Julep October Box

My Julep October box arrived much quicker than my September box! I know there's been concern about Julep switching to DHL for shipping, but I haven't experienced anything bad with it yet. If anything it seems better so far. We'll see how long it lasts...

I decided to stick with my Classic with a Twist box for October. I wasn't too excited for the colors, but I didn't like any of the others enough to switch.

They included a little pack of candy corn this month in celebration of Halloween! I thought it was super cute and sweet. I love little surprises.

The Classic with a Twist box included Anisa, a deep burgundy crème, and Winona, a buff greige crème. The two together remind me of the classic Burberry plaid (like this).I like the Anisa so far, but the Winona is rather... muddy. I haven't tried it on yet. I'm hoping that I'll like it more on my nails that I do on the swatch.

It also included the new Julep Kajal Eye Glider (with carbon black and brown shimmer) and sharpener. I don't wear a ton of eye liner, but it will be nice to have a quality liner for when I do.

Julep has teamed up with another subscription service, Citrus Lane (they send out monthly boxes of fun things for little ones), for a giveaway: 3 months of each! The giveaway is open through October 8th at 11:59PM PST. You can enter here! (FYI, if you use my link to enter I'll get additional entries, too.) I haven't tried Citrus Lane myself since I don't have any little ones, but it would make a great gift!

As always, you can sign up for your own Julep Maven subscription using my referral code here.

Stitch Fix: My 2nd Styling

My first Stitch Fix styling was so much fun and had such great items in it (even if I only kept one of the five pieces) that I was even more excited to see what they sent me for my second styling!

I got a quasi-preview of the items when I signed into my account before receiving the box, so I knew what the items would be by name but not what they actually looked like. The names alone excited me! Especially since if I liked them in person, I'd get 25% off if I kept them all!

This is what I got:

Leaf Outlines Necklace ($28)... A statement necklace in an antique gold finish, right up my alley! I thought it was going to be something a bit more simple, like the single leaf necklaces I've seen, but I still like this one. It's heavier than I expected it to be, too!

Milo Pleated Detail Skirt ($48)... Sorry I don't have clothespins or anything to hand the skirt with so it looks more like a poncho, but trust me it's a skirt! I like the style, but it did not fit... at all. Unless I pulled it up to my natural waist, but I don't think it's supposed to be that high?

Jaclynn 3/4 Sleeve Button-Up Cardigan ($38)... A classic cardigan. It's actually a little small, but it still looks good unbuttoned.

Jaden Mix Material Printed Top ($48)... I wanted to like this one. I really did. It's totally different than anything I have in my wardrobe... the front printed part is actually silky and the rest is a soft sweater-like material. Kind of cozy. Unfortunately the front silky part did not agree with my curves and the wide striped pattern just made me look wider... not cool.

Geena Tab-Sleeve Belted Tunic ($48)... This is another one that I really wanted to like. The belt at the top actually goes around the tunic (of course). It's a long tunic top--and the length of it hits my hips... and stops. In other words, my hips + tunic top = no bueno. I also felt frumpy up top. I think it may be one of those styles that I like--but on other people/body types, not on my own.

After I figured out what I wanted to keep, I signed into my Stitch Fix account to check out and give some feedback about each of the pieces...

I try to let them know why I love each piece (or not) and of course change the "Keep?" tab to "yes" or "no" for each one... you can see below that I decided to keep the necklace and the cardigan and send the other three pieces back.

And then give them a final overall impression of the styling...

Then I reviewed my order and scheduled my next fix! I was thinking about skipping October, but then decided to get a fix delivered for my birthday. Why not? When you schedule each fix you can leave a short note to the stylist to let them know if you're looking for something specific... this time I let them know it's my birthday and I wanted something special for a date night and/or the upcoming holidays! Turning 29 weirds me out a little bit so this will certainly make me look forward to it a bit more!

Want to give Stitch Fix a try? Click here to sign up for your first styling using my referral code! It's $20, which goes towards the purchase of the items you choose to keep. If you keep them all, you get 25% off the total!

Julep September Box

Woohoo! My first "real" Julep Maven box finally arrived! I knew what I was going to get ahead of time, but that doesn't make it any less exciting to see the box waiting for me.

On the 20th of each month you can see what your box is going to include... then you can choose a different style box, add on up to 3 items, upgrade to the entire collection, or choose to skip that month completely. I chose to keep my Classic with a Twist box and even added on items!

September's collection is called Cityscape.

The Classic with a Twist items:

Florence... a pretty camel creme, Padma... a deep, royal plum creme, and the new Bare Face Cleansing Oil.

My Add-Ons:

Reece... a purple holographic glitter, Daria... a dark slate grey creme, and the Freedom Polymer Top Coat.

I love all of the colors and I'm excited to use the top coat! I already use oils to clean my face, so I'm hoping that my face will like the Bare Face Cleaning Oil, and that I can transition back to my other oils easily if it's not any better than what I'm currently using (which is a mixture of olive oil, jojoba oil, and castor oil). I'm hesitant to try any new facial products since my oil regimen (if I can even call it that) seems to be working the best of anything I've tried in the past.

I had to play with my new polishes... Padma, Florence, Daria, and Reece:

And then decided to put on Florence... I love how clean and simple the color is! I put on about 3 coats for a solid coverage (the photo above is just one coat of each).

Did you get a September Maven box? Which style? Any add-ons? Do share!

If you want to become a Julep Maven, you can sign up here using my referral code!

Stitch Fix: My First Box

Have you heard of Stitch Fix? It's another subscription-type box, but with clothes that have been picked out for you by a stylist based on a detailed profile that you fill out.

It's $20 up front for the styling fee. You get your box of five clothing items, try them on, then send back the ones you don't want. You pay for the ones you keep and your $20 styling fee goes towards your purchase. If you keep everything you get 25% off.

The clothing items are a little more than what I usually pay for clothes at $75 on average, but I'm also cheap and don't invest in quality clothing. Which also means much of my clothes wears out faster than I like. (T-shirts for under $10 each? Yes, please!) The nice thing is that you can specify what you'd like to pay in your Stitch Fix profile for each type of clothing/accessory--I chose "the cheaper the better."

I also love that I can link to my Pinterest style board (an excuse to pin more clothes, etc!), tell them what materials or colors I like to avoid (no fur or orange!), what I like to flaunt (or cover up), and they'll take my feedback about the pieces they send me into consideration for future styling! I also like that it isn't an automatic monthly delivery--you can choose when to order another box or sign up for the monthly deliveries.

This is what I got for my first Stitch Fix box:

Rocco Faux Wrap Tank Dress ($78)... I loved this one. Super comfy and well made. The tie that held the bundle of clothes together is actually the belt for the dress.

This is the card that went with the dress that showed a couple ways to can be styled!

Hilary Crochet Striped Tank ($68)... I liked the style card for the tank, and it fit well, I just didn't find it to be very flattering on me. (I should also note that I don't have a full-length mirror so my only option to see how things look is standing on my toilet or standing far away from my window-mirrors in the kitchen. It's not the most accurate.)

Mission 3/4 Sleeve V-Neck Blouse ($68)... I like almost everything about this top--but the arms were a little too snug. I don't have petite arms and I like to be able to move, so that was a big mark against it.

Roma Cowl Neck Jersey Knit Top ($48)... Super comfy shirt, but not flattering. At all. The cowl was just too much.

Alan Cowl Neck Asymmetrical Jacket ($48)... I kept going back and forth on this jacket--and in the midst of my indecision I forgot to take a photo of it! It's just like this one from ModCloth (maybe even the same thing? not sure how that all works..) Anyway, I REALLY liked it and was this close to keeping it... but again, the fit was slightly off. It fit everywhere great except for across the chest... of course. It smooshed everything in a not-so-great way.

In the end I decided to keep the dress and sent everything else back... and I've already ordered my next styling for next month! I tried to give detailed feedback about each piece (you sign into your account and can rate the items for fit, style, etc and leave comments too) so fingers crossed my next one will be even better! In the meantime I'll be on Pinterest even more browsing Women's Fashion pins!

Want to give Stitch Fix a try? Click here to sign up for your first box using my referral code!