Too Faced 2017 Cyber Monday Mystery Bag Review

Every Cyber Monday, Too Faced releases a Cyber Monday Grab Bag, and it sells out that day. (This box is no longer available for sale. If you want a reminder when the next one is available, make sure to sign up for the daily MSA newsletter).

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Box: Too Faced Cyber Monday Grab Bag

The Cost: $39

The Products: Surprise yourself with this top-secret assortment of Too Faced favorites valued at $109. A once-a-year exclusive!

Check out our review of the 2016 Too Faced Mystery Bag and the review of the 2015 Too Faced Mystery Box to see what you can expect!

Perfect Eyes Eyeliner in Black – Retail Value $18

I actually haven’t tried an eyeliner from Too Faced before! I know that, yes, it’s another black eyeliner (something met with a lot of chagrin by the subscription box community it seems) but I use them so I generally don’t mind. Or they’re great for passing along to friends.

This liner is a regular pencil liner with a smudger on one end. If you pull out the smudger you get a sharpener as well. I thought this liner worked pretty well. It’s definitely smooth – almost too smooth. It’s so soft that I felt like I actually had less control and easily made much thicker a line than I intended. But hey, no tugging or pulling at all; perhaps with a little practice, I can get a better hang of it.

Size Queen Mascara in Black – Retail Value $21

I’ve only ever tried the famed Better Than Sex mascara from Too Faced so I was excited to try a different mascara from them. And I love that it’s full sized!

The formula for this mascara is pretty nice and didn’t smudge at all for me. Unfortunately, this brush is a little crazy. I know it’s called “Size Queen” but it’s a little enormous. The spiral design works well but it’s hard to get in all the right places and get full coverage. I think it’d be great if it were just scaled down a little.

Better Than Sex Mascara in Black – Retail Value $12

It wouldn’t be a Too Faced Mystery bag without a sample of their Better Than Sex mascara. I love this formula and the brush – easy to use, volume-boosting, no clumping, and it wears great.

I wish this mascara were the full-sized one in this box because it’s a good formula – one that’s always welcome in subscription boxes to me!

Le Creme Lipstick in Double Bubble – Retail Value $22

This La Crème lipstick formula is one I’ve liked for a couple years now. It’s hydrating but still has solid color payoff.

At first, when I saw this color, I was reminded of the bright pink Melted lipstick they included in last year’s mystery bag (the term I used then was “Pepto Bismol pink”). I sighed a little, but then I tried it on. It’s better on than I thought it would! It definitely bright but with the right mood, I definitely think it’ll get some wear. I also like this formula much more than last year’s Melted lipstick. You can see this and everything else on my face later in my review.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Palette – Retail Value $36

This palette is limited edition, with shadows made with anti-oxidant rich cocoa powder (which is a signature from Too Faced and makes their palettes smell like chocolate). This palette features 9 shadows, both matte and shimmer.

Apparently, Too Faced’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette has a shadow called Peanut Butter that became a sort of social media sensation, so they released a palette featuring and highlighting that color. I love that! What a great way to listen to your fanbase and create something new and fun for them, celebrating what they like.

Okay, and this packaging is way too cute, am I right?

Too Faced designs these little palettes with three larger base and highlight shadows, which is also a good signature idea of theirs.

There are 4 matte shades and 5 shimmer shades. The palette is laid out so that you can use the three rows each as their own look, but you can always mix and match of course!

Another thing I love about Too Faced Palettes is that they come with look guides that have step-by-step instructions. These are the reason I always suggested Too Faced palettes to women who came into Sephora looking for something either beginner-friendly or that helps encourage growing their skills.

The instructions are laid out in a color-by-number fashion to make it simple.

Here are swatches of everything: the eyeliner, the lipstick, and then the palette. The shadows go from left to right, row by row. In order shown swatched: Spread the Love, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Cup, Bananas, Peanut Brittle, Jammin’, Extra Creamy, Jelly, and Nuts about U.

Here’s a look I created with the palette, Size Queen mascara, eyeliner, and the La Crème lipstick. This pink isn’t one I’d usually reach for but it really wasn’t too bad once I tried it on myself! Kinda cute, especially for Springtime, I’m thinking.  The cool-toned pink doesn’t quite go well with this very warm-toned brown, gold, copper color story of this palette, though.

For this look, I used Spread the Love all over my lid, used Peanut Butter in my crease, and Peanut Butter Cup in the corners of my lid. I then tapped Bananas in the center of my lid. You can tell this better in the top photo, but I also used Jelly on my lower lash line as well.

I also easily amped up the look by using Jammin’ in my outer corners and the lower lash line (blended with Jelly) for a more intense and bold look. You can certainly make a look even more “evening” than this, too.

Verdict: All in all, I’m pretty happy with Too Faced’s 2017 Cyber Monday mystery box. I love that it had a palette, especially one that provides versatility and both wearable and dramatic looks. The whole box cost $39, and the palette alone retailed for $36. So, to me, it feels like you could look at it as buying a great palette (that I liked anyway) and got some great full-sized and travel gifts-with-purchase. The total value adds up to $109, which is the promised retail value.

I also have to say I’m amazed at the speed of shipping! I ordered at 3AM on the 27^th and my box was here on the 28^th! Did everyone get that quick of shipments?

Reading over the comments of the spoiler post, it seems like this box got quite a mixed reception. It’s always a risk with any mystery box of products from cosmetic companies that the products just simply may not be something you’d use or like. I think some dissatisfaction may also come from comparing this to past Too Faced Mystery boxes, which I think had higher values and better packaging in past years if I remember correctly. Also, many people buying the mystery bags from Too Faced are likely already fans that have a good amount of Too Faced products already – probably including black eyeliner and mascara – so I can see how it might be underwhelming to some fans to get some duplicates and cosmetic “basics.”

So, trying to objectively look at this mystery box, I’m honestly happy. I got $109 of product for $39. I just wanted to address all that because of readers’ varying responses to the spoilers. There’s a lot of factors and hype and subjective opinions and established makeup collections that all play into how you personally feel about this year’s mystery box and whether or not you’ll use the products.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, this box is now sold out, but sign up for our newsletter to know when the next box becomes available!

Value Breakdown: At $39 for this box, here’s what you are paying approximately per item:

• Perfect Eyes Eyeliner: $6.44
• Size Queen Mascara: $7.51
• Better Than Sex Mascara: $4.29
• Le Creme Lipstick: $7.87
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Palette: $12.88

What did you think about the Too Faced 2017 Cyber Monday mystery box this year? Which product are you most (or even least) excited about?