Julep Maven Subscription Box Review – May 2014

I finally received mine and was disappointed the bonus mystery color I ordered (Bess) ended up being almost identical to the Jeanne Boho color. I can’t tell any difference actually…add that to the ciate I received in glossybox and I’m overloaded in pastel blue. In the gift pile.

I have not received my May box yet. Anybody else still waiting?

The last few days of trying to paint my own nails have me reconsidering my Julep subscription.
Not only has the polish been uber thick and gloppy, it’s been impossible to get on smoothly without bubbling & streaking, and when it’s time to take it off it takes forever to scrub it off. I use the strongest nail polish remover out there too.
My April box: I love (strike that) ADORE(d) the yellow and blue colors I received, but when I went to use them last night they were so thick on my nails that I couldn’t even polish my nails properly. I went through about eight different colors and tested them on my nails, and the majority of them were the same way!
The only exception to this thick gloppy rule was the glitter polishes. I’m sorry but I do not want to wear all glitter all the time. That’s my other complaint- for $21 a month I keep receiving a majority of glitter colors. I go through my subscription and change it up according to what I like each month, but it’s either shimmery, glittery, or too opaque.
I just want pretty, shiny, summary shades.
when I brought my April color to the manicurist she had to thin it out w/thinner so I could have my pedicure. The color is an absolutely beautiful blue violet shade. Sadly, she had to use polish thinner to make it work on my toe nails. She told me (quite honestly) that she hopes that did not pay a lot of money for it because it’s not that good. Why wasn’t I using my regular Zoya, Essie, Opie, or even the top drug store brands?
I see the cost of a subscription is going up to $25 a month now. For what?! I’m sorry, but even glossy box which puts out beautiful makeup products, luxury products, is not that expensive.
Birchbox either.
I understand it’s going to be a little more customizable, but I until they get the formula of the nail polish down I am canceling from here on out. I’ll just continue to read people’s reviews.

I love coming here and reading about the different subscription boxes. You’re going to laugh at me, but how in Gods name can you afford all of these boxes every single month? I know some of them are gifted to you for review purposes, but from what I reading in your posts a lot of them are not. I know that I have a hard time affording Julep and Birch Box alone, so I cannot imagine ALL you do. lolz
Are they truly worth it?

I’m very confused and upset here!!!
I purchased the “front of the line” from their plié wand fundraiser that was $40. I thought that was essentially prepaying for the first Maven box that had the pile wand.
But I see that I was charged twice~ once in January for the fundraiser and once for this months box.
Ok~ so wth is up with that?
Also~ they totally messed up my order this month. I ordered 10 caps and only got two, got all the wrong polishes, no cuticle pusher, etc.
I am soooo disappointed I’m thinking of canceling Julep.
Can someone enlighten me with this? I’m so confused!
Lol!!!

Just wanted you to know I used your referral code! Thanks!

So I can’t get the plie caps off the nail polish that i put them on. The caps that are snapped onto the brushes won’t come off. When I try to pull and remove them the brushes just pop out.

Has anyone else had this problem?

I tried Julep a couple months ago with one of their mystery sets and I really don’t understand the hype of this polish. I tried a couple different ones and they went on horribly and took forever for me to remove. I ended up giving almost all of my polishes to some little girls I know. My collection of nail polish (100+) is mostly of Zoya, which has consistently good coverage with most of their colors. Also with Julep, how come they have the “swatch me” on top of the nail polish brush? how are you supposed to swatch that color?

The tool looks interesting but it looks like you have to clean the brush in between polishes. I’m not really sure who’s going to do that. Seems like a cool idea, but maybe a more universal handle needs to be designed.

I recently received my first box, and it was the Modern Beauty box. Unfortunately I ordered the It Girl box. I double checked my order history to make sure. I emailed customer service a few days ago, and I haven’t received a response yet, other than the stock “we will get back to you” response. Does anyone have any experience – good or bad – with their customer service?

I used to paint a lot in high school and college, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much this felt like naturally holding an art brush vs. making due with a short nail polish brush. I figured it would either be an overblown gimmick or something I used a couple of times and then tossed to collect dust in the gadget graveyard. But I really think I will use it quite often. I got the add-on striping and dotting accessories but haven’t had a chance to play with them yet – hoping I like them just as much!

I was hoping the Plie wand would be helpful to me, considering it usually looks like I used a paint roller when I try to paint with my non-dominant hand. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but it definitely surpassed my expectations. I was able to get straight, even strokes without getting polish all over my cuticles. The thing I liked best is that it took me a lot less time to polish my nails than it usually does. I’m a convert! I also used one of the included caps with the built-in brush with a different brand of nail polish, and was really pleased that the brush length was perfect with the more standard height bottle.

I usually don’t like polishes that look too pastel, or that are too close to white because they don’t flatter my skin tone. I took a chance after seeing the swatches on the Julep site because I know they colors usually look a bit darker in person. I did the full upgrade and I’m really glad I did – I ended up loving every single color, even Saaya which I really thought I was going to hate. It’s much less yellow in person, it’s more like a bright peach. My least favorite was Laree, it’s more of a medium hot pink than the peachy-pink it looks like on the site. I still like it, but I’d probably use it as part of an ombre nail instead of by itself. Most people seem to love Laree though, so I’m probably in the minority.

I’m glad I subscribed at the $19.99 rate. As far as customization , I think it is fun having them pick out the colors and being able to change during the few days if need be. I’m not liking the wand idea, my hands are small and it seems to long and just one more thing to deal with. I’ve always liked Juleps boxes. Even if I get the same color twice it is still a great deal. Juleps customer service is great, and the value is always good. The maven boxes is one I doubt if I would ever cancel.