February’s BoxyCharm

Well, BoxyCharm keeps sucking me back in! I saw we were getting the Too Faced Better Than Sex in this month’s box, so I kept the subscription literally for that. I was planning on buying it in a few months anyway, and that makes the cost of the box. 🤷

The theme this month was After Glow. This is a $21 plus tax subscription box for makeup and beauty products. If you choose to bundle several months, it’s cheaper. I do monthly because I keep thinking I’m going to cancel lol! I’m so glad there wasn’t a palette this month because I haven’t liked the last few months’ palettes.

First we have the Trestique lipstick in shade English Rose. It’s actually more of an opaque gloss. I don’t mind it at all and it’s a very pretty color. It’s comfortable on the lips but definitely transfers. It seems to wear very evenly though which I love 👌 The bottom pops out and is a little primer, and the cap is actually magnetic which I thought was pretty cool!

Then there’s the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. Either you love it or it’s over hyped lol. I honestly can’t justify spending that much on a mascara but I’ve been buying the little travel sizes off and on because I really do love this mascara! I’m so glad to get a full sized one.

Then there’s the Touch in Sol No Pore-blem face primer. I was excited to try this but it didn’t do much for me ☹️ My pores are just very deep and I need something with a whipped consistency like the Urban Decay Optical Illusion to literally fill them in. I think I will pass it along to a family member. It’s not necessarily bad but I just need something to really fill in!

The fourth item is the Farmacy face cleanser. I have heard good things about this brand but I honestly don’t think I’m really going to test this out. We will see. I have a few products I absolutely love for face cleansers so I might just pass this onto my sister…who desperately needs a good cleanser 😏 I’m having a bad time with very dry skin and I’m not sure I want to switch products right now

Finally, we got the Pretty Vulgar highlighter in Shimmering Swan. This gets a 3/5 stars. It’s just okay. I think I would have liked it more if I had gotten it last year before I started using really flashy, blindingly bright highlighters lol. It’s a very pretty champagne-y color but there’s not a ton of pay off. It’s more for a glow than a beacon which I know some people prefer 😁

What do you guys think? I would put up my usual spiel about not sure if I want to continue, but…. I kind of signed up to try Boxy Luxe next month 😶 Umm…. No buy is not going well, guys 😂 I think I need to officially change it to low buy because I’m not going crazy but I’m not sticking to my original plan either since January 28th haha. But I saw they were including the It Cosmetics eye cream that I was going to repurchase as soon as mine ran out sooo… 🤷 We will see if I keep either after next month!

-AV

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January’s BoxyCharm

First BoxyCharm of 2019 has started off kind of luke warm for me lol. I was thinking about cancelling in November, then I really liked what I got in December, and now I’m back to thinking I will cancel. We will see how February’s box goes! It’s just such a good deal even if I didn’t like everything…

I never understand their themes, lol, but this one is Boxy and Chill. I did get some skincare, some I’m not sure if that’s the chill part? 🤔

So enter a giant blank for the palette! I received Rainforest of the Sea Vol III from Tarte, and I literally opened it and then regifted it to my sister in law. Why? It’s a neutral palette with one matte shade in it. If you follow my Instagram, I gravitate towards colors lol. While I wanted to try a Tarte palette, this one retails $36 and I knew I would swatch and do one look with it. So I wanted someone to enjoy it.

Tatcha face masks, $24. I was excited to finally try something from this brand. I used one and while I didn’t notice any huge difference, it felt nice 🙂

Briogeo leave in hair mask, $16. I was also excited to try this. My hair has been blah lately. I started taking iron vitamins hoping that would help, but they upset my stomach. I used this twice so far and I swear it’s made my hair feel silkier and softer! I will definitely keep using it.

Ofra liquid lipstick, shade Havanna Nights $20. I got another liquid lipstick from them in a past box and loved it, so I knew I liked the formula at least. However, it’s pretty dark for my taste. I’m not sure how much I will use it.

Starlooks black liner, $19. How is this $19? I pulled off the cap and it basically broke. I could still use it but the middle part came off and I have to keep jamming it back in place. On top of that, it was very stiff. I used to use a pencil like this from CoverGirl for $7 and absolutely loved it. As you may tell from the picture, it was not great.

I couldn’t get a precise line, and it literally was so stiff. Not impressed.

What did you guys get? Or are you over BoxyCharm? They better step it up next month! 🙂 The price is still there for me. The mask and the hairspray together are more than what I paid, and I wouldn’t have tried them on my own.

-AV

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December BoxyCharm

It’s the last BoxyCharm of 2018! I actually got this on Wednesday but I am starting to get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I need to do this month, so it’s been a little struggle to keep up on my blog and Instagram posts 😦

But I was actually planning on cancelling my BoxyCharm after this month and this box drew me back in! I had seen the palette they put out and was underwhelmed with it. However… I didn’t get the palette! I was so confused when I opened my box lol but then excited 🙂

They always have a “theme” but I usually don’t get how all of the products tie into it lol. That doesn’t matter to me though.

Favorite product–Pretty Vulgar matte setting powder. How beautiful is this packaging?? If I had a vanity, this would be sitting out on display. It’s a huge container with a little powder puff inside. I put it on one time over my BB cream and it did not make me look cakey, which is a feat this time of year! And it retails for like $32!

Surprise item– PYT mini hair straightener! This is what I got instead of the palette I believe. And I literally just said to my husband I need a hair straightener for my layers. I have pretty short hair that is basically straight, but sometimes my layers flip out funny. This worked perfectly for that…and it retailed $75?!?

Last three products I have not tried but I’m excited for them as well. I got a Tartist lip gloss, a Bodyography lip liner, and a Cosmedix face mask.

Here is the card with the description.

What did you guys get in your BoxyCharm? If you got the palette, did you like it?

-AV

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November BoxyCharm

So I got my BoxyCharm yesterday but my work schedule has been all over the place …I didn’t even really look at it until today 😦 I even missed my beginning of the week post! 😦 So here’s a quick look at what I got.

I received variation 3. I get the monthly subscription (rather than preordering a set amount) so it’s $21/month for me. This month’s theme was Goal Digger. I mean…I’m not crazy about the name but I don’t really care either lol. I don’t care for the term “gold digger” but maybe that’s just me being a crazy feminist or something 🤨🤔

There is a set of Luxie brushes! Retail $21. I’m excited because I love brushes, always need brushes, and I actually don’t have many small, detail brushes.

Then there’s Lashaholic lashes. Retail $14.99. I have never used lashes and am scared of gluing my eyes shut haha! They look pretty though.

Jonteblu Glittering Star Eyeliner. Retail $5.00. it’s pretty and I hope it goes on well, because I am not afraid to use glitter eyeliner, especially around Christmas 😂

Then there’s the expensive item–CoverFX glitter drops in shade Nova. Retail $44. Please someone help. What do I do with these?? I feel like they are meant for someone with a healthy complexion as compared to being ghostly white.

Finally, my favorite item of all boxes… The palette. My first item to try from Ace Beaute, the Grandoise palette. Retail $24.99. I love the colors and am excited to give it a go 🙂

Some swatches:

What did everyone else get? What’s your favorite item? 🙂

-AV

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October’s BoxyCharm

I did actually cancel my Ipsy subscription and to be honest…with how much makeup I’m purchasing on my own, I may end up cancelling BoxyCharm. The only reason I’m holding out is because it is the best way I know to try new brands without being out a lot of money.

If you don’t know, BoxyCharm is a monthly subscription. It’s $21/month if you pay monthly (which I do so I didn’t have to pay up front). You can 5-6 full sized products in each box worth over $100.

Each month has a theme, and this month was Alter Ego. I honestly was never very sure how the themes are picked because nothing in here screams Alter Ego to me lol. But at any rate, here’s the contents:

I tried pretty hard to keep it all a secret, but I some how always get ads for it on my Facebook or personal Instagram so I basically knew what I was getting. It’s still kind of exciting opening a box of makeup though 😁

Each box has a palette. This month was Pur Cosmetics Midnight Mascarade. And…I can’t show swatches because I already passed it on to a family member. It looks beautiful, but I just bought three palettes in the last month and need a palette break. It has eyeshadows on one side and blushes on the other, but some of the blushes look like they could be used for eyeshadow if you’re very fair like me!

The we have the It Cosmetics Superhero mascara. I am excited to try this. I have tried their brushes but no makeup yet. And my Wander beauty mascara from a BoxyCharm is about done, so I’m glad to have something new!

There’s also a Kat Von D liquid lipstick in every box, but the shade varies. Pro for me: mine is Lolita, and even though the idea behind the shade name grosses me out, I have heard people rave about this color. Con: I had just decided to not buy anymore KVD makeup lol. I will try this though since I have it. I like that her stuff is cruelty free…I just personally do not like the person behind the brand 🤷

Finally, there were two skincare products that I’m excited to try. I’ve been trying to check out new skincare products. The first is a Dermovia Lace a Peel black bamboo charcoal peel off mask. There are two masks inside and I’m pretty sure this is like $30! I will have to do an update if I like it or not.

Last but not least, we have Farmacy Green Clean makeup cleanser. I am always down to try a new makeup remover/face cleanser. I just popped off the lid before hitting post, and this smells really good! It strangely reminds me of like orange sherbet haha. It’s like a mint green color though…just the scent reminds me.

What did everyone else get in their box? Were you happy with this month? Overall I was fine with it 🙂 Not the best but not the worst!

-AV

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The Palettes from BoxyCharm

So I’ve only gotten four BoxyCharm boxes so far, but three out of the four palettes they’ve chosen have been great. I thought I would do a little update on the palettes since I seem to post what I got and then no update!

First off…the third palette I received which is not pictured here is Laura Lee Cosmetics Party Animal. One, it’s not pictured because I gave it away and didn’t keep the pictures on my phone. They are in a previous post if you would like to check it out. Two, I hated the palette, which is why I gave it away. That whole box was pretty worthless to me tbh.

My favorite palette so far is….

Alamar Cosmetics Reina Del Caribe Vol 1. I love love love this palette! It retails for $28 and I would 100% recommend it for that price. The shimmers are gorgeous…they are best applied with a fingertip or a wet brush. The mattes don’t swatch amazingly but they do apply and blend very well.

My second favorite palette so far is…

Crown Brushes Fuego palette. This originally retailed for $30 but when I just googled it for the price, I saw it was on sale on the Crown Brushes website for $9.99! I was going to say for the price of BoxyCharm ($21), I would 100% recommend this. But for $9.99…go get this palette! Again, the shimmers are beautiful…that middle one on the top row is my absolute favorite. It’s like a pink gold and reminds me on a sunrise 🙂 The mattes again don’t swatch the greatest but they apply and blend well.

My third favorite palette is then, of course…

Pretty Vulgar’s Nightingale palette. This retails for $35. I think that’s a bit steep. I would not buy it at that price, but it was totally worth the price of the box. If you find this one sale, and you need some cool tones, I say grab it. I don’t have a lot of cool tones and it was a nice change from the usual palettes. I really like the grey shades. Some of the shades aren’t the greatest (like the first white does not even show up on my skin), and some of the mattes really need built up. I’m enjoying it so far over all.

Anyone else still using these palettes. Which is in your favorite stack? I’m just so in love with the Alamar palette. I can’t wait for another one from them! 😍

-AV

Check out my Instagram Avlovesmakeup for looks and updates

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September’s BoxyCharm!

I’m quickly starting to once again feel I need to drop ipsy and just with BoxyCharm. It’s fun getting both, but other than last month, BoxyCharm just blows ipsy out of the water. My ipsy should be here tomorrow, but I did the sneak peek to see what I was getting already.

This is just an overview of the box. I will hopefully do updates on what I like and how everything works 🙂 If you don’t know… BoxyCharm is a monthly subscription. If you pay monthly like I do, it’s $21/month. You can do bundles like 3 months, 6 months, or a year, and you do pay less a box. However, if you do a bundle, you can’t cancel and get a refund. If you do monthly, you can cancel monthly.

This month’s theme was Wild Child. My box added up to $117 with 5 full sized products. There are always a few product variations.

I was not excited for the eyeliner. It’s from Butter London and is a stroke of wow roll on liner. It doesn’t look super opaque to me and I know I will not be able to use it lol.

The blush is Laura Gellar Baked Blush-n-Brighten. It’s very pretty and is a little shimmery, but I’m excited to try it.

The liquid lipstick is Hank & Henry. I love the color and it does dry down matte.

The brushes are from Alamar Cosmetics. They had their palette a few boxes back and it’s amazing, so I’m glad to see the brushes 🙂 They are pretty!

Finally we have the palette! It’s from Pretty Vulgar and is the Nightingale palette. I actually was looking for grey shades, so this was great to get. It looks like the mattes will need built up, but I’m ok with that if they blend well and do their job 🙂

Anyone else get BoxyCharm? What was your favorite product? So far I’m most excited for the lipstick. I think it will look nice on!

-AV

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