Happy Sunday, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. The boyfriend and I had a lazy afternoon, started watching Girls (and are subsequently addicted), and went out for a ridiculously delicious dinner at Max Fish (good seafood makes my tastebuds do a happy dance). It was a cozy, lovely day.
Speaking of feeling the love, that's exactly what I got from this month's Julep Maven box. With a brand new makeup launch to try, some pretty new polishes, and a special extra gift thrown in there, it was enough to make me all warm and fuzzy inside.
One of the possible choices for Mavens this month was to get their hands on the newly launched Glow Highlighting Powder, which I (of course) opted to do. I also chose two polishes, London and Becky, which were colors I felt would be unique to my collection. As an add-on for $4.99 I also purchased another Metamorphic Top Coat, this time in the shade Tyra, which has a magenta shift. And of course, as a special little Valentine's Day surprise, everyone got this adorable heart-shaped glitter topcoat, Hartleigh. It was even wrapped up in a cute little magenta pouch with this even cuter note from Jane. Little touches like this make me happy.
A multitasking marvel designed to play up light and play down wrinkles, discoloration, and pores.
Full Size: ($28)
I've got a love/hate relationship with sparkles, so I'm usually a little leery about highlighters. A little shimmer can be nice, but a face full of glitter is not something I want to sport to the office. I was pleasantly surprised at how subdued this product is. Against my skin tone (which is very similar to the powder itself) this barely showed up. It adds just a hint of glowy radiance to cheekbones, brow bones, and other features you'd like to illuminate. In the pan you can tell there is a bit of shimmer throughout, but it doesn't appear at all glittery on the skin. The pan is also pretty huge. You get quite a bit of product, and a nice sized mirror as well.
As for the skin perfecting claims, I'm a little confused by this. Normally I like to think of highlighters as a product for targeted areas of my face. Should I be using this a la the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders as an all-over skin perfecter and setting powder? I'm dubious. If you're going for natural radiance, this is great. But I'm not sure if I'd want to apply it in the areas of my face where large pores and discoloration are an issue.
Classic With a Twist
Finish: Créme
Finish: Créme
Color Description: Heather blossom crème
Full Size: 0.42 oz ($14, $11.20 for Mavens)
I adore this polish. It's the perfect winter purple. It's a little bit deeper, softer and more subdued than some of the bright, cheery violets and lavenders we see in the spring. The formula goes on almost completely opaque in one coat, but I tend to do two regardless.
Boho Glam
Finish: Silk Top Coat
Finish: Silk Top Coat
Color Description: Magenta pearlescent silk top coat
Full Size: 0.42 oz ($14, $11.20 for Mavens)
It may be hard to tell the difference between this swatch and my previous swatch. I was hoping that I would get a cool effect by pairing this magenta top coat with an opaque purple polish, but was disappointed to see it was barely visible. There was a little shimmer, but it overall looked basically the same, if maybe even a little streakier. I think these Metamorphic Top Coats really look their based applied over dark créme colors (which you can see in last month's review).
It Girl
Finish: Silk/Satin
Finish: Silk/Satin
Color Description: Oil slick duochrome silk
Full Size: 0.42 oz ($14, $11.20 for Mavens)
When I saw this polish in the lineup I knew I needed to have it. I love the duo-chrome finish that shifts from green to magenta at different angles. It's also got a silk finish, which is sort of somewhere between matte and glossy. It's really quite unique, and looks great with two coats. Definitely a fun one for the winter months.
Classic With a Twist
Finish: Glitter
Finish: Glitter
Color Description: Holographic heart glitter top coat
Full Size: 0.42 oz ($14, $11.20 for Mavens)
Truth? Glitter topcoats really aren't my thing. While I probably wouldn't have chosen to purchase this particular polish on my own accord, it is cute for Valentine's Day, and I'm happy to have received it. I think the tricky thing about working with polishes like these with such large particles is that it can be difficult even to get one of the hearts on your brush, let alone to place it on your nail in a way that looks good. I suppose this is the kind of thing that would get better with practice, but being a simple polish kind of gal I guess I haven't had the desire to put forth the time yet.
Another great box! Including my add on, I spent around $25 for $84 worth of product. While the Maven box is a little pricier than other subscriptions, I've been really happy with the things I've gotten so far. I love the customization feature, so I don't have to worry about getting shades or products that I have no use for.
Interested in becoming a Julep Maven? Use my referral link and sign up here!
