OHMYGOODNESSICANTEVENCONTAINMYSELFRIGHTNOW.
Deep breathing. Yeah, I’m ACTUALLY out of breath with excitement over the latest goodie I received in the mail. Boxes of goodies and full-sized Coastal Scents palettes! WAZOO! Hang on. With all the excitement, I don’t think I’m headed in a clear direction. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start over from the beginning.
I love the subscription boxes, and when done properly, they can be the coolest and most exciting part of your month. There are literally hundreds of different companies/boxes out there to choose from, so naturally, what box you gravitate towards fully depends on your interests.
Obviously, I’m very interested in beauty, skincare and other self-care products, so those are the boxes that I tend to lean towards. After watching countless YouTubers doing their unboxings of a whole gamut of subscription beauty boxes, I decided, after careful inspection, that there were a couple that I deemed worth checking out.
The first subscription service I signed up for didn’t exactly end up meeting my expectations, so after my first and only month with them, I bid them adieu. Ta ta! I’m not going to go into that company’s subscription services or name because I was taught that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Not that I would say anything MEAN… There was nothing WRONG with them, it just wasn’t what I was looking for. That’s all.
I then decided to check out Birchbox, which I didn’t end up signing up for, but my husband did. Birchbox for Men is $20/month or $195/year, and for that price, you get a personalized assortment of grooming and style upgrades delivered to your door each month. Your monthly box includes 3-4 grooming samples and a handsome accessory. Michael has yet to receive his first box, but once he does, you better believe you’ll be hearing about it.
The subscription service that I finally settled on, and ultimately subscribed to, is BoxyCharm. BOXYCHARM is a beauty box subscription that surprises you each month with the best beauty products from popular and chic brands. From nail care, to the hottest hair products, to the top skin care and cosmetics, each box will have your head-to-toe beauty needs covered! So each month, subscribers like me receive a box filled with full size and luxury size beauty samples from their preferred well-known brands.
If you are interested in subscribing, you can do so HERE. I’ll put a link at the bottom too, in case you decide you feel like subscribing AFTER reading all the awesome stuff I’m about to share with you. You’re welcome.
One of the coolest parts is that since I decided to make the leap to becoming a subscriber in December, I still qualified to receive the December box, even though I signed up in the last few days of the month. On the 30th, to be exact! And guess what came in the mail this past Friday? YOU GUESSED IT!!!!
The official December “Jingle Belles” BoxyCharm box, which is also my my first official BoxyCharm. I know it’s been a few days since I received the box, but my hubs and I actually went out of town to Baltimore, MD the SAME day the box arrived, (more on that later) so I wasn’t able to really sit down and write about everything.
I did manage to photograph the unboxing process, which was great. Anyway, I was, and still am so fired up about the contents of this box. So now, let’s get back to the shortness of breath and fired-up-ed-ness.
Let’s just get right into it, shall we?
The first thing I noticed upon opening this box was a card outlining the theme of the month, Jingle Belles. How cute. The back of the card outlined each product, and the actual retail price of everything inside.
After glancing at the card, I decided to just dive in. The first product that I spied with my big eyes was a small box of fluffy, thick and dark mink lashes from Eyelashi ($29.00) I know that the first batch of boxes to go out were Lina Lashes, so I was surprised to see a different brand and style of mink lashes. I wasn’t upset at all. These lashes are GORGEOUS.
They are touted as being high quality mink lashes, comfortable for every day wear, durable enough for over 40 wears. That’s INCREDIBLE. Now, I’m NOT a good false lash wearer. I have not once been able to apply a set successfully, no matter how well I follow directions. I’m hoping that these will be easier to apply. We’ll see. I AM excited about them, though. They’re so beautiful.
The second product I saw was the only travel sized item in the box, and that was the Eva-NYC Hungry Hair Oil Treatment.
It intensely nourishes, hydrates and smooths even the most unmanageable hair. Argan Oil feeds hair with vitamins and nutrients while Keravis Protein increases strength and flexibility. The result is healthier hair and a smooth finish to any style. And the full sized bottle goes for $30, while the deluxe sample goes for anywhere from $7 – $12. I have used this product and have to say it’s very good. My hair was pretty nasty and dry feeling after my trip to Baltimore, and this oil really revived my hair, leaving it soft, silky and smooth, and not at all greasy or, well, oily.
Next up was the full sized Be a Bombshell Cosmetics lip gloss in Kiss Off, with a retail value of $14.
I’ve never tried at Be A Bombshell product before, and so far, I’m on the fence. I like the lip gloss formula, as it’s not too sticky, and there’s no offensive smell or taste, but the wear isn’t long-lasting at all. It barely even lasted a full hour, which was a disappointment.
At first, I was afraid of the color. I mean… LOOK AT IT. It’s a bright, shimmery pink color that is horrifyingly intense in the tube, but once on the lips, it’s actually pretty beautiful. It’s shiny, and very sheer. I bet it would be a gorgeous highlight over top of a lipstick. I will continue to give it a shot. I’m not giving up on it yet.
Next was the Mistura Beauty Solutions Retractable Beauty Brush, with a value $20. It’s an ultra-soft sythentic-hair bristle brush, perfect for traveling.
Just take the top off and push the handle up where the bristles pop up like magic out of the handle, and then retract smoothly back in. It’s perfectly sized and works great on the road.
And finally, they saved the best for last. OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS DID THEY EVER. Coastal Scents Revealed Palette, a FULL SIZED eyeshadow palette, including TWENTY highly pigmented and super creamy shadows, with a value of $39.95.
Granted the palette is currently on sale on their website for around $20, but still. It just paid for the box and it’s easily my favorite item inside. Easily.
The Coastal Scents palette is super slim, and perfect for traveling, especially since it has so many beautiful neutral colors, featuring 14 shimmer shades and 6 mattes.
There’s definitely enough for tons of different looks. The shades have good pigmentation and blend well too!
And I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but if you haven’t, this Coastal Scents Revealed palette is a CRAZY DUPE for both the Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 Palettes. Check out the post from Beauty Broadcast. She shows the swatches comparing and contrasting the two, and it’s incredible. IN-CRED-IBLE.
Like so good, that I don’t think I’ll end up getting the Naked palettes like I had planned. Yeah, yeah. I know. I still don’t have them. Whatever. But now I have the perfect dupes! So, there.
Anyway, the overall total value of the products in the December BoxyCharm box comes to a whopping $114.94. Obviously, it goes without saying that it is a great value for having paid only $21, including shipping and handling. Seriously… I mean does anyone have a paper bag for me to breathe into?!? I OBVIOUSLY got my money’s worth here, and I feel very justified in spending the $21/month for this.
And after all of that being said, if you have to pick only one box to subscribe to and you enjoy full sized beauty/makeup/skin & hair/self-care products, I would 100% recommend BoxyCharm. Hands. Down. And now I sit, anxiously awaiting January’s box-o-goodies.
Now do you want to subscribe? I don’t blame you. CLICK HERE!
