January Boxycharm Unboxing
Christmas may be over, but Boxycharm is still active! I’m such a kid when it comes to presents and receiving surprises. Although I am the one paying for the box to be delivered and I know it’s coming, it’s still a complete surprise as to what’s inside the box. If only you could see my face when I get it in the mail and open it for the first time! As usual, I’ll quickly be reviewing last month’s products before getting into all of this month’s new goodies.
~Cosmedix Detox Activated Charcoal Mask~ It wasn’t the worst mask in the world, but it definitely didn’t do as much as I was hoping. Most all masks leave my skin feeling clean, so what I really look for is how well it will detox my pores. This one didn’t leave me very satisfied, especially for the price.
~Wander Beauty Wanderess Dusk to Dawn palette~ The colors in this palette were just okay. I didn’t get much use out of the Tuscan Sunrise shade because it didn’t have enough pigmentation. Havana Nights was my favorite shade and the City Lights highlighter was pretty, but a little too much glitter and not enough seamless shimmer. My main issue with this is the packaging. There’s so much wasted space in the palette and the pan sizes were too small that it was way too difficult to get enough product onto my brush.
~SUVA Beauty Protégé palette~ As you’ll see in my full review this Friday, there were a few things that I was really impressed with about this palette such as the packaging. But there were also a few things I think needed to be improved, like glitter fallout and formula inconsistencies.
~Bodyography Lip Liner (Heatherberry)~ This was about as creamy as any other pencil lip liner. Retractable options will always have traditional pencils beat on that. While I do think it’s an absolutely stunning shade, application was very difficult because it’s the same color as my natural lips. I couldn’t see where I applied it and where I didn’t.
~Tarte Glitter Lip Paint (Insta-famous)~ This lip gloss is beautiful. I love the packaging, even though the applicator doesn’t hold as much product as I would like. I appreciate that it’s more of a clear gloss that I can layer over any other lipstick color that I want. And the scent!! It smells like a sugar cookie!
Although there were a few issues with some of last month’s products, I did enjoy the learning experience. That’s what makes subscription boxes so much fun! The theme for this month is Boxy and Chill. It’s a super cute theme, even though all the light purple is making me feel like Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!
~Cosmedix Detox Activated Charcoal Mask~ It wasn’t the worst mask in the world, but it definitely didn’t do as much as I was hoping. Most all masks leave my skin feeling clean, so what I really look for is how well it will detox my pores. This one didn’t leave me very satisfied, especially for the price.
~Wander Beauty Wanderess Dusk to Dawn palette~ The colors in this palette were just okay. I didn’t get much use out of the Tuscan Sunrise shade because it didn’t have enough pigmentation. Havana Nights was my favorite shade and the City Lights highlighter was pretty, but a little too much glitter and not enough seamless shimmer. My main issue with this is the packaging. There’s so much wasted space in the palette and the pan sizes were too small that it was way too difficult to get enough product onto my brush.
~SUVA Beauty Protégé palette~ As you’ll see in my full review this Friday, there were a few things that I was really impressed with about this palette such as the packaging. But there were also a few things I think needed to be improved, like glitter fallout and formula inconsistencies.
~Bodyography Lip Liner (Heatherberry)~ This was about as creamy as any other pencil lip liner. Retractable options will always have traditional pencils beat on that. While I do think it’s an absolutely stunning shade, application was very difficult because it’s the same color as my natural lips. I couldn’t see where I applied it and where I didn’t.
~Tarte Glitter Lip Paint (Insta-famous)~ This lip gloss is beautiful. I love the packaging, even though the applicator doesn’t hold as much product as I would like. I appreciate that it’s more of a clear gloss that I can layer over any other lipstick color that I want. And the scent!! It smells like a sugar cookie!
Although there were a few issues with some of last month’s products, I did enjoy the learning experience. That’s what makes subscription boxes so much fun! The theme for this month is Boxy and Chill. It’s a super cute theme, even though all the light purple is making me feel like Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!
The first product in this month’s box is skincare and it’s super fancy! Tatcha is known for being one of the nicest high-end skincare brands, so it’s exciting to see any of their products included. This is the Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mask. These retail for $12 each, making this a $24 value -- already more than the price you pay for the box.
This mask is made with rice germ oil, Vitamin E, essential fatty acids, and botanical oils and extracts. It’s green tea, rice, and algae are supposed to help restore skin’s health and radiance. I don’t typically like sheet masks and these aren’t necessarily made for my skin type, but I’ll try at least one to see how it feels. The other will probably go to my sister who has extremely dry skin and would benefit from this mask more than me.
Next is the Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave-in Conditioning Spray ($12 for travel size). This is supposed to restore hair’s softness, manageability, moisture, and shine with it’s nourishing rosehip, argan, and coconut oils. When applied on damp hair, it will also detangle, diminish frizz, and protect against heat. I’ve, sadly, never been very impressed with Briogeo products in the past, but I do love leave-in sprays so maybe this can turn things around.
Thanks to Boxycharm, I very rarely ever have to buy brow pencils on my own anymore. The one included this month is the Billion Dollar Brows Universal Brow Pencil ($18). It claims to work with most skin tones and brow colors, hence why there is no shade name or any other color options. While it does look like it will match my brows, I’m interested to see how well it would work on someone with red hair or a very dark skin tone. I don’t understand why companies keep trying to make everything “universal.”
The formula was extremely buttery in the swatch and the spoolie seems like it will be nice, but I immediately noticed that the packaging didn’t feel, or sound, very sturdy. I can hear the pencil moving inside the packaging, which is a little concerning. I’m also interested to see just how buttery this formula is. I feel like it’s one of those pencils that could also be marketed as a pen because it lays down so much pigment so easily.
We received the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Volume II eyeshadow palette in the August 2017 box, so it’s kinda funny that more than a year later they decided to include Volume I also. I’m not complaining, though. I love eyeshadows and in my full review, I mentioned how unique and creamy their formula is. This palette retails for $36 and has a much more lighter shade range than the Volume II.
Ughhh, how I love their gold packaging!! It’s gorgeous! I like that there’s a lighter pink included, as well as a very unique purpley-taupe shade to the right of it. I immediately noticed that there weren’t many mattes, so I’m not sure how useful this palette would be in my everyday wear. Just like with my Volume II tutorial, they included another notecard with two ideas of shadow combinations. I will definitely be playing around with that to get a better understanding of the palette.
The last product in this month’s box is another Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick ($20) in the shade Miami Fever. I know this is a shade that KathleenLights created with the brand and although I think it looks gorgeous on her, it’s just not really something I would typically go for. I like pinky berries with my skin tone and this color is nowhere near that! I’m also just sooo over the matte liquid lipstick thing. Like, when can we move past that??
Aside from an eyeroll, the first thing I did when I saw this product was run to the other Ofra lip products I’ve gotten in past boxes because I thought there had been a repeat. There wasn’t, thankfully. But I did want to include swatches of other colors so you can see for comparison.
Shown below from top to bottom are Pasadena, Verona, and Americano. It came closest to the Americano shade, but they’re still different enough. It’s also interesting to see their packaging variations they’ve gone through. They change packaging in these lippies more than any other brand with any other product!
Overall, the total value of all these five products is $110. Although I’m not too extremely excited about the face mask or the liquid lipstick, I am really interested in trying the new hair product, the brow pencil, and comparing the eyeshadow palette. If you haven’t signed up for Boxycharm yet, I definitely recommend it!
Did you get this month’s Boxycharm? What products are you most excited about?
XO ♥ Christina ♥
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