My family, husband, dog, niece and nephews, pizza, ice cream and iced coffee aside, Boxycharm is my one true love. For twenty bucks a month I get to try five full size products, some from brands I’ve never heard of, don’t have enough money to try, or just never think to purchase. I have loved subscription boxes in the past but none of them as much as Boxycharm! I should also clarify that I am not paid to promote them because this post is very gush-y and I don’t know if it’s better or worse that I am an unpaid to get this saccharine over a subscription box. I love Boxycharm because all five products are full size (travel brushes aside) whereas Ipsy was normally sample sizes and maybe one full size product here and there. No hate on Ipsy, though, they had some pretty cool brands I’ve never heard of and one day I may re-subscribe! Boxycharm doesn’t come in a cute little makeup bag each month and admittedly, there’s nothing adorable about the box it comes in which is why I’m not devastated if my dog chews it up. Inevitably, he  always does. It’s like a monthly treat for both of us!  I also love that the box costs $20 but when you add up the value of each product per month, the value of the box overall ends up over $100. I AM SO HERE FOR THAT KIND OF BARGAIN. A lot of products I’ve received in my boxes have earned a spot in my every day makeup bag which is a prettttty big deal for a makeup lover like myself. Instead of going over every box from the past year, here are some of my absolute favorite items I’ve received in my boxes:

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Prosecco Pop

Ofra Highlighter in Rodeo Drive

Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipsticks in Santa Ana and Pasadena

Tarte Tarteist Matte Lip Paint in Front Row

Pur Cosmetics Soiree Diaries eyeshadow palette

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Volume II eyeshadow palette

BareMinerals Translucent Powder Duo

Blinc x Boxycharm Electric Eyes eyeshadow palette

Royal and Langnickel Moda Pro brush set + Luxie Brushes Small Contour brush + Luxie Brushes brush set + Mally Beauty crease brush

Temptu Shimmer Bronzer

Temptu x Boxycharm Liquid Glow

CARGO Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Taos

Makeup Geek Single Eyeshadows in Shimma Shimma and Cupcake

Makeup Geek Single Blush in Heartthrob

Ofra Pro Single Eyeshadows with Pro Palette

Artist Couture Diamond Glow Powder in Illuminati

IBY Beauty Trio Eyeshadow Palette in Three’s Company

Studio Makeup On-The-Go Eyeshadow Palettes in Warm Up and Cool Down

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NOVEMBER 2017 BOXYCHARM

CoverFX Illuminating Setting Spray

I absolutely swear by the mattifying version of this spray and I’m not even someone who believes setting/fixing sprays do that much. With skin as oily as mine, I’m more concerned with the skincare and the prep that goes underneath the foundation as opposed to what is sprayed on top of it. But the mattifying version of this spray is the ONLY setting spray I’ve repurchased and will do so as long as I am wearing makeup, aka forever until the day I die. I have tested out the illuminating setting spray a few times and I do really like it, but I don’t notice a major amount of glow. Which is completely fine by me. The mist is very fine and I LOVE that CoverFX setting sprays are alcohol free, which is pretty rare to find in setting sprays. From the little that I know about makeup chemistry, I believe setting sprays often contain denatured alcohol because it evaporates very quickly off the skin and is great for de-greasing the face. Which all sounds great and good EXCEPT that this type of alcohol is going to dry your skin out over time and inhibit your skin’s natural ability to replenish and turnover. It’s pretty hard to avoid alcohol in skincare and makeup, but if I can avoid it, it’s worth the money to me. I’ll continue to test this spray out and see if it prolongs my makeup wear!

Winky Lux Kitten Parade eyeshadow palette

I LOVE receiving eyeshadow palettes in my box each month! It makes the box feel even more valuable since eyeshadow palettes are the most expensive products I generally spend my money on. I don’t love every shade in this palette but it’s pretty rare that I am going to use every single shade in a palette since I know what I like and how many neutral, skin-tone crease colors does one girl need, ya know? But I LOVE the fourth shade from the right because it’s a unique duochrome, I love the purple-y red shades, and I’m also basic enough to live for that metallic bronze shade. I may not use this palette everyday but it’s definitely not going in my drawer never to be seen again. Which sometimes happens with well-intentioned impulse purchases that I regret a day later…

LAQA and Co. Cloud Lips

This is an interesting lip product. One layer, shown in the first swatch, almost appears sheer like a tinted balm and when layered up, shown in the second swatch, is like a glossy lipstick. It’s super creamy and moisturizing but I would definitely wear a lip liner underneath! It almost appears like a blotted lip color which makes it a great lip color for beginners who want to experiment with bold color but don’t want a full on opaque lip.

Luxie Quad Eye Travel set

Full disclosure: I already used these brushes and was too lazy to wash them before photographing them. But since I’ve used them I can attest to their quality! I’ve received Luxie brushes before in Ipsy and Boxycharm and as many brushes as I own, you can never have too many quality eye blending brushes. My Luxie brushes have lasted through several washes without shedding and they never feel stiff or weird.

KNC Beauty All Natural Collagen Infused Lip Mask

I haven’t used one of these yet because they kind of weird me out. I don’t use sheet masks on my face so putting one on my lips feels…invasive. Can you talk while using them? Can you breathe? I am not sure about these but one weekend I may feel brave enough to try one. I’ll report back if I do, friends!

 

With love and lashes,

Katie ♥