Julep Free 8-Piece Beauty Gift with Subscription Review

ByLiz CadmanApr 8, 2016 | 34 comments

julep-free-gift-

Julep Maven is a monthly nail polish and beauty subscription. (Each month they release a new collection and you can customize which items you want or skip that month).

Right now, they have the best FREE Welcome Box offer I've ever seen (this 8-piece, $150 value box), so I thought it would be good to review it!

This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

julep-free-gift-items

Julep is offering a free 8-Piece Gift Set when you sign up for a Julep Maven monthly or 3-month subscription:

Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 7.13.58 PM

The free gift set includes a blush stick, an eyeliner, an eyeshadow stick, three lip colors and two polishes, plus a cosmetics bag sized just right for travel.

Use coupon code COLOR8 to get this free gift when you sign up!

This box is $24.99 with a monthly subscription or $19.99 with a 3-month subscription. Check out our Julep Maven reviews to learn more about this subscription!

Details: All Maven plans automatically renew, and you may cancel anytime. Billing occurs on the 27th of each month. Once you join, you’ll be able to customize your monthly Maven box with your favorite nail colors & beauty products from a brand new Julep collection (or wait for a surprise). Your free welcome gift includes three nail polishes and one beauty product.

julep-free-gift-lip

Julep It's Balm Full-Coverage Lip Crayon in Dusty Orchid Shimmer - Retail Value $20

I love a lip product I can keep in my purse and not need a mirror to apply - and this is it! It has a moisturizing stick in the middle (pictured below), and the color is close to my natural lip color. The finish is a subtle gloss, and it is very moisturizing.

Julep Skip The Brush Creme-to-Powder Blush Stick in Moonlit Sand - Retail Value $24

This formula is easy to apply and blend - in general, I love my makeup in stick-form! This does have a lot of shimmer though, so I recommend applying it sparingly!

Here is a look at the lip crayon core:

julep-free-gift-lip-core

julep-free-gift-lipgloss

Julep It's Whipped Matte Lip Mousse in XOXO - Retail Value $20

I've sampled this lip product before, and I'm a fan! It has a matte finish while still being somewhat moisturizing. The color is gorgeous and the pigment is great too. The only thing I had an issue with is that this isn’t an “all day wear” product like it says in the description. (To be fair, I don’t think I’ve found any lip product that really lives up to that promise). After eating I had to completely reapply the product. Not a big deal – but thought it was worth mentioning.

Julep Lip Gloss in Graceful - Retail Value $20

This lip gloss adds a lot of shine and just a hint of color. I hate sticky lipgloss, and this isn't in that category, but it has just a touch of stickiness - nothing too bothersome, though.

julep-free-gift-shadow

Julep Eyeshadow 101 Creme to Powder Eyeshadow Stick in Slate Shimmer - Retail Value $18

Julep eye makeup products are my favorite beauty category they make, so I'm glad to see they included two of those products in this welcome free box!

This eyeshadow stick glides on so smoothly and provides a lot of pigment in one swipe. The smudger tool on the flipside is useful, too. I found it has pretty good staying power, but I still recommend using a primer underneath.

Julep Long Lasting Eyeliner in Smoky Taupe Shimmer - Retail Value $16

This liner goes on so smoothly! It matches well with the eyeshadow stick, too.

Here are all the swatches:

julep-free-gift-swatch

julep-free-gift-polish

Julep Nail Color in Rosie - Retail Value $14

Julep Nail Color in Phyllis - Retail Value $14

Rosie is described as a charcoal grey with magenta glitter, and Phyllis is a soft petal pink crème. Here are both shades on from Julep:

Screen Shot 2016-04-08 at 11.59.25 AM

Screen Shot 2016-04-08 at 11.58.10 AM
julep-free-gift-bag

Julep Cosmetics Bag - Value $5?

This bag is well-made and has a bright yellow lining:

julep-free-gift-lining

Very cute!

Verdict: I think this is an awesome Welcome Box from Julep - they've picked great products to introduce new customers to their line. I like about 85% of the Julep beauty products I've sampled over the years, and this box is 100% for me! (Their mascara formulas just never deliver the volume and length I want.)

If you are interested in the Julep Maven subscription, I think this is a great way to start! And good to know about Julep - you can skip any month you aren't interested in.

(If you’re interested in trying out Julep products but don’t want to try a subscription yet, I also recommend their monthly mystery boxes, or swapping for a few Julep products!)

What do you think of the Julep 8-Piece Welcome Gift?

Starting at $24.99

Active Deal

Get a 12-piece Polish Gift ($160+ Value) with your first box!

Use Coupon Code POLISHGIFT

Subscribe Now

Julep Maven

3.8 overall rating

176 Ratings | 76 Reviews

Julep Maven is a nail polish and beauty subscription service. Each month you can choose one of five boxes, skip that month, or upgrade to the entire collection of beauty and nail polish products for an additional $30.

Read customer reviews >

Posted in Beauty Subscription Boxes, Subscription Box Reviews, Subscription Boxes for Women

Liz Cadman

Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

Read More By Liz Cadman >

Join the Conversation

Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email

34 comments

SSM

I managed to sneak in on this deal on May 12th, well after the “last call” was announced and before they offered the 8-piece patriotic-themed gift. My box was delivered this afternoon and I can’t wait to go home and open it! I think I can actually wear all of these shades except perhaps for that XOXO lipstick. I’m especially excited about the cream-to-powder shadow stick; I tried a Mally stick a few months ago and fell in love with it–the application, the staying power, etc. Once you go stick, you don’t go…(never mind; I can’t think of anything that rhymes).

One question–if you want to customize your monthly box, can you substitute anything at all from the site, or are you limited to the new collection or other select items?

Hufsa

I was able to use it this week, too! I have been so impulsive- I liked this and the Fireworks deal, so I signed up with two Julep accounts and got both, lol. I did have to use the link in the posts though- it won’t show up on the website if you don’t use the affiliate link. And as of now, the link for this offer is still working 😀

Paige

I signed up with this deal on April 9 (great deal, by the way, thank you Liz!). The free set arrived yesterday April 16 along with 4 add on products I selected at the time of my order. But the actual subscription items were not included in the shipment. Does anyone know if my first regular monthly box would be April or May? Thanks!

Tonya

You choose right now for the May box.

Ann

Just signed up to get this welcome box! I love julep polish and have been thinking about joining forever! This deal is fantastic! Thanks!

Kara

I can’t get this deal to work for me. Is it still valid or is there some extra step I need to do when checking out?

Liz Cadman

I was able to have it automatically added to my cart after clicking through our link. The code doesn’t seem to apply, though if you remove the free welcome box from the cart. In this instance, I cleared my cart, and clicked back through the link and it added again – hope this helps!

Kara

Yes – this works! Thanks, Liz! ??

Marla Maust

So if you do the 3 month subscription it is 19.99 a month for 3 months and 24.00 for 1 month correct?

Kathy S

If I buy three months, do I get this and three more months or this and two more months?

Liz Cadman

This is free and separate from the 3 months, so you’ll get this, then 3 more months. Hope that helps!

Kathy S

Wow! Great deal. Thanks for the clarification. I have only purchased mystery boxes or used coupons from Julep. I may have to take advantage of this offer. Not that I need more nail polish, but Julep holds up the best for me. I want to try more of their other products.

Renee

I cancelled Boxycharm and recently joined Julep and received this gift! Everthing in it is awesome! This is my favorite sub ever. Really good deals, fun mystery boxes, awesome korean skin care, beautiful polish and love the makeup. And the best thing is I can customize my box!!

Amanda

So if I signed up for this with a monthly subscription, would my card be charged immediately or not until April 27th? I saw that the first actual box I would receive won’t be until May, so I’m kind of confused how I would be billed.

Liz Cadman

I believe that is correct – your card will be charged immediately, and that will cover the selection window of April 20th-24th. I reached out to Julep to verify. I’ll follow up once I hear back.

Amanda

Thank you very much for commenting and contacting Julep Liz. I look forward to hearing what they say. Thanks again!

Marion

I loooove Rosie! I got it in the “Beet It!” duo with Hayley, a dark, dark magenta/burgundy color, and they layer so well together.

Alli

So I signed up for Maven in 2014 and canceled after the first box. Now when I try and sign-up with a promo code it tells me codes are not valid. Is it because I’ve already subscribed once in the past?

Hildol

You need to use a different email address

Alli

Ahh! Thank you for the tip!! haha

Amanda

When it comes to cancelling, is it difficult? A while back on here I had read all kinds of issues with billing still charging cards. And do you have to call, or can you cancel online?

Tiffany

Well, that got me to pull the trigger…I signed up for the 3 month sub. Oh, god…what is happening to me? I needed it, right? Right.

Karen

For all the new subscribers, be sure to read your first email from Julep after you sign up – it includes a 50% off coupon that’s good for 48 hours.

Lee

I am in the market for a new box. Hmmmm….Boxycharm or this one? Hmmmmm…….

Renee

i love Julep much more. I did not use,much in my Boxycharm boxes but love that I can pick what I get with Julep!

Lee

I went with both to try them out. I like this box lets you skip months if nothing appeals to you.

Marion

Julep is customizable, Boxycharm is not.

Amanda

This is a truly tempting offer…

Kourtney

I use the “It’s Whipped” Matte Lip Mousse all the time and it lasts all day for me, even after eating! The brown tones definitely last longer than the pinks/reds though. I bought the whole set as an add on for maybe $30 or so and got 6 lip colors, I think it’s a great deal. One note I will make is that they oxidize and become much darker on the lip than they are in the tube. Still a great color and consistency though!

As for the Lip Gloss in Graceful, I loved that too, and threw it in my purse since I used it all the time. Somehow, the top broke and came open in my purse, covering EVERYTHING in sticky gloss that was so hard to get off. I have never had that happen with a lip gloss before!

I also have the Long Lasting Eyeliner in Smoky Taupe Shimmer which I really like, but just a heads up on that one is looks much more brown on skin than in the photos on Julep’s website. It looks like a really pretty dark plum with hints of brown online, and in person it just looks like shimmer brown to me. I still use it, but was a little thrown off by the coloring in person.

Cara

I had one of their lip glosses from a mystery box do the same thing in my purse, must be a design flaw.

Christine

I finally caved when I saw this deal and it’s so worth it! I only signed on for one box but I’m definitely jumping on a 3 month plan after this.

Are we allowed to list some items we got from this deal for swaps? Not everything is my shade lol

Chelsea

Because it is a gift with a subscription box purchase, you can list it for swaps. You will see a ton of Julep stuff listed in a variety of colors because they do mystery bags all the time, too, where you don’t know what you’re getting and have mystery items you can add to each month’s box at a steep discount. These may or may not be the right colors for you and I know I personally have listed many Julep products, usually bold lip colors or nail colors that are duplicates. I hope you love Julep as much as I have! One note – I have built a scary huge Julep polish collection after just three months of membership (plus secret store and mystery buys and assorted sales over those three months) so maybe consider taking it slow with your new Julep membership, something I did not do!!! I think I will be skipping next month, but I said that about April and, well, the bright colors were just too enticing!!!

Renee

Funny I cant stop buying either and need to slow down but I want so much on their site!!!

Christine

So any items that were associated with a box subscription purchase are okay to list. But items from Ipsy (Like the ipsy offers where you buy separately) can’t be listed right? I just want to make sure I follow all the rules! I haven’t made a swap yet but I am excited to dip into it. I’ve already set aside items that aren’t for me so I can either gift/swap them.

Does Julep do a lot of sales often?

Our reviewers research, test, and recommend the best subscriptions and products independently; click to learn more about our editorial guidelines. We may receive commissions on purchases made through links on our site.

Julep Free 8-Piece Beauty Gift with Subscription Review

Advertise With MSA

Information

Company