It's only early April but I'm so glad to say that winter is FINALLY OVER. And it's not just because the ice mountain in my backyard is finally gone, or that my bike is all tuned-up and ready for some adventures, but also because my nails finally feel spring-like! Let's just dive straight in to my April Julep Maven box shall we?

For the uninitiated, Julep's Maven Box is $20 monthly subscription box. You can choose to receive a variety of boxes, one which include three polishes (It Girl), others which offer two polishes and a beauty product (Classic With a Twist, Boho Glam, Bombshell) or two full-size beauty products (Modern Beauty) and you can switch which boxes you want whenever you want. Last time I chose Bombshell, this time i chose Classic With a Twist. Julep is one of my favourite beauty box subscriptions because you can add-on and customize it each month. No mysteries here!

The Polish Colours - Mariska, Caitlin & Tatum

I absolutely knew, when the Maven window opened in late March that regardless of my regular box subscription (Bombshell) I just HAD to switch to Classic With a Twist this month to nab the gorgeous, tropical, hibiscus pink polish Caitlin, which has just enough shimmer to really stand out in a crowd (I put it on my nails this week and I can't stop staring!)

But don't get me wrong, I'm also equally excited by the completely eye-popping Mariska, an orange that draws me back to the beach, and the unique neon-green chrome Tatum. I was so drawn to Tatum that I used an add-on spot to make sure I could get it. I don't have anything even remotely this neon in my collection so far, I'm really interested to see how it will shine in the sunlight. Each of these three colours is an absolute stand-out.

The Beauty Product - Peach Bellini Glow Pore Minimizing Blush

Confession time - Until about a year and a half ago, I rarely used blush at all (I'm not entirely sure why) but now I have a fantastic arsenal of colours, shades, shimmers and textures and I can safely say that I'm a blushaholic. And this month's beauty product was going to have some tough competition in my makeup collection. But luckily? It's pretty sweet.

I haven't noticed the pore-minimizing claims so far (but I don't have a very noticable problem with mine) but this is a hard powder blush that turns into a fine powder when even lightly tapped with a brush. It's extremely easy to work with and rests lightly on the skin. I was worried it would come across as coral, but instead it provides as a nice peach flush across the cheekbones.

All winter I've been using aggressive blush colours (Benefit ChaCha tint or Tarte for example) so it's nice to finally be able to pull back and return to a more natural glow

The Verdict

It's a good month to be a Maven! I have to admit I was less than impressed with last month's Riveira collection, I thought the colours were very muted version of the current pastels trend that is sweeping Polish-Land, but this month makes up for it with a bang. I can definitely see myself picking up some of the other stragglers from the Vivid collection over the next few months, and the Perk30 code is a great incentive to add a few more colourful polishes to my arsenal. And that teensy little bonus candy tasted like watermelon, what a cute little treat!

Try Julep Maven Today

There's two ways to get in on the Julep fun. You can sign up today and get an Introduction box for free using the code FREECOLOR (check out this post for a look at mine) or you can skip the Intro box and go straight into buying a subscription. On the 20th of every month, the window opens for the next month's boxes and you can customize the beauty item in your box, or the box you want.

I do receive referral points for everybody who signs up, even for a free box so if it's something you're interested in, give it a try! Just be sure to cancel if you don't want to continue receiving the boxes every month. If you join as a Maven today, you earn a 'skip' every six boxes. It used to be unlimited but this rule changed recently, so be aware! But so far, so good, I'm pretty happy.

Are you a Julep Maven? What did you pick this month?