Julep Maven Box: September 2013

I was so distracted with all the new MAC collections being launched that I totally forgot to review last month's Julep Maven box, even though it was personally one of my favourites. September saw the release of Julep's Cityscape collection, which was inspired by the 'Big Four' cities' fashion weeks. In this collection, they "pay homage to the cities themselves," which, of course, refers to New York, London, Paris, and Milan. So, for September, I opted for the Boho Glam style box, which included a bottle of their new Bare Face Cleansing Oil and two shades of nail polish, to which I added two more shades for $4.99 each. The shades I received this month are:
Kristy, Tatiana, Karmen, and Candace
Kristy, Tatiana, Karmen, and Candace

Kristy is a deep dark navy blue in a 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 coat. It is similar to Chanel's Blue Satin, Essie's After School Boy Blazer, and OPI's Incognito in Sausalito; darker than Butter London's Royal Navy, more blackened than MAC's Spirit of Truth.
Tatiana is a medium-dark burnt orange with gold and red micro-glitter 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 two medium coats. It is more golden and more glittery than Butter London's Sunbaker and Zoya's Amy, and darker and more orange than OPI's Goldeneye.
Karmen is a medium-dark warm-toned crimson red with gold and red micro-glitter 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 two medium coats. It is warmer and has smaller glitter particles than Models Own Scarlet Sparkle, and more golden and more glittery than Butter London's Chancer.

Candace is a dark gilded olive-brown with gold and olive micro-glitter 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 two medium coats. It is darker and more brown than Butter London's Wallis, and more olive than Cirque's French Roast.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Despite there being about a million dupes for Kristy (like, who doesn't make a good, solid navy blue cream polish these days?), it has a phenomenal formula, applying incredibly smooth and going opaque in one single coat. It's actually a really good dupe for Chanel's Blue Satin; I prefer Chanel's brush, but at nearly half the price, you can't really complain. The stars of this box, of course, are the other three shades — Karmen being inspired by London's red double-decker buses, Tatiana paying tribute to Milan's Quadriletero d'Oro ('Rectangle of Gold') fashion district, and Candace mimicking Paris' sparkling Eiffel Tower after dark. Despite their city inspirations, these three shades make me think of autumn more than anything else, like leaves and pumpkins. But Julep steps it up by adding micro-glitter to add dimension and interest, which is what makes me appreciate these even more.
As for the cleansing oil? Surprisingly effective. I would say that it's make-up removing abilities are on par with MAC's Cleanse Off Oil. The packaging is sleek and minimalistic, which I like, but the pump doesn't dispense a good amount of product like many of its competitors, and I found that I needed to pump out more product to do the same job. Moreover, at a retail price of $28 for 104ml, it does end up being one of the more expensive cleansing oils on the market (Julep's $0.27/ml vs. MAC's $0.24/ml vs. Shu Uemura's $0.18/ml), and with Julep being way less accessible (you can find the nail polishes at Sephora now, but not the rest of their products), I would go for one of the many other cleansing oils over this one any day. Still, September's Julep Maven box as a whole really impressed me and I thought they were spot-on with the shades reflecting the month as well as the theme.