BoxyCharm April 2015 - My first Box!

I have been interested in beauty subscription services for a long time.  I hate spending a bunch of money to try a product out, only to find that I don't like it and that I have to go out and buy something else to replace it.  And I always feel really guilty for returning a product I have tried once so it ends up sitting in the makeup graveyard under the bathroom sink for a year before I finally throw it out.  Makeup subscription services are a great way to bypass all that - they send you makeup in the mail once a month to try and if you like it then yay! and if not, they sent you more than your money's worth so you don't have to feel bad about giving away a few items. So far I love Ipsy, dislike Birchbox, and am giving BoxyCharm a try for the first time today!

So let's talk about this month's box.  The box they ship it in is super cute.  It only comes in one package instead of a box or bag within another package like Birchbox and Ipsy, which I appreciate.  It's nice to have the fancy packaging that you can reuse, but I would rather them spend the money on better products and I also like that there is less stuff heading to landfills. 

 I opened mine at the mailbox because I was just too excited to wait!  Also it matches my nails so we're off to a good start. 

 Here's  a nice family photo of all the goodies before I tore into all of it :)

 They send you a nice itemized list of everything that you receive in your box, including the retail value and a description of the item.  It is really nice to have this quick reference because you can decide right away if it is the items you received are in your budget to repurchase them if you fall in love. I will say that the Revealed 2 Palette is pretty much always $20 "on sale."

 

I am really excited about this palette.  I don't own any palettes in these colors, and I love all of the rosy shades.  I swatched a matte and shimmery shade on my hand and they seem really pigmented and creamy.  I can't wait to use them on my lids!

The next thing I opened up was this Ofra Blush Stripes powder.  It is really creamy and pigmented, I'm just not sure if its something that I will reach for.  I do love that the powder part of the compact pops up and has a mirror underneath.  I plan to bring this with me when I travel this weekend because the mirror is really nice, we will see if I actually use the highlighter!

I am excited to have received this Vincent Longo eyeliner in black and brown.  Some people got it in purple and light blue, and I definitely would not have used that.  I don't love getting eye liner in subscription boxes because I have really sensitive eyes and there are only a few brands I can use, but at least these are colors that I like to wear. 

I have heard people rave about this Coolway Hair Lotion.  If you want to try it yourself you can use the coupon code "Boxy4U" on their website for a discount and a free gift!  My hair is all crazy today so I'm hoping this will help it out. 

The last thing in my box was the Harvey Prince Roller Fragrance in Signature.  I like that this is a roller ball, but I grew up with a mother who is extremely asthmatic and very sensitive to anything with a smell so I just never wear any kind of fragrance.  I might gift this to my mother in law because I don't care for the scent and I won't get any use out of it. 

All in all I am very happy.  I got some things that I never would have bought myself and some things that I am really excited to try.  I am especially interested in the eye shadow palette and the hair lotion, and even if those are the only two things I end up using in this box than it's paid for itself!  (The box is $21, and the combined price of those 2 items is $44!!) The total value of this box is 126.95 (using the sale price on the eyeshadow) and I only paid $21 to try it all out so I am ecstatic and with Mother's day coming up this weekend I could even use some of these things as a free gift (as long as she doesn't read this!).

Have you tried BoxyCharm yet?  What do you think?