Julep - Valentine Mystery Box

Wahoo! Look what showed up on my doorstep last night? My Valentine Mystery box from Julep. A week ago Julep had a promo where you could purchase a "Mystery Box" filled with surprise products for $19.99. The boxes contents were guaranteed to be worth $60-$200. I knew at once I'd get a $60 box. I'm never lucky enough to win the big guys, but even $60 worth of my favorite nail products for $20 is a GREAT deal. I got Mystery Box #1 & this is what was inside:

I love it when they throw fun little things in there. In this box I got a cute little chocolate heart (that was yummy & was devoured almost immediately upon arrival) & a small jar of

white . . . fuzzy . . . stuff? I know this is a glitter pot, but it's not glitter & it's not sequins. It looks like FLUFF. I know how to use glitter & sequins, but does anyone out there know how to apply "fluff" to their fingernails properly? Can you put top coat over it? I really truly can't wait to try it out, I'm just curious if anyone out there knows exactly how to do it.

This box also came with a full size Julep Nail Therapy. I've heard AWESOME things about this stuff so I couldn't wait to try it out. It went on smoothly & it did have an almost conditioning feel as I applied it. It kind of has a strong smell, but it's not any worse than any other nail polish I've used. I can't wait to see how it does on my nails. It's supposed to be an ideal base coat & is supposed to make your nails strong & flexible. So we'll see.

I was SO HAPPY to see a travel size version of the Age Defying Hand Brightener in my box. Sure, I got the full size (3 times the size of this guy) in my intro box last month, but I'm SO incredibly in LOVE with this lotion that I'm THRILLED to have a small version for my purse. Now I can put in on ANYWHERE. This product is one of Julep's MUST HAVES.

I also got some Julep Nail Appliqués. These guys have an almost peacock feel/look to them. I've never used nail appliqués before so when I put these guys on I'll be sure to review them on a future blog post. In reality, these are NOT something I'd buy on my own, but that's what I love about Julep. They send me things that get me out of my comfort zone, & 9 times out of 10 I end up LOVING them.

Now for the colors. I will admit that I was kind of bummed when I pulled Taylor out of my box. Not that I don't like her. . . I actually LOVE HER, but I JUST got her in my box last month. So I've been wearing her for a month now. I kind of wished for a new fun color that I haven't tried yet, but now I'll be able to do a GIVEAWAY in the future so one of you can try Taylor out. You will LOVE HER. She is a beautiful bluish-purple periwinkle color & she is just beautiful on. Pulling her out of mystery box made me remember how much I do love her, so I did my nails in Taylor last night. :-)

The other color I got in my mystery box was Blake. I never in a thousand years would buy Blake on my own. I've never even considered painting my nails YELLOW. ha ha ha. But the more & more I stared at her, the more & more excited I got. Again, THANK YOU JULEP FOR GETTING ME TO STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE. Blake is pretty pastel yellow color, perfect for Easter. I see some fun Easter nails in my future. I'm excited to play with her.

My almost 7 year old daughter was SO excited to see Blake in my box. Her favorite color is yellow & she BEGGED me to put it on her RIGHT NOW. So I did. Next Saturday is her 7th birthday & we're having a Spongebob Squarepants themed party. I'm thinking we might need to have matching SPONGEBOB NAILS for her special day. What do you think?

So that was my fabulous Mystery Box. Yes, I would have liked to get the $200 box, but seriously I loved my little box. I will definitely be purchasing more in the future.

If you'd like to learn more about the Julep Maven program click here & take the Julep Style Quiz. And just a reminder that you can get your first box for ONE CENT by using the coupon code COLOR2012. You won't regret it. I look forward to my box every month!

February Maven Box - Boho Glam

I just get giddy when the postman delivers that little black box on my doorstep. I love being a Julep Maven. For February, Julep was celebrating the Oscars. Every color in the Oscar collection was made with the Academy Awards in mind. These colors are GORGEOUS. Normally I'm "Classic with a Twist," but I immediately fell in love with the "Boho Glam" box. The great thing about being a Julep Maven is that you get to PICK which box you want to get each month. I wasn't really crazy about the grey polish in the Classic box, so I SWITCHED my box for the Boho so I could get Marisa!

Julep also advertised that in February, 100 special OSCAR GOLDEN BOXES would be sent out to 100 lucky subscribers. I wasn't a lucky golden winner, but I LOVED my box. I saw some of the GOLD boxes & they had EVERY color in the Oscar collection as well as the cuticle oil & Top Coat for hair. The gals who got those were very lucky indeed.

So, on to my Boho Glam box. . . My box came with the Julep Cuticle Oil, Marisa & Oscar polishes, & a chocolate Oscar statue.

Marisa was the selling point for me in this box. She is a BEAUTIFUL dark blue with an almost purplish golden shimmer to it. I'm currently having a love-hate relationship with Marisa. Inside she is a very matte navy blue & I'm not very fond of her, but in the light & sunshine she is one of the most beautiful & shimmery polishes I've ever owned. I live in Monterey & it's been very grey & gloomy lately so she hasn't been shining at her best lately which has had me a little sad, but the sun came out today & she was RAVISHING in the sunlight. Yes, she's a keeper & she's growing on me more & more each day.

All five boxes in February came with Oscar, a golden glitter polish. I LOVE OSCAR. I will admit, she's a booger to get off like any glitter polish, but she's worth it. In 2 coats she fully covers your nails & she is BEAUTIFUL. I can't wait to play with Oscar & Leah (green) for St. Patty's Day next month. The trick to getting Oscar off your nails is to wet a cotton ball with nail polish remover & wrap it around your nail for 5 minutes. It wipes off a LOT easier that way. I'm definitely in love with this one.

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with the cuticle oil. I've never used cuticle oils before & didn't think I needed it. OH BOY DID I NEED IT. I love the roller ball top. It makes for quick & easy applications. I've been putting it on once or twice a day for a week now & the look of my nails is 10 times better than they have ever been. The real SUCCESS STORY is my sweet little girl, Lorien. Lorien is almost 7 years old & she gets the WORST hangnails I've ever seen. This poor kid comes home from school with band-aids every day. Her hangnails bleed & bleed & she cries. My heart breaks for her. Since I got this cuticle oil, I've applied it on her little fingers twice a day every day & she hasn't had a hangnail once in over a week.

NO MORE BANDAIDS, NO MORE BLEEDING, & NO MORE TEARS.

I'm going to buy her her own so she can keep it in her pocket & put it on all day long. This is ONE HAPPY MOMMY.

So another FABULOUS box from Julep Maven. I can't wait to see what's in my next box.

If you're interested in becoming a Julep Maven, they are having an AWESOME deal right now where you can get your FIRST BOX for $0.01; YES ONE CENT. Just enter the code COLOR2012 at checkout. Enjoy!

Julep Maven Intro Box

Are you a Julep Maven?

I heard about Julep from a friend a while back. Basically, it's like Birchbox for nail lovers. Every month Julep sends you a box filled with at least 2 polishes & other manicure/pedicure goodies for $19.99. The boxes value at over $40. Still, I couldn't bring myself to spend $20 a month on nail polish. But the more & more I read about the Julep Maven program, the more & more I knew I HAD to join.

So I did.

I took their style quiz & was assigned "Classic With A Twist" as my personal style. My intro box literally arrived in my mailbox a few days later. It was all wrapped up cute with a pretty bow.

Okay, so here's what I LOVE LOVE LOVE about the whole Maven program. Each month on the 20th you'll get an email showing you what is going in YOUR style box. (I'm Classic with a Twist). If you love it, it will automatically get shipped to you on the 25th of the month & you will be charged your $19.99. If you decide you DON'T like the colors in YOUR box, you can view all of the 5 style options & switch YOUR box to whichever one you like best. That way YOU are getting what YOU want each month. If you decide money is tight one month or you just don't like the colors for that month, you can SKIP your shipment for that month. You will NOT be charged & you won't have to worry about a box being shipped. You also have the option to send YOUR box to a friend. What a great idea for birthdays & holidays! I just love all the options!

For my intro box, I chose Classic with a Twist which consisted of Taylor & Maya polishes & a full size Age Defying Hand Brightener Lotion.

Taylor is a beautiful periwinkle purplish-blue cream. I have 3 little girls & all three of them were drawn to this color. I couldn't paint their toes fast enough! I was really impressed with how quickly & easily it coated their nails. It was fully opaque in 2 coats & it was a brilliant color. I hate it when a color isn't true to what it looks like in the bottle. This is as close as you can get. It was PERFECT.

I was completely drawn to Maya. This guy is a gorgeous peachy-pink shimmer. I will admit, it DOES go on a little streaky at first, but after the 2nd coat it's not as noticeable. But the color makes up for it. It's beyond GORGEOUS.

But the most unexpected part of my box was the lotion. I've never been a big hand lotion person, but I am

COMPLETELY & UTTERLY ADDICTED TO THIS LOTION!

It has the most divine light & citrusy scent that leaves your hands smelling & feeling fresh. I put this on 2-3 times a day & would DIE without it. It retails for $32 so it was a STEAL to get it in my intro box with 2 polishes (a total $60 value) for $19.99.

My name is Dani, & I'm addicted to Julep Maven.

Stay tuned for more reviews on my February Maven Box as well as my Valentine's Mystery Box coming soon. For more information on the Julep Maven program click here.

So how about you? What Julep Maven Style are you?