[Review] Julep: Oprah Favourite Things 2012 Jewelry Box

My two BFFs Manda and Jess greeted me today with a pleasent surprise. Apparently my bday gift had finally arrived so they presented me with this pretty white box.

Find out what's in the box after the Jump!

Yes that's right! Manda and Jess bought me a box of Julep nail polishes picked by Oprah! OMG I was so excited. Actually I'm still excited even after I speant the whole day with them and Kriket at Ribfest and Rideau Centre.

Basically, this box of Favourite Things is a limited edition jewelry box with nail polish in it. Not to be underestimated by it's description though, this set comes with 12 gorgeous nail polishes and is in a very sleek glossy white jewelry box with the sweet feature of adjustable dividers inside (you can see the dividers between each of the nail polishes).

This set was originally a whopping $168 USD on the Julep website. Luckily, the set is on sale now for 84$USD but it's still a pretty exorbitant amount for nail polish. Thanks so much again to Manda and Jess for their willingness to fuel my nail polish addiction! <3 BFFS! ahahah

Anyways here are more pictures and sorry for the bad quality of some of them. My camera doesn't photograph felt very well and it got ridiculously bright all of a sudden...FYI the colours left to right are Rose, Lauren, Carrie, Maria, Gloria, Maya, Lynne, Audrey, Morgan, Charlette, Amy, and Susie. 

I'll be adding swatches and mini reviews below as I start using them. ^o^

Rose: Pigmentation 10/10, Longevitity 9/10, Application 10/10
I only needed one coat to get the complete colour payoff. When I added another coat it still looked the same. The formula comes out smooth and I didn't get any weird bubbles or clumping. I wore this for a week without a base coat and I got very minimal chipping and staining.

Morgan: Pigmentation 9/10, Longevity 2/10, Application 7/10
I really like this shiny purple colour however Julep did not do a very good job on the durability of this nail polish formula. It chipped on me after one day without me doing anything that I wouldn't normally do to my nails (no base coat). Pigmentation wise, you definitely need at least two coats to get the full colour payoff. As for the the application, it's fine and goes on evenly without any clumping, air bubbles or streaking if you don't have a lot on the brush. You also have to wait for the layer to dry completely or else it will clump and get streaky.

Susie: Pigmentation 9/10, Longevity 9/10, Application 9/10
I've been dying to add a pastel green/blue to my collection for ages but wasn't sure what brand to go with. Julep has pretty damn amazing nail polishes and I'm glad I got this is the one that I got since the pigmentation is pretty good! Definitely needs two coats though otherwise the formula is a little too sheer and I can see my nail underneath. I've had this nail polish on for a week and only after five days did my nail polish start chipping a little (no base coat). The application was a little bit clumpy and I ended up getting some little bumps on some nails (I mean if i had taken my time I'm sure I could have managed not to get any but I was in a hurry >_<).

Lauren: Pigmentation 9/10, Longevity 9/10, Application 9/10.
As you can see from below Lauren is a super bright pink which dries with a glossy finish. I took the pic right after I did my nails so don't mind the lack of touch ups on the side lol. I can use only one coat and my nail will be completely covered. It applies very easily with no clumping or streaking. The max amount of time I've worn this is 7 days before my nails started to grow out and and the colour started chipping off.

Charlotte: Pigmentation 9/10, Longevity 9/10, Application 9/10
If you apply it evenly, you don't need more than one coat because the formula is so pigmented. I've has this on for a max of 5 days before I even started seeing and little chips. Even then, the chips were very minor and on the edges of my nails since they were starting to grow out. Application is super easy with this formula and it's mostly dry within 10 minutes. If you wait another 10 minutes it'll be completely dry.

Gloria: Pigmentation 8/10, Longevity 10/10, Application 7/10
This is one of my most favourite colours from the set. It's an orangey coral that dries with a glossy finish. Two coats will ensure full colour payoff but be careful! The formula is a bit thick and I get air bubbly lumps if I apply the second coat before the first layer is completely dry. This colour is also super durable and often times lasts longer than when my nails grow out.

Audrey: Pigmentation 5/10, Longevity 10/10, Application: 9/10
Audrey is a baby pink with very fine sparkles in it. You need at least 3 coats to completely cover your nail which takes a relatively long time to apply. On the bright side though, this formula dries pretty quickly for each coat. Application is good too with no streaky lines or air bubbles. You'd also think that since there's 3 coats that this will peel or chip really easily. Nope! This formula also lasts the longer than my nails growing out (approx a week).  

Maya: Pigmentation 7/10, Longevity 6/10, Application 8/10
This is a very sheer metallic nude colour. 2 coats are the minimum to cover your nail. The application is a little tricky because the formula is a bit thicker. Hint: take your time. Otherwise it will look awful and you'll have to start over. Unfortunately, this colour is prone to chipping at the tips too so seal the tips if your nails are long enough.

Lynn: Pigmentation 7/10, Longevity 10/10, Application 8/10
I am not normally a fan of peachy colours but this one is really nice shimmery peach. You'll need 2 coats but the formula is really easy to apply without streaks. Just take your time though because this one takes a little bit longer to dry. I also had this one on for about 10 days before it started to really chip and my nails had grown out.