See some of the beauty products that you may receive in the May 2021 Boxycharm base box. Plus learn how Boxycharm works, and how you can easily sign up for this AMAZING beauty subscription yourself!
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My May 2021 Boxycharm base box is finally here!
The base box items aren’t quite as exciting as last months. You could still get some pretty nice items, but most seemed pretty lackluster, in my opinion.
I was hoping to receive the Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette, Murad overnight treatment, or the Skin Inc serum. The rest, with the exception of my choice item, didn’t really excite me.
Spoiler alert: I didn’t get any of the items I was hoping for. I did, however, order the Skin Inc. My Daily Dose of Uplift Serum from the popup sale. I had such great results from their My Daily Dose of Glow serum in the past that I just had to try it. You can read my review of Skin Inc. My Daily Dose of Glow Serum, if you wish.
Odds of getting even 1 of the items I was interested in were pretty low considering they are all higher end brands, and the Murad was a choice item that I didn’t choose.
Below is all about how Boxycharm works, but if you are already familiar and just want to see the products, skip on down to the May 2021 Boxycharm Review heading.
Table of Contents
What Is Boxycharm?
Boxycharm is a monthly beauty subscription. They send a variety of skin care, hair care, and makeup products and tools each month.
How Does Boxycharm Work?
This is where things get a little bit confusing, so I will try to break it down and make it easy to understand.
Boxycharm has 3 different types of boxes, their regular monthly base box, a premium monthly box, and a luxury box that is only available quarterly.
Initially, I wanted to only sign up for the premium box. I kept seeing a button for “Join The Waitlist” but every time I clicked it, it took me to the page to sign up for the regular monthly box.
As it turns out, you have to be a subscriber to the monthly base box in order to be able to add-on the Premium box. That’s right, you will get two different boxes each month – each with it’s own cost (more on that in a minute). You can cancel the base box subscription after the first month of getting both boxes.
BoxyLuxe is a luxury box available every 3 months. You pay an additional fee to upgrade your base box to a luxury box. More details on this box are below.
How Much Does Boxycharm Cost?
Here’s a quick breakdown of each box, how much it costs, and what you can expect to get.
- BoxyCharm Monthly Base Box: this box is $24.99 a month. You will receive 5 full size beauty products, one of which you get to choose, with a value of at least $120.00. There is a huge variety of brands from lesser known brands to very popular brands. There are also many box variations each month, so what I have in my box may be completely different from what you will receive.
- BoxyCharm Premium: to get this box, you must be subscribed to the base box for $24.99/month, then join the waitlist for Premium. Once you are activated from the waitlist, you pay an additional $35.00/month for this box. There is a note that you can cancel either your base box or Premium box at anytime after the first month of being subscribed to both. The Premium box has 6-7 full size beauty products, one of which you get to choose, with a value of at least $175.00.
- BoxyLuxe: this is a quarterly box that replaces your base box if you choose to upgrade. The cost is an additional $25.00. You will get 8-9 full size beauty and lifestyle products, with the ability to choose up to 2 products. The value of this box is at least $250.
All of the boxes are eligible for add-on’s, access to the pop-up shops, and rewards for reviewing the products that you receive in your box each month.
It seems as if there is frequently a bonus for new subscibers, you can check out the current offers on the BoxyCharm website sign up page.
May 2021 Boxycharm Unboxing Video
Sorry! I’m still not able to do unboxing videos, unfortunately.
May 2021 Boxycharm Review
Tarte Shape Tape Glow Wand in Sunbeam ($27.00)
I have heard such great things about Tarte’s Shape Tape that I had to choose this item over the Murad.
I have genetically dark circles, mostly in my inner corners that nothing ever seems to work that great on.
I chose the lightest shade available, which was kind of silly of me considering it’s almost summer and I’ve already started back up with my self-tanning routine.
I might have to wait a few months to really see how this looks on me, because it’s a bit too light now, but overall I am really happy with my choice.
It’s definitely brightening and can also be used where you would use highlighter. I also really like the sponge applicator. It makes it easy to apply and blend.
I would definitely recommend trying it, if you’ve been thinking about it.
This product is made in Italy.
KAB Cosmetics Day + Night Eyeshadow Palette ($52.00)
I am not a fan of KAB Cosmetics. I’m also not a fan of any of the real housewives television shows. This cosmetic line belongs to one of them and her daughters.
I don’t really like this trend of any “celebrity” with money starting a cosmetics line with products all made in China and inflated prices. Not every celebrity line is done this way, but I strongly feel that this one is.
The colors are okay. There is quite a bit of purple and orange shades, which I don’t wear and the few colors that I might wear are very close to colors I already have. I also don’t have high hopes that the formula is all that great.
I kinda feel like a palette labeled Day + Night should have some dark shades like gray and/or black and more lighter colored mattes.
I would never pay $52.00 for Chinese-made cosmetics. I’m not sure who is paying full price for this brand, but they do show up in Boxycharm boxes quite often. This is my third item from the brand.
I didn’t swatch the palette because I don’t plan to keep it and I don’t want to waste it. I prefer to not swatch it and pass it along to someone who will actually want to try it.
As mentioned above, this product is made in China.
First Aid Beauty Hello Fab Coconut Skin Smoothing Priming Moisturizer ($30.00)
To start off, I was not excited about receiving yet another primer. I don’t even know how many I have brand new in the box at the moment, but it’s at least 3 not including this one.
This First Aid Beauty primer had me at coconut though. I am a sucker for anything and everything that reminds me even the slightest of summer or the beach.
I’m trying to be better about sampling the items I am keeping as soon as I get them so that I can give you guys more thorough reviews.
This primer has a light scent of coconut. It’s lightweight but absorbs nicely and definitely leaves the skin with a glowy, not oily, appearance.
The first time I used on it my face it I put it over my usual moisturizer and they didn’t play nice together. It does start to flake up if too many products are layered. I found it works best on its own after toning.
A little tip: if you don’t use primer or like a bit of a glowy finish, use this for hand cream. I used it on the back of one hand so I could compare it a little differently and my skin felt so smooth!
This product is made in U.S.A. (yay!)
Ciate London Bamboo Bronzer ($28.00)
Another brand that I personally haven’t had super good luck with is Ciate London. And guess what – it’s also made in China.
I’ve only tried their eyeshadows. At first I thought they were pretty good, but then I starting noticing that they were wearing off and creasing pretty bad on me well before the day was even close to over.
I don’t wear bronzer so between past crappy experiences and the fact I don’t use this kind of product, I decided not to swatch it only to throw it away.
I can say that it does appear to be a very natural shade for bronzer that doesn’t seem as if it would be too dark on medium and lighter skin tones. The little star design is pretty cute too!
Again, this product is made in China.
Bella Pierre Mini Kabuki Brush ($20.00)
Considering that I also received a full size kabuki brush in my premium box this month, I’m a little disappointed to have gotten this one.
It’s soft but the bristles already look as if they are falling out. There is no information about it in the box. The website states the bristles are 100% synthetic and will not shed during application.
Once again, I am choosing to keep this item in new condition so that I can pass it along to someone else who needs or wants it.
The information is hard to find online, but I believe that their products are all made in China.
Final Thoughts
I plan to keep and use only two products from this box – the Tarte Shape Tape concealer and the First Aid Beauty Priming Moisturizer, which was a complete surprise to me.
The retail value of this particular box variation is $157.00 according to the values listed by BoxyCharm. Since I only spent $25 for the entire box and plan to keep 2 items worth $57.00, I suppose it was kind of worth it.
I didn’t need primer though, so there’s also that to consider.
Next, I don’t think this box really felt like the theme this month, which was “flourish” with the exception of maybe the eyeshadow palette.
This box has definitely made me think about whether or not I really need or even want to keep my box base subscritpion, but I have terrible fear of missing out. For now, I’m going to keep it going. It always seem that after a dud box, the next is usually pretty good.
Here’s hoping for a stellar June box!
June 2021 Boxycharm Base Box Choice Items
There are quite a few choices for the base box. It wasn’t super easy to choose!
The June 2021 Boxycharm Base Box Choice Items are:
- Farmacy Honey Grail Ultra-Hydrating Face Oil
- Able Skincare Hyaluronic Acid Age Recovery Night Cream
- NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil
- First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer (the same as in this review)
- KVD Beauty Dazzle Stick Eyeshadow
- Maven Beauty Cosmic Drip Eyeshadow Palette in Stargate
- Isle of Paradise Hyglo Body Hyaluronic Self-Tan Serum
- Skin Inc. My Daily Dose of Glow
- Flirtacious Looks Cosmetics Monarch Lash Pack
I quickly ruled out the primer since I just got it, as well as the Able Skincare product, Maven Beauty palette and Flirtacious Looks eyelashes as these are unknown brands to me and there wasn’t much information about them.
I like the tanning product but have a couple new ones to use up so wouldn’t get to it this summer. I also didn’t need an eyeshadow stick or lip pencil.
I was torn between my tried and true Skin Inc. My Daily Dose Glow and the Farmacy Honey Grail Ultra-Hydrating Face Oil.
I decided to go with the Farmacy. It’s new to me, but I love the brand. I hope it works out in my favor!
How To Subscribe To Boxycharm
You can sign up for a Boxycharm subscription on BoxyCharm’s website. Be sure to take advantage of any current free gifts with your new subscription. If you’re interested in BoxyCharm Premium, make sure that you join the waitlist so that you can be activated as soon as possible.
I hope you find this May 2021 Boxycharm Review helpful. Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for more fun beauty and lifestyle content. I’ve also have a YouTube channel where I am sharing unboxing videos, empties, and more!
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