February Julep Maven Box

The February Julep Maven glamor collection featured rich, smoky colors and glitzy holographics inspired by classic Hollywood icons and modern leading ladies.  For my February box, I decided to go with the Bombshell box which included two color polishes in Laura and Ginger and two new products from Julep: the Oxygen Nail Treatment and the Freedom Top Coat.  Additionally, the February boxes also included a little extra: a small eyelash curler.

The shades I received this month were Laura, an olive khaki cream, and Ginger, a sand holographic.  I had a difficult time choosing my style this month as I was also very fond of the color sections from the Classic with a Twist box which included the shades Claudette, a smoky brick red creme, and Helen, a smoky pastel lavender creme.  Ultimately I decided Laura and Ginger would better round out my collection.

The Oxygen Nail Treatment is an intriguing new product marketing itself as "complete nail care, and make-up all in one bottle."  It claims to 'restructure nails to a stronger, thicker, and smoother condition in just one stroke.'  I've never really used a nail treatment before, so I'm curious to see if I notice an impact using this product.  I don't have particular thin, weak, or problematic nails but I'm excited to try this if only for the pretty shine and subtle color it provides to naked nails.

I'm equally excited to try the new Freedom Polymer Top Coat which claims to 'protect nail color from chips, dings, and dullness twice as long as regular top coats.  The quick-dry formula cures under regular light in three to five minutes; no UV light required.'  The trick with this formula, it seems, is to cure the polish under a traditional 60-watt light bulb for a couple of minutes.  As much as I love changing the color of my polish, I don't enjoy the time it takes to change my manicure.  So if this stuff really does lengthen the life of my manicure, I will be thrilled!

Additionally, this month I chose to add on an extra polish to my Maven box for an additional $4.99 (which is a steal since Julep polishes retail for $14.00).  I chose Joan which is a stunning raspberry plum with rose gold shimmer.

This has been one of my favorite boxes since the Julep Maven program launched.  I'm always so thrilled with how fresh and new the Maven boxes are.  Julep seems to constantly be developing innovative new products and Mavens are the first to get their hands on them!  While the Julep Maven boxes are on the higher end of subscription boxes costing $19.99/month, I am always 100% satisfied with my Maven box (especially considering their fantastic options for customizing each month).  This month my box included over $64.00 in product!

I'll let you know my thoughts on the Oxygen Nail Treatment and Freedom Top Coat once I've had time to thoroughly test them.

If you received a February Maven box, what style did you choose and what are your thoughts on the new treatment and top coat?!


If you're interested in trying out the Julep Maven program, take the Maven style quiz, and add the starter box to your cart.  During checkout enter the coupon code 'COLOR2012' and you should get your first box for only $0.01!  (Unfortunately I believe this promo is only available for customers in the US.)  From there you can choose to continue receiving your monthly boxes to really try out the program, or you can cancel at any time!

January 2013 GLOSSYBOX USA: Man Repeller Collaboration

The January 2013 GLOSSYBOX USA arrived a little later than usual.  The box for January was a collaboration between GLOSSYBOX and the fashion blogger Man Repeller.  Instead of the usual pale pink box, the Man Repeller collab was metallic silver with a cheeky faux-stamped "the man repeller" logo.

Inside I was very pleased to see a generous assortment of items including two full size products and five deluxe samples.  The items included this month are some of Leandra's (aka the Man Repeller) favorite products.

My January 2013 GLOSSYBOX USA included the following samples:

Sebastian Professional - Potion 9 ($19.00/5.1 oz)
The ultimate versatile styling cream infused with nine botanical extracts to help restore lost moisture and rejuvenate the healthy look of your hair.  Perfect for styling your wet or dry hair into multiple looks with flexible hold.

Sample size: 1.7 oz
Sample value: $6.33

Tarte - Glamazon Pure Performance 12-hour Lipstick in Fierce ($26.00/0.07 oz)
Achieve vivid long-lasting color with a superb blend of emollient-rich butters (mango, avocado and shea) encapsulated in Tarte's 12-hour power formula.  Helps to minimize the appearance of fine lines leaving lips with a perfect, plumped-up appearance.

Sample size: 0.07 oz
Sample value: $26.00

OPI - Liquid Sand Nail Laquer in Can't Let Go ($9.00/0.5 oz)
A unique matte purple shade with subtle accents of reflective shimmer.  This long wearing liquid sand lacquer dries to a matte finish which means no top coat is necessary!  Apply base coat and two coats of color for full opacity.

Sample size: 0.5 oz
Sample value: $9.00

Estée Lauder - Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara ($25.00/0.27 oz)
Three different high-volume fibers create audacious, false-lash effects.  Lustrous color leaves eyes brighter, wider, more seductive than before.  Build bigger, bolder, more extreme lashes at the Estée Lauder counter today.

Sample size: 0.1 oz
Sample value: $9.26

Le Métier de Beauté - Replenishing Daily Solution ($225.00/1.17 oz)
This rich, emollient formula protects, conditions and hydrates while it nourishes, rejuvenates and detoxifies skin, restoring a healthy suppleness to your skin.  Paraben-free.

Sample size: 0.1 oz
Sample value: $19.23

Narciso Rodriguez - for her Eau de Toilette Spray ($104.00/3.3 oz)
A fragrant harmony of music, intimately refined with a floral facet developing gently and slowly, rounding out into the feminine warm tones of sun-kissed skin, dusted in snow, velvet-like sensuality.

Sample size: 0.03 oz
Sample value: $0.95

Fresh - Umbrian Clay Mattifying Serum ($35.00/1 oz)
Umbrian Clay, Fresh's proprietary ingredient, has a uniquely high-mineral content that works to neutralize acidity, purifying and clarifying the complexion.  This treatment formula tones and hydrates while controlling shine and minimizing the appearance of pores.

Sample size: 0.17 oz
Sample value: $5.95

Total box value: $76.72

Of course, I'm over the moon about this month's GLOSSYBOX!  It was good timing, too, because I had been a little underwhelmed with the past couple of months.  The full size Tarte lipstick and OPI polish have me thrilled.  I heard so many great things about this line of lipsticks from Tarte when they released but had yet to try them.  The shade I received is a little more orange and bold than my usual red lip choice, but it'll be a nice change to the darker, cooler reds of my collection.  The OPI Liquid Sand polishes seem like a unique and fun way to add texture to your nails.  And for those who aren't a big fan of the matte look, I have a feeling these would look gorgeous with a glossy topcoat.

I've previously tried the Fresh serum via a teeny foil sample from Birchbox.  Of course, being a such a tiny sample, I never got much of a chance to really give the product a try.  With my oily skin, I'm looking forward to having a bigger sample to better test this product.  Also, I'm really curious to see what kind a magic a $225 facial lotion can offer.  I'll be transferring the foil sample to an empty cosmetic pot so I can ration the product and treat it like liquid gold.

If you received a January GLOSSYBOX, let me know which products you received and what you thought!

The Weekend of Parties

Things have been a little crazy around here lately.  Since the beginning of the year I've spent much of my free time working on sprucing up our little home.  The past week and a half I spent nearly all of my free time repainting the main living areas of our home from the cheap, unwashable builder basic beige to a slightly more pleasing beige in a MUCH higher quality paint.  Over a month ago I had set a date for a fun little Swap Party I wanted to host for some girl friends and soon after realized that I set the party for the same weekend as Super Bowl (hubby and I traditionally host a big Super Bowl gathering with 20+ friends).  Hosting two big parties in a row gave me the push to spend much of January painting and decorating so we could show off some of the changes we were slowly making to our home.  I'll share some of those in another post soon.

Last Saturday I hosted a Swap Party with a sweet little mimosa bar, a coffee/tea bar, and lots of brunch appropriate appetizers.  Unfortunately we were hit with quite the snow storm that morning, shrinking our party down to five girls.  We still had a great time chatting, swapping accessories and decor, and munching on the spread I had prepared.

When planning the menu for the party, I knew I wanted a brunch themed assortment of food; everything bite size to make eating while talking/swapping easy.

I prepared a Mimosa bar with options for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic Mimosas with orange and also raspberry/peach juice for a few flavor combinations.  In addition to the Mimosas, I had my Keurig set up for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. and made a picture of Lemon Cucumber Mint Water which is always refreshing and a hit.

The menu included plenty of gluten-free and vegetarian options as I had a few girls in attendance with dietary restrictions.  I made Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Mini Quiche (some crustless and others without bacon), Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Mini Cream Biscuits which I served with country ham and strawberry jam, Melon and Prosciutto and Melon and Mint Skewers, Cucumber Bites with Garlic Herb Filling, Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Chocolate Dipped Clementines, and Salmon Mousse on gluten free crackers.  Everything was well received and we had a lovely time!

Then came our Super Bowl Party.  Planning and hosting a party for a group of 20 folks is quite the task, so I didn't get any great photos to share of the evening.  I did; however, manage to snap a few mediocre photos of the Bacon Chocolate Stout Cheesecake I made for dessert.

This was quite the unique combination of flavors.  The cheesecake itself had a pretzel graham cracker crust, a filling flavored with chocolate stout and studded with Beer Candied Bacon, and was topped with homemade Hot Fudge Sauce, more Beer Candied Bacon, and fresh whipped cream.

Overall the cheesecake was very well received (I'm pretty sure I witnessed one guest enjoy three slices).  Personally I was kind of on the fence about it.  I'm not typically a fan of sweet/salty combinations (which this certainly was with the pretzel crust and bacon), and I'm definitely not a beer drinker.  I really enjoyed the chocolate flavor of the filling and found that the beer wasn't particularly noticeable.  Honestly, as much as I love bacon, I think I'll continue to prefer it in more savory applications.  That said, our guests seemed to enjoy the cheesecake and I certainly thought the finished result had a lovely presentation!

Now that I've survived a month of home projects and a week of prepping for two big parties, I'm looking forward to a little down time from hosting.  I sure do love planning a party, but it's exhausting work!

Have you thrown any fun parties recently?