Julep Maven Box: May 2012

I can't believe it's already been a month since my last Julep Maven box — seriously, where has the time gone? When I got a preview of the May boxes for Julep Maven, I wasn't too impressed with the products or shades in any of the box styles, so I just kept my "It Girl" option. Included in this month's "It Girl" box were three nail polish shades:

Kylie, Ashley, and Nessa

Kylie is a medium-dark amethyst purple with purple shimmer. This shade is actually a magnetic polish (the box came with a magnet), so when you use the magnet with the polish, it creates blackened violet wavy stripes. It applied smoothly and evenly, with high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It goes opaque in one medium coat, but two will make it perfect (and you need at least two coats if you're going to be using the magnetic effect). It is very similar to Nails Inc.'s Houses of Parliament.

Ashley is a medium brightened tangerine with gold shimmer. The brush for this polish arrived really frayed, so I wasn't able to achieve a smooth or even application, but that doesn't mean that those who received this polish with a non-frayed brush couldn't. The brush caused the polish to go on really thick and goopy, and it was really hard to control how it went on my nail. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It goes opaque in two medium coats, but because it is prone to streaking, you may need three to achieve full opacity. I couldn't think of a dupe for this shade.

Nessa is a light-medium brightened lemon yellow with white-yellow shimmer. The brush for this polish arrived really frayed, so I wasn't able to achieve a smooth or even application, but that doesn't mean that those who received this polish with a non-frayed brush couldn't. The brush caused the polish to go on really thick and goopy, and it was really hard to control how it went on my nail. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It goes opaque in two medium coats, but because it is prone to streaking, you may need three to achieve full opacity. I couldn't think of a dupe for this shade.

I liked that the colours in this box were more unique, even if the formulas weren't stellar. Though Ashley and Nessa aren't really my cup of tea, they're nice options to have for Spring and Summer. I am, however, super-pissed that the brushes on both of those shades arrived completely frayed — it made it impossible to get a smooth and even finish. Kylie had the best application and colour pay-off, but it looks almost identical to Nails Inc.'s Houses of Parliament — and let's be honest, I'm so over the magnetic trend. Overall, it's a decent box with some unique colours for the season, but I'm not entirely impressed with the quality of the formulas and I was very disappointed with the frayed brush applicators. The May Julep Maven box is probably my least favourite so far.