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Continuing my "from the vault" posts for the end of the year, I'm showing you an older one that I just didn't get a chance to show you back when I swatched it.
Julep
Evangeline
Continued after the jump...
Okay so...you guys may already have read my thoughts on the bottles, but in case you missed it, I'm not mincing any words - we'll talk about that first. I hate Julep's bottles! I don't hate the "idea" of them - they store well. I am just not a fan of them from a practical standpoint.
First, they only hold 8 mL - and for the price (this one retailed for $14 - I haven't checked in a while but I got this in a Mystery Box, so it was less) that's not very much polish. Second, since the bottles are tall and skinny, the wands are longer and hold too much polish, which isn't easy to scrape off against the sides in this bottle shape. So you're always trying not to flood everything. Third, they tip easily, which means you either need 3 hands or you have to put the wand/brush all the way back into the bottle if you have to stop to scrape off any excess polish (from the longer wand) from the sides of your nails where it flooded. Which means starting all over trying to wipe the excess polish.
Now I've been polishing my nails for 30+ years and of course I can do it with this brush/bottle combo. But it is more difficult and a bit frustrating. They do have some pretty colors, but it has to be pretty unique and have a great formula for me to decide it's "worth it" for me.
Evangeline is worth the trouble for me.
Evangeline is a rusty orange scattered holo polish that has a great formula. It's perfect in one coat and I love that it isn't a strong holo and dries to a satin finish rather than a high shine. These are probably the exact reasons some of you won't like it! But it's far and away my favorite Julep I've tried.
One coat...
Two coats...
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I think this is just gorgeous and the formula was fantastic. No issues (with the polish) at all. No top coat for the photos, but of course you can add one if you like super shiny. Again, if you were expecting a linear holo or even a really strong scattered holo, you'll be disappointed. I much prefer this type of holo to strong linears though, so I was pleased.
What do you think? At the time it was an "unreleased holo" but it's available now on Julep's site I believe. And I think I heard Ulta is also carrying Julep? To be honest, this is the only one I might ever consider (so far) paying full price for from Julep. It's really lovely.
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Sephora carries some Julep too, not a lot though.
ReplyDeleteI am always happy when I see somebody else complaining about the tiny bottle size for the price! I subscribed to Julep for a few months, and the quality of the colours I got was super-erratic. Some were fine, a few were totally unusable. But what really drove me to unsubscribe was the discovery that $14 retail, or $11.20 for "mavens", or about $6.66 if you pick the box that has three polishes in it, was a terrible deal! $6.66 is not as bad - the equivalent of paying $13.32 for a regular-sized bottle - but the per-bottle prices are horrifying. The bottles are so small that if you buy one individually at the Maven price, it's the same as paying $22.40 for a bottle of polish. And they're charging the retail public the equivalent of $28 a bottle. This ain't Chanel!
The other downside, of course, is that if you happen to get a color you really love in your box, you will run out of it because the bottle is miniscule. (And then have to pay the higher price!)
The main thing though, for me, was the quality of the brushes, polishes, and descriptions/photos. The lighter colors never dried right, even with thin coats - they would wrinkle up and smear like crazy. And often they'd describe something as, for example, a warm coral that was really a ballet pink, or a chocolate brown that turned out to be nearly black. Sometimes it would be a khaki that looked nice in the picture but turned out to be indescribably awful in person.
I finally figured out that if I wanted to spend $20 a month on nail polish, I.could be getting 2-10 full-size shades that I loved and really needed, at the drugstore or online, instead of 2-3 tiny bottles in what was essentially a crapshoot/grab bag scenario.
Hahaha! Yeah I totally agree. I never got into the maven box thing myself. Something always held me back and I'm glad. But I did get a few mystery boxes along the way and they were "okay" - nothing spectacular until this one.
DeleteThe price/bottle size is irritating but it doesn't bother me TOO much. It's their product and they get to charge what they want and more power to them if they get it. For me the main thing is the bottle/awkward application. Every time I pull one out to wear I see that Meme: Ain't Nobody Got Time For That! It's just such an irritation to me. LOL!
This is gorgeous! And I have to say that your nails are lovely :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously love this one!
ReplyDeleteWOW this color is soooo beautiful!
ReplyDeleteJulep isn't available in Germany :(
ReplyDeleteI agree - do not like the Julep bottles. And they charge too much. But this is a gorgeous color!
ReplyDeleteI didn't knew the bottles hold such a small quantity of polish ,.. Too bad! Even though all swatches I've seen the colors look absolutely gorgeous.. But for 8ml so much money .. No thanks, I'd rather buy OPI :)
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered if the quality of Julep polish justified its price. I won't even try it because of the bottle design alone. It would irritate the heck out of me! The pricing breakdown by Dani S. above is really something to think about. I prefer getting a full bottle - 14-15 ml as opposed to 8!
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