Cocotique April 2016 Subscription Box Review

The Cocotique theme for April is Spring Essentials.  Cocotique is a deluxe beauty box subscription service for women of color and diverse ethnicities.  Each month Cocotique will ship to your door a specially curated deluxe box filled with 5-8 sample size and full size beauty and lifestyle products for just $20 including free shipping.  After trying out your samples, you can then purchase the full size products in the Cocotique Shop.  Cocotique offers an exciting and fun experience for women of color who love beauty and are in search of an affordable way to try new beauty and lifestyle brands.

SPRING ESSENTIALS

Each month I’m going to use this space to give you words of inspiration to help you set your intention for the month.  In addition to the amazing beauty products I curate for you each month, it’s essential to make sure you nuture yourself from the inside to ensure a beautiful outside appearance.  To be beautiful means to be happy and content with yourself.  Never feel you have to be accepted by others to be beautiful.  Love yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet.  Accept yourself and your beauty will shine from within.  Hope you enjoy all your April Spring Essentials!

xo,

Dana Hill

Founder & CEO

My first look in.  Look at that full sized bottle of hand soap!  Ooh, and that nail color.

The information card has a brief description of each item as well as costs for full size products and discount codes to be used on the items’ home sites.

Everything in my box.

Essenza Mango Agave Hand Soap ($3.99 Drugstore.com):  I can always use hand soaps either in my bathrooms or kitchen, so this will definitely get put to use.  It has a sweet smell that reminds me of fruit salad.  This is formulated with aloe, shea butter, and witch hazel to clean hands without drying them out.

Makari Skin Repairing Clarifying Serum ($6.60 approx.):  A repairing gel to help remove unwanted pigmentation, discoloration, dark spots, and acne scars.  This is a new to me brand.  According to their info card, “MAKARI has revolutionized skin care for dark skins by combining traditional African, pan-African, and Asian remedies with modern cosmotogoly [cosmetology – someone forgot to proofread before approving the final print]”.  I see quite a few plant extracts, as well as allantoin (used for softening skin and stimulating cell regeneration) in the ingredient list.  This is on the pricey side – a full size 1.35 oz. bottle is $52.45.

Madame C.J. Walker Beauty Culture Jamaican Black Castor & Murumuru Oils (both items $24.00 for full size Sephora.com):  Cocotique released spoilers for the new Madame C.J. Walker line, but never said which group was going into the boxes.  For those who don’t know, Madame C.J. Walker was the first female millionaire in the U.S..  And on top of that, she was also African American.  Through her business, she established herself as a pioneer in the black hair care and cosmetics industry.  This new line is from the same company that produces Shea Moisture and Nubian Heritage and is free of parabens, sulfates, and phthalates.  OMG, the smell is AMAZING!!!  It’s described as amber and soft musk, but it is just complete sexiness.  I can’t tell you how many times I sniffed my hair during the day.

Ultra-Moisturizing Co-Wash:  A gentle cleansing conditioner that lifts away impurities while renewing moisture.  After using this, my hair felt ultra conditioned and even a little thicker.

Defining Butter Creme:   A rich Butter Crème formula that absorbs quickly and seals in moisture while transforming dry, tight curls and coils into defined, silky spirals.  My curls were defined, shiny, and still full of bounce.  This is great for a wash and go look.

Naked Beaute Whipped Shea Body Butter scent Adore ($4.29 approx.):  It’s hard to see from my picture, but this looks just like whipped butter.  It is lightweight, but super moisturizing.  My skin felt so soft and smooth after using this.  The scent, Adore, is fruity but not overwheming – very subtle.  A full size  7.0 oz. tub retails $15.00, and there are 9 different scents to choose from on the website.

Ginger & Liz Color Collection Nail Lacquer in Trust Fund (?? – $12.00 for full size): A shimmering emerald “Dry Ice Effect” shade which dries with a silky to the touch finish. Basically, that means it’s a matte finish shimmer; use a top coat if you want shine.  I don’t know about you, but emerald always meant green to me.  This color is more in the turquoise family, and you definitely need to apply 2 coats.  The formula is vegan and 5 free (no toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, or DBP).

Black Radiance True Complexion BB Creme in Nude ($5.99):  Nude is meant for light to medium skin tones.  The lightweight, oil-free beauty balm moisturizes, conceals, primes, smoothes, and minimizes shine with blendable, sheer color and lasting SPF 15 protection.  This is a slightly thinner formula than my regular BB cream.  It blended in easily and was a good match to my natural color.  Other subscribers may have received one of these as an alternate box item:  Cover FX Custom Cover Drops, Suga On Top Body Glaze, or You Be-Natural Botanical Smoothing & Defrizzing Creme.

Close up of Trust Fund.  This is 2 coats of polish, no top coat.  The shimmer really catches the light.

Swatch of the BB cream.

It was hard to calculate the value for this month’s box.  Using cost per ounce from the full size retails, I’d say that the products totaled around $30, give or take.  This is still more than the cost of the subscription, making it a value.  The variety of products was nice – truly a head to toe experience.

Let me know if you got something other than the Black Radiance BB Creme and what you thought of your items!

Visit COCOTIQUE to subscribe or find out more! Get 10% off your entire subscription. Use coupon code  BOX10.