Deck Of Scarlet
Loving the subscriptions lately, I decided to try the Deck Of Scarlet every-other-monthly makeup "look" subscription. (6 shipments per year) Needing more makeup like a hole in my head, but still really intrigued by the idea of an all-inclusive look shipped to me every other month in one piece, I bit the bullet. Every shipment, Deck of Scarlet sends you a palette of makeup that includes 3 shadows, two lip colors, a highlighter, and a blush. Then you might get an eyeliner, lip liner, or a mascara. (Sometimes, you get an eyeliner and a lip liner) It all collapses nicely into one file/stack friendly palette that's just about the size of your hand. So here's my thing: I travel a lot. I also gym...a LOT. I keep makeup in my travel bag, my gym bag, my purse, and my vanity at home. It's not at all unusual for me to have a product in duplicate, triplicate, or sometimes even quadruplicate. (ask my LipSense rep how serious I am about double and triple on my favorite things) In the case of my Hourglass Foundation Stick- that one is in every bag because it's versatile and amazing. A couple others that I can't live without and carry in every bag are- Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara, NYX Slide-On Eye Pencil. These are picked because they are quick, easy, and multi functional. (The Hourglass can be concealer or foundation, super blendable, long wearing. Marc Jacobs is so thick, I can wear it on my upper and lower lashes, I get fast and full coverage too. NYX pencil is super creamy, glides easily- so much so I've put it on easily in the back seat of a car, and can be blended with a brush, finger, or q-tip if need be- for a fast smoky eye on the go.) That being said, I want a SMALL bag to travel with. One or two loose items, tops... and the idea tha Deck Of Scarlet has several items contained in one palette mens nothing to lose, less room taken up in my purse and carry on- and I can ditch the giant makeup bag inside of my gym bag. Everything needed for the color portion of your daily makeup is in this compact "deck". (minus the tools, of course- but come on, in a pinch, God gave you ten brushes dangling from your hands... don't try to tell me you never applied eyeshadow with your index finger before.) Still, I sat on the fence about D.O.S. because I really do have too much makeup. I found objections upon objections to stop me from trying it: -I find a color I love and I stick to it- and I'll probably use up one color first and then the palette is shit. (There is no overcoming this objection yet. They sell eyeshadows individually, but not the ones in the palette.) - Open lipstick pots are going to get full of powder from the blush and eyeshadows. (Nope! The deck has another flap covering the lipsticks- keeping them powder-free!) -I'm not going to like all the colors. (Each deck has what seems to be a focus color and the others are complementary depth and highlight colors.) So, aside from my fear of running out of one item before the others, the rest of my objections were moot. This subscription is a WIN! There are two things I'm not crazy about with this program: -If you want to buy another palette outside of your subscription, there's no discount and you have to pay a shipping fee. -The looks they show you how to create aren't always so real-world-worthy. A few examples that make me feel like I'd look more like David Bowie or Boy George are below:
For anyone that would sport these looks on the daily, good on you- no hate here. But for me, these aren't really practical. So at least one look of every palette they will teach you to create is wasted on me. But then again, I can substitute my own look for that one and call it a day. I do feel for the light handed makeup lover, some of these might be intimidating- so I felt it only fair to show the opposite end of the spectrum- and what makes me love the D.O.S. idea-
Obviously, the more "artistic" looks are kind of a turn off to me- lest you're confused for trying out for an 80's EuroTrash pop band and need the geometrical and impractical pops of bold colors. But the "casual" and "date night" looks really rock and lend a little more creativity to what you'd normally do with a swath of powder color and a kohl stick. The value is definitely there for the subscription- even if I'm not happy about the lack of a discount on off-subscription pricing for active subscribers. But the cool thing that kind of compensates for that is- you can skip your palette for that month, or select a different one if you're not digging the focus of that month's palette. I'm starting to really enjoy this subscription. I see room for improvement though, and I hope that D.O.S. (a sister company to ScentBird) really listens to their subscribers. Give it a look and save some $$$ with my referral code HERE. You save $10 on your first shipment (bringing your deck to just over $20 with free shipping) this way. Subsequent shipments are only $29.95- instead of the almost $50 you'd spend otherwise. I do think it's worth $30, but not $50.
Let me know what you guys think!