Maven Madness: Julep It Girl Box + Add-Ons March 2013

Spring showers may just be around the corner, but it's already raining pastels in the fashion and beauty world. The majority of major nail polish companies have already released their new collections, so Julep made sure to not let their Mavens miss out.

If you are unfamiliar with the Julep Maven Program, you can an in-depth review here. 
To see these beauties of close, keep on scrolling!

The It Girl Box

I had such a difficult time choosing a specific profile this month, but I ended up choosing the one with the extra polish in lieu of the extra beauty item. 

Julep Maven It Girl Box March 2013

The Colors

Julep Teri

Teri is a beautiful coral pink creme. It goes on a bit thick but smooth, perfectly opaque in one coat. It looks like it may be the non-shimmery sister of China Glaze's Mimosa’s Before Mani’s. I actually got both collection at the same time, so If you's like to see comparisons let me know!

Julep Simone

Simone is a lilac creme with what appears to be mint/turquoise colored shimmer. The shimmer makes this color completely unique in my collection and stands out among most other pastels I've seen released so far. The pink undertones really come out in low/artificial light, but in the same light the shimmer completely disappears. Subtle, chic and opaque in two coats.

Julep Shenae

Shenae is a pastel mint creme with such a subtle hint of opalescent shimmer. You will not notice the shimmer unless you are in direct sunlight. Either way, you can go wrong with mint these days. I actually found this color to change depending on what light I was in. Sometimes it was more of bright mint blue, and other times it was a subtle mint green. I'd love to compare this to China Glaze's Keep Calm, Paint On, but I do feel the two are unique from each other.

This would have been a one coater but I added an extra one to try to bring out the shimmer more. The camera however had other plans allowing you to really only see the shimmer in the bottle.

The Add-Ons

Even though I couldn't spring for an upgrade to the collection, I couldn't let some of cremes from the other style profiles pass me by. 

Julep Debra

Debra makes me laugh just for the name. Has anyone seen the movie The Addams Family Values? There's ta scene where Morticia visits Debbie (or the Black Widow murderer), who has seduced Uncle Fester into cutting off all contact with the rest of the Addams Family. Morticia enters and addresses her as Debbie, who in reply screams "DEBRA!" Morticia, keeping her calms brings her expression to a small smile and looking around the room says, "Really...pastels?" Her reaction was unfavorable.

ANYWAY...just as drop-dead gorgeous is Julep's Debra, a soft taupe/grey creme. This is such a flattering color that can be paired with anything all year round, whether it be pastels, neons or dark metallics. Formula was great and is completely opaque in two coats.

Julep Joy

Joy is a dusty mauve creme. My mother wears mauve after maroon after mauve,  so this color in my opinion has a very sophisticated connotation. It's still a fresh fit for younger women while catering to an older women who wants to pass on brighter pastels. I can't imagine a skin tone this isn't flattering on and has one of the best formulas of the bunch. It went on a bit more sheer than the other, calling for three coats to full opacity.

Julep Adrianna



Adrianna is a true pistachio creme, opaque in two coats. Many will have a love/hate relationship with this color. All pictures were taken outside on a cold windy day, and when I got to this color, the longer I was outside the more it brought out how red my hands were getting. If you normally experience "lobster hands" with yellow or green polishes, you may want to pass on this. That being said, I still managed to a get a golden shot of the beauty with freshly moisturized hands and the right light.


The Chapstick

Sometimes I think Julep reads my mind. I'm always scouting for a new chapstick and with all the cold wind lately my lips have taken a bit of a beating, nothing major but enough to bug me.

Julep's Strawberry-Mint Lip Balm is a good nighttime protection choice. It goes on very thick and will rub off when eating or drinking, so it's probably not the best choice as a base for a lipstick or gloss. However, if applied right before bed you will notice a significant difference the next morning in how smooth your lips are.

It's advertised as strawberry mint, but the strawberry scent steals the show. It's an intense sweet smell which I love personally, but may not be everyone's cup of tea. I don't mind not noticing the minty aspect as sometimes you need a balm absent of a lip-drying menthol.

Overall

I really think this was a much needed collection for Julep, and for me. There are some real stand out colors that any nail junkie needs. My favorites Are Teri and Simone.

If you are not yet a Maven you can sign up through my referreral link by clicking here and get your first box for just a PENNY! Just enter code "PENNY" or "JULEPVIP" at checkout. For just one cent what do you have to lose?






Have you jumped on the pastel bandwagon? What are you favorite swatches from this collection?

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