January Wantable. Makeup Box Review

Press Sample

Good morning, dear readers! I have the January Wantable cosmetics box to share with you today This was my first cosmetics box from Wantable, and I was eager to try out this box when I saw that the awesome beauty blogger, Jessica Scull of the blog Love for Lacquer was going to curate it. According to Jessica's quote on Wantable, the idea behind this box was "starting fresh" and "throwing away or donating all of that expired makeup", and I can definitely get behind that concept for the new year! 

Now before I get too far ahead of myself, I should fill you in on how Wantable works in case you haven't tried the subscription service. For a one-time purchase of $40 or $36 per month subscription, Wantable curates a box specifically for you based on your answers to their very detailed questionnaire. If you say you don't like a particular type of product, you will never see that in your box. Likewise, anything you claim to love or like can appear in the box. Like many of you, I read several blogs before I make any decisions as to what products I want to buy, and I have been following the Wantable cosmetics box lately. The past several boxes others have received have looked interesting, and I had high hopes going into the process this month. This is how it all worked out.

The box! It looks like USPS was a tad rough with it, but it did not affect the contents.

The reveal!

First glance of products in the box

And all the products out of the box

Let's check out each item individually, and I'll give you my thoughts on them.

ncLA Nail Lacquer "Call Me for the After Party"

Retail Value: $16.00

This is my first ncLA polish, and I was happy to get one to try in the box even though this same shade has been seen before in a November Wantable box. I'm not sure what the consistency is like for these polishes as I have no experience with them, but this one was really thick and goopy. I'm not going to pretend to know how Wantable's products are stored, so I don't know if the poor consistency was due to storage or the product was of inferior quality to begin with. I do know that it has been pleasant and warm in Tucson, so I did not try swatching from a cold bottle, which definitely can cause goopiness. This is what one thick coat (not by my choice) looks like on the nails; no top coat was used for the following photo:

It is a beautiful blue, and definitely a good colour choice for me. I have to give Wantable credit for that! I'll be adding several drops of polish thinner to get this to a better consistency for future use. Given that the product page on ncLA's website specifically states two coats recommended for this particular shade, I suspect the formula was not supposed to be this bad.

Billion Dollar Brows clear brow gel

Retail Value: $18.00

The Billion Dollar Brows gel has also appeared in a previous Wantable box, but I was still pretty excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, I had some issues with this gel. Unless I am supposed to be applying clear flakes on my eyebrows and start a new fashion trend, this brow gel had dried out by the time it got to me. On a side note, I looked into this product on the brand website, and they only charge $16 for it, so I have no idea where Wantable is coming up with their $18 price tag. Either way, I'm annoyed to have an unusable product, possibly because it has been sitting around since at least October. I really despise throwing away a product before I could even use it.

La Bella Donna Baci-Baci Lip Sheer "Grappa"

Retail Value: $26.50

I was and still am pretty excited about this deep-plum sheer lip gloss. I had not seen it before in any of the other Wantable monthly boxes, so that was definitely an improvement and back to the "starting fresh" mentality that Jessica envisioned for this box. I'll get back to this one in just a moment.

Bésame Cosmetics Classic Color Lipstick "Cherry Red"

Retail Value: $22.00

Just look at that packaging! This gorgeously decorated tube was inside the red velvet pouch which was then placed inside the box. Talk about presentation! The downside to this lipstick is I have already seen it before on Wantable. I guess we're back to that theme.

LBD "Grappa" and BC "Cherry Red"

I am really loving these colours! La Bella Donna Baci-Baci Lip Sheer Grappa looks a little dark when it first floods the lip brush applicator, but when it is applied to the lips, it imparts just a hint of colour. The formula is thick and ever so slightly sticky, but it definitely had pretty impressive staying power. 

Bésame Cosmetics Classic Color Lipstick in Cherry Red was perfect! This lipstick applies so smoothly and stayed for a respectable amount of time for a classic lipstick. I had to reapply on occasion, as to be expected for this type of lipstick, but it is well worth it. I need to pick up more of these beauties!

Skiin Instant Skin Tightener and Line Filler Sample
Retail Value: N/A for Sample Size

I'm not sure where to even start with this one. First of all, for a cosmetics box, I don't want to be receiving any sort of skin care products. That wasn't an option to love, like, or dislike on the Wantable website, so I can't exactly fault Wantable for sending it, but this just isn't something I would want to see in a cosmetics subscription box. Another issue I have with this product is that it looks disgusting. You might have to click on the photo to view a larger image, but it is separated and lumpy, features that I associate with food that has spoiled. The expiration date on it is labeled May 2016 so it should still be good, but it doesn't look like the smooth consistency I have seen in one, two, and three blog posts featuring this sample product in the November box. I fully intended to try all the products in my box for this review, but there is no way I'm putting this on my face, regardless of the expiration date. It's a shame because it looks like the formula was of good quality at one time. Even though it isn't technically something I consider a cosmetic, I actually would have liked to try this.

Final Thoughts
I have very mixed feelings about this box. While all these products are new to me, it was disappointing to see items that Wantable has sent out in the previous months with only one exception. The fact that two of the items were unusable and had to go straight to the garbage can (the brow gel and the skin tightener sample) and one was of inferior quality (the ncLA polish), I am led to believe that Wantable followed Jessica's mantra of starting fresh by purging the old by sending all their old products to me in this box. Only one of the five items seems to have been a new addition to the box, and that really bothers me as the potential to receive duplicate items from month to month is high. While I cannot expect Wantable to open and test every cosmetic item prior to shipping to their customers, I find the lack of quality control to be disturbing. I truly love the lip products in the box, even if one has been sent out in a previous month, but I don't think these two items make up for the other faulty products.

Links
If you are interested in trying out Wantable for yourself, you can sign up here. You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

I know that experiences vary widely when it comes to the Wantable boxes. Obviously, my box this month was less than stellar for me, but I would love to hear your thoughts, good or bad. Have you tried Wantable this month? How was it?

Until next time, dear readers, have a great day!

Disclaimer:  The products reviewed above were provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion. All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products.  I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual authors.  Therefore, I, the author of this site, cannot be held responsible for the opinions held by others.  I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers.