Unveiling the Monthly Subscription boxes can be really fun.. or a little downer. But if you look at the total picture, and the total spend, you gotta remember the value.
My first ipsy bag arrived in a timely manner, compared to several complaints on their Facebook page. My personal complaint was the whole personalization thing that ipsy does when you join probably doesn't get considered. I posted earlier about the disappointment between the "potential" items coming in August, versus what I had actually received. And I really don't know what I'm going to do with multiple cosmetic bags. But, at $10.00 a pop, it's still a pretty good investment.
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| ipsy August $10 |
Use my ipsy referral link if you are interested in joining.
I joined ipsy because I wanted more makeup options, and the initial sneak peek did have some intriguing non-makeup items such as two different primers, but I didn't receive either one, bummer.
The lipstick from noyah is a pretty color (desert rose), so I got lucky there, but it is TINY. Reminds me of the old days when my mom was selling Avon and we had lots of small lipsticks around the house!
There was from JUARA Skincare Turmeric Antioxidant Radiance Facial Mask. This stuff is pretty lightweight and not muddy feeling; I would love to add this to my daily regimen, but at $35.00 for 3 ounces I don't see that happening.
Skone Cosmetics Luxe Doubler Eye/Lip Pencil in Wine -- Putting a wine on my eyes is perfect if I want the Zombies Ate My Face look. So I attempted the lip function but yeah, wine on my fair face is just yuck. Why is the color wine making a comeback? I received two wine colored items in my other Ulta beauty bag and gave those to my daughter already, as she rocks a Goth look.
Briogeo Blossom & Bloom ™ Ginseng + Biotin Volumizer - this is another blowdry hair product. I would really like to see some product where it is a put on dry hair and style as usual; instead everything is apply to wet/damp hair. Not helpful when every single hair styler is for use on wet hair. This has citrussy scent to it and seems great for those who consider themselves beach babes. Being a land locked working mom, that's more of a long lost dream.
And probably the cutest color ever is Trust Fund Beauty Nail Polish in Elegantly Wasted. I instagrammed my manicure because it was so awesome:
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| Birchbox August $10 |
I joined Birchbox too at $10.00 a month though it's difficult to place a real value on the box overall since like ipsy these are sample size. The products as shown in the picture, from left to right:
Macadamia Professional™ Style Extend Dry Shampoo:
I love the dry shampoo idea, and it's the first time I've tried it. I didn't notice any earth shattering difference on my second day hair, but that means it didn't build up and it is probably doing what it's meant to. Not a miracle product by any means.
I also tried the Dr. Brandt microdermabrasion exfoliant and it works well. Never in a million years would I spend the cash on what it's going for in retail dollars ($78 for 2 ounces), so YAY for Birchbox for sharing the love and showing us stuff we could never afford in real life.
R+Co Park Ave Blow Out Balm - I haven't tried yet. For $28 for the five ounces this better be gold but judging from other reviewers I am not going to be too excited to try it. It will have to be on a day that I won't mind my hair is weighed down or crisp apparently.
Air Repair Complexion Boosting Moisturizer
Received a little sample of this, which runs for $20 for two ounces. It's a moisturizer, and nothing fancy. I've used it, it seems to moisturize, and it's pricey.
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| Boxycharm August $21 |
I like this palette very much -- but I'm still trying to find something that doesn't wind up looking the SAME on my face. There are a lot of nice neutrals here that I look forward to playing with this fall. But it seems whenever I blend something over my primer, it just looks shiny. I am still a work in progress.
This MicaBeauty gel eyeliner was such a hit with me! It was full size and the box also came with a Seta Eyeliner brush worth $16.00. The brand's website actually has the eyeliner packaged differently and coming with its own brush, and several colors for $35 each. Very tempting!
Check out this pic of me with the eyeliner and the Coastal Scents palette:
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| Love this gel eyeliner! |
Also in the Boxycharm box was a So Susan Statement Skin pencil which is a type of highlighter stick which would be great for the new strobing highlighting trend. You need to definitely blend it with a sponge otherwise is looks cakey flakey weird.
The blue bottle was a Nios Shield Leave-In Conditioner. Since I am still loving my Living Proof products I haven't gotten around to trying this yet. $26.00 for this which is really designed for those folks who want to protect their scalp from sunburn, which I can see would be a need for those folks with thin or light hair working in the garden or getting a tan. And also another Vegan product, yay!
The Verdict: Boxycharm at $21.00 was fantastic value-wise, with items that I will use and probably love! All of Boxycharm's items are FULL SIZE, and not samples. This August box is worth a retail value of around $115.00. Boxycharm's website is a little bland though. Not much to see there, so I am hoping they are working on that. And there is no personalization option with this. You get what everyone else gets, the end.
ipsy and birchbox are good for those pricey things that will be fun to test out but it seems the Boxycharm is the real keeper. This is my first month doing a subscription service at all, so we shall see how my tastes change!
This post contains referral links = if you join using my referral link I get points to use against future purchases. YAY!
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