Swatch and Review: Square Hue Subscription Box!

Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have a swatch and review of the October box from Square Hue. If you haven't heard of Square Hue before, its a monthly subscription box that comes with either 3 full sized polishes for $12.99 plus $5 shipping or 2 full sized polishes for $10.99 plus $5 shipping. Each box is centered around a theme but all the polishes are color coordinated with what's seasonally appropriate. October's box is centered around the 1990's and includes three perfectly fall shades. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each box goes directly to raise awareness for victims of human trafficking via the A21 Campaign.

If you see the photo I included of the box itself, you can see that the box comes with a card that shows the theme of the box, plus all three shade names with a place to swatch them on the card to see the colors. So if you'd like to see swatches of these pretty polishes, skip after the break!

The first polish I swatched in the collection is Desert Storm, a creamy nude shade with yellow undertones. I didn't think I'd love this shade because yellows typically clash with my olive toned skin but this actually turned out to be a love for me! I may have even found my perfect mannequin hand shade which is kind of exciting! (Shit nail polish addicts say!)

Although the color is beautiful and the formula is what I would call good, I struggled with Desert Storm because its a little on the thin side. I had polish run down my brush and flood my cuticles which was frustrating when it made a mess of things. The positives of the formula are that its completely opaque in 2 thin coats, it self levels beautifully, and dried to a glossy finish on its own. I am showing it below in 2 coats plus topcoat. 

Desert Storm in direct artificial lighting

Macro of Desert Storm

The second polish from the box that I swatched is called Vogue, a red jelly with silver shimmer throughout. This one was definitely my favorite in terms of color - look how vampy and perfect for fall it is! I can see wearing this one all the way through Christmas. The formula was the same on this one as Desert Storm - opaque in 2 thin coats but the thinness of the polish made it frustrating to apply because it pooled in my cuticles in a couple of spots. It self leveled beautifully and dried to a shiny finish. My swatch shows 2 thin coats plus topcoat.

Vogue in direct artificial lighting

Macro of Vogue

The final polish from the box is called Y2K, a blackened jelly with silver shimmer throughout. I really want to wear this one again and matte it - I have a suspicion that it would look similar to Zoya Dovima from the 2014 Matte Velvet collection! I feel like I'm repeating myself but the formula on this one is identical to the other two - beautifully opaque in 2 thin coats but somewhat thin and runny which led to pooling issues. Because its a darker color, it stained my cuticles where it pooled but it didn't stain my nails after I removed it so that's a bonus! My swatch shows 2 thin coats plus topcoat. 

Y2K in direct artificial lighting

Macro of Y2K

Overall thoughts for this box: The colors are beautiful and I love that they all center around one inspiration. There is great value in this box because you get 3 full sized polishes for only $12.99 or 2 full sized for $10.99. Really the only downside is application issues but those may be personal to me as I tend to prefer a slightly thicker polish because I find them easier to control.

If you'd like to get this box or any future boxes, you can find them at squarehue.com and the signup process is super easy! You can also follow them on Instagram for more information. If you'd like to see my live swatch of these polishes, click below to head over to my Youtube channel:

Do you get any nail polish subscription boxes? Which is your favorite?

Thanks for reading!

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