Julep Maven Box: February 2012

I got my Julep Maven box in the mail last week! I seriously look forward to these every month — the moment I get the shipping notification in my e-mail, I'll walk down the street to my mailbox every single day to check if it's arrived (as opposed to my usual bi-weekly mailbox check). Anyway, this month, I opted for the "Boho Glam" box instead of the "It Girl" box that I normally get because the colours didn't appeal to me as much this time around. This month's "Boho Glam" box included a bottle of their Essential Cuticle Oil and two new shades of their nail polish:

Marisa, Oscar, and Marisa with a coat of Oscar on top

Marisa is a dark, rich cobalt blue with blue micro-shimmer. It goes on smoothly and evenly, with very high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. This is really a one-coater, but two will make it perfect. It is similar to many other dark blue shades: Chanel Blue Satin, Essie Midnight Cami, OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue, China Glaze Up All Night.

Oscar is a gold glitter suspended in a clear base. It goes on smoothly and evenly, though it is on the thicker side. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. You need two medium-thick coats to completely cover the nail. Essie's As Gold As It Gets is more sheer and has gold "flakes," Deborah Lippmann's Boom Boom Pow has hexagonal glitter, Deborah Lippmann's Shake Your Groove Thing has bigger and chunkier glitter, and Butter London's West End Wonderland has smaller and more multi-dimensional glitter.

Neither shade is very unique, but both are absolutely gorgeous. Oscar was surprisingly easy to use for a glitter — most glitter formulas need at least three shades to completely cover the nail bed, and Oscar got there in two. This is the first glitter shade I've received from Julep, and I am still impressed with their formulas. Seriously, I have yet to be disappointed with a Julep nail polish — they all apply so, so beautifully. I wouldn't say either of them are must-haves, because they both have tons of dupes, but I still really enjoy these colours and I don't regret getting either of them. And, $46 worth of product for $20 is a phenomenal deal. I can't wait to see what Julep has in store for March!