A little late, but I’m just now ready to write about what I received in my April Julep Maven Subscription box. I was excited for colors this bright, but I have to say in execution I was disappointed. Which is the first time I’ve been disappointed in anything I’ve received from Julep. Overall I think their products are amazing and their Plié Wand is a total game changer, and most of their polishes are one-coat wonders, but the two I received, besides being dupes of things I already have, missed the mark in the application test.
I opted in for Julep Mariska and Julep Caitlin, both part of the Julep Vivid Collection. Mariska is a bright, somewhat matte orange and Catilin is a slightly shimmery hot pink. I loved these two together, and was mulling over all the amazing color blocking possibilities in my head. After putting these colors on, though, I actually took them off the next day. I should support the weight of that statement by telling you that I’m not one of the many polish princesses who changes their nail color daily. I’m busy, so I try to only change it weekly, depending on wear. But I just didn’t like how sloppy the manicure ended up, even after I cleaned it up, because the formula was very thin and runny.
Both polishes needed multiple coats and kind of slopped all over the place, much thinner than any of the other Julep polishes I’ve received. Mariska held up better than Caitlin, which was super disappointing since I’d chosen Caitlin as the main color of my nails with just the Mariska accent nail. It’s hard to tell in my picture, but I had to do a lot of clean up on the pink. Even still, it’s sort of flooded some of my cuticles in this picture. As I sat here a moment ago writing and looking at the swatches in my picture and on my color wheel, it dawned on me as well that both colors are really similar to others I have.
Mariska is very close to the small mini bottle of Orly Holla that I have. It’s a bit brighter with less shine, but pretty much the same hue. Caitlin is close to Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition Digital, but more of a neon hue. It’s not as close as Mariska is to Holla, but not being someone who wears pink nail polish that often, I could have lived with just one.
As I mentioned, I ended up taking off this manicure the following day and instead put on the other color I received in my April box, Julep Felicia. Felicia is a mint green creme with tiny black speckles. It totally reminds me of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, one of my favorites! So I removed Mariska and Caitlin and Felicia took it’s place – much to my satisfaction! Felicia was a Maven Exclusive, a polish that’s not available for purchase and was only sent to Julep Maven members in their April boxes. Yet another reason you should become a Maven!
Am I disappointed that this box didn’t quite live up to the awesomeness of all the other boxes? Yeah sure. Will I cancel my subscription? Absolutely not! I love getting new polishes every month, and having the flexibility to chose from the selections of which I get. The Maven subscription is definitely one of those “Mental Health Expenses” I mentioned awhile back 🙂
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