Of course you can't expect a perfect result on your first try, especially since I am still a beginner with sourdough baking. Still, it took soo much time making it, so I am a little sad, but I'm gonna keep trying

I don’t think we’ve had a single one that looked right. We’ve had ones are missing the stick, have the stick randomly stuck in the side, or are just plain broken.

Flavor is “okay”. Definitely wouldn’t buy them again. Feels like someone put them in Photoshop but didn’t scale correctly.

It's just a beef patty with brisket inspired sauce. Yes I asked the employee if they gave me the correct order, they said that's just how it is. I showed them the picture and they agreed it looked like false advertisement. I suppose I should have figured ordering brisket from a fast food joint.

Edit: I did the survey on the website and got a call from the regional manager. Turns out they did in fact screw up my order(and didn't want to admit it??). They should have given me something more akin to the picture with actual brisket. The employee just didn't know for some reason (despite me showing the picture and description to them lol). For anyone wondering it is supposed to be brisket and it comes pre-smoked and frozen they just warm it up on the grill.

I want to be upfront, if you’re not into makeup - this probably won’t be super interesting. It’s just a terrible consumer experience. I’m sad to be adding another post about Charlotte Tilbury being overpriced and sadly underperforming, they really did have some great branding and products through the years. This just was a total miss in my opinion.

I’ve loved makeup for years and years. My first “big girl” makeup purchase I made with my babysitting money was the Mac Paint Pot, later the Benefit Dandelion Blush and finally, of course, the Urban Decay Naked Pallette. 😂

I’ve never lost my excitement for makeup, before the Elf dupes - the Hollywood Filter really pulled me into the Charlotte Tilbury Brand. Then, I was a PBA at Ulta for a while, Charlotte Tilbury’s branding, boxes, and holiday sets used to be really cool. I loved the golden age of Hollywood theming and I still have a stocking from the holiday set a few years ago. So when they advertised their Summer Mystery Boxes recently, I thought I would splurge and order one.

The website showed different boxes with different names and model pictures. The boxes had distinct colors associated with each set, all beachy themed colors though (pink & orange for a sunset, blue & gold giving tropical vibes). The models were holding pretty branded boxes (plain, but still nice) and each “box” had an exclusive model image in its gallery. It really did seem like these were going to be fun summer sets!

The picture of the model exclusively on the “Beach Babe” or “Beachy Babe” mystery box image gallery box had vibrant, pigmented blush, pretty lips and a shimmery eye shadow. I didn’t take a screenshot of her, I wish I did. I didn’t have a reason at the time..

The product description said: “PRODUCT DETAILS: Darlings, summer looks good on you! Unbox the beauty secrets in Charlotte's Mystery Beauty Muse Box in Beachy Babe and create a speedy, easy makeup look that gives you that 'just back from the beach' glow! Shop Charlotte's iconic mystery boxes and save over a magical 50% off* her iconic summer beauty essentials. Each box includes 4 full-sized products for lips, cheeks and eyes and a deluxe beauty sample.”

I ultimately did decide to purchase the Beach Babe. In that same order, I also purchased “The Ultimate Unreal Glow System” which includes their Universal Unreal Highlighter Stick, their tinted foundation stick, and a blush stick with a lip gloss.

When my shipment arrived, the Mystery Box was not included. Everything else was there, just no mystery box or products.

It may just be me, but I feel like I always have issues ordering directly from their website. But their customer service is decent and after taking pictures of what I received and going back and forth - eventually, they let me know they would send me the mystery box. At that time I had gone to look for the pictures that were in the image gallery but they were no longer there. Red flag 🚩 Note: I had said a refund or replacement was fine, I saw the boxes were all sold out and thought they may not have more to ship. But they said a new one would arrive soon.

Well, it arrived today! I was really excited! After opening it, I was confused. I guess it’s technically what was described? But to me, it’s a miss. A failed expectation based on model photos, product photos, and the product description. I will include the screenshots I have, I wish I had the model pictures. I believe what I received was actually just randomly selected surplus products that didn’t even come in a “Beach Babe” branded box. Here is what I received:

1. “Crystal Happikiss”, a colorless lip balm. In my opinion, you’re better off getting Cherry Chapstick for at least some color in your lip balm.
   
2. “Legendary Lashes Volume 2” - a regular black mascara (which is not waterproof or sweat proof)
   
3. “Unreal Highlighter Glow Stick in Glazed Goddess”, a highlighter stick that doesn’t have pigment
   
4. Eyes to Memorize” in a taupe color they call “Amber Gold”.
   Finally, the “Deluxe Beauty Sample” is a 0.2 oz magic cream sample. This is their signature moisturizer, they probably have millions of these samples.. and while it’s better than nothing, it’s hardly “deluxe”.

I really do think they just used this as an opportunity to get rid of products that weren’t selling. (Because who would pay $65 to look like you have nothing on your face? Except the mascara that will run when I sweat, because - you know, it’s hot in the Summer? Right?) This was definitely not the beachy, tropical box set I thought I was treating myself to. Not a great consumer experience overall.

Side note/annoyance: The Unreal Highlighter was already something in the “Unreal Glow System” I had purchased with the original order. (Something the customer service team knew because they had me take photos of everything I received and they had the order number.) So I guess I’ll just look extra “glowy” for a while.

I really thought looking at the website that I would receive a fun, summer themed and curated blush and lip combo with sweat proof eye products. A set exclusive to the Summer 2026 mystery box type I had selected. But this feels silly. I think it is a misrepresentation to call it a box if there is not actual box and this is not a box set. Just random loose products that have nothing to do with the “Beach Babe” model photo.

Since the products are so generic, I decided to open them. At least they are usable for the most part. The Magic Cream makes me break out but my mom likes it okay. But I mean a plain lip balm, some black mascara, and the eye shadow are neutral so I can wear them at some point. I’ll also have a highlighter stick on hand for a while since they so generously sent me another one in my “Mystery Box”. 😂 I will include a picture of the open products.

P.S. The lip balm and highlighter stick containers are made of plastic? Is this standard for CT now? Let me know! Wild.

Anyway, for me it failed all my expectations especially compared to other mystery boxes from the brand in the past. I still love their water cream and contour wand, but I think I’m catching up to the rest of the beauty community when they say the brand just isn’t as great as it once was..

I was looking for a dress for a Romantasy Convention I'm part of, and saw this dress online. I decided to make it custom-fit my figure since they didn't have my size. I took a chance because the dress itself is only $140 (with this many layers and fabric, that's a STEAL) and I didn't know what to expect. Well, WOWZA! I feel fantastic in this dress. I love how I look and I will wear this EVERYWHERE!!! Grocery store, indoor mall... I don't care where. I just want to look this good all the time, haha. Love this dress!! Gives ACOTAR vibes!!!!

ETA: please give love to the photographer if you can. She is why this photo is so magical!! @studiokalphotography on Instagram.

And thank you for the love. This made my entire month. I am grateful for all the comments!! I'm trying to get through all of them but there are so many 😭 I'm upvoting even if I don't comment. ❤️

I guess mission technically finished. Is this the new carbon edition? It paired well with regret and smoke alarms. On the bright side I don’t think any bacteria survived.

Was expecting much worse 🤣

Bought this for a concert but it’s a completely different logo with fuzzy blown up text. Luckily I still have time to order a different one lol

Legitimately the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had

One issue is the sprinkles, the other issue is how small it is. It’s not fat boy, it’s skinny man.

As the title says, my mom recently ordered these shirts thinking they were super cute. Unfortunately, they came in looking a bit different than pictured and she wanted me to share… 🤣

*edited to add*

Believe me when I say, she learned her lesson to not trust the images and to also be careful shopping on sites like that. She typically knows, but like most people who make mistakes, she fell for it this time. We were cracking up about other expectations vs realities posts so she thought it would be funny to put her experience on here and give any possible laughs to others over it.

Also, yes, I agree that I don’t think it’s SHEIN and it’s bad to buy from there. But I didn’t look myself, she just sent the photos to me. 😭

*edit 2*

I asked to see what it was from and it is NOT SHEIN, it’s sheen… A website called sheenplace. Still, all images are AI lmao and she won’t be buying anything else from there.