Woo hoo! It’s here! It’s here! No, I’m not talking about warmer spring temperatures, although it has been pretty fabulous outside lately. I’m talking about my recent Boxycharm box! I wanted to share what goodies I received with you earlier but my life has had some bizarre twists and turns recently. Our little pug Polly had a crazy freak accident and literally died and came back to life! If you want to read all about what happened to our miracle pug, you can find out more by clicking here.
It’s officially festival season where social media accounts are plastered with photos of revelers posing in front of palm trees decked out in glitter and neon. Am I a fan of the festival culture? Heck no! But to each their own. If someone wants to get hepped up on goofballs and party at a really long concert while trying to fend off heat stroke, enjoy! It’s not my cup of tea but it has zero impact on my life. Don’t rain on someone else’s parade. Let people live their lives and you do flipping you.
Boxycharm is all in on the festival vibe with their April box theme named Peace, Love & Boxy. If you are unfamiliar with Boxycharm, it’s a monthly beauty subscription service that sends you 4-5 full size magical beauty items with a combined value of over $100. They also have an amazing optional upgrade subscription called Boxyluxe that is every 3 months that has boxes each valued at over $250. Check out the details here.
Here’s what I snagged in April’s box:
Pur Cosmetics Festival Palette
MSRP: $36.00
Find it here.
I’ve been a fan of Pur Cosmetics for years. Once upon a time, I dabbled in using powder foundations. I had tried the brand Bare Minerals who had a massive following. Their foundation formula was pretty good but very messy. Its loose powder along with its “Tap, Tap, Buff” application method ended up all over my vanity, clothing and hair. Taking it along with me on the go was even worse and not practical.
I then saw a friend using a pressed powder foundation along with a super dense flat top foundation brush. Her skin looked flawless without turning cakey or looking as dry as a desert. As soon as she mentioned the words “Pur Cosmetics”, I was grabbing a starter kit and swirling some of the powder on my face. Pur boasted its good for your skin ingredients and a formula that was hydrating. Powder…that is……….hydrating? That sounded bizarre. I don’t know if their powders retained or added any moisture to my skin, but it did leave my skin with a beautiful finish that covered up the majority of my discoloration. The best part was that it was a pressed powder in a compact that I could easily take anywhere without causing a dust storm like Pig Pen from The Peanuts.
Pur collaborated with Boxycharm to create this limited-edition Festival Palette that contains 12 pressed pigments. Each pigment is loaded with antioxidants from a blend of Green Tea, Ginseng and Vitamin B. They even did a bit of makeup sorcery by creating a formula that protects against damaging blue light (the evil light from your phone and computer that wants to melt your eyeballs and skin). The palette includes a mix of pigments with matte and shimmer finishes along with two pressed glitters.
I absolutely love this color variety that is surprisingly versatile. You can create a super subtle natural look or get decked out in electric shades that pop with loads of sparkle. Speaking of sparkle, these pressed glitters have a smooth consistency and adhere to your lids with ease. I found them easy to apply on top of shadow or on a bare lid without using glitter glue. The pigmentation of the rest of the pigments is fantastic. You get instant color payoff that blends easily without becoming patchy.
Luxie Brushes: The Summer Daze Set
MSRP: $28.00
Find it here.
My Luxie brush collection keeps growing…and growing……..and growing! Thanks to Luxie partnering with multiple beauty subscription services, I now own a crazy amount of Luxie brushes. I still get excited everytime they show up at my door because not only are they so darn purdy but they are also super soft. After countless washing and a zillion uses, my brushes maintain their shapes and have zero shedding.
Luxie’s brushes are made from synthetic hairs and are vegan and cruelty-free. Yay! These three brushes are in the Summer Daze Brush Set:
- Luxie 512 Small Contour Brush
- Luxie 245 Small Shader Brush
- Luxie 209 Large Shader Brush
Artist Couture Diamond Glow Powder
MSRP: $27.00
Find it here.
A couple of years ago, I had been hearing the hype around a product called Diamond Glow Powder. I’d be scrolling through Instagram’s beauty feed and seeing images of cheekbones glowing like a shiny piece of chrome. I quickly discovered that people were adorning their skin with the powders from Artist Couture Cosmetics.
Holy moly! This powder packs a serious punch of fairy dust to your cheeks. Take a small amount of powder and swipe it on your skin to reveal a stunning glow that will have you feeling like you captured the sparkle of a shooting star. In the jar, the powder appears to have a gold shimmer tone. Do not let your eyes deceive you! Give this mysterious powder a swipe on your skin and you will see it transform into a duochrome sheen with a magenta and purple shift. It’s so finely milled that it goes on effortlessly and blends like a dream.
Added bonus: The Diamond Glow Powder is safe to use on your face, eyes, lips and body.
Appeal Cosmetics Holographic Lip Gloss
MSRP: $21.00
Find it here.
Maybe you’re not into dousing your cheeks and lids with tons of sparkle but want to add some glam to your lips. If that’s the case, then lip gloss may end up being one of your best friends. Not only will it help your lips look plump, it can add some shine, shimmer or full on disco ball sparkle.
I couldn’t find much information on Appeal Cosmetics but I did see that they create cosmetics that fall into the higher end beauty products category.
Appeal’s Holographic Lip Gloss is an argan oil infused clear gloss that contains little bits of glitter that add some shimmer to your pout. I found it to be long lasting without being sticky or uncomfortable.
When I hear the word “holographic” I think of a duochrome effect with a multitude of colors that shift under lights. I didn’t see that with this clear gloss although it still has a lovely shimmery effect. Even though this was a slightly sparkly gloss, I wouldn’t get your hopes up of your looking to turn your lips into a reflective rainbow like this:
Bodyography Eye Pencil in Bali Bronze
MSRP: $14.00
Find it here.
Do you use wooden eye pencils? I must admit that I prefer a retractable pencil that doesn’t require sharpening. I always feel like I’m wasting precious product with each twist of a pencil in its sharpener. However, the moment I see a sharpened point, it is so darn satisfying. Plus, you’re using less plastic which is always a good thing.
Bodyography’s Eye pencils are infused with coconut oil which helps the product glide on easily without dragging the delicate skin around the eyes. I found that this pencil was very pigmented and didn’t skip or crumble yet left my eyes with a clean line of color. If you’ve ever experienced a liner that just crumbles off into little dry balls of product that end up all over your face and clothes, you are familiar with the feelings of utter defeat and frustration that ultimately ensue.
Luckily my pencil’s pigment remained intact and worked like a charm. If you want to smudge out the liner, you’ll be able to do that with ease. I wore the liner for twelve hours without its color fading or becoming a mess.
Another Fabulous Month
If you’re a Boxycharmer, what did you snag in your box this month? Get your glow on!
Lipstick and Nachos 