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The MSA Team’s Subscription Box BEAUTY Favorites for December 2020!

Christen Russo
ByChristen RussoJan 20, 2021 | 8 comments

Beauty Favorites

We know you love our monthly favorites posts so here's our monthly post highlighting our favorite BEAUTY discoveries from subscription boxes! Here are our favorite skincare, green beauty, and makeup items from the past month:

Megan's Favorite:

The Item: DOSE of Colors Single Eyeshadow in ‘Nightsky’

The Cost: $22.00

From: BoxyCharm Premium

Why I love it: I never thought I could rock such a dark and moody shadow, but here I am! I love the charcoal base with the electric emerald shimmer and how easily this shadow builds. I even use it wet as a liner and loved it!!

Read our December BoxyCharm Premium review & more reviews by Megan!

 

Abby's Favorite:

The Item: Dirty Lamb Coffee Scrub

The Cost: $29

From: Kinder Beauty Box

Why I love it: This scrub smells delicious and feels luxurious. I hated falling for this product due to its price tag, but luckily, it was easily replicated! I put my own little spin on it, and now I have a few different versions of coffee scrub that I have been using nonstop.

Read our December Kinder Beauty Box review & more reviews by Abby!

 

Ragan's Favorite:

The Item: The Vegan Glow Mild Foam Cleanser

The Cost: buy 3.4 fl oz for $16

From: Vegancuts Beauty Box

ACTIVE DEAL: $40 off. No coupon needed - just use this link.

Why I love it: In an attempt to clear away some of the beauty product samples from around my bathroom sink, I've been using this a couple of times a day (actually just finished it off the day I'm writing this). It is free of fragrances and silicones and after continued use for a couple of days it has not caused me any trouble – my skin is in pretty good shape right now, not dry or irritated or broken out. This is also quite affordable for a vegan cleanser, and it was a new brand for me. Plus, it works!

Read our December Vegancuts Beauty review & more reviews by Ragan!

 

Taryn's Favorite:

The Item: BioSilk Silk Therapy Original, 2.26 oz.

The Cost: $15.95

From: GlossyBox

Why I love it: This bottle has saved my hair and has given my curls definition that I haven't seen in years! I have long, thick, curly hair that tends to get pretty dry and frizzy. My husband has long, straight hair that also gets pretty dry and frizzy on the ends. We both tried this serum and absolutely loved it! It is light, silky, and had an amazing fresh scent. You can use this on wet, damp, or fully dry hair. Just add a few drops to your hand, rub to warm, and apply from root to end. A little went a long way for me! For my husband, it really helped to tame his dry ends leaving them shiny and smooth. For me, it helped to define my curls leaving them silky and shiny. We are both still equally obsessed with this product, and were so happy that we received it!

Read our December GlossyBox review & more reviews by Taryn!

 

Naomi's Favorite:

Nails.INC Nail Polish in FOMO Demo for Birchbox December 2020

The Item: Nails.INC Nail Polish in FOMO

The Cost: Estimated Value $11.00 (Buy a full-size 14 ml for $15.00) 

From: Birchbox

Why I love it: This Nails.INC polish in FOMO was so perfect for the holiday season. The polish is a beautiful rich red with a pearlescent, glossy finish. The name FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is so ironically perfect for 2020. The best part about this polish is the wide hugging brush design that gives me perfectly smooth and precise application every time. No bumps or air bubbles — just beautiful, almost completely opaque polish that dries super quickly and lasts a full one to two weeks without chipping.

Read our December Birchbox review & more reviews by Naomi!

 

Haley's Favorite:

Too Faced 2020 Black Friday Mystery Bag damn girl mascara open

The Item: Too Faced Damn Girl Mascara

The Cost: $26

From: The 2020 Black Friday Mystery Box from Too Faced

Why I love it: If you're familiar with Too Faced's cult-favorite Better Than Sex mascara, this newly released mascara has a similarly shaped wand, but mega size. It's a really big brush, which felt clumsy at first, but once I got past the learning curve, I really liked it. The formula is a nice, opaque black and the big wand means my lashes get coated quickly, and it doesn't clump with a second coat.

Read our Too Faced BF Mystery Box review & more reviews by Haley!

 

Erin's Favorite:

Image via Artist Couture.

The Item: Artist Couture Plush Pout in Shameless

The Cost: $18.00

From: Ipsy

Why I love it: Just when I thought it might be time to retake the Ipsy personalization quiz to stop getting so many pink or nude lip glosses, this new-to-me brand showed up to outshine every other item in my December Glam Bag. It's a beautiful dusty rose shade with a high gloss finish. It looks great on its own or over a nude lipstick. Best of all, it's the most comfortable, least sticky lip gloss I've ever tried! You totally forget you're wearing it – until someone compliments you on the gorgeous color.

Erin subscribes to Ipsy on her own, so her box looked different from Naomi's December Ipsy box. Read reviews by Erin here!

 

Samantha's Favorite:

Item: Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S. Thirst-Quenching Serum (1oz)

Cost: $49 for 30ml (full-size product)

From: Allure Beauty Box

Why I love it: I love this addition to the Allure Beauty Box for two reasons: 1. Caudalie’s Vinoperfect Radiance Serum has been my go-to product for years, as I swear it evens out my skin tone which is prone to redness. With Caudalie, I find I have to be diligent about using their products regularly to give them a chance to work their magic, but once I’ve put my time in, I’m always amazed by the results. So I love that December's inclusion offered a product from the Vinoperfect line that I hadn’t yet tried. Reason 2. Winter is here, the wind is brutal, and my skin is thirsty for hydration. The S.O.S. Thirst-Quenching Serum has met two of my greatest needs in a skincare product, and I always appreciate the opportunity for a sufficient enough test-run before I spring for the full-size product!

Samantha was gifted this box, but she received the same items shown in our December Allure review. Read articles by Samantha here!

 

What do you think of our beauty subscription favorites for December? Have you tried any of these products?

Christen Russo
Christen Russo

Hi there, I'm Christen. I am all sorts of things:

🌳 a writer who loves to convey feeling

🌲 a mother who wants to have just as much fun as my kids do

🌳 an outdoors-lover who's achieved #1000hoursoutside with my family

🌲 a low-maintenance self-carer

🌳 a general hungry person with an unstoppable sweet tooth

You'll find me collecting stationery and squirreling away stickers, riding bikes and swimming with my family, creating outfits in colors and silhouettes that make me feel amazing, wearing big earrings, drinking beer and asking my husband to feed me harmonies to sing, taking my vitamins, living for dancing to live music, roping everyone into a craft, being human and vulnerable, and celebrating the phenomenon of being alive.

...and doing it all with energy, delight, and jokes along the way.


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8 comments

TK

I love Biosilk too. They also make a tearless puppy shampoo that’s amazing for my Havanese pup.

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Christen Russo

Something about “tearless puppy shampoo” just evokes the cutest mental images ever. Sounds like a great product for your pup!

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Ashley

Just a thought MSA and Mallory, who is apparently in charge. I need to see some other reviewers. The same person reviewing an expensive skincare box is not cutting it. We would like to know if something can work long term. Anna and Marne, I miss you!!

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Mallory @ MSA

Hi Ashley! Thanks for this feedback. We miss Anna and Marne too, and we hope they come back and write more reviews for us in the future! We do have quite a few beauty reviewers, but not all of them are able to be a part of every roundup. That being said, we’re always looking to add new subscription-obsessed writers to our team, so feel free to reach out if you or someone you know might be a good fit. 😃

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Vic

I love seeing BioSilk pop up in boxes lately. That’s been my HG hair product for probably 15 years and it’s super easy to find discounted at TJ Maxx.

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Jody

I agree on BioSilk as great hair product. I have straight hair and use it to tame the frizzy. The Caudalie serum is lovely as well. Tried the Too faced mascara but never quite worked for me. I am trying to get the lashes curled up(might have gone straight). Maybe I need more practice? lol

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Jennifer

Hmmm, I’m not sure what my favorite product this year has been! I think it’s probably the “Shades of Mauve” face palette from the 10pc Laura Geller mystery box around Halloween. The Margot Elena blush oil is a strong contender, though, as is the Tokyo Milk gloss. The Bobby Brown vitamin enriched face base (from Ipsy, maybe?) is also really nice as a hydrating, smooth primer.

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Christen Russo

Sounds like you got some amazing products in boxes this year, Jennifer. Margot Elena can do not wrong in my eyes (the scents! the packaging!) — but “blush oil” especially caught my attention. Thanks for sharing your picks!

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