September 2012 Julep Maven Box

Today I wanted to share the contents of my September Julep Maven Box.  I've been a subscriber of the Maven program since it launched in August of 2011.  The Julep Maven program is unique from other beauty subscriptions in many ways (which I think make it a superior service).  First of all, when you sign up for the Maven program, you take a style quiz which suggests which types of products and shades of polishes will best suit your personality and style.  There are five style profiles that receive different products and polish shades each month.  Personally, I find the style profile for the Maven program to be pretty spot on; however, if you aren't crazy about the products you're going to get on a given month, you have a few options.  You can view the four other styles and the products for them for that month.  You can choose to pick a different style/box that month, or you can skip the month entirely if nothing suits your tastes that month or you're trying to cut back on spending.  I truly think this option of picking a different style or skipping the month is a brilliant feature and I really wish other subscription services were so kind as to offer similar choices for their members.  The Maven program has the best model out there that I've experienced myself.  Since I joined the program I have been nothing but satisfied with the products I've received and the service itself.



Most months the Maven boxes contain at least two polishes and usually one other non-polish beauty or mani/pedi product.  You are always guaranteed to receive at least $40 of products for the $19.99 subscription cost.  Another perk of being a Julep Maven is that anytime you make a purchase from the Julep online shop, you receive a 20% discount.  I could really sing praises about Julep all day long.

This month the Maven boxes were inspired by Trina Turk's Modernist Maverick Collection and were full of stunning colors for fall.  This month I decided to stick with my usual style profile, Classic With a Twist, which included two neutral polishes and a new product from Julep, a volumizing mascara.

 The polishes I received were Brandt, an opaque off-black creme, and Sophie, a chic truffle mushroom creme.  I absolutely adore these shades and they will certainly be staples for me this fall.  I've been wanting to purchase a good black polish for a while (I have a cheaper one from Revlon and the formula is a pain, so I never use it) and Brandt is perfection.  I love the slightly off-black shade, which makes it a little less harsh than a straight up black.  And, as with most Julep polishes I've tried, the formula is brilliant: one coat is really all it takes to reach full opacity.  Sophie is a shade that couldn't fit my personality any better.  I absolutely adore warm gray/greige shades year round and this one is stunning.

The American Beauty Volumizing Mascara has lash growth enhancement ingredients and a micro-fiber applicator that claims to separate, condition, and plump individual lashes for a thick and gorgeous finish.  I'm really excited to try this mascara as it will be the first (of the countless mascaras I've tried) to contain fibers.  I can't wait to see the effect this creates, and I think this was a really interesting addition to the Maven box.

I'm over the moon about the products I received in my Julep Maven Box this month.  To be honest, I have skipped the past few months with the Maven program because I wasn't too over the moon about a lot of the nail trends from spring/summer.  Now that fall and winter are approaching, I have a feeling I'm going to find it difficult to resist the gorgeous colors of the upcoming seasons.

If you're a nail polish/mani/pedi junkie, I highly recommend you check out the Julep Maven program.  It's really risk-proof since you receive an email preview of your box every month and have the option to purchase, choose another box, or skip the month.  If only other subscription services were so straightforward.