June Julep Maven “It Girl”

This is the first month I received a Julep Maven box after reading about it on Show+Tell.  I signed up in April, but I sent my first box as a gift to a nail polish-loving friend for her birthday.  Julep is a boutique nail salon that offers a monthly subscription box for $19.99.  When you sign up, you take a style quiz and are assigned a style which will coordinate with the different box options.  Although you are given a style, you can choose which box you receive if you don’t like the colors of that style.  You can also cancel at any time or skip a month or two if you or your wallet needs a break.  A week before the box ships, you’ll get an email showing you the colors you’ll receive according to your style.  You’ll have about 3-4 days to log on to cancel, skip, or choose a different box.  You can also add on a polish or gloss to your box for just $4.99.  The retail price of the polish is $14.

I had planned to skip June’s box because I was also receiving Birchbox and MyGlam, but the email for the month was too enticing – not only would I get 3 colors in my box, I’d also get a coupon for 1 Free polish of my choosing.  I decided that 4 supposedly high quality nail polishes were worth $20 – especially since they are free of harmful chemicals: formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, or DBP (which a lot of nail polishes contain).  Before we moved, I went through my nail polish and removed all of the polishes with the nasty chemicals, so I figured I deserved to get some new ones.

I was really impressed with the polish – it lasted longer than any other polish I used and I even forgot to add a topcoat for 4 days.  I painted them on Friday and I think I finally had to add another coat on Tuesday.  That may not seem like a long time, but again I forgot a topcoat and I’m pretty rough with my hands. We even went ziplining that weekend and I figured the gloves would make the polish chip or peel.  Drying time varies between the polishes – I’ve noticed the “creme” ones seem thicker and take longer to dry, so they aren’t my favorite.

June “It Girl” Box

• Sasha, fresh, cantaloupe melon creme – I like color, but the formula seemed thick and not as smooth to apply.
• Morgan, frosty grape purple – This one went on like a dream.  The color was darker than I’d hoped, but I still like it.
• Sandra, friendly, frosted magenta – Great color, great formula. I repainted my toes and tips with this color the next week for a wedding.
• Courtney, key-lime green creme (add on color for $4.99) – I finally just tried this and I don’t love it. The color is okay, but the formula was thick and didn’t apply evenly.  There are tiny bubbles in it, so I don’t expect it to last long.  It will be fine for my toes, but I won’t use it on my nails again. You can see the bubbles in the picture above.
• Julep Daylight Defense Lip Balm – this was just free extra in the box – pretty cool!

Since I got the June box, I figured I’d skip the July box, but I just got the email and LOVE the colors!  Plus each box will have a free special 4^th of July color (R,W,B Glitter), so that will be fun!  I’ll review those after I receive them.  I swear…I’m going to skip August!

If you’re interested in trying Julep Maven, please feel free to use my referral code!