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Dr. Brandt: Pores No More Luminizer Primer // Retail: $38
It seems like every month there's always a full-size product included in BeautyFix. This month, it was this primer from Dr. Brandt. Although I really enjoy this primer's texture, I'm more of a matte foundation person and won't get a ton of use out of a luminizing primer. Plus, I actually previously received this in a Boxycharm. If you're subscribed to more than one beauty box, you do often receive multiples of the same products.
Murad Multi-Vitamin Infusion Oil // Full-Size: $72
I've tried a couple of different products from Murad (another frequent BeautyFix brand) and have enjoyed all of them! I really like this oil because you only need one tiny drop to cover your entire face and has a very light, inoffensive smell (unlike some of the other oils I've used).
Juice Beauty: Stem Cellular CC Cream // Full-Size: $39
I was really excited to receive this product because I am a huge fan of cc creams! Anything that minimizes the number of steps I need to do in my make-up routine is great for those days where I'm running short on time! Compared to my other cc creams, however, this product was just way too thick and didn't offer very good coverage. I still ended up adding foundation to the mix just to get some more coverage on red spots so this is not a product I'll end up re-purchasing.
Replenix: Plumping Lip Treatment // Full-Size: $36
Lip plumping seems to be a huge trend lately - I am now the not-so-proud owner of 4 lip plumping products that I do not need! My lips are already pretty big as it is, so lip plumpers are just not a product that I need in my life. I still decided to test out this lip treatment, but the smell was super artificial and if you get any of the product outside of your lip line it does tend to burn so overall, this was just kind of a dud product for me.
Dermablend: Loose Setting Powder // Full-Size: $27
I've received this product in a BeautyFix before (BeautyFix Aug 2017) and really enjoyed it! It's a nice setting powder that is super, super fine and just completely mattifies everything on your face! I'm excited to have received this product again, but a little disappointed that it's a repeat!
Tocca Beauty: Giulietta Eau de Parfum // Full-Size: $72
If you've read my reviews before, you'll know I am not a fan of receiving fragrance samples! I'm super picky and so most fragrance samples are just wasted on me! I might have to eat my words, however, because I loved this fragrance. I didn't love it enough to buy it myself, but without really thinking about it, I used up the entire thing in a week!
VMV Hypoallergenics: Smart Moisturizer for Combination Skin // Full-Size: $32
I love changing up my moisturizers so BeautyFix is the perfect subscription for that! This moisturizer is designed for combination skin which is perfect for my skin!
Skinceuticals: Discoloration Serum // Full-Size: $98
This serum is a the newest release from skinceuticals (a brand that is often featured in Beautyfix) and it was a nice thin serum with almost no smell - it almost felt like water on the skin! The reason I mention this is because I've had mixed feelings about previous skinceutical samples smelling weird or having strange sticky textures. So far, I haven't experienced any of that with this sample!
Peter Thomas Roth: Mega-Rich Body Cleanser // Full-Size: $20
Another commonly featured brand in BeautyFix, I was super excited to receive this cleanser from Peter Thomas Roth. I have a nice little sample pack of their face masks and thoroughly how high quality and thoughtful their products are. This cleanser smells amazing and I'm excited to be able to throw into a travel bag for some upcoming trips!
Neuma: Neumoisture Instant Fix // Full-Size: $26
I credit BeautyFix with jumpstarting my interest in hair care and each month, they continue to fuel this new obsession! I don't take super good care of my hair but since I started subscribing to BeautyFix, I've really enjoyed a lot of the hair products they've included and I think my hair is pretty happy about it! This serum comes in a nice spray bottle and I've been enjoying using it on the ends of my hair to help my split ends.
Fillerina: Dermo-Cosmetic Filler Treatment Grade 2 // Full-Size: $165
This product is a topical hyaluronic filler but I have to admit, the packaging kind of scares me. The serum itself is nice and cooling, but packaging it in what looks like a needle is misleading! I'm still at a point in my life where I don't feel that needles are necessary in my skincare routine, so I'm not a huge fan of using a product that looks like a needle - despite the product itself being fine as a serum.
Shop BeautyFix May products:
This month a lot of my other subscription boxes are on the brink of getting the axe, but not my BeautyFix subscription. I'm still extremely impressed by the value of each BeautyFix box - I definitely think I'm getting my money's worth! Each month there's always at least one full-size product that is worth the value of the box and it feels like every sample on top of that is just an awesome bonus. Although I didn't love every product in this month's box, I'll still be able to use all of them and love getting to try different skincare brands to see what products work for my personal skin needs!
What did you think of your subscription boxes this month? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Tarte Shape Tape: Worth the Hype?
Packaging
The thing that makes Tarte Shape Tape stand out most compared to other concealers is how large the product’s packaging is. Usually you see concealers come in these thin, dainty tubes but shape tape comes in a package almost two times fatter than most of my other concealers! It’s had to tell whether this packaging means that you are actually getting more product or if it’s just extra plastic around the sides. Overall, however, there’s nothing special about the concealer’s packaging other than its sheer size.
Application
Shape tape’s applicator, however, is a whole other story! Like most liquid concealers, shape tape comes with a doe foot applicator but unlike other liquid concealers, the doe foot applicator is ginormous. The doe foot applicator is about the thickness of my pinky finger and given that most doe foot applicators are about a quarter of that size, this definitely changes the way that you apply the product! Another thing I have also noticed about the applicator is that it’s much more sponge-y than other doe foot applicators. I’m not sure if this is simply due to the applicator's increased size, but with the bigger size and the spongier consistency, I find myself dabbing this concealer on the under eyes rather than the downward swiping motion I would usually use with concealers.
Product
As you’ve probably already heard about shape tape, this product is full coverage. I like to use it for my undereye circles and with this concealer, you really only need a couple of tiny dots of product in order to cover your entire undereye area. Although I love that the product is so full coverage, I think its formula ends up being very thick because it is so full coverage. This makes it a lot harder to blend out which means the concealer can look very cake-y if I don’t take extra special care when applying it! The best way that I’ve found to apply shape tape is to apply a couple of tiny dots to my undereye and immediately blend it out with a damp beauty blender. I’ve found that if I leave it on my skin for any amount of time before blending it out, that it often won’t blend out as well and ends up looking thick and cake-y underneath the eyes.
Cost
Shape tape will set you back $27 at Ulta. While this might not seem like a lot when it comes to high-end make-up products, you can find tons of drugstore concealers for a quarter of the cost! The only thing that justifies the $27 you’ll have to spend is the fact that you don’t need a lot of product to get tons of coverage!
Final Verdict
Is it worth the hype? Not really. At least not for me. While I think it’s a good product if you’re someone who needs a lot of coverage underneath the eyes, for the cost and how fussy the formula is, I think most people would be better off with another concealer. There are a lot of other concealers out there that offer great coverage but are more affordable and more forgiving if you don’t blend them exactly the right way. While its a great product that I’ll probably still reach for on nights out or special events where I need a lot of long lasting coverage, I don't think it's worth the hype when it comes to everyday use. As someone who likes to keep my makeup products as easy to use as possible, Tarte Shape Tape is just a little too fussy to be worth it.
What did you think of Tarte Shape Tape? Did you think it was worth the hype? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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BeautyFix: April 2018
This month’s BeautyFix box theme was Au Naturale in honor of Earth Day. It featured natural beauty products with clean, fresh ingredients! BeautyFix is a monthly skincare, makeup, and haircare subscription box created by DermStore. A monthly subscription is $24.95 per box and a one-time box purchase is $34.95. Most items in the box are either full or deluxe sample size products.
Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash | Full-Size $10
I’ve tried a lot of Pacifica products with just okay results. This cleanser has a really nice sweet coconut smell and feel extremely light on the skin, but isn’t something I’d re-purchase (although it will be great to throw in summer travel bags!).
Sunday Riley: Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream | Full-Size $65
This gel cream treatment boasts hyaluronic acid as one of its ingredients which makes me so happy because hyaluronic acid is one of my favorite skincare ingredients! I just find anything with hyaluronic acid super hydrating without adding too much of that greasey feel you might get with other moisturizers. This cream feels very light on the skin and smells like cucumbers! Plus, Sunday Riley is a brand that I’ve never tried but always have heard good things about, so I love that BeautyFix included this brand!
Juice Beauty: Stem Cellular Moisturizer | Full-Size $70
The BeautyFix box almost always includes a Juice Beauty product each month, so for me, the novelty of this brand has worn off a little bit. Although I still very much enjoy the products I receive from Juice (especially because a lot of them are full-size!), I’m not the biggest fan of the signature scent they put on all of their products!
The Organic Pharmacy: Enzyme Peel Mask | Full-Size $79
This peel mask smelled like straight up orange juice - which was a pleasant surprise! The sample itself was tiny, so I was a little disappointed that I was only able to get 2-3 uses out of it, but I enjoyed the fact that it was a peel mask that didn’t make my skin sting like a lot of other peel masks tend to do.
Skyn Iceland: Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels | 4 Pack $15
Yeesss! This is one my all-time favorite eye gels! I’ve received it in numerous subscription boxes and am always so excited to use them again! Although my under eye bags usually aren’t too bad, I love how relaxing and luxurious putting on a pair of eye gels feels! These gels are super, super cooling, stay on for hours, and really help to relax and de-puff the under eye area.
This Works: Deep Sleep Pillow Spray | Full-Size $56
I’ve really been wanting to try a good pillow spray because I’ve heard so many great things about how they can help you get better quality sleep! This spray smells wonderful and I’ve enjoyed using it, but it was honestly such a small sample that I couldn’t really tell if the pillow spray really worked for me. I wish the sample they’d given was a little bigger!
HUM Nutrition: Raw Beauty Green Superfood Powder | Full-Size $39
This superfood powder claims to provide beauty boosting nutrients and is something you can easily throw into a morning smoothie if that’s something that’s already a part of your routine! Unfortunately, this just isn’t the product for me - I’ve previously received superfood powders in other subscription boxes and to me, they taste awful!
Tammy Fender: Intensive Repair Balm | Full-Size $130 (!!!)
In this month’s box, subscribers could have received one of two products from Tammy Fender. I received the intensive repair balm. The name of this product makes it sound like a really heavy moisturizer but it’s actually much more lightweight than I expected! Although I don’t love the smell of the product, it works well and I’ll be happy to bring it along for a couple of trips I’ll be taking this summer!
I am always so impressed by the value of the BeautyFix boxes. With the price tags on these skincare products, you are getting way more than what you pay for the box! If you are a skincare junkie like I am, you really cannot go wrong with the BeautyFix boxes. Through these boxes I’ve been introduced to tons of new brands and products that I’ve really enjoyed and I always feel like i’m getting such a great deal on products that are oftentimes high-end and therefore, much more expensive than the $25 price tag of the BeautyFix box!
What did you think of this month's BeautyFix box? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
