I haven’t been quite as consistent about posting my Allure Beauty Box because I was honestly kind of tired of it. The last few months had been fairly disappointing, but as I face down the gray days of February, it seemed like a good time to talk about the cute minis that have dropped into my life from my mailbox this month.

For those of you not in the know right now, the Allure beauty box is shipped out each month by Allure the magazine. It contains 5-8 items that can be minis, deluxe or travel-sized, or full-sized items. Every month is different, but spoilers come out in advance in case you’re a stop-and-start subscriber. Each month is $15. If you want to get your first month for $10, you can sign up here!

Now that we got that out of the way, what’s in here?

For makeup, the first thing in the box was the Wander Beauty Wanderess Highlighter in After Hours ($15, sample size). I like Wander Beauty. Their motto of fewer, better essentials for your makeup routine in skyway-friendly packaging is lovely. I use their mascara nearly exclusively as well as some of the skincare items. This highlighter is very subtle but nice. It doesn’t emphasize my texture or get patchy when I blend it out. I like that it is also a soft champagne color…perfect for everyday wear. The full size of this retails for $30. But, let’s not stop there. You need something to put it on with. They very nicely included the NYX Pro Powder Brush ($17). I love the NYX pro brushes. They are thick and luxurious and blend product magnificently well. I didn’t have this one yet, and I’m sure I’ll get some use out of it.

The only other color cosmetics product in this box is a full-size Cargo Cosmetics Essentially Lip Color in Sante Fe ($22). I’m not quite sure about the color. It’s a brown-nude color and it just looks a little off on me. I also don’t love the taste or smell of this lipstick very much either. It’s kind of synthetic-y like you would expect from an old school lipstick…the kind I would have owned in high school. I’ll keep testing it and we’ll see if it grows on me.

There was a lot of skincare in this box. First up — BareMineral Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion Serum (sample size, $8.70 value). The full size of this retails for $58. I don’t think this is one that I’ll be purchasing down the road. It’s sticky. I don’t like the tacky texture that it leaves behind. It has a nice smell though, kind of like an upscale spa. I don’t think I’ll continue using this, but I will use up this little sample.

The Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb was also in this box (sample size, $7.60 value). I am certain that I’ve gotten this before, but I’m not complaining. I love the Belif skincare line. It smells like citrus and fills my skin with moisture. It also sinks in fast and sits well under makeup. No complaints here! The full size of this is $38, so this one is about a fifth of the size. It should last me about a week of regular use.

The last item is a sheet mask from Honey Jarret ($3). I have never heard of this brand before. I did a little looking into the brand, and it was designed to rejuvenate the skin of models who were constantly putting on and taking off makeup. We usually think of models as having great skin and hair, but the opposite is often true because of how much work their skin and hair do. This is designed to fix that! This mask smells delicious. I don’t know if it undoes weeks of being sick and wearing rough makeup, but it plumped up my skin and looked great. No complaints here!

This was one of the better boxes I’ve gotten. I’ll get some legitimate use out of all the items in here. For $15, I got my money’s worth. If you’re interested in getting a beauty box from Allure, you can check them out here!