This was my first official Julep Maven box, and I picked a good month to join. For the month of September, Julep offered members the opportunity to receive a free color (named “Julep”). I only selected one of the color polishes from the September collection this time around. What I really wanted to try was Julep’s top coat and base coat, so I swapped out my other colors for those. Next month, I’m thinking I imght swap in a tool, some cuticle cream, or maybe a skin care item. Julep was also kind enough to include a 30% off coupon code (THIRTY) that can be used toward purchases through 9/30.
Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat
Julep likens this to double sided tape, but then that’s pretty much what all base coats do. I mainly wanted this for the claim that it allows more oxygen to get to my nails and promotes healthier nails. That portion of their claim will only be seen in time. The rest is pretty standard, and I’d say that as a base coat it worked well enough.
Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat
This was the product that really impressed me. (Last box, it was the eyeliner.) Julep claims that you’ll get a smudge-free finish in just five minutes, which I didn’t test as I let my nails dry for a full 30 minutes, but it did in fact smooth out any mistakes I made and gave my nails a gorgeous gel-like finish. If I use no other Julep product ever again, I will use this top coat. It was well worth the money I paid for it. What really amazed me was that I had a few dings to my polish before I’d even applied the top coat, and this even corrected that!
This was the bonus color this month. The color turned out to be darker than I expected, but it went on perfect, leveled smoothly when drying, and stayed put with no fuss thanks to the top coat above.
Julep describes this as “Italian plum crème.” Like “Julep,” it was darker than I expected it to be, but I like it. (Maybe I should adjust my monitor?) I think I’m definitely going to have a thing for Julep’s cream formula, particularly with their top coat. I definitely feel like I got my $8.33 worth and more considering how well these smooth out and make applying color nearly effortless.
I’m beyond happy with Julep at this point. I think the top coat made a much better impression on me than the white cream and metallic polishes in the welcome box, so I’m glad I swapped out for those. My nails are getting spoiled.
Four Walls and a Mess 