Beauty Box 5 January 2015: Hello!

New Year brings new challenges, new resolutions, and new beauty products to try. I know some of you probably think resolutions are silly, but I still make them every year [and also totally fail to follow through most of the time]. Beauty Box 5 invites us to give well-manicured thumbs up to fresh possibilities with “Hello!”-themed January box.

HOW IT WORKS
For $12/month subscribers will receive a box filled with a carefully selected mixture of five travel-sized, deluxe-sized and full-sized cosmetic products from luxury, commonly known brands, niche brands, eco-conscious and even vegan brands. Aimed at introducing women to new cosmetic products and educating them on best practices, Beauty Box 5 scours the market to find the best products for your lifestyle.
Click here to subscribe.

Coastal Scents Eye Shadow Sampler Palette – Upon opening the box my eyes were immediately glued to this mini-palette, of course. I sampled Coastal Scents before in other subscription boxes, but this is my first time trying these colors: Nude, Amber Bronze, Platinum Blue, and Opal Black. I have neutral undertones, so in theory I can pull off any color, but right now my skin tone and hair call for warmer shades in makeup. This palette is more cool-toned, but I can definitely work with Nude and Amber Bronze. The color payoff is pretty decent, although the formula is powdery and prone to fallout, which is why I can’t use any of these pans as an eyeliner. They do, however, work well over primer, but that’s the whole point of a primer. Overall, I feel like the quality of CS eye shadows has always been medium to good with a few rare outstanding gems, and it’s hard to find better formula in this price range.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects – It’s been a while since I last used nail strips, I almost forgot how much I loved these things. I think it’s time to revisit my old favorites and rock something crazy on my nails for a week or two. While I am not a fan of the design I got in my box, because it reminds me too much of Freddy’s sweater in A Nightmare on Elm Street, I have another box of Salon Effects strips in giraffe pattern that I can wear instead. Animal prints are still in, right?

Softsoap Nutri Serums Vitamin E Body Wash – Does anybody else think this bottle looks like a fish, when it’s sideways? I will have to introduce it to my lonely rubber ducky that just sits on the top shelf of my shower caddy and never gets used 🙂 Jokes aside, I change body wash quite often depending on my mood, and this is the perfect size to keep me entertained for a week or so. Softsoap does not have the most nourishing formula, but I always slather on lotion when I get out of the shower, so my skin doesn’t get a chance to feel dry. The scent reminds me of sweet apples, and I think I would prefer it more for my hand soaps than body wash, so just because of that, I probably wouldn’t purchase the full size.

Ultraflesh The Gold Standard Mascara in Blackout – Fierce, like the feline on the cap of the full size product, this mascara is formulated to make my lashes thicker, longer, and more defined for a dramatic false lash effect. The sample tube looks high quality, and the wand itself reminds me of Diorshow Iconic. I really like it! I wish the formula was a bit runnier, but unlike many other mascaras, this one seems to hold curl pretty well, so that’s a pretty minor complaint considering the big picture. It also has kind of an earthy smell to it, that I wasn’t too crazy about, but it doesn’t linger.

Garnier Fructis Daily Care Fortifying Shampoo – Getting a shampoo sample sans conditioner always leaves a bad taste in my mouth, am I weird for feeling that way? Anyhow, I am pretty familiar with Fructis line, and used these products almost exclusively during my teenage years, because I absolutely adore that signature fruity fragrance. I’ll keep it around for traveling, since it gets the job done and the bottle is big enough to use for about a week, even if hubs and I both wash our hair it every day.

THE VERDICT
I’m a bit conflicted about this box. I feel like it was pretty well-rounded overall, but I wish it had one more product from a higher end brand instead of 4 drugstore-quality items. I don’t mind trying cheaper products at all, but I feel like Beauty Box 5 could have done better than that. My favorite sample this month is the mascara, because I really liked the way it made my lashes look.