October Birchbox and Julep Maven

Hello everyone!

It feels a little bit like Christmas; yesterday my Birchbox arrived, and today my Julep Maven Sneak Peek Box!
I'm trying out both for the first time. I initially learned about Birchbox from Lindsey at Neverland Nail Blog. Based on her reviews,  I decided to give it a try. I rarely try new beauty products, choosing to stick to the brands that I know.  I figured Birchbox would provide me with the opportunity to give new products a try. At $10 a month, why not?

Birchbox 'box'

I was immediately impressed with how neatly everything was packaged! Inside was a card listing all the products in the box on one side, including prices of the full sized versions of your samples, should you choose to buy. On the other side was a little note from the Birchbox team, discussing the theme of the month and the samples inside of the box.  This months theme is Prep & Finish.

Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel (0.6 FL OZ)
AHAVA Mineral Foot Cream (1.3 FL OZ)
Pangea Organics Facial Scrub (1 FL OZ)
blinc Mascara (Net Wt. 0.141 oz)
Extra: Lash Card  (2 enclosed)

So far, I've only used the Foot Cream and the Facial Scrub. Both were amazing, and left my feet and face feeling baby soft. Overall, I'm happy with the items in this months box. I'm excited to see what Birchbox has in store for next month!

This brings me to my next box, the Julep Maven Sneak Peek Box. Thanks to a blogger, who I unfortunately forgot to bookmark and thus can't credit :(, I got a code that enabled me to get my first Julep Maven Box for $5! It normally costs $19.99 a month, so I couldn't pass up such a great deal. When you sign up, you have to take a quiz that helps them determine your beauty profile. I'm an "American Beauty". Julep also packages their box really nicely. My products came in a black paper bag with the Julep logo on it, and the handle had a pink bow tied to it.

Left to Right:
Julep SPF 30 Hand Cream (2 mL/ .07 FL OZ)
Julep 'Alfre' (8 mL/ .27 FL OZ)
Julep 'Cameron' (8 mL/ .27 FL OZ)
Julep Essential Cuticle Oil (8.8 mL/ .29 FL OZ)
Julep Glycolic Hand Scrub (89 mL/ 3 FL OZ)
Julep Glycolic Hand Scrub (2 mL/ .07 FL OZ)

I was a bit surprised at how small the polish bottles actually are. These are actually full sized bottles, and retail for $14 on the Julep website. At that price, I don't think I'd ever actually purchase a Julep polish on it's own. That being said, the Julep Maven Box is a great deal because you get 2 polishes that would normally retail for $28, for $19.99 (in my case $5), not to mention the hand care items they include (in this case, the cuticle oil and the hand scrub). So far, I've only used the cuticle oil. It's a roll on, which made it an ultimate win for me. Plus it smells great!
I'm very happy with the contents of both my Birchbox and my Julep Maven Sneak Peek Box, and I think I'll stick with it for now. It's going to be fun getting 2 surprise boxes in the mail every month :)

Thanks for stopping by!