What I thought of Julep
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.
I believe the code is FREETREATS, with an S.
Oh goodness, you're right. Thank you! I fixed it in the post now.
I love your posts because you are always so positive. Even though you are not going to use this service because you feel like it is a lot to pay for nail polish, you sound so positive and sweet the way you say it.
THANK YOU! There is just not enough of that in the world.
🙂
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
I agree!! Kristen is one of my favorite bloggers, not only for all her helpful info but her sweet and positive personality that shines through in every post. Julie at Willow Bird Baking is another one of my faves for this reason.
Aww, you guys are so kind. Thank you for your encouraging words!
I signed up for the free box and I canceled it immediately after I received it. My daughter and I were excited to get it and try the polish. My extra product was an eyeliner. That was slightly disappointing since neither of us use eyeliner so it will just go to waste.
I liked the little bottles, they are easy to handle. The colors were a little unusual, not the kind I would normally choose. But I tries the sparkly green one and really liked it.
I don't know about anyone else, but the nail polishes has a distinct, off-putting scent to them that lingered after the polish was dry. It wasn't just the normal, chemical polish smell. My daughter didn't mind it, but I did.
So, I was happy we tried the sample box and even happier that I remembered to cancel it.
I signed up for the welcome box a while back and, while I was pleased with what was included (the 3 polishes and a dual eye-liner and sharpener), I knew right away that it would NOT be worth $25 a month to me. I was a little surprised that there was no online method of cancellation and I needed to call twice before I got in touch with someone in order to cancel. The first time I called I followed the automated choices for cancellation and was met with a recording to leave a voice mail. No one ever called me back. The second time I called I selected "technical support" and got someone right away. From that point on, cancellation was no problem. I also noticed there are a lot of complaints against Julep if you google it and that it gets an "F" on the Better Business Bureau website.
I like the concept of the customizable boxes, and I enjoyed using the nail polish. In my first box I also got the dual ended eyeliner, and I was not impressed with it. It did not stay put. I did however like the nail polish, and I remembered to customize my second box, so I am very happy with the colors. But like you I could not justify the price. I was on hold for 10 min. before I got a person, but it was easy to cancel. Two boxes at half price though was a good deal for this nail polish lover.
I also got the free welcome package, however I had to use a different code than your post recommended at the time. I think that code had just expired by the time I got to it. I got 2 free nail polishes and the Body Milk lotion (red bottle). The polishes were red and a beige color (great colors). I actually used these for gifts, as I currently have a ton of open nail polishes and enough body lotion! Do your polishes seem to last years like mine?! I also cancelled my subscription right away and had no problem doing it over the phone in one call. A web cancellation would have been a nice feature though. I had to hunt down the process to cancel on their web site. Thanks for sharing this one! It worked out great!
I forget they were 5-free. I tried this a year or so ago. What did you think of the blue polish? I got that one, and hated it. When I removed it, my nails and fingers were dyed blue (as in wherever I had contact with the polish+remover, which since I was using cotton balls was quite a bit)! I didn't have that problem with the green I got. (They're putting more in their first box now, I guess. I just got 2 polishes, one of which was horrid, so I didn't try any further.)
I'll have to check with Lisey, as she's the one who used it!
Wow, I definitely don't have $25 a month in the budget for nail polish! But, I rarely wear nail polish. It's interesting that they've started coming out with healthier options though.
I got my welcome box shortly after you did, and I can't remember what all came in with it, but I liked the polishes enough to keep the boxes going and even order some extra cheap polishes. Nail polish is my only regular cosmetic effort so it was worth it to me to stock up a little, and I like the fact that they'll select some things I might not naturally pick, even if I can veto them.
I would probably keep it up for a little while longer, but I'm being laid off in December, and it's just not a cost I can bear. But if things change I might re-up. The quality of the polish and the colors it comes in are that good, in my opinion.
I ordered the welcome box, never received it. I forgot about it until the next box (paid) arrived. I contacted customer service and told them I never got the first one, and after a couple of days I got an email saying "we'll look into it". Several days later, no resolution. That made me upset. I emailed them again telling them to cancel my subscription. They told me I had to call. I emailed again saying, no, I won't call, just cancel me! They did. I still haven't gotten an answer as to why I never received the first box, nor a refund.
Oh man, that stinks! I can't believe they never got your welcome box to you.
Hmmm, the comments on cancelling make me think it might be easier to just buy some nail polish... in spring. Don't wear it in winter anyway.
I'm not much on beauty supplies. I wash my hair with baking soda and I still have the same makeup I bought when my almost-four-year-old was a baby and I started to look... well, thirty, which I was! I wear it for job interviews and other special occasions.
Just an FYI, makeup does expire : )
I signed up for the free box when you posted about it and promptly received my box. I thought 2.99 for three polishes and a nice eyeliner was a steal! However I did NOT think it was worth the continuing subscription price so I did cancel before my month was up. I emailed them, didn't get a response right away so I called just to be sure and they cancelled it without any fuss or hard selling. A few days later I did get a response to my email saying my acct would be cancelled but as I said I'd already had that taken care of by phone. I don't like the texture of the polishes very much but do like that they are less toxic than other polishes. For me, the free trial was worth it but I wouldn't do the continuing service personally. Just too expensive.
At that price point, I think I would rather buy Jamberry. Seems like every other person I know is already selling it and wearing it and praising it, so it would make more sense to me to just buy those! LOL
I ordered mine planning for Christmas gifting (we actually neded p with two because someone in the house ordered a separate one. Like you, I will not continue, as much because I don't "do" monthly subscriptions as such as the cost itself (which I agree is high)
I wasn't that impressed overall with Julep for several reasons. First, the colors they sent me all looked awful with my skin. They were all warm colors and I need cool. Second, cancellation was a HUGE hassle for me. I even wondered at the time if you knew what a pain it was to cancel and whether or not you'd be sorry you referred people to them only to have to go through such a huge hassle if we didn't like it. I'm all for frugality, but there is a point when I think, "This is so much work, it doesn't matter how much I saved. It wasn't worth it." I felt that way with Julep. I'm certainly not blaming you and clearly, you and others didn't have the hassle to cancel that I did. I did wait to cancel until I saw what the box was for the month. Again, none of the color options appealed to me (even the customized ones). Apparently, lots of people wanted to cancel at that same time and it took two phone calls (leaving messages because the lines were too busy) and an e-mail to cancel and even then, there was no confirmation that it was cancelled so I just had to wait to see if anything arrived or if my card was charged. I did buy two bottles of nail polish directly from their site and one of them is a decent color although not as nice as it showed online. The other one, however, is nothing like the color it showed online. It was supposed to be in the red family and it turned out to be in the purple family with a hint of brown. Not at all what I wanted. It turns out, this particular color has this problem, so it wasn't that they sent me the wrong one. After trying those nail polishes and three different nail treatments from them, I'm overall not impressed. The polish seems pretty thick to me. One coat doesn't quite do the trick and two coats ends up being too thick and takes forever to dry which often ends up meaning a few of my nails get messed up before it dries so I have to start over. The good thing was I learned that free things sometimes aren't worth it so in the future, I'll be more careful to jump on offers like this.
I have used Julep, I have heard of it however. I currently get Birchbox, which is awesome. Its not that much per month, and you get all sorts of goodies. I really look forward to it every month. The profile you fill out customizes your box. Overall its worth it for the price and a little pampering for me.
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.
Wow, that's terrible. I feel so lucky that my cancellation process was so easy...just a phone call and I was done.
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.
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.
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.
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.