Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I am back from Holiday Matsuri and man we were busy there! We went from one event to panel to vendor room, even the gaming room! I will be doing posts here, on YouTube and updating Twitter as well. So, stay tuned and please follow the Twitter page since we also have one! Stay tuned for all that.

Now it’s time for the post for today! It’s BoxyCharm and Ipsy time! I got my IPsy bag last week and had to contact them for my tracking number since it didn’t arrive to my e-mail box. Don’t get why I don’t get them some months when I did in November. While BoxyCharm didn’t arrive until during my time at Holiday Matsuri. I was a bit sad about that since it was supposed to have shipped a day after they started shipping boxes and FedEx said that it was supposed to be out on the ninth but then didn’t ship until last Monday. I understand it’s the holidays but subscriptions tend to get shipped early and on time, like my very first box I got a year ago. Anyways, let’s see what I got!

Ipsy: ::sighs:: I found this month’s bag as the Month of Meh! I know I called May that for both Ipsy and Boxy but this is another month that was meh to me because the products were something that didn’t wow me as much as the past few months. I traded two of my items because I wouldn’t use them. I also noticed the theme fits more with Valentine’s Day than Christmas which was To You With Love. They did the same thing last year as well except the bag is different this year and it looks like a purse like thing than a pencil case and it is red this time than black. I don’t know why butshould have a Christmas theme, hoping 2016 will be that for December. Anyways!

Things I traded:

Tart Smooth Operator Finishing Powder: I think I mentioned powder as an item I used on my profile but not a fan of anything that is a finishing powder and ended up with the Tart Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder. Why I don’t like finishing powders much is that most of them aren’t sensitive skin friendly, which they are better for oily skin users for a good portion of them and I did try one from Furgy and well it broke out my skin pretty badly. I did toss that and said “Not again!” I had a hard time finding someone to trade this along with item number two, was glad to find someone to trade this with. I know a lot of people would have gotten on me for complaining like I usually do on the board but I would’ve loved something else out of the first group of items like the mascara, I think there was a highlighter, and some items that were also there but nooooooo… at least I traded this one and of course, do understand that it matched to my profile and not guaranteed I would get what I wanted out of the items I marked. Maybe I should redo the profile to not mark powders.

RickyCare Faceted 3D Blender: The other item I traded was a beauty blender. I am not too keen on the beauty blender craze and got this and it’s by Rickycare and it’s the 3D Blender. I tend to use brushes for my foundation and I prefer those because I find brushes are way easier to spread foundation and blend it as I go with my other products. I am glad that the person wanted both the powder and this because it gives me a smile that someone will put this and the powder to good use rather than not doing so. That is why swapping is a good thing and glad that the Ipsy Trades Facebook exists. If you’re wondering what I am getting for my items are…

What I am getting for my Trades:

Be A Bombshell Eyeliner in Wild Child: You know I love my eyeliners and love getting them in my bags since I save money on getting more especially in black and this is a black shade by Be a Bombshell. I have gotten products from these guys before, knowing one was the mascara I got a year ago and used that up along the way. I am hoping to get items by these guys again.

Smashbox Photo Finish Masacara: The item from last month’s bag that every Ipster got and the person had one that she was willing to trade. Good that I will be getting another since I love this mascara and the full size does cost around $20 but getting an extra of the deluxe does come in handy. I did the same thing with someone else for their Tart Lights Camera Lashes mascara a year ago for a pair of false eyelashes in my BoxyCharm and it worked out. I do use that extra tube right now.

Items I did Keep!

Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer: This is one item that got my curiosity going because I love using eye primers and it’s the Thank Me Later shadow primer from Elizabeth Mott. I never gotten any of their products in my bags until now. I did buy an eye shadow pallet with the All Over Shadow brush which I wanted for a long time but didn’t have enough points for, the brush I mean, but the pallet and the brush was something I got through the Ipsy Offers. I do like how the shadows look and now that I have the primer I am able to explore more. I tried this out during Holiday Matsuri since I was doing my ice trainer character Saturday and my shadows went on smooth and stayed all day! I hope to get more primers like this through Ipsy since it lets me see what is also out there and try higher end stuff without paying the major prices unless they bring it to the Ipsy Offers page.

Pacifica Power of Love Lipstick: An item from Pacifica after eleven months of not getting another from them. This time it was a lipstick and it’s known as the Power of Love Natural Lipstick and I was happy to get this! I think a good portion of Ipsters got this in their bag, even my buddy Vivi got this in her bag. This is a lipstick made out of natural ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, and Vitamin E. Very nice to have something like this and the packaging is very slim and cute, heard it had hearts. I was glad about the color and it was Tender Heart, which is a burgundy color and decided to try it out on the day before Matsuri and the day after the event ended and I have to say that it was very lightweight! It didn’t feel dry while applying either, it was creamy like how the description said it would but the moisture…not sure how I can say about that since my lips do get dry if I don’t put a lip balm on first, even goes the same with liquid lipsticks any other balms except the Butter Balms by NYX. I am glad to get another Pacifica product since this has become a fave brand of mine and hoping to get more by them.

Marc Anthony Coconut Oil and Shea Butter Conditioning Treatment: This is the third item I ever gotten by Marc Anthony and all thanks to Ipsy I’ve become a fan of their products! I have a full size of their hair spray, a argon oil spray I use whenever I use dry shampoo or wash my hair and that works a lot of wonders, and this! It’s their Coconut Oil and Shea Butter Conditioning Treatment! I was actually happy about this and can’t wait to start using this! Can I say that the smell is amazing? I was trying to keep myself from smelling it until I put it in the shower to keep it away from my paws and nose! It is even worse with the argon oil spray because I smell some mint in it I am a sucker for mint scents, even smelling the mint in coffee makes me happy! Anyways, I am so glad to try this out and can’t wait to see how well it works since the hair spray and the argon spray are wonderful! I want more Marc Anthony in my bags. I am so glad to know that Walgreens.com sells their items and Ulta as well.

BoxyCharm: Now it’s time for BoxyCharm; this month’s box has a 1920s inspired theme that deals with New Year’s Eve and I like that actually. Yeah, it doesn’t seem holiday-like like how last year’s December box was Jimgle Bells but doing a bit of a New Year’s thing does show that we are ringing in another year at tend of this month. I feel one item was out of place though and that is.

Tacha Blotting Papers: Yet again with another out of place item like in January and that is the Tacha Blotting Papers. Why do I say that? Well, blotting papers are mainly made for oily skin and mostly with winter with cold days, especially really cold ones, skin gets dry. I even remember how much my skin hurt when I got back to the dorm in Daytona because of how dry it got on a major cold day. There are people who have oily skin that sometimes gets oily but most of the time people do have drier skin in the winter. I don’t get why this was in the box when it should be in a spring or summer box like the Tart Marakuja Bronzer and Metallic Tatttoos from January. I had so many people get on my case for saying that these are out of place and complained about complaints about it as well, even people on Instagram said that their skin was dry according to someone’s video. Like most items I don’t like from this box I give away and I am giving these papers to Vivi since her skin would appreciate these more than mine. Sorry BoxyCharm, I need to say this, plus it’s an opinion and entitled to it, pick products that fit the box for certain months! I would appreciate something that would go well with a winter box than getting an item that is meant for summer. Hoping January goes well.

Jelly Pong PongHighlighter: Something that I am really happy about and that is a highlighter from Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics! I tried out an eyeliner/shadow pencil from them that I got in Ipsy and loved it and glad to get and try another product by them. I never thought it would be a highlighter which makes it even more fun! I can’t wait to try this out, it says on the card that it can be used on the cheek bones and brow bones to give an illuminated look, which I mostly do the cheeks. I hear it is a pink color which I hear a lot of companies have been expanding the colors a bit, heck even the Roll-On Shimmers from NYX do that already and I have three of them and having fun with them. Let’s see how this goes!

NCLA So Cuticle Oil: This month we got six items opposed to the five we tend to get. It happened a few months back with getting the Cardatian hair oil and now there were three to choose one that was in the box, well Boxy to chose for everyone and it was between the Harvey Prince Hello cent, the Mullen and Oats Face Mask and the one I gotthe NCLA So Cuticle Oil. I was hoping for the Harvey Prince perfume because my bottle that I got in Ipsy is running low and man I love that scent! I didn’t mind getting the cuticle oil though becaude my cuticles tend to be dry and start splitting which hurts like crazy! When I opened my box to see what I got as the sixth item and saw this I decided to try it out and it smells good! It is like vanilla mixed with sunflowers with the extra hint of acetone and Vitamin E. It says on the card to use twice a day on cuticles and nails. I only done the cuticle thing where I dropped it on my cuticles to spread it, as in did the drop on one and spread through out two or three more cuticles and then dropped another and repeated. It’s like how I do it with Lemony Flutter from Lush, which I take a bit and spread it and if I run out I go back for more. I will keep using this and see how it goes!

Masongel Care Moisture Mask: Another hair item and this time it’s with argon oil! I love argon oil since it helps my hair from feeling damaged and dry and that is why I use the Marc Anthony one and did suggest to cosplayers my favorite of all time, Holy Grail R&B from Lush! Like with the Marc Antony Treatment, this is also a hair mask but it says that I can use this one on towel dry hair versus wet. I may use it on wet since I love or do it before my shower when I shave and then rinse it in the shower. I don’t know but this will be fun!

Ofra Cosmetics Liquid Lipstick: This made me really excited about this month’s box and that is the Ofra Cosmetics liquid Lipstick! I tried these all thanks to an Ipsy Offer and got it! I love how these babies apply because they aren’t sticky, just smooth! I got the shade in Americano which is a nude color from I got in videos and going to be wearing this for the next few days! I did the same with one of my Ofra ones that I already have which was four days I used it in a row! I noticed the packaging did change from how the original tubes were longer and now they are regular lip gloss tubes. If you guys like this, I would recommend it! Also, Kathleen Lights released a new color for them which is called Havana Nights, which you should get and support her.

Bella Pierre Waterproof Lip Liner: Finally, the last item is the Bella Pierre lipliner in Cinnamon! I was really excited about this since I have been getting into lip liners since sometimes I go out of the lines with my lipsticks and it’s good to line my lips to prevent that and keep it on my lips as the day goes on. This pencil is a sharpening one and I prefer that way more than my mechanical ones due to how I had the problem of the tip breaking off due to how fragile the mechanical ones. I do have two mechanical ones and one is the East End Snob from Rimmel since I liked it and broke like crazy and a nude one from L’Oreal. Back to this one, this has a gel formula which is interesting since I heard of gel eye pencils but not a gel lip pencil! This is going to be fun to try out.

This is it for my subscriptions! I would say this month Boxy took it this time! I know I used to say they need to step it up with their products and I think they do which I feel some items in some months don’t fit and out of place for the season and need to improve on that. Hoping with 2016 they would start being better in placing items in what box. The stuff I want to see more from one brand is definitely The Lip Bar because I liked the lipstick I got by them and they are a good replacement for LimeCrime, especially after the scandal that took place the beginning of this year with them. I would say Lip Bar needs to appear more in this box.

While Ipsy, I know this month was meh due to how the items were okay, I do like the lipstick, the hair item I will be using to wash my hair with, and the eye primer. I am glad to find someone who to trade with for the finishing powder and beauty blender. I would say December and May were the two meh months since they had not much of a picking of stuff. I notice how the other items I didn’t get were really good and while the other months for the bag were really great! I am hoping next year it is good as this past year for items! I can’t wait what January brings!

Well, that is it for this month’s boxes and to end this year of subscriptions! I can’t believe I’ve been a member of Ipsy and Boxy for a year, which Ipsy has been a year and a half pretty much! Anyways, I am ready for January for both boxes!

Well, that is it for this post! What is next for Nerdy Shique Universe? Convention Impossible for Holiday Matsuri! Stay tuned!