Thursday, June 05, 2014

- - Beauty Box 5 | April 2014 Review - -


Hey everyone!

I am at home with a bit of a fever...ugh. Luckily, today I get to talk about a subscription box that brings 5 mystery items to my door every month. I'm really behind in my reviews, so I will be doing some major catching up in the next few days. In the meantime, please enjoy my review of the April Beauty Box 5.

Access the full review right after the jump...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
What is Beauty Box 5? 
BB5 is a subscription-based, beauty sampling service that delivers 5 deluxe samples & full-sized products to you every month.

Frequency: monthly  
Subscription Plans:
     Monthly = $12
     Quarterly = $10/month

     Annual = $8.25/month 
Ships to: lower 48 United States and Canada
Shipping Cost: FREE (USPS / Canada Post) 
Shipping Date: 8th of every month

(A kind thank you to anyone who would like to use my referral link in signing up.)
 
Previous BB5 reviews:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


One of the reasons why I love BB5 is because I never know what I'm going to get. Apparently there are sneak peeks each month, but luckily they aren't anywhere where I see them (unlike for the June box, for which we got an actual email about one of the items).


Every box comes with a product card, which I try to look at after I've seen all of my items.


Here's the first look at what's inside the box:



 *Please note that all of the prices are in U.S. dollars.*

1 | California Collection Eyeshadow Palette (BH Cosmetics) 
      (Sample size: $3.00 for 3 eyeshadows | Full size: $18.95 for 16 eyeshadows/4 face powders)
      (Link to product)


Ha, I've seen this palette in subscription boxes before. I've never gotten one, but I guess I should've expected that our paths would cross one day. I'm actually pretty happy to try these eyeshadows. This small palette lets you sample a colour from the three California eyeshadow/blush palettes: Hollywood, San Francisco, and Malibu.



I would say that the pigment isn't too bad. I think I used two swipes for the swatches below. I'm not sure if it's possible to wear all three colours at one time, but I do think that this makes for a very aesthetically pleasing combination.


Artificial lighting

The San Francisco and Malibu colours are quite shimmery, which I don't mind.

Natural lighting

I look forward to experimenting with these colours once I get more comfortable with eyeshadows.


2 | Hydro Lipstick in NY007: Begonia (Nicka K New York) 
      (FULL SIZE: $4.99)
      (Links to product: BB5 | Nicka K New York)

I was happy to see another product from Nicka K New York. My first Ipsy bag had a nail polish from this brand.


This lipstick smells AMAZING! Bonus points to products that smell great.

The colour is quite interesting. I would describe it best as "metallic red." From afar, the colour looks like a dark red; however, once you get closer you can see the shimmer within. I think I'm slowly getting used to the metallic nature of this lipstick. It's definitely unusual though. I would avoid putting on too much to not make your lips look too metallic/foil-like.

The pigmentation is pretty great - I used only one swipe for the swatch below.

L - artificial lighting | R - natural lighting
  
This may sound strange, but I feel like the texture of this lipstick is ever so slightly rough. Honestly - ever so slightly. It may be because of the little shimmer particles. In any case, it's just a simple observation; the texture doesn't bother me at all.

In terms of hydration, I haven't worn this lipstick for a long enough time to judge how long the mositurizing effect would last. Sound like it would be great for a few hours. 

This isn't the best photo, but believe me when I say that this shade is very bold (especially if you keep layering it on).


3 | All Purpose Cleansing Wipes in Citrus Scent (Blum Naturals)
      (FULL SIZE: $2.49 for 30 wipes)
      (Link to product)


Cleansing wipes are always welcome in subscription boxes! I haven't used these up yet, but I've gone through most of the wipes at this point.

The Good
- wipes are pretty moist
- great price!
- container is small enough to place in your purse conveniently
- unless you put your nose right up to it, the scent is barely noticeable
- although I don't use it, these is a way to attach the container to your bag:



The Not So Good
- cloths are very small (although they are moist enough for you to use only one at a time)
- it's difficult to detach the wipes from one another (these aren't like tissues - I actually have to press the lid down in between each cloth and pull hard to detach a cloth)

4 | Natural Glow - 3 Days to Glow Moisturizer in Medium to Tan (Jergens)
      (Sample size: 2 x $0.70 for 8 mL/0.28 fl oz | Full size: $9.99 for 118 mL/4 fl oz)
      (Link to product)

When I saw this sample I knew right away that I would get no use out of it. Looking past the fact that this is a foil packet, I've never been a fan of tanning products. Even if I was, the shade is totally not for me. I'm super pale (see photo above)!

5 | Lip Definer in Apple Cider (Bonne Bell)
      (FULL SIZE: $3.95)

I loved April because I received a lip liner in both my Ipsy Glam Bag and BB5. I've wanted more lip liners for the longest time and these subscriptions allowed me to test out two new shades.


It's difficult to describe, but I would say that Apple Cider is a cross between a slight coral and a strong pink. It doesn't seem that way in the swatch below, but it's definitely a lot more coral/pink in person. 


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 || Total Value: $15.83 (US) ||
I'm pretty sure that this is the lowest value BB5 box that I've received. I think after the US-CAD conversion, I barely broke even.

In any case, I liked the products a lot. I can see myself using everything except for the tanning moisturizer, which didn't come in the right shade for me. My favourite product would probably be the Nicka K New York lipstick and next up would be the cleansing wipes.

I've already received my May BB5 box and it's not too bad, so you'll have to look out for that review soon!

If you would like to subscribe to Beauty Box 5 and wouldn't mind using my referral link, you can do so here.


Thank you for reading & have a lovely day! -A.~

No comments:

Post a Comment