July Boxycharm Unboxing

Gosh, y’all. It is getting harder and harder to keep all the items in my Boxycharm a secret. I try not to follow Boxycharm on any social media because I don’t want any sneak peeks. But this month, they found a way around that and started sponsoring ads on my feed! Ugghhh. Between that and other people that I follow sharing their boxes before I received mine, I saw so many sneak peeks that I didn’t wanna see. What’s a girl gotta do to be surprised around here?? Shesh! Anyway, let’s start off with quick reviews of last month’s products before finally showing you what’s in the July box.

~Luxie 3 Piece Flawless Complexion Brush Set~ Luxie makes great brushes, but these weren’t exactly my favorite. The only one I really liked was the 522 Tapered Highlight brush, that one’s wonderful. The 516 Duo Fibre Powder brush was too thin to do anything with and the 660 Precision Foundation brush was too loose to provide any coverage.

~Sol De Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream~ I love the way this smells and it does absorb into the skin very well. So I can see the hype behind it for those two reasons. But as far as firming the skin, I don’t think it really did anything. The tiny tub was fun while it lasted, I just won’t be purchasing the full size because I have other, more affordable lotions I like better.

~Jontéblu Eyeliner Pencil (Dark Brown)~ This isn’t my favorite eyeliner by any means, but it’s also not the worst I’ve ever tried. It is pretty smooth for a standard pencil liner and does provide good pigmentation. I love the color of it, I would just prefer it in retractable packaging with a more creamy formula.

~Alamar Cosmetics Reina Del Caribe Eyeshadow Palette~ It is really hard to put my opinions about this palette into just a few sentences. You’ll have to check out my full review and tutorial to see exactly what I think about it. But overall, the palette is pretty nice. I’m just a little concerned about the brand and the staining pigments in the blue shades.

~Battington Monroe Silk Lashes~ Holy moly are these some dramatic lashes! I only used them once for the Alamar tutorial and took them off within 30 minutes after applying them. They look absolutely stunning in photos, but the band is much too thick for my preference. There’s a lot going on with these lashes, which doesn’t make them perfect for everyday wear and leads to a more heavy feeling on the eyes.

~Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick (Verona)~ We already know I can’t stand liquid lipsticks, or any matte lip products. Ofra has never had a formula that I enjoy wearing, so I really only wore this twice for color testing. It’s pretty, but it’s too brown for what I like. This is definitely more of a Fall shade and I’m a little surprised that’s the one they chose to include in a Summer box.

I did enjoy testing last month’s products, even though I didn’t really find anything that’s a totally new favorite for me. The theme for the July box is Road Trippin and it seems to be another collaboration box with five more beauty influencers. It seems as though they each got to choose one of their favorites to go in the box, so I’m hoping to be impressed!
Starting off with a skincare product, this is the Bright On Mask from Farmacy Beauty. I do believe I have tried something from this brand before, although I can’t remember what it was or if I liked it. A lot of help that is! This mask claims to be massage-activated to change from purple to green in color. It is made with vitamin C and echinacea greenenvy to detox the skin and improve brightness, texture, and tone. The directions recommend leaving it on for only 5-10 minutes while it works to remove impurities and buildup. This is a full size product with only 1.7 fl oz and retails for $38!!
I was sooo excited to see another Chella Beauty product included in the box. We’ve gotten a few things from them in the past and I’ve always been impressed. This one is their Tantalizing Taupe Eyebrow Cream, which retails for $26. When you take the top off, there is an angled eyebrow brush. That made me think this would be a twist-up type of product like a lipgloss. No...
The bottom also twists off and that’s where the cream is. So you dip the brush into the bottom section to pick up the product and then brush it into the brows. The color seems really nice, but I think I’m going to hate the packaging. Every time I dip the brush into the cream, the tip of the angled brush is the only part that gets any product on it. If it’s this bad the first time I’m trying it, I imagine it can only get worse from here. Come on, Chella, y’all can provide more than that!
Next is a blush from Note Cosmetics, which I’ve never heard of before. This is called the Luminous Silk Compact Blusher and the shade I have is Desert Rose ($12). The word ‘luminous’ made me think it was going to have some sort of sheen to it, but it’s completely matte -- thank goodness! This claims to be infused with argan oil to prevent dryness. I’m sorry, but my cheeks are the least dry part of my face. I don’t need any extra oil in that area!!

The compact does feel a little cheap compared to the other products, but I like the sleek look of it. I could do without the bulky packaging, though. I appreciate the provided mirror and if you lift up the blush pan, there is also a brush underneath. I can tell you right now that brush will never get used by me and I think that’s something they could have left out to make it more slim. It does swatch beautifully, it feels very soft, and the pigmentation is incredible. I’m sure you can guess the next thing I’m about to say...the first ingredient is talc. Not surprising to me, but still frustrating.
This Crown Brush Fuego Eyeshadow palette is the biggest item in this month’s box and is (obviously) what I remember seeing on social media. I’ve never tried Crown Brush products other than their brushes, so I’m excited to see the kind of quality they offer. This comes with 10 eyeshadows (5 matte/5 shimmer) and retails for $30. There is a small mirror included, but no applicator. There was definitely room to provide a bigger mirror and mine is even crooked. Quality control issue right there!
This palette has all warm-toned eyeshadows. I wouldn’t really expect anything else because those are what is popular right now. In my initial swatch, I can already tell there are some inconsistencies in the formula and pigmentation across all the shades. I’ll continue to test it and provide a full review and tutorial later in the month. But for now, here’s just a little sneaky peek of four of the eyeshadows.
The last item in this month’s box is a mascara. It’s from Wander Beauty (another brand that’s new to me) and is their Unlashed Volume and Curl mascara. It comes in this cute little tube that looks like a lipgloss and retails for $24. I’ve never had a mascara in this type of packaging before and the wand also looks very interesting. It’s a curved wand that has a slightly more dramatic shape than most others on the market.

This mascara claims to volumize and lengthen the lashes while also strengthening and conditioning with its combination of gentle ingredients. Some of those ingredients include peach leaf, licorice root, and walnut seed extracts along with vitamins A, B, C, and E. I have a ton of mascaras in the line up for me to try right now, but I think this one is so interesting it might just make it to the top of the list!
I’m really happy with this month’s box right now. I do seem a little frustrated with the blush ingredients and the eyebrow cream packaging, but I’m so intrigued by the three other products. I can’t wait to keep testing all of them throughout the month and see if any of my opinions change. The value for all five of these products is $130!! If you haven’t signed up for Boxycharm yet, I highly recommend it.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to leave them for me in the comments section below. Did you receive this month’s Boxycharm? What product are you most excited about?
~Christina~

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