January Julep Maven Review and Swatches

Once again, customization was too much for me-I passed on Julep's new Luxe Lip Treatments this time (I'm trying to go bolder with my lip colors, and these were super sheer) in favor of another bottle of Bare Face cleanser, and now I'm kicking myself for not getting more topcoat, too. Bah! The struggle is real, people; I need all the things. But enough of that, let me show you some of the new pretties that came in my box this month! Warning: this one is pic heavy. We'll start with Alicia, one of Julep's "from the vault" polishes.

Alicia is a "sunny salmon creme," cheerful even if not particularly original. Peachy corals are a shade I can't seem to get enough of, and this is a really nice one. It does go on a touch streaky, so apply carefully for best results. I'm pumped about Julep's announcement that several polishes will come out of retirement this year. There are certain colors I never got a crack at that I'm hoping will be on the list (lookin' at you, Ginger).

Next we have my one acquisition that debuted in the Chrysalis collection: Margit. You caught a sneak peek of this one earlier this week as an accent to my marsala roses with January Maven mystery add on polish Coco. On its own, Margit has a pink shimmer that warms it up and makes it a great SFW neutral. My job doesn't stifle my polish spirit (thank goodness!), but if yours does, you can still get a unique polish fix during the work week with Margit.

"But wait," you say. "Didn't January have a free gift in the Maven boxes?" Why yes, it did. Each Maven that checked the e-mail or blog and opted in got one of three metamorphic topcoats. I was delighted to find that mine was purple tinted Tyra. I don't know if these will go on sale, but they're pretty cool. I decided to sample Tyra with several colors, including a couple that I'm...less than in love with to see if it could transform them into polish I could adore. Here's what I got.

Left to right: Tyra over Julep Amy, Greta, Ryan, Sally Hansen Black Out

I tried Tyra over Alicia first, but wasn't wowed, so next I tried a warm blue creme, berry shimmer, matte teal green, and basic black. The biggest transformation was the teal, which changed to a shimmery purple-blue duochrome. Nice! The pink is Julep Greta, which I mentioned before isn't my favorite in my Maven anniversary post. I was so meh about it I didn't even have a decent swatch! With Tyra, it becomes a shimmery dark pink that I much prefer over the original. The black was ok. From the photos Julep provided I expected a bit more dramatic of a transformation, but it's a fun option to have. The blue was probably the most subtle transformation, but it added a distinct purple shimmer, I liked it enough that I put it on all of my nails when I was done playing.

Now that you've seen this month's Maven polishes, I have a bonus for you. Last month the weather was gloomy and grey, and I didn't have my lightbox yet, so I couldn't seem to get a decent picture of my December Maven polishes. I really fell in love with Paula, so I went back and snapped a few pictures to show it to you. Paula is a cobalt with gold shimmer, and it is absolutely fabulous.

Did you get your hands on one of the metamorphic topcoats? I'd love to see the blue and green ones, so tag me in your pictures @SecretNailBlog on Twitter or on my Facebook page SuperSecretNails!