Category: <span>Subscription Boxes</span>

Category: Subscription Boxes

Subscription Boxes

Espionage Cosmetics Nexus – April 2017

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Another edition of the Espionage Cosmetics Nexus has arrived!  This is April’s shipment that arrived yesterday, so it’s right on time.  The theme this month was, “Birds of a Feather,” and from a spoiler, I knew there would be a Edgar Allan Poe themed wrap, but had no idea what the other one would be!

Nevermore – This glossy nail wrap features ravens and black feathers against a cloudy sky background, with a reference to  that famous poem, “The Raven.”  You could almost double purpose this for a little Hitchcockian birds, so it’s got a little bonus content, I think.  Even better is that I love both Poe and Hitchcock, so this one is right up my alley.

Flight of the Moonfallen – This is a nail wrap with a pearl finish and bonus glow in the dark content.  I didn’t recognize this one at all, but thankfully someone on Instagram mentioned that it was a reference to the  Saga comic book series.  It’s a really lovely design, taken from the wings of one of the characters, and now that I’ve read up about it, the series sounds like something right up my alley, so I’m going to have to put it on my reading list.

This is an easy month for me since I have a soft spot for Poe, so my vote is definitely going to Nevermore in the epic nail wrap battle.  I’m still pretty fond of Flight of the Moonfallen since it’s a beautiful design, but.. POE!  Either way, I still received both of these and get to wear them, but only one will go on to victory and end up on the website for sale to the public.  The month-to-month subscription cost is $15, and since each wrap goes for $10 on the website, the value definitely exceeds the cost, plus, subscribers get first crack at new designs.  Next month’s theme has already been announced, and it’s, “Keeping Track.”  In case you’re thinking about subscribing and want to send me some love, hit up my  referral link!

Subscription Boxes

Medusa’s Makeup March 2017

 

March’s edition of the Medusa’s Makeup monthly box is here.  The shipment arrived in a pink padded mailer with minimal packaging as usual which I really appreciate.  Less waste!  Two lip products, an eyeshadow and an eye makeup primer made for four products this month.

  • Stick It Eye Primer – 2 oz / $8 – (Product is full size)  Made with natural oils and waxes, this eye primer is a bit stickier than the more velvety finish type primers I generally use.  However, I’d imagine that makes it a fantastic base for shimmery colors that tend not to stay put very well.
  • Eye Dust – 1.5 g / $7 – (Product is full size)  The color this month is, “Wasabe,” a shimmery green that’s perfect for the month that contains St. Patrick’s Day.  I really love getting a new eye color from them every month and this one is the prettiest spring green.
  • Lipstick – 3.5 g / $12 – (Product is full size)  The color received is, “Lydia,” though my container was labelled as “YOLO.”  It’s definitely the purple Lydia, and really not a color I have any use for.  It goes on as a pastel purple and looks a little bit like I’ve transformed into Violet Beauregarde.  It might work as a base under a bolder red color to bring the red into a cool/berry zone, but alone?  I’m just not the kind of person who wears purple lipstick.  It also contains parabens.
  • Lip Paint – 1.5 g / $12 – (Product is full size)  The color here is, “Get Lucky,” which is a bright, bubblegum pink.  It applies on me as a bright, flourescent pink, and I can’t see myself wearing this in public except maybe for Halloween or cosplaying Jem.  The formula isn’t my favorite – even after it’s dried and set, it’s still a little sticky, but it stays put (and is nearly impossible to remove).  This also contains parabens.

The total value this month comes to $39 which is good for a box that only costs $15.95 per month.  Unfortunately, the only products I’m going to keep and use are the eye primer and eye dust, so the value doesn’t quite make up for the cost this month for me.  I know Medusa’s Makeup is a little bit beyond my threshold in terms of bold, unusual colors, but this shipment was particularly bold, I think.  I decided to unsubscribe for the meantime since I’m honestly on makeup overload, and getting two lip colors that are pretty outlandish in this shipment put me over the edge.  I still love the company and their eye dusts are some of my favorites, so I may come back at a later date – I just need a break for now!

Subscription Boxes

Goodbeing Spring Bonus Box 2017

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Every time I see emails for these bonus boxes from Goodbeing, I jump on the chance to pick one up.  I had been a regular Goodbeing/Goodebox subscriber until May of 2016, but I still like grabbing these bonus boxes since they tend to be a good value.  This one sold for $30 including shipping and was advertised as being between a $75 and $90 value with 10 products, at least two full size items.  I usually don’t do reviews on these bonus boxes since there are a lot of products to go through and try, but I’ll at least do a list of the products plus values.  My box contained 12 products with 2 of those being full size, one of which was another one of those Rafiki bracelets like the one from  February of  last year  but in a different color.  These were the bracelets  that led me to cancel my subscription since they came in two boxes in a row and were not something I was interested in (I can’t believe they STILL have these around).  As someone who isn’t a regular monthly subscriber, I did get a few neat, new products that I haven’t tried before, so this is a great way to dip your toe into what Goodbeing offers before jumping in to a monthly subscription.

  • New Chapter Every Woman’s One Daily Multi – 24 ct / $14.99 – (Sample size is 10 tablets, value of $6.25)
  • Gia Minerals Mineral Blush – 4 g / $24 – (Product is 3 g, value of $18 by volume)  Color is “Splendid Rose”
  • Suntegrity Lip C.P.R. – 2.8 g / $28 – (Product is .5 g, value of $5 by volume)  Color is “Sunny Blush”
  • Moody Sisters Lip Scrub – 1 oz / $9 – (Product is full size)
  • Folium Medica Athlete Potion – 1 oz / $42 – (Product .5 oz, value of $21 by volume)
  • Noctua Diem Cucumber & Seaweed Cooling Mask – 4 oz / $30 – (Product is 2 oz, value of $15 by volume)
  • Odacite CaR Vital Glow Serum – 5 mL / $55 – (Product is .7 mL, value of $1.10 by volume)
  • The Seaweed Bath Co. Restoring Marine Serum – 1 oz / $45 – (Product is .16 oz, value of $7.20 by volume)
  • Derma E Hydrating Night Creme – 2 oz / $29.50 – (Product is .5 oz, value of $7.38 by volume)
  • Osea Ocean Cleanser – 5 oz / $44 – (Product is 1 oz, value of $8.80 by volume)
  • Kahina Brightening Serum –  30 mL / $72 (1 packet at about 3  mL each, approx value of $7.20)
  • Me to We Rafiki Bracelet – 1 bracelet / $10 – (Product is full size)

The total value comes to $115.93 which is well above the advertised value!  I’m pretty happy with mostly everything that came in this bonus box.  The only things I’m not terribly thrilled with are the bracelet and vitamins, but I’ll end up using everything else which makes the box a pretty fantastic value for $30.  It’s hard to pick a single item that I’m really thrilled about, but it’s probably the a tie between the Osea cleanser and Folium Medica potion that smells SO good.  Honestly, this was a great value for what’s included, and I always like getting these bonus boxes.  Looking forward to the next one!

Subscription Boxes

Espionage Cosmetics BOOM!Box March 2017

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IT’S HERE!  Holy crap, it’s here.  The theme for this BOOM!Box cycle was, “Automaton,” and featured all sorts of robot goodness.  I think this was originally meant to ship in February, but there was a delay which was well communicated and WELL worth the wait.  On first opening the box, I was greeted with an insert about the new makeup palettes which should be releasing for pre-order soon.  Under that was a little card about entering to win a free BOOM!Box with posts on social media using the hashtags #ecboombox and #post4boom.  There was also a little rolled up scroll with a note from Marissa Meyer who collaborated on this box.

Just underneath that was something new!  A silver envelope that contained product cards for everything in the box, information on Nexus and Nexus OP, as well as a reminder to check your email for the sale code for the box.  I really love this level-up on the product card.  Having separate pages for each item may use more paper, but it also gives us more information about each product which is nice.

Also inside the envelope were three stickers featuring still more automaton goodness.  There’s nods to the Iron Giant  and Terminator, and even a special Espionage Cosmetics robot sticker.  I have to admit that the Skynet FREE WIFI sticker is making me laugh – I’m going to have to stick that to my laptop.

Next up was the Wires and Nerve makeup bag featuring artwork from the new graphic novel by Marissa Meyer, Wires and Nerve Vol. 1.  The bag has some really beautiful artwork on both the front and the back and is lined with a bright orange fabric.  The outer fabric is a heavy canvas while the inside is a slightly lighter nylon, and it has padding between the inner and outer layers.  The fabric choice and padding make this a really stand-out item.  It’s not a cheap cotton bag, it’s a seriously heavy-duty, thick bag and will undoubtedly work great to protect items inside the bag.

The nail wraps this month are GORGEOUS!  We also have  some new nail wrap packaging which I absolutely adore.  On the left is, “We’re Doomed,” which is a little nod to C3PO with a quote from Return of the Jedi.  Gold and silver foil accent these glossy nail wraps around a design of exposed wires.  On the right, we have, “U-87,” which is definitely Battlestar Galactica themed.  This is another glossy nail wrap with silver foil accents and one bright red glitter accent wrap.  We also got a brand new nail file – it’s shorter and  thicker than the old cardboard ones, but I like the way it looks, and it feels more substantial with the foam core between the two sides.

WOW.  This is the A-Maze-Ing Lantern made by Geekify, Inc.  The lantern came flat-packed in a burlap bag as six pieces.  A little bit of glue and foot-tapping later, my lantern was ready to go!  Two sides have a maze design, one side has the quote, “These violent delights have violent ends,” and there’s a solid back, bottom, and top.  Obviously, if you’re using a tea light candle, you have to remove the top while lit.  The quote is more recently recognized as being from Westworld, but has its origins in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.  When lit, the lantern casts pretty shadows on the wall from the maze design, and I suppose you could even turn the quote side around so it can be read when illuminated on a wall instead of read while glowing through the lantern.  It’s made of laser cut wood and painted brown, and is really a lovely, unique piece.

Our artwork this month comes from Jen Taylor and features Roxie the Robot, a retro glam automaton, self-aware, and done taking orders!  The colors on this print are just perfect, and she’s such a lovely, badass girlbot.

I’m not sure I could even begin to come up with a value for this month, but even just with the nail wraps being $10 each, the cost of $30 per month is nearly covered, and we haven’t even gotten to the value of the lantern, makeup bag, or print yet!  Yet again, they nailed the theme in every single item, and I’m consistently wowed by how well they work a theme in each delivery.  In case you’re thinking about subscribing and want to send me some love, hit up my  referral link!

Subscription Boxes

Benevolent Beauty Box March 2017

 

March’s Benevolent Beauty Box has arrived with some pretty spring colors!  I have to admit that this month didn’t really wow me as a whole like prior boxes, but I’m in love with the two Au Naturale products, so it still works out okay in my book.

  • Manna Kadar Lash Extending Primer – .28 oz / $24 – (Product is full size)  The second ingredient on this is Mineral Oil,  a petroleum-based ingredient.  I’m REALLY careful about what I put on my eyelashes and around my eyes since I tend to have some pretty bad reactions, so anything with mineral oil (liquid paraffin) is a no go.  I don’t really have a need for a lash primer – most mascaras do the job just fine on their own anyway – so this is going to the trade/give-away pile since I don’t want to take the risk of having my eyes itchy and red for days.
  • Meow Meow Tweet Deodorant Cream – 2.4 oz / $14 – (Product is full size)  I received the Lavender scent.  I’ve tried this brand in the regular version, but this one is baking soda free.  I’m.. I’m just not into natural deodorants and this is the second one I’ve gotten this month, plus it’s in a pot, so you have to get your hands messy to apply it on your pits (gross – stick deodorant only please!).  Natural deodorants don’t work to stop you from sweating (they’re not  antiperspirants), rarely deodorize for longer than four hours, and they just never work for me.  It’s the one big thing that I turn in my natural-hippie-organic-nut card for and man, if I never saw another deodorant in a subscription box, I would be a happy, happy gal.  Don’t get me wrong, for people who love natural deodorants, I’ve heard this is a good one, and the ingredients are awesome and natural, but like most personal care items, they’re just not going to work for everyone.
  • Au Naturale Creme Eye Shadow – 3 g / $20 – (Product is full size)  The color I received is, “Bora Bora,” described as a bright, aquamarine blue.  This was one of the products shown as a spoiler with two color variations, the other being, “Bliss,” which was a warm neutral-ish pink.  I have to admit that I was secretly wishing for this color to show up in my box, so I’m SUPER pleased with this!  The color goes on as a stunning metallic blue that’s easy to build from a pale shade to a brilliant blue, so it’s pretty versatile.  The formula is fairly solid in the pot, but warms up enough with the heat of your fingers  to apply smoothly and blend easily.  I cannot wait to wear this!
  • Au Naturale Eyeliner Pencil – .5 g / $18 – (Product is full size)  The color I received is, “Deep Sea,” described as a subtle ocean blue.  I have hazel eyes, so I’ve come to love blue eyeliner and mascara to bring out the green in my eyes, so this is another winner in my book!  It’s ever so slightly metallic, and the ingredients are all natural waxes and oils (no petroleum-based ingredients), and this is honestly just perfect for me.
  • Jersey Shore Cosmetics My Lash Secret Eyelash Curler – 1 curler / $30 – (Product is full size)  Also included is one replacement pad.  I have to admit that I never really curl my lashes since I don’t have a lot of lash to begin with and mascara tends to give them a good enough curl  anyway.  I think this is my third eyelash curler that I’ve received in subscription boxes, so I didn’t  necessarily need another, but now that I have another one (and it’s not buried in the bottom of the bathroom cabinet), I’ll have to remember to start using it.  The company is committed to natural and organic beauty which I’m totally down with.

The total value this month comes to $106 which is great for a box that costs $29.95 for  a month-to-month subscription!  Even if I’m really only interested in the eye shadow and eye liner, the cost of the box is still covered by the value of just those two products.  I’ll probably still use the eyelash curler, but it’s not really something I’ll use on a daily basis since I find it really difficult to curl my short eyelashes in the first place.  So, mixed feelings on this one.  I LOVE the two products from Au Naturale, but the rest of the box just wasn’t a good fit this month.  But hey, the overall value is incredible, my cost is covered by the two products I really like, and all the products are cruelty free so that works out for me!

Subscription Boxes

Espionage Cosmetics Nexus – February and March 2017

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I’m lumping these two months together since they arrived together.  Espionage Cosmetics had received a damaged shipment that included the nail wraps for these two months, so unfortunately the Nexus shipments were delayed, but we were given notice by email at every turn.  More unfortunately, the entire shipment for both months couldn’t completely be delivered to every customer, so some of us (including myself) received one of the official wraps for the month, a bonus wrap that fit the theme, and a $10 credit for each month to make up for the missing wrap.  Some people were lucky enough to get their full shipment of both wraps and a bonus wrap (and I have to assume, no credit), so I’m a little bummed that I missed making the cut in the lottery.  It looks like there won’t be any voting on these, and customer service told me  that the missing wraps won’t be available for purchase as they’ve done in previous months, nor will they be replaced at a later date.  I know making tough decisions like this as a small business is really difficult  – someone is always going to be unhappy – and it’s probably even tougher given that the damage on the shipment of products to EC was completely out of their control and not any fault of their own.  So, given all that, while I’m still bummed that I’m teased with wraps on the product card that I love (DUDE, CONNECT FOUR!) but will never actually have, I feel like they managed things as best they could, kept us in the loop about the delay, and provided appropriate compensation to those of us that didn’t receive the full shipment.

Sorry, that was long!  But I wanted to be clear about why this post is different from the previous ones and why there’s been Nexus radio silence around here.  And now, on to the wraps!

February’s theme was, “Tainted Love,” and featured two designs that fit in with the big February holiday, Valentine’s Day.

  • Queen of Hearts – These are SO SO pretty.  They’re gloss with the red bits being a foil finish and they’re just perfect.  Definitely something I could see the queen herself wearing.
  • Crazy In Love – (not included)  I love the subtlety on these, but it’s easy to tell they’re inspired by Harley Quinn.  It looks like the diamonds were probably filled in with glitter, so I bet these are awesome.
  • Harlequin – (bonus wrap)  It’s one I already have, but it’s a favorite, so adding an extra to my stash is totally fine!

March’s theme was, “Game On!”  Two genius nail wraps were included in this one, and it looks like we got a peek at some new packaging!

  • World 1-1 – THIS IS AWESOME.  Inspired by Super Mario Bros., this wrap features a genius glow in the dark accent.  These are absolutely spectacular, and timely since we just put together our RetroPie system and have been playing the game constantly.
  • Go For One More! – (not included)  CONNECT FOUR!  I’m just sayin, if anyone who got this one wants to trade for some discontinued wrap I have, I’m down.
  • Dice – (bonus wrap)  Shockingly, somehow a wrap that I didn’t already own!  It does fit in with the gaming theme, so this works.

April’s theme has been released already and is, “Birds of a Feather.”  The one spoiler image looks to be Edgar Allan Poe inspired (ravens, maybe?), so I’m going to keep up with my subscription!  I think these two months were just a blip, and I hope that going forward, they’ll continue with stellar deliveries!

Subscription Boxes

Sephora Play! March 2017

 

Another Sephora Play! is here.  The theme this month is, “The Gleam Team,” and for those of you playing along at home, I got box variant #451.  The bag this month is back to the old usual white cotton, but it does have a pale green ribbon and reads, “Glow Your Own Way,” (thanks for the earworm).

  • GlamGlow Glowstarter – 1.7 oz / $49 – (Product is .24 oz, value of $6.92 by volume)  I received the, “Nude Glow,” color.  I’m.. not impressed.  It’s way too glittery for an all-over moisturizer like it’s supposed to be, and it makes my skin look sparkly, and I’m not down with the whole wanna-be-Twilight-vampire look.  The product is also pretty heavily scented with a fruity vanilla scent which seems nice, until you realize that it’s all over your face, right by your nose, and ends up being way overpowering.  I know everyone talks big about how awesome GlamGlow is, but I’m finding the samples I’ve gotten are pretty unimpressive, especially considering the price.  Oh, and GlamGlow is owned by  Estée Lauder, so they’re not cruelty free.
  • Urban Decay Vice Lipstick – .11 oz / $17 – (Product is .03 oz, value of $4.64 by volume)  In the photo, that sample is twisted up the whole way, and you can see the tube is just about the size of the perfume sample, so it’s pretty tiny and most of it is packaging.  Anyway, I received the color, “Big Bang,” which is described as a metallized bright pink sparkle.  By itself, it is a crazy glittery bright pink – something you’d expect to see on Jem and the Holograms, but not something you could actually wear to an office job unless you’re  Jem’s concert promoter.  I saw someone say that is better used over another shade as a little shine booster, and I could see that being a far better use for it, so I’ll have to play around with using it over other lipsticks.  Urban Decay is cruelty free, however they’re owned by  L’Oreal which isn’t cruelty free.
  • Verb Ghost Oil – 2 oz / $14 – (Product is .57 oz, value of $3.99 by volume)  HAIR OIL!  Except it’s not really oil.  The first 5 ingredients are silicones, a fragrance, then another silicone, and finally three oils and bamboo extract.  Moringa oil is ingredient number 9 out of 15.  So, sadly, WAY too many silicones for me since I don’t use silicones on my hair.  I’m going to stick with using actual oils instead  – this is going straight to the trade/give-away pile.  As an up side, Verb is completely cruelty free.
  • Becca Shimmering Skin Protector – 1.7 oz / $41 – (Product is .34 oz, value of $8.20 by volume)  The color I received is, “Opal.”  I tried this out, and I swear to you it’s a direct copy of the GlamGlow product.  It looks nearly exactly the same on a quick swatch with the GlamGlow maybe being just a wee bit less sparkly.  The product has no scent though, so that’s nice, but I basically just got two highlighter cremes and  I’m not a fan.  Guys, I really just don’t like highlighters and I don’t like my skin to be sparkly.  Sparkly eyeshadow?  HELL YEAH.  Sparkly, shiny cheekbones?  HARD PASS.  I guess I can keep these around and use them as eyeshadow primers maybe?  Becca was recently acquired by  Estée Lauder, so we have two of basically the same sort of product from the same parent company.  Becca had been cruelty free, but their new parent company is definitely not, and it’s unclear yet if Becca will remain cruelty free or not.
  • Atelier Cologne  Clémentine California Cologne – 3.3 oz / $130 – (Product is .05 oz, value of $1.97 by volume)  I thought with a name like Clémentine, it would be fruity and sweet, but instead I found the scent has a really unpleasant sharpness to it that drowns out the citrus.  I’m wondering if maybe scents that include pepper just don’t jive with my skin chemistry because every scent with pepper that I’ve tried out has just been atrocious on me.  I did get a little hint of citrus at the beginning, but that faded out pretty quickly and left behind something I had to scrub off because it was bothering me that much.  Oh well, it is still nice to try these on the off-chance that something hits big.  Oh, and Atelier Cologne is not cruelty free.
  • Josie Maran Surreal Skin Argan Finishing Balm – .5 oz / $36 – (Product is .1 oz, value of $7.20)  So, another illuminating moisturizer, but this one has a very, VERY subtle pearlescence that I actually really like.  It’s meant to be used as a moisturizer and makeup primer, so it’s not surprising that it’s primarily silicone based, but it does contain Argan oil and Shea butter.  I feel like this is something my dry skin will love, and it’ll give my skin a boost without the sparkle.  Bonus, Josie Maran is completely cruelty free.

So, overall, the value of the box comes to $32.92 which is pretty much on par with the usual box value.  The box only costs me $10.60 including tax, so the value is about three times the cost which is great.  Unfortunately, this month’s box came with three products that are essentially the same – highlighting products.  Fortunately, I really do love the Josie Maran Finishing Balm, and the brand is a big favorite of mine already since they’re cruelty free, so that’s awesome.  Other than the Josie Maran product though, the rest were a big miss.  I guess I really don’t get the whole craze with highlighters – I do really minimal makeup in terms of foundation/blush (read: generally never) so it’s just not something that’s on my radar really, plus I don’t like that shiny/shimmery/metallic look on my face.  Oh well, hopefully next month will be better!

Subscription Boxes

Beautycon Spring 2017

 

Beautycon’s Spring box is here and right off the bat, I have to say this is a HUGE improvement over the last three boxes I got from them.  It’s much more up my alley, has some great cruelty free brands, and has a huge eyeshadow palette which is SO nice to see.  There’s even a special just-for-Beautycon item in this box, the brow powder set.  The theme for this quarter was, “Spring Essentials,” which, as usual is not so much of a theme.  Winter’s box was, “Winter Essentials,” so.. There are three curators this time – Sayria Jade, Dacey Cash, and La Demi – and just like all the other curators, I’ve never heard of them before.  They’re all relatively young, so again, this is probably just an age gap thing since Beautycon mostly targets an audience nearly half my age.

  • Cargo Around The World Eye Shadow Palette – 1 palette / $34 – (Product is full size)  Hey!  An eye shadow palette!  I think I was all but begging for something like this, so I’m pretty jazzed to see this in the box.  The palette is a neutral oriented set of colors in a range of mattes and shimmers which is nice since it will probably suit everyone.  There’s a small dual-end brush included (eye shadow end and an angled end), and the palette itself is cardboard with a magnetic closure and mirror.  Cargo might not be  a super luxury brand, but it’s a nice, affordable, cruelty free brand that falls right in line with NYX and e.l.f.
  • OGX Orchid Oil – 4 oz / $7.99 – (Product is full size)  SIGH.  The first ingredient is cyclotetrasiloxane which is a silicone, an ingredient I don’t use on my curly hair.  The oil part of this product doesn’t even come in until ingredient number 5 out of 15, so it’s primarily a silicone based product.  It’s pretty heavily fruity scented too, so between the ingredients and the scent, this is a nope for me.
  • Luxie Powder Brush 516 – 1 brush / $22 – (Product is full size)  It’s a synthetic brush, so it’s cruelty free and vegan.  I don’t mind getting brushes in boxes and after getting a few of these, I have a really nice inventory of a number of different brushes I may not have bought otherwise!  Now only if it wasn’t pink…
  • The BrowGal Brow Brush – 1 brush / $14 – (Product is full size)  One end is a spoolie to brush your brows and the other is a firm, angled brush to fill in brows or apply eyeliner.  I really like the angled brush end since it’s a very thin brush and works perfectly on brows.
  • The BrowGal Convertible Brow – 1 set / $35 – (Product is full size)  This is an exclusive set of colors put together just for Beautycon.  The regular  BrowGal eyebrow sets are sorted by hair color (dark, brown, and light), and this one looks like it combines one from each to give a good range to fit a wider range of hair colors.  Both the middle and the right one are pretty good matches, but the left is far too dark.  I get that putting these together on one brow palette makes it fit a wider range of people and so that you can custom blend a color, but now I have a pot of brow color that’s useless to me.  I do like the formula – it’s a thick powder that almost feels like a gel and goes on super smoothly.  From what I can find, the brand is cruelty free as well!
  • Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or – 1.6 oz / $36 – (Product is .33 oz, value of $7.43 by volume)  I’ve gotten this before from Glossybox, and it’s a dry oil with a gold shimmer.  I still haven’t used up the one I already have since the oil is super glittery and it’s just not my thing.  I keep meaning to drag it back out to use on my hair, but then it gets gold glitter all over my hands too.  The oil blend is nice though and definitely not greasy at all.
  • IBY Beauty Mineral Blush – .12 oz / $16 – (Product is full size)  The color received is, “Peach Sheen,” which is almost a coral color with a gold shimmer.  I just don’t like  shimmery blushes, and the color doesn’t at all work with my skin tone.  But, like all blushes, this can be used as an eye color too, and I think it’ll work out just fine as an eye shadow.  This arrived with the pot having come unglued from the compact, but that just saves me the time I would’ve spent depotting it anyway, so that’s okay for me!
  • Garnier SkinActive Micellar Makeup Removing Towelettes  – 25 towelettes / $6.99 – (Product is full size)  We received the liquid version of this last cycle, so this is almost a repeat item, but in a different delivery method.  They’re okay – nothing spectacular and not cruelty free.  I prefer to use a natural oil based makeup remover so I don’t have to scrub away at eye makeup, but I guess it’s nice to have these for travel.
  • Dirty Little Secret Matte Lipstick – 3.2 g / $14 – (Product is full size)  The color received is, “Rust,” which I was a little worried would tip over into the warm/orange zone and look terrible on me.  Surprisingly, it’s almost like a deep raspberry/strawberry color – really hard to describe, but I LOVE the color!  This dries nice and matte and has great staying power too.  What a nice surprise.  The company is cruelty free as well, so this is an extra big winner in my book.
  • NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick – .21 oz / $7.99 – (Product is full size)  The color received is, “Rose Petal Pop,” which is a bright pink color.  I’ll admit that I’m not big into highlighter and illuminator type products since I just feel like they don’t look right on me.  This is SUCH a bright pink that I can really only see it working as a blush, and it  would be a nice color for that if it weren’t for the gold shimmer.  I really do like matte blushes only, but I like the color on this so much that I may have to give it a go.  NYX is cruelty free, but their parent company is  L’Oréal who does sell in China and tests on animals.  While NYX is still committed to cruelty free beauty, the parent company is not, so it’s kind of a grey area.

Also included in this box was a little rose sticker that matched the product card and outer packaging.  Overall, the box value comes out to $165.40 which is really pretty amazing when you consider that the box cost me a total of $31.74 including shipping.  This one in particular was a big hit with me since they included a number of cruelty free brands and I feel like they listened to some of the feedback about the last batch of boxes.  Not only do we have a nice eyeshadow palette, but there’s also an exclusive-to-Beautycon item and fewer drugstore brands.  The value for the cost is pretty incredible and it’s nice to see this box deliver something so nice, finally!  I think I have one more quarter left on my subscription, so we’ll have to see how that one goes before I make a decision on renewing for another year.  I’m kind of on the fence about it since I’d like to swap this sub for the Vegan Cuts quarterly box, so we’ll have to see!