April’s BoxyCharm

Hello and salutations 🙂 I know I’ve been slacking on my blog. I’m finding life a little stressful lately. However, I have gotten a few new things which have perked me up– one being April’s BoxyCharm!!

Theme: Peace, Love, and Boxy. I think it was centered around the upcoming Coachella (is that even how you spell it? I’m too old for such things 😂). Every time I feel it’s time to cancel, I end up getting a box I mostly love and I figure I will hold out a little while longer! Over all, I am happy with my box this month.

BoxyCharm is a $22 a month makeup subscription box. It used to be $21 but last few months, it was $22 and some change. Not sure why, but for right now I don’t care.

Item #1: Luxie brushes. For being an expensive brand of brushes, I seem to get them off and on in subscriptions. They are decent brushes. The card states they retail $28 but I would never pay that. I like the color and they work well.

Item #2: Luscious brand Angel Eyes eye primer. I have never heard of this brand but I have to wear eyeshadow primer so I’m happy to get stuff like this. It is not clear however. Mine is in shade nude which is fine; however, I had no idea how little I needed to use. I put what I thought was a tiny dab on, but it literally covered my eyes up to my eyebrows and then down and around like concealer 😂 I haven’t done a wear test yet. Retail: $14

Item #3: Artist Couture loose highlight in shade Purple Dream. I was kind of dubious because I’ve never used a loose highlight before and the packaging made it look orange. And then I had the *worst* time opening it lol. But omg…it is GORGEOUS 😍 I’m in love. I have never heard of this brand before but I’m sold. Retail: $27

Item #4: Appeal Cosmetics Holographic Lip Gloss. This is the only thing I wasn’t thrilled about. It’s supposed to be retail $21. I don’t know about that. If you love glosses, I’m sure you will like it. I’m not huge into glosses, and it’s clear so not too exciting to me 🤷

Item #5: Pur Festival pressed pigments palette. I heard this was made for Boxy but I’m not 100% sure on that. I didn’t think I would love this but I do 😁 The colors all work well, and the glitters are very pretty.

There are no overall unique colors, but I’m liking it. I will definitely get some use from it. It’s supposedly retail $36.

Here are swatches, followed by a look 😁

See what I mean about the highlighter?! I have the gloss on with a pink lipliner underneath.

What did you guys get in your boxes?? Anything different? Do you still love BoxyCharm?

-AV (Instagram Avlovesmakeup) ❤️

Advertisements

Read Full Post »

My First BoxyLuxe!

Well, I decided to try out BoxyLuxe finally! I wasn’t super drawn to the last one (which I think was the first one they released), but I accidentally saw a sneak peak that led me to take the plunge.

If you don’t know, BoxyLuxe is an extension of BoxyCharm. BoxyCharm is a makeup subscription box that is monthly. If you buy it monthly (rather than by bundle), it’s $21 plus tax. BoxyLuxe is every three months, and it comes in lieu of the regular BoxyCharm. It is an additional $38 (approximately) for a total of $50 that month. It’s supposed to be at least $300 in value.

It Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream. This is what I signed up for. I am currently using this and was going to repurchase it. It is retail $48 so I thought…may as well try the whole box! 🤷😂

Let’s next do the products that were just okay:

I literally just bought a whole collection of nail polishes, so I was kind of meh on that. I wouldn’t turn down a brush lol but I just don’t really need a powder brush right now. The bag was really nice…it’s huge. I just have a million bags right now! The eyebrow product I haven’t tried, so I guess I shouldn’t judge lol. But I am not good with my brows so I don’t have high hopes lol.

The product I loved but can’t use lol:

I was sooooooo sad to get an email from BoxyCharm telling me they knew they sent me the wrong Cover FX face palette. I got the one for medium to deep skin tones and if you didn’t know, I’m so pale im basically see through in the winter 🤦 It’s gorgeous though. I found a friend who wanted it, so I was happy to pass it along so it will be appreciated.

Products I was most excited for:

I’m getting into fake eyelashes so I’m excited to try a new brand!

I got the Morphe 15H Happy Hour palette. There was four variations, and I was happy to get this one. I love, love, love oranges. I like the palette so far. The packaging is very sturdy and it has a mirror!

I have had some Wander beauty products so far and liked all of them. I also like face peels, so I was excited to try this. I used it once and I definitely used too little. I had some trouble getting it off and panicked a little 😂 But my skin felt nice afterward!

Finally, I haven’t tried a Becca lipstick before! It’s in the shade Poppy. I definitely wouldn’t have picked this color if I had seen it at the store, but I think it’s actually very beautiful.

Here’s my card!

What do you guys think? My original plan was to have BoxyCharm for a year and evaluate if I thought it was worth it. The would be June I believe, which would be the next BoxyLuxe. So I think I’m going to stick with that plan for now and see how I feel about the next few boxes!

-AV

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »