Julep - July 2013

THE CALIFORNIA COAST COLLECTION
FULL UPGRADE

Hooray! I finally received my Julep box! For some reason I had some bizarre credit card issues this month when they tried to withdraw the sub payment. Apparently my card didn't want to work, even though everything was fine on my bank's side. I contacted Julep and they were kind enough to straighten it out, but of course, it did cause a delay in receiving my box, but no worries! It is here and it is still July, so are we ready to begin to review?!

 OOOoooooo, how very well and mysteriously wrapped!

So if you can't tell by now, this month's theme is beachy (which seems to be the trend for other subs as well). I had a teensy weensy little spillage in my packaging (the Sea Salt box, right under the Beach Tonic), which you can see in the center of the box. The lid came loose a bit, but no major harm done. I couldn't tell anything at all with the bottle itself, only the box looked a bit damp in the one spot, but it quickly dried!

and now.......for the polishes!

 Hello my beachy beauties! 

 (L to R) - Angela, Blakely, Alaina, Tracy, Joanna, Cassie, Karen, Adele, Faye, Nadia

Haha, after I took this photo my Hubsters took one look at it and said: "Are they supposed to look like they're on a beach towel?" I had not planned that at all, but YES, let's just go with it and say ::ahem:: OF COURSE...WHY YES INDEED THEY ARE...TOTALLY PLANNED THAT ::wink wink::

 I'm really loving the variety in color, and I also love the fact that I can definitely see the beach theme throughout the collection and shades!

Let's check out the beauty products first...

BEACH TONIC DRY BODY OIL

 "A blend of lightweight yet nourishing oils that moisturize, condition, and restore elasticity and suppleness to the body." - from julep.com

Can I just say I fell in love with the bottle? I don't know what it is...maybe it's the bright exotic coral shade, or the cute beach box it came in...who knows, but I love the look! That being said, I wasn't too very impressed with the product itself. I followed the instructions, I sprayed it on my damp skin after showering and rubbed it in. It sprayed on nicely and evenly, not spritzing thick on any one spot. I did hold it a good distance from myself, in order to distribute it better. It felt great for a few minutes, a little bit oily, but I expected that, but then 15 minutes later my skin went back to normal and didn't seem moisturized at all. Granted, I don't normally use lotions on my body, my skin is typically soft. I usually only need extra moisturizer on my elbows, knees, feet and hands. I did try this spray on my entire body (those particular parts included, even adding a little extra) but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. The scent was pleasant though, it had a very nice, very light citrus breeze aroma. Nothing too noticeable, but still refreshing. If I were to change anything, I'd probably add more moisturizing properties/ingredients and maybe up the level of fragrance JUST a tad bit. Although, on the plus side, a little of this product goes a long way. I cannot even tell I used any at all once I sprayed my entire body! This bottle will definitely last you a long time. I probably won't be using much of this, but I do recommend it if you'd like just a light spritz of refreshing oil, especially if you want a gentle shine on your skin to wear in the summer sun! This beach tonic was included in the Classic With a Twist, Boho Glam, Bombshell and Modern Beauty profiles.

 SEA SALT TEXTURE SPRAY 

"We bottled the beach! This paraben-free spray uses sea salt water infused with a combination of marine botanicals that provide intense moisture and essential nourishment. The two-punch combo protects hair from sun damage while creating ocean-kissed, tousled waves" - from julep.com

This bottle definitely had a one-up on the body oil, I did rather enjoy using this one! I have a love/hate thing will sea salt hair sprays. One one hand, I love the messy, wild mane look, but on the other, I love my curls, not bedhead funky waves. I fight tooth and nail for my curls (maybe that's why I break my nails all the time!) and I'm always looking for products to enhance my volume and create/hold curl. I still wanted to check this bottle's power out though and here's what the result was - 

 I'd say that's pretty beachy-keen, whatchathink?

I spritzed some all over my hair right right after I showered and pat dried my hair with a towel. I lightly scrunched it and let it air-dry. Then once it dried, I spritzed it again with the  spray and turned my head upside down and shook it out with my fingers! This was what it looked like afterwards! I've seen better, but I'd still say, that's not too bad. It gave me tons of volume from the ends to about 2/3 of the way up my hair but the top of my head and roots didn't seem to lift much. What I WAS very impressed with though, is the fact that it stayed like this for 5+ hours! I wore my hair like this all day and by the evening the waves were still perfectly intact and so was the volume! It is very lightweight, which I definitely believe is a contributing factor to the style hold, and it doesn't leave your hair sticky, dry or crunchy. I sprayed quite a bit of product in, just to see how crunchy it'd get and it still felt smooth and soft! Significant Other touchably approved! Once again, this bottle will last forever, I barely made a dent in it. This is the perfect easy-going, at-the-beach hair product to travel with. This Sea Salt Spray was included in the Modern Beauty profile.

BONUS ITEM - GREEN TEA FACIAL BLOTTING PAPERS

(Not listed on Julep's website, at the moment)

"Perfect for midday touch-ups, these natural linen blotting papers absorb oil and shine without removing makeup." - from back of packet

 
 Oh my...I LOVE blotting papers, you have no idea. My T-zone can get soooo oily at times, especially in the city I live in. Hot, humid and uncomfortable in the summer. Blotting papers are an absolute must and these did not disappoint! 

 They smell absolutely delicious. Seriously, like freshly made green tea. The ingredients are Wood Pulp, Abaca Pulp and Green Tea, so no wonder it smells so divine! It's so silly of me, but I adore the little green speckles on the paper! The sheets are very large, measuring a little over 3.5"x 3.5", which I think is fantastic. It gives you plenty of room to blot your entire face without having to reuse an oily section on the sheet. It does an excellent job of lightly removing all of the excess oil on your face without ruining your makeup as long as you use a light touch. If you press down too hard, it can smudge your makeup a bit. However, work lightly and it'll give you a matte, smooth, flawless finish with no oil or shine left! This pack comes with 40 sheets, and I don't typically use them everyday so this should last me quite a while! ::sticks product in purse happily!:: These blotting sheets were a beauty extra included in all of the profiles.



Well that is it for the beauty products, time to move on to the polishes and their profiles!



BOHO GLAM POLISHES - FAYE & KAREN

So this would be my typical profile if I hadn't opted to upgrade. I love how well the compliment each other! Faye (left) is a liquid bronze shimmer and Karen (right) is a peach bellini frost. Faye was very difficult to photograph, I know you're probably wondering...shimmer? where's the shimmer? So here in another picture that sort of captured it's shimmer...

If you look up at the top, you can see a slight golden/bronze shimmer, but it was very difficult to see, even in person. Matter of fact, you may be able to notice it more in my long line-up of the polishes above! It's right before the last polish!

I'm very intrigued by Faye, but at the same time, just not a big fan. The minute I brushed it on, I thought: It looks like wet sand, how awesome! I do think it's a pretty color, I'm just not entirely convinced it looks right on me though. Karen isn't bad, it's a tiny bit on the sheer side though. They both brushed on fairly easily, although I did prefer Faye's consistency to Karen's. Karen is the teensiest bit streaky, but not too terrible. This picture is with two coats of each, and with no bottom or top coat. I'm happy with Faye's opaqueness, but I might lean towards a third coat with Karen as I can still see the line of my nail tip. The shimmer in Karen is very lovely however, and I love how Summery it looks! (Btw, I am very pleased to announce that I just received my Julep Cuticle Oil the other day, have begun to use it and my cuticles should make a full recovery and stop looking so blegh in photos soon! This photo, however, was taken before the cuticle oil arrived, so I do apologize.) All in all, I think Boho Glam's profile set this month isn't too bad, but it probably is my least favorite of the bunch. 





BOMBSHELL POLISHES - BLAKELY & JOANNA

Here is one of the main reasons I wanted to upgrade. LOOK at these two together! On the left is Blakely, which is a purple and green molten chrome and on the right is Joanna, a lilac frost. Blakely just looked absolutely faaaabulous in the previews, so I knew right then I had to upgrade, especially when you see the other beauties in the It Girl profile!

I'd like to take a moment to say...LOOK at my cuticles! Do they not look SO much better already? I took this photo the day after I first used the Julep Cuticle Oil and I was amazed at the decrease in redness! Ok, moving on...so WOW. I love these two colors. Once again, I used two coats each (no bottom or top coat) and I was pleased with the opacity. They were both very easy to work with, both brushed on smoothly with no issues in bubbling or pooling. Joanna was a bit more sheer than Blakely, but of course, it's a shimmer. Some people may prefer one more coat on Joanna, but I was fine with it at two. Blakely was another difficult to photograph color as the purple and green shifts so much, but it's so gorgeous. Very rich, luxurious and magical, like a decadent dark peacock. I think this would be so fantastic with a white or silver design stamped over it. Bombshell's profile was definitely a great highlight for me this month.





CLASSIC WITH A TWIST POLISHES - ALAINA & CASSIE

I would never in a million years think of myself loving the Classic With a Twist profile, but this time Julep did themselves proud. These two shades are gorgeous. On the left is Alaina, which is a driftwood taupe creme (but for some reason photographed a little lavender in my pic) and on the right is Cassie, a soft coral sheer. I think these two compliment each other very nicely. For some reason it reminds me of cockle shells!

Aren't the beautiful? LOOOVE. So here you can see that Alaina isn't quite as lavender as the bottle looks, but it does have a purple tint. Cassie, of course, came out a little sheer, but that's to be expected...it's a sheer! Both again, are two coats, I wanted to stay consistent for all of the pictures. Both brushed on with no difficulties, pooling or bubbling. I think Cassie would be an excellent french tip polish. It's a brighter nude so you'd get a little pop of color but still elegant and refined. Fabulous picks for this profile, Julep!

IT GIRL POLISHES - ANGELA, NADIA & TRACY

And we're back to some rich colors! Here we have the all polish profile, for those of you who are up to trend and just adore polishes. On the left is Angela, a deep sea blue molten chrome, then in the middle is Nadia, a sun-kissed golden frost (so fancy!), and ending with Tracy on the right, a sparkly ocean blue sea salt! This month's profile is to die for, these three polishes are all so unusual and fanciful, they are a must have. 

 Agh! ::gasp, shock:: a bare nail! Oh hush, you, there's a reason for it...you'll see why later. Look how aahhhh-mazing these are! Notice the deep blue/green of Angela, it is super silky to brush on. Nadia is a very charming yellow-gold. It's so hard to do a good yellow and I've yet to find one that wasn't a bit streaky and difficult to work with and although this one IS a little streaky, it glided on nicely when applied. I would probably go with one or two more coats though, depending on the opacity and color pop that I want to achieve. Tracy is a drop dead (dead sea?) darling blue sea salt that is very easy to apply and layer. The salt texture is pretty fine and uniform, a teensy bit on the rough side, but not to where I feel it snag on your clothing or materials, etc. I felt you could get away with one layer, but two did even out the texturing a bit. No issues with pooling or bubbling. Yes, yes, yes, now you get to see why I left the nail bare!

FEATURED ADD-ON - ADELE

This month, Julep did something a little different (and exciting)...they actually INCLUDED this add-on in the upgrade! Adele is golden reflective top coat holographic, and this baby will put magic on your fingertips! EVERYONE on makeuptalk.com have been ecstatic over it and it's finish. So without further ado...here it is!

STOP IT. Oh my goodness....Couldn't you just die of polish happiness right now? This is just ONE COAT of this incredible top coat! Now you totally see why my pinky was bare, don't you? So I put one layer of Adele on all three of the It Girl July polishes, and one single layer on my pinky fingernail. I could swear a mermaid swam by and dusted some magical oceanic mermaid dust (is there even such a thing?) over each color. It's simply stunning, especially over Angela!

Another angle cause it's FAB:

Imaging how crazy shimmery TWO coats of Adele would be?

In my opinion, if you EVER decide to buy ANYTHING from the California Coast Collection, please, pleeeeease do yourself a favor and buy Adele. You won't regret it, I promise you. It brushes on super smoothly, settles evenly, and gives great coverage with just one coat. Plus it's PRETTY, of course!

WORTH AND PURCHASE:

Beach Tonic Dry Body Oil:  $23

• Or $18.40 for Maven Subscribers

 

Sea Salt Texture Spray:  $22  

• Or $17.60 for Maven Subscribers

Green Tea Facial Blotting Papers: This item is not currently listed on julep.com, but given other similar products from other brands, I'm going to average this at:  $5

Nail Polishes (including add-on): $14 each (10 total) = $140 

• (or for Maven Subscribers - $11.20 each = $112)

Total Paid for Box: $35*

Total Worth of Box:  $190  (or $153 for Maven Subscribers)

*This was my 2nd and final month to receive a free single profile Julep Maven Box since I had won a contest back in May, but I did have to pay for the upgrade, which was $35. Regardless, even if I HAD paid the $19.99, plus the $35 upgrade, this box's worth is super high! Pay $55 for $190 worth of stuff, I think yes! 

FINALE

Well I loved this box! I'm so glad I took the plunge (dive?) and decided to upgrade. I think every once in a while a girl should treat herself to some spoiling in life, don't you agree? This box is the PERFECT way to accomplish just that. Now, I'm totally not a beach person, so actually wearing these to a coast would be a tad difficult....child please...look at me, I'm from the Alabastrian clan and when I say I burn, I mean I BURN. I can slather on SPF 75 every 5 minutes and I'll burn in 10. What's worse, I'll burn, then it'll peel right off and go right back to being pale again. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love being fair-skinned, I wouldn't have it any other way! So, for now, perhaps I'll swipe on some beautiful Angela or Blakely (or both!) and then add some magical mermaid dust on top (aka Adele) and swish around in a pool....an night. Hey, SOMEBODY has to be a night mermaid! ::wink::

Happy Makeuping and Polishing my darling Merfriends!

        

Love, Cookie