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Hey, guys! I've been looking around at some other beauty boxes to show you here on the blog and BoxyCharm was the winner offering 5 full-sized products at a reasonable price. I just got my January box because I subscribed late in the month, so I wanted to unbox this for you asap. I'll tell you all about how BoxyCharm works, what I found out after taking the plunge, and I'll give you SPOILERS for February's box and a coupon code so you can grab some free stuff, too!

If you haven't heard of BoxyCharm, they send out 5 full-size beauty items ranging from makeup and skincare, to beauty tools and color cosmetics, and each box has a minimum value of $125. Sometimes the value is much, much more.

It costs $25/month and has free shipping in the contiguous US. You can also subscribe for 3 months, 6 months, or a year and get a bigger discount for a longer subscription, so you could pay for a year upfront ($275) and end up getting it for $22.92 per box.


They also offer upgraded boxes in the form of BoxyCharm Premium and BoxyLuxe. An added benefit of upgrading is being able to make your box choices before the basic BoxyCharm subscribers.


With BoxyCharm Premium you get 6-7 full-sized beauty products worth up to $250 for $35 per month. It looks like you have to be subscribed to BoxyCharm for $25 per month then put yourself on a waitlist to get the Premium box, so just as a watch out, your first month you'll pay for both the $25 BoxyCharm and the $35 BoxyCharm Premium. You can then cancel the base box.


BoxyLuxe only ships every 3 months and it's an upgrade to your base BoxyCharm. Every 3 months you'll pay an extra $25 (so $50 total on that 3rd month) and you'll get 8 or more full-sized products worth $275 or more.


It looks like the March BoxyLuxe is going to be a very high-value box!


As an added benefit, you can review the items you received in your box for "charms" that you can use to buy full-sized products from them. 50 charms = $0.50, so 5 reviews per box means that you can earn $2.50 per month. You can also refer people to earn 500 charms = $5.00. It seems like it will take a while to earn enough to get anything.


When you sign up you take a pretty in-depth quiz to let them know things like what type your skin is and what color of hair and eyes you have, products you like and don't like, and whether you'd like more makeup or skincare in your boxes.


There is a second quiz you have to look for in your account, but it's all about your favorite colors and your skin shade so that they can send you matching foundations/concealers and palettes in your preferred colors.


I'm really loving how customizable everything is. The quizzes for boxes are usually pretty short and sweet and you're not really sure if the quiz even matters, but as you'll see in this unboxing, theirs does.

I wanted to wait until after (I thought) the January boxes shipped because I knew that it was too late to customize my January box, so I subscribed around January 17th or 18th. I still got the January box and missed the window to customize February's box, too. Womp.

So, be aware that you won't be able to customize your first box no matter what, so make sure to fill out the quizzes asap. If you subscribe in the first part of a month, you'll make your choice around mid-month for the next month's box. Example: Subscribe before February 11th to be able to make choices for your March box.


Phew! That was a big info dump, but these were things I wish I knew before subscribing. A lot of this was only available on the site after I paid for a subscription and created an account, so I wanted to make sure you guys had all of the info ahead of time so that you can make the best decision for you.

Now, let's unbox it!

BoxyCharm January 2020 Unboxing


My box came in a large mailer because I used a coupon code to get a couple of freebies when I signed up.

They usually offer a free gift to new subscribers and it changes several times during the month (I found out later). So when I subscribed, it was either a Violet Voss Essentials palette ($29), which I already have, or a skincare duo from Elemis and Dr. Brandt. I love Dr. Brandt but I have a ton of open exfoliation products to work my way through right now and I already have this Elemis mask. Oh well. 


These are both really nice high-value products. The Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Age Defying Exfoliator ($79) "gently polishes and smooths the skin, buffing away dead surface skin cells for a smoother, brighter complexion in minutes."

The Elemis Superfood Vital Veggie Mask ($35) "...is packed with nutrient-dense Supergreens, plus radiance-boosting fruit acids, for an incredibly soft and smooth complexion. A Prebiotic, naturally derived from sugar, helps to maintain balance in the skin’s microflora for a healthier-looking complexion."


Now we're down to the BoxyCharm box. This is how you would receive a normal month's subscription.


It includes a card right on top and January's box theme is Breaking The Ice. I like that there is foam padding keeping everything nice and safe. There's nothing worse when opening a subscription box than receiving a broken palette!


(I mean, I'm sure there are worse things that *could* happen when opening a subscription box, but it's very unlikely a snake would curl up in your box during shipping, so...)


First out is the Wander Beauty Trip for Two Blush & Bronzer Duo ($36) in Bellini/Costa Rei.


Filling out the quiz with my skin tone was important here because there is a lighter-toned palette and a darker-toned palette. I'm so pale that most bronzers are just too dark for me, so I'm glad that I got the lighter one. The bronzer shade is perfect!


I'm a fan of Wander Beauty and this little palette is beautiful. The blush is a peachy-pink and the bronzer is very light and will look more natural on me.

Their products usually have a skincare benefit and this is from their site: "Our formula is enriched with sea buckthorn oil to rejuvenate and lotus flower extract to help moisturize dry skin. The mango seed butter contains vitamin C to help soothe and brighten." Sounds great!


Next out is one product I had my fingers crossed for and I got the product + shade that I wanted! It's the Too Faced Diamond Light Diamond Fire Highlighter ($36) in the shade Fancy Pink Diamond.


This highlighter is infused with real crushed diamond powder and light-reflecting pearls. You can use it on eyes, face, and body and it's buildable so you can do a subtle glow or a blingy gleam.


This packaging is unreal and looks like a high-end jewelry box!


Inside the highlighter looks like a faceted jewel and this shade is swirled with pink and gold. The highlighters are hand-poured so that each one will be unique.


SO PRETTY!!! 😍🥰


Next out is the TreStique Good Vibes Mascara ($25) in the color Icelandic Black Lacquer, which is cool, but it's not on the list of January's products so I'm not sure what happened here. I had my fingers crossed for the GrandeDRAMA Mascara but I'm good with this one, too!


I have the Mini Eye Essentials Set ($30) from a FabFitFun box, so this will go perfectly! It has a lash curler built into the top, so that's very cool and will be great to travel with!

"The first-ever, all-in-one curler + lash-enhancing mascara for a curving, lengthening and volumizing effect."


Next out is the Avant 8 Hour Radiance Renewal Sleeping Mask ($107). Hmmm, I was hoping to get the Glow Recipe Watermelon Sleeping Mask, but dang, I just got a $107 item in a $25 box!

It looks like the same size sold on other sites but in a tube instead of a glass jar. That would bring the cost down a bit but now I'm curious as to why this mask is so expensive. I'll have to give it a try!

"Wake up to a supple, hydrated complexion with Avant Skincare 8 Hour Radiance Renewal Sleeping Mask; a nutrient-rich, anti-aging treatment that works overnight to repair and regenerate...Skin looks plump, youthful and restored with renewed radiance and a natural glow."


The last item in the box was the choice item for this month and I received the Ace Beaute Eyeshadow Palette ($34.99) in Vintage Dawn. Score! This is the item that I wanted!!!


"The Vintage Dawn palette features 12 colors that are reminiscent of the beautiful sunrises witnessed in various locations around the world and is a sister palette to our Scarlet Dusk palette. Each color has been carefully milled and pressed to provide the easiest application and the most excellent color pay off."


This palette is absolutely beautiful inside and out! The Scarlet Dusk palette was beautiful, too, but I have a lot of pink/red-toned palettes, but not many with such beautiful green/blue/gold colors.


That bright orange will probably never get used but I can see using that yellow under a gold shimmer to brighten it up. I am loving all of the other colors, too!


There were a few other products I would have liked to try out, but overall I'm super-happy with what I received and I can only think that it must be because of the quizzes. I did choose to receive more makeup than skincare (I have a ton stashed away) so the balance is perfect for me. If you subscribe, don't skip them!!!

The value of the BoxyCharm box I received was $238.99!!!


This isn't a sponsored review post so I don't have a customized discount code for you but I do have the most recent BoxyCharm free gift coupon codes!

Free Gift Coupons

The current promotion is a choice of either the Violet Voss Essentials palette, $29 (Use code: GETMYPALETTE) or the Dr. Brandt Hydro Biotic Recovery Sleeping Mask, $52 (Use code: DRLOVE).