Sunday, January 29, 2017

Julep September 2014 Review

Julep September 2014 Review


As per usual, I opted to upgrade my Julep Maven box this month (using points rather than cash; I would not upgrade if I had to pay to do so!), turning what would have been a small $20/$25 box into an unnecessarily gigantic collection of nail and beauty products that I can barely manage to even try.

Heres what I got for the month of September:


The "bonus" this month was a duo of two generic hard candies that I did not eat. In the process of not eating them, they managed to melt all over my box.

Nail Polish


The nail polishes I got included:

Kirby (Bombshell): A jagged chrome glitter.

Mary Lee (Boho Glam): A vampire-esque oxblood.

Lupita (Classic with a Twist): [Lupe Lupita, ¿dónde estás?] A mix of red and fuchsia.

Quinn (Classic with a Twist): A grayed-out lavender/the worlds stormiest purple.

Eliana (Bombshell): A smoky denim.

Mahima (It Girl): King Midass dream. Liquid gold.

Erin (Boho Glam): Concrete gray.

Fifi (It Girl): Baby shower pink.

Ryan (It Girl): The color of the ocean when Cthulu rises out of it.

Heres how Mary Lee, Mahima, and Kirby look on my nails:


Lips


I also got makeup products! Yay, makeup!

Juleps "Plush Pouts" are tubby little lip crayons that weigh in at 0.07oz of product.


The idea is that they have a "moisturizing core", but the texture of the clear center doesnt feel substantially different from the pigment surrounding it. Instead, it just seems to make the products swatch strangely. You end up with weird patches on your face where there is no color at all. The texture is admittedly creamy and nice, but the weird white center doesnt appear to contribute to that.

Given that one of the reasons that lip crayons are desirable is that they are easy to control, giving you strange clear spots on the product seems especially incomprehensible. It makes the product feel crude and difficult to use.

From left to right: Aurora, Almond, Cardinal, Magenta
Unnecessary core aside, the colors are beautiful and pigmented and the texture is creamy without feeling like its going to melt off of your face.

From left to right: Aurora, Almond, Cardinal, Magenta
The four colors of Plush Pouts are:

Aurora Pink


Aurora is a warm bubblegum color. The pigmentation, though is a little weaker than some of the darker colors. Its more of a medium-coverage lip product.


Almond Nude


Almond is definitely my least favorite of these lip crayons. The pinky beige shade is already not my favorite, and the pigmentation falls substantially short of the "full coverage" that Julep promises. Combined with the awkward clear center disrupting my application, I felt that I needed a lot of layers for a pretty lackluster final result.


Cardinal Red


Cardinal, on the other hand, was gorgeous. The warm, saturated red feels like Christmas and reminds me of a poinsettia. The glossy finish feels classy and sexy.


Magenta Plum


Magenta definitely leans more purple than a traditional magenta. I usually think of magenta as a midpoint between purple and pink. Here, its a warm, vibrant purple color with a vampy effect.


In addition to the plush pouts, I did get a Blank Canvas lip primer, which Id previously reviewed here in November 2013. It seemed like a strange thing to include since they had already sent this product out, but its certainly not a terrible thing to get an extra product.


Overall, I feel fine about this box. It is consistent with the quality that I expect from Julep, but it is in no way stellar or even noteworthy, save for the near-perfection of the Cardinal Red Plush Pout.

If you are suddenly realizing that Julep would fill a hole in your heart, you are always welcome to use my referral link by clicking here. Use the code FREEBOX to get your first box for free.

Available link for download