And now for my other obsession: Julep Maven Boho Glam intro box with Julep Essential Cuticle Oil

I know that this is supposed to be a tea blog and that this is obviously not tea, but I love nail polish.  It has become a recent obsession in my life and I paint my nails pretty much every day.  Well, a nail company called Julep recently had a holiday sale and I ended up getting a mystery box as well as an intro box for only $20 (the intro box only cost me a penny, plus it's free shipping).  You first take a "style profile" quiz, which asks you what kinds of accessories you wear and which outfit do you like the best, and divides you into categories.  Since I'm clearly a big hippie (not entirely sarcastic), I got the Boho Glam profile, which focuses on more earth tone colors with a few brights mixed in, but it doesn't matter what you get because you can change your box if you don't like the colors. 

Normally, these boxes cost $20 a month but you can get an into box for a penny if you're a new customer by typing in a certain code (mine was PENNY2012).  Each Maven box is supposed to contain $40 worth of products so theoretically, you're saving a lot by getting one.  The nail polishes are actually 4-free (free of Formaldehyde as well as formadehyde resin, Touline and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which are supposed to be carcinogens).  In addition, $1 of any product purchased goes to Girlfirends, a women's charity.  In addition to the box, you can also pay a bit more and get reasonably-priced add-ons (this month, it was 3 polishes for the price of 1) as well as 20% off online products (which is still overpriced). 



I got my box three days after ordering it (although I also got a mystery box and that hasn't come yet).  A lot of bloggers have pictures of them but mine was stuck in the snow for a few hours so it was all wet and frozen, not worth me taking a picture of.  There was a lot of black confetti, a pink bag with a bow and the presents.

This box also came with a red sparkle glitter and an opaque white irridescent glitter (which I'm a bit sad I didn't have for my snowflake mani), but they're glitter so I don't feel the need to review them.  They do make a nice touch though and think they'd be great for the holidays.

The back of the container.  Shows the glitter nicely.

Julep has their fancy emblem on the front.

Before I get into the other individual products, I'm just going to make some overall comments.  A lot of people have been complaining about the long, thin bottles and I agree that if you're a clumsy oaf then the bottle is going to be easy to knock over.  It's also an obscenely small bottle for $14 a polish (.27 oz or about half the size of a normal nail polish like China Glaze or OPI).  There is one good thing about these polishes in that the small, thin bottle will make it very potable and these will be good for traveling.  I haven't had issues with the actual brush but since the bottle is so long, the handle is extremely long so make sure you're quick or else you might end up with giant globs of nail polish everywhere.  On the upside, the amount of polish on the brush when I painted Michelle made it so that I painted my entire hand before having the re-dip. 

Toni

I will appologise for the poor quality of swatches, but I don't have a light box or a good camera and this is just to show you what you're getting.

Julep Toni:  I think this is supposed to be a taupe shade but thankfully (because I already have two identical taupes), it's more of a medium purple with a dusty pink and drop of grey mixed in.  This actually reminds me of grape popsicles except a bit pinker, and is actually both edgy and delicate.  The formula was a bit thick but in a creamy kind of way instead of a streaky kind of way.  This took me 2 coats and then I topped it off with Seche Vite.

Julep Michelle:  A very dark navy blue cream.  I think the color's right at that point where it's really dark blue but definitely not black in everyday light.  Again, I really liked the color and thought it would be flattering on pretty much any skin tone (I lean towards olive and it looked good on me).  Again, the formula was thick and creamy but this baby was (almost) a 1-coater.  Two fingers needed a second coat, but it did well.

UPDATE:  As for wear and tear, I've been wearing Michelle for 2 days.  On the majority of fingers, there is little if any tip wear although the polish is not as shiny as I'd like ti to be.  The only major chippers are my pointer fingers and that makes sense.  I was cooking and cleaning all day so honestly, that's not bad for a polish and unlike China Glaze or a few other brands, Julep's polish doesn't have any weird interaction with Seche Vite and my Orly Bonder Base Coat.  So yeah, it's actually lasting as well as my Nubar and Butter London so that's good.  

 

Michelle

  Julep Essential Cuticle Oil:  I have a few cuticle balms but never used a cuticle oil before, so this is a new experience for me.  One of the nice things about this is the rollerball applicator, making this ideal for on the go.  This is a blend of lavender essential oil and vitamin E, so it smells like lavender and herbs.  I like the smell a lot since it smells like my favorite sleep time tea, but if you don't like lavender then be forewarned!   The rollerball only leaves a small amount of oil that you rub in but it's fast absorbing and not greasy, so again, this is great on the go.  I'll write an update in a few days but I do think that my cuticles look noticeably better after a few hours.  There's a big problem area where a few layers of skin ripped off that still feels rough but is barely visible.  Another good thing is that you use so little of this per application that even with the
small size, this oil will probably last you 6 months with everyday use.  Overall, I like it and although I don't think it's worth $18, I think it's a nice thing to have.

UPDATE:  After using this a few days, I will say that this is a good product for everyday use, but you could probably find a slightly better one for problem areas.  My rough patch on my finger is not visible to the naked eye but I can still feel it a bit whereas I think my Burt's Bees Cuticle Balm would have made it softer by now.  However, this is a lot more portable than my BB or Posh Cuticle Cream, and will probably last a lot longer too.  It also doesn't remove cuticle like my Posh one does.  Still a good product and glad to have it.  

So, Maven Boxes are supposed to have about $40 worth of products but these prices are so inflated that it's silly to think that they actually are worth that much.  What I'm going to do is put down how much I would think is a reasonable price for each product.

-The glitter pots would probably cost me $1 or $2 for both.  They're nice, but you can get glitter in any craft store so it's not really going to add much value.
-The nail polish took a bit of thinking.  I think the formula in general is better than China Glaze and more opaque than my Butter Londons, but the brush makes it much more of a pain in the ass than it is.  Maybe if they improved the design a bit more then it could be better than Butter London, but it isn't (Butter London practically paints itself on my nails while this is obviously trickier).  I'll go with $6.50 a bottle since the formula is great but there's so little of the product.
-I can't deny that the cuticle oil is nice but the average price I see is around 7 dollars for the more expensive brands, some of which have twice as much product.  However, the applicator really helps push it up and also helps in not wasting as much product.  $10

$1 + ($6.50 X 2) + $10 = $24

There you have it.  Although I only paid a penny, it would have still been a net gain for me.  Can't wait to get my mystery box, which is supposed to have $100 worth of stuff at least. 

If you want to try Julep, here is my referel link or you can manually enter 7383222.  I get points for this so that I can save a bit when getting these boxes.