on a nail polish kick lately and wanted to try out some from Julep, mainly because I have seen their ads ALL over my Facebook. Also, and this may be weird, but I’m ten times more productive at my computer when my nails are painted; I’m just not distracted or tempted to start picking at my nails while I stare at them!

Julep Maven is a monthly beauty subscription box, known most for their nail polish. They also have various other beauty products, like skin care, lipsticks, and eyeshadows. You fill out a style profile and every month, Julep will pick out some products specific to you to send from the Julep Maven Line!

My box came pretty quickly and was filled with pretty products! I got 2 nail polishes, a lip gloss, and an eyeliner. I also added on an additional nail polish for 4 dollars because I thought the color would be perfect for fall and because I’m a sucker into those kinds of: “This nail polish is 80% off this one time only.” My wallet could benefit from me learning how to resist that type of temptation.

Lydia Nail Polish - In the bottle, this polish looks olive green with silver and gold flecks. This was the add-on polish that I got. The color is an Olive green with sparkles in it. This was the polish I was most excited for and the biggest disappointment. I had no clue what a start dust finish was, but after applying the polish I realized that it meant the polish was texturizing. After it dries, I literally felt like I had sandpaper on my nails. It was rough and bumpy. I put a gel top coat on over it, thinking that would smooth it out, but it didn’t do a think. The color on the nails was not as shiny or sparkly as it appeared to be in the bottle and because of the texture, I found myself picking at the polish way more. I took it off after a couple days because I couldn’t stand it. Not my favorite

Elise Nail Polish - This was the polish picked for me and in the bottle it looks more purple than on the nail. On the nail, it looks like a shiny navy blue. I really like the color on the nail; one coat was enough on my nails and it dried REALLY fast, so I was stoked. But, when it came time to take my polish off while I was in Vegas, my fingers were stained blue! I’ve never had a nail polish stain my fingers while taking it off and I was pretty miffed about it.

Missy Nail Polish - This is a metallic silver and perfect for the holiday season! I’m wearing it on my toes right now! I had a similar experience as I did with the navy blue; it went on smoothly with one coat and dried super fast. I topped both my nails and toes with my Sally Hansen Gel top coat and the polish has lasted a full week without chipping! I haven’t attempted to take it off yet, so I don’t know if I’ll have the same experience as I did with the blue polish.

Another note about the nail polish-The square bottles drive me bonkers, because when I turn the handle all the way to close up the bottle tight, the square handle does not line up with the square bottle. Also, there are little stickers on top of the handles that say “Swatch” and it is the most confusing thing because how am I supposed to swatch the nail polish on the top of the handle that the brush is on?! See the dilema?

Charming Lip gloss- I’m not really a lip gloss girl to begin with, so I was kind of disappointed to see that there was in my box. I’d get more use out of a lipstick. However, the color is pretty for this time of year and it pairs really well over elf’s matte lip pencil in Tea Rose, so that’s nice. But I basically felt “meh” about this.

Julep Liquid Liner- My holy grail liner is Kat Von D’s tattoo liner in Trooper, so I was excited to see how this one compared. The color is very only black and the tip is very fine, so it’s great for creating the perfect winger liner look. In fact, I can create a sharper wing liner look with this than I can with my Kat Von D liner! But, it doesn’t last as long and starts to break up after 6-8 hours on my lid. So, I love it for the wing, but I have to go over it with Trooper to make sure it stays all day.

All in all this was a super fun box to get, but in all honesty, I only absolutely loved 2 of the products I got. For 24 dollars a month, I honestly don’t think it’s worth the money and I will not be getting another one. Also, Rosie was very upset that this box didn’t have anything in it for her. She came over to check it out, sniffed it and then promptly flipped it over with her nose and snuffed in disgust. I can’t even make that diva attitude up, but I’m glad she agreed with my original assessment.

you may also like: August Barkbox Review

But, if you want to know how this box is for yourself, feel free to give it a go. You can sign up here. Have you tried Julep Maven? What product would you want the most? What other subscription boxes have you tried?

P.S. In case you missed it, I tackled the whole “Is Social Media A Lie” debate on Monday and would love to know your thoughts on it.

Julep Maven - Worth the Hype?

MAILING LIST

Thank you!