(Spoilers) Julep April 2014

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Quote: Originally Posted by DivaSaurusRex /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Money speaks ladies.
I figure my complaining isn't going to do anything, and I'm not throwing any more money at some of the garbage julep tries. I've given up on mystery boxes. It was hard at first, but I don't miss them anymore. If we really want to see any change, we have to show them we aren't going to pay for this. It's tough, but julep is a business, and the first priority of a business is money. Always. This is how they're going to get the message.
I agree!

I quit getting mystery boxes this year because the "mystery" is gone.  I know what will be in the them:  nothing I want or need.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Bflopolska /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Quote: Originally Posted by ivorwenlindorie /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Just wondering if you had any exciting updates?
The mystery package turned out to be an Open Sky order of a lip stain-lip gloss set. It was sent so quickly it didn't occur to me that it was Open Sky--they are hit and miss, much of the time the shipping is almost as bad as Hautelook's. This time I lucked out and it was shipped the day after ordering. I had expected two to three weeks before I saw it. Also, it came from a distributor in NJ  and did not show up as Open Sky on the tracking email sent.

Of course, this boils down to a replacement Julep box that still has not gone out!
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Sorry to hear that, im still waiting on my April box. Julep is hit or miss with their shipping for me the last two orders I placed came so fast I couldn't believe it.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by LethalLesal /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Here are the pictures that I promised with a bonus of my son, who gets more excited about the wrapping materials and boxes that my beauty products come in than I do about the products themselves!





It's the Bombshell Welcome Box, Billie Jean (which I'm not too happy with, and I'm going to have to buy a polish thinner to be able to use), Monica, and the Stardusters duo. Super loving the Mighty Serum too.  I have issues with hangnails, so hopefully this will be my solution! 



Also, here's my Stardusters duo painted on.  My nails aren't as pretty as most of yours probably are, as I type for a living, and if I don't keep them short I lose my mind!


Nice haul, & your son is too cute!

 
Quote: Originally Posted by wishingwillow /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  So. I caved.

What is it with 2 a.m. shopping?

Anyway, I ended up with Emerson Mystery Box. I debated back and forth, but since I have a Hard Candy shade in a speckled purple tone from last yeart his seemed the better option. I ended up getting it even though the codes no longer seem to work, WITH the mystery option add on. I hope I don't regret everything in the morning. Mostly I think this was the result of months of restraint, as my husband was laid off for nearly six months and things got tight. But he is working again and things are looking up and...

Now I have more nail polish.

I'll let everyone know how that goes.
Glad to hear things are looking up for you and your husband got a job.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by LaStupenda /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  The mystery boxes as of late have sucked hard. I was *thinking* about getting the Emerson box, but for my hard earned $25, I got THIS from Sephora instead which was $25, plus I got my VIB 15% discount. Much better:


Great choice!

 
Well, i got a response to my email. They sent me a gift card for $14. I am okay with this. I will spend it to get good colors of nail polish. Ill probably have to pay shipping... Still, Im surprised they did anything at all. Im not quite sure how I feel. I dont think i will ever purchase a mystery box again. Ever.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Saffyra /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Well, i got a response to my email.

They sent me a gift card for $14. I am okay with this. I will spend it to get good colors of nail polish. Ill probably have to pay shipping...

Still, Im surprised they did anything at all. Im not quite sure how I feel. I dont think i will ever purchase a mystery box again. Ever.
good for you. have you been a longtime subscriber? what did your email say?

 
Im not a maven. I cancelled after my free box. I cant use that much polish! I just said how disappointed I was and that a spring box should have spring colors. That Id felt misled. And that I would appreciate it if they sent me at least two spring colors as a replacement. Oh and that I felt I couldn't spend my money with a business thst did this to their customers. it wasn't an angry email. Was more of an " I'm so disappointed in you" email. And i spent the $14, used perk30, got 5 polishes and spent my own money on one often plus shipping. So, from their perspective, it worked because I spent $12 with them (8$ was tax and shipping so really only $4).

 
For those of you who bought Brigette, how do you like it? I passed on it because I thought it was just another white polish like Nicolette (which I already have). But then I realized how thick and goopy Nicolette is, and I remembered it was described as a "French white". Maybe Nicolette is better for classic French manicures and Brigette is better for an all over white nail? Wonder if I should buy Brigette at some point...

 
So I tried phoebe out this weekend and boy is it a stainer!  I put it on Saturday night and when I went to take it off last night, it was like it turned into food coloring the second the remover hit it.  My skin got stained just holding the cotton balls to remove it.  I had to wash my hands with a nail scrubber 3 times before i could get my nails to a point that I felt comfortable painting them again because I didn't want to lock it in.  So..  fair warning.  I think that one is going to go on my trade list.  

Last night I tried out bailey and it is SO goopy and thin.  It's almost like a crelly. It bubbled pretty badly so I think that's going to end up on my trade list as well.

Maren has a really nice application, though and looks pretty without a top coat but it really pops when you throw a top coat over it.

 
Hopefully they're learning from their mistakes with these mystery boxes that you can't just throw crap in a box and expect your customers to be happy.

 
Ok so I ordered the Kimberly after freaking out that the solo polish would sell out by the time the mystery boxes stopped, as Fiona is sold out already after it was an add on. I should add Kimberly is my name and i was UBER excited to have a very pretty namesake polish FINALLY after being a maven for a year. 

Gotta say my biggest upset is that the Kimberly box stated it was BOHO Glam  which was the only reason I buckled because there were a lot of shades I didn't have yet and wanted in BG. Now I see your spoiler at almost half are not even BOHO shades, VERY upset and after my third mystery box I'm never buying one again.

As for April I got the polish upgrade and Fiona and I'm thrilled with every single shade even through some take multiple coats. I'm wearing the light pink today and it took about 4 coats to get mostly opaque, after taking off Phoebe for a week which stained yes but that's why I polish before bed, so that all staining and mistakes come off in my morning shower. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by disconik /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  So I tried phoebe out this weekend and boy is it a stainer!  I put it on Saturday night and when I went to take it off last night, it was like it turned into food coloring the second the remover hit it.  My skin got stained just holding the cotton balls to remove it.  I had to wash my hands with a nail scrubber 3 times before i could get my nails to a point that I felt comfortable painting them again because I didn't want to lock it in.  So..  fair warning.  I think that one is going to go on my trade list.  

Last night I tried out bailey and it is SO goopy and thin.  It's almost like a crelly. It bubbled pretty badly so I think that's going to end up on my trade list as well.

Maren has a really nice application, though and looks pretty without a top coat but it really pops when you throw a top coat over it.
I had the same problem with Bailey.  It pooled on the sides of my nails (and since it's sheer that looked really stupid), took forever to dry, and bubbled on me too.  It was also so goopy, like actually had strings of polish hanging off the brush, that I got annoyed and just took it off.

I love Julep's colors and finishes but I have been getting a lot more into OPI and Zoya lately because their formulas are so much easier to work with most of the time.  When I used Tatum from the April box it took so long to dry.  I did two thin coats and waited for them to dry in between and still I had dents in my nails two hours later because the polish didn't harden properly.  I rarely have that problem with OPI, Zoya, or China Glaze.

It's making me rethink being a subscriber.  While the polishes are gorgeous I feel like most of the time when I do a Julep manicure it's going to be a two hour process between base coat, 2-3 layers of polish, and top coat just because of the dry time.  Last night I did an OPI manicure and was done within an hour with two coats.  Plus the Julep bottles are so tiny.  I used Kayla this weekend and, no joke, it took almost 1/4 of a bottle to do a mani and my nails aren't even long right now.  

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by prettylights /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I had the same problem with Bailey.  It pooled on the sides of my nails (and since it's sheer that looked really stupid), took forever to dry, and bubbled on me too.  It was also so goopy, like actually had strings of polish hanging off the brush, that I got annoyed and just took it off.

I love Julep's colors and finishes but I have been getting a lot more into OPI and Zoya lately because their formulas are so much easier to work with most of the time.  When I used Tatum from the April box it took so long to dry.  I did two thin coats and waited for them to dry in between and still I had dents in my nails two hours later because the polish didn't harden properly.  I rarely have that problem with OPI, Zoya, or China Glaze.

It's making me rethink being a subscriber.  While the polishes are gorgeous I feel like most of the time when I do a Julep manicure it's going to be a two hour process between base coat, 2-3 layers of polish, and top coat just because of the dry time.  Last night I did an OPI manicure and was done within an hour with two coats.  Plus the Julep bottles are so tiny.  I used Kayla this weekend and, no joke, it took almost 1/4 of a bottle to do a mani and my nails aren't even long right now.  
I put Bailey on this weekend too and it was honestly the worst polish I have ever used. I had the exact same problems as you and I also took it off immediately because it looked so bad on. I had all the patience in the world when putting it on and it was still a goopy mess.  

OPI is my all time favorite nail polish brand and I also really enjoy Zoya. After using those polishes, the long bottle and brush of Julep is such a pain! I have a large Julep collection and their polishes have a long wear-time for me (when the formulas are right) but I have been skipping more often than not lately and one of the main reasons I still subscribe is to not lose my skip privilege. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by prettylights /img/forum/go_quote.gif
.....
when I do a Julep manicure it's going to be a two hour process between base coat, 2-3 layers of polish, and top coat just because of the dry time.  Last night I did an OPI manicure and was done within an hour with two coats.  Plus the Julep bottles are so tiny.  I used Kayla this weekend and, no joke, it took almost 1/4 of a bottle to do a mani and my nails aren't even long right now.  ....

Which top coat do you use? Is it a quick dry?   I can't imagine doing a manicure that took 2 hours (or even an hour for that matter) in any brand of polish, I just don't have the patience!   For me, I do my manicures before bed (the only time I have to do it)- base coat (either the julep one or either an essie or zoya), 2 coats julep (though I def have 1 coater juleps, which are my favorites) and then seche vite on top.  10 minutes, 15 tops.  I never have problems with smudging (or bubbling) or not drying (it's dry/hard enough that it won't stick to the sheets) and of course by morning, it's obviously 100% hard/dry. 

Do you live in a very humid area maybe?   It blows my mind that a mani could take hours... (if not doing super fancy nail art stuff that is) 
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   I didn't even think I was that fast at applying polish, but maybe I am.... dang.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Lily V /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Which top coat do you use? Is it a quick dry?   I can't imagine doing a manicure that took 2 hours (or even an hour for that matter) in any brand of polish, I just don't have the patience!   For me, I do my manicures before bed (the only time I have to do it)- base coat (either the julep one or either an essie or zoya), 2 coats julep (though I def have 1 coater juleps, which are my favorites) and then seche vite on top.  10 minutes, 15 tops.  I never have problems with smudging (or bubbling) or not drying (it's dry/hard enough that it won't stick to the sheets) and of course by morning, it's obviously 100% hard/dry. 

Do you live in a very humid area maybe?   It blows my mind that a mani could take hours... (if not doing super fancy nail art stuff that is) 
icon_eek.gif
   I didn't even think I was that fast at applying polish, but maybe I am.... dang.
I also do my manis at night.  I use either Orly Rubberized base coat, Seche Vite base, or OPI Nail Envy Original.  I do like to let all layers dry thoroughly before applying the next, if possible, so maybe that's why it takes me so long.  That time also includes cuticle clean up with a q-tip.

For example when I did my Kayla mani on Thursday I used:  2 coats of nail envy (which dried fast), one coat of Julep Brigitte (this one took FOREVER to dry.  Almost a half hour later it was still smudging!), and 2 rather thin coats of Kayla with 15-20 minutes of dry time between coats.  Then I used Seche top coat.  The Seche did help dry the layers, but in the morning I still had a few nails with light smudges.  So all of that took about 1.5 hours and still wasn't dry completely when I went to bed.  I did get a TON of compliments on Kayla this weekend and the color is truly gorgeous (especially with the white underneath - it made the color pop) but still - that was a super long time for a mani.

Last night: 1 coat of OPI Nail Envy, 2 coats OPI I'm Indi-A Mood For Love, and one coat of Seche and that was about 1/2 hour and looks perfect today.

I live in Denver, it's very dry here, so I don't think it's the humidity.  Something about Julep polishes just takes so much longer to dry on me than a lot of my other polishes and I have no idea why.  Maybe it's my body chemistry??

 
Argghhh I've been wanting a caddy but refuse to pay $30 for it. I was going to get one during the PERK30 promo but decided against it. Now I get this:

bunny-gwp.jpg


Is 4 free polishes enough to make me cave?? It might be...

EDIT: Nevermind, this only works for certain polishes and I want none of them. Guess I'll continue waiting for the right deal to get a caddy.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Rachel S /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Argghhh I've been wanting a caddy but refuse to pay $30 for it. I was going to get one during the PERK30 promo but decided against it. Now I get this:

bunny-gwp.jpg


Is 4 free polishes enough to make me cave?? It might be...

EDIT: Nevermind, this only works for certain polishes and I want none of them. Guess I'll continue waiting for the right deal to get a caddy.
I was excited about the email because I have been looking at the caddy and thought it was a pretty good deal to get 4 free polishes with it. Then I saw the choice of polishes and was so disappointed! I wish they would allow you to choose your own instead of having a limited selection of left-over polishes. 

 
I'm still going to get the older polishes with the caddy. I've been wanting a caddy I can actually carry around, and I picked out five of the polishes you can choose (which four? Hmm). Nothing outstanding, but I'm not picky and like nearly all colors.

 
Girls, I need help! I bought myself an online gift card with one account using the PERK30 code and had it sent to my other account. But now I cannot find the email!?! Any idea how I can retrieve the gift card number??

Thanks!

 

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