December’s BoxyCharm Theme was “Boxy on Pointe”. The packaging and marketing was reminiscent of the ballet. As a ballerina in the past
Products I received:
- Pure Cosmetics Buff Palette ($50)
- Ofra Liquid Lipstick in shade Napa Valley (metallic purple) ($19.90)
- IBY Lip Liner in shade ($14)
- Cougar Mineral Face and Body Shimmer ($24)
- Butter London Nail Lacquer in shade Ruby Murray ($15)
Total Box Value: $122.90
What I would repurchase…
- The Ofra Liquid Lipstick (in a different color).
- I was super impressed with how light and pigmented this formula was. It did not dry out my lips. Was not streaky or patchy, which can be an issue with dark shades of liquid lips. It felt good on my lips and had staying power. This true, dark metallic purple is not a shade I would turn to, really ever, but I was eager to receive a product that takes me out of my comfort zone. I’m going to hold onto this product and see if I can work it into a winter look. The formula was so wonderful that I definitely would repurchase from Ofra, I would just choose shades that are more wearable for my style.
Duds:
- Pure Cosmetics Buff Palette
- This palette irritated me for many reasons. One, being that it is clearly a knockoff of the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. I appreciate a good dupe, but they could have duped the shades without completely ripping off the entire concept of the palette, down to the order of the shades, shape and style of the palette, and the mirror and brush. The only thing that is not identical (besides the formula) is the name of the palette and the names of the eyeshadow shades.
- The price. I’m sorry but $50??? If you’re going to rip off another company’s idea, at least make it a worthwhile price cut so that people who can’t afford or can’t justify spending the money on the Urban Decay Naked 3 ($54) get to save some money. But $4 is not a savings. Why not just purchase the original Urban Decay palette?
- A word on the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette: It is not one of my favorite palettes or one of the best palettes that Urban Decay has ever done. Quite frankly, I’m always surprised when I see 4.5 and 5 star reviews of the Naked 3 palette on Ulta, Sephora, and Nordstrom. The quality of the shadows is okay and a few of the shadows in the palette are total duds with lots of fall out and very little color payoff.
- Buff Palette Shadow performance. Swatches stand up to the swatches of the Naked 3 palette. However, the pigmentation on the eye is soft and does not last all day even when wearing an eye primer like the Urban Decay Primer Potion. I was not very impressed with this palette, especially if I had bought it full price. Some of the shadows in the pan feel super soft and buttery, but again, when applying on the eye and blending, they do not remain as pigmented.
- Buff Palette Packaging: I am not a fan of the packaging, It is a cheaper version of the UD N3 Palette (as I have said so many times already, sorry to sound like a broken record).
- Cougar Mineral Face & Body Shimmer:
- This powder was very yellow toned with minimal shimmer. I can’t imagine using this on my body and it doesn’t have enough shimmer for me to think it would be a good highlighter. I have a lot of other highlighter powders that I prefer. Not a fan of this product.
- The packaging is very light and cheap and is nothing pretty or worthy of display.
Good Quality…
- Butter London Nail Lacquer in Merry Ruby
- I have only used Butter London polish that I have received from Boxycharm. The first shade I tried was very low quality. After applying the shade, it dried in a sticky, somewhat tacky form that immediately showed wear. This shade is much better and has a beautiful shine to it.
- IBY Lip Liner in shade
- This lip liner was a nice and applied smoothly. The shade was very nice and will go well with many different liquid lips I own.
The (ones) that got away…(these are products I was hoping for and did not receive)
- Beauty For Real Lip Revival Scrub ($14)
- Thrive Cosmetics Brilliant Eye Brightener ($24)
- Purlisse- Pur Eye Adore Serum ($65)