Happy Wednesday! Today I have a review of my January Julep Maven Box. Better late than never, right? January was the month of neons and nudes over at Julep, and for the first time since I joined the program I was a bit disappointed with the polishes. Let me show you what was in my box.
Here is a quick Instagram photo of my box and its contents. I chose the It Girl style, which guarantees three nail polishes. My extras were “swatch me” stickers to put on the top of the polishes with a dab of polish, and three yoga hair ties. I love the hair ties so much and have been using them every day since I got the box! Since I was home for the holidays at the time, my mom even gave me two of hers. That was a great bonus. The polishes, on the other hand, were not as thrilling.
Up first is Amelia, what Julep calls a “light champagne frost”. This polish, as I’m sure you can tell from the photos, was just awful. I needed three coats to achieve opacity, and each layer was uneven and extremely streaky. Amelia’s formula was goopy, and hard to see during application due to its opalescent nature. It did have a nice shimmer quality to it, but this was so hard to work with I’m not sure if I would ever use it again. Amelia is the first dud I have ever received from Julep!
Nikki is the first of the two neon shades in my January box. According to Julep, Nikki is a highlighter yellow polish, but in reality is is a mix between pea soup green and mustard. I needed three coats to achieve opacity with Nikki, as it was very sheer. Formula wise I didn’t have any problems, and it actually dries really quickly. I am really disappointed with the color, as it is not neon on its own as advertised. I definitely would need a white base underneath to bring out the color. Nikki also has a satin finish instead of a creme look. Finally, it stained my nails upon removal! I’m not too happy with Nikki either.
Last but not least is Nina, a tangerine orange neon. Finally! A polish I love! Nina is opaque in two coats, and while the formula is a bit goopy, it’s not streaky and dries quickly. Nina also has a satin finish, and reminds me a bit of macaroni and cheese color. It is definitely my favorite from the box.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed with my January Julep Maven box. This was the first month since I joined the program that my polishes were not top notch. I do have to say that with all of the Juleps I’ve tried to date, I am more than okay to accept a few duds and move on. Spoiler alert: I’ve already tried the polishes from my February box, and those formulas are great quality! I still support the Maven program, and will continue to receive a box each month even after one bad experience. If you’d like to join the program for $19.99 per mont, go to the Julep website HERE. You can also get your first month for FREE with the code FREEMAVEN at checkout!