Julep: Jewel Heist Mystery Box
So it’s been a long day of switching out my summer clothes for my winter, (a necessary evil for apartment dwellers in the northeast) and now it’s time to get caught up with one of my box reviews.
Last month Julep featured their Jewel Heist Mystery Box which offered an opportunity for some lucky mavens to win the entire birthstone collection in a lovely gift box. I wasn’t lucky enough to nab the jewels, but I did get some products. Now let’s dive in and solve this mystery.
Night Night Overnight Repair for Hands
(Retail $48.00/Maven Price: $29.99
Verdict: Hit!/Gift
Description: “Luxe Repair Skin Serum: A rejuvenating skin serum that delivers deep hydration and essential nutrients to help rebuild skin structure from the inside out. Use on hands, nails, face, or anywhere skin needs repair.
Luxe Care Hand Crème: An intensive moisturizer that offers relief from dry, chapped hands and leaves skin indulgently soft.
Now I have a ton of Julep polishes and products, so the main reason I nabbed this mystery box was to pick up some birthday and Christmas gifts (and maybe find myself a little something too). This is a really nice kit and I’m going to be adding it to a beauty Birthday gift I am putting together. I think this item alone makes the box worth it.
Julep Lip Vernis in Peony
(Retail $???)
Verdict: Miss/Gift
Description: “Luxe Repair Skin Serum: A rejuvenating skin serum that delivers deep hydration and essential nutrients to help rebuild skin structure from the inside out. Use on hands, nails, face, or anywhere skin needs repair.
Luxe Care Hand Crème: An intensive moisturizer that offers relief from dry, chapped hands and leaves skin indulgently soft.
This addition is a miss because this is a very old gloss. Julep no longer uses this packaging and this gloss isn’t available on the Julep site any longer. It’s pretty obvious that this is a cleaning inventory moment. I have a ton of Julep glosses (the newer ones with the nicer packaging) so I can’t use this for myself. I will probably just add this as an extra to a gift or swap.
Faye: (Retail $14.00/Maven Price: $11.20)
Verdict: Gift
Description: Liquid bronze shimmer
I don’t have this shade but it just didn’t speak to me. It’s kinda got this babypoop brown vibe going on. I think I’m going to gift this to someone who will enjoy this color.
Nadia: (Retail $14.00/Sale: $4.99)
Verdict: Gift
Description: Sun-kissed golden frost
I already own this polish so it’s going into the gift stash. It is a bit of a summery shade though so I do wish it matched the current season more, though I’m sure I can find someone who’ll enjoy it.
Padma: (Retail $14.00/Maven Price: $11.20)
Verdict: Like
Description: Royal plum crème
I don’t have many purple polishes so I’m hoarding this one for myself. It’s a super dark purple that can come across almost black. This will be great for edgy Fall mani.
Francis: (Retail $14.00/Maven Price: $11.20)
Verdict: Gift
Description: Celery green crème
This is another one I own so this is another gift polish. I like this shade but it screams out Spring. I know this is a mystery box, but I feel like either the polishes should line up with the season or the theme of the box. In this case it matches neither.
OVERALL:
Like
This box was on sale for $24.99, but I was able to use a coupon and bring that cost down to $15.00. According to my calculations and excluding the gloss that is no longer for sale, this box came out with a retail value of $104.00 and a maven/sale value of $68.58.
The only reason I gave this a “like” rating is because of the low price I paid, in conjunction with the hand kit. I would have happily paid $15 for that kit by itself, so the value worked out for me. However, if I’d paid full price I would have been disappointed.
Many folks were unhappy that the boxes didn’t feature jewel-toned polish, but Julep’s mystery boxes almost never match the “theme” of the box. Personally I’d prefer that Julep put more effort into making cohesive mystery boxes. If they aren’t going to follow a theme, they should at least feature polishes from the appropriate seasons.
Supposedly Julep has taken this feedback into consideration for their latest mystery box. This month they’ve introduced the Trick or Treat Mystery Box, which is supposed to be Halloween themed so theoretically we shouldn’t see them filled with more celery green polish.
Have you tried any of the Julep mystery boxes? If so, were you happy with the contents?
JULEP NEWS!
Julep has a fun offer for new maven subscribers. You can get a Free 4 Piece Halloween Welcome Box.
THE BACKSTORY
COUPON CODE: If you love Julep’s products, you can try out a box for free just use the code: FREECOLOR
Just remember this signs you up for a monthly subscription. If you don’t wish to receive boxes you will need to call Julep to cancel .
Julep specializes in toxin-free nail color but also features beauty products. They are a small company based in Seattle and have been featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things List.
Monthly Maven Options:
Maven Subscription: $19.99 – Monthly Maven box where you choose from the boxed sets in each category.
My Maven Subscription: $24.99 per month – Allows you to customize your box
3 Month Prepaid: $19.99/month
Maven Luxe: $39.99 per month – Gives you access to add on more expensive items
3 Month Prepaid: $34.99/month
The options:
Modern Beauty – (For those who prefer beauty items over nail color) – “You’re a savvy tastemaker obsessed with the art and science of beauty.” Get two full-size beauty products in every box.
Boho Glam – “You’re a dynamic free spirit with a creative eye.” Get two limited-edition nail colors and one full-size beauty product in every box.
Bombshell – “You’re a confident frill-seeker with magnetic appeal.” Get two limited-edition nail colors and one full-size beauty product in every box.
Classic With a Twist – “You’re an iconic beauty with a timeless aesthetic.” Get two limited-edition nail colors and one full-size beauty product in every box.
It Girl – (For those who want polish only) “You’re a colorful trendsetter who’s not afraid to be bold.” Get three limited-edition nail colors in every box.
Julep will email you with the contents of your regular box selection, and at that time you can opt to keep it as is or change it. Every time you purchase a box you get the option of add-ons along with access to Julep’s “Secret Store” that lets you get other products at great prices. Another perk is that when you’re a maven you get 20% off anything you purchase from Julep’s website along with free Shipping. Julep polishes retail at $14.00 each, so a Maven box of two to three brand new polishes for under $20.00 is a great steal.
Julep also has a rewards program that gives you “jules” for taking your monthly boxes and on your birthday. You can use jules to pay for monthly boxes and some other items chosen by Julep.
Lisa Preziosi 
We just switched our clothed yesterday too! 🙂 I was on the fence about my Jewel Heist box too. The things that I don’t like is the inclusion of old products and the color scheme of the polishes, I agree they should be more season appropriate.
I thought my Jewel Heist box was much much better than the last few mystery boxes I’ve gotten. I like it when the mystery boxes have more beauty products and less polish, so I got lucky…only received one polish. I agree with your point that the boxes should be more cohesive. I don’t want to buy them if they just look like someone grabbed a handful out of the clearance bin and threw it in a box.
I usually like receiving the beauty items a lot since they can make awesome gifts, but I really hate when we get old products. It’s obvious that the gloss is way outdated, so it just diminishes the whole box.
I’m always wondering if I should get a mystery box or not, it looks like you got a good deal, but I’m not sure I would have been super stoked on the colors either. For $15 though, I’d say, “you win!”
For $15 it was great, for $24.99 maybe not so much. 🙂