Julep Maven February 2014: The Dramatic Collection

This month's maven boxes include bold colours, shimmers and glitters, and a new finish called "Stardust".  My interest was piqued when I found out the monthly beauty product was a cream shadow.  For those of you who haven't heard, Julep had some PR issues in how they communicated some changes to their Maven program.  Existing Mavens (like me!) are "grandmothered" in. In other words we get to keep our skip option.  However new Mavens can only earn 1 skip every 6 months.  This was poorly communicated in the form of a "Note from Jane" on their website.  No email notice.  Nothing.  Just a post on their blog.  They claim is makes things more simple, though that is a bit of a stretch.  I understand that one can abuse the free shipping offer by constantly skipping the box, while remaining a Maven.  I think they (or... well Mavens) would be better off to say if you skip your box 3 months in a row you lose Maven/free shipping status.  Maybe I will email that to them...

This month I ordered "Classic With a Twist" and then added on the Stardust polish.  Julep also included "Love" as an additional free polish for Mavens who took this box.  Probably to help smooth over their PR disaster.

I must admit, when I first saw "Love" (far left) online I wasn't too excited.  But its growing on me.  After I put it on, I was thrilled, and oddly enough my boyfriend loved it too.

From Left to Right:

Love - Gold, fuchsia and pearl microglitter (Jane's Gift)

Greta - Loganberry multidimensional microglitter (what on earth is that?!?) (Classic With a Twist)

Cameron - Silver lilac stardust (matte glitter) (Boho Glam add on)

Octavia-Smokey indigo crème (Classic With a Twist)

I like Octavia.  It is a pretty, classy colour, but I found it a bit streaky to apply.

I LOVE Cameron.  I could just wear it forever.  With one coat it is fully opaque, and my nail became a glitter bomb.  I tried it out as an accent, and I liked it.  I would love to wear it full out to a fancy event.

I gave Cameron and Octavia a try.

And then I had tea.  It was a good day.

I'm not as thrilled with Greta.  It is a pretty shimmery pink, that's about it.  Nothing special, except for its absurd description. I didn't wear her outside.  And none for you Greta-Co-Co.  Mean Girls references are always valid.  Also I looked up what a loganberry is- it is a raspberry-blackberry combo that looks like an elongated raspberry.

I have been wearing Love for the last two days and I don't have any plans to take this gem off.  So that should give you an idea about how I feel.

To show you how much I love Love, I have been typing this post with it on.  So much pretty.  I love the gold sheen and pink flecks and the nude shimmer.  So much to love about Love.

I love, love, LOVED getting to select my cream eyeshadow colour, and ended up with Warm Fig.  Dusty Taupe is my go to eyeshadow colour so I wanted to reach outside of the box.  And I am so glad I did.

 The product is smaller than expected, maybe the size of a loonie?  But a little goes a long way with this baby so I don't think it will get finished any time soon.

Here is Warm Fig in various states of blending.  You really only need the tiniest of bits of this product.  When I first applied it I was shocked.  I looked like I had a black eye.  So I began to blend and blend and blend and put some "Kitten" by Stila (champagne shimmer) on top.  Here are the results!

I used "Warm Fig" to contour, and "Kitten" by Stila everywhere else.  I used the still liquid pen liner in dark brown and the Marc Jacobs mascara.  "Warm Fig" has a certain Naked 3 quality about it.  I like it!

Over all I am much happier with this box than I thought I would be.  The colours look lovely on my nails, and the cream shadow is so pretty.  I wasn't excited about Greta when I selected Classic With a Twist, and I still don't love it.  I may end up giving it to a friend who said she thought it was pretty.  Greta at least deserves to find a nice home.

I can't wait to see what they have next month!  Right now they have some mystery boxes, but I think I will have to abstain.  They also threw in a "buy one get one free" coupon code this month for nail polish which was a nice touch.

On top of that, because this was my 3rd month in a row taking my box I got a code for a free polish of my choice.  The lucky winner was Clio, which is pink, lilac and silver glitter which would look great on top of another polish.  So much free Julep :)