Boxycharm January 2019 Unboxing and First Impressions

Today, I’m back at it again with a review of January’s Boxycharm!  You can find my review on December’s Boxycharm here.  Boxycharm is my favorite beauty subscription box that provides 5-6 full-sized items for $21/month.  What I love about Boxycharm is that the value of all the luxury products always well exceed the $21 price (sign up here).

January’s theme is Boxy and Chill and comes with 5 products.

1. Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Highlighting Eyeshadow Palette Volume III – $36 (Buy here)

This palette features long-wearing neutral shades including a matte nude transition to pair with microshimmers that help make eyes appear brighter and more awake. Oxygenated, light-reflecting spheres highlight lids for your smoothest, most even application (tartecosmetics.com).  My favorite part about this palette is honestly the packaging.  The gold/mermaid compact is so sleek and gorgeous, and I love that they include a nice mirror.  This is a primarily shimmer palette as there is only one matte transition shade (tiki).  The formula is very creamy to the touch and pigmented, but the shades are all too light for me, personally.  I wish there was a wider range of light to dark shades for variation because once applied, the colors all look the same on my lids.  If you like natural everyday eye looks, you may very well enjoy this palette as the formula is beautiful, but for a makeup collector, this is not a particularly unique eyeshadow palette, so I will be passing it along.

2. Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Miami Fever – $20 (Buy here)

This matte liquid lipstick is long-lasting color that perfectly outlines and fills in lips, turning your pout into kissable velvet. Stunning pigments stay put all day with minimal transfer while maintaining a comfortable wear (ofracosmetics.com).  Ofra makes one of my favorite liquid lipstick formulas ever, so I was stoked to receive Miami Fever, a shade I didn’t have yet in my collection.  Score! 🙌 Their mousse-like formula is lightweight and pigmented, coating the lips in opaque color with one thin layer.  It dries down matte, and is long lasting, but never drying on the lips.  Miami Fever is a beautiful burnt terracotta orange shade in collaboration with Kathleen Lights (love her!).

3. Billion Dollar Brows Universal Brow Pencil – $18 (Buy Here)

Formulated to work beautifully with most skin tones and hair colors, this easy to use eyebrow pencil goes on smooth and natural: the creamy pomade formula never tugs or pulls at the delicate eye area so it protects brows and skin from unnecessary damage (billiondollarbrows.com).  This brow pencil has a fairly fine tip and spoolie on the other end to blend the product into the brows.  The universal shade works well enough with my coloring, even if it is a tad on the warm side.  However, I find that while the formula is pigmented, it is too creamy, to the point where it makes it difficult to draw precise brow hairs and it smudges throughout the day.  For the price, I’d much rather stick to a drugstore brow pencil. 

4. Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Face Mask – $24 (Buy Here)

A silky soft, skin-fitting sheet mask that deeply delivers a healthy drink of ultra-hydrating botanical oils and extracts for a dewy glow in just one use (tatcha.com).  This was my first time trying a Tatcha product, as everything from their line is friggin’ expensive.  $12 for a sheet mask?  Yowza.  There is a generous amount of serum in these packs, so there was plenty of serum left over, even with the mask being totally saturated.  The microfiber sheet felt very cooling on the skin and made for a refreshing treatment.  My skin still felt hydrated the morning after, though I did not see any improvements in the overall appearance.  Did this do the job of giving the skin an extra boost of moisture?  Absolutely.  Did it outperform a hydrating $2 sheet mask enough to justify the higher cost? Ehh, questionable.

5. Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave In Conditioning Spray – $12 (Buy Here)

An ultra-light, leave-in conditioning spray that brings hydration and moisture to locks without weighing them down (sephora.com).  This conditioning spray has a light, fresh scent and felt very lightweight on, but I didn’t see much of a difference in my hair after use.  I spritzed this on freshly washed hair and didn’t see much detangling properties or improvements in hair manageability.  I’ve received this product in a previous subscription box, so I will be passing it along this time.  

Overall Rating: I was fairly satisfied with January’s Boxycharm so I’m giving it a rating of 7/10 stars.  January’s box had a combined value of $110, and I credit them for offering a generous selection of products.  It’s a shame that I wasn’t impressed with the shade selection of the Tarte Eyeshadow Palette, because that was the product I was most excited to receive.  My favorite picks of the batch are the Ofra Liquid Lipstick and Tatcha Sheet Masks.

Did you enjoy your Boxycharm?  Which products are you most excited to test out?

XO,

Mary Dee

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