Julep January 2014 Review

Well, I appear to maybe, possibly, be on the mend finally. A round of steroids and currently a round of antibiotics and I'm definitely coughing less and generally feel more human. I've been able to do my normal mom stuff again, so that's always a good thing, especially since Chris is back to work now. Anyway, on to the review!

I didn't do a Julep selection post for January since I was sick around that time (Dec. 20-24), but overall, it was an interesting collection filled with different finishes that I found appealing, but a lot of pastels and similar colors, so I wasn't at all tempted to order the full collection. I chose the Bombshell box this month and added on 2 colors. I would've added on an additional product set, but I'll get to that in a minute.

I kind of like the inspirational saying. Hopefully, 2014 will be my year. 2013 sure wasn't!

On the back of the collection display card was an ad for their new products, Vanish (a cuticle softener/remover) and cuticle pusher along with a coupon (cuticle10). I just have to say that Julep did not handle the release of those 2 products well at all. They advertised the heck out of them on Facebook the week leading up to box selection time and then the day box selection opened, it became clear that a) neither one was the featured product automatically included in most of the boxes and (instead their revamped quick dry drops were - why not include the NEW product instead of the OLD one?) and b) they didn't have nearly enough stock for the amount of advertising they had done. They were sold out of the cuticle pushers before noon on the first day. I would've happily added on the set containing both Vanish and the cuticle pusher, but it wasn't available. On the very first day of selection. That's bad planning. Eventually, Julep got enough complaints that they added in a preorder option for the cuticle pusher, but again a) you were told you definitely wouldn't get it till weeks later when they came back in stock, and b) it wasn't available in the discounted set with Vanish and they ignored all questions about whether or not the set would become available again. You had to pay like $4 more for the 2 items separately. F that. So, maybe I'll eventually get it in a mystery box, but I'm not paying full price for either one. I don't even know that the 10% off code is enough for me. Especially since the code is only good till Jan 31 and the cuticle pusher still shows as out of stock. Will it be in stock before the 31st? I'd bet not. Anyway, rant over. On to the better stuff.

So, although the quick dry drops (now called Ta Da!) were an old product, I somehow never got them, so I wasn't so upset to get them. I tried them out on a manicure for my daughter (she's not great at sitting still after I paint her nails) and I was pleasantly surprised at how well they worked. Her nails were dry pretty much immediately. Granted, they all chipped the very next day, but I'm not sure how much that had to do with her being an active 3 year old rather than the drops.

Julep Ta Da! Quick Dry Drops

Oh, and before I forget to mention it, the little bonus item this month can be seen behind my hand in the above picture - it's a little set of 2 nail buffers. They're fine. No complaints, really.

The colors that came in the Bombshell box were Mae, a soft lavender satin (matte), and Margot, an "old Hollywood gold shimmer". I've been getting more into mattes lately, but I'm not sure I'm wild on Mae. Holding up the swatch stick to my hands, it's more of a "maybe I've been dead for several weeks and didn't notice" look than something I like. A little too gray and lifeless. Margot, on the other hand, is gorgeous! It's a perfect gold! Lots of shimmer and a great metallic finish. Definitely my favorite of the colors I got. For my add-ons, I added Hope, a stark white satin (matte), and Farrah, a lilac silk (kind of a matte containing shimmer, it's a bit hard to explain). I was initially a bit concerned Farrah and Mae would be too similar, but they aren't really. The color tone is similar, but the finish makes them quite different. I definitely like Farrah more than Mae. And Hope is a nice basic matte white that I know I'll get plenty of use out of.

Julep Mae, Margot, Farrah, and Hope

Swatches (Hope, Mae, Farrah, and Margot - sorry about the confusing labels. I originally mislabeled the purples.)

January 2014 Julep

Apart from the snafu with the cuticle products, I'm pretty happy with my box. There's only one color I'm not a huge fan of and overall, I'm excited to have a variety of finishes to play with. I hope the variety keeps up! I have no idea what's in store for next month. I think last February was neons or something - that was one of my skip months I think. I do think it will be bright though, to keep people's moods up in the doldrums of winter. As always, I hope for sparkles. And maybe another shadow palette (though it's probably too soon to hope for that)!

If you'd like to sign up, 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! :) If you already get Julep, which box and add-ons, if any, did you pick this month?

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I have included referral links.)