Product Review: Joan by Julep

Last week, while looking around the internet for various nail art / manicure blogs, I kept hearing about some brand called Julep. After visiting their website and signing up for the mailing list, I was offered a free trial box (for which I only had to pay the shipping, which was $3.99). How could I pass this up?! I went for it. And yesterday, my package arrived. Hurrah!

Yay!

Let me explain in more detail how the Maven program works. After ordering my free trial box, I decided that I would sign up to be a Maven. Basically you take a quiz to determine your style profile (of which there are 4). After that you're taken to a preview of past boxes in all the style categories, just to give you an idea of what they offer. On the 20th of each month, you're sent a preview of the box they plan on sending you. If you hate the contents, you're allowed to switch boxes entirely, or you can opt to send your box to a friend for that month, OR you can opt out of the box for that month completely. The option to change my mind was a big plus for me, since I am the most indecisive person ever (I took the style quiz three times and switched it up when I signed up). The boxes are shipped on the 27th, the same day you're charged on your credit card.

When you sign up for the Maven program, boxes are $19.99 per month with free shipping. You can pick any add-ons upon checkout starting at around $5, which isn't bad. With every box you receive, you earn points called Jules which you can redeem for free stuff. The box above is a sample box for the It Girl style profile. It contains, from the top: a silvery shimmer polish called Rebel, a teal shimmer called Marion, and a dark burgundy red with gold shimmer called Joan. All their nail polishes are "3-free" which means they're free of the three most horrible chemicals found in nearly all of the nail polishes out there, which is a huge plus. It also came with a little packet of pedicure cream, which Julep calls the best ever. I'll have to review that one later. That reminds me: not only do they offer nail products, but beauty products as well--nail conditioners, hand cream, and the like.

Here's what Joan looks like on my nails, through my phone's camera:

Pretty, no?

In real life, the colour is a bit less purple and leans more towards the dark red / burgundy part of the spectrum. Wearing it feels like it's a better and more fancy version of a dark red that you would wear if you were a classic 50s beauty, like my grandmother. The gold sparkles really give it a kick. I just love it. The polish itself goes on smoothly, and if you were really in a rush you could probably get away with a single coat. I always do two just to make sure it looks even. They are high quality polishes that really deliver on their promise of fantastic colours, and without the big 3 chemicals to boot.

All this adds up to a pretty sweet deal! I get a ton of new pretty polishes to try, for a reasonable price, which is probably equal to or less than I would spend on nail polish each month (no lie, I'm a nail polish addict these days). I highly recommend the Julep Maven program!

(If anyone reading this wants to try the Julep program, feel free to click on this referral link: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/117750/ and you can enter the unique invitation code 9066750.)

Review: Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream

This stuff is so great that I just had to write about it as soon as possible. A few days ago I splurged and got a little something for myself. I had recently seen some ads while flipping through Elle magazine for a couple of new makeup products labeling themselves as "BB cream." "What was this mysterious new product?" I thought to myself. After comparing two ads that looked extremely similar, claiming mostly the same benefits, I decided to try them out next time I got the chance. I imagined them as translucent, colour-free balms such as Benefit's the PoreFessional pore minimizing balm. Luckily my local Shoppers Drug Mart carried both of these products and had testers out for both as well, and I discovered that I was wrong. One was the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream, the other was Marcelle's BB Cream. I put one of the products on one half of my face, and another on the other side, and the difference was immediately clear--Marcelle's was heavier and more obvious-looking, and also looked darker (which is a problem when you're already testing the lightest shade they have.) Maybelline was the clear winner, and let me tell you why.

The product itself is more or less a tinted moisturizer. This kind of thing is appealing to me because 90% of the time I dislike the look of regular liquid foundation; it's too obvious, looking heavy and makeup-y and far too much coverage for daily use. This type of makeup is only appropriate for very few situations and should be saved for a fancy night out, or a photoshoot, when your skin needs to look absolutely flawless as a backdrop for dramatic eyes and lips. But for more casual occasions, like heading to class or out for a meal with friends, I hate feeling over-done and too made up. I hate feeling like it looks like I'm trying too hard. I'm fortunate to have pretty good skin; save for some minor imperfections it behaves pretty well most of the time.
In the past year or so I'd been gifted a few tester tubes of Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer, and really loved the medium coverage they provided. I could put a little of it in the main areas of my face (nose, cheeks, chin) and other spots if needed. Then I would apply a bit of powder to set it all (PurMinerals, which by the way is awesome). My tester tube was on its last legs, forcing me to squeeze the living daylights out of it to get the last remaining bit, and thus I needed to find a replacement. Maybelline's Dream Fresh is that replacement. It is smooth, light, and feels fresh upon application. It blends easily and doesn't set too quickly. It proclaims itself as an "8-in-1 beauty balm" with the eight benefits listed on the back of the tube:

1. With SPF30 helps prevent sunburn.
2. Helps blur the look of imperfections.
3. Creates a natural looking glow.
4. Skin looks visibly smoother.
5. Compliments skin-tone.
6. Hydrates all day.
7. Feels fresh.
8. Oil free.

The last four of these eight benefits can pretty much be thrown away; they're basically useless, but eight is a higher number than four, and thus they are listed as benefits. It is lovely that it's oil-free, but so are most things we put on our face nowadays. The one that was a clincher for me was the SPF30. Until now, the highest SPF factor I had in my makeup bag was SPF20, and that was my Laura Mercier tester tube of tinted moisturizer. The only facial SPF30 product I own is a daily moisturizer by Aveeno which claims to calm redness by way of deep daily hydration. This is a lie. This product is so extremely greasy that there is absolutely no way anyone could use it as a daily moisturizer. It feels just like regular sunscreen, and smells like it too. For this reason it has been living in my purse as a last-minute bit of sunscreen in case I end up in the sun for longer than I planned, or if I'm going to the beach. (Even then, it's so thick that it barely absorbs into my skin, and it usually just wipes off with the slightest amount of moisture on my face, which in the scorching summer heat is pretty common.) So I had been looking for something better. My best option seemed to be an expensive SPF serum that was upwards of $50 for a teeny tiny bottle. Until I discovered this stuff. It's fantastic and comes in I think 4 or 5 shades. It's extremely reasonable at about $15 per 30ml tube. And if you're like me, you'll only need a little dab about half the size of the tip of your finger to cover the important bits of your face. You can wear it alone or under a powder. For day or night. And even out in the sun. This stuff definitely gets my seal of approval for value and quality. It has been added to the short list of products that I buy over and over again because they're so great.

NOTE: there was no entry in the GoodGuide databases about this product at the time I wrote this article, likely since it's such a new product. I will however keep checking back occasionally and will update with new information as it becomes available.

Covergirl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm

There was a time last summer when I was obsessed with tinted lip balms. I wanted to find something I could wear out of the house every day, whether I was getting fully gussied up or not, just so I didn't feel completely naked. I'm not opposed to leaving the house while wearing no makeup; however "no makeup" for me is defined as a coat of mascara and a swipe of eyeliner at the very least. So I wanted to add something to the routine that wasn't as serious as a lipstick, not as sticky as a lip gloss, and nicer-looking than just plain old lip balm, which can just leave my lips looking waxy and dull.

Enter the dreamy commercials for CoverGirl's NatureLuxe line of cosmetics, featuring lots of green, wispy scarves (included on the line's packaging!) and green, wispy songstress Taylor Swift.

Not pictured: Taylor Swift.

I'm not really a fan of T-Swift (I think her songwriting capacities are vastly overrated) but I do think she works rather well as a spokesgirl for this line. She boasted the products' "light-as-air-feel" and a lack of "heavy synthetics." She herself also happens to be fairly light and breezy, without a whole lot of... well, substance (zing!). I, being a fan of products that have a light feel, decided to give their Gloss Balm a try. It even says right on the tube: "luxury touched by nature." Who wouldn't love that?

The GoodGuide page for this product is reassuring, if you dig a little deeper and expand the ratings categories. While upon first glance, Covergirl only gets a 6.0 in the Health category, expansion reveals that this product actually gets a rating of 10 for containing no ingredients that raise a health concern. Success! A product that doesn't contain a bunch of useless junk. A hover over the little question mark next to the rating for "ingredient disclosure" reveals that since Covergirl isn't too great about including all of a product's ingredients on their labels, they cap the rating at 6.0. Still, it feels good knowing that the only questionable ingredient in this product is Octinoxate, which provides the SPF factor, and is only questionable since it has apparently been banned in Japan. This doesn't worry me, because Japan tends to allow many things that should be banned (underwear-filled vending machines top that list) and thus doesn't really influence my decision-making.

Also: a machine which vends lobsters. WTF Japan?!

On to the consumer experience. The packaging is extremely cute. Tiny and light green in colour. A satisfying click exudes as you turn the dial to extend the product. And the product itself looks nice as well. I decided on colour 215: "Hibiscus." It's a nice pink that isn't too bubble-gum and not too dusty rose, if you know what I mean. It smells delightful, and glides on smoothly with no tugging. There is no taste (which is fine; I'm not 8). It feels smooth, not slimy, and not sticky. The colour is true upon application, and there was no issue with misleading colour swatches since you can see the product right through the packaging (I have a massive beef with misleading colour samples, as I'll rant about in my next review on Burt's Bees tinted lip balm). The price point is a bit high, as one 1.9g tube will set you back $9.49 at Shoppers Drug Mart. However I did find that it lasted me about 3 months, even with regular (almost obsessive) use. If the price is a deal-breaker for you, it is available at a discount through Amazon.com at about $5.99 (and even down to $3 if you're willing to gamble on third-party sellers).

The balm is a bit thin, which is great for a weightless feel, but wouldn't hold up on my lips after having a single drink or a smooch. The solution to this problem of unreliable colour is lipliner. This stuff used to be something I only wore in one colour: red. It was for use on a single occasion: to be paired with my getting-seriously-gussied-up red lipstick. But since I just love the colour of this gloss balm, and how it smells, and feels, and the fact that it has an SPF factor of 15 (gotta protect these babies!) I sometimes want this colour to last a tad longer than an hour or so. And so I have been pairing it on such occasions with Annabelle lipliner in 010 "Natural Rose" to make the dream last a little longer. Since GoodGuide doesn't seem to have any knowledge of Annabelle's cosmetics line, I can't really do a full write-up on it. But since I've decided to include it, I will mention that it goes on smoothly, doesn't tug, and is firm enough that it doesn't just squish into your lip when you try to put it on. And it's pretty long-lasting. Problem solved!

So admittedly, I've had to step up my "no makeup" routine ever-so-slightly. It now includes mascara, eyeliner, gloss balm, and sometimes lipliner. Perfect for those outings for which I don't have to make the effort to wash my hair, but still want to look decent since I'll have to be speaking with people (I don't want to terrify the occupants of my teeny-tiny town). Like trips to the grocery store. Or the post office.  Or the bank.

Hooray for looking decent! Of course, there will always be days on which I really don't care, and will walk out of the house with absolutely nothing on my face. But those days are gradually decreasing as I continue to realize that most of the time, I like being a girl, and it's fun to play with colour and actually use all these products I continue to buy compulsively. Hopefully this gives you a better picture of this product and whether or not it's right for you. Happy shopping!