May Boxycharm Unboxing
My Boxycharm showed up so early this month, I almost didn’t even know what to do with myself! Aside from it just arriving super early in the month, it was also delivered a day early. Gotta love that! Last month had a lot of interesting products, so let’s quickly review those before jumping into this month’s new goodies.
~Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner Mask~ This was just okay. It definitely didn’t beat, or even come close, to what my favorite Aztec Clay mask can do. The pigment beads did help during application, but there were too few of them to make a significant difference. That made it difficult to see where the product was applied and where it wasn’t because the rest of the mask is clear in color. And when considering the price of this ($47), the results definitely didn’t impress. It also smelled really bad too, like a minty dirty diaper. Sorry, but it's true.
~Tarte Tarteist Pro Glow Liquid Highlighter (Exposed)~ This is an absolutely gorgeous color, I’ll give it that. But as far as a product that I would enjoy using, this is definitely not it. When you actually start blending this in on the skin, you can see a few chunks of glitter. And because it’s a liquid highlight, it definitely enhanced any texture or large pores around my face.
~The BrowGal Instatint Tinted Eyebrow Gel (Brown Hair 02)~ I actually really loved this product. I had a feeling I was going to, but sometimes you just never know with makeup what’s going to work and what isn’t. I wouldn’t use this on my brows alone because it doesn’t provide enough for that, but it is a really great setting gel. It adds just enough to keep the brows in place while providing the finishing touch of pigment that you may need.
~ColourPop Semi-Precious Eyeshadow Palette~ As much as I may be holding against supporting this brand, this is one of their eyeshadow products that I did enjoy. The shadows are very easy to apply and nothing in this palette gave me problems that their other powders have. As you might have read in my full review, I just didn’t appreciate the shade range they provided. However, I was able to create a wearable eye look in my most recent tutorial after bringing in a few other essential colors.
~Adesse Hi Definition Liquid Lipstick~ I wish they wouldn’t call this a liquid lipstick because it’s just a basic gloss. I know every company feels like they have to label it what’s “in” to increase sales, but it drives me insane. Just call it what it is! Regardless of the name, though, this gloss is really comfortable and the color is super flattering.
For the most part, I was impressed by the majority of last month’s products. I really wanted to like the mask just based on the price, so that was definitely the most disappointing of them all. The theme for May’s box is Boxy Bash. This month we get six new products to play with, valued at $179!!
~Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner Mask~ This was just okay. It definitely didn’t beat, or even come close, to what my favorite Aztec Clay mask can do. The pigment beads did help during application, but there were too few of them to make a significant difference. That made it difficult to see where the product was applied and where it wasn’t because the rest of the mask is clear in color. And when considering the price of this ($47), the results definitely didn’t impress. It also smelled really bad too, like a minty dirty diaper. Sorry, but it's true.
~Tarte Tarteist Pro Glow Liquid Highlighter (Exposed)~ This is an absolutely gorgeous color, I’ll give it that. But as far as a product that I would enjoy using, this is definitely not it. When you actually start blending this in on the skin, you can see a few chunks of glitter. And because it’s a liquid highlight, it definitely enhanced any texture or large pores around my face.
~The BrowGal Instatint Tinted Eyebrow Gel (Brown Hair 02)~ I actually really loved this product. I had a feeling I was going to, but sometimes you just never know with makeup what’s going to work and what isn’t. I wouldn’t use this on my brows alone because it doesn’t provide enough for that, but it is a really great setting gel. It adds just enough to keep the brows in place while providing the finishing touch of pigment that you may need.
~ColourPop Semi-Precious Eyeshadow Palette~ As much as I may be holding against supporting this brand, this is one of their eyeshadow products that I did enjoy. The shadows are very easy to apply and nothing in this palette gave me problems that their other powders have. As you might have read in my full review, I just didn’t appreciate the shade range they provided. However, I was able to create a wearable eye look in my most recent tutorial after bringing in a few other essential colors.
~Adesse Hi Definition Liquid Lipstick~ I wish they wouldn’t call this a liquid lipstick because it’s just a basic gloss. I know every company feels like they have to label it what’s “in” to increase sales, but it drives me insane. Just call it what it is! Regardless of the name, though, this gloss is really comfortable and the color is super flattering.
For the most part, I was impressed by the majority of last month’s products. I really wanted to like the mask just based on the price, so that was definitely the most disappointing of them all. The theme for May’s box is Boxy Bash. This month we get six new products to play with, valued at $179!!
The first product in this month’s box is a P12 face brush from the brand Aesthetica. This brush retails for $27 and is made with synthetic fibers. They didn’t include any tips for what this brush would be best used for, but since my box showed up so early this month I do have a few first impressions to share with you. So far, I’ve tried it with powder, bronzer, and blush. I wasn’t a fan of any of those options, so I think this will be set aside for blending instead. It is really soft, though, and has a very unique shape.
Also from the Aesthetica brand, we got their 3 piece eye trio. This set is valued at $45 and includes an angled eyeliner brush, a fine tipped eyeliner brush, and a spoolie. Unfortunately, none of these brushes have an official name which is something I would expect from a brand as pricey as this one. So far, the spoolie seems nice although I’ll probably end up bending it because that’s what I do with all of my spoolies. Fine tipped eyeliner brushes like this always give me a problem and this one is no different. However, the angled eyeliner brush is a little thicker than I was expecting so I think it’ll work best for the brows unless you want thick eyeliner.
The next item in the box is the Cover FX Blurring Primer. This comes with 1 fl oz of product and retails for $38. I know Cover FX is not known for being a super affordable brand, but that seems like a bit much to charge for a primer. It is silicone based and has a slight skin-toned tint to it. This claims to blur pores, fine lines, and other imperfections to allow for smooth, flawless foundation application. I have noticed it blurring my pores nicely, but I haven’t checked it for oil control yet. However, what’s interesting to me (and the first thing I noticed) is that it feels and smells exactly like the Benefit POREfessional primer. Hmmm...
Boxycharm continues to include more and more Pür Cosmetics products in their boxes, and I am totally here for it. I always enjoy most of the items I try from that brand, so I keep getting more excited every time I see they’ve included another one of their products. This time it was their Sculptor face palette. I love their face products because they don’t include talc, which means I get to wear it on my skin as much as I want without having to be concerned of any breakouts.
This palette retails for $30 and includes two highlighters and two matte bronzers. Aside from appreciating the ingredients that Pür Cosmetics uses, I love the texture of their products. All of their powder products feel like butter and swatch with such intense pigmentation. This palette seems like it would be suitable for many different skintones. Based off my first few experiences in using these powders, I would definitely recommend being very cautious during application. Especially with the bronzers, those are intense! And on another side note, it kinda smells like cocoa!
Next is Pretty Vulgar’s The Ink gel eyeliner in the shade Black List. It comes with .2 oz of product in a very heavy glass jar and retails for $24. I think this is supposed to look like one of those old school ink jars, which is super cute. However, my experience with this so far is that it’s a little difficult to get the product out. Not only do you have to dip your brush through the jar quite a ways before you even get to the product, but it’s also incredibly difficult to see what you’re doing because the glass itself is pitch black.
The actual eyeliner is nicely pigmented and smooth to apply. In the swatch picture below, you can see it swatched on the left with the angled eyeliner brush I mentioned earlier. The swatch on the right is with the fine tipped eyeliner brush. It is pretty easy to build up and dries down matte fairly quickly.
The last product in the box is by a brand I’ve never heard of before. This is the HAN Skin Care Cosmetics lip gloss in the shade Nude Rose. It comes with .28 oz of product and retails for $15. It is supposed to be a moisturizing lip gloss that is formulated with antioxidant rich argan and acai oils, as well as anti-aging super-fruit extracts and vitamins.
The first thing I noticed about it is the color, I absolutely love it! The second thing I noticed is that they’re calling it a lip gloss and not a liquid lipstick like most other brands. That’s something I really appreciate. After testing it a few times already, I definitely think this is something I’m going to wear often. The color is beautiful on the lips and it’s super comfortable. Yayy!!
I’m really excited about this month’s products. I’ve been using a lot of gel eyeliner recently because of its lasting power, and I’m so glad I get to try another Pür Cosmetics product. I have a pretty good feeling about that primer too because I really like the Benefit POREfessional that feels exactly like it. If you haven’t signed up for Boxycharm yet, I definitely recommend it. And as of right now, there is no wait list!!
If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it using one of the buttons below. If you have any other questions, leave them for me in the comments! Did you receive this month’s Boxycharm? What product are you most excited about?
~Christina~
Don’t forget to follow me on all of my social media!
