Julep Maven Box: January 2013

Since I was so pleased with my December Julep Maven Box, which consisted of all things sparkly, I was looking forward to see what Julep had to offer for January. This month, they're featuring "nudes and neons" for their resort collection. Of course, the whole idea behind resort collections started when designers realized they could cash in on wealthy, trendy socialistas who go away to sunny, exotic, beachy locales in the middle of winter only to come back tanned and well-rested so they can mock the rest of us who were stuck braving the negative temperatures to get to work. I am not one for beach resorts, personally (I am only jealous that of the fact that said socialistas can sit outside and smoke on resort patios), but I do love colours that are inspired by them.

I decided to get the "Boho Glam" style box this month, which includes a Hand and Cuticle Stick and two shades of nail polish, to which I added a third shade of nail polish for $4.99. The Hand and Cuticle Stick is an interesting product; it's sort of like an extremely thick hand balm in stick form. I put it on the back of my ultra-chapped hands while on the computer, and my hands look and feel like a baby's bum even after I wash it off. It's a little too heavy and sticky for me to want to use it all the time, but I love using it on the backs of my hands when I'm just sitting around at home. I probably wouldn't spend $22 on it, but it does work wonders on really flaky, dry, cracked skin, and I'm glad I got to try it out with this month's box.

On another note, here are the shades of nail polish I received this month:

Teresa, Fiona, and Nina

Teresa, Fiona, and Nina

Teresa is a light pinked nude beige in a frost finish. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two thin-medium coats. It is slightly darker than Essie Intimate, more pink than Essie Imported Bubbly, and slightly lighter and less peach than Zoya Shay.

Fiona is a light-medium vibrant chartreuse green in a satin-cream finish. It has a fluid consistency, but is on the thicker side. It goes on smoothly and evenly and without bubbling or streaking, but because it dries down so fast, it is prone to pulling. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two thin-medium coats. It is lighter and more yellow than China Glaze Def Defying, and less yellow than OPI Did It On 'Em.

Nina is a medium vibrant cantaloupe orange in a satin-cream finish. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any bubbling or streaking, but because it dries down so fast, it can be prone to pulling. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two thin-medium coats. It is lighter and more yellow than Zoya Arizona, and less bright than Essie Action.

I was kind of surprised by the finish of both Fiona and Nina, because I thought they were both classic creams. But when I was applying them, I realized that they dried down to a satin, almost matte, finish. Fiona was kind of a pain in the ass to use at first, because it would start pulling due to such a fast dry time. But the second coat went on much smoother. I would say that Fiona is a one-coater from pigmentation alone, but because the first coat doesn't go on that evenly, a second coat is necessary. Nina performed better and didn't seem to pull as much as Fiona did, but it's probably because the consistency itself wasn't as thick. Surprisingly, I actually quite liked Teresa. I'm not usually one for nudes, especially ones with a frosted finish, but there is a quiet beauty about this shade. Maybe because it's not quite as reflective or metallic as some other frosted shades, so the brush strokes don't show up as much. It's definitely not my favourite nude (I still prefer cream finishes for nudes), but I can see it being a good option for a more conservative environment — if only I ever got myself into conservative environments. Either way, it had the best formula of the three. Overall, I actually quite like this month's box. The colours remind me of a vibrant fruit salad, which makes me inexplicably happy.