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Beauty Box Battle: July!
Its that time again!
Last month, I called the winner as Sephora Play! so lets start there:
Sephora Play contained:
Tarte Amazonian Clay 14-hour blush in Paaarty
I actually have several of these tarte blushes, all of them from sample boxes actually. They are good quality, and very easy to use, and I never have gotten the same shade twice, so its always nice to add to my collection. Also, despite the packaging making me think this would be more of a bronzey color, when I swatched it (as you can see here), the color is a lovely natural pink flush.
Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment in Dream
As you can see, this is a very subtle tint, as its more of a lip treatment than a makeup item. I have had lipbalms from Fresh before, but never one of the Advanced Therapy ones, so I look forward to seeing if this makes any difference in the fine lines I get around my lips, as their copy promises it will do!
Next item is Youth To the People’s Superfood Air-Whip Hyaluronic Acid Moisture Cream , which is quite the mouthful for this little tub! I have actually received this moisturizer before, possibly from Allure’s box, and I found it felt nice enough, but I remember that I actually needed quite a bit to cover my entire face, so the tiny sample did not last very long. So its nice to have some extra moisturizer on hand, but this one isn’t very exciting.
Tarte Deep Dive Cleansing gel (rainforest of the sea collection) – My second skin care item is another one I’ve had before, but I got that one from a 500-point sephora reward kit that I selected. This is a nice cleanser that I liked using, not too drying or anything, so its nice to have more of it.
Algenist Genius Liquid Collagen the final skin care item in the box is not only new to me, but a fairly high end item, as I see that the full size bottle (one ounce/30ml) goes for about $115. The sample tube is .13 ounces, or 3.7 ml, which seems like a fairly decent size for a serum sample. I’m always happy to try some fancy skincare, and I love a nice hydrating serum so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this one!
The final item in the box is specifically cited as being the “bonus” item, but even so I find it disappointing. The Rahua Freestyle Texturizer is a foil packet containing 5ml of product, and the product itself is for creating a “voluminous, tousled look.” With my hair down to the small of my back, texturizers aren’t really something I reach for. So with the one-time use packaging, and the fact that its a miss for my hair type/style, this one is a bit of a let-down.
Overall this is not a bad selection, 4 out of the 6 items I’m quite pleased about. I would give this box a solid B.
Next up, Ipsy!
FEEL Restored Warming Clay Mask I love trying new face masks, and I especially love masks that warm up on your face as you use them, but I’m kind of suprised to get one in a summer bag, it feels like more of a cool weather item? But I do enjoy that in a face mask, so I’m delighted to try this one, totally new brand for me too!
AHAVA Facial Mud Exfoliator – this promises to be a gentle and moisturizing facial exfoliant, which is the only kind my skin seems to tolerate lately! I’ve tried a few things from AHAVA already and been happy enough with them, so I’m glad to try this one next.
LORD & BERRY Ultimate Lipliner in Mandarin – this lipliner feels very smooth and easy to apply, but the orangey tone is not my usual thing. But it is summery so I guess it makes sense for a July bag, and I’ll give it a try.
OFRA COSMETICS Eyeshadow in Exquisite I have gotten some OFRA products before, some highlight and blush, so I know they make good powder products, but I was quite happy to get this sparkly black shadow, as I don’t have a lot of colors like it:
As you can see, the swatch is kind of light, so this winds up being more of a charcoal color than a black, but I’m happy with that because I think that is a more versatile, wearable option. I can see myself using a damp brush to wear this powder as an eyeliner for sure!
SUGAR COSMETICS Stroke of Genius Heavy-Duty Kohl in 02 Purple Rain the final standard item in this box was this lovely full size eyeliner:
As you can see, this is a deep rich purple, which I was totally delighted to get. The formula glides on very smooth, and I can’t wait to use it!
Anyone who has gotten a beauty subscription for a while can tell you, its SO great to get a colorful liner instead of a black! Black eyeliner is useful, and a common standard for sure, but subscription boxes tend to send them far too often, so you can easily wind up with a larger supply than you need. I think Ipsy must have heard this feedback, because this item was only sent out to subscribers in purple or green, nice one Ipsy!
This month, I also redeemed some of the points I’ve accumulated on Ipsy. I dont’ really count this along with the rest of the bag, as I chose this item myself from a list of options. You get points by giving them feedback on your monthly items, and I chose to redeem mine in the form of a lip scrub:
The lipscrub is from Naked Cosmetics, and its their Vanilla Creme lipscrub. the scent is a nice rich vanilla without being super strong, and the sugar texture is present enough to exfoliate without being overly harsh,so I’ll definitely make use of this.
Overall I’m pretty happy with Ipsy this month. The makeup items are fun interesting colors (of good quality) and the skin care items look useful and are large enough samples to really get an idea of the products. While I don’t really include the lipscrub among the items they send since I chose it, I DO consider that Ipsy has a reward program generous enough that I can get a bonus item a handful of times each year. I’d give this bag an A!
Finally, lets look at the little red box:
Wow, Allure kind of went ham this month! I am not complaining, so lets take a look!
Ouai Haircare Leave-In Conditioner – I have tried Ouai before, but not this particular product (I got the wave spray previously). I am delighted to see that this has the same fresh, gently floral scent as their other product I’ve used, and I can’t wait to see if I like this as much as their wave spray!
Derma-E Essentials Mineral Powder (SPF 30) This powder can be used to set your makeup, or simply combat shine, and as a bonus contains SPF. I usually wear a sunscreen under my makeup, but its nice to get a little extra SPF boost in your finishing product, so I’ll definitely try this out.
Feel Harmony Rose Petal Facial Mask Ok guys, this is funny. I’ve got a second product from Feel! I’ve gotten doubles from different boxes before, but this time I got two different items from the same line in the same month, and i’m amused! This mask looks like its right up my alley. Its super hydrating AND reduces redness according to their copy. They even recommend putting this gel formula in the fridge to make it extra refreshing in the summer weather, so I cannot wait to try this out on a hot day.
Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil I am so excited! I have tried several Sunday Riley products before, including a full size of their vitamin C serum from a prior Allure box. This has been one of the most talked about items in their line, so I’m super excited to try it out, this is a hydrating retinol oil that is supposed to alleviate fine lines and wrinkles, and dryness and rough texture, all things that I have been dealing with.
Olay Regenerist Whip Moisturizer – I’ve been familiar with Olay products since I was a teen, and they’ve always had nice lightweight moisturizers. This new “whipped” line promises a super light finish, but with powerful moisturizers and anti-aging, so I’ll definitely give this a go and see if they’re as good as I remember.
The Organic Pharmacy Antioxidant Lip Balm – This is a new brand to me, but I always like getting another lip balm, I keep them everywhere! This one has some excellent ingredients, like shea butter and rosehip seed oil, with a light texture that doesn’t feel too greasy, and little to no fragrance, so I will definitely make use of it.
Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Full Red – At first glance this may look like a lipliner, but to my delight its far more interesting than that:
According to Make Up For Ever, the Artist Color Pencils are safe for use anywhere on the face, so it can be eyeliner, eyebrows, lip liner… anything you decide! I’m curious to see how well it serves these different jobs, so I will definitely have to play with this.
Doucce Ultra Precision Eyeliner in Blue – I guess Allure was tipped off to black eyeliner overload too, because here’s a bright royal blue liner!
This is a nice rich, bright blue color, in a lovely smooth formula. I am again delighted to get a fun bright color over having another black eyeliner, so this does not disappoint.
Guess what? Allure didn’t stop there. They emailed me a week before the box came to alert me that there was a “loyal subscriber” gift on the way, and it was included with the regular box:
A lovely set of earrings! These are a genuinely fun surprise, and I like them a lot! Also included was a $20 off coupon for Bauble Bar, but I’m not sure if that came along with the earrings, or if it was part of the regular box. Either way, little surprises like this are an awesome part of getting the allure beauty box. I’ve gotten surprise gifts from them at least two other times prior since becoming a subscriber.
Honestly, not a single item in this box was a disappointment. I’m floored at the sheer amount of products, usually its between 5-7, but to get EIGHT samples and a bonus gift? I can’t help but wonder if they saw my C-grade review of last month’s box!
Considering everything in the box, I think I have to give the Allure box an A+, winning the July battle! Quite the upset from them being my least favorite last month. This is exactly why I like getting a few different ones, I never know which one is going to be the best.
Subscription Showdown: February!
Yes I know its March, but whats my favorite thing to do while I wait for this month’s subscriptions to arrive? Compare last month’s subscription boxes!
Lets open them up and see who made the best February box. First up: Ipsy!
In this month’s Ipsy glam bag I got:
- BelláPierre Cosmetics Volumelash Waterproof Mascara
- Luxie Rose Gold Blush Brush #514
- Naked Cosmetics HD Finishing Banana Powder
- NYX Butter Lipstick in Ripe Berry
- True Botanicals Resurfacing Moisture Mask
Not a bad haul! The thing that immediately caught my eye was the NYX lipstick. I already am a big fan of the brand, and this lipstick definitely didn’t let me down:
This lipstick is lightweight and goes on creamy and smooth. There’s no shimmer to it, but its a moisturizing formula so the finish has a nice shine to it.
The Bellapierre mascara looks promising as well:
This mascara has a full, straight bristle brush, dense enough that I think it will easily get every lash. The formula doesn’t seem too wet either, which I like because it makes it a little harder to accidentally smudge some on your skin. Since my eyes are a bit oily, I prefer waterproof mascaras in general, as they are less likely to transfer during the day, so I think this will be a good one for me.
The makeup brush is either the second or third I’ve gotten from Luxie, and I was happy to see it. Their brushes are super soft, dense, and well constructed; this will definitely be well used. The finishing powder from Naked Cosmetics is very nice, finely milled and smooth, and will do fine job setting foundation & concealer. I have a number of setting powders, maybe I should do a comparison breakdown sometime, see if these higher end ones are worth the money – comment below if that is of interest to you! The final item, the face mask, looks interesting. It promises to exfoliate and hydrate, so I’ll definitely have to test this out and see how their promises hold up.
Next up: Allure Beauty Box!
This month, Allure sent:
- Cargo Color Stick in Champange
- Beauty Counter Mascara
- Olay Eyes Pro-Retinol Eye Treatment
- Grande Naturals GrandeLIPS
- First Aid Beauty Peel Pad
- Red Flower Candle in Moroccan Rose
First off, the Cargo color stick, which is a cream color you can apply to eyes, cheeks or lips. The color we got is Champagne, which is a highlighting shade (a pretty soft pink) and gives a beautiful, not glittery sheen when applied:
The mascara in this box is from Beauty Counter:
According to Beauty Counter, this is a lengthening mascara that will condition lashes when you wear it. The brush is very tiny, so it will be easy to get to every lash without getting mascara smudges all over while applying, which I appreciate. I’m concerned that the oils and hydration in it will make it more likely to transfer, but maybe I’ll be surprised!
This month also included a lip plumper from GrandeLips. I myself have found many lip plumpers to be rather uncomfortable, with overpowering mint or cinnamon scents and strong tingling sensations. This one has a softer vanilla scent, and contains hylauronic acid to maintain moisture, so I’m optimistic that this one will prove to be more comfortable than some I have previously tried.
Also this month, we got a trial packet of First Aid beauty “radiance” pads, which promise to exfoliate, tone & brighten. I’ve tried this sort of product before, and while I found them effective, they do cause some sharp stinging right after use. Since First Aid beauty always has sensitive skin-friendly products, I am hoping these will be a bit gentler.
Next up, we got a tube of Olay Pro-Retinol Eye Treatment. They make some great skin care products, and I have some fine lines around my eyes, so I was quite happy to receive this, I believe its a full size sample, which is pretty great too! The final product was a tea-light size candle from Red Flower. I’m not really big on scented candles so this is kind of a take it or leave it product for me, but it does have a nice rose scent.
There was one final item included in the Allure box, a card indicating a code that would provide subscribers a free month with a custom prescription skin care company called Curology. I did not include it in the photo because both sides of the card include the code. Since the box already had six items without this, its not a bad bonus.
Last but never least, we have Sephora Play!
This box contains:
- Clinique Pep-start Hydroblur Moisturizer
- Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream
- Prada Candy
- Sephora Collection Lashcraft Length & Volume Mascara
- tarte Rainforest of the Sea Quench Lip Rescue in Nude
- Too Faced Lip Injection Glossy in Milkshake
This month’s sephora box included a mascara- their own brand, and i believe this is a new one:
As you can see, this mascara has an atypical brush, it is a little similar to the Lorac Cobra mascara brush, only that one is also curved. I have found that this paddle-style brush offers a surprisingly good amount of control in application, so I look forward to trying this one out.
This month also included the tinted lip balm from tarte, a very light, basic color:
Its very sheer, lacking in fragrance, and feels very moisturizing. This looks to be a great one to throw in my bag for quick touch ups when I just want a bit of color and need some moisture.
Next, this box also included a plumping lip gloss, this one from Too Faced:
This is a creamy, glossy lip gloss, a bit stickier than I generally go for, and the color is kind of pale too, but it might be fun to layer with a brighter lipstick. This also didn’t remind me of some of the harsher plumping lip glosses I remember, which were very uncomfortable, so its nice that plumping can be achieved more comfortably.
Sephora’s box always includes a perfume, and this month’s is Prada Candy. I was not excited about this, because I’m picky about cologne, and honestly I expected this to be a very sweet, light & flowery young fragrance. And i was genuinely surprised! This has deeper, vanilla and caramel scents to it, and was a stronger, more mature scent that I think I may actually wear. Fun surprise!
The last two products, an eye cream and a moisturizer, I’m happy to get. I don’t really have a favorite of either right now, so i like trying new ones. The clinique moisturizer is apparently also something of a primer, and I love products that can do multiple things, so this i may keep with my makeup to use when I need a more hydrating primer. The “refreshing” eye cream sounds great for the morning, so I will be trying that out soon.
It was fun to discover that for February, all these boxes had some things in common! Each box had at least one lip product, and each had a mascara. All three boxes had some great stuff this month, and I’m pretty happy with all three. I feel like both Sephora and Allure had a focus on skin care, or a natural look, whereas my ipsy bag was decidedly more makeup focused. So for that alone, i’m hailing Ipsy as my February winner! Being more of a makeup lover, Ipsy had the stuff i was most excited about this month.
What were your favorites? Did I get anything you want a more in-depth review of? Let me know in the comments, or drop me a line on my Facebook page, I’d love to hear from you!
June Ipsy Bag!
This month’s bag had some serious winners!
To start off, the item I was most excited about, this eyeshadow from Urban Decay, in the shade Lounge. This is a duo-chrome style shadow that is reddish-brown topped with teal-green shimmer. The shimmer and shift of this shadow is absolutely gorgeous, but it is incredibly hard to capture with a standard phone’s camera. So, like in my last post, I got some much needed help from Stats Kravetz Photography. All the photos of this eyeshadow are by Stas Kravetz Photography.
Urban Decay really does some great eye-shadows, so I’m quite happy to receive this little beauty.As you can see, depending on the light and the angle you look at it from, this shadow’s appearance can totally change. And just to help show that these colors do exist together,here’s a swatch:
Next up, is the cutest little bottle of nail polish. Formula X nail polish in the shade Wing woman to be exact:
I know some people would not be happy to get a mini polish, but as someone that does not wear a lot of nail polish, I’m sort of hoping this is one I might actually use up before it goes bad. I’m glad its such a fun bright color, perfect for summer!
Next, we have this nice little blush/bronzer/highlighter compact from Crown Brush. This is a sample size, and the standard product is slightly different in appearance.
They do make of point of explaining how you can use the three shades separately,but in a compact this small I think its a bit easier to just swirl them together, and that produces a very pretty shade that works very well for summer.
Then we have this little compact of cream lip color from Liptini, in the color Pinktini. (Maybe over using that naming convention a wee bit?) This is a satin-finish lip color, in a nice neutral mauve-y pink. According to their site, it can be used on the cheeks as well, and the color would definitely work well for both.
The final item is another one I was happy to get, but not because I wanted to try it, but because I was happy to have more of it! This is Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray.
This product is also great for summer because you can spray it into your hair after a shower, and it helps the hair air dry in good condition, and encourages any natural curl your hair has (my hair is a bit wavy, so this works out very well for me).
Overall I am quite happy with this month. While nothing was full sized, the samples are all quite ample, and good quality products. Nice one Ipsy. 🙂
If you enjoy my ipsy posts and think you’d like it too, you can sign up here – I will get some bonus points if you do! (This is a standard customer feature, I have no special arrangement with them.)
DIsclaimer: I purchased this subscription myself.
Wonder Woman Makeup!
I was honestly too excited about this collection to think of a clever title. This collection, from what I’ve been able to gather, is a Walgreens exclusive, but also available via drugstore.com (Thank goodness!) I first heard about it when this flyer hit the internet, and I immediately started watching out for it. None of the Walgreens around me seemed to receive the collection (aside from a few pieces, more on that later), so once I heard it had hit drugstore.com, I placed an order.
If you compare this to the flyer, I was not able to get everything. I have not be able to find the lip balm tins anywhere, which was disappointing. I saw the brush kit at a store, but frankly, it looked fairly cheap and the brushes didn’t seem very useful or unique so I passed on it. I haven’t seen the bronzer & brush set for sale anywhere, so that was not an option either. But lets focus on what I DID get!
As you can see, they are pretty standard liquid liners with a fine brush applicator. The bottles feel like hard plastic, and the caps are bright red with the logo in gold foil, pretty!
I found these liners to be inconsistent. If you are looking for a deep, glossy black liner that’s fully opaque in one pass, you WILL be happy with Warrior Black, but if you want that result from the other two, you will be disappointed. Golden Lasso is gold glitter in a clear base, so like any other glitter liner, requires several passes to even begin to show up as a solid line. Superhero was a bit of a let down. It is a satin finish bright blue, and was rather watery on one pass, I had to go over it several times for it to finally resemble the color in the tube, and while it looks pretty opaque in the photo, it did not look quite as rich in person.
Next up I have the solo eye palette (Paradise Eye-land). This is a small red plastic case with mirror (the Wonder Woman design is a plastic overlay that feels removable), and contains 8 eyeshadows.
As you can see, the palette is very sleek, not much excess packaging at all. I found the eyeshadows in this set to be very creamy and smooth, the texture is lovely. I was actually surprised at how wearable I found the shades, since Wonder Woman tends to be associated with fairly bold colors. Despite that, this is a pretty, neutral palette.
I would point out that the first few shades there do look sheer, but its actually just that they are pale, they were just as smooth to use as the other colors. That shiny blue (Spirit of Truth!) is clearly the standout of the palette, and I plan to feature it in a look soon.
Next up, the lipgloss set. I almost didn’t buy these, as I don’t wear a ton of lip gloss, but I am SO glad I did. These really surprised me! This comes as a set of three squeezy tubes with an angled tip applicator; with red caps and gold foil logo and star accents. They also have a hard-to-pin-down scent, somewhere between cake and candy, but I find it very pleasant, and not too strong. As you will see below, these actually have a good amount of pigment to them! The sheerest of the set is the darkest one, which actually works out well, as it makes it a very flattering and wearable color. They are also very smooth feeling on the lips, and not at all sticky, which is nice.
Of course, the collection had to include a red lipstick. Unlike the glosses, I noticed no discernible scent from it, and the finish seemed fairly matte, and very nicely opaque in just one pass. The packaging is very lightweight, but the red plastic case features a very nice illustration of Wonder Woman, making this an awesome piece of the collection.
Finally, the biggest piece of the collection, and frankly my favorite, the Beauty Book.
This really is my favorite piece of the collection. It contains 9 eyeshadows, one blush/bronzer, one liquid eyeliner, one tube of eyeshadow primer, a small lipstick and a sponge eyeshadow applicator. I’ll start by answering the first two questions I had: Is that the same lipstick, and is that eyeliner from the other set? The lipstick is not the same color. The one is this set is called Amazonian Red and its definitely a different shade of red from the standalone lipstick. The standalone is more of a berry red and matte, while the one from the set is a deeper, more true-red color, and has a more satin finish:
As for the liner, it is the same. It is also called Warrior Black, and the formula feels exactly the same. Though the packaging is different(and smaller), it is the same sort of fine brush applicator.
The set also includes an eyeshadow primer. While the packaging only references Walgreens as the distributor, some of my reading about the collection revealed that the company Markwins was involved in the production. They are responsible for Wet & Wild and Black Radiance, among other drugstore brands. I mention this now, because they are responsible for my BFF eye primer, the Wet & Wild Fergie Take On The Day primer (this is no longer available, but I believe their new Photofocus one is the same formula-I’ll be testing that soon). Having only given this a quick look (and test on my arm) I suspect this might also be the same formula. It looks and feels the same so far, but I haven’t tested the durability yet.
That leaves the ten powder products: one blush/bronzer and nine eyeshadows. The blush is Grace and Power, the eye-shadows are Golden Age, Legendary Pink, Modern Age, Golden Tiara, Amazon Princess, Marine Ultra, Secret Identity, Emancipation and Valiant. Happily, I found that these shadows have the same texture as the Paradise Eye-land palette, smooth and almost creamy feeling. But even better, none of the colors are the same, so you aren’t doubling up any colors if you get both items. The bronzer/blush has a slighty firmer texture, but it was still smooth and easy to work with.
And I was quite happy with the color payoff on them. Just like in the other palette, the lightest shades are a bit weak, but those deeper colors are just fabulous.
The sheen on Golden Tiara and Amazon Princess was even prettier in person. Honestly these are great shadows and i’m excited to try them out, maybe I’ll test out the looks in the foldout cover too.
Overall, I’m happy with the collection. I think the packaging is gorgeous and really fun, and the products are ones I think I will happily use repeatedly. One of the most amazing parts of the collection is its affordability. The most expensive item here, the Beauty Book, only cost $11.99, and I thought the pricing on everything was more than reasonable. In fact, the lipstick, at $2.99, almost feels like a steal!
I’m glad to see a collection like this come out, I like the recognition that girls like being heroes too! I did notice something on the spine of the Beauty Book while putting this post together, and I have to wonder, does Walgreens have more up their sleeve? I for one would be quite excited!
Could it be? Well, in my opinion: MORE SUPERHERO COLLECTIONS YES PLEASE!