To put into perspective how bad this obsession is...I only joined Julep in mid-August. I got my first box at that time and only paid for shipping since the first box is always free. That came with the mint condition pedi-creme and two of the nail polishes.
My next order was the sea salt texture spray because it was 50% off and I've always loved what the beach does to my hair.
I skipped getting a box in September, but at the beginning of October, they started having a ton of massive sales for members, so I ended up ordering one little nail polish "set" of three, plus one extra. I also got the October box, which was the eyeliner and two more nail polishes. Then again I got the November box which was two nail polishes and a lip gloss.
You know how many of those products I've used? One nail polish, the lip gloss, the hair spray, and the creme. Yet I keep buying more nail polishes. I've actually had to put myself on a ban for buying any more for a while, because like...I don't need all of this. Or the super fantastic deals that come when you do get your box for the month.
As for the products I've used?
I actually do like the lip gloss. It's not the greatest, but it doesn't dry me out and it's only slightly darker than my natural lips, which wasn't what I wanted, but it's better for every day wear or when I'm running late. However, even with the Maven discount, it's still way over priced.
The foot creme is decent but...eh. I wouldn't be buying more. Same with the sea salt texture spray. It only works if my hair is wet and since I shower at night then have to brush my hair in the morning...that's not super useful. If I spray it on at night and can avoid brushing my hair again when I wake up, it does decently, but it's rare I want to do that.
Then there's the nail polishes. The big sellers. The one I tried was a steel-y gray, the brown-ish looking one in the picture. It's actually a really nice color and really high quality. They don't have some of the more toxic ingredients in other nail polishes, but they also LAST. I painted this on every other finger and a different brand on what was left. The other brand was thinner and definitely didn't last as long, but the Julep polish was thick and had to be scraped off over the course of several days. That nail polish is DETERMINED to stay on for ages.
Basically, even though the products themselves are hit or miss, getting two (or three) high quality nail polishes each month for $20? Not a horrible bargain. Just kind of out of my price range and not a big enough necessity at the moment. Didn't stop me from hesitating as I dug through the site writing this post for some details-research.
If you're interested in joining Julep, you can do that here. The first box is free with the code FREEBOX, besides $3.99 for shipping. You can switch up which box you get each month or skip months without penalty. When you get the box, you get access to a secret sale store where things are like 70% off for a few days. You also get Jules, which you can put towards getting a free box one month. And no matter if you get the box or not, just joining gets you discounts on pretty much all of their products. Not a bad deal, you know?
--Julie
Recently, there's been a grand obsession with subscription boxes and I'm...not immune. I don't even really wear makeup, yet when I found Ipsy and saw it was $11 a month...I couldn't not. Never mind that my makeup included mascara-without-a-brand, eyeshadow from Claire's, and a powder that really only makes my acne less obnoxiously red (and...not much else I can really use). Clearly this was something I NEEDED, right? When else could I get 5-6 makeup products for that cheap? Even if most are samples, just one full size product is probably worth more than $11.
But, back to my point, I'd like to highlight what's in my Ipsy bag and how I feel about everything each month. And since I just started last month, I figure I can start with this one even though my November bag is arriving in like a day, right? Right.
I gotta say, the bag alone? Totally worth the $11.
I know not every bag is going to make me this happy, but like...it's
adorable. It currently serves as my make up bag so my stuff doesn't
float all over the bathroom. I've already decided this one will be my
Julep nail polish bag (Oh Julep. We'll get to that soon.)
What was IN the October bag:
The nail polish and the lip pencil were the full size things, while the lotions and gel were in small bottles and I got a package of like 10 wipes.
I haven't used the Blow Dry Gel simply because...I don't blow dry my hair. I shower at night specifically so I don't have to deal with it in the morning. I'm passing the sample on to a friend. I also haven't tried the nail polish because I'm not a HUGE nail person, plus I've been trying to get my nails fairly event and lengthy enough before painting them again, so I may try it soon.
The wipes are...good and all. I've used them to help remove make up, which they aren't supposed to do and only do kind of well. The smell isn't overwhelming or anything, and they stay surprisingly moist considering the packaging is plastic. But it's not something I would buy separately.
I really like the lotion's consistency. It really isn't oily and doesn't leave that leftover gunk on my skin that pretty much every other lotion product does. BUT the smell punches you in the face. You apply it and it's just like COCONUT. DID YOU SMELL IT? COCONUT. Umm, no thanks. I'm good. It doesn't even really smell like coconut so much as sour coconut or something. It ain't pretty.
The lip pencil, though. Lemme tell you about this lip pencil. I've been using it as my actual lip color instead of just as lip liner because I don't HAVE anything to put over it really. And it's a really bright pink that pictures don't do justice to. It dries out my lips a bit, but not enough for me to really be uncomfortable with. I can't eat or drink anything for about half an hour after putting it on so it sets well. I put it on around 1:20 the other day and by time I got home at 5, a package of Twizzlers, a bottle of water, and a bottle of iced tea later (plus traipsing up and down stairs in the grossly cold), it still looked fantastic. By time I finished dinner and dessert at like 7 or 8, it was faded off, but I didn't mind so much.
And normally? This retails for $12. So even if I had just gotten the bag and the lip pencil, it still would have been cheaper than buying the lip pencil in a store or online.
I'm getting my next bag, like I said, super soon, but I'll probably wait a bit to talk about it so I have time to try out stuff. I already know what's in it and I'm pretty excited.
So, honestly, I recommend this. It's probably one of the cheapest subscription boxes, you get a variety of stuff that they match based on your tastes, what you want, and what works best with your skin/hair/eyes and you're always free to change up those answers, and there's discounts to buy more of the stuff if you end up loving it. You cannot skip months with this, but there is a wait list of a month or two so long as you don't connect to Facebook, so you'll have time to reconsider.
If you wanna join, it'd be super cool if you used this link. I get "ipsyPoints" for every person who signs up towards that link, which can get me some extra cool stuff. (You also get some points when you leave feedback on items in your bag, plus 100 just for signing up.) And I'll keep posting about my bags/the products in them because it's my blog and I can.
--Julie
