Starlooks Starbox Review (February 2014)

My better-late-than-never Starlooks Starbox arrived on my doorstep just in the nick of time! I wanted to get this review up as soon as possible because it’s just a few short minutes until March begins! Starlooks had a small issue with a packaging defect and had to delay a handful of subscriber boxes until the issue was fixed.

This month, the Starbox theme was “Futurism.” While this is kind of a cool theme, I was hoping for more of a romantic theme in celebration of Valentine’s Day! Maybe a rosey blush or a fun pink lippie! If you check out their LooksBook for this month, you’ll notice it was anything but!

First peek inside the box, I saw that this month included 3 items, plus a bonus item. Also included in the box was this little gem:

As promised, Starlooks provided us with a 3-month subscriber loyalty gift. This is actually a much better gift than I expected! A $35 gift code to spend on their site on whatever I want? Yes please! If you’re interested, of course I’ve already used it! I purchased a past Starbox (June 2013) and a Tendergloss in Cherub. Review to come on those!

Now onto this month’s goodies!

1. Starlooks Lipstick in “BFF” ($12)

 (click to enlarge!)

This lipstick shade is just…ugh. Nope. No thanks. However, Starlooks included a variety of metallic, shimmery shades in this month’s box, and I received BFF. It’s a shimmery nude shade. Starlooks suggests to use these shades alone for a bold lip, or to pair it with another lipstick to give a metallic boost or shiny highlight. I can see that working for some people, however I’m high maintenance enough as it is with my makeup. I really don’t want to add yet another step to my makeup routine and start layering lipsticks. If I want my red lipstick to have a metallic finish, I’ll buy a metallic red. Not a fan of this shade at all. Going right to the trade pile. (Let me mention that I do really love the formula of these lipsticks, just not this particular shade!)

2. Starlooks Pigment in “Wall Street” ($17)

Sigh. Honestly this is just the last thing in the entire world that I need in my makeup collection. I don’t know a single makeup-obessed woman who doesn’t own a smokey shadow or pigment shade. They sent out a few different shades, I was just unlucky enough to get this charcoal grey/black with silver micro glitter. It’s not unique for me at all. The formula is absolutely outstanding, however. Beautiful to apply, super pigmented and shimmery. The best part about Starlooks pigments is the little bottle the come in. I love that I can just dip a brush right into the little hole in the top, or I can gently sprinkle some into the cap without it going everywhere!

3. Starlooks Cream Shadow in “Warp” ($12)

I was super excited to see that Starlooks was debuting a new product in our Starboxes this month: cream shadows! I am a huge fan of the Maybelline Color Tattoos and I was hoping that these would be fancier alternative. Firstly, I couldn’t help but be disappointed in the shade I got. In my first Starbox back in September, I got a cream liner that looked exactly like this shade. Not to mention the complete lack of color in the rest of my box as well. This is a nice frosty shade that can be used as a base to really brighten up and shimmerize (like that word I made up, there?) a shadow look, but I can’t recommend wearing these cream shadows on their own. I left the swatch on my hand to dry for a while, and applied this shadow on my lids. Within 20 minutes it was already creasing. The swatch on my hand wiped right off. I can’t imagine these shadows have much staying power, but I think with a primer underneath, they could make good bases to change up an eye look.

*Surprise!* Headband

(ignore my yucky short/chipped nails…this is why I don’t do nail posts! lol)

Occasionally, Starlooks will add in a surprise item which is usually something like a pencil sharpener, a brow comb etc. This time they included a simple stretchy headband, which may be a little boring, but I was definitely excited to get it! These headbands are always useful in keeping hair off your face when applying makeup or skincare products, and this one is very light and very soft, which will help keep it from leaving dents in your hair. Very nice little bonus!

Overall Thoughts

Total Box Value: $41

I think that this box was a bust for me. I don’t think that it’s a bad box at all, as I think someone else could get this and really love it. The products are all nice and it’s curated well, I just don’t think I will personally get much use out of anything here other than the headband. I will most likely put all of this in my giveaway pile. Even so, the $35 reward code definitely makes up for a lackluster February box!

To Join Starlooks

Starlooks is $15 a month plus about $3 for shipping. You will receive 3-4 cosmetics from Starlooks that are curated around a monthly theme. Starlooks also offers an excellent referral program (free box of makeup with every referral!) and also sends you a free box of makeup on your birthday month. As if that wasn’t enough, Starlook also gives loyalty rewards to subscribers every 3 months. This month, as mentioned above, they gave us a $35 gift code to spend on anything on their site! I think if you’re looking to expand your makeup collection, or just want to try some new and exciting makeup that you might not have picked up on your own, Starlooks is a great option for you, and I believe it’s an excellent value.

If you’re interested in signing up for Starlooks, I would love if you’d consider using my referral link here:  

Sign Up For Starlooks!