Ipsy - March 2014

This month's ipsy theme is Destination Beauty. 

The insert card actually welcomes subscribers to Palette Island. I like the theme, but I'm a bit underwhelmed by the bag itself and products I received. We only received four products too :(

The bag's bold print is a selection from artist, and ipsy subscriber, Klari Reis. It's based on the geography of her hometown of San Francisco. It's an interesting pattern, but the thick plastic feel is odd, and it had a ridiculously strong smell when I first took it out of the pink mailer. I had to air it out for a couple of weeks, before the silly putty-like smell went away. The bag feels like it would do well being thrown in a beach bag though; so that's probably what I'll end up doing.

My bag contained:

An eyeshadow quad from Be a Bombshell, I the shade Bora Bora: The colors (Starlet/a gorgeous bronze, Bora Bora/a very beachy turquoise, Risky Business/a gold tone, and Rock Bottom/a perfect sunset-on-the horizon copper) all have a bit of shimmer, are very pigmented and blend well. I really like this quad;

Nicole by OPI's Roughles textured nail polish in the shade On What Grounds?: I'm not a fan of this textured polish. I looks like a robin's egg, asphalt hybrid. I usually love the polishes that I receive from ipsy, bit this one is no bueno;

An adorable mini Marvelous Moxie lipstick from Bare Minerals in the shade Get Ready: The packaging is adorable, the sample size is decent, and the lipstick goes smoothly, but the shade is simply too pink for me. I wish I had received the gloss instead; and

Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter from Pacifica: This is easily my favorite item this month. I adore a good body butter. This one smells divine, and I don't even like coconut! It works well as a moisturizer without being greasy. I'll definitely be purchasing more of this, and checking out the other available scents.

What did all you other ipsters think of the March bag and selection of products? As I said, I was less than impressed. Hopefully next month is better... and we get back to receiving 5 product bags.

If you don't yet subscribe but would like to, I'd appreciate it if you used my referral link at http://bit.ly/154vUAf :).

Later gators,
M

I've been slacking, but I still love ipsy :)

... except for the fake lashes.

But given the complete awesomeness of the rest of the December bag, I can overlook one set of false eyelashes.

I'm sorry I'm so far behind in my reviews. Work has been a BEAST! Everyone wants to start their projects after the first of the year, and I don't see things slowing down for at least a couple of months. Anyway, on with reviews :)

The theme of the December bag was Celebration - very fitting for the holiday season.

The bag itself is gorgeous. It's a tie (with the Hogwarts-esque bag from August) for my favorite so far. The pop of red inside is wonderful.

Love it :)

In my bag, I received:

1) Be a Bombshell's The One Stick in the shade Flustered: This is described as an all-in-one stick that can be used on the eyelids, cheeks and lips. I love the multitasking idea behind this, but the color is a bit too bright pink for me to seriously consider using it on my eyes or cheeks (unless I'm clowning it up for Halloween). However, a very light dab of this highly pigmented stick on my lips is a possibility;

2) A small bottle of Starrily Nail Polish in Bzzz Bzzz: A clear base with flecks of black and gold glitter. I hate bees, but I'm loving this polish;

3) NYX Creamy Lipstick in the shade Apollo (LSS548): Great creamy texture, with a bit of shine = I love this lipstick. NYX is a wonderful brand - always love receiving items from them - and I didn't have a coppery shade similar to this one yet;

4) POP Beauty Bright Up Your Life Eye Shadow Trio in Smokin' Hot: Always nice to receive more eyeshadow - especially POP Beauty brand. I'll keep these in reserve until needed; and

5) The aforementioned Andrea Strip Lashes is #33 Black: The lashes feel nice enough, but I never use fake lashes. I've even requested not to receive them, so I hope they don't send me any more in the future. At least not for a while. I'll either gift these away, or save them for a try-something-new day. We'll see.

All in all, December's bag was great.

Now on to January.

January's ipsy theme was 19 Reasons. As in 19 reasons why 2014 is going to be amazing.

Despite the great theme, the bag itself, and the products within, were less than stellar.

Cute, but not ipsy's best

I received:

1) Briogeo's Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask: This hair mask is full of oils and essential vitamins to help prevent breakage and promote healthy hair. Unfortunately, with my hair, I'm not sure this is a compatible product for me. I'm definitely interested, and will do some more research about the brand; but this will likely be gifted away;

2) Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion: This lotion contains argan oil, rosewater, and shea butter to hydrate, smooth and moisturize skin, while improving elasticity. My skin, especially on my face, is super sensitive, so I will either keep this to use as hand lotion or gift this away as well;

3) Proactiv+ Mark Fading Pads: I was sent 4 of these pads. I'm not a Proactiv user, and specifically requested not to receive any acne related products, so I was disappointed to see these in my bag. They have already been gifted away;

4) Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Creamy Eye Pencil in Pearl: This little beauty has great pigment and staying power, with a healthy dose of shimmer. I'm a fan; and

5) Mica Beauty Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in #06 Fiesta: Holy wow, they aren't lying. This lip balm is crazy tinted, and has a wonderful fushia/pink pop. I'm glad that I received this color instead of the other more natural toned option but, just like the One Stick from last month, I'll be using this sparingly so as to avoid possible clown effects.

What did all you other ipsters out there think of your bags these last couple of months? I hope this month's bag has more hits than misses. We'll see :)

Later gators,
M

Glitz, Glam, and good Customer Service

This month ipsy's glamming it up and, for the most part, I like it.

For those of you who don't know, ipsy is a neat little subscription service that provides makeup, etc. (mostly deluxe-sample or full-size), with a bonus cosmetics bag, for $10/month. Each month's bag has a different theme; and as you can see, this month's ipsy theme is Glam It Up.

In addition to a host of products to get you make up ready for the holidays, ipsy also included the code ipsy30 for use at checkout to get 30% off at emcosmetics.com/ipsy. I probably won't use the code, but I'm happy that they included a product from Michelle Phan's em cosmetics line in this month's bag so I can get to try out one of her highly anticipated items. 

I'm not too keen on this month's cosmetics bag. It looks pretty enough - a glitzy gold - but definitely has a cheap feel. The products, however, I really like.

Everyone received 6 items, instead of 5, this month due to the included full-size em product. There were a few different em products that could have been received, ranging from lip gloss and color to mascara. I kind of wish I had received a lip color, but I'm good with the mascara I got. I received the em Lash Gallery Clean Volume Mascara in black. I'm becoming overly saturated with mascaras, so this one will remain in reserve for now. It's nice to have choices though.

I also received a Starlooks Gem Pencil in Amethyst, a Nailtini nail polish in the color Champagne, a small sample of GlamGlow YouthMud Tinglexfoliate Treatment, a Pixi Beauty Bronzer in the shade Summertime, and a Lip Crayon from Be a Bombshell (in Shameless).

As you'd expect, the amethyst eye pencil is a nice, sparkly silvery purple. I love it, but as I don't wear eyeliner that much, I'll probably gift it to my sisters. It's perfect for festive holiday party looks, so I know they'll love it. The Nailtini polish is nice. I'm glad that I received Champagne (a more neutral color) instead of the gunmetal grey option. Both are pretty, but I can work with the rosey copper color I received a bit more. This is my first Nailtini polish, and I really like it. The wider, flatter, brush allowed for easy application and, while I needed to apply two coats to achieve a nicer look, the end result was smooth (no streaks). Nailtini seems to be one of ipsy's go to companies, so I hope to get more polishes from this company in future bags.

The ipsy site describes the GlamGlow YouthMud Tinglexfoliate Treatment as a "10-minute professional 'facial in a jar'". I've never heard of this brand, and the word Tinglexfoliate has me a bit uneasy :). Still, I might try this out one day. The Pixi bronzer will likely be used as eyeshadow instead of bronzer, but I'm happy to receive it.

My instant favorite this month is the lip crayon. This is my first lip crayon, and I'm liking it :). I love the color, a mauve with a hint of sparkle; and the crayon shape allowed for quick, easy, and precise application. Nice.

So, what's up with the customer service title? My first bag this month arrived open, and I mean every single product was open and looked used. It was a makeup horror show in that pink mailer. I emailed ipsy, and they replied saying that a new bag would be sent immediately. They were able to send me all the same items (except the Gem Pencil - originally, I had received the Topaz (bluish-silver) color, instead of Amethyst) which is awesome. I already have a silver Gem Pencil from a past Starlooks box, so I'm happy that I ended up with a purple one. Customer service at its finest.

What do you other ipsters out there think of your bags; and what do you think December's theme will be?

Later gators,
M