July (Final) Ipsy Unbagging

Sigh…Ipsy, it’s ben a great ride, but this month’s bag convinced me that we’re over. Here’s what came in my most recent and final Ipsy bag.

Here’s what came in the bag:

July Ipsy bag – the bag itself is super cute!

BareMinerals 5-in-1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow in Barely Nude – This was probably the thing I was most excited about in this bag. This is a really creamy, pigmented cream shadow. It reminds me of my MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, so I think it will be a great eyeshadow base. It comes with a doe-foot applicator, and I like the formula. The bright spot of this bag.

Pur-lisse pur-protect Essential Daily Moisturizer – Enough with the moisturizers with SPF! I may try this, but I’m really picky about moisturizers, so I’m not too excited about it.

Clear Clinic Laboratories Vanished Clear Spot Treatment – I’m always in need of a good spot treatment, and this looks interesting. It has a doe-foot applicator, and looks great for stubborn blemishes

Pixi Beauty Mini Tinted Brilliance Balm in Unique Pink – What. What is this supposed to be?! It’s supposed to be “tinted,” but that is stretching that definition quite a bit. It doesn’t seem particularly creamy or moisturizing, and without any color, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this.

Models Own Nail Polish in Red Sea – My first impression is that this polish looks like the jelly sandals I wore when I was 5. It’s this weird red jelly polish with large flecks of glitter. I like a glitter polish, but I do not see this working well for me. At all. I like glitter polishes, but I need something that looks even the slightest bit professional.

Here are some swatches of the shadow and tinted lip balm:

Swatches – no light

Swatches – sunlight

As you can see, in the second picture, you can see the lip balm, but barely. Not impressed.

I know Ipsy has a lot of great products, but somehow, they never make it to my bag, regardless of how many products I review or how often I revise my profile. I’ve liked the service, but it’s time to say goodbye. I’m going back to Birchbox for a few months, just to see what they have to offer. I did discover some of my favorite products through Birchbox, but I’ve also had a lot of flops, so I’m interested to see if they have anything else great in store. Otherwise, I’m potentially on the lookout for a new subscription service! Any suggestions? Did you love your Ipsy bag?

June Ipsy Bag – Reviews

Surprise! I’ve actually used all of the products from my June Ipsy bag, and I’m here to share my thoughts. See the unbagging of these products here. I already owned the NYX Butter Gloss they included in the bag, so that’s not a part of these reviews.

Skinn Olive and Enzyme Cleanser: Hands-down, this is the winner of this bag. First of all, it smells amazing – like a lemon cream icing. It also basically dissolves all the makeup and dirt on your face and leaves your skin so clean. It dissolved the makeup completely without using a makeup wipe, which really impressed me. The sample is large, so it will take me a while to go through it, but I very well may purchase a full size.

Dove Pure Care Dry Oil: I like this product in the fact that it does what it claims to do. It cuts down on frizz and moisturizes my ends, but it does so in a way that makes my hair look oily and a little gross. I’ll keep playing with to see if I can make it work, but I’m not too impressed.

Be a Bombshell Lash Out Mascara: Ew. If you didn’t hear, a ton of people complained about the batch of mascaras for this Ipsy bag because they smell like motor oil. I wasn’t too put off by the smell, but the mascara itself is just…not good. The brush is nothing special, and the formula is very dry. It took me FOREVER to actually look like the mascara was doing anything to my eyelashes and got really spidery looking really quickly. I’m lucky that it didn’t irritate my eyes, but this is going straight to the trash.

Jesse’s Girl Liquid Eyeliner: This is a really nice liner! The brush is super thin; it’s a nice, dark black, and it lasts all day. Thumbs up for this one!

Overall, this was one of the nicer Ipsy bags I’ve received. How did you like what came in your Ipsy bag this month?

June Ipsy Un-bagging!

Thank you, Ipsy, for finally giving me a bag I’m not disappointed in! If you’ve been reading, you know I’ve been a little disappointed in previous bags, but this one has some great products.

Here’s a look:

June Ipsy bag

Also, this Rebecca Minkoff-inspired bag is super cute. I love when they’re cute enough for me to want to use again 🙂

This bag included:

Skinn Olive and Enzyme Cleanser: The package says this can be used as a mask and cleanser, but squeezing out a little bit of this, I don’t know how it would work as a mask. It doesn’t seem to harden at all. It smells good, a little citrus-y and a little like olive oil, so I think it will feel really good on the skin. This goes in my shower today.

Dove Pure Care Dry Oil: I used their hot oil treatments in the past and have been really impressed, so this looks like it will be good for me. My hair is also super dry, so this will be useful. I guess you just use 3 or 4 drops on dry hair and go from there. If you just use a little at a time, this thing will last forever.

Be a Bombshell Lash Out Mascara: I’ve tried some other Be a Bombshell products and haven’t been super impressed, but this looks promising! The formula isn’t too wet, and the brush looks pretty decent. Here it is:

Jesse’s Girl Liquid Eyeliner: I LOVE a good liquid eyeliner, and I haven’t tried this brand before. Initially, I love how skinny this brush is. The formula could be a little darker, but this could be really exciting. Apparently this brand is only sold at Rite Aid, which I don’t have near me, but it looks pretty good.

NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel: I’m obsessed with NYX butter gloss, and I actually already have this shade, but it is awesome. I’ll probably gift this to my mom or sister. It is a great way to try out the orange lip color that is so popular this year. Here’s a swatch:

Overall, this month’s bag gets an A from me! Do you get monthly bags from Ipsy? What did you get this month?

 

May Ipsy Unbagging!

Another month’s Ipsy bag has arrived! This month’s theme was “Fresh Picks,” but for me that meant mostly skin and haircare products. I was a little surprised to see that because I love getting actual makeup products in my bag, but maybe these will really wow me. Ipsy and I have been a little on the rocks lately, so if next month’s bag doesn’t wow me, I’m switching it up.

Here are the products:

May Ipsy bag

Hang Ten Classic Sport Sunscreen SPF 50 – I don’t get too fancy with my sunscreens and I don’t spend a lot of time outside, so I feel a little meh about getting them in subscription boxes. This one is supposed to stay waterproof for 60 minutes, so that is definitely something exciting if it works. I need to plan a beach trip to try this one 😉

derma e Microdermabrasion Scrub – I do love a good microdermabrasion scrub. According to the package, this exfoliator “helps diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and acne scars” and “leaves skin youthfully radiant.” I am actually really excited about this because it sounds like exactly what my skin would love!

Olive Natural Beauty Lip Balm – I guess this lip balm is made out of olive oil? It’s in the “Refreshing Rosemary” scent, and it smells like a spa. I love my Nivea lip balm, so I’ll be interested to see if this lives up to it or adds any healing benefits to my lips.

Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask – This healing mask is supposed to “increase hair’s strength and elasticity” while nourishing and doing all those great things a hair mask does. It has keravis protein and argan oil and the package is huge, so it should last a while! I’m not super picky when it comes to hair masks, but I think this one should be pretty good.

Pacifica Mineral Eyeshadow Duo #2 (Moonbeam and Unicorn) – This eyeshadow duo is really iridescent and sparkly.

Pacifica duo up close

Swatches in natural light

Swatches with flash

The colors look pretty but were a little hard to swatch, so I don’t know how pigmented or easy to use they’ll be. I think this will be something I actually need to use to pass judgement on.

Overall, I’m not super impressed, but after using some of these products, I may fall in love, so we’ll give it a shot.

What did you get in your Ipsy bag? Or do you have another subscription to recommend?

Ipsy Unbagging – April

My latest Ipsy bag landed in my mailbox this week! I’ll be honest, the last couple have been really hit and miss, so I wasn’t sure whether or not to be excited about this one. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Here’s a look at what the shiny pink bag had for me this month:

April Ipsy Bag!

Ipsy bag contents

I got the following in my Beauty Rocks bag. I’ve tried some products out already, too!

Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Apple Pink – I’ve gotten Cailyn tinted lip balms in the past and haven’t been super impressed. They’re usually really drying, and the packaging is so silly (who uses a brush to apply lip balm?) I do really like the color of this one, though, so I’ll have to give it a try.

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil in Black Velvet – I love the Slide-On Glide-On eye pencils from Urban Decay, and this one did not disappoint. I haven’t had a chance to smudge it out like the little booklet it came with said to, but I think it would be great for that as well. This is super pigmented and easy to apply as well.

Big Sexy Hair Root Pump Volumizing Spray Mousse – I had this product several years ago and didn’t repurchase for some reason. I used it yesterday, and it is awesome! It’s a little thick and will get sticky if you use too much, but it gives amazing volume, especially if you use it with a blow dryer.

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion – There’s not too much to say about a Microdermabrasion Scrub, but I’m interested to try it because I’ve heard good things about the brand.

A more accurate photo of it…

City Color White Gold Shadow and Highlight Mousse – I used this yesterday, too and I really like it! It has the most beautiful shimmer without being too much, and the texture is really unique. I never would have thought to buy this, but I’m so excited to keep using it!

 

 

 

Overall a really solid group of products! Here are some swatches for your info:

Swatches inside – CC Mousse, UD Pencil, Cailyn Balm

 

Swatches in natural light (And what you can almost see is it SNOWING in the middle of April…)

Do you get Ipsy? What did you think of your products this month? Or, subscribe to another service you’d recommend? I’m toying with the idea of switching it up in the near future, so let me know!

Lent Challenge Empties (2)

I’ve run through another round of products in my Lent challenge! I’ll be honest, this week was ROUGH. New spring products, Sephora VIB sale (my favorite time of year) and Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty PLUS 20% off…there were a lot of great beauty deals this week. But I stayed strong! There will be a nice haul coming after this Lent challenge…

Here’s what I’ve gone through:

Empties

Living Proof Full Thickening Mousse: I love all Living Proof products, and this is no exception. This gives me a nice amount of volume and helps my curls stay bouncy and big, the way I love them. It’s a lightweight mousse, and a little goes a long way.

Clarisonic Sensitive Skin head: I need to write another post about how obsessed I am with my Clarisonic, but this was the first head I used up. It did amazing things for my oily skin! I didn’t have any of the initial irritation some people experience, and this was an amazing product.

Benefit They’re Real! Mascara: My Holy Grail Mascara. It keeps my lashes curled, long and volumized all day. It picks up all the little lashes and makes my lashes look amazing. I have yet to find a mascara I love as much.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Hair Mask: This came in my January Ipsy bag, and I really enjoyed it. I got 3 or 4 uses out of it, and it made my hair really soft when it felt like the ends were dry and disgusting. I don’t know that I would go out of my way to purchase it, but it was really nice!

Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion: This another product from my January Ipsy bag, and it lasted forever. The smell was a little weird, but it was a great, lightweight moisturizer. I ended up using this every night. I don’t know if the photo shows it well, but I did end up cutting the bottle in half and got about 5 more uses out of it. I think it’s a little overpriced to buy for everyday wear for me when there are so many good drugstore moisturizers, but I did enjoy this.

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes (not pictured): I’ve used another package of these up! I had a package of these in my last empties post, and they are awesome. I did have to venture into the beauty aisle to pick more up, but this time I tried the Target brand. They’re about a dollar cheaper, so I’ll let you know how they work!

That’s what I’ve used up! Using up products always makes me feel weirdly accomplished, so I was glad to go through some more. Until next time!

March Ipsy Bag Unboxing

Happy Friday! Let’s talk about one of the best times of the month…Ipsy time!

My Ipsy bag has arrived!

If you’re unfamiliar, Ipsy is a subscription service, where you pay $10 a month and receive samples/full sizes of four or five products based off your style and beauty profile. I like Ipsy because it comes in a cute little makeup bag that I either use to organize my products or for gifts, and I have either heard of/really like all the brands that come in the bag. I’ve had other subscription services that were hit and miss, but Ipsy is pretty consistently a hit for me. Plus, I feel like they send a lot more full size products than other services with similar price points.

Here is what came in this month’s bag:

Klorane Smoothing and relaxing patches with soothing cornflower
Chella Indigo Blue eyeliner
NYX eyeshadow trio in Love in Rio
BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lip gloss in Rebel

I have to say, I am super excited about the Moxie lip gloss – it looks like a perfect color for spring! I’m also excited/scared about this eyeliner. I love navy eyeliner, but this one is a pretty intense blue. I’ll be eager to incorporate it. On first swatch, the NYX trio wasn’t  pigmented and was super sparkly, so I’m not optimistic, unfortunately. I love NYX products, though, so it could be a pleasant surprise. Also a bit weirded out with these eye patches, but I’ll try any facial treatment once! All in all, a pretty nice bag. I’ll be trying these out in my next Weekly Makeup Basket and have reviews for you all next week!

Do you subscribe to Ipsy? What came in your bag? Are there other subscriptions I should try? I’d love to hear from you!