Sweet Sparkle is a monthly beauty subscription box. Each box includes five full-sized, curated products to create an entire makeup look.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This month's box is being reviewed thanks to an MSA reader request!
About Sweet Sparkle
The Subscription Box: Sweet Sparkle
The Cost: $24.50 monthly + free shipping worldwide. Discounts are available for longer commitments.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off any subscription!
CODE: MSA17
The Products: Five full-size, curated products to help you achieve a full look for the month’s theme.
Ships to: Worldwide with free shipping. You can check out the list of countries they ship to here.
Sweet Sparkle August 2018 Review
This month includes 4 makeup products and 1 makeup tool. There are some bold, fresh colors included.
A 25% off coupon is included for K-Beauty products now for sale in Sweet Sparkle’s shop.
Each month, an info card is included with an intro to the theme and the product names and retail values. This month’s theme is “Beauty in Paradise”.
Hikari Eyeshadow Quad in Amber - Retail Value $15
I like the shades in this palette but its just too hard to work with. The powders are chalky and don’t have a lot of pigment; I couldn’t even get the lightest shade to pick up. They are also impossible to blend out well.
L.A. Splash Wickedly Divine Eyes in Patronus - Retail Value $20.99
This packaging is so cool. It looks kind of like a wand with its red gem and pointed shape. But, the formula is not good. It applies streaky and picks itself up when you go over it again. I tried it on both lower and upper lash line and within minutes, had a bunch of white build up in the corners of my eyes. Not to mention it goops all over my lashes. In my opinion, white inner needs to be perfect and I just couldn’t get it to work for me.
Chella Eyebrow Cream in Tantalizing Taupe - Retail Value $26
I’ve tried this product before and it’s ok. I like that the packaging includes a thin, angled brush and a separate pot of product. I think it works best to fill in sparse areas after using a pencil to give a fuller, soft effect. Once it sets, it doesn’t smudge and lasts all day. I just don’t spend time using two products on my brows every day.
Be A Bombshell Mechanical Lip Liner in Striptease - Retail Value $8
Honestly, I didn’t have high expectation for this lip liner because I haven’t had a lot of success with Be A Bombshell products in the past. This is no exception. The liner is hard and waxy and requires a lot of effort to get it on my lips. The shade is horrible on me and I can’t imagine the orangey-brown is flattering to many skin tones.
Real Techniques 2 Miracle Mini Eraser Sponges - Retail Value $6
These are meant to be eraser sponges but could work any way you like to use makeup sponges. They work well to blend out overapplied blush or eyeshadow and also help pick up fall out. They’re good for applying setting powder around the eyes too.
Swatches of the makeup (left to right): brow cream, eyeliner, lip liner, eyeshadow quad.
I was really disappointed with the performance of the products for my look this month. I like a pop of color under my eye and tried to use the white liner as an accent but it ended up spreading so I couldn’t get a nice, crisp line. I ended up using many layers of the teal shadow as my accent color and the darker browns on my lid. I had to put a nude-pink gloss over the liner to give it a more appealing color. My brows were not too bad though.
Verdict: Sweet Sparkle’s “Beauty in Paradise” box has a value of $75.99 but I can’t say I think it’s worth it. Like promised, All of the items are full-sized and curated to create an entire look. I think the idea of the look is great but the products just didn’t perform well and I had to do more work to make them look good than I’d ever do normally. There seems to be a lot of repeats of brands that have consistently underwhelming performance. I’d love to see Sweet Sparkle up the quality of the included makeup (regardless of retail value) and include some inspiration on how they imagine the items being used together.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No. Your first box will be the current month’s box. So if you sign up in the month of September, you will get the September box.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off any subscription!
CODE: MSA17
Value Breakdown: At $24.50 for this box (with free shipping), here’s what you are paying approximately per item:
- Hikari Eyeshadow Quad in Amber - $4.84
- L.A. Splash Wickedly Divine Eyes in Patronus - $6.77
- Chella Eyebrow Cream in Tantalizing Taupe - $8.38
- Be A Bombshell Mechanical Lip Liner in Striptease - $2.58
- Real Techniques 2 Miracle Mini Eraser Sponges - $1.93
Check out all of our Sweet Sparkle reviews and the Beauty Subscription Box Directory for more makeup boxes!
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What do you think of the this month’s Sweet Sparkle box?
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