Bask in the Heat: Julep Maven Box for June

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

It's been a few months since I opted in for a Julep Maven box, but the new With a Twist Lash Boosting Bamboo mascara ($22) in June's box tilted the scale in the "buy" direction or me.  After using it for a few days, I think I made a good decision!

The formula is infused with Korean bamboo grass and a blend of peptides which is supposed to promote lash growth when used over time. I can't say that I've used a lash growth product where I've been able to tell a difference with it yet, so I'm interested to see if this one will deliver any results.

Volumizing

Lengthening

Another appealing aspect of the mascara is the adjustable wand, which can be twisted shorter for volumizing affects or longer for lengthening the lashes. Thus far, I've found using the lengthening brush followed by the volumizing works best, as I get some clumping the other way around.

I also love the formula of Julep's When Pencil Met Gel eyeliners, so selected Ocean Blue ($16) as another one of my items. The pictures on Julep's site make this look more opaque than the swatches below, and it does take a bit of layering to build up the color.

With a Twist  mascara and Ocean Blue swatches

Still very pretty and when I wore it for 12 hours on a hot and sunny day where I was out picking blueberries and blackberries for a couple of hours, it held up beautifully. I had some minimal transfer on my hooded lids at the end of the day, but the liner still looked good. Below I'm also wearing the With a Twist mascara, but this time layered over Estee Lauder's Little Black Primer. I find that the Little Black Primer helps prevent lower lash smudging, which is an issue for me with most mascaras.

My other selections for June's Maven box were the Freedom Polymer Top Coat ($18) and Jaydra ($14) as an add-on using some of my points.  Jaydra is a soft mauve with a diffused holographic shimmer that I'm really looking forward to trying out.

I've been subscribing to the Julep Maven box for over 3 years now and I continue to enjoy their products!  All of the above cost me $19.99 and has a full retail value of $70, which is really quite the deal.

Magic Powder Smoky Stick in Indigo Smoke by Estee Lauder

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

The Magic Powder Smoky Stick ($22) by Estee Lauder is supposed to make doing a smoky eye easy, but I was just interested in seeing what a powder formula in a chubby pencil is like.  I rarely do a smoky eye as my eyes are small and narrow, which isn't the best eye shape for that type of effect, IMO. Or maybe I'm just doing it wrong, who knows?  I did give it a valiant effort in light of this review, but more on that below.

However, I regularly use pencils to line my upper and lower lids, and this seemed like a good candidate for that. I chose Indigo Smoke from the 8 available colors, which has a soft navy powder base with lighter blue shimmer sparkles in the mix.

Indigo Smoke lays down a sheer wash of color that can be built up somewhat, but keep that whole "smoke" concept in mind, as opaque color really isn't the goal. I found the pencil easy to use but my biggest concern was having it transfer from my lash line onto my lid, something that can happen on my hooded eyes if the color does not lock into place.

I'm happy to report I didn't have issues with transfer, so yay for Indigo Smoke!  I did feel like I needed a more opaque liner closest to my lash line for definition, and used Lorac's Front of the Line Pro liquid eyeliner in Navy for that. I'm liking how this turned out.

Now on to my smoky eye effort.  Considering I had two meetings in a somewhat conservative environment the day I was testing this, consider this a daytime smoky eye.  I smoked out the blue with several taupe shadows, as on it's own I was just getting to much of a "blue eyeshadow" look/vibe.

It came out okay, but I still think my eye shape is just not conducive to a smoky eye. That's okay, as it takes longer to create than I want to invest on a work day, anyhow :-)  Of note when I used the pencil after a month of it laying around - the powder pigment had hardened and it was difficult to lay down color, perhaps due to oils from my eye when I last used it.  Sharpening the pencil solved that problem and I'm hoping that won't be the case each time I use it.

Items used for this FOTD (links are to full reviews):

• stila One Step Bronze as a primer
• Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener
• bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream 05 mixed with a dab of Becca's Ever-Matte Shine Proof Foundation in Buff
• Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Medium
• Estee Lauder Lover's Blush
• bareMinerals Barely Nude 5-in-1 BB Cream Eyeshadow
• Estee Lauder Indigo Smoke Magic Powder Smoky Stick
• Estee Lauder Tempting Mocha and Korres Grey Brown Base shadows
• Lorac Front of the Line Pro Liquid Eyeliner in Navy
• Inika Blonde Bombshell eyebrow pencil
• Smashbox X-rated mascara
• Model Co. Illusion lip pencil topped with NYX Tres Leches Intense Butter Gloss
• Le Metier de Beaute Peau Vierge Correcteur and Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Pressed Powder