half caked – Leave it to Lea

Hey guys! I’m on time with my Boxycharm review for once! It got the box pretty early this month – and I did a little unboxing in one of my Vlogtober vlogs. Without further ado, let’s get into this month’s box.

The first product in the box is the Natasha Denona Cupid Cheek Duo. In my September box, I received the Natasha Denona Cupid Eyeshadow Palette and I couldn’t find it anywhere online. Same thing with this cheek duo. Now I can’t confirm this, but based on the name and the fact that I can’t find these products for sale, I believe these are leftover limited edition Valentine’s Day products. I don’t necessarily mind because Natasha Denona is a great (and expensive) brand but I feel like it’s a little cheap to be getting discontinued products. This is something I notice that happens often with Boxycharm, brands give either discontinued products or products that they discontinue a few months later. Makes sense that they’re trying to get rid of old stock. This is a tangent so I digress. The product is nice, both the blush and highlight applied nicely to the skin and lasted well throughout the day. This duo has a cream blush and powder highlight and I prefer having the same formula in one pan but it’s not the end of the world. Price: $42 US (A similar one available on Sephora is $25 CAD so not sure how accurate Boxycharm’s MSRP is)

The next product is the Wander Beauty Double Date Eyeshadow Duo. I got the shades Smitten/Swoon. These are very similar to the Auric duos that I love but are more affordable. There is a cream shade on the bottom with a shimmer on top. I really like the cream shade, it’s gorgeous and sheer enough that I could wear it every day. The shimmer is very yellow gold and pigmented, so it’s a little strong for my everyday look but perfect for going out. My only issue is that I have oily eyelids so when I wore the cream share by itself it creased really badly by the end of the day. But if you set it with the shimmer it’s fine. I think this is a really great duo and would recommend it! Price: $26 US ($36 CAD)

The next product is the Half Caked Airbrushed Complexion Duo. I love getting brushes in my box and these two brushes are excellent! The 110 Complexion Brush gave my foundation such an airbrushed (haha get it) look. It doesn’t soak up any product so it kept the coverage. My only complaint is that the brush is a little on the small side so it takes more work to blend. The 160 Concealer Brush is the perfect size for the under eyes and just blends my concealer so well. I am very impressed with more of these brushes and would recommend both of them! Price: $25 US ($35 CAD)

If you love dewy setting sprays, then the Saint Luxe Setting Spray is for you. I used a matte foundation and powders and after using this setting spray I looked so dewy after. Now I have oily skin so I don’t usually want a super dewy face. But I can see myself reaching for this spray on the days when my face is dry or looking powdery. The spray is quite fine but I do find that sometimes the nozzle gets clogged. Overall not a bad setting spray. Price: $25 US

And the final product in my box is The Beauty Crop Stuck On You Eye Primer. I have decided to not open this product because it takes me forever to go through eyeshadow primer and I already have two open. Two eye shadow primers are more than enough for me. I will be donating this to someone else. Price: $18 US (website says $16.50)

The overall total (according to Boxycharm) is $136. I’m pretty happy with this box. I really like the brushes and I do see myself using all the products besides the eye primer again. Let me know what you think in the comments!

xoxo

Lea

Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t posted in a week. As soon as I decided I wanted to come back to blogging, I became insanely busy at work. As well, I got my Boxycharm super late this month, hence why this post is going up in October. But I thought I would still share my thoughts on the products just in case you were curious about them. Let’s get into it!

The first product is the Glamglow Youthmud Glow Stimulating & Exfoliating Treatment Mask. This mask is meant to smooth the skin and help with fine lines. This is meant for people with oilier skin types, so if you have dry skin stay away. As well, if you have sensitive be careful because this mask tingles. I’m not a huge fan of the tingling sensation but it did do a nice job of smoothing my skin. Haven’t noticed any difference with fine lines, since I feel like that’s something that takes time to fix. Overall it’s a good mask but it’s not my favourite mask I’ve ever tried. Price: $60 US, $78 CAD

The next product is a duo, so two products in one! The Half Caked Best Friends Forever set comes with the In Bloom Blush and Duo Fiber Brush. The shade I got in the blush is Freshly Squeezed. I love getting brushes in my box and this one is super soft. The blush is super pigmented, so I have to use a very light hand. But it’s very long-lasting which is impressive for a powder blush. The shade Freshly Squeezed is quite a bright red – not exactly a shade I reach for often. But I think this shade would look gorgeous on deeper skin tones. I’m impressed with this set. Price: $22 US, $29 CAD

I got a second set of products, the Pinky Rose Cosmetics Multi-Use Makeup Base Sticks Jazz & Hip Hop Duo. These sticks can be used as either eyeshadow or an eyeshadow primer. Hip Hop is a creamy beige and Jazz is a shimmery copper. The pigmentation and bendability are great on both of these, but they crease so much. I wore Hip Hop as a primer and my eyeshadow creased. I tried Jazz by itself and it creased. If you don’t have greasy eyelids you’ll be fine, but if you’re like me then these sticks still just slip and slide everywhere. Price: $20 US, $25.17 CAD

The next product I received is the Elemis Superfood AHA Glow Cleansing Butter. This is such a cool product. I’ve used many cleansing balms before but the texture of this is very different. The name butter is quite accurate because it’s much creamier. It does an excellent job at removing all my makeup but not stripping my skin. If you have dry skin you’ll love this cleanser. Price: $38 US

And the final product is the Give Them Lala Beauty Mascara. First I must say that the packaging is a little odd. The tube itself is just plain white, with just the brand name on the cap. The wand of the mascara is nice, on the smaller side which I prefer. I like how my lashes look, they’re long and voluminous. But I find the formula to be very wet so I always get mascara on my lid which is very annoying. I’m curious to see what this mascara will be like in a month once it’s dried a bit and if it’ll still be wet. For now, it’s an average mascara. Price: $20 US

The total value of the box is $160, which is pretty good. I’m most impressed by the fact that there were two sets, so I technically got seven products in my box this month! I’m excited to continue using and testing out the products. Let me know in the comments what you think of September’s box. Was it worth it? Did you get the same or different products? Have you tried any of these products? Let me know!

xoxo

Lea

Tag: half caked

October Boxycharm 2022

September Boxycharm 2021