Unboxing My Althea Holiday Edition Black Sparkling Box

Hello loves!

How was your Christmas celebration?

Mine was a quiet Christmas eve with my family and we went out shopping the day after and had dinner. It was simple but it's still special because I spent it with loved ones.

One of the exciting things that every family would do during Christmas mornings is opening gifts under the Christmas tree. I used to wait impatiently 'til Christmas day before I open my gifts... but lately I just open them when I receive them. Ha! I'm just too excited I guess... So just imagine how much I wanted to open this box that arrived in our doorstep 2 days before Christmas day...

It's the Althea Holiday Edition Black Sparkling Box!

But before I proceed in showing you what products are inside this box, let me share what an Althea box is first. 

Althea, if you're not yet familiar with it yet, is an online shop that carries products from leading Korean beauty brands. You can buy products such as makeup, skincare, and haircare!

For something that carries a wide selection of products, they created this beautiful creation of introducing a combination of items that would work great together, and you can get them at a huge discount. Here's a better description of the Althea Box from the website's blog:

[These are] limited edition beauty boxes, specially curated by the fairy team in Seoul. Expect 2 - 3 thematic boxes every month [...] and get ready to snag them before they go OOS! (out of stock) 

Althea Boxes are based on specific themes, giving customers and fans a chance to get their hands on a mix of loved and new favorites.

And this Holiday season, Althea is giving us the opportunity to take home three limited edition holiday boxes: The Red Sparkling Box, the Gold Sparkling Box, and the one I have—the Black Sparkling Box.

And so without further a do, let's see what's inside this box!

TADAAAAA!!!

This box will help us channel a tough, sexy, and edgy vibe this Christmas season! Just check out these "sexy and classy in black" products:

Everything is designed in sleek black packaging and if you check the products one by one, they are all makeup that will enhance your features. I took photos of each and swatched them for you to see what you're getting when you order. I also included the short description from the website as well as my initial thoughts when I first used them.

RiRe Luxe Gel Eyeliner in No. 1 Kill Black

Define those eyes with a dark and matte black eyeliner.

I've actually tried RiRe Gel eyeliners before and I'm very impressed with them and I love using them. I rarely use black pencil eyeliners because I usually use black on my upper lids and I usually go for liquid eyeliners for that. But because I'm amazed with the first two eyeliners I bought from the brand, I tried it and applied it on my lids and even create a winged eyeliner look:

Did it create a dark line? Yes! 

Is it matte? Yes!

Did it deliver? Yes!

Triple yeses! That's pretty impressive, right?

I wore it for six hours and it didn't smudge. It's creamy and can be smoothly applied on your skin. The only thing I would wish is to create more precise and sharp lines for the wings which is usually the reason why I don't use pencil eyeliners for it. But if you just like a simple eyeliner on either the top or bottom of your eyes, then this product is a keeper!

Son and Park All That Smoky Kit

A smokey eyeshadow palette for elegantly gorgeous eyes.

I just love the color selection in this palette. They are very wearable and would suit any skin tone because of the neutral tones. I like that it's combined with sparkly and matte shades!

I am so inlove with the two sparkly shades—the gold one and the very pale pink one. They can double as glittery highlighters too! It would look great on your inner eye corners and the bottom lids too. I'm amazed with how dark the black eyeshadow is as well! The shades are velvetty soft and barely chalky, except for the matte flesh shade, which is a non-issue for me because I use that shade for blending since it's too close to my skin tone. I really like the pigmentation of this palette and I'll be using this palette pretty often for sure!

April Skin Magic Snow Cushion 2.0 in # 23

A luxurious black cushion for a moisturized, flawless base thanks to 45% moisture sebum base.

Check out the mochi cushion: it dispenses the right amount of product when pressed with the puff

To be honest, I was scared when I read the description because I already have oily skin.

But when I first swatched it, I was impressed with how warm the undertone is and how I think it's pretty close to my skin tone. I rarely get that from BB creams and cushions. 

I'm also impressed with it's coverage! With just one layer of this product, it was able to cover most of my skin's imperfections. The coverage is also buildable! 

The dewy look is there so it really delivers what it promises. Although I still like my base makeup to be matte, I find this one pretty good especially considering how it easily covered my acne and scars without piling so much product on. I could just top it off with a translucent powder to help control oil and for a less shiny finish.

This BB Cushion is a two-time winner of the MoneyToday Hit Award. This award is given to products that "conquer the sale market with innovative technology and ideas."

...And last but not the least,

Missha The Style 4D Mascara

For sultry, fluttery lashes

This is my bare lashes when curled

This is my lashes with one coat of the mascara.

I love that it's formula is lightweight and it didn't pull down my lashes. I love that it gives a natural-looking finish but still gave my lashes definition and they also seemed longer! Throughout the day, I didn't experience any transfer or smudges on my under eye area.

I used these products on my Christmas day makeup and I love the look I created:

The April Skin Snow BB Cushion created a soft glow on my skin and the eye products gave my eyes the definition for my look to stand out! What do you think of this look?

I really like all the products that came with the Black Sparkling Box and I will continue using them so I can write a more detailed review on each product. If you're interested in getting these products for your own, you can shop at Althea, or order the box while it's still in stock for only PhP 1,460.00 (the total price individually is PhP 5,290.00! What a steal right!?).

I'm so happy with this box that I'm so excited to see what's in store for 2018 from Althea! If you want to be updated with what's new, subscribe to their newsletter by visiting their website and the Althea's blog, you can also like their Facebook page, follow their Instagram, and watch their Youtube channel!

What do you think of the Holiday Edition Black Sparkling Box? Have you ordered any of the Althea boxes? Share your thoughts on the comments below!

Cheers,
DAWN