My First Vegan Cuts Beauty Subscription Review!

My first Vegan Cuts Beauty box arrived last week and I was super psyched. This is the first time I have received the first ever box of a subscription service. The cost is $19.99 and we were told the value of the box would be at least $60. I had seen a preview of some of the items and knew I would be receiving a coral colored nail polish and a small beauty bag. I wasn't really excited about those two items but figured there would be something else exciting when it arrived. When it got here I was a little disappointed to remember that the size of the box is the same as Eco Emi (a small USPS box.) Since the cost of the box was $5 more than Eco Emi it had a lot to make up for.

When I initially opened the box I was pretty disappointed. I was expecting it to be crammed full of stuff but it was so empty they had to add paper filler.

 

Here's what it contained:

 

LVX nail polish in color Deco: I'm not crazy about this color but I'm down for giving it a shot and if nothing else it will be a more conservative color to turn to for work or other occasions.

 

Glamnatural mascara: I haven't heard of this brand before and already have a ton of mascara since I don't use it that often. I'll get around to trying this one eventually.

 

Namaste Jemma pouch: This is one of the items I knew would be in the box. It's a cute little pouch but I'm not nuts about the color, especially seeing the colors other subscribers got. It's a zipper pouch with a faux leather like exterior. I'm sure I'll find a use for it somewhere.

 

Essence of Vali Sleep oil: This was a tiny perfume sample of essential oil that's supposed to help you relax and sleep. You are supposed to put a tiny drop on the corner of your pillow or on a Kleenex stuffed inside the corner of your pillowcase. Haven't been having trouble sleeping but I think I would be willing to try it whenever I start stressing out.

 

Acure Organics argan oil: This was a small vial of argan oil. It's supposed to help with wrinkles primarily. I've been really into making my own sugar scrubs recently so might add some of this to my face scrubs.

 

NYL Skincare Rosewater Face Wash: I'm running low on cleanser so was glad to get this. I haven't tried it yet but it looks like it would be really good for sensitive skin.

 

Suntegrity Tinted Moisturizer: I'm surprised that this was in the box because it's impossible for them to choose a shade that will work for everybody. They chose a middle range shade and after a test swatch on my hand it was way too orange and dark for me. I think I'll probably give this one away since the shade won't work for me. Too bad because I like the concept of the brand.

 

Lippy Girl Extra Virgin Lip Gloss: Initially I was disappointed to get another lip gloss ( I would have preferred lip balm.) However, I was curious to try it because I'd heard others talk about Lippy Girl. It was actually kind of nice. It smells like orange olive oil and does a really great job of moisturizing. Leaves a nice gloss behind too.

 

So, my overall impression is a little disappointed. I didn't love this box as much as my Eco Emi boxes and it cost $5 more. There were a couple items I will be happy to try but nothing that floored me. By signing up for the subscription I also got a $15 gift certificate for VeganChic.com. I've been on the site twice and many of the items are far more than $15 so I may never use it. Not the value I was hoping for. I'm going to give it a few more months to see if it turns around. That being said I do love the fact that everything is vegan and I don't have to check the ingredients! Looking forward to my Eco Emi box which should get here next week!

June Fails and Wins

In the month of June I discovered several great products and one really not so great product. Let's start with the wins!

Physician's Formula Super BB Powder - This is a beauty balm compact powder. The color selection for this line is very narrow. It only comes in light/medium and medium/deep. Being very pale that makes things difficult for me. I obviously chose the light/medium and as I expected it was a little on the dark side for my skin tone. However, this was a win for me. The powder applies very nicely and blends out very easily. There is an underlying glow to this powder that is really beautiful. It kind of gives you that inner glow look. I can definitely see wearing this in the summer months since you can get away with a darker look. It does contain SPF which is a nice perk. I'd like to try to use it as a bronzer to get that glow a little more subtly. I'll let you know if that works. If you are a fan of Physicians Formula products, I recommend shopping at CVS and getting an ExtraCare card. They have had a Physicians Formula extra bucks deal almost every week this summer. You can roll your bucks (use the extrabucks toward more makeup that you will get more extrabucks on) to get the best value and stock up on Physician's Formula makeup.

Physician's Formula Eye Brightener - Yes, this is another win from Physician's Formula. I picked this up on a whim and was very pleased with it. It's an multi-colored eye shadow that you can use to highlight or for all over color to brighten the eyes. I purchased this in Natural Eyelight which is the lighter shade. It's got a little shimmer to it and just makes a nice base for colored shadow. It's also great as a highlighter to brighten up your eye area. I've been using it every morning.

Essence 3D Eye Shadow - I picked this up on a whim at ULTA to replace my dwindling Physician's Formula eye shadow trio in Baked Oatmeal. I had never tried Essence products before but had heard many good things (and they are super cheap.) I chose the 3D eye shadow in Irresistible Caramel Cream. It's a sparkly warm beige paired with a sparkly warm toffee color. It gives a very neutral look that I can wear to work but still has a little shimmer. The two colors work excellent together and there is little to no fallout from the powder. I'm excited to try more products in this brand next time I'm in ULTA.

Now on to the fail:

Juice Beauty Simply Flawless Pressed Powder - It breaks my heart to call this a fail but it was. This is from Alicia Silverstone's line of Juice Beauty makeup. I've been searching for a while now to find a pressed powder to replace Wet 'N Wild's Natural Blend Pressed Powder (which was amazing but seems to have been discontinued.) I read some reviews of Alicia Silverstone's Pressed Powder and it sounded like it might have the coverage I was looking for plus the added bonus of being made with natural ingredients. I waited patiently until there was a 20% off sale and ordered it from the Juice Beauty website. The packaging is nice. It's a compact in a paper/cardboard case. However, the color which was supposed to be universal was way too dark and orange for my skintone. Unlike the Physician's Formula BB powder this stuff does not blend well at all. Also there was no glow or added sparkle. Just dingy streaks of powder. :( Now, it does still have the perk of being made with natural ingredients, but sadly that is the only win in this product for me.

Real Techniques Brushes Review

I have been using Real Techniques brushes for several months now and feel I am familiar enough with the products to write a review. These are great brushes. Completely cruelty free and made of taklon bristles. They are durable and stylish. They cost more than ELF brushes but are definitely worth the investment. You can also find tutorials on YouTube from Samantha Chapman using these brushes. So far I've purchased the base core collection, the eyes starter set, the blush brush, and the expert face brush. I've reviewed each separately below.

The core collection - $17.99 at ULTA: This collection consists of four face brushes and a 2-in-1 case + stand. You get a detailer brush, pointed foundation brush, buffing brush, and contour brush. I don't really use the case but it is handy for travel. The handles are gold colored and very durable. The larger brushes have a flat, wide base so you can stand them up on a flat surface. All of the real techniques brushes clean very well and don't shed. Out of this collection I really love the buffing brush and contour brush. The buffing brush is great to really buff in foundation. If you added to much product, you can use this brush to buff out and blend some of the color. It's a good brush to use on the neckline or to blend blush in to foundation. I don't do a lot of contouring but the contour brush is really great at applying bronzer or highlighter or setting the undereye area. It's so soft! I sometimes also use the pointed foundation brush to set eye makeup since it is smaller.

The eyes starter set - $17.99 at ULTA: This collection consists of five eye brushes and a 2-in-1 case + stand. You get a base shadow brush, deluxe crease brush, accent brush, pixel-point eyeliner brush, and brow brush. The handles are purple and very durable. Like the core brushes some of the larger ones will stand up on a flat surface. These are hands down the best eye brushes I have ever owned. They are so fluffy and do a great job of applying and blending eyeshadow. I don't even really use my ELF eye brushes unless these are dirty. I mostly just use the base shadow brush and deluxe crease brush. These are my two go to brushes for my eyes in the morning. I use the crease brush for all over eye color and the base shadow for more detailed work. Occasionally I may use the accent brush to layer on some pigmented shadow on top of my look. I've used the eyeliner brush a few times with dry shadow and it's worked well. I'm sure it would work very well with liquid liner. The brow brush is angled and I use it to help achieve a wing look with shadow that I trace over with liquid liner.

The expert face brush - $8.99 at ULTA: This is a stand alone brush that I purchased as part of a buy one get one half off deal at ULTA. I bought it with one of the above sets making it half price. These brushes seem to be on sale all the time at ULTA so if you are interested I would recommend waiting until you can get a deal. You can also sometimes find these cheaper on Amazon. The expert face brush has a gold handle and wide base. I typically use my ELF stipple brush to apply foundation and then tap it down using the expert face brush. This brush is very compact and soft and does a great job at blending in foundation and providing good coverage. Highly recommended!

The blush brush - $8.99 at ULTA: Got a great deal on this brush at ULTA. I had a $3.50 off $10 coupon and some points saved up that made this brush practically free! And I absolutely love it. This has got to be the softest brush I have ever encountered. It is a larger pointed brush with very full bristles and is designed to apply blush evenly. It has a purple handle and wide base. Before this brush I could never get blush to apply correctly, but now it's a breeze. Like all the real techniques brushes clean up is easy and the brushes dry well with no shedding.

I am very impressed with all of these brushes and think they will last a very long time. For their quality I feel they are very affordable too.