Julep Maven Box February 2013

I recently decided to give a new subscription box a try. I found a code that could get me my first box for $.01 (with shipping it was $4.00). I figured-- why the hell not? (If you want the same deal, type in JULEPVIP in the "code" box during checkout).

It's called a Julep Maven box. It's a subscription box that sends you 3 full-sized nail related items every month for $19.99. And I'm gonna tell you all about it, gurl.

"But if they send me things willy-nilly, how do I know they'll send me something I like?"

Because they have you fill out a "fun quiz" (I don't know about the fun part). It puts you in one of several categories: Modern Beauty, Boho Glam, Bombshell, Classic with a Twist, It Girl, and (retired) American Beauty.

You may well think I got bombshell because of the name of this blog, but a panda bear isn't a bear either. (Andy told me to inform you that this means I'm a little upset that I didn't get bombshell.)

I got Classic with a Twist.

You can change it, but I feel like that's cheating a bit.

So it came the other day, but I wanted to try the polish before I reviewed it.

It comes in a really small box so it'll probably fit in your mailbox.

Inside you get to see the trove of wonders:

Or, you know, more wrapping

Opening that up you see you get an assortment of things. I got 2 tubes of nail polish, 1 tube of cuticle oil, a sample of "The Best Pedi Creme Ever!" (punctuation and joy not mine), and two info cards. We'll start with the info cards and Pedicure Creme.

Here we've got my warm welcome from the crew at Julep. It explained everything i said up there, but also with one other important detail (for once this isn't sarcasm). Julep donates money from each purchase to different organizations that serve women through their "Powered by Girlfriends" program. These organizations are geared toward helping to empower women and young girls. If this isn't a good reason to become a Maven, I don't know what is.

Aside from that, we've got my sample of "The Best Pedi Creme Ever!". It's meant to exfoliate and hydrate your feet. Once I've tried it for a night or two, which is it's guarantee "noticeable results in one to two uses" (I'll hold you to it, Julep), I'll edit this to say whether it's worth $22 for a 2 oz bottle. (That makes this .07 sample worth approximately $.77, if you care to know.)

EDIT: This stuff is legit, one use of this and Andy's feet felt like tiny baby bottom. And they were still soft in the morning.

The card on the right describes what my style profile is (which is based of my personal style... which I would assume I would know, but you know it's nice to know they've thought these things out).

The card of the left tells me some of the extra benefits of being a Maven. Here they are:

• You can get 20% off of everything they sell in their store.
• You get free shipping on anything you buy from the store.
• You can save up "Jules" (see, it's funny because it's a unit of energy measurement) which you can use to get free stuff. Ways to do this include: signing up, referring, each box you get, buying things from the store.

It also tells me the day they start shipping their boxes (27th). 

This leaves one more card of info:

This card tells me thing the other cards already told me. The new info I receive from this card is... um... the price of the box? Generic description of what I get in the box? 

All sarcasm aside, the reason this card is included is because you can send your friends your own box if you've just decided you don't want it that month. If you don't want it that month and have no friends, you can cancel it for just that month. If you don't ever want it again, regardless if whether you have friends or not, you can cancel it any time you want no strings attached. 

On to the actual products, because I am very aware that this is super boring so far.

This is a container of their polish in Meryl. (Full Price $14.00/ Maven Price $11.20) It's a cool grey color (one I personally call Timber Wolf [growlll], whether or not that's correct-- I don't care). It went on a bit transparent at first shot, but the second coat was definitely thick enough. the second coat was also slow to dry, so I wouldn't try it out if you're planning on doing laundry soon (like me). 

This is another container of their polish in Barbara. ($14.00/ $11.20) It's purple sparkles (which Andy was thrilled with. If you look at her thumb [just the thumb] it's covered in purple sparkles). These two colors go really well together as well, so they're clearly going for a palette each time. 

This is their Essential Cuticle Oil. ($18.00/$14.40) This may be a placebo effect, but my hands actually do feel more moisturized and less dry around the cuticles having used this. Regardless, for anyone with weak nails and rough cuticle beds-- this is supposed to do the trick. 

Overall, the price on this box is $46/$36.80. Either way you save money. And I definitely did, since I only paid $4 dollars for this first box. 

If you'd like to give Julep a shot, here's a referral link. If you mosey on over there and say "oh, yeah that's right, Katie can get free stuff if I mention her as I buy this box" include this number during your sign up process: 9021705.

-Katie