IPSY January 2015 Unboxing & Review

 

A new year, a new IPSY bag! We bring in January with a bang this year by getting what appears to be like all full sized products! Let's hope that this trend continues throughout 2015.

The contents of my IPSY January 2015 Bag:

• Elizabeth Mott - "All Over Shadow" Brush - Retail Value: $9.99 (Full size)
• Pacifica - Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow - Retail Value: $3.50 (Full size eyeshadow but only sold as part of palette, which usually come as 4 for $14)
• Malin + Goetz - Mojito Lip Balm - Retail Value: $12.00 (Full Size)
• BellaPierre Cosmetics - Shimmer Powder in "Whesek" - Retail Value: $14.99 (Full Size)
• Probelle - Nail Lacquer in "Into The Blue" - Retail Value: $6.00 (Full Size)

Not much I can say about the bag this month except that I am not impressed. This bag isn't cute, one side is navy blue and the other side is white with a coral-orange zipper. It also features a crosshatch texture that I can best explain the texture of by telling you to rub your hands on some dried glue which came from a hot glue gun.

The first, and frankly my favorite item in this month's bag is the Elizabeth Mott "All Over Shadow" Brush. This baby retails for just $9.99 and I am super impressed with the good quality of the bristles and how densely packed they are. I haven't received anything from this brand that I didn't didn't like... IPSY please keep it coming.

I have tried some Pacifica shadows in the past and I was not impressed, so my expectations for this one were very low. Let me begin by saying that the Pacifica eye shadows are only sold as palettes or sets so you get the absolute cheapest packaging imaginable in makeup subscriptions (it literally falls apart). I was actually very impressed with the pigmentation, creaminess and coverage of the shade "Treasure" of their Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow. If this was part of a set, the approximate retail value would be $3.50 and I think it's well worth that.

Malin + Goetz Mojito Lip Balm is one I frequently see making the rounds among beauty subscription services. This is a luxurious lip balm that easily absorbs into the lips, is not sticky whatsoever (which makes it much more tolerable than most lip balms) and has a pleasant citrus-fruity cocktail scent. I'm happy to have finally received this product to test it out and my verdict is that it's worth every penny of the $12 price tag.

Surprisingly, I was sent 2 eye products this month, and since those are my favorite of all beauty product, you'll hear no complaints from me! BellaPierre Cosmetics Shimmer Powder in "Whesek" was sent - this is a dark gray base with lighter gray shimmer. The packaging of this product seems to have changed recently to a translucent cap and there's a sifter included (this is always very important to me when I receive pigments). The price for these was fairly steep at $14.99, but mineral powders are a very pure form of color so I'm sure you would get great color payoff - I didn't swatch it because I don't think the color is for me, so I might just pass this on.

I receive so many nail polishes that I never feel the need to purchase more, this month it was Probelle "Into The Blue" Nail Lacquer. This is a beautiful, mid-tone blue shade which has almost a slight gray-undertone. This polish is DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde free (or 3 free) so it's better for your nails than just the average polish. The retail price is $6 which is a steal for the quantity and quality, I achieved full opacity is one thick coat or two thin coats and the formula is not watery in the least so it is easy to work with.

The total value of my bag this month is $46.48 and all the products were full sized! 

I am a very happy girl with IPSY this month. You can sign up for your very own subscription for $10/month. You can choose a recurring subscription and cancel at any time before the beginning of the next month.

Blog Sale - Beauty Items for Extremely Cheap (more than 50% off brand new in box Items)

Milani Color Statement Lipsticks, Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Hazel Eyes, Burt's Bees 100% Natural Lip Shine

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to do a quick post informing you of my blog sale. I'm trying to get rid of some excess stuff I have that is brand new and I'm doing so at the MUABS (Makeup Addict Blog Sale) website. Check out the stuff that I have for sale, you may be interested... it's an awesome deal... you can get everything for 50% off or cheaper than you would ever find it elsewhere!

Here are just some of the items I have for sale right now (I'll be updating these all the time, I still have a ton more stuff, don't worry!)

Maybelline Color Tattoo Leathers

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara + Starlooks Amethyst Eye Pencil

Physicians Formula Concealers, Blush and Bronzing Stones

Assorted Nail Polishes

Perfume, Pacifica Body Butter, Nail Treatments & Skin Treatments

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!
- Alex

Ipsy September 2014 Glam Bag Unboxing

Ipsy bag - September 2014

At first glance, it seems like Ipsy was really trying to make up this month for their blunders of last month so we got a good selection of products in decent sizes.

Hikari Lipstick in Cabernet - Value: $13 (Full size)

I was excited to see a lipstick, not that I don't own a million already, but because this is a full-sized makeup item that I'm likely to use since the color is a nice deep muted red (at least compared to some of my other reds). It's very moisturizing and somewhat sheer so you can dab it on to your lips for just a "stained" effect if you're not a full blown red lipstick kind of gal. I've never heard of this brand, but hey, that's why I'm signed up to Ipsy so I can try out new makeup.

Pacifica Waterproof Eye Pencil (Fringe) - Value: $5.50 (Deluxe sample)

Let me preface this by saying that there is no makeup that I love more than eye makeup, so if you're going to send me multiple items in a bag with an "eye" theme, I'm the happiest girl. This waterproof eyeliner from Pacifica is a maroon-brown shade (Fringe) and I really have been enjoying using it on my waterline (the waterproof claims are true!)

Crown Brush Crease and Shadow Brush - Value: $6.99 (Full size)

This brush is impressive, the bristles are soft and remind me of my Real Techniques eyeshadow brushes. There is a big difference in quality with this compared to my ELF and Costal Scents brushes. I'm very thrilled to have received this full size item.

Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair Deep Conditioning Mask - Value $5.00 (Deluxe sample)

I love receiving hair masks to try out, it's for dry and damaged hair (that's me!) and has no parabens or phthalate so I'm hoping it works!

LeeAnni  Eco 3-in-1 Revolution Light - Value $3.75 (sample)

This may be a deluxe sample but it's only 0.5oz so I'm going to call it just a regular sample. Supposedly this is a magical toner, serum and moisturizer in one. I can't make any assessment as to whether these claims are true or not since I have yet to use it but it does have a pleasant, fresh lemon verbena scent to it. This is probably the only sample I was pretty "meh" about this month.

This month's bag didn't smell like any weird chemicals, in fact it had no smell at all, and it had a cute faux leather feel and studs (yay!). I think this bag is much more fashion-forward than the 6 year old's pencil case we received last month, so that's a bonus!

Total Value of Ipsy for September 2014: $34.24

While this isn't the highest value I have received for my $10/month subscription, I do thoroughly enjoy 3 of the products in the bag so I consider it a great month.  I love trying out new hair masks and face potions as well so I'll give the other products a whirl during a pamper night in!

If you're interested in joining Ipsy, you can do so by clicking here