#like why am I getting e-mails to review fast fashion when my face is never on my blog?

[crimsonblackrose]

Wait...wait what? I thought my blog was just getting a fluke in a spike of activity. I thought the activity was like people finding their way through the middle of nowhere because of my posts and being like hey thanks. Not...not big name author’s assistant asking me if I interview authors on my podcast that I stopped doing like two summers ago.

Cue panic. 

[boxyladies]

I was SO excited when a representative from Beautycon Box reached out to me and asked if we wanted to review their box for our site. I couldn’t say yes fast enough! I have seen reviews of their boxes on other sites and was considering subscribing anyway so this worked out so well.

First of all, how cute is this box! When I got it out of my mailbox, the first thing I noticed is how heavy it was– I could not WAIT to rip it open and see what was inside. This post is going to be a little picture heavy because I want y’all to get the full Beautycon Box experience!

I thought this was really cute to include, especially for people who are newer to unboxing products. Lighting is so important! Whenever people come to my house, they always wonder why I have these giant, bulky photography lights in my guest bedroom. I don’t pretend to be a professional photographer (at all) but those lights really make all the difference in the world when photographing products!

Beautycon Box

Price: $29 (plus shipping) per quarter

Box Type: With your subscription, you’ll get a box full of amazing new beauty/lifestyle products 4x /year!

Why you’ll love it: You’ll receive $100+ in beauty and lifestyle products guaranteed to keep you on point all year. Beautycon specially curates the boxes with beauty and fashion products that the Beautycon editors love. You’ll also get special exclusive items designed by Beautycon!

How to sign up: Click here and use code BOXYWINTER for $5 off your next box! That brings the box down to $24, which is an amazing deal. This code is only good until March 1, so you’ll definitely want to use it ASAP!

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Each box is curated by a different influencer, and this box was curated by Dulce Candy. How cute is she with those buns? I’ve mentioned a few times recently that I am just now getting into YouTube beauty videos and I realize I’m approximately over a decade late to this game, but I am enjoying learning about new YouTubers to follow. Dulce Candy’s YouTube channel is super cute and you can check it out here. And if you want to hear her discuss this box, click here!

But since you’re probably here to check out what *I* have to say about the Beautycon box… read on. :)

As I mentioned before, I was giddy when I received this box in the mail because it was heavy. I was so excited to see what products they sent for me to play with! And let me tell you… I was NOT disappointed. I even called Matt into the room so he could see everything. As a side note, he is so good to me- he always acts super interested about all of this stuff. (He claims to be actually interested, which is even sweeter.) He is so supportive and wonderful. ANYWAY. This blog isn’t about him, but he was really excited for me when I was playing with all of these products!

And when I say lots of products… I MEAN. LOOK AT THEM ALL!!! I’ll discuss them all in detail below. Let’s get started because we clearly have a lot of products to get through. :)

Skinvolve Body Karate Cream ($40): This is one of my favorite discoveries from this box! The cream has a light rose scent, which I love. But who cares what it smells like if it doesn’t work, right? Well, of course it works! It’s enriched with Argan Oil, which helps keeps skin hydrated, which is obviously so important for me during the winter. Another ingredient in this lotion is caffeine, which is said to help stimulate and tone skin. I’m probably not going to use a lotion to physically firm and tone my skin but if that’s a happy side effect, I’m good with it. I really love using it before bed because of that soft rose scent. It just relaxes me and gets me ready for the next day.

Artist Couture Illuminati Diamond Glow Powder ($26.99): I had never heard of this product prior to receiving it in my box but then immediately afterwards, I saw it on several different YouTubers’ channels as a favorite highlight! And it’s seriously gorgeous. (Swatched below.) Loose powder pigments do kind of scare me a little bit because I feel like I just don’t have time for that- especially when I’m getting ready in my gym locker room. However, I saw Laura Lee (or maybe Stephanie Nicole?) use this highlighter on her face and then spray on a bit of MAC Fix+ and it just melted into the skin and looked so gorgeous. I have never tried MAC Fix+ but after a thousand YouTubers wore me down, I used some of my remaining Birchbox points and have some coming my way. I’m really excited to try this Diamond Glow powder with the MAC Fix+. I’m going to GLOW, y’all.

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Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer in Medium/Deep ($30): When I first looked at this product and showed it to Matt, I was like, “Oh, this is going to be way too dark for me, it’s Medium/Deep.” Then I opened it up and was like, “Oh. I can wear this… but this is NOT medium OR deep.” It’s a beautiful, light brown matte bronzer that I see myself reaching for when it comes to Spring/Summer. Hell, I’m likely going to reach for it prior to Spring just to warm up my face a little bit. I love this!

Swatches of the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer and Artist Couture Diamond Glow Powder

Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water ($8.99): If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you know I’m not a super big fan of the micellar waters. I was at the Makeup Show Dallas a few years ago and a gal tried to sell me on micellar water (a different brand than this one) by drawing a line of eyeliner on my hand and then use the micellar water to remove it. But… the line sort of stayed on my hand. I was not sold. Haha. Since then, I’ve received several micellar waters from various brands and I’ve tried to use them to remove my makeup but I just don’t care for that method. HOWEVER. I absolutely LOVE micellar water for removing swatches while I’m blogging! So I’m definitely glad I have another bottle on-hand.

L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Lash Primer ($8.99) and L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Feline Mascara ($8.99): You know I am always down to try a new mascara but I’ve never really liked the white lash primers. BUT. I decided I would try it again to see if I might like it now. And the answer is… no. Since I got both of these L’Oreal products together, I thought I would layer the Lash Primer underneath the Voluminous Feline mascara and somehow, my lashes looked shorter and stubbier than when I’m not wearing mascara at all and the whole situation was basically just terrible. Because of this experience, I almost decided not to try the Voluminous Feline mascara on its own but on a Friday, I used it on a whim and WOW. I was SUPER impressed. That primer did the Voluminous Feline mascara a huge disservice because it is so amazing on its own!

Just check out my lashes in this picture. (Don’t mind the office lighting/cubicle pic.) Can you believe that mascara? I could not believe it. I kept on texting my friends this picture and telling them about this mascara because it is so bomb.

Here’s what the brush looks like on the mascara wand. Seriously, this stuff is amazing.

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment ($24): Ahhh, the gold standard of exfoliators, the ExfoliKate. Kate Somerville makes one of the OG best exfoliators. I remember back in the day, I used to use the St. Ives Apricot scrub and then read beauty editors tell me it was WAY too harsh and those big apricot seed chunks are basically tearing my skin. Those beauty editors ALWAYS said that we should instead be using an exfoliator like the ExfoliKate. It has tiny little granules that exfoliate to reveal bright, radiant-looking skin. And y’all- this stuff is “esspensive.” (Can you tell I’ve been watching a lot of KathleenLights?) The tube I received above is actually $24. That ain’t the full-size price. 2 ounces of this is actually $85. So if you ONLY bought this product, that is the price of this entire Beautycon box. What I’m saying is that you need the Beautycon box in your life.

Luxie Beauty Rose Gold Tapered Highlighting Brush 522 ($24): I love getting brushes in subscription boxes. You can really never have enough brushes, in my opinion. So when I saw this brush, I immediately started using it under Matt’s eyes because I just KNEW this would be perfect for an under-eye powder brush. It says it’s a highlighting brush but I have plenty of brushes I use for that, so I knew I’d be using it for powder.

Ignore the fact that my hair and makeup looks a little weird (I wasn’t feeling the best when I took this picture) but I wanted to show y’all how perfectly this fits under the eye area for dusting on powder.

Rimmel London The Only 1 Surprise Lipcolor in Call Me Crazy ($7.49): Now THIS is a red lipstick, y’all! This makes sense for a Winter box (hello, holidays and Valentine’s Day!), of course, I’m reviewing this box a bit later than that but I definitely think this is a perfect inclusion! The color is a true blue red and it’s just gorgeous. I haven’t worn this out in the real world yet but I have worn it around my house a little and I like it! I just get a little scared of super creamy dark lipstick shades because I’m afraid it’s just going to end up all over my face. I need to figure out an occasion to wear this out of the house!

ColourPop Lippie Stix in Beautycon (a Beautycon exclusive!) ($5): Y’all KNOW I love Colourpop. So I was thrilled to receive a special Beautycon exclusive color of their Lippie Stix in the Beautycon box! And it was in a caramel-y nude shade that I normally do not gravitate to, but I ended up really liking it. I’m actually wearing it in that picture above where I’m showing off my L’Oreal mascara. I mean, I know you probably couldn’t get past the excellence that was the mascara but I *am* wearing this on my lips!

Rimmel London in Call Me Crazy; Colourpop in Beautycon

Biobelle Botanic Fiber Facial Mask (4 for $29.95): And finally, what would a box be without a sheet mask? I received another mask by this brand in my January 2017 Allure Beauty Box and I *really* liked it so I’m excited to try another mask by Biobelle!

There were a few cards in the box – one advertising the new ANTM (which I am digging btw) and I almost threw out the other one but it turned out it was a gift card – $50 at ALI & JAY. (But you had to spend a certain dollar amount, so I don’t count those types of gift cards as part of the value of the box.)

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Final Grade: A+

The Beautycon box is one of the best deals I have come across in a REALLY long time. The cost is ONLY $29 but you can get $5 off with the code BOXYWINTER, which brings the cost down to just $24. And let me tell you, I just added everything up and the value of this box was almost $175. That is INSANE. You get so many amazing products that you NEED this box in your life! Treat yo’self, girl!

If you want to subscribe, click here and don’t forget to use code BOXYWINTER for $5 off your next box! But the code expires on March 1, so use it ASAP. Like maybe even right now. :)

  Press sample sent in exchange for an honest review; All opinions are my own Post contains affiliate links

Beautycon: Winter 2017 + $5 OFF DISCOUNT CODE! I was SO excited when a representative from Beautycon Box reached out to me and asked if we wanted to review their box for our site.