September Boxycharm Unboxing
This is the first time I’ve actually been a little nervous before receiving my Boxycharm. I mean, obviously I’m super excited because I love surprises. But after last month’s fiasco, I was nervous they weren’t going to be able to redeem themselves as much as I needed them to. Before we get into the five new products that were included in the September box, I’ll quickly review each of the six products from last month.
~Wander Beauty Baggage Claim Gold Eye Masks~ I love that these were gold. They’re probably the only eye masks I can wear without bursting out laughing when I catch a glance at myself in the mirror. They were also very lightweight. However, I’m a little concerned about using the other two because the first set left my under eye area extremely red. I noticed it getting really hot within the 13 minutes I had them on, but it was almost too red to be able to cover with makeup. That doesn’t make me feel very comfortable.
~ncLA So Rich Cuticle Oil~ This brand makes really good cuticle oils, although I have voiced my dislike of their packaging quite a few times. Compared to the previous cuticle oil I’ve tried from them, this one absorbs into the skin much faster. So even though they look like the same product, there’s clearly a different formula. I also really loved the marshmallow scent!
~Becca Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector~ I had already tried this product prior to receiving it in my Boxycharm and knew that it wasn’t my favorite. In case you missed it, you can refer back to the unboxing post for more details.
~Bang Beauty Gel Eyeliner (Chocolate)~ This is horrible, y’all. I had a feeling from the very beginning that I wasn’t going to like it and I was right. Not only is the color too light to actually show up on the lash line, the formula is way too dry to work with. I tried it in my brows and it did work better in that way, but it’s definitely not worth the $22 they’re charging for it.
~Laura Lee Los Angeles Party Animal Eyeshadow Palette~ Trash. That’s all I can really say about this product and this brand. If you remembered from my unboxing post, this product basically ruined the whole box. Aside from me just not supporting the brand, or the owner of it, the actual eyeshadows are garbage. There’s nothing that can be done with the colors in this palette and the formula is very inconsistent among every shade. Many of them are very powdery and chalky, and the majority of them stained both my eyelids (with a primer) and my fingers. Don’t waste your money on this.
~Wander Beauty Baggage Claim Gold Eye Masks~ I love that these were gold. They’re probably the only eye masks I can wear without bursting out laughing when I catch a glance at myself in the mirror. They were also very lightweight. However, I’m a little concerned about using the other two because the first set left my under eye area extremely red. I noticed it getting really hot within the 13 minutes I had them on, but it was almost too red to be able to cover with makeup. That doesn’t make me feel very comfortable.
~ncLA So Rich Cuticle Oil~ This brand makes really good cuticle oils, although I have voiced my dislike of their packaging quite a few times. Compared to the previous cuticle oil I’ve tried from them, this one absorbs into the skin much faster. So even though they look like the same product, there’s clearly a different formula. I also really loved the marshmallow scent!
~Becca Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector~ I had already tried this product prior to receiving it in my Boxycharm and knew that it wasn’t my favorite. In case you missed it, you can refer back to the unboxing post for more details.
~Bang Beauty Gel Eyeliner (Chocolate)~ This is horrible, y’all. I had a feeling from the very beginning that I wasn’t going to like it and I was right. Not only is the color too light to actually show up on the lash line, the formula is way too dry to work with. I tried it in my brows and it did work better in that way, but it’s definitely not worth the $22 they’re charging for it.
~Laura Lee Los Angeles Party Animal Eyeshadow Palette~ Trash. That’s all I can really say about this product and this brand. If you remembered from my unboxing post, this product basically ruined the whole box. Aside from me just not supporting the brand, or the owner of it, the actual eyeshadows are garbage. There’s nothing that can be done with the colors in this palette and the formula is very inconsistent among every shade. Many of them are very powdery and chalky, and the majority of them stained both my eyelids (with a primer) and my fingers. Don’t waste your money on this.
~Smashbox Be Legendary Liquid Metal Lipgloss (Petal Metal)~ Although the color wasn’t my favorite for the lips, the formula was so comfortable to wear. I knew the color would look hilarious (and it did), but when I tried it on just for fun I had no idea it’d be as comfortable as it was. I also really enjoyed the applicator. With a different shade, this lipgloss would be perfect!
The experience of last month’s products was just as crazy as the initial unboxing. The cuticle oil is the only thing I really liked. The eyeshadow palette and the eyeliner are some of the worst products I’ve ever tried and I’m almost too scared to put the eye masks near my eye area again after seeing how red they left my skin the first time. The theme for this month is Wild Flower and I’m hoping for a much better experience with these five new products!
The first thing in this month’s box is the Ojitos Brush Set from Alamar Cosmetics. This set comes with three eyeshadow brushes and retails for $18. Alamar Cosmetics was created by (former) beauty Youtuber GabyTeeMUA. She hasn’t been active for a year and is apparently now working for Boxycharm, which would explain why we’ve received the only two products in her Alamar brand. The eyeshadow palette was included in June’s box.
This set of brushes comes with a flat painter brush, a fluffy blending brush, and a flat tight liner brush. They aren’t numbered, but I guess there’s no point when you only have three brushes total in the brand. They’re made with synthetic fibers and feel very soft. They recommend using the flat painter brush with foiled metallic shades or concealer. The flat tight liner brush is meant to be used to smoke out color on the upper or lower lashes.
I couldn’t believe they finally included one of the Laura Geller Baked blushes. These have been around for years and I can’t recall ever hearing something negative about them. I’ve always wanted to try them, but never purchased one because I was worried about the glow with my oily cheeks. The shade I have is called Tropic Hues and it retails for $28.
Just listen at how fancy these blushes are! The description on the note card says that the swirls of liquid cream pigments are baked in Italy for 24 hours on terracotta tiles and hand-finished into a silky dome of powder. That is why I complain about products like that Bang Beauty eyeliner costing $22 when something like this is only $28 for such a high-class process.
It’s not the most buttery feeling powder, which is how most baked products are. The pigmentation is still incredible, though. This one has swirls of coral, pink, and bronze. I’ll definitely be trying to use this blush on its own and see if it emphasizes my oil. Otherwise, this would be a beautiful blush topper!
Next up is the Butter London Stroke of Wow Roll On Liner in the shade Pitch Black. I completely even forgot these were a thing, but I’m so excited I finally get to try it. I believe MAC was the first brand to come out with this type of product and it scared me then too, which is why I never brought one into my collection to try. It looks like a pizza cutter that could just slice right into my eye.
This one has a nice system on the inside of the packaging to remove the excess product off of the roller. That seems like a nice concept and I hope it works well during application. The roller wheel is extremely small, which I definitely appreciate. There’s no denying that it looks extremely intimidating and I can only imagine what my first line is going to look like!
This product retails for $19 which isn’t too bad considering MAC’s version is $21 for the same amount of ink. It also has the same ergonomic handle design as the MAC liner. The whole idea of the roller wheel is that it is supposed to help create a precise, ultra-fine winged liner. They claim for this formula to be quick-drying and smudge-proof. With the initial swatch, I’d say I do agree with those claims although I noticed it washing off very strangely. It washed off in chunks, almost like a fiber mascara. Very interesting!
Another eyeshadow palette!! Y’all know I love trying new eyeshadow palettes! Hopefully this Pretty Vulgar Nightingale Smokey Eyeshadow Palette will make up for last month’s tragedy with that Party Animal palette. The theme of this one is super cute and although I love the birdcage design on the inside, I’m a little concerned about some of the shapes of the pans. I’d kinda prefer them all to be squares like the ones in the bottom row.
This palette retails for $35 and is full of cool-tone shades. I haven’t touched any of my cool-tone eyeshadows in such a long time, but I’m really excited to test out the quality of this palette. For being so obsessed with warm-tones recently, I’m surprised with how excited I am about this shade selection. There’s a nice mixture of mattes, satins, and shimmers and I can already tell this has everything I need to create an entire look. The swatches look great too, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
The last product in the box is the only one from a brand that I’ve never heard of. This is the Hank & Henry Matte Liquid Lipstick in the shade Petal Pusher ($17). I’m sure you already know what I’m gonna say -- another matte liquid lipstick?? We were doing so good last month going back to the glosses! However, this one has quite a few things going for it. First, the packaging is super cute, I love the color, and it smells like frosting!
It’s infused with Vitamin E, so I’m hoping that will make it feel a little more comfortable on the lips. This one has the same claims that every other liquid lipstick has -- full-coverage, matte, long-lasting, transfer-proof. You know, the works. The swatch did dry down completely matte and was insanely difficult to remove. I’m keeping my hopes up with this one!
It seems as though Boxycharm has indeed redeemed themselves from last month. I know that was a very rare occurrence, but it had me scarred! I’m so excited to try all of these new products, especially the eyeshadow palette and the eyeliner. The total value for everything is $117. Not the most impressive number considering some of the previous boxes, but that doesn’t matter because it’s still an amazing deal for only paying $21 and they included such interesting products. If you’re not yet a Charmer, visit their website to sign-up!
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them for me in the comments section below. Did you get this month’s Boxycharm? What products are you most excited about?
~Christina~
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