Julep Big Picnic Mystery Box Review

I had not yet gotten my somewhat underwhelming Julep Golden Mystery box before getting the email from Julep about this month's special mystery box, the Picnic Mystery Box, so I went ahead and got the Big Picnic Mystery Box (because I have no self-control, ha!). It was promised to have $120 - $250 value for $39.99. They also had a smaller mystery box with a promised value of $70-150 for $24.99. I ordered it on the 8th, it shipped on the 9th, and it arrived on the 12th. Very quick!

My box arrived in a pretty large box, so I was excited for a minute, thinking maybe this was it! Maybe I finally got the big awesome version! But, nope. I had also ordered an add-on set of 3 polishes and they just put them in a big box together with a bunch of packing paper. Oh well. I believe I got mystery box version 1.

Opening the box - not pictured is the add-on or the huge box they both came in

Right on top, I knew what that item was. For a normal person, that probably would have been exciting to see, but for me, it wasn't. It's a Julep Paris Jazz Lipstick Trio ($22.40 member, $28 retail). Inside the box is a set of mini lipsticks. This particular set includes Charleston, Sweet Lorraine, and Lady in Red. They also have a New York set. The lipsticks are so small, they kind of remind me of something you'd find in a kids' play set. They went on pretty smooth. Sweet Lorraine and Lady in Red are sheer, so they might be something I can use. Charleston is definitely too bold for me.

Julep Paris Jazz Lip Trio - R to L: Sweet Lorraine, Charleston, Lady in Red

Swatches of Sweet Lorraine, Charleston, and Lady in Red. Sweet Lorraine took quite a few swipes to show up, Charleston was very pigmented, and Lady in Red was in between.

I also got 7 polishes ($7.00 - $11.20 each member price, $14 each retail)! Yay, polish! I got:

• Gloria - Peachy color, or as Julep describes it "orange coral creme". Pretty, but a dupe for me.
• Vanessa - opalescent glitter. This is the one on sale for $7. It's very pretty, and a nice topper since it's basically clear with glitter, but another dupe for me. :(
• Annette - Light gray. This one is new to me, but I don't see myself using it a whole lot. Maybe for a detail color or as a neutral base for a glitter accent nail.
• Dianna - mint green. Really lovely, but yet another dupe for me. I actually wore this one at my sister's wedding because it matched my shoes perfectly. 
• Maya - pearly pink. New to me and I like it!
• Catherine - dark red. This one is a bit sheer for me. Probably needs 2-3 coats. Not a dupe, though.
• Evie (not available on the site yet) - this was the box exclusive new color and I LOVE it! It's a gorgeous medium pink with gold shimmer. So pretty!

Mystery box polishes

Closeup of Evie because it's so pretty!

Swatches of Gloria, Vanessa, and Annette

Swatches of Dianna, Maya, Catherine, and Evie

 As I said, I also got an add-on - the Love Letter set for $12.99. It included:

• Chelsea - Pink, purple and silver glitter. Really pretty! I love adding glitter to one nail for an accent, and this one has my favorite color, purple!
• Joy - "smokey mauve creme". I think this is more what I was hoping for with Veronica, from my August box. It definitely has more pink to it than Veronica. Pretty! 
• Demi - dark red. Prettier and less sheer than Catherine (above). I think I have enough reds now!

Love Letter trio

Swatches of Chelsea, Joy, and Demi

Big Picnic Mystery Box and my trio add-on colors

This box made me happier than the Golden Mystery box, but it still had 3 dupes and lipstick, so I wasn't entirely pleased. Once again, my estimated value (not including the add-on polishes since that cost extra) was only $96.60, which is definitely more than I paid, so I'm not entirely disappointed, but it's not the $120 - $250 promised. So again, it appears they're using non-member prices ($126) - I think anyone can get this mystery box, so I guess non-member prices aren't as inappropriate here, but to a member, it's still a bit disappointing.

Unfortunately, I'm thinking that my mystery box days may be coming to an end, at least for the next few months. I'm just getting too many dupes now. Maybe 6 months from now, if I'm still loving my regular Julep monthly subscription, I'll try another mystery box since by then they'll have retired some colors and added some new ones, but I'm kind of wondering if even colors that appear to be retiring soon may be just getting re-released under new names like I saw with Jackie and January from my last post. I mean, with this frequency of new polish release (a new set of 9+ colors every month), how many new colors can they make? If they were making a higher number of unique glitter combos or special effect polishes (matte/duochrome/holographic/sand-finish), there wouldn't be as much similarity in colors I don't think, but I'm not sure if they plan to do much more of that. It seems like they stick to mostly cremes and shimmers, with a few glitters and every once in a while a small collection of 3-5 special effect polishes. I really would like to see them branch out more with some interesting colors and finishes. But their current trend seems to be more focused on branching out with beauty items instead, which has been a bit more miss than hit with me.

So, for now at least, I'll be sticking with just my monthly subscription, which at least lets me skip if I don't see a combination of polishes that I like (I've only skipped once so far). Of course, if a mystery box is advertised with something tempting like 2 brand new gorgeous colors or something, I may bite. We'll see.

If you'd like to sign up for Julep's monthly box, I'd love it if you'd sign up with my link! AND! If you use promo code, FREEBOX, you can get your first box free! You just pay shipping! I started my subscription with a similar deal! :) As usual, the link at the top is a non-referral link if you'd prefer (but I'd be soo thankful if you used mine!). Did anyone else get this box - did you get different stuff? Were you lucky and got the awesome big box?

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. The final link is a referral link, but I also included a non-referral link at the top.)