Cityscapes by Julep: September Upgrade Box

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Julep's offerings for September feature colors inspired by a city skyline at night:  some lovely microglitter shimmers, some moody dark cremes, a bright marigold yellow and a soft flesh tone.  Not only that, the beauty items were intriguing enough that I upgraded to the full collection, so let's take a look!

First up, Julep changed the packaging of their polishes from the clear plastic wrapper to a recyclable white cardboard box.  I'm liking the new packaging myself, as I found the plastic wrapping difficult to remove and hazardous to my nails (I've chipped them trying to remove those suckers before). 

Polish names and official color descriptions:

• Tatiana (Boho Glam):  Golden burnt orange microglitter
• Candace (It Girl):  Golden chocolate microglitter
• Karmen (Bombshell):  Golden crimson microglitter
• Josephine (It Girl):  Deep teal grey crème
• Catrina (It Girl):  Marigold yellow crème
• Kristy (Boho Glam):  Midnight blue crème (if you'd like to read the moving story of the woman behind the inspiration for this color, read this.)
• Florence (Classic with a Twist):  Classic camel crème
• Daria (Bombshell):  Dark slate grey crème
• Padma (Classic with a Twist):   Royal plum crème

Okay, now for an embarassing admission:  the 5th color in the swatches below is not part of the Cityscapes collection.  It's Millie, which I had pulled out to compare to Kristy, and then inadvertently included in my swatches.  Mea culpa.

Cityscape polish swatches (with an interloper)

There was also a dark purple holographic shimmer called Reece in this collection that could have been an add on, but I passed on it.  Quite pretty, but I'm a bit miffed that all of the polishes were not included in the upgrade as they have been in the past.  I chose a beauty item as an upgrade instead, so let's move on to them.

Julep now has a cleansing oil called Bare Face, and my first impressions are quite positive!  I'm not sure it will replace my holy grail cleansing oil from DHC, but it's definitely better than some others I've tried.  Full review coming soon.

I've been searching for an effective mattifying primer for quite a while, and this could be a contender!  I need some more time before deciding for sure, but my impression after wearing for several days is positive.

This was my add on for the month - a natural exfoliating sponge made from the Japanese Konjac plant.  Notice the sauna in the bag, the result of sitting in the mailbox in Mobile's hot, humid weather. 

Overall, I'm quite pleased with this month's offerings.  My favorite colors based on first impressions from the polishes are Candace, Josephine, Kristy, and Florence (I'd described Florence more as a blush creme than a camel creme).  The total box value if items were purchased at full retail is $188, so quite good for the $55 I paid!