Julep: December 2014, The Countdown Collection

 I would like to point out that I got this about two weeks ago.  I've just been too busy to post about it with it being the end of the first semester at school, holidays, and field trips, etc. I've also been hanging out with friends a lot more at work and working out almost every day, so by the time I actually get home and collect the mail, I'm beat. 

I haven't even opened the  December Ipsy bag yet and I got that last week.

However, I'm very happy to say that my box from Julep got her on time, with no issues with delivery, my address didn't get cut off this month, the package didn't have to be sent back to sender, so it's all good.

Julep is a monthly subscription box that specializes in nail polish, but also, especially within the last year, they've started making a lot of beauty products.  They have some pretty nifty nail polish colors, and I tend to like their eye makeup like eyeliner and such. 

Well that's a nice surprise. Apparently Julep upgraded my entire box for free. Sweet. Happy December to me?

December was the countdown collection... Makes sense with New Year's Eve and such.

from l to r: Rochelle, Aurora, Sharma.

Rochelle is a pretty cranberry shimmer color. 

Aurora is a bright silver creme. 

Sharma is a bronze glitter.

Those are all the IT GIRL colors. I really like Rochelle a lot, it's a color that I don't think I have much like. Aurora is meh, I feel like I have too many silver colors just like it. Sharma is a bronze glitter, no opinion either for or against. 

from l to r: Sienna and Ilga.

Sienna strikes me as the perfect holiday color. It's a gold creme, which I like because I don't have any gold color like that. Most of my gold colors are glitter and can't be used as a solid base coat, but Sienna is a gold that i could use as a base coat if I wanted to.

Ilga is a dark red. As I've mentioned before, I'm not much of a fan of red nail polish. But for a red color, it's not too bad. 

Those were the classic with a twist colors. 

from l to r: Soleil and Paula.

Soleil is a bronze creme color. I don't have anything like it, and like Sienna, I like how it's a metallic base coat.

Paula is awesome. It's a bright electric blue color with a purple and silver sort of shimmer.

These were bombshell colors. 

from l to r: Karissa and Chatoya.

Karissa is a bright red color. It's very red?

Chatoya is a silver pink glitter color. It's very different from other glitters I have. 

Those were Boho Glam.

The upgrade also came with all three eyeshadow colors, an eye shadow brush, and eye primer.

Airglow

 Supernova

Equinox

And then I went to open moonbeam and found this:

I'm sure I could've called Julep and told them what happened and they would've sent me a replacement product, but it didn't seem worth it really, when they upgraded my box for free, and I didn't initially pay for this as it is, so I just let it be.

But that's what the dust all over some of those nail polish bottles was in my pictures.

from  l to r: equinox, supernova, and air glow.

Equinox is a beautiful shimmery silver color. I absolutely love silver eyeshadow and this is an amazing silver color. It's a dark silver and it has just enough shimmer and glitter that it really looks awesome.

Supernova is an amazing molten purple glitter, I'm sad that I don't think my picture shows the details of the color. It's a slightly darker purple with some pink glitter and it's really an incredible color.

Airglow is a nude shimmer. It's a very pale nude color. It's one of the few colors that I probably could wear for every day use at work and it would have just enough of a sparkle that it would kind of be different than what I usually wear and I like that about it.

So overall, I really liked the December box. I loved the eyeshadow, and the nail polish colors were a little bit different than what I usually get. 

And thanks Julep, loved the free upgrade.

Julep: June 2014, The Three Wishes collection.

School's out for the summer, which means, I spend at least two hours of my day, sitting here, and reading books on my kindle. The latest summer read is The City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare... The entire Mortal Instruments series is one of those book series that's so badly written, but quite enjoyable to read, especially at the pool. Though, I do admit, The Infernal Devices series, which is sort of the prequel to the Mortal Instruments series is an enjoyable read. 

After my tryst at the pool with my kindle, I went and checked the mail, to find I had to pick this up from the office:

I wasn't quite sure what it was. I ordered one of the Memorial Day Mystery Boxes from the sale over the holiday weekend, so I thought it might be that.

I opened the box and under layers of brown paper was this:

My monthly Maven box from Julep alongside with some random extras I added. I didn't pay a cent for the box, I just used some Jules I stored up since I have nothing better to do with them since they can't apply towards mystery boxes.

Julep is mainly a nailpolish subscription box service. I've been a member since last March or April, so I'm grandfathered into their old subscription service, which is I pay $19.99 for a monthly box of products based on the profile I choose for that month.

They've recently vamped their service for NEW members. There are two options now: 

My Maven, which is $24.99/$19.99 [with a three month subscription] and you can customize a box for $40+ of products.

My Maven Luxe, which is $39.99/$34.99 [with a three month subscription] and you can customize a box of $60+ of products.

I don't know anything about their new services, but I do like the idea of complete customization, and have thought of converting over, but haven't since I still like the box I get every month.

I have a special relationship with Julep, they were my FIRST ever subscription box.  I'm very attached to them.

A closer look at what was inside my box.

I did add on three products this month. So, let's start with those. 

Julep also had a promotion, if you added on three products, they would send a fourth product, for free.

Mae, was my free product. It's from the bombshell collection. It's sort of purple gray periwinkle color with a satin finish. It sort of reminds me of the color of the sky during a stormy summer afternoon in Texas. 

from l to r: Hope and Cameron

Cameron, Boho Glam, is a repeat for me. I got it in my February box. It's a silver purple glitter color with a stardust finish. I've worn it. My prek girls loved it. 

One problem I find with duos that I add on is that they nickname the duos... Something like: Winter Lights, and I don't actually look at the colors that are in that duo, I just think it looks cool and order it.

But...

I don't really mind repeats. I either give them to friends, or the daughters of friends.

Hope is IT Girl, and a satin finish white color. I don't really wear white nailpolish, that much, but I think in winter, with a shade of silver or gold glitter, it would look quite festive.

from l t r: Sienna and Tracy

These are actually both repeats for me. But again, it's my own fault for not actually looking at details of sets before I place orders.

Sienna, Classic with a Twist, is the color of silver mirror glass with a gold tone. It's a pretty color.

Tracy, IT Girl, is blue silver sparkle.

from l to r: Veronica and Marjorie.

These were both new colors for me.

Veronica, classic with a twist, is a darkish rose pink color.

Marjorie, IT Girl, is dark orange.

They both remind me of the colors of a pretty sunset.

Onto my Maven box.

This month was the Three Wishes collection, and I really wanted to upgrade to the entire collection of nailpolish, but my FMLA ass couldn't afford it. I'm hoping some of these colors will go into future secret stores, and I can get them then. 

The add on this month was Pixy Stix, which are one of my favorite childhood candy, so I was quite pleased with this. I just wish I had gotten a blue one, instead of two purple because the blue flavor is my favorite.

I went with IT GIRL this month because I really liked the colors moreso than my usual profile which is "classic with a twist." I also had no reason to want the Base Coat or Top Coat that came with my usual.

from l t r: Phia, Jennine, and Savoy.

Phia is my favorite. I don't even know how to describe it. It's a light purple silver orchid glitter color. I can't wait to wear it.

Jennine is also gorgeous. It's a turquoise Stardust finish polish with light green and dark blue glitter in it. I also can't wait to wear this one.

Savoy is a silver gold chrome color. 

Overall, I am very pleased with this month's box.

Granted, I got a lot of repeat colors, but that was mostly my own fault.

So anyways, I love nailpolish, and their polish is very high quality and very good lasting ability, and this comes from a completely hands-on prek teacher.

So if you're so inclined, check Julep out.

Wantable: Febuary 2014

 For y'all that are new, Wantable is a customizable makeup subscription. It's a bit more pricey than say Ipsy or Birchbox, it's $36.00, per month, and you fill out a survey, that customizes the products you'll receive. Products that you love, you're more likely to get, products you like, you occasionally get, and products you dislike, you never get. I like it because for the most part, you get things that you might actually use, and they're also always full-size products. 

As always, I'm impressed with Wantable's customer service. They charged me twice, last month, and gave me a 10 dollar off credit, and they totally applied it without me even having to remind them.

I was sort of upset with Wantable last month because they send me a million trillion lip products, and I don't really like lip products, so this week, I took my like for lip products and moved it to dislike, so there was no chance of me getting any sort of lip product.

I liked my box this month however:

Here it is.

As always, they include a piece of paper with all my loves/likes/dislikes, and they give you a list of items they sent you, and how much each one costs, which I like since it saves me a google search.

This is the box revealed.

My first item was a Rainbow honey nailpolish in Oni, it's a very glittery bronze gold color, and definitely a color that will be worn in my collection. Retail Value is $10.00

A Mistura Beauty Retractable Brush worth $18.82 [what a weird cents number after that dollar sign]. The brush is cool, I like how it retracts and gets bigger or smaller, but I'm not sure what I'll use it for. I don't really wear blush or foundation, or any of the makeup that you would use a brush such as this for, but I suppose it's a nice tool to add my nonexistent collection of makeup tools.

A Be a Bombshell Eye-Base in Chrome Sweet Chrome, worth $14.00

I really like this color. It's a very me color. I love any sort of silver eye makeup. This product can be used as an eyeshadow, a base for eyeshadow, or even an eyeliner. It's a color that will definitely be worn. Silver eyeliner was always my thing, especially in college, and post-college before I got a real job, although sometimes I still wear silver eyeliner to teach, and nobody's said anything yet :x Silver is my favorite color.

This is it swatched on my hand with no sort of primer or anything.

A Bella Donna Liquid Eye Pencil in Black, worth $25.00.

I really like the point of this eyeliner, it's very sharp and precise and I could get it very thin on my hand when I swatched it. I've never heard of this brand, and liquid eyeliner is something I'm not at all that familiar with, I tend to prefer pencil eyeliner, but a black eyeliner is always welcome in my collection.

Golden Rose Mascara in Perfect Lash Mascara Blue, worth $10.99. 

It's very blue. I don't think I've worn colored mascara since high school days, and that before the millennium. I love Golden Rose as a brand. Their black eyeliner that I got in my first ever wantable box back in December is my go-to mascara. I'll be very curious to try this, and see how it looks. I have very blue eyes, so it might be interesting to see.

Overall, I love this box. I got 3 eye products, 1 nailpolish, and a tool. Those are definitely the types of things I want to see in my monthly boxes, especially eye products, I love me some products.

The overall value for my box was: $78.81

That's a hell of a lot more than I paid.

I was very pleased with my product selection this month. I thought Wantable did a great job. I highly recommend them. Again, they're on the upper price spectrum of subscription boxes, but I think they're definitely worth it, for the very personal selection of products designed for you, to their full-size products that they send.

So check Wantable out, if you're so inclined.

Glamour Doll Eyeshadow: February 2014

Glamour Doll Eyeshadow is an indie company that makes loose eye shadow pigments. They have really cool colors, and their shadows are a really nice quality. They have a Of the Month subscription service. They're limited though. They open up every 8th of the month, and there are different options, from 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months, etc. You can only subscribe to them on that day, and their subscriptions sell out fast. I was lucky enough to snag a 2 month subscription, and I'm really hoping I can snag a subscription, next month, and continue to get their products. The prices are based on how long the subscription is. I think mine is like $7.00 per month, but don't quote me.

This was this months bag, a nice pink silky bag, that's perfect for Valentine's Day. 

Inside the bag was this: sugar baby candies that I've already eaten [yet I haven't touched any of my Valentine's Day Chocolate, at all], the pigment of the month, and a "Shimmer Serum."

"Shimmer Serum" is, and I quote: " a slightly sticky liquid filled with micro fine glitter & inspired by mythological creatures. Appears white in the vial, but shows up a dazzling shimmery gold, when applied to the skin. Can be used on bare skin or over shadows."

The color I got was: Centuar's Wisdom

I attempted to blend it on my hand to show off, but it was very clear, and the gold only shows up a tiny bit. I personally like this product. It reminds me of the glitter roll on tubes that I totally rocked at sleep-away camp in the 90's, and I'm excited to see what it looks like over shadows. 

This month's color was Reckless Devotion, a pale shimmery pink with copper and gold shifts.

This is it swatched on my hand.

I normally don't really like pink, but I like this pink. It's pale enough that it can almost appear as a neutral, and I like the gold shimmer in it, although you can barely see it in my picture. This pink will be worn.

I highly recommend Glamour Doll Eyes. They're very affordable, for those beauty product lovers, on a budget, and their stuff is very high quality. If you're into bright colored eye-shadow, they're really a great place to check out.

Julep: February, the DRAMATIC collection

It's that time of the month again, when a big pink box appears in my mailbox:

Julep  is primarily a nailpolish company, although for the past year, they've been branching out and creating other types of makeup. For $20.00, you can become a Maven, which means you get a box of nailpoilish and/or makeup sent to you every month. They have a style quiz, where you can find your style profile, but every 20th of the month, you can see what you're getting, change styles if you want something else, or get a full upgrade and get it all. You can also skip a box for no charge. 

February was The Dramatic Collection, and I really really loved every single product featured, so for the first time ever, I did a complete upgrade, which included all the nailpolish colors and all the makeup products.

Julep introduced a shimmery eye sheen his month, which I was interested in since I really liked the swatches of colors on their website, and I also really like eye makeup. This was every eye product that came with the upgrade. It's four colors and one gel eyeliner.

Gel eyeliner in Jet Black. 

It's a very dark black color. This was only one swatch of it. I like how black it is. In my opinion, you can never have too much black eyeliner. I'm not very familiar with gel eyeliner, I tend to use a pencil eyeliner, sometimes liquid, so I'm interested in seeing what gel eyeliner does.

Deep Bronze Shimmer and Dusty Taupe  eye shimmer.

Here they are next to each other on my fingers. The Dusty Taupe is a very pale shimmery sand color, and the Bronze shimmer is the goldish brown color. I like both these colors. They're both nude enough for every day wear and will be good neutral colors.

Pale Nude Shimmer. 

Here is is next to the deep bronze shimmer. It's a very pale color, it reminds me of a very pale cream color with a slight shimmer. It's a also a very good every day color.

Warm Fig Shimmer is a purple pink darker shimmer.

 It looks more brown than purple on me, but it's still a nice color. This one may be a little too dramatic for every day wear, but it's still a color that I would wear. I tend to like purple shadows.

It also came with two brushes, an eyeliner brush and a shimmer brush. I haven't tried the brushes out, but since I tend to use Q-tips to put on eye-makeup, it will be a nice treat to use a brush. 

This is Love, the special bonus colors that ll Maven's received with their February boxes. It's a gold shimmer with red glitter in it. It's not as purple as my picture makes it look, it's more pink bronze.

Diamond Theory, Glam Roc, and Roc Solid, all IT GIRL  colors. 

Diamond Theory is a dark gold champagne color glitter. 

Glam Roc is a dark purple glitter with flecks of yellow and red in it, and it has a Stardust finish, and it does sort of look like a starry sky in outer space or something. 

Roc Solid is kind of a cross between green and gray. 

Rooney, Kristen, and Cameron, all Boho Glam, except for Kristen, which is a bombshell color. 

Rooney is sort of a gray pink color. 

Kristen is awesome. It's basically a turquoise and silver shimmer glitter color.

Cameron is a very light pink gray mix, that is more pink than gray and has specks of pink glitter. 

Greta, Judi, and Octavia. Greta and Octavia are classic with a twist, which is my usual style profile, and Judi bombshell.

Greta is a rare red color that I like. It's shimmery red with pink and pale blue glitter.

Judi  is a deep purple color.

Octavia is a bright blue color.

I very much liked every single color this month, I loved the color choices and I liked all the glitter. I can't wait to wear all those colors.

So if you love nailpolish, and have twenty dollars to spare, I would recommend checking Julep out.