Category: Boxycharm

Boxycharm

May BoxyCharm Reveal – Boxy Bash

Maritza1 Comment

So, I am going to start off this post, by saying that this Boxycharm was not one of my favorites. I must admit that considering this box was commemorating their Birthday Month, I was kind of expecting a little more bells and whistles, however, it was not bad, just didn’t exactly live up to the hype.

Winners

Cover FX Blurring Primer. OMG, where has this been all my life? I tend to skip primer often. It’s just one extra step that I sometimes can’t seem to fit in my schedule. However, I would definitely make time for this one. When you squeeze the product out of the tube, it comes out like a whipped cream, which easily sinks in to your pores and fine lines and fills them in. I applied this under my makeup for a meeting and a few hours later, I went to the gym. After sweating it out on the elliptical, I went to towel off and took a look at my face in the fluorescent lights of the bathroom and was SO FREAKING IMPRESSED to NOT see my little 11 lines between by eyebrows. I love this stuff!

Somewhere in Between Winners and Meh!

Pretty Vulgar The Ink Gel Eyeliner. Technically, there is nothing wrong with the gel eyeliner. The packaging is to die for cute and the product itself is pigmented and long lasting from the swatch I had on my hand. However, I’m just not a gel eyeliner kind of girl. I’ve never been able to master the winged eyeliner look and I feel like when I do wear a wing, it looks weird on me. So I will be passing this one on to Sofia who uses it for cheer.

PUR Sculpter Highlight and Contour Palette. Another one that there is nothing wrong with the product itself, it’s just that I’m not much of a contour kind of girl and the two shades are just a bit to dark for me to use as bronzer. The highlighters are BEAUTIFUL though, but I have so many highlighters, that this one I will also be passing on to Sofia.

Meh!

Aesthetica Face and Pro Brush Series. The brushes are actually really soft, but that is where I think the problem lies the most, especially for the angled and liner brush. They are just a little too floppy too create a nice and neat line. I applied blush with the Face Brush and it worked well, but I had quite a bit of shedding, which kind of sucked. The best was the spoolie. It was sturdy, the handle was just the right size and you always need spoolies. I use them for eyebrows, to spray back those errant baby hairs around the forehead and temples and to separate clumpy eyelashes.

Beauty Creations Long Wear Matte Lip Gloss in Kiss Me. When I first read that this was a Matte Lip Gloss, I was like “Huh?”. That’s kind of a contradiction and didn’t make sense to me, which is why this product made the bottom of the list. The berry color is absolutely gorgeous and it kind of smells like a strawberry Laffy Taffy, however, I didn’t see anything glossy about this lipstick. In fact, it applied, looked and dried up like a typical matte and it made my lips look like they belonged on a 90 year old woman after a few hours wearing it. Yeah, No.

What did the rest of you BoxyCharmers think of this month’s box? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Boxycharm · Subscription Boxes

Boxycharm – April

Maritza2 Comments

I feel like I am no longer a Boxycharm newbie. Having received 4 boxes now, I think that I’ve developed a relationship with them. Sure it may be completely one sided at this point, but it runs deep and I am totally invested in it.

Boxycharm, I love you and if you continue to send me stuff that I enjoy and use each month, I feel like I will love you to the end of time.

Winners

Colourpop My Little Pony Palette. A few months ago there was a battle of the My Little Pony palettes with both Colourpop and Pur coming out with their own versions. Having only seen the Pur one in picture, I think it was way brighter in color than this Colourpop one and I think that’s why I gravitate towards this one. The shades are colorful, but slightly muted and if you are a little hesitant to use color, then this is a good starter. It has neutrals (top row), bright berries (middle row) and shimmery and dark cool greens (last row). I created the look below using all of the middle row colors and they blended beautifully and color did not fade at all. I really like this palette!

Brow Gal Eyebrow Gel. Anytime I get a brow product in a box, I do a happy dance. As a girl with sparse and blonde brows, I love having lots of options in the case I lose something, but trust me, I won’t be misplacing this little love anytime soon. The wand is quite tiny, which is nice and I’m sure there is not much product in there, but this little beauty provides just a hint of dimensional color in the form of a tinted gel and it keeps your brows in place without giving you that crunchy feeling. Winner!

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner. I’m a big fan of Dr. Brandt. They are a Miami brand and you all know I support my Miami peeps, but brand loyalty aside, they also make pretty damn good stuff! This is a mask, that when you first apply, it’s white and the blue beads burst turning your face Smurf like. Immediately, there is a cooling sensation and then it dries down and you wash it off. I didn’t see any dramatic reduction in pores right away, but I did feel that it reduced the overall shininess and that was nice. It made for a good makeup day.

Somewhere Between Winner and Meh

Adess New York Hi Definition Liquid Lipstick. When I first tried this lipstick, I wasn’t too much of a fan. It was a little sticky and I didn’t like the feeling of it. However, the color is GORGEOUS! It’s like a slightly red toned brown and it’s great for day or night color. It’s not a liquid lip, so there is no longevity what so ever and the gloss wears off fairly quick, so reapplying is a must. I think I’m still fairly ambivalent about this product and that’s why it’s between winner and meh.

Meh

Tartiest Pro Glow Liquid Highlighter In Stunner. I love seeing big brand names in my Boxycharm, but this Tarte product is not for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love liquid highlighters, but this was just too glittery for my taste. Also, as the day wore on, the shimmer faded and in its wake left and sea of glitter particles on my cheekbones. Beware!!!

What did you all think of your Boxycharms this month? What are your likes and dislikes? You know where to leave them!

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Boxycharm · Subscription Boxes

March Boxycharm Bae-cation

Maritza6 Comments

Alright, Alright, Alright!

That’s what I was saying to myself as I was opening my Boxycharm this month. Also, I had just finished seeing one of Mathew McConaughey’s artsy, yet slightly cringy, Lincoln commercials and I couldn’t stop myself from saying it. However, I would be lying if I said this box was just alright. This box was actually pretty freaking awesome!

As usual, some items were definitely better than others and I’ll be giving you the lowdown, however, this box, more than the others, gives me an almost complete look. If it had a lipstick or a gloss, I would have a full face.

Winners

On the top of the list for me was the Butter London Double Decker Mascara. You all know that I am a mascara junkie. If I had to choose one beauty product that I could never live without, it would be a brow pencil, but for sure mascara would be next (#blondehairproblems). This one didn’t have my preferred curved wand, however, it had fiber bristles and they didn’t make my lashes clump at all. Also, my lashes look really long! If I had one complaint was that it seemed like the thickness dissipated through the day. I know that is weird, but it just seemed that by the end of the day, the color and length was still there, but the volume sort of left. No visible flaking though, so have no idea where it all went. Wonder if that is just my imagination?

Next on the winner board is the Pur Cosmetics x Boxycharm pallete. I know that if you break this palette down, all it is a bunch of neutrals and then a bright blue and purple, but that’s ok. It’s a nice little compact palette that can take you from day to night in a jiffy. The tops row of peaches (3 mattes and 1 shimmer) all perform well. It took a bit to build the colors, but as transition shades they were fine. The middle row of shimmers were a bit uninspiring to look at, but swatched really nice. The pink shimmer one called Bae was my favorite out of that row, but I will say that ALL of them benefit from a little setting spray to foil. The last row is all about MIA (Teal Blue shimmer) and BFF (Purple matte). Both colors require quite a bit of build up and MIA does have a bit of chunky glitter, so expect fallout, but they are nice. If you are looking to dip your toes into color, I think this palette is a great introduction.

Somewhere in between Winner and “Meh” is the Pretty Vulgar blush in Prim Vixen. A very bright looking hot pink with a slight purple hue, it’s actually way more sheer than I expected, which is good. I wouldn’t know what to do with such a bright color on my pale skin if it swatched as bright as it looked. The problem I had with this blush was that I found it a little hard to blend. Wherever the initial color was placed, that’s where the strongest concentration of color remained no matter how much you blended or what type of brush you used.

“Mehs”

Dipping into the “Meh” category where The Vintage trio brush set. Consisting of 2 flat brushes and 1 crease brush, I found these did not blend out the shadows well for me. They were just a little too stiff for me and the handles were a little too short for me as well. I like my brush handles to be a little bit longer as I find that I like to hold them closer to the end for a more diffused look.

WAYYYYY Down in the love list and actually more like in the “NOPE” category were the South Mane Eye Gel Packs. This stuff burned my under eyes about 15 seconds after sticking them on. The first time, I thought it might be because I had just recently exfoliated and my skin might, therefore, be a little sensitive, so I suffered through the required 30 minutes. I didn’t really see any reduction in puffiness or dark circles, in fact, for the rest of the day, the skin looked red and was sensitive to the touch. Being the masochist that I am, the next day, I went for Round 2 and decided these were just not for me after experiencing the same burning sensation. Big. Fat. NOPE.

What did everyone else think of their Boxycharm this month? You know where to keep the discussion going?

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Boxycharm

Cover FX – Shimmer Veil – Review Time!

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When I got wind that the February Boxycharm box was going to include a Cover FX Shimmer Veil, I was so stoked. Immediately, I got up from my chair and was like “And this is why I subscribe to Boxycharm!”. Admittedly, the only “person” in the room was my cat, Holly, and she didn’t exactly share my enthusiasm, but if she was a human, I’m sure she would have replied with a “Hell Yeah!”

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Fast forward a few weeks and I get my box and open it to find that I got the color Amethyst , which is a gorgeous pinky mauve. I swatched it on the back of my hand, and if I could best describe it, I would say it has the feel of a liquid lipstick, but a bit thinner. Not as glittery as the Stila Magnificent Metals and with hardly any fallout. Lot’s of people say it’s very similar to Colourpops Supernova formula, but don’t take my word for it as I don’t own any. What I can say is that, one coat on your lids, leaves it a bit patchy, so it’s best to go into the tube one more time and smooth things out.

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Immediately, I knew that I wanted to use my Modern Renaissance palette to create a smoky, yet shimmery look. I applied Buon Fresco on my crease and then took a bit of Cyprus Umber on the outer V. Then I gently dabbed Amethyst on my lid, beginning in the middle and then working my way to the inner corner and then extending just right before the deepened outer V. You have to do this quickly as I find that the products dries pretty fast.  I wouldn’t really rely on using the doe foot applicator to smooth it out across your lid as I find it a bit small, so it’s best to use your finger to dab or a flat brush to smooth it out if you want to be precise. Lastly, I went in with  slight mix of Primavera and Buon Fresco to integrate the look a tad right where there is that slight separation of color. I smoked out the lower lid, applied black liner to the waterline and some mascara.

Done!

It really was a nice look and when I went over to my Sister In Laws house for a family get together, she was like “WOW! Your eyes look really pretty!”. So I knew that I had a look that I would be willing to recreate often. After some paella and red wine, I went to the bathroom to freshen up and took a peek at myself in the mirror and was like “WTF?”

Literally, it looked like the shimmer disintegrated and all that was left were patchy crumbles hanging on to bits and pieces on my lids. I tried to remember if I had rubbed my eyes at any part and knew that I am practically pre-programmed to not touch my eyes when wearing makeup. Besides, the crease and outer V were hanging in there and it was just the shimmer that was gone.

Ok, don’t want to jump to any conclusions. I didn’t use any eye primer, so I figured, maybe that would make the difference next time. Encouraged, a few days later, I recreated the same look and, this time, applied some Urban Decay Primer Potion. I had to go to the office, so figured I would impress my co-workers with my awesome make up skills.

Nobody noticed, but that’s ok. I know I have SKILLZ!

A few hours into the day, I go to the ladies room and as I am washing my hands, I look in the mirror and once again, I see nothing but some glitter residue on my lids. When I got home, I decided to swatch the product once again on the back of my hand and wait a few hours before wiping off. Sure enough, after about 2 hours, I could literally scrape the pigment with my nail.

Darn it, Cover FX! I was rooting for you!

Is this true for all the colors in this line? Not sure. I only own one, but if you have a different color that seems to hold up well, let me know. Not sure I will buy it, but it’s worth noting.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Boxycharm · Subscription Boxes

February Boxycharm – Galaxy Glow

Maritza2 Comments

Does anyone do a little happy dance when they check their email and see a notification letting you know that your Boxycharm is on it’s way?

No shame admitting it. It’s one of the highlights of my month. Since I got off the waitlist last month, I actually got my box in pretty early on and I got a chance to play with my goodies for a few weeks. Once again, I feel like I got a really strong selection of products, but it’s time to separate the winners from the “Mehs”.

Winners

Hands down, my favorite item was the Ofra refill blush in Godet. It is a beautiful warm peachy tan blush that I have used as both blush and eyeshadow. It’s pigmented, blendable and the pan is large enough to last you for a long time. I have only a few Ofra eyeshadow singles that I got in some Ipsy bags, but the colors never wowed me. This color is something I would have picked on my own and I am so happy that it was included in my box. Score!

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It also came with a magnetic Pop Up Palette to store your single blush and I have to say that the Universe has a funny way of providing. A few days before I got my box, I made my first ever order of single shadows from Devinah Cosmetics. I didn’t own any Z palettes to store them in and figuring that once I get them in, I will just order one from Amazon or something. Well, the same day my Devinah order came in, my Boxycharm came in and it was like it was meant to be. My Pop-Up Palette has more than enough room to store my 7 eyeshadow singles, my Ofra blush and probably a good 5 more items.

Thanks, Universe!

The next winner of the bunch for me is the PUR Plumping Lip Exfoliator. First off, I love a scrub that you don’t have to dig your finger into a pot to apply. It’s just makes it so easy to uncap and apply right from the tube. The sugar scrubs dissolves fairly quickly when you rub your lips together and combined with the shea butter, leaves them nice and soft.  There is definitely also something minty about this balm, which leaves your lips buzzing gently for a bit. I’m sure that’s the plumping factor, but the effect isn’t really too visible. The seller for me is the exfoliation and the convenience factor.

“Mehs”

The middle of the lineup is held up by Vintage by Jessica Leibskind black eyeliner pencil and the Crown Pro Brush Trio. These were good, but nothing out of the world for me. The eyeliner was creamy and applied fairly dark and when I applied it to my waterline it held up and didn’t dissolve or pool up in the inner corner. However, it’s just a black eyeliner and I have like 5 of them currently in my collection that I feel similarly about.

The Crown Pro Brushes are very pretty. All white up to the very tip of the brushes, where they are topped off with a light shade of pink. The handles have slight divots which allow you to rest your finger and thumb comfortably and I find that interesting, if not exactly useful as I have found myself applying makeup with my finger no where near the divot, but I like that they thought of that. My favorite brush is the powder brush, which interestingly enough I like to use to apply blush. The bristles are soft and pick up just the right amount of color. I really have not found a use yet for the middle brush. I suppose it could be good to apply undereye concealer or even highlighter, but I just prefer my regular brushes to do that. The small flat brush is good to pack on some eyeshadow, but once again, I have others that do the job well.

Now you are probably wondering why I am leaving the most hyped product from the February box last. When I saw a sneak peek of the CoverFX Shimmer Veil on Boxycharms Instagram, I was so excited. I live by their liquid highlighters and am always wanting to try more of their products. However, I’m a little torn by the product and will say that yes, it’s not my favorite and that’s why it’s the last on my list, but I have more thoughts around that and will dedicate an entire post to it. So stay tuned!

Anyone else get their boxes? If so, let me know what you got and what you think. I am totally loving Boxycharm and hope that they keep sending out quality items in the months to come.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Boxycharm · Subscription Boxes

January Boxycharm – Rock 2018

Maritza3 Comments

Folks, this month has had it’s ups and downs, but one of the highlights was finally getting off the Boxycharm waitlist.

I swear, when I see myself typing stuff like that, I feel like I really need to get my priorities straight, but, WHATEVER! It’s the little things in life that get you going, right?

Anyways, I had always heard really great things about Boxycharm from my friend Elsie, however, never really joined as I already had so many boxes, that I felt like adding another one would be overkill. However, having recently decided to take a break from my Birchbox and Ipsy, I figured there was no better time than the present.

FUN FACT: Birchbox headquarters are located in Miami, FL. You all know I love supporting my Florida peeps.

I purposefully avoided reading up or seeing any of the January Boxycharm unboxings as I wanted to make my own opinions and, OH BOY, was I happy I did so because I am IN LOVE with basically everything I got. Seriously, I have loads of good things to say about everything and maybe just a few MEHs.

First off, let’s start off with what I loved the most, which was the Glam Metals eyeshadow palette by Crown Pro ($29.99). You all know that I am an eyes girl, and when I opened this palette and saw all these gorgeous rusty, copper and silver metallics, I was “Shot Through the Heart….”.  The colors are all silky to the touch, very pigmented and I had zero problems blending any of them. I created a quick eye look (pic below)   using The Wicked on the crease, Rebel on the lid and Black Metal on the outer V and lower lash. Finished it off with a little Pop Rock on the inner corner and I was channeling my inner Video Vixen big times.

Sticking to the eyes, the next product that I was totally digging was the It Cosmetics Brow Power in Universal Taupe ($24). Supposedly this color works on anybody and all you have to be is mindful about the pressure you are applying when doing your eyebrows as gentle strokes will work best for lighter hair colors and adding a bit more pressure will deepen the color for our darker hued guys and gals. The formula is a tad stiff when swatching it, but I suppose making it too creamy wouldn’t allow for it to be a universal shade, but don’t let that deter you as  I found it super easy to use and I didn’t really have to think too hard on how much pressure I was applying to create a perfect brow.

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Eyes: Glam Metals by Crown Pro. Brows: It Cosmetics Brow Power Cheeks/Face: Pur Cosmetics Dreamer Palete Primer: Dr. Brandt Luminizer Primer

Next on the list is another hometown favorite brand, Dr. Brandt. I LOVE Dr. Brandt products and I was so happy to get the Pores No More Luminizer Primer ($38) as I have been wanting to try it for so long, but we all know this stuff is a little pricey. On application, it looks a bit like foundation or a BB cream, but doesn’t have any coverage. It does, however, leave your skin glowy. It’s also supposed to minimize the look of pores, but I felt that the real draw was the luminizing effects.  I applied this under my foundation and my skin looked healthy. Not shiny or greasy, which is always my concern with these types of primers. It also worked really well under my Covergirl Vitalist Foundation and never made it slip or breakdown. Winner!

The next two products didn’t make my Top 3, but that doesn’t mean I dislike them:

Grande Lip Hydrating Lip Plumper ($27) in Hot Fuschia is surprisingly hydrating, however, I really didn’t see my lips plump much. What I did like was the glossy wash of pink color I got from wearing it. Seriously, I looked like I made out with the Hubs and then applied lip gloss. The effect was super sexy!

Pur Cosmetics Cheek Palette in Dreamer ($34) is so pigmented that you have to go in with the lightest hand possible with all three shades in order not to look clownish. However, I used the bronzer, blush and highlighter in the look above and feel like I pulled it off well. I can totally also see this being used as eyeshadow. The blusher has a BEAUTIFUL coral pink shimmer that all over the lid would make blue or green eyes POP! No need to foil that’s for sure!

Since I purposefully avoided any Boxycharm reviews or unboxings, what did everyone else think of their box? Sound off on the comments below and let’s get the party started!

Till next time, friends!

Maritza