Julep Maven Box: May 2013

This month's Julep Maven box features shades from Julep's new Jazz collection, which was inspired by "music, fashion, and spirit of the Roaring Twenties" that "exudes luxury, elegance, and fun — the perfect homage to an era of iconic style and groundbreaking modern attitudes." I think what I like most about this month's collection is that they're not necessarily shades that would come out this time of year (usually brights and neons, which Julep did last month). With the release of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (which was phenomenal, by the way; even if the story line and actors don't appease you, the gorgeous make-up, costumes, set designs, and cinematography more than make up for it) earlier this month as well, Julep's Jazz collection fits in brilliantly with this brief '20s flashback. I decided to get the "Bombshell" style box this month, which included their new Paris Jazz Lipstick Trio, two nail polishes from the Jazz collection, and a set of super-cute flower pins as an extra gift. I decided to redeem my Julep Jules points for one more nail polish, and then added a fourth shade for $4.99. So, the polishes I got this month are:

Gabrielle, Zelda, Paris, and Ella
Gabrielle, Zelda, Paris, and Ella

Gabrielle is a dark greyed purple 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 one medium coat. It is very similar to MAC's Festive Finery, more greyed than Butter London's Marrow, slightly darker and less shimmery than Cult Nails' Spontaneous, and cooler and more greyed than OPI's Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI?.

Zelda is a pale pinked champagne with champagne shimmer in a metallic 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 lighter and slightly more pinked than MAC's Soiree, lighter than Butter London's Champers, and more gold than Orly's Rage.

Paris is a clear base with multi-dimensional holographic shimmer and hexagonal glitter. It is meant for use as a top coat. It has a thicker consistency that is common with chunkier glitter polishes, but it doesn't hinder the application. It goes on smoothly and the glitter disperses evenly, and despite the thicker consistency, I didn't experience any pulling. Due to the clear base, it doesn't reach opacity, though three coats should sufficiently cover the nail bed with glitter (I have used two coats in the swatch image). I can't think of an exact dupe for this.

Ella is a light lime green with green, gold, and silver micro-shimmer in a shimmer 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 thick coat or two thin-medium coats. I can't think of an exact dupe for this.

Love all the nail polishes I received this month! I actually thought all four shades were very representative of the '20s — Gabrielle reminds me of all the dark smoky eye make-up, Zelda reminds me of all the flapper dresses, Paris reminds me of all the glittering jewels, and Ella reminds me of Art Deco and gemstones. All polishes applied beautifully across the board — smooth, fluid, pigmented, and completely self-levelling. While Gabrielle and Zelda are easily duped, they do look stunning on and paired together as well; I was surprised to see that I didn't have anything similar to Paris (as a glitter polish junkie, you'd think I'd have at least one dupe), and it's easily become a layering favourite because it looks gorgeous on top of almost every shade (I got a lot of compliments when I wore it on top of Gabrielle, actually). I also love the complexity of Ella — the colour itself is very Spring, very fresh, but the shimmer really glams it up and adds a lot of dimension that's not common with light greens. I couldn't find a single dupe for that colour, either.

Charleston, Sweet Lorraine, and Lady in Red
Charleston, Sweet Lorraine, and Lady in Red

Charleston is a medium vibrant cranberry red with pink undertones with a natural sheen. The texture is soft and creamy, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is bubblegum-scented but is taste-free. It is more sheer and more pink than MAC New Temptation Sheen Supreme Lipstick, lighter and more sheer than MAC Lush Life Mineralize Rich Lipstick, more red than Revlon Raspberry Pie Lip Butter, and more pink than Revlon Cherry Tart Lip Butter.

Sweet Lorraine is a light cotton candy pink with a natural sheen. The texture is soft and creamy, but due to the milkiness of the shade, it can settle into lip lines and look slightly patchy on the lips. It has light pigmentation and sheer to semi-sheer buildable colour pay-off. It is bubblegum-scented but is taste-free. It is cooler than MAC Politely Pink Lipstick, it is more pink than MAC Hue Lipstick, more sheer than Revlon Cotton Candy Lip Butter, slightly cooler than Burt's Bees Pink Blossom Tinted Lip Balm, and much lighter than Maybelline Pink Punch Baby Lips Lip Balm.

Lady in Red is a medium-dark neutral red with a subtle sheen in a satin finish. The texture is soft and creamy, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is bubblegum-scented but is taste-free. It is similar to MAC Russian Red Lipstick, warmer than MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick, and slightly lighter and less cool than YSL Red Taboo Rouge Volupté Lipstick.

The lipsticks are cute, and I understand that Julep is trying to slowly expand out of just nail products, but neither the colours nor the formulas really excited me. Lady in Red was the only stand-out shade of the set; it's a very dupeable shade, but it does go on incredibly well — smoothly and evenly — with incredible colour pay-off, and is fairly long-wearing, too. Charleston and Sweet Lorraine are also incredibly dupeable, but I found them to dry out quite fast on the lips (they remind me of MAC's Lustre finish lipsticks) and the sheen wears off quickly, too. You're better of using a tinted lip balm, which will give you the colour and a dose of hydration, too. I'm surprised that they didn't add a deeper berry shade with either of their Roaring Twenties lipstick sets (I received the Paris one, but there is also a New York one), since that was a signature lip colour of the '20s. I thought the gold tubes were a nice touch, though. But, for now, I think Julep should stick to nail polish.