Julep Maven + Trina Turk Boho Glam September 2012

When the exciting news of a Trina Turk and Julep collaboration for the September box broke, I have to admit, I was pretty excited myself. Ms. Turk is well-known for her bold prints and bright colors that evoke the SoCal design aesthetic. She has built a niche for her brand since opening her first retail store in 2002. More recently, the Californian designer has certainly made the rounds this year, earlier with a partnership with clothing brand Banana Republic for Summer 2012 that boasted of fun, destination-inspired prints that most certainly screamed summer. Shortly after, she did a second collaboration, this time with Threadless (who make fantastically designed tees that comprise about 70-80% of all the tees in Mr. J and my total tee count), an art-based community, via a contest to create a pattern for her Fall 2013 line. The contest ended last August, but for the curious, you can view the submissions here. As a Mashable article noted, it does seem a lot like the Trina Turk brand is in a "brand-building mode" and 'collaborations like these are helping her build brand awareness among new consumer groups'. This Julep + Trina Turk collection comes as no surprise, then. I did a bit of googling and found out that this is not a first-time partnership. Back in November 2010, Ms. Turk visited the Julep Nail Parlor in Seattle whilst in the city for business. Jane (the mastermind behind all things Julep) was a long-time fan and invited Trina to choose a color from the fall palette to be named "Trina". She ended up choosing a deep aubergine shimmer that was also used on the models for the Holiday 2010 shoot and as a perk during a Thanksgiving Day 2010 promo where you get a bottle with any order! Anyway, now we get a full Trina Turk collection, Julep style. I was so torn between two different styles that I ended up flipping a coin to pick (no, honest). Let's see how I fared this month:

Oh look, it's a smaller than usual box.

Julep Maven It Girl Mystery Box August 2012

With August ending, I'm glad I finally got my mystery box just in time a couple days ago. It had actually shipped on August 8 and I've been anxiously awaiting its appearance in my mailbox. Now, I was pretty excited about this one because: a) I chose an option/profile that I've never tried before, and b) August is the Julep birthday month. I'm not entirely sure if I had my hopes way too high owing to my really good luck with mystery boxes thus far, but this one didn't really blow me away. I'll leave you to make your own judgement after seeing the box, so for now, let's have the photos do the talking:

A strangely smaller than usual box...

Unboxing Julep Maven American Beauty August 2012 and Happy Birthday, Julep!

Happy Monday! My week's off to a good start and I'm thrilled to finally get my Julep box (I've been expecting it since last week). So yes, my Monday is, indeed, happy. I hope yours is, too! Julep is another happy bunch as they celebrate the Julep Maven program turning one this month! So, of course, I wasn't about to pass up on the monthly goodies for August. To be honest, though, I was quite tempted to skip. I wasn't too keen on any of the metallic shades but I was most intrigued by that remover. I am still on an on-going quest to find the best remover that effectively takes off polish without leaving my cuticles an unhappy bunch. The current Julep offering seemed interesting enough to try. Plus, that pump bottle will definitely be reused once it runs out (conveniently eco-friendly, plus this means I don't have to go and buy a pump bottle separately). Anyway, let's get on to what the box has in store for us this month, shall we?

 Yep, it's a larger-than-normal, hot pink box!

Unboxing Julep Maven American Beauty June 2012

So here I was all ready to post my unboxing for the July Maven box that I just got the other day, when I realized I hadn't even posted June's! Well, my oversight is your gain; you'll get two unboxing posts in one day! Hooray! Without further ado, let's see what the June American Beauty box had in store for us:

Any guesses?

Unboxing Julep Maven American Beauty May 2012 and Cinco de Mayo Mystery Box

So, I was going through my photo archives trying to figure out which ones I have yet to post and I came across these unboxing photos that I took a couple weeks ago. See, when I came back from Texas, I had a whole bunch of fun nail mail that included these two Julep Maven boxes. Luckily, I had the foresight to grab the camera before I tore through everything. (Mr. J thinks it's funny how I've developed that habit from blogging. Go figure.) I seemed to have lucked out again with the mystery box, but I'll let you judge for yourself after seeing the photos.

Longer box than usual!

Julep Glow On Brightening Hand Cream

With the army of hand creams and lotions vying for the spotlight, I thought it appropriate to feature a few of them on the blog. After all, what better way to whittle them down by nitpicking at their various claims, scents and efficacy so that they can be sent to better homes (or purses) that will appreciate their lotion love all the more, while I keep the beloved few close at hand. For today's post, we'll be putting the spotlight on a travel sized cutie from Julep that I'd gotten in one of the Julep Maven boxes.

(via Julep.com)

The Quick Take

Brand/Name: Julep Glow On Brightening Hand Cream
Price: $32 USD for 3 oz.
Seen at: Exclusively available at Julep.com
Note(s): My tube is a 1oz/30mL travel size that came with one of my Julep Maven monthly boxes. So no, I did not pay $32 USD for mine. The travel size comes with another travel size version of the Julep Facial for Hands Glycolic Hand Scrub that as a set of two retails for $22 USD.

The Fun Facts

 The handy, on-the-go tube.

 Directions for application.

 Back of the tube.

A small dollop of the hand cream on the back of my hand.

Julep Glow On Age Defying Hand Brightener visibly minimizes the appearance of fine lines and age spots on your hands, adding radiant glow and evening skin tone.  Contains rare African plant extracts that are clinically proven to block melanin production and reduce hyper-pigmentation and micro light diffusing technology gives hands an instant glowing and luminescent appearance.  Advanced emulsion system imparts water-resistant, non-greasy softness.  For best results, use after exfoliating hands with Julep Facial for Hands Glycolic Hand Scrub.  Does not contain: parabens, sulphates or phlthalates. (from the Julep website)

I've purposefully placed in bold the product claims so we can address them one by one, in a detailed fashion. Now, I'm only in my late twenties, and luckily, I haven't seen any sign of fine lines or age spots on my hands so I can't really comment on this aspect. I'll try to have my mom or mom in law test it out for a few weeks next time they come visit and I'll report back with their results. But for now, let's just skip to the other bits like giving your skin a radiant glow and evening the skin tone. I've been using it for a few weeks and I haven't really noticed much difference with respect to a more even skin tone or radiant glow.

(Image Credits)

Nope, nothing like this either. (But bonus points if you know her!)

As for the melanin blocking technology, I can't really vouch for that over just a few weeks worth of usage. I suppose this would be a wonderful long term effect of using the product if it does do what it claims to do. I have to admit that it sort of makes your hands look more... luminescent but I wouldn't go so far as say radiant. No, there's no glitter or shimmer in the formula but I think the formula itself gives the skin that nice healthy glow that's really only most obvious under very bright light (like midday sunlight).

What I really liked about this particular hand lotion is the emulsion formula that feels more like a cross between a gel and lotion so it feels a lot more lightweight than a cream would. It has this fascinating way of feeling like it's melting into your skin, if that makes any sense. You can see what I'm talking about in the swatch photo above in the area where the product touches the skin and it looks more liquid. This characteristic makes for a fast absorbing moisturizer that is definitely non-greasy. I have to mention that it has this herb-y/floral scent that may not appeal to everyone. I know Mr. J isn't a big fan (and while I don't mind it, it's not something I'd prefer to smell all day either). It does tend to linger for a bit so that's something to consider for the more scent discerning. Also, while water resistant, it isn't completely waterproof. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that it actually withstood at least two vigorous hand washings before my hands started crying out for more hydration. Pretty impressive, I'd say!

As for the price, well, it's still easily pricier than my beloved Crabtree and Evelyn Ultra Moisturising Hand Therapy (SRP $19 for 100mL) or even the already pricey L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream (SRP $30 for $150mL) and it's the least amount of product you'll get among the three seeing as it clocks in at SRP $32 for 88.7mL or 3 oz! (Btw, SRP mean suggested retail price.) But that doesn't seem all that fair a comparison as the two I've cited have none of the anti-aging benefits of Glow On. So picking similar products from the same two brands, Crabtree and Evelyn has Gardeners Age Defying Hand Remedy that's going for $27 for 100mL, while L'Occitane has Brightening Hand Care SPF15 for $32 for 75mL. Now it's a more level playing field with each of the three having their own merits. The Crabtree and Evelyn one is easily the best value for money with the lowest price and most amount of product to boot. Julep Glow On possibly has the most lightweight formula (based on my previous experience with the earlier two I've cited, assuming these anti-aging ones have the same consistency) with the added bonus of skin luminosity even on the first use. But L'Occitane tops them all with essential oils that supposedly stimulate collagen production to lessen wrinkles AND SPF15 to defend against more sun damage, but all for the same price as Glow On and with about 13mL less product.

I guess at the end of the day, it really all boils down to what factors are your must haves in a hand moisturiser. For me, the most important aspects include non-greasiness, fast absorbing, a pleasant scent (or none at all), and a decent price for the amount of product you get. Water resistance and additional SPF would be a nice to have, too. So far, from all these, Julep Glow On satisfies 2 out of 4 (or 3 out of 6 if you count water resistance and additional SPF) of my personal requirements. That puts it in so-so categories for moisturisation alone, but if I were looking for anti-aging properties, this will definitely get a higher score from me.

Hammie says that adding SPF to Julep Glow On will tip his scales in favor of the hand moisturiser over its competitors. He's not a fan of the scent either, though like me, he doesn't particularly mind it. He also admires the philanthropist leanings of the company so he gives Julep Glow On a final score of:

7 Hammie Points!

Happy Friday and Hooray for the Weekend! Do you have a favorite hand cream? Are you looking for anti-aging options in terms of skin/hand care? Will you be willing to pay premium for the promise of better looking skin/hands?

Unboxing Julep Maven St. Patrick's Day Mystery Box

I actually skipped on this month's Julep Maven box because I wasn't all too happy about last month's box. Granted, I could've gotten better color choices if I had only bothered to change my option for that month, but I just didn't think it's been worth the $20 when I can get mystery boxes like these that make my $20 go a longer way with more products to try. This month's not as awesome as the Valentine Mystery Box I got last February (now *that* one was pretty epic!) but it still holds its own in terms of value for price. Read on to see what this month's mystery box has in store for us!

Same size as the monthly boxes so I wasn't expecting much...

Unboxing Julep Maven American Beauty February 2012

Let me preface this post by saying that procrastination will bite you in the @$$ one day. Trust me on this. You see, I've been a serial crammer since high school, working on problem sets and lab reports at the very last minute. What's bad is I cram not because I have to, but because I need to. I thrive in adrenaline induced states as I'm one of the few that tend to focus more with a looming deadline. Otherwise, I tend to multitask to the point where I start everything but finish nothing. I haven't suffered any ill-effects from this horrible procrastination habit that I haven't been able to kick...until now. See, Julep has a window where you can opt to skip the month or change the option for different nail polish color choices. If you miss the window, you get the default option that you got after taking the profiling quiz and you'll expect to receive your box in the mail soon-ish (a few days for those in the US but as my box needs to cross the border I usually get mine in a week to a week and a half). Well, this month I procrastinated and missed that window. So I ended up with the American Beauty polish options that for a nail fiend are pretty...blah. Anyway, you'll see what I mean in a bit. On with the photos!

 The box with the logo from the side. What goodies does it hold this month?

Julep Anne

I love a good purple. It's almost as good as a great nude/neutral shade that I'd reach for if I wanted a "safe" pop of color without the eyebrow raising oomph of blue. I feel it's an acceptable deviation from the traditional pinks, reds and neutrals while maintaining the edginess of a non-traditional color. How I came up with this mentality can probably be traced back to my mom and her old school sensibilities. I've mentioned her overwhelming love for red, but she never did like my penchant for blue nail polish. "It looks like you've got frostbite" is what she usually says. Black nail polish merits the "Your nails look dead" comment. White brings about "Did you play with the correction fluid again?". Now, I don't take offense at all because she's always been frank about what she thinks and really, it's hard when you get such a laugh out of all that. So when she last came to visit, I cajoled her into getting out of her comfort zone. I wanted her to try this awesome navy I had just gotten, but she wouldn't budge. I gave her free rein to choose (although I hid all the neutrals, reds and pinks) and after much harrumphing, she ended up with a bottle of purple polish. (For the curious, it was Nubar Moonshadow aka Moon Eclipse.) So when I got the Julep Maven Valentine Mystery Box and saw this pretty purple, I knew it was the one that was getting first dibs on swatching:

I'm fairly certain my mom would approve.

Unboxing Julep Maven Valentine's Day Mystery Box

When people say that you shouldn't forget to get yourself a gift for Valentine's Day, I kind of took that to heart. But I didn't want to splurge or anything as I'd already been going crazy with nail polish accumulation that started late last year. I've been trying very hard to scale back some but the collections that keep coming out, one after the other, make it even harder to do so. But when I got the email from Julep about a mystery box that would have a total value from $60 to $200 of Julep's Best Sellers for a mere $20, I was sold. That's like getting 66.67% off at the very least! I wasn't even banking on the $200 part. It was also just as well that I skipped February (I wasn't too keen on getting the gold glitter or the hair top coat) so I could get the mystery box without feeling guilty of spending double for the month. But imagine my excitement when I got a bigger than usual box (warning: pic heavy post ahead!):

And red for Valentine's!