BIRCHBOX
Holy Grails: None.
Their curation was very off for me this month. The only products I would consider using are Evologie Intensive Blemish Serum and Oribe Cote d'Azur Eau de Parfum, based on the fragrance description - and I've already tested the perfume and found it unremarkable. It just smells like Perfume - heavy, kind of powdery, kind of cloying.
PARLOR by Jeff Chastain Moisturizing & Repairing Shampoo isn't bad curation per se - it's a shampoo appropriate for the hair characteristics in my profile - but this is one of the brands I kind of roll my eyes at because Birchbox pushes them so hard. I have plenty of other shampoo options in my stash, and I think I'm being even harsher because I like the shampoo sample from Mishibox so much more.
Holy Fails: The review points disaster? Because seriously. That's a master class in How Not To.
Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel in 3 Medium - I have very thick, full brows already. I don't need more. I avoided sample choice in the hopes of not receiving Gimme Brow at all. At least the Medium shade is dark enough that I could probably use it, though the darker color would have been better.
COOLA Environmental Repair Plus Radical Recovery After Sun Lotion - between my fairly devoted use of sunscreen, my vampiric sun avoidance tendencies, and my "tans most of the time, rarely burns" skin tone, I have no need for a thing to treat sunburn because I don't get sunburns. At least this sample appears to be reasonably full!?
SEPHORA PLAY
Holy Grails: Just one - this was not one of my better months with Play.
Tocca Beauty Florence - weirdly, I liked the perfume sample for once. I already own another Tocca perfume (Violette) and a hand cream (Stella), so I may just be into what they're doing in general. I was glad this was a sample of a different fragrance than what I already own. That said, I really don't like the little vial. The tiny sprays are much better - less messy and less breakable, although my sample arrived fully intact.
Holy Fails:
Benefit Cosmetics They're Real! Mascara - beauty boxes send out too much mascara in general, and I have a personal hate-on for it because I cannot wear it without ending up with two perfect crescents of black dots under my browbone and above my cheekbones, and usually mascara on my glasses to boot. But I guess "my actual eyelashes are too long for mascara" is a pretty good problem to have? I know a lot of people are frustrated with this mascara sample in particular because it's been sent out so many times in so many boxes.
bareMinerals bareSkin Bronzer - I pretty much want the same skintone year round, so I wouldn't use bronzer for its main purpose, and I don't bother with contouring either. I would pass this on to my mom, who loves bareMinerals (I like the brand but I'm not nearly as loyal as she is), but her skin is dark enough that she wouldn't bother with bronzer. I would have preferred to sample the bareSkin foundation (maybe keyed off people's Color IQ numbers where possible, and a manual choice or user-reported skin color as fallbacks?), but Sephora doesn't do customization.
MISHIBOX
Holy Grails: Products I've used and liked before, not new-to-me items.
Skylake Oriental Herb Cool Shampoo and Silk Cocoon Hair Conditioner - I've actually received both of these before, in separate boxes (prior Mishiboxes, actually, I think), but I'm happy to have more of these because I like the products. The shampoo especially!
COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch - I have gone through at least three packages of these little guys. They're the best pimple-specific hydrocolloids I have ever tried.
Holy Fails: None, really.
Urban Dollkiss Soft Lip Balm comes closest because I don't really like lip balms in pots. I also received the apple flavor and would have preferred peach or lemon. But I didn't groan to see it in the box.
JINI BEAUTY (Dry/Mature Skin)
Holy Grails:
Sulwhasoo Essential Firming Cream - always excited to get such luxe brands, and I'm currently casting about for a holy grail moisturizer.
Petitfee Gold & EGF Premium Eye Patch - I hope these are a little easier for me to use than a full sheet mask (even with a silicone mask cover holding the sheet in place, I pretty much need to lie down or it slips).
Holy Fails:
Holika Holika Glitter Nails, Flower Shower - not really my kind of nail polish. I prefer solid colors. It also seemed like a weirdly young color to include in the Dry/Mature box. I don't mind getting nail polish (I subscribe to Julep Maven, after all), but I wouldn't say no if Jini Beauty decided to send different colors of polish or makeup with each of their four styles of box, or if they did "random selection from X varieties" the way Mishibox often does.