Unboxing: Pretty Fix July 2013 Collection!
Welcome to my informal Pretty Fix Collection week. I never intended for my posts to be consecutive PFC unboxings, but with all the backlog I cleared up and the way my boxes arrived, well... I guess you could say fate intervened, haha.
There's not much room for surprise when your box provider preemptively posts the contents of the box. Still, I held off reading reviews for the two biggest items: the FACEit Gradation Nail Set and the e.l.f. Essential Flawless Eyeshadow (quad.) I tried so hard to forget about these items BUT I CAN'T! They just stand out so much and they're all I've ever thought about since July 1!!!
Check the box and see for yourself:
What I'm Most Excited About (in Due Order:)
I like the shade they chose (Beautiful Browns) because I've recently been thinking about how tough it was to use my default, golden pearl eye shadow. The high shimmer content in my pearly eye shadow looks too made-up to be of any use in the daytime. The e.l.f. quad looks less "pearlescent" but I spot two shades that are at least satin (Base and Crease.)
e.l.f. Flawless Eyeshadow reminds me a lot of the Wet N' Wild Color Icon trios that have fool-proof paint-by-the-numbers (or in this case, paint-by-the-area) labels stamped onto each pan.
This had me tingling since the first half of the month! I've never done gradation nails before. I imagine that the sponge method is really messy and time consuming. That isn't to say I'm confident I can pull it off with this kit! This kit requires you have to paint in levels as soon as the polish is half dry. How do I figure out when that is?!
If this doesn't work out, I wouldn't be too bummed out as the colors and textures are lovely :)
I think it's a stroke of genius to include an eye shadow primer with the eyeshadow sample. I jumped the gun on primers and went straight ahead to the HG primer, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, so I don't really know what an average primer is like. I've tried LA Splash creamy eyeshadow base and was pretty underwhelmed by it (review here.) Still, I somehow feel like the e.l.f. primer will be magical with the e.l.f. eye shadows :)
e.l.f. Eyelid primers come in four shades: Sheer (peach,) Champagne (pink,) Pearl (white) and Golden (yellow.)
This normally wouldn't have anything going for it in my books but it got a little bump up to the excited-for list because REALLY. It has a white sharpener with it. I love white! And I also love accessories. I have two eye liner sharpeners as of the moment (The Body Shop and Oreaf) but come onnnn. LET A GIRL BE SHALLOW!
Other Stuff in Here:
PFC says it's Non-Alcoholic. Is that correct?! I wonder if they meant non-acetone. That'd be pretty funny *giggity*. I've tried the Yuka non-acetone nail polish remover (review here.) It was good. I think polish remover wipes deserve more credit than I initially afforded them. It didn't need a lot of pressure to dissolve my nail polish but I didn't like how it was prone to drying up if you can't finish it in about, two months since opening the tub. Otherwise, maximum convenience!
RECAP:
You all know I have a deep love for drugstore brands. They're so guilt-free in terms of cost and while quality is often blah, finding anything dependable is like winning the lottery!!! I honestly feel like I've cheated some sort of game by finding that one good product and am swimming around in savings while those corporate idiots try to deceive me into overspending...
That said, I do feel like the July box has been the most dangerously close to being juuust the same value, or even less than the subscription fee. I read somewhere that stuff from e.l.f. are generally in the one dollar range. I checked the site and the quad is USD 2 while the liner and primer are USD 1 each. The polish remover is typically in the Php 80 range (less than USD 2) pegging the box value at around Php 235. However, I feel that the nail polish (~Php 300) pushes us closer to the subscription fee (Php 599) range
Regardless of the box value, I do still like this box veeery much. I like getting more makeup and I don't really care if it's not that expensive. e.l.f. is not something I would normally try out so this unofficial e.l.f. box will be a great way to get acquainted with the brand :) I super love the fact that I got an eye primer with the eye shadow and eye liner. Am I the only one who finds it really clever? I think this month's oddball is the polish remover, but I love that it's there in case I goof up the gradient nails.
Overall, I think the July box is a pretty clever and cohesive box. I can use the three e.l.f. items altogether and I can use the two nail items altogether :) I feel like PFC's brand profile (mid-range boutiques and American-based) is so unique from what's being sampled off by other brands. The other boxes get pretty redundant and I can't wait for more PFC! Drugstore, boutique, signature, please bring them all!
I'd really love a NYX box next though I can't guarantee how other people would react to that; NYX is pretty ubiquitous and everyone seems to already have at least one thing from the brand!
You can visit Pretty Fix Collection's Facebook page here.
There's not much room for surprise when your box provider preemptively posts the contents of the box. Still, I held off reading reviews for the two biggest items: the FACEit Gradation Nail Set and the e.l.f. Essential Flawless Eyeshadow (quad.) I tried so hard to forget about these items BUT I CAN'T! They just stand out so much and they're all I've ever thought about since July 1!!!
Check the box and see for yourself:
 |
| Pretty Fix July Collection: Impressions and Unboxing |
What I'm Most Excited About (in Due Order:)
 |
|
e.l.f. Flawless Eyeshadow quad in Beautiful Browns
|
I like the shade they chose (Beautiful Browns) because I've recently been thinking about how tough it was to use my default, golden pearl eye shadow. The high shimmer content in my pearly eye shadow looks too made-up to be of any use in the daytime. The e.l.f. quad looks less "pearlescent" but I spot two shades that are at least satin (Base and Crease.)
 |
| Wet N' Wild Color Icon |
e.l.f. Flawless Eyeshadow reminds me a lot of the Wet N' Wild Color Icon trios that have fool-proof paint-by-the-numbers (or in this case, paint-by-the-area) labels stamped onto each pan.
 |
|
FACEit Gradation Nails in #03 Very, Very Red
|
This had me tingling since the first half of the month! I've never done gradation nails before. I imagine that the sponge method is really messy and time consuming. That isn't to say I'm confident I can pull it off with this kit! This kit requires you have to paint in levels as soon as the polish is half dry. How do I figure out when that is?!
If this doesn't work out, I wouldn't be too bummed out as the colors and textures are lovely :)
 |
|
e.l.f. Eyelid Primer in Sheer
|
I think it's a stroke of genius to include an eye shadow primer with the eyeshadow sample. I jumped the gun on primers and went straight ahead to the HG primer, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, so I don't really know what an average primer is like. I've tried LA Splash creamy eyeshadow base and was pretty underwhelmed by it (review here.) Still, I somehow feel like the e.l.f. primer will be magical with the e.l.f. eye shadows :)
e.l.f. Eyelid primers come in four shades: Sheer (peach,) Champagne (pink,) Pearl (white) and Golden (yellow.)
 |
|
e.l.f. Essential Brightening Eye Liner and Sharpener in Black
|
This normally wouldn't have anything going for it in my books but it got a little bump up to the excited-for list because REALLY. It has a white sharpener with it. I love white! And I also love accessories. I have two eye liner sharpeners as of the moment (The Body Shop and Oreaf) but come onnnn. LET A GIRL BE SHALLOW!
Other Stuff in Here:
 |
|
Locia Nail Polish Remover, 32 pads
|
PFC says it's Non-Alcoholic. Is that correct?! I wonder if they meant non-acetone. That'd be pretty funny *giggity*. I've tried the Yuka non-acetone nail polish remover (review here.) It was good. I think polish remover wipes deserve more credit than I initially afforded them. It didn't need a lot of pressure to dissolve my nail polish but I didn't like how it was prone to drying up if you can't finish it in about, two months since opening the tub. Otherwise, maximum convenience!
RECAP:
You all know I have a deep love for drugstore brands. They're so guilt-free in terms of cost and while quality is often blah, finding anything dependable is like winning the lottery!!! I honestly feel like I've cheated some sort of game by finding that one good product and am swimming around in savings while those corporate idiots try to deceive me into overspending...
That said, I do feel like the July box has been the most dangerously close to being juuust the same value, or even less than the subscription fee. I read somewhere that stuff from e.l.f. are generally in the one dollar range. I checked the site and the quad is USD 2 while the liner and primer are USD 1 each. The polish remover is typically in the Php 80 range (less than USD 2) pegging the box value at around Php 235. However, I feel that the nail polish (~Php 300) pushes us closer to the subscription fee (Php 599) range
Regardless of the box value, I do still like this box veeery much. I like getting more makeup and I don't really care if it's not that expensive. e.l.f. is not something I would normally try out so this unofficial e.l.f. box will be a great way to get acquainted with the brand :) I super love the fact that I got an eye primer with the eye shadow and eye liner. Am I the only one who finds it really clever? I think this month's oddball is the polish remover, but I love that it's there in case I goof up the gradient nails.
Overall, I think the July box is a pretty clever and cohesive box. I can use the three e.l.f. items altogether and I can use the two nail items altogether :) I feel like PFC's brand profile (mid-range boutiques and American-based) is so unique from what's being sampled off by other brands. The other boxes get pretty redundant and I can't wait for more PFC! Drugstore, boutique, signature, please bring them all!
I'd really love a NYX box next though I can't guarantee how other people would react to that; NYX is pretty ubiquitous and everyone seems to already have at least one thing from the brand!
You can visit Pretty Fix Collection's Facebook page here.