JULEP: Holiday Glitter Collection - Part One

I've been a Julep subscriber, aka "Maven", since April of this year. For approx $20 US a month, you get a 2 lacquers and a treatment delivered to your doorstep. Subscribers have a choice between five color profiles:  American Beauty ("girl next door"), Boho Glam (artistic chic), Bombshell (sexy confidence), Classic With a Twist (neutrals), and It Girl (edgy) .  I don't see a whole lot of difference between the profiles, which can be changed (or skipped altogether) any month.  If you like one color in the Boho Glam set, and another color in the American Beauty set, it's an either/or proposition.  There's no mixie-matchie.  However, subscribers ARE offered the option of Buying The Whole Collection, at what amounts to a savings (2 polishes and a treatment for 19.99 OR 11 polishes and a treatment for about $50US).  FYI,, I've skipped more months than I've bought.  For the most part, I've been un-thusiastic about the choices.  This month, for the first time, I purchased the whole shebang!  Don't judge me.  We're talking glitter. ;)  Here are my thoughts...
 
Julep Maven's December 2012 Glitter Wardrobe is a collection of 11 glitter polishes, ranging from full-coat duochrome-y microglitters, to an explosion of chunky foils, suspended in clear coat.  Today, I'm going to focus on the "tamer", more subtle blingers in the group: the microglits.  Come back this weekend to check out my review and swatches for the remainder of this collection.  FYI...that's when the serious bling comes out.

The polishes I'm about to show you are highly pigmented and luminous.  All but one applied smooth - like room temperature butter (Dumb expression, I know.  It's not like I've ever painted my nails with butter.).  As with most glitter-formulated polishes, they wear like steel.  All swatches were painted over Palladio Moisture Surge base coat, and finished off with Cult Nails Wicked Fast top coat.  Oh, and one more "All"...

All Julep polishes appear to be named after celebrated women.

IVY

So, whatcha think?  Blue Ivy - a nod to Beyonce's first-born?

Ivy is a brilliant blue duochrome.  I think I'm in love.  This polish is flecked with shimmer and a twinkling of micro glitter.  It shifts from blue to pinkish purple, with the light.  Absolutely lovely.  It's also a pain in the ass to photograph. My apologies for being unable to capture that crazy-good color shift!

Pretty little pot of paint (with "little" being the operative word).  Julep bottles hold half as much polish as their competitors'

I like the formula.  Alot.  It easily goes where intended.  The color is eye-catching and beautiful.  I wish it were bottled in something other than a easily toppled test tube.

 SCARLETT

Scarlett O'Hara or Scarlett Johansson?  Or have you another Scarlett in mind?  I'm thinking Johansson. 

Scarlett is a bright, clean Christmas-sy red.  It's got the obligatory gold sparkle and stands out like Santa's suit!  On the other hand (no pun intended), it reminds me alot of a sexy red silk slip I used to wear.  Back when I wore sexy slips. 

No complaints with the formula. If you're looking for a holiday red, you'd do just fine with this one.
 

JULIA

Julia Roberts?  Julia Child?  Julia Louis-Dreyfuss? Julia, Julia?

Julia is a chameleon:  First, she's got a metallic rosy gold shimmer that sparkles up a storm when the light hits it just right; and then in the shadows, it's all Please Pass the Purple Sparkling Grape Juice.  Both are pretty effects!

This duochrome beauty will satisfy lacqueristas who get into color shifting.  Julia has it, in spades.  The formula applies flawlessly.

CINDY

Cindy Crawford?  Hmm.  Maybe.  Your Aunt Cindy from Kalamazoo?  Unlikely.

My favorite of the microglitters.   Cindy is a bright lime-y emerald green, packed with gold shimmer.  Breathtakingly beautiful.  I'm in love.

I strongly recommend this luv-erly polish. It moved me over to the green side. 

PETRA

Not a clue.  Petra Němcová?

This cranberry sparkle was my least favorite of the five micro glitters.  The finish wasn't as glossy as the others. Perhaps that's intentional.

outdoors

Also, Petra required some fiddling with, to reach full coverage on the nail.  On me, Petra's not the most flattering color, but on you.... it might be yowzah!

Tell you what....

Come back this weekend, and I'll show you what happens when you take these polishes and introduce them to more serious glitter.

Until then...I'm curious to know your thoughts about Julep, their polishes/treatments, and subscription model.

Thanks so much for stopping by!