BoxyCharm Makeup Tutorial – August 2019

BoxyCharm is a popular full-size beauty and makeup subscription box. (Check out our full review of the August 2019 BoxyCharm box to learn more about each of the items this month.)

Today, I’ll be showing you how I used some of the items in my August BoxyCharm box! I’d love if you shared what products and techniques worked for you in the comments as well! What items were your favorites? Which products have you been reaching for all month? Let’s talk about all things August BoxyCharm.

But first, here are the box basics:

About BoxyCharm

The Subscription Box: BoxyCharm

The Cost: $21 a month

The Products: 5-6 beauty items that include nail care, skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrances and more. (At least 4 of those items will be full-sized).

Ships to: the contiguous US for free, Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada for $5

BoxyCharm August 2019 Tutorial + Review

Contents of my August 2019 box:

• Wander Beauty Glow Ahead Illuminating Face Oil
• Ace Beaute Glimmer Shadow Duo
• BECCA Hydra-Mist & Refresh Powder
• tarte Big Ego Vegan Mascara
• Steve Laurent Lip Liner

This month's BoxyCharm theme is called “Totally"—it's a cute pink themed box that for some reason reminds me of the '90s. The little girl in me doesn't mind this pink theme at all, so with that said let's see what pink treasures we have this month.

Our very first product is from the brand Wander Beauty and we have received many items in the past from them. I'll be honest, in my personal opinion Wander Beauty has been a hit or miss for me personally. Some things perform amazingly well, while others not so much. Nonetheless, I can't wait to try this new item and give you guys my honest opinion. The Glow Ahead Illuminating Oil is a multitasker. It is said to be both a serum elixir and a primer that will hydrate your skin. It also claims to rejuvenate dull skin, giving it a bouncing youthful inner glow from within. The instructions say to gently squeeze out at least 2 to 3 drops of the oil and, using your fingertips, massage it onto your skin.

The product itself is a pink and shiny oil that at first glance, seems to have a bit of shimmer in it, however, don't worry because it completely absorbs into your skin. I like to give it a few minutes to completely absorb into my skin before adding any makeup. After it sets in for a few minutes, you will have the perfect primer for your makeup. I love how lightweight it feels and how well it hydrates my skin. Although it costs around $42, I can see this being awesome for saving money because it cuts down on your skincare steps! You don't have to purchase a serum, a face oil, moisturizer, and primer because it is all these things in one. There's a ton of product considering that you only need a few drops to get the job done. A little bit goes a long way, so try not to overuse it. I also love the tip dispenser, and how it keeps you from wasting product, not to mention keeping things clean and sanitized.

My skin feels moisturized, toned, smooth and even, and that's saying a lot for just one product. I mentioned earlier that sometimes Wander Beauty can be a hit or a miss, well it's clear that this is a huge hit in my book! They were not kidding when they said it will give you an inner glow from within, because that's exactly what it does. I like how it's a simple soft and subtle glow. This is one of those products that you have to keep using in order to see the full results, however, I’m so glad that BoxyCharm chose this for our August box.

Our next product is the Glimmer Shadow Duo from Ace Beaute. We received two different gorgeous and highly pigmented shadows. I received the Huckleberry and French Vanilla shades. These shadows have a soft and creamy texture, making them easy to apply and blend. They give off a shimmer of bold color and are not supposed to crease or fade. So I decided to create a simple, fun and colorful look using these shadows and a black eyeliner. These can be used with a brush or your finger, so I’m going to use both. I’m also going to wet my brush for a more foiled look. Let’s get started...

Huckleberry is a gorgeous cranberry shade, and I used this shade on my entire lid using my finger.

I took a medium brush to start to blend it out. I blended out the color focusing on the crease area and bringing the color up towards my brow area. If I were using more than two shades I would try to keep the color in one area, but because we're limited in shade colors, I’m dragging this gorgeous color up under my brow and out onto my outer corners.

Here is how it looks after blending it out on my lids.

Here is our other shade, French Vanilla. It's a gorgeous silver shadow, a perfect pop of color.

Next, I took a small flat brush (with a tiny bit of water) and added our final shade French Vanilla onto my upper lash line.

Here is how it looks so far.

With my flat brush, I added this silver shade to the inner corners of my eyes highlighting the area. This color really stands out. These colors are super easy to use and work with. All the claims are accurate, there was very minimal fallout.

I switched brushes and grabbed a small pencil brush to add the Huckleberry color to my bottom lash line. Don't worry if it looks a bit sloppy; we're going to add a black eyeliner on top of it, so that you can only see a hint of the cranberry color below.

I decided to use my black eyeliner in two ways. First, I took my black eyeliner and drew a few lines on the outer corners of my eyes.

Here is how it looks after I slightly smudged it out using my fingers.

Then, finally, I used it as a black eyeliner and added it to my lower lash line. This look is simple and easy to do. This can easily be done for a nighttime eye look. Any way you wear them, these shadows are easy and fun to work with.

Continuing onto our next product, it is a new mascara from the well known tarte Cosmetics. I have not seen this mascara until now but it’s following our pretty in pink theme we have going so far. This mascara is called Big Ego and it's described as an ultra black, vegan mascara that coats and lifts your lashes with ease. This has a wear time of 16 hours which is crazy to me. The last mascara I used from the brand was the Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 mascara so it's been awhile since I've had something new from tarte Cosmetics. This hot pink packaging really stands out when you're searching for your mascara, that's for sure. This vegan mascara has a formula that is supposed to nourish & condition all your lash hairs without any flaking. It also has a very unique brush that's different from any of their other mascaras. It has a booster brush that curves so that your lashes are covered in the formula from root to tip. Let’s go ahead and give this a try.

After filling in my brows, I added two separate coats and I was able to easily build it up without any clumping or stickiness which is a plus. I really like the dark black pigment and how it adds extra length and volume to my sad and stubby lashes. This works so well, that it's hard to believe that this is a vegan product. This completes our eye look.

First off, I’m super excited to be receiving something from BECCA Cosmetics and wow, what awesome timing. I just ran completely out of my usual setting powder and needed another so I’m hoping to love this. Let's discuss the product itself: the BECCA Hydra-Mist & Refresh Powder is a weightless setting powder that is supposed to set and refresh your makeup look. It has an invisible finish making it great for all skin tones to use. I can't tell you how often I have tried a translucent setting powder only to look gray and ashy, ruining my entire makeup look. This is formulated with 50% water and glycerin and has an ultra-translucent setting powder that sets makeup for a revitalizing, mist-like effect on skin. How you can get a mist-like effect on your skin from a powder, I’m dying to know, so let me stop talking and try this!
I added my go-to foundation before using this product.

OK, the very first thing I noticed was how it feels as I applied it to my face. I used a large fluffy brush to apply this and it's a weird concept but it feels cold and wet on my skin. I’m not sure how they made this but I don't care, it's amazing! I have tried everything from crazy expensive products to the cheapest options, looking for a face powder that works for me, and thanks to BoxyCharm I have found it. This sets my makeup beautifully while filling in my pores, giving me that airbrushed look. I can see myself using this on a daily basis. I don't mean to sound dramatic but I’m really blown away by this BECCA powder. Let's not forget to mention the packaging—it's both classy and functional with its mess-free container.

Once you first use it, you too will see how flawless your face will look. I have now had this product on my face for about 6 hours and it still looks flawless. I wore my makeup all day so I could share with you guys how long it lasted. I have very oily skin and it doesn't take long for that oil to get through my makeup, but this powder has kept the oil at bay for at least six hours, no kidding. So far, all the claims are true, and it hasn’t caked up or settled into my skin at all. It also helps take your selfie game to the next level—you literally looked airbrushed and I’m not mad at that.

Our very last product is from Steve Laurant and it's a light brown wooden pencil liner. I received the shade Uptown. The claims say it offers a smooth and seamless and flawless finish that doesn't transfer or bleed and should last up to seven hours. I will be honest, I have yet to have any luck using wooden lip pencils that were not hard and dry on my lips. I hope this one will be different. Let’s go ahead and give this a try.

I sadly didn't have much luck with this product. Here is how it looks on my lips so far. As you can see it's very dry and there isn’t much of a color payoff. Looks like this is a no go for me. If you guys have any tricks to get the best of this product, I would love to know because I actually love the color.

To finish off my makeup look I decided to go with a cranberry shade lipstick to match my eyes. Here is the final makeup look.

Verdict: I really enjoyed most of the products in this month's box and it isn’t hard to see that the BECCA setting powder was the highlight of this box, at least for me anyway. I hope you guys enjoyed this month's box as much as I did.

Check out all of our BoxyCharm reviews and the best beauty subscription boxes of 2019, as recommended by our readers!

What’s your favorite item from the August BoxyCharm Box?