Julep Zigzag Ultimate Mystery Box

Of course I got another Julep mystery box! Haha, so much for willpower. This time, my attention was drawn by the chevron nail stickers included in each of the boxes. And of course, go big or go home, so I went with the Ultimate (and the mystery add-on for $9.99 with a promised value, I think, of $42). There were 3 options: Mini Zig ($19.99) with a promised value of $50, Zag Max ($24.99) with a promised value of $70 and Zigzag Ultimate ($39.99) with a promised value of $120. This turned out to be a very different box from the last one.

First up, the mystery add-on. I got a full size Sugar Smooch Lip Scrub ($14 retail, $11.20 member), and 2 polishes: Zora, a shimmery pearl pink, and Karen, a shimmery peach (both $14 retail, $11.20 member). I actually didn't have any of these! Technically, I had a very small sample of the lip scrub that we got as a bonus a few months ago, but it's great, so I'm glad to have the full size! I have a couple shades somewhat similar to Zora, but none with the pretty shimmer, so I think Zora is my favorite of that range of shades. Karen's totally unique to my collection. There was also a bag of candy corn thrown in. They must've had a lot left over from the monthly boxes. Anyway, value-wise, this was exactly $42 based on retail prices. Only $33.60 for members, but again, that's more than the $9.99 I paid and it's all new to me.

Julep's Sugar Smooch Lip Scrub - what cute packaging, too!

Julep's Zora and Karen

Onto the mystery box!

Opening the box

Just to note, I got an email from Julep (I think everyone who ordered a mystery box early on probably did) saying that they forgot the chevron nail strips - the fun, defining item of the box! I was a tad disappointed, but it did come about a week after this in a little green envelope. So, I do have pictures of it, but it did come later (and they won't be in my box display picture since they weren't here yet). As far as quality, they seem fine. Basically little individual stickers that go on your nails (you can cut them down to size). I've looked for chevron nail stickers before and these seem to be the same as some of what you'd find on Etsy, but I've also seen full nail stickers on Etsy as well. These seem to be more on par with the less expensive $1.99 sort.

Individual chevron nail stickers

So, now, onto what made this box different from last month's mystery box. Last month, my box did have quite a few beauty products in it, but it also had more polish than I was expecting. This month's box was mostly beauty products. Only 3 polishes!

First peek - that's a lot of boxes!

So, in this box, I got:

• Freedom Polymer Top Coat ($18 retail, $14.40 member) - I'm so torn on this item. On the positive side, nails are dry and totally ready to go crease-free in 5 min flat and it leaves an awesome shiny finish. On the negative, it seems to make my nails chip WAAAAY sooner than if I used a different top coat (like the next day) and halfway through the bottle, it starts to get really thick and goopy. I ordered a nail polish thinner to try on a polish or 2 that I have that are a bit thick and I'll try it on my first bottle. If it totally messes it up, at least I have this backup!

Julep's Freedom Polymer Top Coat

• Doublestep Foot Treatment and Friction Stick ($22 retail, $17.60 member) - We just got this in August's box, and to be honest, I haven't even really had the chance to try it yet. I just don't wear heels much or have to break in new shoes, so blisters haven't been a problem. But, it seems to get great reviews. Seeing as how I have a full one, I'm putting this one in the gift pile (which is why I didn't open this one). 

Julep's Doublestep Foot Treatment and Friction Stick (full picture here)

•  Essential Cuticle Oil ($18 retail, $14.40 member) - Another one I already have, so into the gift pile. I'm not really big on cuticle oils. They just make my fingers feel oily. <shrug> It also gets great reviews, though.

Julep's Essential Cuticle Oil

•  Beach Tonic Dry Oil ($23 retail, $18.40 member) - I JUST recently (like maybe a month earlier?) bought this with a coupon code, so another one I already had. I should've just waited! It seems to be a good bet that if there's a beauty product you want, just wait a few months and it'll be in a mystery box. I'll have to keep that in mind for their Mask Noir, which I'd like to try. Anyway, as far as this product, the scent is fantastic, but I'm not really a fan of the application. It's obviously not as oily as baby oil or something, but it still feels much more oily (in a weird, almost sticky way) than the C. Booth Dry Oil I got in my June Glossybox - that's seriously one of my favorite Glossybox discoveries ever (plus the Honey Almond smells sooo good).

Julep's Beach Tonic Dry Oil

•  Sea Salt Texture Spray ($22 retail, $17.60 member) - Finally, something I didn't have! I do really want to try this, but my hair is of the ugly curl variety - if I air dry, the top is limp and frizzes up and the rest just sort of curls up and frizzes. We'll see how this goes. It would be awesome if it works, but I don't have high hopes, just based on my hair type. 

Julep's Sea Salt Texture Spray

•  3 polishes: Amy, a "smoky turquoise creme, Sienna, a shimmery gold, and Lois, a shimmery dusty rose (all $14 retail, $11.20 member). Literally, 2 days before this arrived, I redeemed a free polish code on Sienna. Bah!! I called and tried to cancel the order since I hadn't gotten shipping notification yet, but it had already shipped (they gave me the tracking number to confirm it). Oh well, at least it's fantastic - a gorgeous metallic gold! Surprisingly enough, the other 2 aren't dupes and are fairly unique to my collection! 

Julep's Amy, Sienna, and Lois

Swatches of all the polishes!

Julep's Zigzag Ultimate Mystery box (minus the chevron nail strips) and mystery add-on

Overall, again, to someone new to Julep, I think this would be an awesome box. And even to me, I got a lot of things I can use as gifts! I can't really expect a whole lot of new stuff at this point. The overall value of this box was between $117.99 (member) and $146.99. Maybe they valued the chevron strips a bit higher - I guess we can call it $120. Certainly, it's over the $39.99 I paid! I'm again thinking of trying to not buy next month's mystery box. But, again, it depends on the special item included (I'm a sucker for sparkly polishes or special finishes! Plus, I think the holiday/New Years mystery box last year came with a clutch!) and I am still hoping to try that mask (which alone costs about as much as the middle level box even for a member, so if it came in a box, I'd get that and some other stuff! If, though.).

Did you get a mystery box last month? Did you get different things?

If you'd like to sign up for Julep's monthly subscription 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!).

(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.)