Storybook Cosmetics announced back in May 2018 that they were coming out with a subscription box and that it would available in August 2018. I was very excited about this subscription - it was at a time I was getting frustrated with my beauty subscription boxes and was looking for a unique makeup subscription! I signed up and paid immediately (May 8th to be exact!)
Storybook is a brand that has been on my radar - I bought the Wizardry and Witchcraft palette and overall I liked it (you can see some swatches and looks with the palette here!) They are an indie brand; but, were expanding like crazy this year - they are now sold in Ulta. They mostly have a lot of unique brush sets - they made a big name for themselves with the original wand brushes. They also have a Mean Girls Burn Book and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory palette a few lipsticks. There inspiration is from books, movies, and geeky culture. The palettes are gorgeous and look like books and are all around lovely!
But, I think the quick expansion of the brand came with a few hiccups - long wait times for pre-ordered products (they do pre-orders I think to help fund the launch; but, there have been months and months of delays. But, one of the things I find slightly frustrating is that they have released a ton of concepts saying "coming soon" and the delay is insane! For example releasing a peek of the Dragon Fire palette and Dragon Lipsticks in August/September 2017 saying coming soon, the Starry Night palette was sneaked in October 2017 saying coming in 2018, and what I was most excited about was the Hunger Games collab was shown in November 2017 again saying coming soon.
So, back to the Book Club Subscription Box - I should have expected delays; but, I guess I didn't expect the total lack of communication that came with the delays. Almost the whole month of August went by with no updates. On August 28 they announced that they almost made the August shipping; but, were pushing it back to September to avoid any future delays. Then, on September 24 they announced that the palettes were done and showed the picture of the palette, saying that they were making sure the next couple of months were ready to go! Then there was radio silence until October 22 when they announced that Month #1 would ship by November 15, then after that each month would renew on the 1st of the month and ship by the 15th of the month.
Storybook Cosmetics Book Club Subscription Month #1 - Little Women ~ $24.99 US + $8.50 shipping to Canada. Each month you will receive a full size lipstick and 3 full size eyeshadows in a limited, collector’s edition mini Storybook Palette with a custom matching bookmark.
I was excited that they went with a really classic book for the first book club and I hope it's a theme they stick to throughout the subscription! I had loved Little Women before and it certainly makes me want to read it again.
Now, back to story time - this was supposed to ship by November 15 and I got a shipping email on November 21. Then, the tracking number didn't update until November 26 and then it sat on a truck saying "In Transit To Carrier's US Operations Facility" until December 13 - it didn't moooooove during that time. It was unreally frustrating. The palette was delivered to me on December 18.
I emailed Storybook's customer service on December 4 and they told me within an hour that they would look in to and get back to me. I had to email them again on December 10 and they got back to me the next day saying that they were experiencing some delays with their international shipments; but, they should be fixed right away. While they got back to me, I feel like within 2 weeks of no international shipments moving, they should have emailed their customers letting them know there was an issue!
This palette is stunning - no detail was left out on the palette and that is something that needs to be noted. The front is perfect and the detail with the authors name and tittle is gorgeous! The detail on the spine that includes Volume 01 and the back is lovely. I cannot rave about the packaging enough. I love the mini book palette!
The inside of the palette includes a nice print that goes with the theme of the book and the outer packaging. It also includes a mirror and a quote from the author of Little Women. I love this little detail and their other palettes include the same layout and quote as well!
The shadows and lipstick are named after the 4 "little women" in the book - Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy! I think the shadows included were really unique and the lipstick is pretty!
The product sizes are all full sized and this is the layout that you can expect from future Book Club palettes! The detail on the lipstick cap is so pretty and I can't get over the packaging overall!
Amy ~ deep shimmery rose
Beth ~ olive green matte
Meg ~ light green satin
Jo ~ mauve pink liquid lipstick
The shadows are each a different formula and they were pretty good. I thought the matte shadow performed the best - it was very easy to blend! The shimmer shadow really needed to be applied with a wet brush or a finger to really pop and show up on the eye - I found dense brushes or anything else did not give any real pigmentation with the shadow. The light green also applied quite lightly to the eye and was best with a finger or damp brush. I did find those 2 shadows best patted on and once I figured out the best application technique, they all did look great on the eyes!
The lipstick shade was a pretty great mauve and it was really pretty. I love this applicator - it is similar to the Pixi Beauty lipsticks that I love! The formula was good - best applied with 2 coats; but, was opaque with one coat. It was a little drying on the lips; but, pretty comparable to the majority of liquid lipsticks on the market.
This eye look is using all 3 shadows - Beth is through the crease as a transition shade, Amy all over the middle and outer lid, with Meg on the inner corner and Meg and Beth on the lower lash line! The only thing I had to add was a base cream shadow and an inner corner highlight.
And, here is the lipstick Jo on me - pretty shade and good wear time with this lipstick!
Here is the full look using the Storybook Cosmetics Book Club Subscription - Volume 01! I do love how the eyes turned out - they aren't shadows I would normally pair together; but, it was really fun to play with the light green!
Of course, the shadows in the palette would best be paired with other palettes or single shadows to compliment the shadows; but, I did want to show it could be used for a complete look!
I also need to finish storytime - Storybook did announce on November 30 that they would not be renewing for Volume 2 on December 1 and are aiming for the new year. They do not want paying customers to wait for products and I appreciate that; but, it is almost the end of the month and we are all curious when it will renew.
I don't want this post to come off as too negative; but, I don't want you to think everything is rosey either when it's been a little bit of a run-around. I will say, despite the delays I've mentioned, I still really want to support this brand because I like the products that they are releasing and I think they are doing something really great in the beauty community. I do think they are getting a little ahead of themselves with ideas, and maybe have to scale it back a little so that people aren't waiting. Maybe they should have announced the subscription when they had the first month or two ready to go. So, I will maintain this subscription and am really hoping to watch this evolve into a smooth running subscription box!
What do you guys think of Storybook Cosmetics and the Book Club?
No comments :
Post a Comment