Julep Maven Monthly Subscription Review

My first Julep Maven box was the October 2011 box.  I signed up during a $5 promotion.  The worst part about Julep Maven for me is the shipping time.  They use FedEx and then it gets transferred to the USPS.   Both of my boxes for October and November have taken just under 3 weeks for me to receive.  I find that flat out ridiculous.  I live in the United States.  Sephora ships USPS and I get my packages within 2 business days usually. 

So, my October box finally arrives and guess what?  It's missing the base coat polish that was supposed to be included in the introductory box.  I contacted customer service and she kindly apologized and stated she would ship it out.  It has been almost a month and I have yet to ever receive that.  The introductory box was just okay.  The polishes weren't as opaque as I had heard they were and the shape of the bottle is so thin, that it is very easy for it to knock over and spill out when you are doing your nails.  Not a very practical bottle design in my opinion.  The polish chipped in less than 24 hours.  Maybe the base coat helps, but I wouldn't know since I never received it.  Here are swatches and photos:

(top to bottom) Gayle, Malin

(L to R) Malin, Gayle

I just received my November box.  I picked the nail polish lover box that has 3 polishes in it.  They are nice colors for the holidays, but the colors aren't anything unique or special.   Trina was my favorite of the trio. It was a very beautiful color and opaque in 1 coat.  Diane was my least favorite of all 5 of my Julep polishes so far.  It was super sheer and took 3 coats to be opaque, but it really could've used 4 coats.  I have an 11 month old son, so I don't have time to do 4 coats of anything! The blue polish, Michelle, was opaque in 1 coat and it didn't stain my nails.  I paid the regular $19.99 for the November box.  Was it work $20?  No.  I would rather spend that on a few OPI polishes.  Here are swatches and photos:




(L to R) Michelle, Diane, Trina




(L to R) Diane, Michelle, Trina


My final issue with Julep is the size of their polish and the price.  They charge $14 for a 0.27oz bottle of nail polish.  Julep, you aren't a high end company or even a well known company for that matter.  If it weren't for youtube, I would have never heard of Julep.  For them to be charging almost double what OPI charges is just ridiculous.  I could see maybe $5 a bottle, but even for $5 I would buy a China Glaze or Revlon polish before Julep because you get more product.  Here is a size comparison photo incase you were curious.

I will be cancelling my Julep Maven subscription.  I'm just not impressed.  The shipping is horrid (read all the complaints from others on their Facebook page), the polishes are overpriced and small, and the polish colors aren't anything special or unique.   I think the concept of the Julep Maven program is fun and unique, but just not worth the $20 for what you get.  If would do it for $10, maybe.

One last thing that drive me bonkers about their bottles is that when I screw the cap on tight, it doesn't line up with the square bottle.  I hate that!