Unboxing Beauty

I almost didn’t purchase this month’s Julep Maven box, but a fellow beauty blogger, Beauty and the Cat,  asked me about the featured item in this month’s box, as she knows I do sub to Julep.  One of the nice things about this subscription is that I can skip those months that do not interest me.   I am glad I didn’t skip April, as I really like this month’s box

I chose the Modern Beauty Box as the nail polishes didn’t interest me this month and Modern Beauty is all about skincare!

 

Two Konjac Sponges!!  Konjac sponges are excellent for detoxifying and deep cleansing while hydrating the skin, while balancing pH levels, bringing facial skin back to a soft, natural glow.   I really love using konjac sponges for when my face needs some extra TLC. These are Julep’s brand and  you can use these with or without cleanser ~ I like to use cleanser.   It gently cleanses my face while the konjac fibers exfoliate my skin, removing dirt and debris, while unclogging my pores.  

Once you are finished cleansing your face, rinse out well and just hang to air dry ~ what is nice about the Julep sponges is that they come with a little suction cup hook so you can place this on your shower wall and then hang your sponge up on it.  Do not wring out the sponge as that will destroy the fibers.  You should replace these particular cleansing sponges every 1 to 2 months.   The Julep sponges are not round little sponges, but more of a pointed oval shape and they are quite large.  What is also unusual is that they are damp inside the bag ~ they will dry out when hung up, but since these are brand new, they are damp ~ I wonder if that is to preserve the ingredients ~ because these are infused with an additional ingredient.    I did use the Kaolin Clay version and it is so soft and gentle on my skin.  

Exfoliating Konjac Root + Balancing Green Tea Powder Exfoliate away dull, dry skin and detoxify with natural green tea powder.  A gentle exfoliator made from the fibrous root of the Konjac plant and infused with green tea powder to balance the skin.  100% biodegradable and compostable.  Recommended for all skin types  Dimensions: 3.5” x 2.5” x 0.75”  RV $12.00  (Maven subscriber $9.60)

Ingredients: amorphophallus konjac root powder, water, camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract

 

Exfoliating Konjac Root + Purifying Kaolin Clay Powder Exfoliate away dull, dry skin and detoxify with natural kaolin clay. A gentle exfoliator made from the fibrous root of the Konjac plant and enriched with detoxifying kaolin clay that draws impurities from deep within skin.  Gentle enough for everyday use.  Enriched with detoxifying kaolin clay.  100% biodegradable and compostable.  Recommended for all skin types  Dimensions: 3.5” x 2.5” x 0.75”  RV $12.00 (Maven subscriber $9.60)

Ingredients: amorphophallus konjac root powder, water, kaolin

What is Konjac?

image source

The konjac root has been a part of Japanese beauty rituals for over 1,500 years. In fact, the first known use of the konjac root traces back to Japan. Because of the unique, unblemished environment, the konjac root and bamboo charcoal ingredients sourced from Jeju Island are the purest in the world. The island itself has a sublime, temperate climate, and is home to dense, luxurious forests with over 1,800 species of flora. One of the least polluted environments on earth, the water of Jeju Island is known as the purest in the world, purified by filtering through the natural volcanic rock. This pristine water nourishes the soil, making it nutrient-rich and perfect for growing the highest quality ingredients that can only be found there.  Source 

 

Love Your Bare Face Detoxifying Facial Cleansing Balm Stick  So this is the product that I purchased the box for ~ it is a cleansing stick made with some great ingredients

• Cocos Nucifera (coconut) oil contains lauric acid  and that helps fight against blemishes, as it is an anti-bacterial.  It also has anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties.
• Camellia Japonica (tsubaki) seed oil is an emollient, so it helps soften your skin.  It contains Omega-9 (oleic fatty acid)  which will help your skin retain moisture.  Tsubaki oil absorbs and penetrates deep into the lower layers of your skin, therefore helping promote cellular growth
• Oryza Sativa (rice) Bran oil is non-comedogenic, which means it won’t clog your pores.  It also contains tocotrienol, which is vitamin E and gamma-oryzanol, another anti-aging and antioxidant ingredient.  This also contains Vitamins B1 and B3 (thiamin, niacin)
• Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum (pomegranate) Fruit Ferment extract is an enzymatic exfoliant and will help improve cellular renewal and turnover, revealing brighter skin over time.  
• Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment filtrate  Ahhh, I’ve been seeing radish root ferment lately and it turns out it is a natural preservative.  Leuconostoc is commonly used to make kimchi but in this case, this bacteria is added to radish roots, left to ferment, and then extract the antimicrobial peptide to create a preservative!  whew!   If you want to read more about this, as I was fascinated by why this ingredient seemed to be cropping up lately in my skincare, check out Truth in Aging’s very informative page on this ingredient.
• Camellia Sinensis (green tea) Leaf extract contains polyphenol antioxidants: catechins, tannins, flavonoids ~ which are anti-bacterial agents as well as acting as an astringent, tightening pores, retains skin moisture and hydration.
• Hydrolyzed Extensin is an intense moisturizer

It smells amazing ~ like grapefruit and the tube swivels up as you twist it.   The packaging is clean ~ pearlized white tube with silver lettering and it is a very convenient size ~ it doesn’t take up a lot of room in my shower.  1.94 oz RV $28.00 (Maven subscriber $22.40)

Description: Meet the freshest way to clean and renew your skin. Julep’s Love Your Bare Face Cleansing Stick is the latest addition to the Bare Face family. It combines a blend of oils that remove dirt, oil, and impurities while gently exfoliating with fruit enzymes for a deep-down clean.  The formula includes rice bran oil, grapefruit peel oil, camellia japonica seed oil, and pomegranate fruit enzyme. The combination of ingredients helps to clean and gently exfoliate while leaving your skin hydrated and looking soft.  Rice bran oil dives deep to purge impurities.  Grapefuit peel oil evens skin tone.  Camellia seed oil hydrates and clarifies skin.  Pomegranate fruit enzyme exfoliates gently

I have been using this cleanser for a couple of days now, so here is a quick impression on it  It smells great, as I’ve mentioned.  I probably will mention that again!  The first thing I did was take a pH test on it, as this isn’t an oil cleanser and many people are concerned about pH levels.  Using my tap water to create a foam, this reads as around 7  pH level, which for me is acceptable.

 

I used my cleansing brush below to create the foamy lather.  The cleansing stick is a balm and it is very oily on my skin when applied directly.  I then added some water and the oil emulsified with the water and foamed up nicely.  

When I used this on my face, I used it after my oil cleansing step as this is a foaming cleanser.  My face felt really smooth and soft, not stripped dry.   If I didn’t use an oil cleanser first, which really does remove most of my makeup, how would this perform?   It actually did a fantastic job!  I used Tonymoly Tony Delight Lip tip, Tarte matte lipstick, gel eyeliner, mascara below.   I directly applied the balm on my hand and wow, I won’t do that AGAIN.  Never apply this product directly to your face as the balm will get all gunky with makeup.  Use a sponge or brush to swirl into the product and then apply the brush/sponge to your face.

I then used one of my older konjac sponges as I knew that the makeup would really discolor it and I didn’t want to *ruin* my nice new Julep konjac sponges 😛   After massaging the balm with water on my hand for a couple of minutes, I rinsed off the product and you can see that my hand is pretty much clean and free of makeup. So, two thumbs up for this cleanser as I do think it performs quite well.   However…. stick balm applicators are not my favorite types of cleansers on a daily basis.  I think for traveling, this would be fantastic, as it could meet both the oil and foaming cleanser needs, due to its formula.  It is compact and lightweight, so this would be great to toss into your travel bag.   That said, a lot of people love a good cleansing stick and I do think this is a really nice one.  

Ingredients: cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, sodium cocoyl isethionate, glycerin, water, myristic acid, sodium cocoamphoacetate, PEG-120 methyl glucose dioleate, sodium chloride, glyceryl stearate, lauric acid, sodium hydroxide, sodium methyl cocoyl taurate, glyceryl oleate, coco-glucoside, citrus grandis (grapefruit) peel oil, sodium cocoyl glutamate, stearyl alcohol, citric acid, caprylyl glycol, phenoxyethanol, camellia japonica (tsubaki) seed oil, rosa canina (rosehip) fruit oil, citrus paradisi (grapefruit) seed oil, oryza sativa (rice) bran oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, tetrasodium EDTA, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, lactobacillus/punica granatum (pomegranate) fruit ferment extract, leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate, camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract, hydrolyzed extensin  cosDNA.com analysis

 

This was a great box for me this month ~ I love the skincare products and I am impressed with the sponges and the cleansing stick.  I am happy that Beauty and the Cat asked me about the stick cleanser as I would have skipped over this month if she hadn’t brought this to my attention.  I had seen it in my monthly reveal, but at that time, I was like whatever, meh.   I really like the bright citrusy scent of the cleanser and I am really happy to have two new konjac sponges to use as well.   My box was $19.00  and I received a retail value of  $52.00.

Do you subscribe to Julep’s Maven?  If so, what did you think of this month’s box?  What style and colors did you get?  If you are interested in subscribing, you can get your first month free, by clicking on my referral link here  If you are a Maven subscriber, you will also get a discount on products in their store!

 

[ blog post contains referral link.  descriptions in italics  from Julep unless otherwise noted ]