Julep Boho Glam Maven Box for January

It has been forever since I took a Julep Maven box, but January's selections appealed to me enough to bite.  It was actually the beauty items as opposed to the nail polish colors that swayed me.  Julep has had hits and misses for me when it comes to their beauty products, so let's see which category January's offerings fall into.

But first, let's look at the polishes.  For the first time that I'm aware of, the Maven boxes featured only 1 polish color, and Boho Glam's was the uber pretty Galapagos teal crème Casey ($14).  However, those that replied to an email that Julep sent out would also receive one of three special effects metamorphic top coats.  I received the pink shifting Tyra.

I have yet to wear either, but here is how they look swatched on an enclosed card, including Tyra over Casey:

Now onto the beauty items.  The Boho Glam box included the Gel Eye Glider in Olive ($16), and I added on another one in Navy Smoke.  I have a bit of an addiction to eye pencils and have more than I could ever use up, but was interested in trying out Julep's formula, so there ya go.  And guess what?  It's quite good!  An added bonus was that both are matte, and I don't have a matte olive in my massive collection, so score!

These glide on easily and have good pigment that once it sets, is smudge proof.  Seriously, I rubbed them pretty vigorously, and they did not budge.  Don't be thrown by the black swatch below, as I also purchased some other products separately and got a Savvy box as a GWP.  The Savvy box was essentially a mystery surprise, and it included the black gel eye glider amongst other items. 

The other beauty item in January's Boho Glam box was the Sheer Coral Luxe Lip Conditioning Treatment ($24).  These are new tinted versions of the original Luxe Lip formula, which I've had and enjoyed in the past.

Sheer Coral adds just a hit of color with shimmer.  I do like the formula, which is non-sticky and feels very nourishing on my winter dry lips.  The Zamac applicator is indeed cold to the touch and feels quite nice when applying the gloss.

The ingredients include several that should keep lips in good shape, including Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Glycerin, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Oil, Tocopheryl (Vitamin E) Acetate, and Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax.  But don't expect color, because you are basically getting a sheer lip gloss.

Total box value was $84 with non-Maven pricing (Mavens get 20% off of regular priced products), and I payed $19.99.  Julep has introduced customizable tiers for new subscribers, but I've maintained my original account rather than pay the extra money for customization.  No need to go getting all fancy or anything :-)

Wearing Sheer Coral Lip Luxe and Olive Eye Glider

Mirenesse Mattfinity Lip Rouge in New York

Wowza, what a stunner this one is.  I've had a few other Mirenesse lip products, all received via Birchbox, and the quality has been consistently good with this Australian brand.  I even attempted to buy a few items direct from Mirenesse a while back, but found the changing selections and prices a bit confusing/infuriating, so cancelled my order before it shipped. 

But back to New York:  it's a gorgeous coral red that makes a statement.  Insanely pigmented, smooth, with a matte finish, and get this - comfortable to wear.  It's not often that a matte is this comfortable, at least in my experience.

I applied with the applicator and then smoothed out with my finger.  No doubt a brush would give a more precise line, but not bad considering my rushed in the morning routine.

Wear time was pretty good sans eating, as that did wear away the inner portion of the lips.  If I starved myself, I could probably get a good 6 hours of wear, but I'm not going to do that :-)  There is some slight transfer to cups when drinking, but the pigmentation is so good it doesn't seem to affect the look.  I experienced zero feathering or smudging.

New York is not an everyday kind of color for me, but maybe it should be.  I like how it looks.  If you don't feel like navigating Mirenesse's site yourself, there are some select products such as the Mattfinity Lip Rouge's at Birchbox.  I may have to acquire another color from the 10 shades available once my Birchbox dollars build up again.

Barely Nude 5-in-1 BB Cream Eyeshadow by Bare Minerals

I've been wanting to try the BB Cream Eyeshadows ($18) by Bare Minerals for quite a while now, so was happy when Ulta recently did a GWP that featured the shade Barely Nude. 

So what are the 5 in 1 benefits, exactly?  Well, they promise long wearing color that can be used to prime, brighten, smooth, and protect your eyes.  The protection comes in the form of SPF 15, which is nice.  I've actually got a discoloration on one of my eyelids which is no doubt due to sun exposure. 

I wore Barely Nude with no primer underneath, and it held up quite well on my oily lids.  There was some settling into my crease line by hour 8, but nothing too obvious.  Given that Barely Nude blends almost seamlessly into my own skin color, a darker shade may have made the line settling more obvious.  I did buy Elegant Taupe but have yet to try it out, so we shall see.

The finish is smooth, almost velvety, with barely noticeable shimmer bits lightly interspersed.  I did not find the color flat and thought it did make my starting to get crepey lids look a bit smoother.  I used a slightly darker matte shadow to lightly define (BFF from Pur Minerals Soul Mattes palette, which you can see here) and liner/mascara, but all in all a very easy look for mornings when I want an easy neutral eye. 

This cream shadow entry from Bare Minerals in available in 10 different neutral shades, and I think Barely Nude and Elegant Taupe will serve me well! 

NOTD: My Pointe Exactly Jelly Sandwich

I don't know what it is about the color gray, winter, and cold weather (actually, it's pretty obvious), but it seems like every year about this time I break out a gray polish.  This year it's a jelly sandwich with the uber sheer My Pointe Exactly and sparkly Pirouette My Whistle from the OPI 2012 New York City Ballet Soft Shades collection.

I'll be honest and say I like the concept of these better than the actual execution.  The pale gray is not the most flattering color on me, nor is it easy to get even coverage with the sheer tints.  I do adore Pirouette My Whistle, however, with it's delicate silver sprinkle of glitter.

What you see here is 3 layers of My Pointe Exactly alternated with 2 layers of the glitter.  Plus a little critter at the center of the camellia flower.  I'm not crazy about it (the manicure, not the critter), but hey, them's the breaks. 

So, here's a flashback to a previous January gray NOTD, just because:

Noot and Cassedy by Zoya

LSD 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil by Urban Decay

Now, I already owned the 24/7 Glide-On eye pencil in LSD, having received it in the Eye Vault that Urban Decay released several years ago.  However, it took receiving the travel sized version in a recent Ulta GWP to bring it back into my awareness. 

A navy shimmer with bright turquoise micro-sparkle, I like the effect that LSD gives along the upper and lower lash lines.  That's about as much sparkle as I'm comfortable with, plus LSD does not really lay down smooth opaque color, as you can see in the swatch.

I wear contact lens but had no issue with LSD irritating my eyes or with the micro-glitter migrating.  In general, Urban Decay 24/7 pencils wear well on my oily lids, although I do experience slight smudging in the corners of my eyes after 4-5 hours of wear.  I attribute that to the oil from my lids, which breaks down pretty much everything.

In this look, I'm wearing Maybelline's Creamy Beige Color Tattoo cream shadow as an all over base, and LSD along the upper and lower lash lines.  I used Lorac's Front of the Line Pro liquid eyeliner in Navy along the upper lash line for a bit more definition.  I like how it turned out!

Manic Revolution Lipstick by Urban Decay

Manic was actually the second Revolution lipstick from Urban Decay that I acquired, way back in August of 2013.  I didn't wear it until the fall of 2014, however, as I guess I wasn't into it's "soft wine" color until then.  I'm actually really enjoying it now, however!

I find the Revolution lipstick formula of the ones I've tried (see reviews for Fiend, Catfight, and Rapture) to be nicely pigmented, comfortable to wear, and moderately moisturizing.  Wear time is about 3 hours, which is the norm for me.

Manic does have a slight pink shimmer to it, which makes it the only non-cream Revolution lipstick I've tried thus far.  The shimmer is subtle, giving the finish more of a sheen than the gloss of the creams.

Since I do most of my shopping online, I rely heavily on reviews and swatch pictures prior to purchase (and Temptalia's product grades, almost always), and Manic is a color that is somewhat unique to my coral and peachy pink dominated collection.  It works well with my fair by warm toned complexion, leaning neither too warm or too cool in tone.  I like, and am glad I broke it out of it's involuntary isolation.

I know Urban Decay is releasing a sheer, more balmy version of some of the Revolution lip colors this spring called Sheer Revolution.  Not sure if I'll pick up any of those, but I'm definitely a fan of the original version!

Vasanti Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in Rose Gold and Acure Lip Lush in Date Worthy Reviews

Rose Gold Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil by Canadian brand Vasanti was one of my December Birchbox samples, and I'm really enjoying it as an eye brightener.  For a wide awake look, I rim my entire eye with Rose Gold and then proceed with the rest of my eye makeup.

The formula is very nice, as it glides on easily yet sets for a smudge free finish.  The color and formula reminds me of Tarte's SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Champagne, which was part of the 2012 LE holiday collection Eye Catchers set (review here).

Tarte Champagne

Rose Gold does lean more pink so they are not dupes, and both make for great eye highlighters.  Since Champagne was LE and no longer available, I'm glad to have the equally pretty Rose Gold in my arsenal.  Not that I will probably ever run out of any particularly eye pencil.  But still.

I'm also enjoying the Acure Lip Lush gloss in Date Worthy that was another December Birchbox sample.  The formula is thin but has some staying power, leaving my lips glossy and moisturized for a good 3 hours or so.  The color is sheer but does provide a light coral tan tint, taking it a bit beyond a clear gloss.  This is one of the few natural ingredient gloss formulas that is working for me, and at about $8 a tube, quite reasonably priced.  Good stuff.

Sigh.  Vacation is over and I'm back at work.  Which is not a bad thing, but I'm still switching mental gears.  Hope your New Year is treating you well!