Maven Madness: Julep It Girl Box + Blakely and Fireworks Add-Ons July 2013

Hi everyone!

I hope all of my fellow American lovelies had an exciting July 4th holiday.

I'm boxes deep into my move, but things have been slow trying to move things in between rainstorms.

Everything polish related is still packed and ready to be moved over, so hang in there with me and I'll be up and running again within the next day or two.

Luckily I was able to photograph my Julep box before packing everything away, and I finally had some time to sit down and share it with you!

The Box

This month's selection was inspired by the California Coast. 

I live in Georgia on the completely other side of the country, so I have no idea how these shades specifically correlate with California beaches, haha.

With no interest in the featured hair products this month, I went with the It-Girl option which includes three polishes instead of two plus the beauty item.

Julep Maven boxes are delivered right to your door every month for $19.99 and usually include two polishes, a beauty item, and one or two random extra gifts.

For a more details on all aspects of the Julep Maven program, read my in-depth review here.

The Colors

Nadia is a pale, banana yellow frost with the ever slightest orange undertones, and silver microshimmer.

I wanted to like it, I really did...but I just couldn't.

The formula is on the thicker side, which is becoming more and more consistent with Julep polishes.
This can cause a problem with application due to the frosty finish. If applied too thick the stroke lines will be wonky and crooked. While it can be opaque in one coat, I recommend two thinner layers for best coverage.

If I could ignore the formula, I would love this color. 

It's an interesting pearly yellow, but at the end of the day the overall finish looks dated and formula isn't top Julep quality.

Angela is a black-based, shimmery teal with a slightly frosty finish and subtle color shift.

Once again, the formula is thick, so careful not to apply too thick. 

However, this one can provide nice, full coverage in just one coat.

The finish can be slightly frosty, but not quite enough to bother me. 

It's also a duo-chrome wannabe, shifting from deep blue to teal.

As much as I think this color is stunning, I think I have a dupe that'll cost you less than a dollar.
Remember my Polish4Pennies post back in May? If not, click over here and scroll down to Sinful Colors "See You Soon." Close enough?

In short, it's higher priced slightly frostier version of SYS or Essie's "Dive Bar."
Angela may have a smidgen more of turquoise tint, but not enough for most polishers to care.

Tracy is a shimmery denim blue textured polish - the newest addition to Julep's Sea Salt line.

This was the whole reason I chose the It Girl box.

I love the other three Sea Salts, mainly for the sophisticated neutral colors.

I was very excited to see Julep add a bolder color to the line, and at first I thought the color was totally unique to my entire textured collection. 

In truth, it's actually pretty close to JulieG's "Blueberry Fizz" from the Frosted Gumdrop Collection. 

There are two minor differences between the two. 

Both the glitter and texture are much finer in the Julep version, as opposed to the JulieG shade which contains slightly larger glitter pieces. Julep's version is also deeper while the JulieG shade is a lighter and icier.

I am also aware that there is a Nicole by OPI shade "Blue-berry Sweet on You" that might be even  more similar, but I don't own the shade to compare.

Which you choose is a matter or price or preference, but I love this one. 

The only complaint I have is that the texture took FOREVER to develop, which is a problem I didn't experience with any other of the Sea Salts...or any of my other brand's textures either. 

It also applies thinner than any other texture I own, so I recommend two god coats for full coverage.

The Extra

Included in every box this month was a new item, Green Tea Facial Blotting Papers.

This is another one of the items I prefer to save for when I actually need it, so unfortunately I don't have an personal comments on how well these work.

Other bloggers seemed to be more excited for these than the actual polishes this month.
Overall feedback notes that the green tea smell is extremely pleasant and that they are truly effective at removing oil during touch touch-ups throughout the day.

The Add-Ons

There weren't many other colors in the whole selection this month that caught my eyes, but the announcement of a true duochrome in the Bombshell box was something I just couldn't ignore.

Blakely is an oil slick reminiscent, purple-to-jade duochrome with a hint of frosty shimmer.

The formula is identical to Angela, except the frostiness is a bit more prominent.

In short, I wish it wasn't.

I was really excited for this shade, but once again the formula and finish brings the excitement down a few notches.

I can't deny how gorgeous the color shift is, and if nothing else it'll make an intense stamping color!

In addition to Blakely I picked up this year's 4th of July inspired glitter topper.

Fireworks is a patriotic mix of red, white, and blue fine and small hexes.

Now I deserve a slap on the wrist for forgetting to individually swatch this shade before packing up my stash for the move, but you did get a good glimpse of it in my Independence Day Nail Art look.
(Click on the photo below to see more of this design!)

It's not as full coverage as most of Julep's glitter selection, and I like it this way. 

It's much more buildable and is absolutely beautiful on it's own, built up as a full accent in three coats, or gradated as I did above.

What was your favorite shade from this month's box?

Let me know in the comments below or give me a shout on Facebook or Twitter.

Overall

In the end, I think Mavens appreciated the variety of finishes Julep had to offer this month.
Personally it wasn't my favorite box with my well-known bias against frosty polishes.
I do love the summer-inspired shades but the fact that I already had them  in better-priced, better formulated versions left something to be desired.

Lately, Julep's formula is become less and less consistent.

Sometimes the formula is a dream, and something the quality reminds me of polishes that have been sitting in a hot mailbox for quite some time.

I'm also catching word of other bloggers and Mavens alike become increasingly disappointed with Julep's customer service and overall value of the products. 

Cynthia from Of Life and Lacquer provided some important insight as a blogger affiliate in a comment left on my detailed review page which I really appreciated. 

Check her out by the way, she's always been one I've looked up to.

I don't share the same horror stories as her and others (except for DD creme debacle), so it's only fair that I not provide any insight into the matter.
It is something I'm keeping my eye on, but I'm not giving up on Julep just yet.

-- 

Interested in becoming a Julep Maven?

The selection window for this month opens in two weeks, so join now with my referral link below and get your first box free!

 I think you have to pay shipping now, but it's still worth it!

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/45305/

If the link has not already filled it in for you, enter my referral ID# 3488485 and then enter promo code "FREEBOX" at checkout. It's that easy!

Thanks for reading!

-Melody

Color Club "Reign In Spain" (Birchbox Wanderlust Exclusive) & Funky Striped Nail Art

 Hi everyone!

According to the calendar, summer is officially here! 

That means it's time for travel and adventures under the sun.

Whether you breaking out neons, glitterx or hanging on to your spring pastels, your summer nails should be bright.

This month Color Club and Birchbox had their subscribers covered.

Photo Courtesy of Birchbox.com

 The Wanderlust Collection includes four mini (7ml, 0.5 fl.oz) polishes, an exclusive to Birchbox.
The set retails for $8.00 and can be purchased here at Birchbox.com.

The mini collection includes three neons shades and a stark off-white:

From left to right:

Reign in Spain

Mod in Manhattan

London Calling

Pardon My French

Every Birchbox subscriber received one of the four polishes in their June box.

Included in my own box was Reign in Spain.

Reign In Spain is a super neon, coral creme.
(One coat shown over Sinful Colors "Snow Me White.")

If only the camera could capture the true color. 

You heard me say it before and I'll say it again. Neons are impossible to photograph correctly.

In person this color is much more bold and much more bright.

The formula was so incredible that I questioned whether or not a white base was even necessary.
While most neon polishes are semi-sheer and require building, this particular shade was incredibly opaque and creamy.

I think I've found my go-to summer shade.
It makes my skin look nice and sunkissed, and I can imagine it's a flattering shade for just about anyone.

As much as this color stands out on it's own, I couldn't help but add a little something.

This bright shade needs to shine, so not wanting to stay inside too much longer I grabbed minimal supplies and went to work.

I knew I wanted to keep it simple with either stripes or dots, so I reached for a dotting tool and the Salon Perfect Nail Art Striper Polish in "White Out." 

Creating the look took no more than five minutes!

First, I simply drew three stripes with the white striper: the first being off center and twice as thick, followed by the two thinner stripes closer to the edges of the nail.

Taking the dotting tool and the white polish, I dabbed dots on alternating sides of one of the stripes to create a waved effect.

I then took the same dotting tool dipped in a dot of the CC polish and dotted down the line in between the two remaining white stripes.

It's quick, it's quirky, it's perfectly imperfect.

What do you think of this funky summer look?

Are you a Birchbox subscriber?

Let me know in the comments below and give this look some love on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest.

If you're interested in becoming a Birchbox subscriber, you can sign up at Birchbox.com.
For $10 a month you'll receive 4 to 5 beauty samples and access to exclusive sales and specials on full size products in the Birchbox Shop.

You can also check out Birchbox on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
While you're at it, check out Color Club on Facebook, Twitter too!

Thanks for reading!

- Melody



**Birchbox subscription is paid monthly with my own money. This post contains referral links.

Maven Madness Boho Glam Box + Nan Add-On June 2013

Hi Everyone!

A new month means a new Julep Maven box, and this month is all about preppy-chic summer style.
This time around I went with the Boho Glam option with an It-Girl add-on.


The Box

Julep Maven boxes are delivered right to your door every month for $19.99 and usually include two polishes, a beauty item, and one or two random extra gifts.

For a more details on all aspects of the Julep Maven program, read my in-depth review here.

The Colors

The Boho Glam box included two shades in "Dianna" and "Lexi."

Dianna is a light, seafoam green creme.

Childhood on my nails.
When I was younger, my mother had my walls painted this exact color with all white wicker furniture.
Oh the 90's southern cottage style.

Not only am I partial to this shade from a nostalgic perspective, but it's just gorgeous.

It's rich  and creamy and the formula is great.
It's thicker than the other two, but just thick enough to apply smooth and opaque in just one coat.

This is a true seafoam green without being muted or leaning towards a more minty hue. Love it!

Lexi is a bright yellow creme.

I think we have a winner for best true yellow ever, at least in my collection thus far.

Let me make my broken record statement in saying that all bright yellows have a streaky formula to some extent.

However, this one had the least amount of streaks, and what streaks it had evened themselves out during the drying process. 

Just to make sure  it was completely even, I used two coats.

It's super bright without being super  pastel or super green.
This is seriously the yellow you need.

The Beauty Item

This month Julep debuted their first face makeup product, the DD Creme.

The DD Creme is available for the retail price of $28.80 and is available in four tones:

Light
Medium
Medium-Dark
Dark

Being the Casper face that I am, I received mine in "light."

The product is advertised to be "dynamic do-all" solution to help prime, perfect and protect the face with a lightweight formula with buildable coverage.

Ugh.

There's been a huge amount of drama revolving around this product since it's release.
Julep has been flooded with criticism by the majority of Mavens.

Not in the know? Let me sum up:

1. There is little to no product in the package.
2. The "light" version is way too dark and way too orange.

Some Mavens even resorted to cutting open the tube at the top to prove how empty the package was.
I didn't go that far, but the shot below hopefully conveys how much the bottle had to be squeezed to release the product upon my second "use."

Yup, it's almost gone.

But is it as dark and orange as other Mavens claim?
Let take a look.

Below shows the product swatched on the under side of my arm, the area that most closely resembles the lightness of my face.

(Pasty skin for the win...not)

Looking at that photo alone will turn people away.

So what happened when I blended it?

 I mean, the amount of orange is tame compared to any cast member of the Jersey Shore,

but it's definitely too dark and too wrong.

The color is actually not my main concern. 

Even mismatched face products can be minimized with the right powder, highlighter, etc.

My dismay for the product lies is how awfully oily it was.

So much so, that I could not bare to have it on my face long enough to take a  full face picture for you all.

In all fairness I have combination skin but GURLPLZ, this was ridiculous.

Had I left it on any longer I would have surely broken out, and that is far from "perfect" as the product was advertised.

The debate continues on, as customers with darker skin tones seemed to have been more satisfied than us lighter skinned ladies who apparently are SOL (excuse my rude abbreviation).

In the end, the mass of Mavens are displeased with the miscommunication and possibly misleading advertising about this creme. Although Julep clearly marked the tube to contain 1oz of product, for the price point it either needed more product  or a second thought on the package design.

I am not in a completely state of disappointment because I never fell victim to the hype of CC, BB, or any other alphabet creme.

Apply sunscreen, apply foundation lightly, and save your money. It's the same thing.

The Extra

To fit in with the beachy theme, this month's little extra was a few bits of Salt Water Taffy.

(All consumables included in Maven boxes are accompanied with an ingredient list and allergen warning.)

 They look sweet, but I'm not a taffy person myself.

My roommate on the other hand is a sucker for salted candy anything, so I was happy to pass them along.

His review? "The strawberry is where it's at." Haha, men.

The Add-On

Interesting enough, this was the color I was most excited about.
The rest of It Girl option wasn't calling my name, but I just couldn't pass up the chance to add-on "Nan."

Nan is described as a "Nantucket red."
Basically, it's a shade of red that looks faded, almost to a dusty rose.

If you're rocking shorties, you could probably get away with one coat, but in most cases the nail line will peek through. 

I recommend two layers as shown in the photo.

I am simply smitten over this color and is possibly one of my favorites Julep has released this year!

Overall

When it comes down to it, the colors popped and the DD creme flopped.

I applaud Julep for trying something new, and in their favor their hand cremes and other beauty items are fabulous. Unfortunately the DD Creme just couldn't live up to the hype.

Matters aside, I'm in it for the polish as most of us Mavens are.
The colors I received were great quality and complimented the theme well.
The yellow is astounding, the seafoam is dreamy and the red is unique.

If you're still on the fence about joining the Julep Maven program, don't let the DD debacle deter you from becoming a member. 

I've been a Maven for over a year and it's been worth ever penny.

What was your favorite shade from this month's box?
What  are you thoughts on the coveted cremes of the alphabet?

Let me know in the comments below or give me a shout on Facebook or Twitter.

If you're not currently a Maven, now is the time!
The selection window for this month opens in 11 days, so join now with my referral link below and get your first box free!

 I think you have to pay shipping now, but it's still worth it!

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/45305/

If the link has not already filled it in for you, enter my referral ID# 3488485 and then enter promo code "FREEBOX" at checkout. It's that easy!

---

Speaking of free, I'm having a GIVEAWAY!

Once I get to 500 likes on Facebook, I'll be giving out prizes to a couple of lucky readers.

More details to come closer to when the goal is reached.

You don't want to miss out, so if you're not already, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Bloglovin' for all the happenings here at The Manicured Amateur.

Thanks for reading!

-Melody

Maven Madness: Julep Boho Glam Box + Gabrielle Add-On May 2013

Hi everyone!

It's that time of the month again, and no, it has nothing to do with your Aunt Flo coming to visit. :P
It time for me to share with you this month's Julep Maven box!

This month's 20s inspired collection was too tempting to not upgrade, but alas my bank account just wouldn't allow it. 

In the end I chose the Boho Glam option.

The Box

Julep Maven boxes are delivered right to your door every month for $19.99 and usually include two polishes, a beauty item, and one or two random extra gifts.

For a more details on all aspects of the Julep Maven program, read my in-depth review here.

The Colors

Alice is a very pale, lavender pearly-frost with golden shimmer.

Julep "Alice"

It really skirts the line between a pearl and a frost finish, but either way it's glamorous. In some lighting situations the shimmer will come across silver instead of gold, but I promise it's the latter of the two! There's also the slightest hint of magenta microglitter, but I really only caught a glimpse of it the bottle under a lamp. It never showed up on the nail or even in my bottle shots.

 The formula and application was flawless and opaque in one coat.

Millie is a deep indigo creme.

Once again, application just could not be any better. One glossy coat and you're good to go.

 It's such a sophisticated and mysterious color, much like the starlets of the time.

The Extras

To fit with the 20s theme, each Maven box  included an adorable vintage lipstick trio.
The Boho Glam box included the "New York" trio which included the following three shades:

Lady in Red - matte crimson red

Satin Doll - sheer poppy red
Tea for Two - very sheer shimmery. nude

I can't get over the cute Art Deco style packaging!

Also included were a set of "vintage finish" gold hair pins with white and coral acrylic roses.
I'm such a sucker for cute hair accessories and these are just my style!

The Add-On

Gabrielle is deep, dusty purple creme.

Julep "Gabrielle"

The formula is an exact match for Millie, and the shade is quite similiar as well.

The only difference is that Gabrielle is more of a pure purple and shows up a tinge lighter in direct sunlight. Indoors it's hard to tell them apart.

Overall

I haven't been this excited over a Maven box in a while. 

Although the boxes have yet to really disappoint me, there was just something about this box I just really loved.

Which your favorite from the Boho Glam Box? 

Do you like the old 1920s Hollywood style?
Let me know in the comments below and share your thoughts on my Facebook and Twitter!

And if you want to become a Julep Maven yourself you can get your first FREE! That's right! 

Juster enter my referral code "3488485" when you sign up on Julep's website, take your style quiz and then enter promo code "FREEBOX" at checkout!
You can cancel anytime, so what do you have to lose?!

Thanks for reading!

-Melody

Sation Of Corset I'll Call You from the April Ipsy Glam Bag!

Happy May everyone!


We know that April showers bring may flowers, so in spirit of the changing month I wanted to share with you this pretty pink beauty from Sation Nail Lacquer in Of Corset I'll Call You.

Pricing & Availability

Even though I received mine in my April Ipsy Glam Bag, you can get your hands on (or get this on your hands, teehee) for $5.00 through Sation's website by clicking here.

The Color

Of Corset I'll Call You is a semi-sheer, dusty pink creme with some serious purple undertones.

Sation "Of Corset I'll Call You"

I wasn't expecting this to go on as sheer as it did, because the formula is definitely on the thick side. However it's one of those "thick but in a good way" polishes. It's not a goopy thick, it's just held together more. It went on extremely smooth and application required little effort.

On the first coat it appears to be almost a "barely there" sort of shade, but I had no trouble building it up to full opacity in three coats. The only downside was the drying time. It's definitely took longer than the average polish, but to me the final result was worth it.

Why am in favor of this? There's something about this polish that just makes the nails look fresh out of the nail salon. My nails have always been paper thin, but this is one of the few polishes that have made them look thick and healthy without it looking like I have access layers of polish on. 

Sation "Of Corset I'll Call You"

In short, it's classy an chic. This specific shade has a lot of depth for a creme color. The transition from sunlight to shade reveals a more lilac hue, which is equally as gorgeous. I'm partial to polishes that can surprise me in that way and this one had me at the bottle.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the little star on my ring finger. Not that this shade needed any dressing up, but I wanted to play around with the larger studs varieties in my stud wheel from Born Pretty Store (full review coming soon).

On another note (brief Ipsy information):

I mentioned that this was received through my April Ispy Glam Bag. Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription box service filled with curated makeup, skin and hair care products based upon your beauty profile. 

It's similar to Birchbox in the manner that you're paying $10 a month and not everyone will receive exactly the same selection.

I haven't chosen to review Ipsy just yet, as I usually like to wait two or three months to really experience all aspects of a subscription program before I develop my full opinion. This was the first glam bag I have purchased, but I will go ahead and jump the gun in saying that I already love it and definitely think it's worth $10.

In the meantime, you can visit ipsy.com to see what it's all about and sign up yourself! 

There's usually a waiting list, so I recommend signing up now. Once your subscription becomes active you have 72 hours to actually place your order. 

(Psst! The Ipsy Facebook page revealed that Zoya will be in the May bag, so excited!)

What do you think of this shade? 

Do you own any polishes from Sation Nail Lacquer?
Let me know your favorites from this brand in the comments below, and give this color some love on Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr.

Also, if you're interested in the Ipsy program and would like a post about the other items I received, just let me know!

Thanks for reading!

-Melody