Julep Maven Box: April 2013

This month's Julep Maven box features shades from Julep's new Brights collection, which was inspired by "neon lights, rainbows, and colourful spring accessories" to get out of the "winter colour comfort zone." During this time of year, just after all the Easter-inspired pastel colours come out, many cosmetics companies will launch bright nail colours to get us amped up for the summer (e.g. "beach season"). It seems that neons are taking center stage right now, and not just in your typical "highlighter" shades — it's as if someone hit the "saturation" button on all colours to make them brighter, bolder, and more in-your-face. I decided to get the "Classic with a Twist" style box this month, which included their new Mighty Nail & Cuticle Serum, and two shades from the Brights collection. I decided to add on a third shade for $4.99. So, the shades I got this month are:

Avery, Jackie, and Lena
Avery, Jackie, and Lena

Avery is a medium cool-toned fluorescent pink in a cream finish. It has a fluid consistency, but is a little on the thicker side. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two medium coats. It is brighter than Julep's Lauren, similar though perhaps slightly less neon than Orly's Beach Cruiser, and more cool-toned than Essie's Bottle Service.

Jackie is a medium bright maraschino cherry red in a jelly-cream 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 one medium-thick coat or two thin-medium coats. It is similar to Butter London's Come to Bed Red, slightly warmer than Essie's Silken Cord, and cooler than Joe Fresh's Tomato.

Lena is a medium brightened teal with fine iridescent gold micro-shimmer. 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 one medium coat. It is less bright and less green than Butter London's Slapper, slightly darker and more teal than Joe Fresh's Turquoise, and lighter and more green than Illamasqua's Muse.

All three polishes applied beautifully across the board — smooth, fluid, pigmented, and completely self-levelling. Honestly, this is the quality I've come to expect from Julep now. Looking back at my selection for this month's Julep Maven box, I'm actually quite surprised that I picked this style. I'm not usually a pink/red girl, but I was really feeling it this month for some reason, maybe because I have the least pinks and reds in my collection. Avery ended up being more neon than I thought it would be; my first reaction was, "It's like the Candy Yum-Yum of nail polishes!" I think it will become many people's go-to colour for summer, especially once tanning season starts. Jackie is by far one of the most perfect reds I've come across, not just in colour but in formula as well. It's not too cool and not too warm, and will look flattering on literally every single skintone and undertone. It also has a jelly quality to it that makes it appear juicier and glossier than a regular cream finish. Lena ended up being much more unique than I had anticipated. Now, as a true blue nail polish fiend, you'd think I'd have nearly every kind of blue, teal, turquoise, or aqua shade out there. But I actually couldn't find an exact dupe for it; others were either too blue, too green, too light, too dark, etc. So fitting to its namesake. I'm actually loving the look of wearing the red and the teal together — something about these two contrasting each other makes me inexplicably happy.

Lastly, the Mighty Nail & Cuticle Serum is a really nice treatment for nails and cuticles, making nails stronger and cuticles softer — if you can be bothered to apply it regularly. Which I can't. The reason being is that it works best on bare nails, and I always have to have nail polish on. It's my thing. I tried using this serum on my bare nails before applying nail polish — it says to let serum dry completely first. So I waited ten minutes until the serum was completely dry, and went about my business of putting on my nail polish. Finished my nails and then went to bed. Then the next day, my nail polish fell off each nail one by one throughout the course of the day, probably within a six-hour window. I'm not talking about like, chips or strips of it coming off. I'm talking the whole layer of nail polish. It literally looked like my nails fell off because the polish was in the exact shape of my nail. I knew it was because I had used the serum, since that was the only thing I did differently. So, yeah, great for use on bare nails, like if you're letting your nails "breathe" in between nail polish applications or manicures. Not the best for someone like me, who always needs to have polish on.