Ipsy June 2014

Ipsy June 2014

Continuing the back-log of June subscriptions, here is my Ipsy bag.

Rebecca Minkoff for Ipsy

I love the bag!  This is probably my favorite Ipsy bag to date, and I've been carrying it around ever since it arrived.  My one complaint is that the zipper is not on the top, but it's a minor detail.  The print makes up for it.

Carol's Daughter Sacred Tiare Styling Cream

I haven't tried this yet, and to be honest, I totally forgot about it.  Anti-breakage and anti-frizz sounds good though, I could use some of that (provided it is effective) on humid days like today.  If it works, I wouldn't be against picking up a tube of it, as it is relatively inexpensive for a hair product and you can find it at Target.

90 mL full size is $12, 15 mL sample worth $2

Realtree for her

Ugh, another perfume.  Great.  What happened to sending makeup, Ipsy?  This smells soft and powdery on me- like Love's Baby Soft, but without the nostalgia. It's pretty inoffensive, so I don't think I will have a problem wearing this to work.... if I remember it.  It's pretty boring.

$20 for 100 mL, making this (3 mL? it's about twice the normal size) sample worth $0.60

Nicka K Shimmer Eyeliner in Blue

This has a felt tip that is pretty flexible, so you can draw thinner or thicker lines depending on your mood.  The eyeliner itself is metallic and has a pretty thin consistency, with chunks of glitter in it.  You definitely need two coats of this, minimum, to really pack a punch.

Full size, $4.99

Shimmery

I was really excited to get another NYX Butter Gloss in this month's bag! I have a few already, and they are among my favorite lip glosses.

NYX Butter gloss in Eclair

This color is a little on the pale side for me, but makes for a nice nude lip.  In a weird twist, I got this bag a week before my niece was born... and we have been calling her baby Eclair because her name is Emerson Claire!  Weird.

The gloss itself is not sticky, very shiny, and smells and tastes like a dessert.

This is full sized, $5.

Ofra Universal Eyebrow Pencil

This eyebrow pencil isn't much different from any of the others that I have.  If you press hard, you get a dark brown line.  If you use a lighter touch, the color is softer.  However, this is definitely NOT a universal pencil.  It works for me, but probably wouldn't if you have any other brow color besides medium brown.  I think I like the Chella version better, because it is self-sharpening!

This is full sized, $13.

Ipsy June 2014

All in all, it was not the worst bag, but not the best either.  If the perfume and hair samples had been swapped out for makeup, I would have enjoyed it more.  Ipsy has sent a lot of skin and hair care products recently, and I would like to get back to makeup-only bags!

All together, my bag had a value of $25.59

Ipsy is $10 per month and sends you 4-6 deluxe and full-sized (mostly makeup) items in a reusable makeup bag.  You can review each item on their site for 10 points each, and every 1000 Ipsy points will get you a bonus item.  If you want to try it out, please use my link here.  I'll get some extra Ipsy points for each referral.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Balm, Balm Stain, and Matte Balms

I also picked up a set of these three Revlon products as an Ipsy deal!  I got them for $18, which is saving about 33% each.  They came loose in a pink Ipsy mailer... weird.  I guess I was expecting them to be wrapped or something?

Pretty

It was a little off-topic, but I did want to show that Ipsy does one deal per week where you can get a discount on a featured product from that month's bag.

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me. This post contains a referral link.

Ipsy May 2014 Review

Ipsy May 2014

Ipsy's theme this month was "Fresh Picks" and was another low-makeup month.  A few times a year, it seems like Ipsy focuses more on skin and hair care than makeup.  I much prefer the all-makeup months!

Ipsy May 2014 bag
Chilling with some succulents

The bag this month is actually one of my favorites ever! It is canvas with a spring-green leaf print on the front.  It feels pretty durable and I already have it in my purse.

That being said, the bag is probably my favorite thing out of this month.  Womp womp.

Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask

Eva-NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask

The first item that I got this month is a hair mask from  Eva NYC.  I haven't tried it yet, to be honest, because I have one open already, but maybe this weekend I'll put this in my shower to try it out.  I like the packaging, though, very pretty!  This mask has argan oil and Keravis in it.  Keravis is a trademarked product that is basically a combination protein/silicone.  

The full size is 500 mL for $40, making the 60 mL sample worth $4.80 (although they sell this size for $12 on the EVA NYC site).

Pacifica Eyeshadow Duo

Pacifica Mineral Eyeshadow Duo #2- Moonbeam and Unicorn

Of course, the ONLY makeup item I get, and I don't like it!  There was a Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm sent to some people this month, and I wanted it so badly!  I LOVE those.  But no, I got this eyeshadow duo.

Moonbeam, left.  Unicorn, right.
Tiny aloe plant as prop

The duo I got is very pretty in the package.  Moonbeam is a dusky purple with a slight golden sheen, and Unicorn is an eggshell cream with a golden shift.  In theory, these are great colors!

Two swipes over bare skin.  Unicorn on top, Moonbeam on the bottom
Feather to cover up my super disgusting curling iron burn

Unfortunately, over bare skin these barely show up.  Moonbeam looks like a fading bruise, and Unicorn is there, but most of its golden sheen stayed on my swatching finger and didn't stick to my hand.  Maybe a primer would help these.  I was pretty disappointed in the quality of these.  This shadow is 0.07oz (I'll round to 2g, 1g for each color).  Pacifica is a Vegan company, and these use coconut oil as the main binding component.  They are nice and soft, I just want more color payoff!

Moonbeam is from the Mystical Supernatural Eye Shadow Palette ($14 for 7g), and this half of the shadow is worth $2.
Unicorn is from the Charmed Shadow Palette ($17 for 5.6g), and this half of the shadow is worth $3.04.

Total: $5.04

Hey Honey Take It Off Exfoliating Honey Peel Off Mask

Hey Honey Take it OFf

This peel-off mask has honey and an alpha hydroxy acid in it.  The directions are to put on a face lotion, put the mask over it, let the mask dry, peel it off, and put on more lotion.  All that lotioning seems to me to be what is making your face so soft!  But, I haven't tried this, so I can't really speak on that.


50 mL is $35, making the 10 mL sample worth $7.  That's pretty expensive, but it doesn't seem like you use a lot at a time, so this should last a while.  Especially because I don't really use masks more often than once a month.

Hang 10 Classic Sport Sunscreen SPF

Hang Ten Classic Sport Sunscreen SPF 50

Hang Ten is owned by Coola, the makers of a higher-end mineral sunscreen line.  I've gotten some Coola products in previous bags, but this is not a face-specific sunscreen like those were.  This is water-resistant UVA/UVB sunscreen.  I always need more of this!  It has the same chemical sunscreen ingredients as everything else on the market (avobenzone, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene), and so it works because these molecules absorb the ultraviolet rays so your skin doesn't.  This means you need to reapply after AT MOST 2 hours, because all that radiation can degrade these compounds, causing them to produce free radicals which are also bad for your skin.  

This is $12.99 for 3.4 fl.oz., making the 1 fl.oz. sample worth $3.82



Avène Thermal Spring Water

Avene Thermal Spring Water

Seriously?  Why do products like this exist?  This is water.  In a misting can.  For your face.  Ok, thanks Ipsy.  I just don't get it- what is so special about this, and why do you need to gently mist your face with water often enough to require a product like this?

Whatever- to each their own.  The company claims that the minerals in this water (from the thermal spring) help calm and soothe irritated skin.  Eh.  I'll spritz it on the next sunburn I get and see if it does anything besides temporarily cool it off.

The full price is $18 for 300 mL.  That is OUTRAGEOUS for water in a fancy can.  Holy crap.

The 50 mL sample is worth $3. 

Everything all together:

Ipsy May 2014

All together, this month had a value of $23.66.  It's not the highest value Ipsy bag ever, and I don't like two of the products, but the sunscreen, hair treatment, and face mask are decent.  I love the bag, though! Hopefully next month goes back to being makeup-only!

Ipsy is $10 per month and sends you 4-6 deluxe and full-sized (mostly makeup) items in a reusable makeup bag.  You can review each item on their site for 10 points each, and every 1000 Ipsy points will get you a bonus item.  If you want to try it out, please use my link here.  I'll get some extra Ipsy points for each referral.

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me. This post contains a referral link.

Ipsy April 2014

Ipsy April 2014

Ipsy survived the monsoon and my mailman was able to deliver it without needing to canoe through the streets. I was really, really looking forward to this month after seeing my updated Glam Room!

The bag itself

This bag is a lot bigger than normal! It is taller, which is nice if I want to carry around long brushes. They will fit diagonally in this without getting the bristles smushed. 

Demeter Jasmine Roll On Perfume Oil

I've really been getting into indie perfumes lately, and was not as bummed as I normally would be to see this in my bag. Demeter roll ons are not that potent, and don't last that long, so wearing this isn't an all day commitment. This smells like jasmine, which is warm and floral, and faintly tropical. It is perfect for warm summer nights! The single note can also be used to layer with other fragrances, to create something new.  

Old bottle, left.  New bottle, right.

I got a different roll-on from Demeter in a previous Ipsy bag, and the bottles have changed! They both are 0.29 fl.oz., but the new round bottle looks a lot bigger. 

Blurry, sorry :( 

I guess it makes you think you are getting more product for your money?

$10 for 0.29 fl.oz. 

Midnight Fountain polish by Rainbow Honey

This nailpolish by rainbow honey is one of the items I was really looking forward to! I have lusted over their polishes for so long! They have amazing glitter combos, like this one, midnight fountain.

Glitters! So many glitters!

This is a bright blue jelly packed with glitter! There are large iridescent and dark blue hexagons, medium iridescent squares, small iridescent hexagons, and lots of shimmers! 

2 coats of Midnight Fountain

It is pretty grainy on, and will need a thick layer of top coat if uneven nail surfaces bother you. 

This polish is exactly what I hoped it would be! It dried fast and takes all the work out of putting together a perfect jelly sandwich. 

Rainbow Honey polishes are 15 mL for $10, making the 5 mL sample worth $3.33.

I've gotten this same product in Birchbox before. I actually really like it! It is a scrub with very fine particles, that noticeably exfoliate your face. It is too harsh to use every day, but I have been doing it once a week and am happy with the results... as long as I scrub gently. Plus, it smells like lemons!

Full size is $78 for 2 oz., making the 0.25 oz sample worth $9.75

Mary Kay At Play Jelly Gloss in Berry Me

Mary Kay At Play jelly gloss in Berry Me isn't something I would have picked for myself, and all I can see when I look at the logo is AOL! Didn't they have the @ sign with a triangle?

I tried to spread it into a heart shape... somewhat successfully? It was too sticky to really have any kind of precision.

After this swatch, I was really afraid the gloss would be super sticky on my lips, because it was super sticky on my hand. It was.  This is like trying to spread half-melted taffy around!

Rainy days suck.  Rainy day hair sucks. This lipgloss also kinda sucks.

It is nice and sheer, and also unflavored and unscented. It goes on wicked sticky, and isn't slick, so it lasts longer than slippery glosses do.  I am a fan of the color, and how long it lasts, but I am not a fan of the texture.

9.5 mL sells for $10

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil

Here it is! The reason I was the most excited for this month's Ipsy! A brand new UD 24/7 liner in black velvet. This was touted as a super intense matte black. 

Black Velvet, if you please!

If you like ultra black eyeliners, this is for you! I compared it to all my other black 24/7 liners as seen below:

What? You don't have 5 slightly different black eyeliners from the same brand?
Don't judge me.

Perversion, the top line, was my deepest matte black up until now. Check out black velvet! It is black like my soul! This is the inkiest epitome of black I have ever seen in an eyeliner. It is UNREAL. 

It has a slightly different texture than my other 24/7 liners, though.  It is a little harder and not as smooth during application as the other blacks in my collection.  The difference isn't anything drastic, but I use these eyeliners every day (I don't ever wear any other liners BUT 24/7!), so it was something I picked up on.  If you aren't as obsessed with this product as I am, you probably won't tell.

This is travel-sized, 0.03 oz, and the full-size (0.04 oz) is $20, making the sample worth $15.

April 2014 Ipsy

Total value: $58.08

All together, I think this was a great month of Ipsy. The UD and Rainbow Honey, plus a spare of the microdermabrasion scrub? Awesome. The perfume was better than expected and overall I am happy. I'll ignore the gloss.  For only $10, I got a great deal this month!

$10 per month will get you 5-6 samples from Ipsy, and they are usually full or deluxe sample sizes.  You fill out a profile and Ipsy tries their best to match you with the products that you would like the best.  It's hit or miss, but the value of the bag is always way higher than the price you pay!

If you want to try it out, please use my signup link here.  I'll get some bonus Ipsy points for each referral.

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me. This post contains a referral link.

Ipsy March 2014

Ipsy March 2014 Review

PSA: Throw out your lip gloss from Pop Beauty that came in the February bag.  Trust me, I know a chemical burn when I see one, and I chemical-burned the crap out of my lips.  They are still recovering.  Gross.  Just toss it if it doesn't smell like delicious vanilla cookies.  Pop Beauty claims there is a "missing flavoring ingredient" but there is clearly something fishy going on with the sample glosses.  Read about this particular issue here.

THROW THIS AWAY!

And as always, if you ever notice a weird smell or burning sensation (different from a plumping or tingling sensation), or if your skin/lips feel slimy, stretched out and tight (not just dry, but like your skin has shrunk 2 sizes), itchy, or scraped up after applying any makeup product, THROW IT AWAY.  Seriously. 

Ok.  Sorry.  Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

I remember the days where I would get Birchbox and Ipsy on the same day, usually within the first 10 days of the month.  Birchbox has since started to ship to me a few days earlier, and Ipsy has started to ship to me about a week later.  Sigh.  Can't have it all in life, I guess.

Ipsy March 2014

This month's Ipsy theme is "Destination Beauty" and features a bag designed by Klari Rice, an artist from California.

The bag itself is cute, but feels pretty thin and vinyl-ish.  It will wipe clean, at least!  The pattern, for some reason, reminds me of the minions from Despicable Me.  Maybe because the circle blobs look like eyes?  I'm not sure, but I get a definite minion vibe from this bag.

There were 4 products included in the bags this month.

Be a Bombshell Bora Bora Eyeshadow Quad

First up, I got the Be a Bombshell eyeshadow quad in Bora Bora.  There was eyeshadow dust all over the inside of the box and the outside of the compact, but it didn't seem to be from my particular quad.  Weird.  I wiped it all off for the pictures.

Bora Bora Eyeshadow Quad in the remainder of today's natural light.

The eyeshadow is more pigmented than I expected.  I like the combination of colors a lot, but I probably will still give this away as a gift.  I have too much eyeshadow!  Gah! 

Two swipes over bare skin, with a LOT of light shining in

I think Ipsy sends a Be a Bombshell product almost every month! I have lip crayons, lip gloss, felt-tip eyeliner, a one stick, now eyeshadow.... I'm going to end up with their entire product line if I continue to subscribe to Ipsy!  It totally negates the need to buy this product independently, and also makes me devalue their items.  They should probably give it a rest for a little while.

This sells for $16 on the BaB website.

Next, I got two packages of Klorane Smoothing and Relaxing eye patches.

Klorane Soothing and Relaxing Patches

I read somewhere online you could re-use these, so I'm going to try to do that.  I'd hate for these to be one-time use, but it seems like they are.  Oh well.  They felt nice on, but I will definitely take the suggestion to put them in the fridge first!  I don't think they made a noticeable difference on my undereye circles, but I wasn't puffy to begin with.

Dermstore sells a 7-pack of these for $18, making my 2 packs worth $5.14

OH hey! Nail polish! IpsyMatch really had to work hard on that one ;)

Nicole by OPI "On What Grounds?"
Different from the mystery book by the same name.

This is from the Nicole by OPI Roughles line of textured polish.  The color is "On What Grounds?" and is a robin's-egg-blue with navy and gray speckles.  It dries to a matte sandy finish and doesn't have glitter in it (like the Julep Stardust, Zoya Pixie Dust, and OPI Liquid Sand lines do).

Speckles in the bottle

When I first put this on, I didn't like it.  It looked like I had done my nails at the beach and got tons of sand stuck in the wet polish before it dried.  The dark specks don't help that at all!  Trust me- I live less than 1 mile from the ocean.  I know what sand stuck in nail polish looks like, and this is it!

"Roughles".... get it?
Stupid nubby pointer finger :( It is cracked down the middle- I need to keep it short while it grows out!

However, the longer I look at it, the more it is growing on me.  I'll see what everyone at work says tomorrow.  Two coats was plenty, and I happen to be a fan of the wide brush that NOPI polishes have.

NOPI polishes sell for about $7.99 at CVS, Target, Ulta, etc.

Last up, and my favorite thing in the bag this month, is a mini lipstick by Bare Minerals as part of their Marvelous Moxie line in Get Ready.

BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready

The color is really pretty, it is a nice warm rose color that is flattering on my super-winter-ultra-pale skin.  Unlike last month, I am not having any burning feelings associated with applying this lipstick.

Face into the light.  The color of this lipstick is a little more muted in real life.

This lipstick is wonderful.  It is super creamy and richly pigmented.  There is a slight vanilla-mint scent, which I think is nice.  This is one of the best lipsticks I have gotten in a subscription box, if not *THE* best.  I love it!  I wish Ipsy had sent out full sizes, but no biggie.  I'll just buy a full one when I use this sample up.

Sample size is 0.05 oz and the full size is 0.12 oz.  The full size is $18, making the sample worth $7.50.

Ipsy March 2014

The total value of my bag this month is $36.63 (hi there, palindrome!).  I've had higher bag values, but there were some items from decent brands this month.  I am really happy with this bag, especially the lipstick!  I don't think I would have preferred any of the other variable options this month, I'm pretty satisfied.

Ipsy costs $10 per month, and will send you 4-6 sample and full-sized (mostly) beauty items in a makeup bag.  If you want to give it a try, please use my referral link here.  I'll get 250 Ipsy points.  After 1000 points, you get a bonus item.  You get 10 points for each item review you do, so it's hard to accumulate enough points for an item without referrals.  That's the only downside to Ipsy.  You also cannot skip a month, but you can cancel at any time.

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.  This post contains a referral link; see above for details.

Subscription Box Spoilers, March 2014

Hello everyone!

There are some good spoilers and deals out there for subscription boxes right now.

Popsugar Must Have is featuring this pretty scarf in their March box, AND you can use IKAT10 as a code to get $10 off.  This makes your box $30! 

Golden Tote selection time!  I picked the $149 tote with:

Elephant Dress

Not-so-Basic Button Down in Black and White

Are you getting anything this month?

Ipsy spoilers have started rolling in!

BareMinerals Double Trouble

Spoiler 1 shows this gloss and lipstick- subscribers will get 1 of the two.

FabFitFun  has two spoilers out for their spring box!  Use code SPRING5 to save $5 off of the $50 price tag.

Kai Perfume Oil (gardenia)

Turband from Cult Gaia

This post contains referral links.