Skin & Tonics : Skincare Guides & Product Reviews

There are tons of beauty box subscriptions on the market right now, many of which I’ve tried, many of which I’ve liked, and many of which have grossly underwhelmed me (I’m lookin’ at you, Birchbox). I’m always game for trying new ones, so I was pretty excited when I had the opportunity to take a peek at one of the newer players on the beauty box scene, Wantable. Wantable is an interesting subscription service in that it doesn’t just offer one type of box. It currently offers four different boxes: Makeup, Accessories, Intimates, and a limited edition Holiday. I obviously opted for the Makeup Box, which is what we’ll be looking at today.

The Wantable Makeup Box promises to be packed with full sized products, so the price tag is a little higher than other subscription services – $36/month for subscribers and $40 for a one-time purchase. The brands are all mid to high-end, so a box of full-sized products is bound to be valued at far more than the monthly price tag.

When signing up for the Wantable Makeup Box, I was first directed to a quiz to help determine what my product preferences are. This concept isn’t entirely new – Ipsy has a very similar process. However, I found the quiz for Wantable to be much more detailed than beauty box quizzes I’ve taken in the past, with a bigger focus on specific product and color preferences. It also seemed like my answers had a bigger impact on what actually came in my Wantable Box.

Here’s what was in the October Wantable Box:

• Lise Watier Ombre Soufflé Supreme Eyeshadow Sample ($0 value)
• Japonesque Angled Foundation Brush ($24.50 value)
• Susan Posnick Color Eye Define in Amethyst/Opal ($26.50 value)
• Rainbow Honey Nail Lacquer in Wisful ($10 value)
• Reserve Moisturizing Lipstick in Smoking Cab ($25 value)

Total Value: $86

I’m saving the eyeshadow sample for a rainy day, so I’m just going to dive right in to the full size products.

First up is the Japonesque Angled Foundation Brush. Japonesque is a pretty well-loved brush brand, which I consider to be a higher end drugstore line. I’ve only ever spotted them in the wild at Ulta, where they can be found alongside brush brands such as Eco-Tools and Real Techniques.

The Japonesque angled foundation brush appears to be made of synthetic materials, which is great news for those who are allergic to natural hair brushes. The brush head itself is rather flat – about the same thickness of a typical, paddle-style foundation brush. For me, this brush has two strikes against it – for one thing, I’m really not a fan of a paddle style foundation brushes. I’ve never been able to use one without winding up with visible streaks in my foundation, and for that reason, I much prefer to use a fluffy foundation brush. The second strike this brush has against it is that I’m a brush snob. I prefer a natural hair brush, but still have quite a few synthetics that I really like. The primary difference between this Japonesque brush and the synthetic brushes I like are the quality and density of the fibers used. The Japonesque brush is definitely on the flimsier side, and the fibers just aren’t as soft or even as they are in the synthetics in my current personal stash. I’ll probably never use this brush, but I appreciate the effort. I do like trying new brushes; this one just isn’t really my cup of tea.

Next up, we have the Susan Posnick Color Eye Define. The Color Eye Define is a two ended eye makeup pencil, which has an angled liner in one end, and an eyeshadow in the other. The liner in this Color Eye Define is Amethyst, a deep violet color. The color went on smoothly when swatching, and left behind a beautifully opaque streak of color. The eyeshadow is a color called Opal, a lighter shade of purple designed to compliment the liner. The mechanism for the shadow is genius – the shadow is inside the cap on the end, so the color is deposited onto the applicator every time the cap is removed. The shadow swatched smoothly, and though I haven’t worn it yet, I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs. I will definitely snap this up in additional colors if I like the formula, because it’s the perfect size for a purse.

The Rainbow Honey Nail Lacquer was a really nice addition. This polish is more of a springtime color for me, but I like it nonetheless. The color is called Wistful, which is a pearlescent, mint green with holo sparkle. Looking at it in the bottle, I was afraid it might be sheer, but it wasn’t. This color went on without streaks and at full opacity in just one coat, but I used two coats for posterity. The dry time was on the shorter side – about 15 minutes or so. I am definitely interested in seeing what sort of fall colors Rainbow Honey offers.

Sorry about my cuticles, you guys. There’s a very good reason why I don’t have a nail blog!

Lastly, we have what I consider to be the star of this month’s box, the Reserve Moisturizing Lipstick in Smoking Cab. This lipstick is gorgeous! The color is a deep burgundy, which is right in line with the types of colors I specified liking during my Wantable quiz. The color is beautiful and opaque, and I found the formula to be spectacularly easy to work with. The Reserve Moisturizing Lipstick has an incredible amount of slip to it, so there’s no tugging during application. I only needed a single swipe on each lip to get full coverage, and after blotting, I got several hours of wear out of it without seeing any significant fading. After 4 hours of wear, I ate some greasy chinese food, which left me with a crazy looking ring of color around the edges of my mouth. To be fair, I don’t think any lipstick could have survived those fried wontons. I will definitely be purchasing this lipstick in additional colors.

Overall, I really liked the Wantable Makeup Box! It is a bit more expensive than other subscription boxes, but if you have room in your budget, I think it’s a great, higher-end alternative to some of the others available. I love that the products are full-size, and I enjoyed discovering some mid to high-end brands I wasn’t familiar with previously.

If you’re interested in signing up for a monthly Wantable box, you can sign up on the Wantable website.

Pros:
+ Full size products
+ Mid to High End Brands
+ Product selection is tailored to individual tastes

Cons:
– More expensive than other beauty box subscriptions

Skin & Tonics Rating:

Performance: 4/5 – This particular box only had one product I wasn’t so hot on

Quality: 5/5 – All the products have a high retail value

Value: 4/5 – $36 is steep for a monthly subscription, but the total value for this box was $86, which makes it an excellent deal

Overall: 4/5

This article features press samples that were sent to me for my unbiased consideration.  Any opinion expressed is 100% my own. For more information about my review policies, see my full disclosure.