REVIEW: January 2018 Boxycharm

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Happy New Year everyone! Here is my January Boxycharm review! Don’t know what Boxycharm* is? Well, it’s the best subscription box out there. For 21USD a month, you get a guaranteed 4-5 full sized or deluxe samples from amazing brands valued at a minimum of 100USD. This post is in no way sponsored. I pay for my own box.

Now, on to the box!

Theme: Rock 2018

Grande Cosmetics – GrandeLIPS Hydrating Lip Plumper in Taro (27 USD)

I wasn’t sure about this product but was more than willing to give it a try. Seeing as how it’s January in Ontario, I welcome anything that promises to hydrate my poor lips. I’m really not sure about the plumping effects as I’ve only recently started using this. It doesn’t hurt to use, but rather just has a mild minty tingle. The glossiness of the product does make your lips look nice and juicy, but I’m not sure it’s any more than that. As for hydration, I do find that this has helped my lips. I was pretty chapped before starting to use this at least twice a day and now my lips are in better shape. I don’t love the colour, It’s a mauvey purple shade, which isn’t super flattering on my pale lips on its own.

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Luminizing Primer (38 USD)

Ah, this one is a heart breaker. I really love the way it feels on the skin and how my foundation wears on top of it, but after trying this I had the worst break out of my life. It’s the only new complexion product so I’m pretty sure it’s the culprit. Sadly, I’m not willing to risk that again.

It Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil (24 USD)

I first tried this pencil way back in 2015 and was surprised at how much I loved it. I still really enjoy it, though there are a few draw backs. I’m not convinced that this is truly a universal shade. I really only wear it when I want a bolder brow as it is definitely more brown than taupe/blonde. I do enjoy the cool tone of it, and how smoothly it applies. The shade of the lead itself makes it easy to do thin strokes as well as quick filling in. The spoolie is great too. The thing that bugs me about it is that no matter if I retract the “lead” it gets stuck on the lid and falls out. It has happened with a couple of these now, so it’s an issue with the product.

PUR Cosmetics Bronze and Brighten Cheek Palette (34 USD)

I was excited about this palette in theory but a unsure when I opened it up. Each shade is shimmery and intense looking, which isn’t what I go for with my bronzer or blushes generally. I was pleasantly surprised to find that with a careful hand, these wear beautifully. The blush is intense so I prefer using a really feathery stippling brush with a tiny bit of product. The bronzer is similar, but when sheered out, it’s lovely and warm. The highlight is a show stopper. It is STUNNING. A beautiful warm golden high light while still being reflective and light enough to glow on my fair skin. These honestly swatch more like eyeshadows and I would say are the most pigmented things I’ve swatched from this box…

Crown Pro Glam Metals Palette (25USD)

ANOTHER PALETTE?! Damn Boxycharm, you are on a roll. I was intrigued when I saw pictures of this palette online in spoilers. Something a lot of people were commenting on was how six of the shades seemed to have twins. By that, I mean that there are three repeated shades here, which is pretty substantial in a palette of only 9 shades.

I was pretty excited about the green and the gold shades which have been my jam lately. While the colours are pretty, I find that they have really poor lasting power. They fade quite a bit within an hour or two of wear. Also, even with super careful application, finger or brush, they have LOTS of fall out so be sure to use them before doing your face or with shadow guards.

As you can see, the silvery blues are very similar and all of those warm tones are pretty close too. The black is super sheer and more of a charcoal.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed this box, I really liked the lip plumper, eyebrow pencil and the face palette. The eyeshadows and primer will be passed on to someone else, but I still feel like I got my money’s worth.

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REVIEW: December 2017 Boxycharm

*indicates an affiliate link. I appreciate your support by using my link, however it is not required if you would prefer not to. I promise to disclose any affiliate links I share <3 For more information on disclosure and affiliate links, please read my disclosure page. 

Happy Holidays everyone! I am so happy that Boxycharm sent out my box a bit earlier than normal so that I’ve had time to try everything before posting. Don’t know what Boxycharm* is? Well, it’s the best subscription box out there. For 21USD a month, you get a guaranteed 4-5 full sized or deluxe samples from amazing brands valued at a minimum of 100USD.

Theme: Glitz and Glam, definitely appropriate for the holidays. Makes me think of glitter and metallics! Which, in typical boxycharm fashion, is completely unrelated to the contents of the box.

From what I understand, there were a few different versions of the box this month (which doesn’t happen often here in Canada, normally Canadian subscribers all get the same variation). My box variation is #1 (found on the bottom right corner of your box description card). So, here’s what I got this month.

Real Her Blush Kit (32USD)

This is a cute baked blush trio in a cute white box. The tones are nice, with one being rosy (but glittery), a peach and one that’s sort of bronzy. They all have a sheen so if matte blushes are your thing, you will not be for you. Because these blushes are baked, they have a pretty dry texture. I don’t mind, but I know I’ve heard some people are not loving it. I found that I didn’t need to be super careful with these are they aren’t super pigmented. Again, I’m fine with this because I don’t love blushes that are intense. I’d much rather layer to get the payoff I want. While I liked these, I don’t love how the shimmer made my pores stand out and I find the price really high for this product, especially when I love my essence or wet n wild blushes more, at a fraction of the price.  Overall, it’s fine, and I’ll use it, but I wouldn’t buy it at it’s asking price. 

Bellapierre Pro Concealer Palette (29.99USD)

Ok, I would call this a colour correcting palette, as no one is going to use this as just concealer. I was not happy to get this. I don’t use colour correctors anymore and these palettes tend to either be really dry or really greasy. The colours themselves seemed really dark and intense, which doesn’t really work for a fair skinned girl like me. On first touch, this was definitely on the greasier side of things. Thankfully, though, it wasn’t a thick formula and I was really able to control the amount of product I picked up on my finger. I used the orange colour under my eyes, the purple on my cheeks and chin and the green on my breakouts. I blended it out a bit and then layered foundation on top. Here’s what I found:

The orange actually worked really well to deal with my dark circles. I was amazed. I didn’t use any concealer on top and didn’t feel like I needed it. The green was meh. It toned down some of the redness but didn’t last long, especially on the blemishes that were a bit more raised and angry. The purple was also meh. I have some sallowness on my shin and cheeks from medication I used to use for my eczema. It brightened it a bit but didn’t eliminate it all together. Over all, I’m still not excited about this product. I’m glad that it’s a mineral rich formula that’s good for the skin, but I don’t see myself reaching for it. Again, I wouldn’t buy it on my own, outside from Boxycharm.

Pretty Vulgar My Lips are Sealed Lightweight Liquid Lipstick in Weeping Willow. (24USD)

When I saw I was getting this shade I was annoyed. I seem to be getting a lot of the brown shades, which isn’t exactly my typical go to colour. In swatch photos online, it seemed to be a grey brown metallic with a silver shimmer. I was pleasantly surprised when the box arrived to find that it was actually more of a bronze colour, which is way more wearable and flattering on my skin tone. The formula is creamy and not at all drying, but it isn’t a matte lippie and is definitely not smudge proof. I did find that it lasted a while. I’m not sure I would wear this on it’s own, but I think it is pretty as lip topper in the center of the lip to add some juiciness.

The one thing I did notice is that there was some wierd… I dunno, pulling? Gooping?  between your top and bottom lip when you open your mouth while wearing this. It looks gross, though I didn’t notice it feeling heavy, over applied or sticky.

Tarte Tarteist Lash Paint Mascara (23USD)

Ah, my saving grace. This mascara made the whole box worth it. I received a sample of this a while back and fell in love. I was thrilled to receive a full size in this month’s box. Honestly, I would buy this on my own and seeing as how this was basically the cost of the box, I’m happy. I find this mascara gives me good length and volume and works well on both the top and bottom lashes.

Crown Brush Deluxe Blush Brush (12USD)

I really like this brush. I love the handle and the divots for your fingers and how soft the bristles are. I wouldn’t use it for blush, myself, but I think it would be great for contour or blending out creams. I find it too dense for powder blushes. I look forward to playing with this more.

Overall Impression:

Feeling kind of meh about most of the stuff in the box. Most of it I wouldn’t have purchased on my own. Glad that the brush and mascara were there to make it worth while.

Before any product, aside from moisturizer and primer:

After, wearing CC but no concealer

After, wearing CC but no concealer

Review: CoverGirl Clean Matte BB Cream and Super Sizer Fibers Mascara.

BzzAgent spoiled me again. For my new readers who may not know, BzzAgent is an amazing website that allows its members to review some amazing products. They send you the goods FOR FREE, you try ’em and let the world know what you think. Yep. They are awesome. Here’s the latest that they have sent my way to try out:

What you see above is the new CoverGirl Clean Matte BB Cream for Oily Skin (in Fair) and the much loved on youtube, Super Sizer Fibers Mascara (in Black).

Let’s start with the BB Cream. I was nervous about trying this one. For those of you who may not know, I have extremely dry, sensitive skin and eczema. The word “matte” normally has me hiding behind my face oils. Add to that “For Oily Skin” and you can guarantee I won’t be picking it up. Thankfully, I didn’t have to pick it up! #gotitfree y’all! I tried a few different methods of application, as well as different bases to see how well it would apply, hold up and if it would dry me out like a raisin.

So, here’s what it looks like with moisturizer and sunscreen underneath, applied with a brush

Here is is on top of just sunscreen, applied with a Real Techniques sponge.

Before

One layer

Everything but mascara

Done

Love it!

A few hours later

Here it is, on it’s own, applied with my hands.

Before

After

So, here are my thoughts:

Pros

• Gives me a beautiful airbrushed finish
• Great coverage for a BB cream
• Not oily or greasy at all
• DID NOT DRY ME OUT OMG (so long as it is layered)
• Applies beautifully over other products
• Other products layer beautifully on top
• Does not melt down in the heat

Cons

• Doesn’t have it’s own SPF, which seems really weird to me considering most BB creams do
• Doesn’t last all day, even with with primer and setting spray. I specifically notice it fades away to nothing on my chin and jaw line (where the kids grab me and I touch most)
• Has a strange scent…sort of like wet paint?

I just love how this looks and feels on the skin. It dries down and really doesn’t need to be set at all. The finish is just beautiful, especially when I layer it on top of moisturizer and sunscreen. My skin ends up looking flawless.

I really expected this to be a disaster for me and my skin. I am so pleasantly surprised. This is my new favourite drug store BB Cream.

Ok, on to the mascara.

If you are a fan of beauty youtubers as much as I am, you have heard of this mascara. People LOVE the original Super Sizer mascara and really seem to love the Fibers version just as much. Youtuber Emily Noel has a lot of praise for it.

I was so hopeful. In fact, when I told my sister that I was doing this campaign with BzzAgent, I told her that I expected to love the mascara and that the BB cream would be a disaster. Oh, how wrong I was.

I don’t know if it’s just user error or what, but I just can’t get this brush to work for me. I end up with clumpy meh lashes. I hardly get any real volume, no length and if I do a second layer, a really heavy gross feeling. I tried this every day for a week. I tried it with curled lashes, straight lashes, before and after powders, I tried it layered wet and layered dry. I just couldn’t find the love.

Thank you again to BzzAgent for the opportunity to try these products. It goes to show that until you try something, you never really know whether it will work for you. The results with these two products were completely different than what I expected.

Do you have a favourite BB Cream? Any other dry girls love a matte product? What about the mascara – am I alone in not being able to make it work?