Candy Coated Closets

Hello lovebugs! It's time to reveal this month's Essence Beauty Box! This months theme was designed to have you "Shine Like a Star" so let's dive right on in shall we?

First up, let's take a look at the Soak it Up Oil Cocktail from Dark & Lovely. The Soak it Up Oil is the 2nd step of the Moisture L.O.C. regimen, inspired by the “O” in the LOC Method. The LOC method is a natural hair care routine that you can use to moisturize and protect your hair and then seal in the moisture with a hair butter or oil, so that all of the moisture is locked in. The "L" stands for Leave-In, the "O" stands for Oil and the "C" stands for Cream.

This Soak it Up Oil from Dark & Lovely contains blends of 5 Oils: Sunflower oil, Apricot oil, Coconut oil, Avocado Oil and Moringa Oil that's great for hydrating your hair and nourishing curls and coils.

While we're talking about hair care, let's jump right on into the next product: the Coily Custard from Miss Jessie’s. The Coily Custard is a slippery emulsion that coats each frizzy strand with a dose of super moisture and shine that enhances and defines your curl pattern, reduces frizz, and fights curl shrinkage. It's best described as a wash-n-go styler. I'll update you in a few days once I test this out.

Next, the box included a set of Looks So Natural Lashes by KISS. These are soft and tapered false lashes that are designed to blend seamlessly with your natural lashes. My box also included a clear strip lash adhesive.

Do I need to say anything about this CoverFX sample? I mean, IG fam, you guys know how I feel about this brand -holy grail-. Well, since we are here... This is the Mattifying Primer with Anti-Acne Treatment by CoverFX. It's a lightweight gel primer that imparts an instant matte finish as well as extended shine control while minimizing the appearance of pores and preventing & healing acne blemishes. This clinically tested primer is vegan and free of the Inflammatory Five: gluten, mineral oil, fragrance, parabens or talc.

Lastly, there is a sample lipstick from IMAN Cosmetics. Apparently, the box this month alternated between a lipstick or a lip shimmer and I received an orange-red lipstick. It's a luxurious and creamy semi-matte lipstick, however, it's another lipstick in a color that doesn't suit me. We talked about this during last month's box so I'm really hoping that the preference center starts working on the Essence Beauty Box website because I feel as if I'm wasting my money on lipsticks that I'm not going to use again (after swatching for you guys of course).

And lastly, they decided to surprise us with a travel size sample of Optic White Toothpaste by Colgate.

Overall, I'm impressed with everything in this box except the lip color. I'm really excited to try out this lashes and hair care products so I'll let you guys know what I think after giving them all a thorough test run.

What did you think of the February Essence Beauty Box? Are you subscribed yet?

So it's a brand New Year which means we all have these fabulous resolutions that we need to try to stick to. I don't know about you, but every year I try to tell myself to relax, and just continue doing what I'm doing - working as hard as I can everyday. Realistically, it's just another day that ends with a new number right? Since I'm always working, I hardly have time to go out and pamper myself, so I was excited to hear that the January Essence Beauty Box was a Pamper Party Box.

If you guys remember from my other posts, the Essence Beauty Box is a beauty subscription box that was designed for women of color by the experts from Essence magazine. Each box will contain 5 deluxe samples and you can sign up for $15 a month, however, they have been running sales for $10 a month.

As for the January box, it contains 5 deluxe samples that was curated together to create the ultimate pamper party box. First, there is a deluxe sample of SheaTerra Organics Rose Hips Black Soap Facial Wash. This is designed to gently exfoliate your skin and remove dead layers without any harsh ingredients - which is great if you have sensitive skin.

Next, there is a fat lip pencil by Laqa & Co. There are three different shades that are floating around online that people have received in their box and I received this orange shade that has subtle hints of red in it. It's a cute color and I love the thickness of the pencil itself, however, I did not like this shade for my skin tone. Personally, I do not favor lipsticks that have an orange shade or undertone to it. I mostly go for lipsticks with more of a blue based undertone just because I find that it suits my complexion better. I would love to be able to include these personal preferences to the subscription box.

The next sample is from tgin - Thank God It's Natural Green Tea super moist leave in conditioner. Now this is my favorite product in this month's box because I love trying new leave in conditioners to moisturize my curls and this is one of the quickest and most affordable ways that I've been able to test out new products that may or may not work for my hair.

A pamper party box wouldn't be complete without a nail polish for a manicure. This box included the Julep Jess nail polish. It's kind of like a brown color with hints of red in it. I've tried a lot of the Julep nail polishes before so I know that they have a great formula, however, I wasn't a big fan of this color. Lately, I've been more into the bright and holographic colors so I'm not going to get much use out of this product in the box. It is a great color though if you're looking for something a bit more subtle.

Lastly, the box included a Baby Soft Foot Mask by Leaders Insolution. This is a rejuvenating foot mask that has aloe vera extract and bees wax in it and I'll be honest, in the winter time, I tend to neglect my feet - I know I'm not the only one! This is going to rejuvenate the skin and leave your feet feeling as smooth as butter!