REVIEW: Julep Maven Subscription

I'm sure by now everyone, or almost everyone is familiar with the Julep Maven monthly subscription service. If you haven't i'll give you a small run down. For $19.99 a month, you can get a box with nail items, usually 2 polishes, and a product. There is also an option for all products, and all polishes. There is a few different style profiles to choose from to help determine which box would fit your personality best. The one thing I do like about this box is there is no "waiting list" like i've seen from other subscription box companies (ipsy, birchbox, etc.) Not to mention these are all full size products. No tiny little bottles of polish, or deluxe samples of products. For the price, I DO think it's a good deal.

I've been subscribed to Julep for a few months now, after getting my introductory box for .99cents! (I mean really, who could pass that up!) After taking the style profile quiz I had been placed in the Boho Chic style category, more on that later... I wasn't super impressed with my introductory box but for .99 cents, I couldn't really complain. I got a makeup bag, which I do actually like, 2 polishes, which I didn't really care for, and I believe a product. It's been months now I don't quite remember. I decided to stay on and get another box to see how I felt. I believe it might of been the October box.. Well I HATED it. Nothing in the box was my taste at all. It had your typical orange and blacks, some glitters and a crackle (once again, more on that later..) I gave it to a friend... One of the things i've heard, but I honestly haven't experienced yet is that is quite a bit difficult to cancel your maven subscription. Honestly, I constantly forget about my subscription till it's to late so I haven't tried to cancel yet myself. You do get a window to preview your style profile, and the others to see if you'd like to switch, or decided to skip that months box. I do believe it runs from the 20-24th of that month. They have a pretty nice "reward" program for different things, and you can redeem reward points on boxes, add-ons and products. If you do skip a months box however, you don't get those points they subtract them from your total. 

I'm gonna break down my Julep Maven subscription to you, and let you know what I think about this service, and whether i'd recommend this or not..

Polishes;

The polishes themselves are of good quality. Up there with OPI, and Essie. However they retail for $14 a piece on the Julep website, and Sephora. I personally don't like paying more then $10 for a polish. But sometimes if Butter London makes a color I covet for that price I will splurge. If your a fan of the formula of the Julep polishes then I definitely think the box is a great value since you do get 2 polishes for $19.99.

Color Selection/Trends;

Okay i'm kinda stuck in the middle on this.. I feel like sometimes they have they colors that I feel like I MUST HAVE... But I feel like those colors are always either split up amongst two different boxes and never ever in my style profile. That's where the add-on feature is nice. You can add on polishes you'd like for a small cost, or free using your Julep rewards points. I'm not sure exactly what the add-on price is as i've never done this before. But for some reason I believe it's $4.99 but don't quote me on that! As far as trends go, I think Julep is very very behind. I got crackles in a box, almost 2 years after they we're popular.. I also got a magnetic polish a little while after the craze. I feel like considering that Julep itself is actually a "nail salon" they would be a little more current on trends. 

Packaging;

The polishes themselves remind me of the Revlon super lustrous lip glosses. I found them impossible to store standing up in my Melmer. I now keep my polishes in a show organizer and have no issues with that. The tops of the bottles come with a "swatch me sticker" (newer bottles) which I don't quite understand how you are supposed to swatch the top of the brush but okay.. The packaging of the boxes itself I love. Everything can be re-used, considering some may find their packaging a bit much it's nice that you can re-use everything.

Shipping;

Personally I think the shipping takes forever, but I have no patience with shipping at all... You don't pay for shipping with the boxes. I have heard that any add-ons you purchase ship separately from your box, and may take additional time to receive. I'm not sure if you pay for shipping on these however.

Products;

I can't say i've ever been IN LOVE with any of the products I have received from Julep. It's mostly pedi items, or hand items. In March's box I did receive a hand cream that I was quite excited about only to use it and find out the scent made me sick to my stomach... This month I received a cuticle/nail therapy pen that I am excited about. We shall see how that turns out. I have heard some good things about other products that I haven't tried however.

Pros;

• Good deal if your a big fan of the Julep formula. 2 polishes for $19.99, plus a product when 2 polishes alone at Sephora would cost you $28 +tax.
• Swatch me sticker is kind of nice, if you keep all your polishes standing up in a drawer.. (If you can figure out how to swatch..)
• Packaging can be re-used for gifts,swapping, etc.
• Reward points are a nice perk to redeem on polishes you want that aren't in your box, or split amongst other boxes. Also can redeem points for free boxes.
• Nice introductory offer. 
• Offer mystery boxes/golden boxes which are a nice alternative.
• Ability to add-on colors to your box for a discount instead of the $14 price tag.
• Maven members get a discount in the Julep store.

Cons;

• I personally feel like the shipping takes forever.
• Not a huge fan of the style profiles.
• I always forever to skip, or change my style profile and end up with colors I don't like.
• Hard to cancel.
• Seem to get a lot of repeat finishes/colors which can be quite annoying.

I'm still on the fence on whether or not I love Julep or not. I think the value is great, but I just haven't been WOWED by a box yet. I keep saying i'll "give it one more month" and I haven't tried to cancel yet. 

Offer codes.. COLOR2012 for a box for .01!

FREEBOX for a free box.

xO.

REVIEW : Simple Eye Make-Up Remover

 Let me give you my short story about my relationship with eye make-up removers....I haven't really had one. The only eye make-up remover I used really were the samples of the Clinique eye make-up remover you'd get in GWPs. I liked it, but never really saw the point in spending that much money to take something off.. So to be COMPLETELY honest with you guys... I just kinda left my eye make-up on over night, and just used a wash cloth the next morning.

Recently i've been trying out different make-up removers. I'm on my 5th now, and I think it's time to give up. I had purchased my current one while I was still using the Simple remover, because I got a good deal and couldn't pass it up. Since I already had the product I didn't wanna waste it. But i'm counting down the days till I can go buy another bottle of this!

I'll give you a little back round now.. I prefer liquid eyeliner, and waterproof mascara. I'm also a contact wearer. So I need something that is going to remove all of that, and not irritate my eyes. I also really prefer to use everything oil free on my face just to be safe, just cause sometimes my skin in super sensitive.

So I guess just thinking about it this product would be perfect. Simple is known as "The sensitive skin experts." Although I will say during my hunt for the perfect eye make-up remover I really haven't found a single product that has irritate my eyes, or my skin. I just put this on my favorite cotton rounds (from the Dollar Tree of all places, a dollar makes me holla!) Just a little bit on ONE side! I use one side for each eye. I hold it over my eye for a few seconds then wipe away. It's that good! No tugging on the skin to get that waterproof mascara off. It just glides off! Since this is oil free there is no residue left on my skin. So really, I don't even have to wash my face after if I don't want too. The top is a pop top, with a tiny little hole for the product to come out. So you won't waste product by over pouring. I also like that it's not a "twist" lid, so I don't get nervous when traveling... I HATE twist lids and traveling.. It's inexpensive and available at the drugstore, which is everything I love in products!

It's safe to say I won't be repurchasing any other remover for quite a while!

xO

REVIEW : OPI Nail Envy

I was an acrylic wearer for years, and I mean years. I have very thin nails that break very easy, and never seem to grow no matter what I do to them. I had heard about this product from one of my favorite beauty gurus on YouTube and decided why not try this out.

I found this quite a few places, JcPennys, Utla and online. I definitely recommend purchasing this off eBay or Amazon because it is a tad too expensive for my liking. When I got this at Ulta it was in a "gift set" and came with OPI's rapid dry top coat. That only kind of made up for the price in my eyes. I believe it was around $16 for the pair, and this costs $16 on its own. It comes in a few different formulas, but I chose the original.

I used this as it was instructed and really saw no improvement on my nails at all. I used up almost the entire bottle (all that is left is the little bit at the bottom I can never seem to reach!) I saw blog posts about this making peoples nails feel thicker right after putting it on? Not quite sure about that because my nails didn't feel/look any better with this. I was hoping this would work for me as i've found it quite impossible to whip my nails back into shape.

The one thing I hate about these Nail Strengthener products is a feel like since I change the color of my nails every single day almost they are pointless. The layers end up coming off before I can put another. Maybe thats why I can't get this to work for me? I just cant seem to wear bare nails for a few weeks to give this a chance to improve my nails.

I have found a similar product that is cheaper (review to come) that has helped more then this has, but still not as much as i'd like.   

xO

REVIEW : Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil Shampoo & Conditioner (holy grail status!)

First off let me give you the 411 on my hair. It's super thin, dry and damaged. Awesome right? No matter what I would use it would leave my hair gunky (cause of the thinness)! It would still be dry because for some reason every shampoo & conditioner on the market for dry hair just didn't help the moisture problem... The only products that would work decent enough for me to keep purchasing was Dove Oil Therapy line!

Now, let me give you my history with Organix hair products.... let's just say it wasn't good. I purchased the coconut line a while back because I LOVE coconuts, and thought "hey wouldn't it be nice if my hair smelled like coconuts..." I used these products for a whole 2 days before they went back to the store! Horribleeee!

So you can say I was a little apprehensive to try this line when I saw it on the shelves of my Ulta. The macadamia craze became quite popular and I wanted to see what all the rage was (because i'm like that..) but the macadamia line itself was so ridiculous expensive (for me anyway! to each their own!) so I opted for this. I used it the next morning, and it was love at first wash. I can't say enough good things about these products! My hair never feels weighed down or gunky, and its super hydrating! The best thing is the shampoo & conditioner are sulfate free! I'm super picky about shampoo & conditioner, and while I hate to spend around $8 a piece on products that ultimately go down the drain I can't see myself buying anything else unless Organix stops making this line.

What I love the most is since Organix is a drugstore product, I can find it for super good deals from time to time at my local drugstores, and Ulta. Usually I wait for BOGOFREE sales (like Walgreens ran for a MONTH a few months ago) or BOGO 1/2. Also I tend to buy bottles when I get my 20% off coupon from Ulta, which is a win win cause you get a discount and earn points! 

If you've been on the fence because you had a horrible Organix haircare product past. Definitely take your chances and try their newer lines. I've heard great things about the Argan oil line and the Brazilian keratin line!

xO

BATTLE : Battle Of The Yellow Polishes

Sinful Colors - Lets Meet, Julep - Blake, Sally Hansen - Lightening, China Glaze - Lemon Fizz

Yellow polish has been such a trend this spring/summer. I love the look of yellow polish, but it's not something I personally wear all the time (i'm more of a purple girl!) I went through my collection and pulled out the yellows I own (which is not alot, clearly!) I swatched them for you guys so you could get an idea of what they look like on the nails. Also, Sally Hansen's Lightening is a good stamping polish. The Sinful Colors, Sally Hansen polishes can be purchased at Walgreens. Julep at Sephora, or Juleps website, and China Glaze at Ulta, or Sally's Beauty Supply.

 Sinful Colors - Lets Meet, Julep - Blake, Sally Hansen - Lightening, China Glaze - Lemon Fizz.

The Sinful Colors polish is the only polish that is 3 coats, the others are good in 2 coats.

xO

SWATCHES : Too Faced Naked Eye

Too Faced - Naked Eye.

Available at Sephora & Ulta

In The Buff - Pillow Talk - Like A Virgin

Birthday Suit - Satin Sheets - Unmentionables

Pink Cheeks - Lap Dance - Stiletto

I'm a huge fan of the Too Faced Natural Eye collection. When I saw this I had to have it since I loved the other one so much. Too Faced has other collections like this as well, but only these two interested me. I wear neutral looks every single day, and these were perfect. 

The packaging is perfect for travel. Although the packaging itself is cardboard i've had no issues with destruction to the box itself. I've took this on trips with me and never had any issues at all. It has a pull out drawer at the bottle that has an applicator. I've never used this, but it's nice to know it's there incase I don't have a brush handy. It also contains instructional cards for each set of looks, this is good if your just starting out and are unsure about color placement.

The quality of these is super impressive to me. I own quite a few MAC shadows, and I prefer these. Everyone is different though! The shimmer shades go on flawlessly with very little fall out. The matte shades, as any matte shades do require a little more effort, but not bad at all. I do ALWAYS wear these with primer and get excellent use out of these.

I prefer this collection for night, over the Natural Eye collection. This one has some smokey shades that are perfect for night time, but also some day time appropriate shades as well. If I wasn't so in love with the shades from the Natural Eye, I probably could do with only this palette.

For the price I think these are a great value. It's also a perfect gift for girlfriends, or family who are just starting out and need to add a variety of shades and finishes to their collection.

xO

SWATCHES : ELF 32 - Warm palette

 Top Row

Second Row

 Third Row

Bottom Row

I was on a hunt for this after I saw Nouveau Cheap talk about this. I ended up finding it at Big Lots for $5. But I heard it is also available at Target, ELF and Walgreens for the same price.

At first I wasn't super impressed with the color selection, or the pigmentation. Big after using it for quite some time I have come to appreciate it, especially for the wonderful value of $5. 

Some of the shades take quite a bit of work, and that is super annoying. But others require very little effort at all. To be honest, just by looking at the palette you can see which colors are going to be a pain in the butt :) But i'm definitely glad I purchased this. I used it almost daily last week, and even introduced some color into my life by using the cranberry/pinky shades. I even got compliments and people could believe I said it came from a $5 palette. I know ELF also makes a "Cool" palette as well with more brighter colors. However, i'm strictly a neutral kind of girl, and would have no use for that palette. I also saw that one at Big Lots incase anyone is interested. I definitely recommend this to anyone just starting out. For $5 you can't go wrong! If you order from ELF, I recommend searching retailmenot.com for a coupon code to get a even better deal! While your at it pick up some of the $1 eyelid primer too to give your shadows some extra wear.

xO