January Boho Glam Julep Maven Box featuring Julep Hand and Cuticle Stick

Happy New Years!  I hope you all had a great and not too hungover New Years.  This year should bring lots and lots of reviews, including tea from Teavana, Twinnings and all sorts of other places.  But first, my Julep Mystery box.

January's theme was Nudes and Neons, both of which are hit or miss for me.  I like bright colors but I often feel like neons are just too obnoxious and I feel like a 16-year old cheerleader when wearing them.  Nudes and neutrals are actually some of my favorite but it's hard to find one that goes well with my skin tone.  Well, this box hit me in my vitals because the two colors in my box (which I could switch out for another) were a really nice looking chartreuse and a light shimmery pink.  I mean, green and a nice pink?!  Sure, I'll bite.

The things you need to know about Julep is that they are a subscription service that sends you two nail polishes and a product or two for $20 a month.  Their polishes are 4 free (free of any formaldehyde, DBP and Touline) and they also donate a dollar from each box to Girlfriends, a woman's charity.  Their boxes are supposed to be worth $40 at the very least, but they mark up their stuff so much that it really isn't.  You can also get your first box for a penny if you enter a certain code.

So, I managed to get this on New Year's Eve, which is cool because it was sent before the month began.  I really liked the way they packaged this (plus I'm recycling all of the paper and stuff, even the box is great).  You have light sandy paper confetti, a bright orange bag, bright chartreuse tissue paper and a pink bow, so very bright and festive.  My box included:



-2 nail polishes (Teresa and Fiona)
-Hand and Cuticle Stick
-3 hair ties (the no kink or damage kind)
-1 sheet of Swatch Me stickers

So, let's get onto the reviews.

Julep Hand and Cuticle Stick:  I like reviewing the products first since honestly, they're a bit more important in maintaining your hand's beauty than the nail polish.  Honestly though, I got this box for the polish but had I gotten this for the stick, I would have probably been disappointed.  It's not that this is a bad product, but it basically is the Age Defying Hand Brightener in a stick.  First off, this stuff smells like soap and not the nice kind from Bath and Body Works, but the kind that you find in a mall bathroom.  It's an ok hand lotion, but it's in this applicator that works like a giant gluestick.  This is supposed to be convenient but I have other fast drying lotions that maybe take 15 seconds longer to dry at most.  It just seems a bit pointless and I have so many hand lotions.  Again, it's not a bad product and if you need a nice shea butter lotion, it works at making your hands feel soft (Can't really speak much about the age-defying part).  But I personally don't need it.

Edit (even though I haven't posted this until now):  Apparently, the best way to use this is by running the stick on the back of your hand and then rubbing the back with your other hand.  This works a lot better for me and is less messy.  This way also uses less lotion so it doesn't smell as strongly of soap, but I still prefer my other lotions and don't think this is worth the price.

Hair Ties:  I got three of these in neon orange, green and pink (though I may have already lost the green).  I like these.  They're a bit like a modern-day scrunchy except I think these don't damage your hair.  I have short hair so I can't speak for how well they hold up long hair or curly hair, but they work well on mine and actually don't seem to cause as much tension on my hair.  Anyway, I thought these were a nice addition.

Swatch Me Stickers:  They're just paper stickers but they're kinda fun and although they aren't the same as a nail wheel, they're something you can stick on a cap or something to tell you what a color looks like.  These are especially useful for glittery shades where you don't know how the shimmer will translate.  It probably cost Julep all of 1 cent to make this but it's fun and adds some needed value to this box.

Julep Teressa:  This is an opaque pink with a pearly silver shimmer.  I'm scared with light pinks because they rarely flatter my skin but this one is absolutely fantastic.  I think the shimmer really makes it because it just looks soft and delicate while almost just blending into my skin.  It's a bit peachier than pink but I think that's what makes this shade for me.  The formula was great.  It was a 2-coater.  A very nice neutral.

Julep Fiona:  There was a reason I saved this for last and that was because this green creme is actually pretty amazing.  It's very bright but it isn't neon.  It looks awesome with my skin tone and I can imagine wearing this throughout spring and summer as well as a transition from summer to fall.  Hell, this green is so bright and cheerful that I'll wear it now.  The formula was a bit thick but ok and this ultimately became a 2 coater.  Anyway, I love it.










So, here's my personal price breakdown.

Polishes:  They cost $14 on the site but I think they're worth about $6.50.
Hand and Cuticle Stick:  I really don't recommend buying this on the website as it's about $22.  Personally, I wouldn't pay more than $5 for this but if it had a better scent and I wanted age-defying things, I'd pay about $10.
Hair-ties:  I'd pay $1 for all three
Swatch Stickers:  They're a neat little gift, but you can probably get white dots that are just as effective for 50 cents at an office store, so $1 at most.

2(6.5) + 7.5 + 1 + 1 = 22.5

So, not so great in terms of value.  I'm happy with the colors but I seriously doubt Julep is going to get something I need in the February box, so unless they have that Freedom Top Coat and something awesome, I'll probably skip.  But I saw a possible holo in there so we'll see.

I also am getting an Ipsy bag as well as a GoodiesCo. box (although GC won't be until February), so more subscription stuff is on the way.