Wanderlust | Julep Subscription Box August 2014

"I believe it's time for another adventure."

Wanderlust - noun, a strong innate desire to rove or travel about.

Origin: 1850–55; < German, equivalent to wander(n) to wander + Lust desire; see lust

I am guilty of being attracted to this box because of it's name "Wandelust."  If money was no object, I would surely travel the world... lol..  Although it's not the world right now, I still wish to rove about and see new places and experience new things. Why is summer in Canada sooooo short? :-(  So now, we try to do as much as possible and soak up the heat as much as we can.  I am so dreading the coming of winter right now... I am gearing up for the cold winter months by racking in some polishes, lol.  Then I'll sit by the warm fire and do nails... for now, I will show you the polishes that come in my mail faster than I could use them... wa ha ha!!!

Poolside Collection | July 2014 Julep Maven Subscription Box and a Little Customer Service Story

I just received my August 2014 Subscription Box called Wanderlust in the mail today.  I am very excited to show you that box.  Aren't the colors super pretty?  I am excited about this Stardust Finish as the first one I got was super pretty.  But first, Let me show you what I got in the July 2014 Poolside Collection box...

HELEN by Julep | Polish Swatch {My 100th post, wow!!!}

Helen - smoky pastel, lavender creme. 
I like how unassuming this color is, yet it is cheerful, not dark. Perfect for those days when you would like a well polished finger tips without the screaming "look at me! look at me" lol...

WANDERLUST - Another Julep Box | July and August 2014

Poolside Collection | Julep July 2014

 

Hmmm, just wanting to share my selections for July 2014 from the Julep Poolside collection.  It's that time again when Julep offers the 'window' for selecting what you would like to receive in your monthly box.  That window is now open for August.  I was a little disappointed that this window is already open when I haven't received my July box in the mail yet.  I almost forgot what I got in my July box until I revisited this draft that I made last month.

Wish Upon a Star | Chome Polishes from Julep | OMD2 Theme: Duochrome

"Pleasant dreams may come true, it can happen to you... 

when you're young at heart."

-- Frank Sinatra

Party's Over | Julep Glitter Remover

Glitter mani is on the rise.  It has gained much popularity nowadays.  

No surprise there, I think. All girls have sparkle in them.  

Don't we just love things that shine?
There is an abundance of glitter designs that can inspire us.  

But many, myself included, shy away from it because of the removal annoyance.  

Yes, it's not that easy to remove a glitter mani.  

I wanted to try this product for a long time now.  But I waited for good sales to grab one.  

Yay me!!! When the price was right, I ordered it and now it's finally here.  

Let's see how it works, shall we?

Red Flowers and Golden Glitter

Monica - Dark pink, almost red polish with blueish-purple and silver micro glitters. 

Puprle Please (Cult Cosmetics May 2014 Black Box Review)

Happy Sunday Evening Everyone!

I hope that you had a refreshingly nice weekend. How nice it is to have sunny and warm days... May you have gained new experiences to learn from and new moments to cherish forever...

Today, I want to share with you my experience with my first BlackBox complimentary of Cult Cosmetics (as I posted in my previous post, this was a box I won through their Instagram contest. Wahoo!!!)

CULT Black Box | My First Box :)

Happy Thursday Ladies!  A few weeks ago, I joined a contest on Instagram sponsored by Cult Cosmetics.  And I actually won!  Yahoo!!!  The doorbell rang while I was having my breakfast... and walah!  You know what happens right?  The breakfast took second place and I immediately did my much anticipated box-reveal to see what I have won. Please click on continue reading to see more photos of this much awaited prize :)

Julep Nail Polish Haul (Oscars Special Sales, Late Post :)

In this haul I have:
2 Oscars gold-sequin bag
From left to right: Ava, Yumi, Paris, Greta and Anisa
Holly, Greta, 2 Oscars (golden-glitter), Monica, Wendy and Portia
2 Freedom Polymer TopCoats

Julep have been offering great deals a few days before their Maven Window.  A few girls have been commenting on Julep's FB page that they have been missing these sales.  I feel bad that just days prior to this, they spend over $25 US without the added perks.  So, this would be a kind-of FYI to my dear fellow Mavens. ;) If you are not into Julep yet, please allow me to elaborate. ;)

Pink Glamour and Glitter (Featuring Julep's Ava, Yumi and Paris)

Pink Glamour and Glitter 

Featuring Julep's Ava, Yumi and Paris

A floral design featuring "HOLLY" from Julep

It was another stormy day and the snow is piling fast outside.  The cold wind and the gloomy skies make everything outside the window dark and sad...  Good thing I could cuddle up in a blanket near this lovely fireplace and enjoy it's warmth.  Oh, keeping up with it made my hands and nails black with charcoal and my right thumbnail was compromised.  That is sad but I cared more for the warmth.  The clean-up afterwards inspired me to do a whole pampering-session for my hands and walah!  I got inspired to finish up the works with a nice nail art.

I started with "Holly" from Julep - a beautiful, shimmery, dark green with a bluish tone to it.  It applied quite nicely over my basecoat.  It was opaque and the consistency was great.  But I opted to apply two thin coats as usual.  I added "Portia" also from Julep, a mix of green, blue and silver glitters, over a gradient-dab of "Holly" for some pretty effect. The minty green is called "Jade" from Avon.

Then staring at the polish to dry, waiting for a few minutes... You know what happens next - Yup, to add this and that... and I came up with some flower petals...

Finished it up with my favorite topcoat - the Freedom Polymer from Julep. What do you think of the outcome?

Please do comment below and let me know your opinion.  I hope you have a happy and refreshing weekend :)

~* Maya *~

For more Nail Art designs, please visit my Nail Art Gallery

Thank you and have a fancy nails day! 

Instagram | Facebook | Etsy | YouTube | Pinterest

Julep Subscription: 

Frequency & Cost: $19.99/a month (price increases with add-ons)

[Thank you kindly if you use my referral link] 

Products: at least two nail polishes and one beauty product; or three nail polishes; or pure beauty products (your choice) 

Ships To: US and Canada 

Shipping Cost: FREE standard shipping (5 - 10 days) for "Julep Mavens" (subscriber)

Promo Code: use code FREEBOX or FREECOLOR to get your first box free! (small shipping fee applies for first order only; shipping is free with a minimum purchase of $10.00) 

If you'd like to know more about Julep, you can get more information about it here.

Have you heard about JULEP?

    

Nail art collection and 

How to get your first box free :)

    Many of you already know Julep and their Julep Maven Program.  For those who are new at this, it is essentially a Nail Polish and Beauty Products monthly subscription.  If you sign-up for this, you are then dubbed "Maven."
 

I just skipped this month's box :( so sad....

     How does it work? You can take a short fashion quiz at the beginning and then you are assigned a fashion style.  I took the quiz and I was dubbed the "Classic with a twist."  For the love of nail polish though, I opted instead for "It girl."  (Yes, you can change Fashion styles, lol)

From this, you are to receive either a box of 3 polishes or a box with 2 polishes plus a beauty product or a box with purely beauty products and no polishes. As of May 2014, Julep introduced a few more options such as customizing the contents of your box.

In the end, you can stick to the fashion style assigned to you based on your answers or try others styles by switching manually. Of course you can also get more than one box for that particular month or get the entire wardrobe (upgraded box)!  That means all the products in each style.  That is about 9 polishes and up to 2 beauty products.  Sometimes Mystery Boxes are also offered where as the name implies, you can't be too sure what you are going to get.  It will always have nail polishes of course. 

     Some girls had problems with being a Maven and eventually cancelled their accounts.  Personally, I love the polishes and I don't mind the subscription.  I can't always afford to get the monthly box.  So I am very glad that Julep allows you to skip a month for any number of months without loosing your membership.  Many complain that the polish does not stick well to the nails, therefore the manicure only last for a few days.  Well, this has always been the case for me even with other brands.  So I can't blame Julep for that.  Some complain about the formula or the consistency... bad frizzy brushes and the like... I must be a very good girl because I haven't had such troubles... yet :)  Seriously speaking, I think this are random occurrences which are unavoidable if you are producing thousands of polishes.  Customer service has always been accommodating as per my experience.

    

Smart Shopping
This is regular price $84.00
Got it only for $35.00 :)

     Price? A bottle of polish is very pricey ($14.00 or $11.20 for mavens).  This is so if you buy the polish at regular price.  My advice?  Stick to the monthly box or shop during special sales like a "warehouse sale"  or during special holidays.  You will be able to get polishes for as low as $2.50 each!  

For example, I have been drooling over Ophra's Favorite Things Collection but it cost $84.00. That's steep.  So I waited and waited and it paid off!!!  During the past "warehouse sale" it costs only $35.00 (see photo).  What do you say to that?  Other polishes were, as I mentioned as low as $2.50... Well, they were $4.99.  But when you do the Beauty-Bio quiz, you get a promo code for 50% off...  See what I mean by shopping during sales?  Now that is smart shopping :)

    

The three bottles on the right were from my first box ever.
I paid a penny for that :)
The rest is the Glamour Box Collection
I got for FREE courtesy of the referral program.

     Another perk that I really like is the referral program.  When you refer a friend, you get 1000 JULES (referral points).  Buying a monthly box gives you at least 300 points.  Jules increases as you upgrade your box. 

Your birthday and Julep anniversary earn your Jules as well.  This month, I had both my birthday and anniversary.  Hence, I was able to collect enough points to get me the "Party's Over" glitter remover set for free. 

What's the benefit?  Well, well... You can get a free monthly box of any style for 2000 points!  Or you can get the entire wardrobe for 5000 points! Guess what I did?  I told all my friends and family about it, showed them a couple of polishes and told them I want to earn a free box.  Then 5 of my ever wonderful, loving family and friends signed up and I got the points I needed to get the entire month's collection.  The happy, happy thing about this is... when I accumulated the points, the month's collection included the Polymer Topcoat and Oxygen Treatment.  Plus 2 bottles of polishes extra with the Lacquer Jewelry box!  How awesome was that?  Yup, I hit the jackpot, lol...

So dear, if you want to join Julep please give the referral bonus to a friend.  If you don't know anyone, uhmmm, I will be more than happy to refer you, lol... (no, really :)  O yeah, I got me the DD cream and concealer as well.  Cause you know, I had enough Jules.  Awesome huh? :)

     Overall, I love being a Julep Maven.  I wish that one day I would win a Golden box, where you get the entire collection as a prize.  Indeed, free! One Maven gets this every month.  Sometimes you can find a really great surprise on the box too like a gift card or vacation... yes vacation... I have not won any of these... but who knows?  Someday?

Would you be interested in knowing more about Julep?



Basics:

Frequency & Cost: Starts from US $24.99/a month or $19.99 if you pre-pay for three months each time. Price increases with add-ons, upgrades and contents-customization.

Products: at least two nail polishes and one beauty product; or three nail polishes; or pure beauty products (your choice).  You may swap and add products to customize.  Or you may also shop for individual products and deals besides the subscription box.

Perks:  New Mavens earns a "Skip" every 6 months.  You may also choose to send out your box to someone else as a gift.

Ships To: US and Canada 

Shipping Cost: FREE standard shipping (5 - 10 days) for Mavens (subscriber)

Promo Code: Use code FREEBOX or FREECOLOR to get your first box free! (small shipping fee applies for first order only; Shipping for free box is waived with a minimum purchase of $10.00) 

Point System: Referrals and Subscription purchases earns reward points called "Jules," redeemable for free Julep Monthly Boxes or add-ons.  Referrals who order for the first time will earn you 1000 Jules (2000 Jules = 1 free subscription box).  Subscription boxes earns at least 300 Jules and increases with upgrades.

Thank you kindly if you sign-up using my referral link.
Or copy/paste this URL in your browser: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/35704/

If you'd like more information, please feel free to 
email me at prettynailsandtea@gmail.com
or send me a message on my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pretty.Nails.And.Tea
or send me a direct message on my Instagram @prettynails_andtea
or kik me @pnat_jar

I am looking forward to hear from you...
~*Maya*~