Back in the summer, I signed up for Julep’s free welcome box, which includes three not-so-toxic* nail polishes and a random beauty product.
(In case you missed the original post, Julep is a subscription-based monthly beauty-product/nail polish service.)
I promised that I’d update you once I’d had a chance to try out the service and products, so here I am!
The Welcome Box
My Welcome Box contained a tube of Body Milk lotion and three nail polishes.
I’m kind of meh about the lotion just because I don’t tend to have dry skin. I may just freecycle it or my girls may use it during the winter.
The nail polish was good, though. The containers are fairly small, but the polish works well and seems to last just as long as regular nail polish, despite missing some of the chemicals in regular nail polish.
I did get some slightly odd colors in my box, but sometimes I find that to be an advantage. You know how my produce box makes me cook vegetables I wouldn’t normally buy?
Well, a random selection of nail polish colors sort of functions the same way.
Also, I found that a layer of the pink sparkle polish over the greenish sparkle polish looks marvy-fab. 😉
The Regular Box
Because I was curious what a regular box was like, I purposely let my subscription go past the free trial box. Happily, once the free trial is over, the box is totally customizable.
I sort of, um, forgot to customize mine, though, and here’s what I got:
(As you can see, one of the girls used the blue polish. 😉 )
Julep has oodles of beautiful colors to choose from, so if you choose to continue past the welcome box, you’ll definitely be able to pick shades you love.
Cancellation
To get the sample box, you do have to sign up with Julep, and if you don’t want to continue the service, you’ll need to cancel after the free welcome box.
The cancellation process was pretty easy. I just had to call Julep, tell them I was cancelling, and that was it. I didn’t have to deal with any pushback or hard sell.
Is it worth it?
I think the the free welcome box (just pay 2.99 shipping) is definitely worth it. Even if you don’t use the free beauty product they throw in, you’re still getting three nail polishes for $2.99.
(If you have nail polish lovers on your Christmas shopping list, get the sample box and use the polish as stocking stuffers.)
The continuing subscription, though? I’m not sold on that, mainly because I feel like $24.99/month (19.99/mo. if you prepay) is a lot to spend on nail polish.
Maybe it would be worth it for someone who’s way into beauty products, but for me, it’s not a great fit.
Still, I’m glad I got the Welcome Box and I think it’s definitely worth getting if you use nail polish.
(Make sure you use the code FREETREATS when you order so that the welcome box is free.)
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I know some of you ordered a welcome box when I did. What did you think of it?
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This post contains affiliate links, which support The Frugal Girl at no extra cost to you. This post was not sponsored by Julep, and I purchased my own welcome box and regular box.
Michelle Wise
Thursday 16th of April 2015
Has anyone tried the "Modern Beauty" style? It's the all makeup one, as far as I can tell. I use ipsy currently, and was impressed with Ipsy as well as the Mystery box with Julep I got with the $10 off for my first purchase.
Emily
Friday 5th of December 2014
This was posted a while ago, but I wanted to share my experience. I signed up for the welcome box, planning to give it as a small gift/stocking stuffer. I did not plan to continue my subscription.
I searched for "cancel julep" and became a little worried I would not be able to cancel until after I received at least one full-priced box. And yes, the BBB reviews are not good. I'm happy to report that my experience was great. I also had a very easy cancellation process. I called the number, was connected to someone within one or two rings, and they cancelled the account. As you said, no hard sell. Not even a "Can I ask you why you're cancelling?". Definitely worth the free trial for me.
Randi
Sunday 19th of October 2014
I've been a subscriber for over a year, but I've skipped so many boxes. I'm allowed to skip because I was grandfathered in on the old plan. New people can't skip every month. I read somewhere that the polish is not a good value. Its one of the smallest polish bottles on the market. I recently saw Julep polish at TJ Maxx/Marshalls for 2.99 a bottle. They had some of the colors I already own. I do LOVE their bare face cleansing oil, but that's not a good value either. I can get a bottle of Garnier( with a coupon) for 3.99. The bareface is about 20.00.
Danielle
Sunday 19th of October 2014
Hey Kristen! I've never done Julep, but I did try a nearly free trial of Hello Fresh, the produce meal box. Have you ever considered trying one of those? I'd be interested in hearing your opinion of them.
Amy
Saturday 18th of October 2014
My Julep experience was not great. I wasn't impressed with the durability of the polish, although it was on par with the (similarly nontoxic) Piggy Paint my daughter uses.
I had an extremely difficult time cancelling my order, so much so that I received TWO boxes after the free box. Thankfully, I'd well documented my contact, and I disputed the charges via my credit card company once it became clear that Julep wasn't going to make things right.
The company has a very poor rating with the BBB, and if you check it's Facebook page it's full of people who express frustration over the cancellation process.
Kristen
Saturday 18th of October 2014
Wow, that's terrible. I feel so lucky that my cancellation process was so easy...just a phone call and I was done.