Ipsy Glam Bag May 2015

You may have noticed that I did not review my April glam bag...well there are a few reasons for that.  One, I didn't get my hands on it until May 2nd.  Two, the lipstick it came with was broken and needed to be replaced.  Three, there was only one product that I really loved which I will be reviewing in a nail polish post shortly.

May on the other hand I was pretty excited for....also my bag came a week earlier than usual!! Yay! Usually my mom gets hers and then mine comes in the mail over a week later...to the same house! What? This time, for the first time, they both came on the same day which makes much more sense.

First of all the bag this month is freaking adorable.  There were three possible graphics available and I got the one I like the most.  Lipstick is life.  I showed it to my boyfriend and he said it was the most accurate bag ever. :P

Anyway, overall I liked this bag, it has some of everything...color, tools, hair, skincare, primer....just wow everything is different! I was quite pleased.

1. Briogeo Rosarco Milk™ Reparative Leave-In Conditioning Spray

"This ultra lightweight leave-in conditioning spray fortifies your hair with nourishing rosehip, argan, and coconut oils. Its silicone-free formula adds hydration & moisture without weighing hair down.

Multi-benefits: hydrates, reduces frizz, enhances manageability, strengthens hair, protects against UV rays & heat, and nourishes hair."

I was really looking forward to a leave in conditioning spray as I generally don't condition every time I shower because of my short hair.

4/5

I'm going to list the bad first with this one.  I was really expecting it to leave my hair a bit softer than it did.  It didn't really add any softness whatsoever which was a bit of a disappointment for me. Luckily for this spray however besides its meh smell, that's its only big negative.  Otherwise it definitely conditions and gets rid of tangles (at least for me and my short barely tangly hair). I was actually going to give this a 3/5 until I saw that it protects against UV rays.  That automatically increases it by a point for me. I can see this being a poolside staple. 

Where to buy: Briogeohair.com, Sephora

Price: $20 ($4)

2. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Lip Pencil + BONUS Revolution High-Color Lipgloss

"Get primed and ready for action. Urban Decay's long-lasting, waterproof liner glides on smoothly to prime AND define—for long-lasting lip color and clean lines. Smooch. Pout. Smack. Nibble. Lick. 24/7 stays put through everything (yes, EVERYTHING) you do. When you use this liner to fill in your lips completely, it primes them for lipstick or gloss, grabbing on to color to help it last.

Next, finish the bad girl beautiful look with a sample of Urban Decay's brand new Revolution High-Color Lipgloss—insanely intense color with high shine. The high-coverage, ultra-pigmented formula lays down all the color you crave in one coat."

This was a pretty neat sample! It included a mini Ozone lip primer and two samples of their new lip gloss! If only the packaging wasn't really inconvenient.

4/5

Here is the packing.  The lip liner was in the center and the two colors were in the envelope. It included Ozone the lip liner and Failbait and Bittersweet the lip gloss.

First I'm going to talk about the lip liner

I was actually thinking about buying this last year but I opted for Mary Kay's clear lip liner instead as it was much cheaper.  I do really like this however and am really glad to get it as a sample.  It isn't actually clear, it leaves behind a slight sheer matte white when swatched.  It is subtle but definitely there.  I love clear liners because they can go under any sort of lip product.  They are especially nice for lip glosses as sometimes you don't want to alter the color of the gloss alone by putting a colored liner underneath.  the neatest thing about this liner is that it instantly matted my lips!  They were shiny and then I applied this and bam. Matte. That's pretty awesome.  The bad thing about this is that the cap was insanely hard to get off....I pulled and tugged and fought with it for a while.  If you look closely you can see the pencils battle scars.  Fortunately I was the victor. 

Next up are the lip gloss samples.

Here is a close up of the lip gloss packaging featuring Bittersweet.  They are just kind of packed into a sealed container.  Once you pull the back off there is no way to reseal it which is really unfortunate as there is a TON of product in here! You don't need a lot of this gloss to get pigment so there is probably a good week or two worth of gloss in one of these!  For the time being  I'm sealing it with a bobby pin and storing it untilted.  This stupid packaging is the reason this product did not get 5/5 for me.

I will only be reviewing the Failbait color as I received a sample size of Bittersweet from Sephora before I knew about this Ipsy bag and was already planning on reviewing it separately.  So Failbait is a pretty standard pink gloss.  The color isn't unique or special so unfortunately there are about a million glosses in existence that are this color and way waaay cheaper.  As for quality, these glosses really are quite awesome.  They apply easily and pigmented.  On my lips in this picture I literally only applied a tiny dab. It lasts for a long time as far as glosses go (3-4 hours for me) and keeps my lips moisturized.  the only downside...if you do not like sticky glosses you will not like this.  It is very sticky when you put your lips together.  My boyfriend hates when I wear it because I'm too sticky to kiss. :P

Where to buy: Urbandecay.com, Sephora

Price:

Liner: $20 ($13.33)

Gloss: $22 ($3?)

3 BelláPierre Cosmetics Waterproof Mineral Gel Eyeliner Pencil.

"This super creamy mineral gel eyeliner formula provides effortlessly smooth application and intense pigment for amazing coverage and all day wear. Plus it’s waterproof so you’ll definitely be smudge-free!"

The waterproof aspect of this really had me excited about this liner! 

5/5

So I am pretty impressed with this liner.  It goes on black (thankfully as the color is Ebony) and smoothly.  It is easy to apply a thick or a thin line as long as you keep it sharpened.  I was even able to get it to slightly flick out to a wing which is pretty neat!  I tried smudging it on my bottom lashes and as you can see it didn't do very much.  I also tried rubbing it off my hand and it barely budged.  I've washed my hands twice and its still there. This is the most waterproof liner I've ever used.  I am definitely pleased. I think this may be a liner I could wear swimming!  Yay!

I would have really liked this in a color other than black though.

Where to buy: bellapierre.com

Price: $15

4. AMIE Morning Dew Matte-Finish Moisturizer

"Morning Dew is a really light daily moisturizer that’s totally mineral oil-free and parabens-free. Quickly and easily absorbed into the skin, it gives skin all the hydration it needs while controlling shine and leaving a smooth, matte finish that’s a perfect base for make-up or facing the day or night ‘au naturel’!"

I had such high expectations for this and unfortunately it fell short.....

3/5

Alright so I was so freaking pumped when I saw I was getting a matte moisturizer! Holy crap!  The reason I rarely go out without foundation is because I hate the way moisturizer leaves me all shiny so I always have to put on a mattifying foundation to tone down the obnoxious shine. I thought this would be my answer...my holy grail moisturizer....but alas.  I put this on half my face and a regular moisturizer on the other half, then got my camera ready to show you guys the amazing difference.  There was none.  Both sides of my face were equally as shiny.  I waited a little while...and no change.  Sigh.  Perhaps it keeps oily skin less oily...but don't get my hopes up and advertise as a matte moisturizer.  I almost want to give this a 2 just because of how bummed I am.  Matte aside....it smells better than the last Ipsy moisturizer I got which was cucumbers...ew, but it's still not amazing.  It does moisturize and feels nice on the skin.  

Where to buy: amieskincare.com

Price: ~$5.60 (~$.56)

5. Luxie Beauty Tapered Blending Eye Brush 205

"This Luxie Rose Gold Tapered Blending Eye Brush is a 100% Animal Cruelty Free brush with high quality synthetic hair bristles that are soft to the touch. With its Vegan makeup qualities from bristles to the ferrule this Rose Gold brush is a must have in your makeup collection."

I was bummed about getting another brush but I actually love this!

5/5

This brush is advertised as a blending brush but honestly I don't think I'll be using it as such.  Instead I love it as a crease brush, it fits in there so perfectly!  I think its funny because the last brush I got was a crease brush but it was so small I couldn't get it to work as such so it became my new favorite blender....and now this one is meant to blend but its perfect for my crease.  How silly! :P

The shape of this brush also makes it a good base eye shadow brush meaning that it is definitely going in my travel makeup bag because it will function as both a shadow and crease brush in one!

It is also incredibly soft.  Using this on my eyes was like pillows and kittens.  I really really like this brush and will be looking into this brand for sure.

Where to buy: luxiebeauty.com

Price: $12

Overall I really liked this bag.  It had 4 out of 5 products that I will be using very frequently.   This bag makes me reconsider canceling in July....Unfortunately my mom's experience wasn't as nice as mine.  She got another bronzer and was pretty bummed as she does not use bronzer at all.

This bag totaled $47.89.  This one is definitely an estimate as the lip glosses were a guess and the moisturizer was converted from Euros.  Even without the lip glosses added it was a pretty nicely priced bag with two full sized products! 

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Fortune Cookie Soap Wonderland Spring 2015 Soap Box

I was alerted via Instagram that a certain indie soap company had just released a Game of Thrones collection with a Mother of Dragons themed item.  Obviously I had to go check it out and ended up subscribing to their seasonal soap box....Oops!

I saw the spring theme would be Alice in Wonderland so I jumped at the opportunity to get some cute Wonderland themed soap items.  Plus spring and fall are my two favorite seasons for scents so I definitely didn't want to miss this!

Here are the contents in all their cute and delicious smelling glory.  It all fit in a small box and was packaged with the green paper bits.  They worked nicely for the photographs! I'm going to go through each item one by one and talk about what I loved about it and how it performed.

Almost Alice Fortune Cookie Soap

Initial Sniff: This soap has a very light, pleasant, fresh, and clean scent to it.  The pear really makes this a lovely soap. Even though its a nice scent, compared to everything else in the box its one of my least favorites. -/ I love the cute fortune cookie shape so much it's going to make me sad using it! But the website said it should keep its shape through 50 washes!

In Action:]=[' While this soap smells awesome, that smell doesn't really transfer to the hands after use.  It lathers up fairly nice and seems to clean as well as one would expect from a hand soap.  However the scent it leaves behind is just...soapy?  I can still pick up a bit of the pear but a lot of the other notes are lost. It does however make my sink area smell like delicious pears, which is nice.

Verdict: This is a pretty light smelling soap to begin with so their heavier scented ones may perform better as far as lingering on the hands.  Personally I prefer liquid soaps so I'm not sure if I'd buy one of these, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts! 

Price: $4.25

Twisted Tea Party Bath Tea

From The Bag:  This is also very refreshing but a bit less light than the fortune cookie soap.  For me the cucumber really stands out but not too strongly.  I love the addition of the green tea.  The spearmint is there but not too overpowering. Overall very invigorating, this would be a good in a morning bath.

In Action: I've never even heard of a bath tea before so using this was pretty exciting! And....I think I might have done something wrong.  I dropped it in my hot bath and waited....and waited....and nothing really happened.  After a bit I tried squeezing it to get the smell to come out faster into the water but I ended up accidentally puncturing the bag and getting the insides everywhere.  Oh well....

Verdict: It doesn't make bubbles and super smelly awesomeness so while this might be good for some people its not really my thing.

Price: $15

Who Are You? Incense Cones

From The Pouch: These smell delicious!!! Aaah! So exotic and mysterious.  I love the lime and pear plus anything with vanilla is going to be a winner with me!

In Action: Well I've never used incense before so this will definitely take some time to master.  I tried lighting one up but it smoked so much I was nervous about it setting off my tiny apartments fire alarm.  I also couldn't smell anything but smoke. I'll be trying this again when I go home for spring break.  In the meantime I'm storing them in the satchel in my medicine cabinet so every time I go to wash my face or grab a q tip I am assaulted by deliciousness.

Verdict:  After sitting in my cupboard for a day or so every time I open it I get blasted by this amazing scent. Even if they don't work out as incense I'm so glad they will be working just as well as an air freshener.  Perhaps I'll buy if I can figure out this incense thing, haha!

Price: $10

It's Only A Dream Whipped Cream

From The Jar:  Oh. My. God.  This scent is freaking wonderful! Beautiful wonderful amazing rose is what I get on the first sniff.  It is mixed with  a lovely array of other florals and citrus...oh god I love it.

In Action:  This moisturizer feels lovely when applying and rubs in effortlessly.  It does not cause any sort of rashes on my hands as some heavily scented moisturizers tend to do. The scent also lasts insanely long! I could still smell this on my hands after 4 hours!! Wow!

Verdict: This is without a doubt my favorite product from the box.  The smell is amazing and the scent sticks around.  I ordered the Mother of Dragons whipped cream so hopefully it performs just as well as this one! Be right back I have to rub more of this into my skin.

Price for full size: $11

Off With Their Heads! Bath Bomb

Initial Sniff: The smell of the oranges is what I notice first but I can also pick up on the lemon.  This is very fruity but pleasant. The egyptian musk makes it a bit more relaxing than the bath tea so I'd probably use this for a nighttime bath.

In Action: I've never used a bath bomb before so once again I was very anxious to try it out. It was almost too cute to toss in the tub! But I did, and it was awesome! It fizzed all over the place and left behind a lovely smell and some little flower petals. I closed my eyes, listened to some Blackmore's Night and enjoyed the aroma.  10/10 would bathe again.

Verdict: This made for a really unique and relaxing bath time experience.  However I can't justify spending upwards of $6 on a single bath! Maybe when I'm not a student I'll have that kind of money to drop frequently, but for now I'll just enjoy them if they come in a future subscription box.

Price: $7

Futterwacken Body Wash

From The Bottle:  Mmmmmm delicious grapefuit! I love grapefruit and have actually recently finished off a grapefuit body wash, so receiving this was perfect! The bright orange color is also really neat.

In Action: It pours out easily and suds up in my shower poof nicely.  A little bit went a long way as far as creating sudsy shower time awesomeness.  It smells wonderful and I'm really going  to enjoy using this for my morning showers.

Verdict: I really love it!  I could definitely see ordering body wash from them in the future.  

Price full size: $11

Eat Me Perfume Oil

From The Bottle: When sniffing from the vial I am overwhelmed by the scent of sweet sweet pineapples.  It actually smells quite nice and I was very excited to try this on.

In Action:  When it is first put on the skin it smells kind of strange.  Not very pleasant at all....However as it sits for about an hour that weird after smell starts to fade and I get a faint scent of pineapple cake. The scent is not too strong, perhaps I'm just used to Possets, but I really have to focus when I smell my wrists in order to pick up on the pineapple and cake undertones. It lasts about 2-3 hours. I could perhaps see myself using this in the summer at the beach or pool when I do not care too much about how I look or smell and just want something subtle.

Verdict: Honestly this is probably my least favorite item in the box.  It just doesn't sit well on the skin. The smell has a weird undertone to it that I can't place but it's something odd....perhaps it's the cilantro note? I'm not really familiar with what cilantro smells like.  Other reviews of this have said its their favorite product from the box so I suppose it just depends on the person.  I've already bought the perfume oil from their Winter is Coming collection so I'm really hoping it performs better than this one....

Price: $6

We're All Mad Here Hand Sanitizer

From the Bottle: The mint is very strong right out of the container.  Even though I'm not a fan of mint the greens and cedarwood help balance it out a bit to create an overall pleasant odor. It also looks like it contains swirls of sparkle.

In Action: I love how this smells on my skin way more than in the bottle!  When you first rub in into your hands all you can smell is the alcohol but of course since alcohol is extremely volatile it evaporates fairly quickly leaving being a decently long lasting scent, about 30 minutes.  Now the musky cedarwood and leafy greens are what takes center stage creating a delightful floral woody scent.  So lovely! Also the sparkle doesn't seem to show on my hands, which I'm totally ok with.

Verdict: I love it! The smells lasts way longer on my hands than my Bath and Body Works hand sanitizers.  I would definitely buy more of these. As someone who works in a lab, has pet rats, and has recently started exercising I use hand sanitizer quite often so this product is perfect for me. 

Price: $2.89- $6.49

Bonus Butterfly!

The box also came with this super cute slightly dilapidated butterfly! I think I'm going to find a way to attach it to my bathroom mirror.

As for the green packaging paper, I think my rats will thoroughly enjoy using it as some pretty colored bedding.

I love that I can 100% use every single product from this  box. After being disappointed by Ipsy one too many times this is a very nice surprise.

I want all the things in It's Only a Dream and Who Are You? Unfortunately everything sold out within minutes of launch....so I'm really really hoping I can get some shampoo, whipped cream, and perfume oils of those two scents once they restock.

Overall: This box is $20 including shipping which means each product cost me about $2.50.  With how long a few of these are going to last, I'd say this subscription is more than worth it! I had so much fun with all these products and I'll definitely be keeping my subscription.

Every box also comes with a $10 coupon code for the store! How awesome is that! Unfortunately shipping is pretty pricey but it still covers shipping plus a few dollars towards a product you really want.  It's meant to be spent to get your favorite full sized box products but I shared mine with a friend and used it early to pick up some items from their Winter is Coming collection.

I can't wait for the summer box!!!!

July 2014 Ipsy Glam Bag Review

Elizabeth Mott Tints & Sass Lip and Cheek Stain in Cherry

Even though this doesn't stay as long as I'd like it goes on a lot nicer than The Balm stain I have and for me that's pretty important.  It also smells delicious, just like cherries!! I am quite pleased with this product and I even unexpectedly like how it look on my cheeks.  While I do not think I would rebuy it because of the price I will definitely be using this often!

Where to buy: Elizabethmott.com

Price: $23

Model's Own Nail Polish in Red Sea

I was super excited about this nail polish but unfortunately it did not meet all my expectations.  The good: it is a very pretty orangish, reddish, pinkish color and the flecks of holographicness add an interesting texture.  Also even though it is a wash it can be built up to full opacity in about 3 coats. The bad: it doesn't last very long at all and chips within a day. The little holographic bits like to not lay flat and poke up slightly and catch on random things and get ripped off. I've found that I think I like this nail polish best used as a wash over another color.  This way the crappy staying power is balanced out with another nail polish with a good staying time.  

Where to buy: modelsownit.com

Price: $6.70

BareMinerals 5 in 1 BB Cream in Divine Wine

So this was a product I was a bit excited for until I realized what color it was.  I seriously wish I'd have gotten the more nude one instead of this dark brown.  Its so dark I just don't see myself ever wearing it. Here it is swatched full opacity and then again blended out.

I decided to give it a try anyway and threw on Revolt and Jilted from the Electric palette. The top eye is just the bb cream blended out.  I think it makes my eyes look muddy and tired..  I usually prefer grays and blacks over browns. The eye shadow applied over it well and didn't crease for the night that I wore it.  However once again it gives it an overall brown feel which just isn't my style.  Overall this is a really great product it just unfortunately is not in a shade that I can work with. I would love to own this in the pink shade if the price wasn't so high.  This will be going to one of my friends for sure.

Where to buy: bareescentuals.com, Ulta, Sephora

Price: $18 for .1fl oz ($5.40 for .03 fl oz)

Clear Clinic Laboratories Vanished Spot Treatment

I rather like this product.  The sample size is nice and small  so its great for travel and the doe foot applicator makes it easy to apply to specific spots.  The smell is pretty strong but as long as it works that doesn't bother me too much.  My favorite part? See that pimple on its way out? I just put the product on it a few seconds ago and the shininess is already gone! This means I can easily wear it under makeup. :)

Where to buy: clearcliniclabs.com

Price: $35 for 7.5 ml ($9.33 for 2 ml)

Pur-lisse Protect Moisturizer

I am super pleased with this product.  I've been using it every morning since Ive gotten it and my face has felt nice and moisturized. Plus I haven't had some sort of crazy bad reaction too it which is always nice.  I also love the high spf and the anti aging benefits.  The only thing I don't love about this product is that the flowery smell it has is perhaps a bit too strong. I could see myself buying this in the future.

Where to buy: shop.purlisse.com

Price: $50 for 1.7 oz ($16.17 for .5 oz)

Overall I'm happy with this bag.  It had some winners, some duds, and some just so-so's.  The total price of this bag was....whoa I'm adding in at $60! Usually they are about $40 but the $23 lip tint really pushed this one over the edge.

Also I redeemed my Ipsy points and will be getting a BareMinerals Lipstick in my next bag!! Yay!!

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