Julep Maven Subscription Box Review

By on January 17, 2017

Overall Grade

8 /10

Pros

  • -High quality beauty products
  • -Get to pick any item for the box, new or old
  • -Can easily skip months without charge

Cons

  • -Only three items
  • -A little more expensive than the average beauty box

I love the idea of subscription boxes, but I’m always a little wary of them.  I do know that they are almost always a good deal, but are the items things I actually want, or is it ‘swag’ that’s just going to lay around the house?  When I subscribed to LootCrate back in the box’s infancy, it normally ended up being the latter, and while I enjoyed having some neat little stocking stuffers and gifts beyond the T-shirts I didn’t have a reason to continue the subscription.

But, since those days, subscription boxes have blown up in a huge way, and there’s a whole range of options for anything you could possibly want.  One of the boxes that caught my eye is Julep Maven’s box, a beauty box that focuses more on nail polish… and I do love my nail polish.  More importantly, though, you get to choose what items you want in your box, so that means I can’t complain about getting anything I don’t want!  But in the end, was Julep’s box worth it?

The package label was on the top of the box, so here's a side view of my Julep box.

The package label was on the top of the box, so here’s a side view of my Julep box.

Before we get into the contents of my box, let’s talk about Julep’s process and how they get their boxes to you.  Julep Maven’s beauty box is $25 a month, or $20 a month if you pay for three months at once.  On the 20th, you get an email about choosing the items for your box.  Julep typically has an ‘item of the month’ that’s pretty much the feature item, as well as some new nail polish colors to choose from.  You don’t have to pick any of those items, though, and can also scroll through their inventory of older items, including nail polish, make up, and other beauty items.  You pick three items by the 24th, then Julep ships out the boxes and you get your box by the 10th.

It’s all very easy, and I love how the boxes can be customized.  January 2017’s box theme was called ‘Future Fresh’, and in good spirit of the review I chose the item of the month, as well as two of the new nail polish colors.

The box came with a nifty leaflet for this month's featured items.

The box came with a nifty leaflet for this month’s featured items.

As such, the Julep box only came with three items, which seems a little lackluster compared to some boxes, but all three of these items were full sized, and the value of the box came to a whopping $64 dollars, making it a great deal over buying each item separately from Julep’s online store.

However, saving money is not always a win if the items were overpriced or of lower quality in the first place.  Let’s look at the items individually to see if the Julep box is really worth your hard earned money:

Boost Your Radiance: Reparative Rosehip Seed Facial Oil

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The featured item for the Julep Maven box for January was the Boost Your Radiance oil, which, according to the leaflet, uses three main ingredients to moisturize your face.  There’s the rosehip seed oil, which moisturizes, heals, and regulates oil production; vitamin E, which helps in absorbing the rosehip oil; and bergamot oil, which brightens the skin.

I was really wary of getting this oil, honestly.  Other than a consistently greasy nose, my face rarely gets dried out, and as such I was worried that putting oil on my face would make me feel greasy, or worse, I would breakout.  However, with this being the main non-nail polish item for the month, I wanted to give the oil a fair shake for my review.  So, after a shower, I got two drops of the oil and applied it to my face… and I was very surprised by the results!  My face felt normal, but more importantly my nose was far less oily than usual.  Additionally, my skin tone seemed a lot more evened out, giving my face a nice and healthy sheen.

Since I live in Florida, I can’t really comment on how the oil might help against the cold and dry winter, but I imagine it’ll be a godsend during this time of the year for anyone whose face feels raw from the rough weather.

Julep Nail Color (x2)

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I went with getting two of the new colors that were promoted for the Future Fresh box–Evan, a dark creamy red, and Yulia, a sheer and sparkly blue.  The two polishes are very different overall, with the red completely covering my nail in one coat (and dying my finger slightly if I happen to miss my nail), while the blue was still quite see through after a single coat.

I am pleased with both of these polish colors.  The polish lasts a long time; I’ve had two coats of Yulia on for over a week and only now am starting to see chipping at the tips of my nails.  Julep’s nail polish also covers quite well, usually only needing a single coat for total coverage (the sheer colors being an exception).  If nail polish is your thing, it’s definitely worth getting some Julep polishes in your collection.

Here are the colors after a single coat of polish.

Here are the colors after a single coat of polish.

The Julep Maven is a beauty box that is definitely quality over quantity.  While there are only three items a box, they are all high-quality full-sized beauty products, and the value of the box itself is through the roof in savings.  However, this box won’t be perfect for everyone… while Julep does offer more than just nail polish, that is the company’s key product, and those that aren’t as interested in painting their nails might think the pickings are a little slim after a few months.  But, in many ways, Julep Maven offers a great beauty box.  If you’re on the fence about it, give it a try–it’s not likely to disappoint!

Order the Julep Maven Beauty Box here!

About Elizabeth Henges

I'm actually an accountant, but I like being a multifaceted nerd. I enjoy writing about nearly anything, but I'm partial to video games, cats, and trying to find neat little doodads.

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