Hiii Happy July! Time to wrap up June’s products and admit that I placed a huge order for this upcoming month which I am both excited about and regretting profusely.
It’s been gloomy and raining here the last few weeks, and there’s smoke from the Canadian fires. I’ve been going to the farmers’ market on Saturday mornings just like last summer, and enjoying that very much even though it’s cloudy.
So my BoxyCharm for June was mostly a miss, I’m unhappy to report. A couple of things were fine, but the majority of the items, including IPSY’s two picks for me, weren’t great.
First off is a product from Beauty Bakerie, which is a brand I have a lot of love for. It’s also an item I’ve always wanted to try and I was excited to see it in my lineup. It’s the Lemon Bar Face Palette.
So – I don’t love it. The highlighter is a pretty golden color, but it’s powdery and I apply my highlighter with a setting spray on the brush, so when I went back in the entire thing hardened just like that. So I’ve just been using it as a highlight for my inner corner.
The other two shades are also incredibly powdery, and the one that’s supposed to be contour is still pretty warm toned. I don’t have a great bronzing brush either so those other shades are just useless right now. Honestly in this image, the “bronzer” looks more pink and cool toned than the “contour” which is just like, brown?
All around it’s something that looked really pretty but isn’t ideal for me and I should have thought more about it.
The other item IPSY chose for me is the UltraTonic Watermelon Extract Toner. Also not my favorite. I was hoping it would be like the Fenty toner, but it’s much thinner and doesn’t feel nearly as hydrating. Maybe I just need to get used to it, but I’ve barely touched it because it doesn’t feel as nice as my other ones.
I will say, since it doesn’t have that twist top like the Fenty does – although that is a super innovative packaging style – the packaging for this toner doesn’t get all caked up with product drips that didn’t make it back in. See with the Fenty one you close it and sometimes there’s product left, like a bottle of honey, and sometimes they stay on the outside of the packaging and stick to it and get built up. So it is nice that this one has a spin-off cap and doesn’t do that.
The packaging is very on brand, and the product comes out relatively easily, and the smell is definitely super refreshing. The texture just doesn’t do anything for me and I don’t reach for it.
The next three are my selections, also not great. The Match Stix Contour Skinstick from Fenty was huge on my list of cream contour to try, but the shade Suede is literally just orange. It’s hardly dark enough to do any contouring at all, it just makes me look yellow and sick. In what world is something orange a contour stick?
Isn’t the idea of contour sticks to be cool toned? Shadowy? A little gray, a little purple? This is straight up a warm-toned foundation stick. It was such a let-down.
The packaging is adorable, and the formula is very melty, like it just melts from the stick to my skin. But again – it’s so orange it’s almost yellow. This is a bronzer, and it’s best for Snow White.
Next I chose a product from Dirty Lamb, which is a new brand to me. I have to say, I don’t say “this is a new brand for me” so much anymore. Is that because I buy more things? Or because IPSY is getting repetitive?
Anyway, it’s the Apricot Cleansing Oil. This was a huge bummer too. I have loved using cleansing oils, ever since I worked at The Body Shop and used the camellia cleansing oil from there. So I was hoping this would be like that one – but alas, I wasn’t so lucky.
This oil is thick, barely seems to absorb any makeup, and doesn’t rinse off with water. It also sticks to my cleansing pads and doesn’t wash off of those either. The thing about cleansing oils is they have to still be designed to rinse off, they have to feel a lot like the texture of water in the first place – this just feels like a facial oil, sticky and heavy and not great to use.
Also it’s ugly. It’s just clear packaging with a black top and a pump.
My last selection was from a brand I’m slowly getting familiar with, Keys Soulcare. If you remember I tried their dark blue cleansing balm, and I liked it and used the whole jar. It wasn’t as good as my Juno but it wasn’t bad at all.
Anyway, I added their Skin Transformation Cream with Bakuchiol. I needed a moisturizer so.
And this was really good, still is. It’s definitely a heavy cream, like it has a denser texture and definitely takes a while to sink in. But it is very softening and I like the fragrance.
The packaging is on brand for them, the dark black color and the very small lid and opening. The whole thing is a yes from me, so much so that I ordered another one of their products with next month’s box as well ;>
And then it’s time to go over the products I added on – this month there were only four. Not a lot in June stood out to me.
First is a bundle of two – the Peptide Serum from Drunk Elephant, which I’ve done a review on before but was excited to have again, and the Hyaluronic Acid Intensive Repairing Sheet Masks from Aceology.
The masks are sooo thin, it’s wonderful. Thick masks dry and then start to fall off, but these ones are so thin they can dry almost the entire way without starting to peel off.
As far as the formula of the serum, it’s not overly sticky or overly watery, and the fact that it’s made with hyaluronic acid is excellent. You only get four though, and there’s way more serum in each packet than needed, so I would have much rather gotten seven or eight masks that had better amounts.
Next, I added the Tulasara Firming Sleeping Masque from Aveda – I’ve used Aveda before, another mask, and was curious about this one.
So – I’m still working with it, but the texture is already not my favorite. I like overnight masks that dry down just a little to stay in place, since I’m a side sleeper. Unfortunately this is just a heavy cream, and more of a texture I would use as a cream mask throughout the daytime, not when I’m pressed up against a pillow.
That being said, it is very softening – almost feels like my hair when it’s being conditioned, idk there’s a feeling where something’s really – ahem – penetrating. >.>
The packaging is alright, but it’s a little awkward to hold with all those corners cut off and indents and stuff.
[Edit: I’ve played around with it a few more times and used less when I go to bed, and it’s actually not so bad, the texture. I think it’s just because it’s been so humid the last few weeks, it felt extra sticky.]
Next add-on was a win! It’s the Touch-in-Sol Pretty Filter Waterful Glow Cream. I really enjoy this cream, it’s exactly the kind of gel cream you want in summertime.
It’s got a nice, fruity smell, like strawberries or something. And it absorbs very quickly and doesn’t leave a film. Also, it works with my Fenty Primer pretty well, since that’s more of a cream moisturizer.
The packaging is pretty cute, although the formula is very watery and does stick to the cap even when it’s stored the right way up, or might fall off your fingers when you’re trying to apply. So scoop carefully. This is only the second or third product I’ve received from the brand, but I did like it a lot and hopefully can receive more of their stuff in the future.
And last up is a shampoo and conditioner set from a new brand, Eden Bodyworks. It doesn’t really have a name, but it’s very minty and cooling on the scalp.
The shampoo lathers up really well on the second lather, nothing crazy impressive on the first, and doesn’t seem to sting much when it’s near my eyes. The conditioner is extremely silky, and also cooling. I’ll leave it in for a minute while I work on something else in the shower, and when I rinse it out I can already feel that my hair has been really conditioned.
I won’t probably repurchase because it wasn’t something that really revolutionized my hair, but I did like it and will probably use everything up.
And that’s all! And my July Box is coming today with so many more things to try out! I’m unwrapping it now ^-^