For several years, my blogging friend Renu from Cosmetopediadigest.com, has tantalized me with photos, unboxing videos and blogposts of her annual box from the U.K. online cosmetics retailer, Beautylish. Beautylish comes out with two standalone boxes at the beginning of the new year, a regular size box for $75 and a deluxe box for $150. The deluxe box is completely out of my price range, though I hear it is fabulous. The $75 regular box is a splurge for me but still within my reach. The Beautylish boxes always contain only full size products, usually have a prestige eyeshadow palette, and other goodies from luxury or higher end makeup brands. This year I succumbed, and my box arrived on Tuesday.
Here’s what the inside of the shipping box looks like.
Charming Japanese wrapping paper with a cute gift tag. Inside, the products were nestled and wrapped in lots of black tissue paper.
Wanna see what I got? Not everyone gets the same products – there’s a mix.
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Eyeshadow Palette $42
- Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips Matte Contour Liquid Lipstick shade Dolly Bird $34
- Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Skin Liquid Lighting shade Sunlight $52
- Wayne Goss #18 Eyeshadow Blending Brush $27
- Clean Apothecary Brush Shampoo, Grapefruit $15
- Sulwhasoo Snowise Brightening Mask, single sheet mask $13
Anastasia Prism Palette
I haven’t tried any of the Anastasia shadow palettes, but I have wanted to. The Prism palette is a good choice for this redhead. Though I have cool-toned skin, my hair color permits me to wear warm-toned shadows, blush and lipstick. Though this palette contains darker shades than I typically would choose myself, that makes it a perfect “gift” to try out. I’ll do a separate post on this palette soon as I have time to try it and swatch the shades. Though not brand new, Prism is still sold online and in stores if you’re considering it.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips Matte Contour Liquid Lipstick
Charlotte Tilbury is a brand that I’ve been dying to try because I’m in love with the glamorous, retro rose gold packaging. Specifically, I have really wanted one of the regular (non-matte) lipsticks because they look straight out of the 1940s. I don’t know if I believe in reincarnation, but I feel like I lived in that decade, lol.
Instead, I received one of the matte liquid lipsticks from the Hollywood Lips collection, not something I would have chosen for myself with my super dry lips. Oh well. Because it was the first Charlotte Tilbury makeup to come my way, I couldn’t stand to give it away. Also, the pink-mauve shade, Dolly Bird, looked promising.
I applied it for the first time today using the curved applicator that makes it simple to apply. It felt creamy and cushiony going on. After it dried down within a minute or two, it felt very lightweight. After wearing it for about 90 minutes, it didn’t feel too drying. After a couple of hours, it felt a tiny bit drying so I put City Lips Lip Plumper over it, and I could wear it for hours. I made a cup of tea, and the lipstick did transfer onto the cup though there’s still plenty of color left on my lips. It is long-wearing. Taking the swatch off of my arm required a bit of pressure with the cotton pad soaked in Bioderma Micellar Water.
The shade Dolly Bird looks much darker in the swatch on my arm than it does on my lips. Wearing it, I would describe it as light pink or blush pink. It is definitely lighter than my own lip color. Go figure.
Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Skin Liquid Lighting
Definitely not something I would ever have purchased for myself. But isn’t that the point of a beauty box? To discover something new, right?
“An illuminating liquid that adds radiance and delicate shimmer to create the look of natural, sunlit skin”. Sounds nice especially in the dead of winter with the snow coming down outside my window. You can mix it with foundation for an all-over glow or apply it to areas where the sun hits the face.
Here’s what it looks like blended on my arm. I don’t think I would want a whole face of it, but I think it’s a pretty highlighter!
It’s described as a “cream gel hybrid” though it sure looks like a liquid to me. It contains ultra fine pearl and “micronized spheres” – not sure what that is, unless the spheres are the delivery system for the color. I’ll try it and report back 🙂
Wayne Goss #18 Blending Brush
I might actually be the most excited about getting this Wayne Goss makeup brush. I’ve always wanted a Wayne Goss brush, I seem to splurge on other things instead. Now’s my chance.
I just took a look at the 7 reviews of the #18 on the Beautylish website, and 6 out of 7 rated it 5 out of 5. I don’t own any expensive makeup brushes, so this is new to me. The bristles are very soft. I like the domed shape. It is called a “blending brush”, but several of the reviewers call it a crease brush, and it looks like a crease brush to me since blending brushes are not usually domed like this. In fact, I need a good crease brush so I’m all the more excited! Good one, Beautylish!
Clean Apothecary Brush Shampoo, Grapefruit
I was just looking at my Solid Beauty Blendercleanser the other day thinking that I needed to slow down because I was using it up too fast. That was probably silly anyway. But now I don’t have to worry because I have the Clean Apothecary Brush Shampoo waiting in the wings.
At 2 oz., Clean Apothecary Brush Shampoo is twice the size of the 1 oz. Blendercleanser for $1 less. The brand is sold exclusively on Beautylish, so I will have to buy it when I’m buying something else. Free shipping to the US on Beautylish kicks in over $35. But I have enough solid brush/sponge cleanser now to last me a long time.
Sulwhasoo Snowise Brightening Mask
Sulwhasoo is my favorite Korean skincare brand, but unfortunately it is super expensive. I only use it when I get a press sample. The single sheet mask is valued at $13 since it’s typically sold in a set of 10 masks for $130. Looking forward to using it!
So these are the goodies I got in my first Beautylish box. When I first opened my box, I didn’t see the Charlotte Tilbury lipstick hiding in it’s dark box amidst the black tissue paper, and I was a little disappointed. But I felt much better when I saw it even if the lipstick does not become one of my go-tos.
The value of the 6 full size products is $183. I would say that it was well worth the $75 that I paid for it since the value was more than double the cost of the box. I will use everything that I received. And I think I’ll do it again next year!
How about you? Did you get a Beautylish box this year? Would you consider it in the future?
What’s your Reaction?
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This is a very impressive box! I love the selection. I have a pile of Charlotte Tilbury things waiting in the wings to be tested, swatched, photographed and reviewed, but I need to get over this bug that I have before dipping my fingers into anything! That ABH palette is very pretty, and I can’t wait to see your review and swatches!
I missed out oaths bag again last year because I was already on my spending ban but I will definitely be getting it this year! As you know I’m not a fan of Prism, the metallics are sheer, patchy especially the emerald green. Mine needs a black or white base for it to pop.
That looks like such a great pallet, love the variety. Try the darker shades you are unfamiliar with on your lower lash line :).
Thank you, Erika, for reposting your comment – I was stumped by the “greasy” prior comment, lol. That’s a great suggestion for the darker shades! will do 🙂
Morning everyone……🙋🏻☕️ Just a helpful hint for those of you who use the Beauty Blender, try using a solid bar of soap any type will work. I use Dove. Wet your Beauty Blender really good, then rub it back and forth several times on the bar of soap. Rinse it out and repeat until it is clean. This works and it gets the sponge really clean. I also use this to clean my make up brushes. Sending warm hugs.
Thank you for the tip, DiEtta! I use Burt’s Bees baby shampoo for my brushes.
I was so anxious to open my box when it came today that I couldn’t wait to take a picture of it in its prime state. I think your box sounds great. The CT liquid lip is a beautiful color and I’m glad it’s not drying on you. How much fun is it to have products you’d never buy but want to know about it. I’ll review mine next week but it’s filled with items I’d never have bought on my own so that’s exciting to me.
I feel exactly the same way, Marcia. I would never have bought any of these (except the Clean Apothecary Brush Shampoo if I had known about it), so this is so much fun! Can hardly wait to see what you got!!
The palette looks nice – I’m with you, cool toned skin with auburn red hair. I love wearing warm colors. <3
I think it’s wonderful to be able to use either cool or warm shades! Glad you agree xo
Great box, I would love the Goss brush too! Can’t wait to see a look with eyeshadow palette and the CT lipstick is very flattering!
Although the pink CT lipstick is lighter than I usually wear, it’s fun for a change. I’m dying to dig in to the ABH Prism palette – their advice on how to use the matte and metallics (each differently) is a bit daunting, lol!
Oh wow that’s one of the best boxes I’ve ever seen!
I used to order a lot from Beautylish before. Shipping is fast and the way they package the products, they take pride in it. Did you have to take a profile for this surprise box? If you did, too bad I missed it!
Unfortunately, there was no profile that I remember taking. I was surprised that they did a decent job getting my shades right in spite of having no profile. But I would imagine that the majority of their offerings may not be vegan.
These all look amazing!
$75 is a bit pricey for me, but what you got is amazing! I would love the brush and that liquid lipstick. I’d be nervous because it’s a mystery bag though! haha
It was definitely tough for me to take the plunge with a $75 price tag. Renu and Marcia love this January bag and every year they talk about. In a moment of weakness, I decided to try it. And I’m not disappointed. I’ll use everything I got, and it’s all worth $183. We’ll see about it next year.
Yikes on the price but it looks like you get more than your money’s worth.