Julep: August 2013 (Spoilers)

[jessicalriley]

if you think about it, why would a company that markets products towards women name them as hateful, antif-women things? marathin? trophy wife? it's disgusting. 'horny mistress' implies infidelity and monogamy doesn't encompass everyone anyways but it implies secrecy. i don't know. it's bad but again, things like marathin and trophy wife are abhorrent.  this leads me to my next point: if you feel strongly about these things, i hope that you won't buy them as i don't. do what you're comfortable with but remember that women make and influence a lot of consumer decisions: you can vote with your dollars. that's why i support julep: they don't pull that misogynistic crap that so many companies do, are led by women, and their very message 'beauty is about connection, not competition' is invaluable in a world of 'trophy wife' and 'marathin' and 'horny mistress', all of which encourage women to see each other as hateful competition along the axes of intersectionality/patriarchy. ending angry feminist rant? for now. =) also, i'm super glad that it seems most people discussing it see the distinction from these and just sex-related things.

You hit the nail on the head. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, too.

 

[neblinosa]

I am probably in the minority because I'm not easily offended. I buy a polish if I like the color. I could care less about the name. I would draw the line at sexual abuse like names and some satanic names but for the most part it's all fair game. a name such as 'trophy wife' or 'horny mistress' does not bother me. they don't change how I feel about myself. they don't encourage my husband to have an affair. I don't think they are degrading to me. I know who I am.

 

[lexxies22]

I am probably in the minority because I'm not easily offended. I buy a polish if I like the color. I could care less about the name. I would draw the line at sexual abuse like names and some satanic names but for the most part it's all fair game. a name such as 'trophy wife' or 'horny mistress' does not bother me. they don't change how I feel about myself. they don't encourage my husband to have an affair. I don't think they are degrading to me. I know who I am.

^THIS^ I agree. It's all about confidence; a confident woman.

 

[lepixie]

I just wanted to mention that I was reading on Julep's facebook page, on the part where it has let's take about August boxes.  Someone asked if the champagne trio would be available later.  They said it would be available, but it wouldn't be at the 14.99 price. I checked on Julep's website and the trio will be 33.60 for Mavens. I thought I'd mention it if there are any people who are just getting the box mostly for the trio.

I've decided I'm going to get the it girl box and two add-ons.  I can't decide among Veronica, Lois, and Francis.  At first, I was extremely disappointed with the colors, but the more I look at them, the more I like them.

 

[autopilot]

Does anyone else find it funny that Julep used the masculine "Francis" instead of the feminine "Frances"?

I keep changing my mind, *sigh*

 

[angismith]

Lexxie, I am confident but a name like Horny Mistress promotes infidelity and shows a total disrespect for the institution of marriage and the faithfulness that comes with a true commitment. I can't just look at the color and ignore the name. I WILL vote with my money. And I'm not picking on Bondi, I totally love what they are doing, but who would approve a name like that? And what message does it send to our younger generations who are following us by example? Sorry for being on a soap box about this but as I get older and watch my son mature (22 in Sept.), I realize the things that my husband and I have taught him unintentionally, both good and bad.

 

[angismith]

Originally Posted by autopilot /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Does anyone else find it funny that Julep used the masculine "Francis" instead of the feminine "Frances"?

I keep changing my mind, *sigh*

I did! I keep thinking of John Wayne ... his real name was Francis.

 

[meaganola]

I did! I keep thinking of John Wayne ... his real name was Francis.

Um, no, his name was Marion. Marion Robert Morrison, to be precise.

 

[jessicalriley]

Lexxie, I am confident but a name like Horny Mistress promotes infidelity and shows a total disrespect for the institution of marriage and the faithfulness that comes with a true commitment. I can't just look at the color and ignore the name. I WILL vote with my money. And I'm not picking on Bondi, I totally love what they are doing, but who would approve a name like that? And what message does it send to our younger generations who are following us by example? Sorry for being on a soap box about this but as I get older and watch my son mature (22 in Sept.), I realize the things that my husband and I have taught him unintentionally, both good and bad.

I totally agree. I am 100% confident in myself & my marriage. My son is only 2 & he is like a little mirror of my behavior. Eta: I am certainly not dull enough to think buying a nail polish called horny mistress will make my husband cheat on me... I just don't like what the name and names such as these say or imply about women.

 

[r4chel77]

you can be confident in your marriage and not be at any risk for infidelity.

however 'trophy wife' and 'horny mistress' are absolute trash. cheating is evil. cheating or being possessed like an object are nothing to glamorize.

to know this is not to want to buy trash like that is not to say i think a nail polish means my partner will cheat. i hate how there's always a few women who stand up and say 'the misogyny's cool because my man won't cheat; i'm a confident woman. everything's cool if you're confident in yourself against the onslaught of anti-women crap.'

(not a response to jessicacalriley's post)

 

[angismith]

Originally Posted by normajean2008 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

The mystery boxes are not on a set schedule for release.  They used to be every couple of months/major holidays up until like February or March of this year.  Now they have been doing them about 1 a month. But they aren't guaranteed to be that often. 

The wearhouse sales are once per year (June), and this was the first year they have offered it online, last year it was only in person at their place in Seattle.  We don't know for certain if they will offer it online again, I'm sure they will announce next spring when they remind about the sale coming up.  They had a lot of hiccups with it this year, but since it was the first time they did it online, maybe they know how to make it better next year? 

They also have an end of year sale right after Christmas.  It was just as good, if not better, than the warehouse sale! 

So you are telling us to save our Christmas money for the year-end sale??? LOL!

 

[angismith]

Originally Posted by meaganola /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Um, no, his name was Marion. Marion Robert Morrison, to be precise.

Um, .... red face here .... I think I'm getting Alzheimer's ... I KNEW that ... who am I thinking about that's real name was/is Francis? Anybody know what I was thinking??? LOL!!! Was it Cary Grant? Are any of you here old enough to know who Cary Grant was?

 

[deactivateduser232015]

Originally Posted by r4chel77 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

if you think about it, why would a company that markets products towards women name them as hateful, antif-women things? marathin? trophy wife? it's disgusting. 'horny mistress' implies infidelity and monogamy doesn't encompass everyone anyways but it implies secrecy. i don't know. it's bad but again, things like marathin and trophy wife are abhorrent. 

this leads me to my next point: if you feel strongly about these things, i hope that you won't buy them as i don't. do what you're comfortable with but remember that women make and influence a lot of consumer decisions: you can vote with your dollars. that's why i support julep: they don't pull that misogynistic crap that so many companies do, are led by women, and their very message 'beauty is about connection, not competition' is invaluable in a world of 'trophy wife' and 'marathin' and 'horny mistress', all of which encourage women to see each other as hateful competition along the axes of intersectionality/patriarchy. ending angry feminist rant? for now. =) also, i'm super glad that it seems most people discussing it see the distinction from these and just sex-related things.

Honestly, and I'm hugely feminist, but I think it's important to take a more nuanced stance on the topic. That's one of the things that bothers me about armchair/internet feminism (and please don't take this the wrong way Rachel, I'm not accusing you of that) but that we have to get all up in arms about every single thing that's problematic. If it's the same noise level regardless of how problematic the issue is, way more important topics (e.g. reproductive rights, wage discrepancy, glass ceiling) are drowned out by things that don't matter... like makeup names.

And I'm not saying that these names aren't slightly or overtly misogynist, but honestly, if misogynist makeup names were the least of our problems, I think everyone would be delighted. Instead, they're the symptoms of a sick system that trivializes and degrades the female experience and the female-gendered and/or -bodied person. But keep in mind that capitalism is amoral (for better or worse). The company dosen't care if  you're not a customer if you don't know their product, if you consciously decide not to use their product because you don't like it (me, with Essie's formula), if you are boycotting them because of moral reasons (feminsm, cruelty free, veganism). Morality of a company is imposed on it by the owners, otherwise, a company won't change its stance unless it's somehow degrading their profits. So for example, Julep doesn't care if you don't subscribe to them because you don't like their formula or if you don't like their main product, nail polish.

I'm not saying it's not important to put your foot down about little things as well, but if that's the case, doesn't it seem hypocritical (for me as well) to not boycott the entire beauty industry, which is systemically sexist for a number of reasons? Like for example, saying it's not okay to bully people to your kids, then going around and making disparaging remarks about a celebrity -- not practicing what we preach. Food for thought.

 

[angismith]

Originally Posted by hdmom /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Also new to julep! Been following the thread but decided to finally join in on the chatting fun I joined last month and also did a mystery box, but this will be my first maven month. I was curious about the mystery boxes--when do they typically offer them? Also, are the warehouse sales I hear about rare??

thanks for joining us, hdmom! I lurked the first month or so too .... it won't be long until you won't hesitate to say something ... sometimes I say TOO much!

 

[meaganola]

Um, .... red face here .... I think I'm getting Alzheimer's ... I KNEW that ... who am I thinking about that's real name was/is Francis? Anybody know what I was thinking??? LOL!!! Was it Cary Grant? Are any of you here old enough to know who Cary Grant was?

Mmmm, Archibald Leach. I have spent many hours wishing I was more age-appropriate for his career. I'll have to think about Francis because the only ones I can think of are Frank Black aka Black Francis and the bad guy in _Pee Wee's Big Adventure_.

 

[angismith]

Originally Posted by jessicalriley /img/forum/go_quote.gif

DB's bulge wouldn't bother me, & I get funny, sexy names. There's something really demeaning about the combination Horny Mistress. I would be okay with just Horny, but there's something sickening about the two words together that I'm trying to put my finger on... Maybe the implied infidelity?

I tend to deconstruct language and notice subtle nuances. That may explain my sensitivity. Also, I agree with what Rachel explained ab women being passive sexual objects.

I have also seen some concerns ab "Oxblood" as a description of a certain shade of red (not necessarily the name of a specific polish). There are words (& the images they represent) that bother some & not others, so that kind if makes this whole conversation moot. And that is what language is- a set of signifiers for the images we intend to communicate to another person. I except companies will continue to use edgy names in order to project a certain image of themselves & to appeal to their target demo. And they have the right to do so. But, if I did receive a product with a name that offends me, I would return it with an explanation of why it did so.

That being said, to each her own! If you love the product & don't mind the name, awesome! Language is subjective. I just wanted to explain myself further as I rarely post long entries. Sorry if it felt like a lecture, but this sort of debate regarding names is intriguing for me.

Jessica, I had no problem with Oxblood as it has been around for a long time ... I haven't done a lot of color studies, but I think it is an actual color name, like red, blue, purple, chartreuse, ... then defines an actual color not just a name of a polish ... you would use oxblood just like you would use teal to describe a red that has brown tones. It is a favorite of mine ... my first paycheck from my first job went to an oxblood leather bag and wallet ... way back once upon a long, long time ago.

 

[r4chel77]

i understand the valid argument that these issues are trivial, but i believe that if we change what we complacently accept in our daily lives, we can begin to change how the population at large regards all of the most significant issues, including those recent and ongoing attacks on our rights. if a society won't tolerate misogynistic names, it won't tolerate the violations of basic human rights. also, i don't know of any blogger or formal writer on the internet that talks mainly about small problems rather than large ones. i believe that taking our rights away is symptomatic as well, just as the names of makeup are, which means that it is our general attitude and notions of women that we accept complacently on a subliminal level. ignoring them, or treating anything as too small to care about, is why the larger and most significant attacks on women occur. the economy is directly fueled by destroying the ability of men and women to connect to each other on a human level, persuading us to buy products and expect things in partners that are quite literally nonhuman (specifically for physical attributes) and destroy the ability to generally relate to each other. 

that's not to say that sometimes a battle isn't worth fighting, but it is a makeup forum, and we are talking about makeup. it takes too much energy to slap someone every time on the wrist that they use nonparallel language, 'he' for the universal, 'chick', etc, and i get it. but it is a makeup forum, and i can't imagine a better place for that conversation than here (or a corporate office of whomever approves those names).

 

[angismith]

Originally Posted by r4chel77 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

i understand the valid argument that these issues are trivial, but i believe that if we change what we complacently accept in our daily lives, we can begin to change how the population at large regards all of the most significant issues, including those recent and ongoing attacks on our rights. if a society won't tolerate misogynistic names, it won't tolerate the violations of basic human rights. also, i don't know of any blogger or formal writer on the internet that talks mainly about small problems rather than large ones. i believe that taking our rights away is symptomatic as well, just as the names of makeup are, which means that it is our general attitude and notions of women that we accept complacently on a subliminal level. ignoring them, or treating anything as too small to care about, is why the larger and most significant attacks on women occur. the economy is directly fueled by destroying the ability of men and women to connect to each other on a human level, persuading us to buy products and expect things in partners that are quite literally nonhuman (specifically for physical attributes) and destroy the ability to generally relate to each other. 

that's not to say that sometimes a battle isn't worth fighting, but it is a makeup forum, and we are talking about makeup. it takes too much energy to slap someone every time on the wrist that they use nonparallel language, 'he' for the universal, 'chick', etc, and i get it. but it is a makeup forum, and i can't imagine a better place for that conversation than here (or a corporate office of whomever approves those names).

Right, Rachel ... change has to start somewhere and as consumers of makeup, we should take a stand against things that are unacceptable to us individually ... if no one bought a product with a foul name, the product would die a natural death, lack of sales. So vote for your beliefs as you stated earlier, Rachel, with your wallet and don't buy products that are offensive to you. And feel free to share those beliefs about the subtleties of makeup names on a makeup talk forum! It is a place to share our values as well as our opinions. And Julep is all about girlfriends supporting girlfriends ... which is what we are doing here on MuT.

 

[Bikerchic]

Well, if anyone happens to get Horny Mistress in your sub box, send it my way!  I am not easily offended and could honestly care less what kind of inappropriateness in on the tiny label on my polish, makeup etc.  So, send me your Trophy Wife's, your Boy Bait's and your Barefoot and Topless's! 

 

[reepy]

Originally Posted by Bikerchic /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Well, if anyone happens to get Horny Mistress in your sub box, send it my way!  I am not easily offended and could honestly care less what kind of inappropriateness in on the tiny label on my polish, makeup etc.  So, send me your Trophy Wife's, your Boy Bait's and your Barefoot and Topless's! 

I'm second in line!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />