The Box By Fashionsta is a monthly beauty box brought to you by online beauty store, Fashionsta, for $24.99/month with free shipping. Each box will include 5-7 full-size makeup, skincare, and other self-care products. They seem to focus on smaller indie brands that may be new to you, so it's a great way to discover companies that haven't blown up in popularity yet. They also have The Box For Men ($29.99/month) as well as a mystery box that costs $40 as an add-on with a subscription or $50 as a one-time purchase.
Reviewed by popular demand!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About this Indie Brand-Focused Beauty Box
The Subscription Box: The Box By Fashionsta
The Cost: $24.99/month w/ free U.S. shipping (Internationally for $65.00 USD/month w/ free shipping)
The Products: 5-7 full-size makeup and skincare products.
Ships to: The U.S. and worldwide for free
Good to Know: They just increased their monthly price from $19.99 to $24.99 starting in January 2020. If you subscribed before January, you are locked into the old price.
Also Good to Know: With each purchase, Fashionsta donates makeup, beauty, and self-care items to 1736 Family Crisis Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving vulnerable community members in the greater Los Angeles area.
The Box By Fashionsta January 2020 Review
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The Box By Fashionsta comes with a simple info card that gives a short description of each included product with their retail value. The other side of the card welcomes us into a new decade and explains how they are working hard to speed up fulfillment timing to get boxes to us faster.
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CLE Multi Cream, 2.20 oz. - Retail Value $32.00
I love the smell of this moisturizer! It's a thick cream that includes palo santo essential oil which gives it such a wonderful scent. This item is called multi-use since it says you can use it on your face, body, and even your hair. I always question a heavy cream like this on my face unless it's a night mask so I'll probably mostly be using this on my body and hands. I just love the packaging and box as well. This item is a solid win for me!
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IBY Beauty City Limits Eyeshadow Palette - Retail Value $20.00
As soon as I swatched this palette, I was impressed with the pigment. There are some great neutral base colors here as well as a few more adventurous shades in a mix of mattes and metallics. There are 12 shadows in all that range from pale pinks to dark evergreen and navy colors for more dramatic looks. I vaguely remembering seeing IBY around some beauty boxes in the past but don't think I've ever received anything from them personally. I'm actually shocked that this only retails for $20 because it seems like a really nice palette and the colors are right up my alley! I'll be looking forward to playing with the darker shades in the future.
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Here is a tame everyday look I made with the palette (along with everything else in the box). I used "Road Trip" as a base, along with "Silent Disco", "Playlist", and "Nightfall" as a highlight to finish it off. While I still have to work on my blending, I really liked the look that this palette helped me create. I always use a primer and a finishing spray for my makeup and those both helped keep this pigment poppin'.
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Bang Beauty Lip Crayon in 'Kiss Me' - Retail Value $18.00
I love chubby lip crayons and really liked this soft pink color in the tube which got me excited. Bang Beauty is a brand I've come in contact with before in other beauty subs along the way. Once I got this color on though, it seemed a little too "'80s" for me. It doesn't look too bad in the photos (above), but IRL I thought it was a little too frosted looking. The crayon glided on effortlessly and I was stoked on how creamy it felt on my lips. If this were a more neutral OR darker pigmented color, I'd probably love it. This hue just wasn't my fave.
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Luna by Luna Sapphire Lip Oil - Retail Value $18.00
I'm familiar with Luna by Luna already and honestly was obsessed with their powder crescent highlighter for a while. They have a few different lip oils and I am pleased as pie that I received the blue sapphire version. It goes on clear and gives my lips a nice gloss that isn't too sticky and feels really hydrating. Winter is the perfect time to keep a lip oil treatment like this hand and this one is just perfect. I like to use this while I'm prepping the rest of my face and then I remove it right before adding my lipstick to soften up my lips. It can also be used over a matte lip to make it shine.
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Girlactik Precise Marker Liner in Black - Retail Value $20.00
Here's another brand that I've seen a decent bit in subscription boxes over the years though I've never gotten their liquid liner. I'd easily compare this to Kat Von D's liquid liner which was a go-to for me when I rocked liner more. The black pigment is really dark and this stayed put on my lids all night, over my eyeshadow look. The tip was nice 'n' wet and didn't crap out on me or create weird lines in the color. Well done!
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Luci Metalist 4-in-1 Radiant Face Gel in Silver, 0.5 oz. - Retail Value $14.50
Out of the four uses this product has, I think I like "highlighter" the least, which is the first thing I used it for. Seeing the spoilers for this product, I got excited because I generally like masks and treatments. As a highlighter though, this is a no-go. It stayed very gel-like on my face and didn't jive with the rest of my makeup. However, as oil-based skincare, I think this is a fun product! I received the silver version (other variations included gold and bronze) and I'm not sure if they all smell the same, but I like this one! It's sort of fruity and sweet. The key ingredient is moringa oil and it can be used as a sleeping mask, a 20-minute treatment, or a moisturizer. It is QUITE oily though, so this is definitely for those with normal to dry skin. Once my skin has soaked up as much as it can handle, it's left feeling really moisturized, soft, and smelling nice.
Here are hand swatches for the lip crayon, liner, and face gel.
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Caolion Pore Blackhead Steam Pack & Pore Original Pack Duo - Retail Value $13.89
Here's another multi-use skincare product. This one comes as a duo-pack so it includes two products for tackling skin problems. The first is a "steaming mask" that gets a little warm when in use that is supposed to open pores to get a deep cleanse. It didn't get as hot as some other products I've used and I found it to be pretty pleasant. I rinsed it with cold water, as directed. The second step is in the bottom portion of the double-decker jar and is a heavy clay mask. It was actually so thick that I found it hard to spread on my face. I managed to get a layer on even though it wasn't as even as I would've liked. This one is cooling and was super apparent while on. Very minty! After 10 minutes, I removed it with a warm washcloth to reveal tightened pores. This treatment was nice, but to be honest, it wasn't my favorite in comparison to some others I've used.
Verdict: My second delivery from The Box By Fashionsta was a success! I didn't fall in love with every single product, but I felt they curated a great mix of skincare and makeup and selected items that have a great quality even though the brands may not be big enough to be found at Sephora. The palette really impressed me as did the cream, eyeliner, and lip oil. The pore pack duo, face gel, and lip crayon weren't bad, just not for me. I think this is a solid box for $24.99 since it has a total retail value of $136.39. I will also note that I received my replacement quad palette from last month in this box as well, so I'm pleased with their customer service!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Your box will ship within 1-3 weeks from the payment processing date, so you'll likely start with the February box. It's best to reach out to customer service and ask!
Value Breakdown: At $24.99 for the box, here's what you are paying per item:
- Cream: $5.86
- Palette: $3.66
- Lip Crayon: $3.30
- Lip Oil: $3.30
- Eyeliner: $3.66
- Face Gel: $2.66
- Pore Pack Duo: $2.54
Alternately, you're paying $3.57 per item, on average.
Check out our first review of The Box by Fashionsta right here!
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Do you subscribe to The Box By Fashionsta? What do you think?
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