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Boxycharm February 2017 Review--So far, I'm loving Boxycharm.

My second Boxycharm* was just as delightful as the first--I am finding that the value is WAY OVER the $21/month that the box costs, and they are all products that I will use, so far.  This month's box included the following items:

Small Z-Palette with custom Boxycharm branding, $14.00 value

Makeup Geek single eyshadows in Glamorous and Beaches & Cream, $12.00 value

Sedona Lace Trio Eye Kit (brushes), $39.95 value

Japonesque Pro Performance Lipstick in Shade 04, $20.00 value

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Age Defying Exfoliator, $79.00 value

Total Boxycharm February 2017 Value: $164.95

I really like the Z-Palette!  I have a larger custom Glam Tech magnetic palette that I like very much, but it is too big to really travel with.  The Z-Palette is a coated cardboard with a magnetic base and a magnetic closure, and it will hold 9 standard eyeshadow pans.  The closure seems sturdy, but if I were to travel with this I would put a rubber band around it to make sure it stayed closed.  This isn't a drawback--I would do the same with any of my high-quality palettes that have magnetic, rather than click, closures.  It comes with round and square metal stickers so that if your eyeshadow pans aren't magnetic, you can still use them in the palette.  I'm going to see if I can get my UD singles out of their packaging and put them in here. 

One of the things I have enjoyed about Boxycharm is that it gives me the opportunity to try online-only brands that have great reputations but without paying shipping costs for a small order.  Makeup Geek is one of the brands that I've wanted to try for a while but never pulled the trigger.  

The two eyeshadow singles seem nice, I haven't tried them on my eyes yet but in swatching they seem comparable to MAC, maybe a little better.  Beaches & Cream barely shows up on my skin--it will be a perfect base color.  Glamorous is a shimmery warm golden light brown; the swatch was very pigmented and I love the shimmer.  

The Sedona Lace Trio Eye Kit includes an eye blending brush, an eyeliner brush, and an angled brow brush with a spoolie on the opposite end.  They all have really pretty synthetic bristles, kind of a purple ombre.  They are soft and the ferrule and handle seem sturdy on each brush.  I am looking forward to comparing the angled brow brush to my go-to Anastasia Beverly Hills #12 Duo Brush.  

It looks very similar but the Sedona Lace brush seems softer.  I like the stiffer brow brush, so I'm curious how this one will perform.  The brushes seem to be good quality, so that would just be a matter of personal preference. 

I really like the tube that the Japonesque lipstick came in!  It's glossy black, with the color of the lipstick on one end, and a pretty pattern on the other end.  I have to admit, I was hoping that in my box I would get the Real Her lipstick that some other boxes came with--simply because the shade names are so great and empowering (Women Rule the World, I Am Powerful, I Define Beauty Myself).  Aren't those wonderful?  But I have honestly had no experience with that brand so I don't know if the lipstick is great or not (I hope it is though)!  

Shade 04, the one I got, is a glossy coral/orange/red.  I have recently discovered how much I love orange lipstick so I was pleased with this shade choice.  I also was pleasantly surprised by the glossy finish because matte has been the order of the day for so dang long.  It's very pretty!  As far as performance, the lipstick feels comfortable and moisturizing, and has good pigment, however, it lasts about as well as any other glossy/moisturizing lipstick does (not super long) and transfers very significantly.  If you are accustomed to long-wearing or liquid lipsticks, it may not work for you.  I don't mind retouching this type of lipstick so I was fine with it.  

I have not yet tried the Dr. Brandt exfoliator but I am looking forward to it.  I couldn't believe that an $80 product was included, and that the value was not inflated--it retails on Sephora.com for that price, and it has 900+ reviews with an average of 4.7 stars on their website.  There are also 20 reviews averaging 4.4 stars on MakeupAlley.com, and that site tends to have really unbiased reviews. I am currently using COSRX AHA and BHA as chemical exfoliants, and Clarisonic with the "cashmere" brush head or a konjac sponge for gentle physical exfoliation.  This product has both chemical and physical exfoliants--it is a scrub containing lactic acid--so I didn't want to try it right now, my skin is all jacked from having been sick this week.  Especially around my nose--can you imagine this stuff scrubbing and acidic on my poor red peeling nose?  YOWCH.  So, I haven't tried it yet but I have high hopes.  

So far, as I've said, I definitely feel that the value is there for Boxycharm, and I will continue to subscribe.  I like that it is all full-size products, and that the products are mid-range (not drugstore) and generally from brands I have heard of (either available in local retail stores, or popular online-only brands).  I enjoyed Ipsy, but it was often brands that were unknown to me, and mostly drugstore-level.   Of Ipsy, Allure, Sephora Play, and Boxycharm, so far Boxycharm is my fave. 

If you enjoyed my review, and you want to try out Boxycharm, you can use my referral link.  It just gives me points towards a discount if you do--no biggie either way! :) Have a great week, darlings!

*I purchased the Boxycharm subscription with my own money and did not receive any financial compensation, products, or promotional consideration for this review.  The only referral link included in this post is for Boxycharm.  

Is this Kylie palette I bought on AliExpress fake? A definitive answer. (And how to save $$ on legit stuff)

I discovered r/makeupaddiction on Reddit around the same time that I started hanging out on r/AsianBeauty, and during that time the most common question we all see is,

"I got this $50 palette on Ebay (AliExpress, Wish) for $10, is it fake?" 

Short answer:

Yes.  It's fake. 

Now for the long answer:

If something seems too good to be true, it is.  You will not be able to legitimately buy a $50 palette for $10, you just won't.  But you will see listings claiming this amazing deal.  How is this happening?

Counterfeit cosmetics have become a huge business, particularly for companies working out of China.  Unfortunately, the Chinese government does not have the same consumer protection laws as many other countries, and they are also lacking intellectual property law enforcement.  This has allowed an industry to bloom that sells fake makeup for cheap on the internet.  Some of the most popular brands, such as Anastasia Beverly Hills, Urban Decay, MAC, Benefit, and Kylie Cosmetics have spawned many shady and unsafe "replicas" that, on first glance, appear nearly identical to the legitimate product.  There are certainly ways that you can differentiate a "replica" from the real thing--different fonts or paint on packaging, flimsier packaging, strange product order... but why risk it?  It is VERY unlikely (if not impossible) that you will get real brand name makeup for super cheap on Ebay, AliExpress, or Wish.  

I feel pretty confident that Eye Fungus is a thing you could get
from fake makeup even though I didn't see any confirmed reports.  

And what you are risking if you decide to purchase these fake products is scary AF. 

Chemical burns, rashes, eye infections.

Fake products may contain e. coli, human urine, arsenic, lead, and other dangerous ingredients.

Products that risk consumers' health bring in $350 million to counterfeit operations annually.

Even "independent" sellers on EBay are selling dangerous fake makeup.

Counterfeit products are manufactured using child labor and "slave labor" in unsanitary and unsafe factories.

Even Homeland Security doesn't want you to buy this stuff.  

Ok, my darlings, now that you aren't going to buy fake makeup, what should you do instead?

• AliExpress and Wish are both places to get cheap, fun, NON-CONSUMABLE stuff like:
• Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers
• Cosmetic brushes (unpredictable quality, but I've got some really nice ones this way)
• Cute brush containers and lucite makeup organizers
• A Hermione Granger wand that lights up for $10
• A compact mirror that says "Star Trek" in the "Star Wars" font that will infuriate your nerd friends
• Know your authorized resellers.  First of all, there are no authorized resellers of Kylie Cosmetics, get it? But other brands, like Sugarpill, Charlotte Tillbury, Viseart, and Natasha Denona do have authorized resellers, like Beautylish.com.  Amazon is an authorized reseller of The Balm and LORAC cosmetics.  These sites can have great deals. 
• If you're buying on Amazon, choose PRIME (preferrably "Shipped and Sold by Amazon").  Amazon is much more careful about their Prime sellers, and I have successfully bought legit Korean beauty products through Prime.  Third party sellers on Amazon are still suspect so avoid them. 
• Coupon codes: HSN (Home Shopping Network) is an authorized reseller of a lot of great brands (like Too Faced) and they have had some amazing coupon codes (like $20 off $40) so check for those if you are looking for something specific.
• Subscribe to a beauty box.  I have gotten wonderful full-size products through Ipsy ($10/month) and Boxycharm ($21/month, but it's my favorite so far).  Boxycharm box value is often $100+ for $21.  You won't get counterfeits from them. 
• Beautylish Lucky Bag.  I missed out last year but you can bet your ass I'm going to get one this year.  Beautylish.com offers a "Lucky Bag" for $75 each January that contains WAY MORE value in brand name products.  I saw a Lucky Bag that was worth over $400.  They sell out fast so sign up here with your email address so you can get notified for the January 2018 bag. 
• You can get free drugstore, mid-range, and high-end cosmetics to review from Influenster.  Full disclosure: I haven't gotten a VoxBox yet, but I'm working on it.  From what I gather, if you're younger (18-25) and have a lot of social media followers you're more likely to get a VoxBox.  If this describes you, it's worth signing up here.  You've got nothing to lose, right?  
• Nordstrom Rack!  I have gotten some DEALS from Nordstrom Rack's cosmetics shelves.  I've seen LORAC, Urban Decay, Too Faced, Stila, Laura Mercier, The Balm, Michael Kors, and other high-end brands there for very cheap.  Make sure to check the clearance area too.  
• TJ Maxx and Marshall's also carry closeout products from popular brands.  I haven't had much luck there but I've seen some great stuff others have gotten (like Anastasia Beverly Hills and Kat Von D). 
• Enter giveaways.  The Instagram accounts of popular brands, as well as other beauty bloggers, give away makeup all the time.  Again, nothing to lose!  

So I hope you heed my warnings and avoid fake makeup from now on!  Note: I did not receive any products, financial or promotional considerations for this blog post, but I did include a referral link for Influenster.