Julep Follow-Up: Intro Box

A little over a week ago I did a review over my Introduction Box from Julep.  Now that I've had some time to play with the products I wanted to follow-up with  my thoughts on everything.

Almost immediately I started using the American Beauty Volumizing Mascara.  If you remember, I was so excited about everything this mascara promised.  Thick, gorgeous, plump lashes? Um, yes please.

Upon opening the mascara I was immediately saddened by the very small applicator brush, but I tried to push the feeling aside and not let it sway me.  After all, maybe that was exactly what I needed to help me with my man lashes ;) Once I started applying the mascara I noticed quickly that it wasn't separating my lashes like it promised to do.  In fact, it was more clumping them together than anything.  I continued application as best as I could and hoped for better luck the next day.  Throughout the day I couldn't help but notice that my eyelashes felt heavier, like I could actually feel the weight of the mascara.  Again, I just brushed it aside as in my head and tried to let it go.  

Even though day one wasn't a success for me, I followed through with my plan to use the mascara for a week before reaching a final conclusion.  Throughout the week I religiously grabbed my American Beauty Volumizing Mascara to apply before heading out for the day.  Although I got more accustomed to the small brush and better at separating my lashes, the rest of the formula left much to be desired for me.  Two of my biggest complaints were that small hair like fibers were often hanging from my eyelashes from the mascara formula and it removed very easily.  One day I felt like I had something in my eye and, without thinking about it, I rubbed my eye.  I know, not the smartest thing to do when wearing eye make-up, but I literally swiped it twice and when I looked in the mirror basically all my mascara was gone.  It looked as though I never even applied any to that eye at all.

So, unfortunately, the American Beauty Volumizing Mascara will be going to my "no use" pile as it just wasn't for me :(

Now, moving on to happier things.  The nail polish.

As a reminder I received Yumi, a very pretty, glittery color, and Petra, a deep maroon color with shimmer hints throughout.  

As soon as my previous gel manicure started to peel I immediately sped the process along so that I could try out my new polish.  They were just so pretty and kept sitting there staring at me to put them on.  When the time came I had such a hard time deciding what to try first.  So, I did what any logical person would do.  I used them both!

I started with the Yumi and was immediately impressed with how easily the nail polish went on for being a glitter polish.  I didn't have to apply several coats to get an even layer of glitter and I also didn't have to use a huge glop at a time to get desired results.  It applied like a normal, non-glittery polish.  Definite win! And the color? Beautiful.  It has a predominant silver color, but depending on how the light hits it you can also see some pretty light pinks, purples and blues.

When I was satisfied with my single layer of Yumi I opened up Petra to begin application.  Although this formula went on smoothly it came out slightly thick.  I felt like I had to remove more polish than normal off the brush to achieve an appropriate thickness and avoid an overly goopy mess.  Once I figured this out, however, I was very satisfied with the application.  It went on smoothly and wasn't streaky at all.  Since I was painting my nails with my 2-year old running around I didn't have time to apply a second coat.  With  many nail polishes this does not leave a desired color or effect, but with Petra it didn't matter.  There weren't any streaky areas or any translucent looking areas that clearly needed an additional coat.  And, again, I love the color.  It has  deep, but bright, maroon color with hints of silver sparkle when the light hits it.  So pretty.  Another win for Julep nail polish!

With flash.  The air bubble looking spots on the Petra are actually the specks of silver sparkle.  They aren't 3-dimensional in real life so I'm not sure why they photographed like that.

Without flash.

I've been wearing the nail polish for three days now and it is still holding quite well.  The ends are starting to chip slightly, but I don't blame this on the polish as I didn't have a top coat to apply to seal the color in.  Overall, I am very impressed with the Julep nail polish and I'm so glad that my profile declared me as a Bombshell because I am in love with the colors.  I can't wait until the selection window opens up tomorrow for my May box!

Don't forget, if you are interested in trying out Julep for yourself you can try your first box for only the cost of shipping.  Just enter the code FREEBOX during check-out :)

*** All the Julep links are affiliate links.  If you use them to set-up your subscription I will receive a credit towards my next purchase.  But, I will love ya forever if you do AND the first time I earn enough credits for a free box I plan on using it as a giveaway! ***

Julep Review: Intro Box

So the first box that I ordered after becoming interested in the subscription box phenomenon was the Julep Maven box.  Ok, truth be told I tried to do Birchbox first, but I was put on their infamous waiting list, so Juelp was the first box I was successful at ordering.

When I first signed up they had me fill out a profile "quiz" and at the end told me I was categorized as a Bombshell.  Um, yeah, I wasn't expecting that.  At all.  I'm a pretty simple gal so I was anticipating I would have been categorized as such.  But, I loved the colors so I wasn't complaining.  I know many people who have gone back and re-done the quiz to get a different intro box, but I was content so I didn't bother.

I placed my order on April 24, received a shipping confirmation on April 25 and received my order on April 30.  Considering there was a weekend thrown in there I was very impressed with their shipment speed!

Of course, upon receiving the box I immediately tore into as I was anxious to see what the colors looked like in person.  And, at first glance I have to say I was very impressed with what I saw.

I love the way it was all wrapped up in pretty colors making me feel as though I was a special customer or receiving a gift from someone.  And, although I already knew what was going to be inside I was still excited to go through each item piece by piece to see what they were really like :)

It's my understanding that each box contains a little "extra" surprise for you.  In this box I received the following two items:

One Step Polish Remover Pad:  I love the concept of these as I hate using a cotton ball and big bottle of nail remover.  I hate the smell and I really hate the little cotton pigments that linger behind.  I'm just curious if one pad is enough to remove the polish from both hands?

Naill File:  I have a massive pack of the flimsy Revlon emory boards that I got on a CVS special for like a penny (seriously!) so it's nice to have a bigger, solid file to use.

Now onto the real goodies!

American Beauty Volumizing Mascara:  I love, love, love trying new mascaras so I was beyond pleased to receive this as part of my box.  Then, when I read the description I squealed with excitement "Lash growth enhancement ingredients and micro-fibers are our secret weapons in this ultra-plush formula that goes to bat for thick, gorgeous lashes.  Super-fine applicator separates, conditions, and plumps up even the smallest lashes to bring them out of hiding and into big-time focus."  Um, yeah, I have what I refer to as man eyelashes (short, stubby and light colored) so I am all about everything it claims to do.    I started wearing this earlier this week and will report back how I like it after a week.

And, lastly, what Julep is known for, nail polishes.

Yumi:  (pictured on the left) is a very pretty, glittery, girly, sparkly color.  It has hints of silver and different shades of pinks/purples throughout.  

Petra:  (pictured right) is a dark maroon/red with hints of silver shimmer throughout.

Both actually photographed pretty true to their color and I am quite pleased with both of them based on how they look in the bottle.  Unfortunately, I had gotten a gel manicure right before receiving this box so I have not had the opportunity to try them yet.  But, as soon as that first piece of gel starts to peel I'm all about Yumi.  And, of course, I will report back my feelings on each after I use them ;)

So, how do I feel about Julep after receiving my introductory box? 

I'm very pleased so far.  The shipping and communication were spot on, all the products seem very high quality and there isn't anything in there that I wish were something different.  I also like that each month you can go in and choose which box you want, if you want to gift it, receive it for yourself or skip the month.  For  $19.99 a month I'm definitely going to keep this one around for a while!

Are you interested in trying out Julep for yourself? Right now you can get your first box for only the cost of shipping ($3.99).  That's a savings of $16.00 folks! Just go here and enter discount code FREEBOX.  Be sure to let me know what profile style you got and how you like it :)

*** All links are affiliate links.  If you use them to set-up your subscription I will receive a credit towards my next purchase.  But, I will love ya forever if you do AND the first time I earn enough credits for a free box I plan on using it as a giveaway! ***