IPSY February 2014 Unboxing & Review - Valentine's Day Box!

I hope everyone had an awesome Valentine's Day with their hubby! The IPSY Glam Bag arrived and I wanted to share the contents of mine. I think IPSY really stepped up their game this month compared to January and I'm absolutely thrilled with what came inside my bag - it suited me perfectly.

If you're interested in signing up for IPSY, click here.

Eyetini - Eye Cordial Cream Shadow Tint and Base - retail value $18, full size - Can I just say wow? I'm way more impressed with Tini Beauty's cream shadow than I am with their nail polishes (which I found to be just average). The Ambrosia shadow stains and lasts and lasts all day - I wish I had all of the colors now (especially Violette which is supposedly an IPSY exclusive - I might hunt this down on eBay soon!). The shadow goes on creamy smooth (way creamier than the Maybelline Color Tattoos) and isn't patchy at all, drying to a complete powdery finish. I also didn't notice any creasing. This color is very pigmented so you can use it on its own or as a base for other similar colored shadows. I have already repurchased this item in Violette from eBay!

Zoya Nail Polish .5 fl oz, Shade: Dot - retail value $9, full size - IPSY first introduced me to Zoya and I've probably received 2 other nail polishes from the brand sinze and I absolutely LOVE them. They are naturally formulated and don't tend to chip on my nails - I would have preferred the color Odette (purple) but I received Dot (ballerina pink).

City Color - Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon - retail value $2.99, full size - This blush is phenomenal! For the extremely low price point I was thrilled! It is very finely milled and it's a very generous size, this is definitely going to last me a long time (especially since I have so many other blushes in my current rotation). I'm going to look in local drugstores for this brand now!

POP Beauty - Plump Pout - Peony Petal - retail value $16.00, deluxe sample size value: $7.53 - love the color of this gloss in Peony Petal, this is definitely the color I was hoping for! It smells like a burnt rubber but it should smell like vanilla cupcake and glides smoothly onto my hand - I wasn't able to try it on my lips because of the scent. I received replacements from IPSY and POP Beauty - the full size of this product is made in the USA and smells like vanilla cupcakes and has a pleasant plumping sensation, the mini replacement I received from IPSY is made in Taiwan and still has a strong chemical/burnt rubber/gasoline smell

IPKN Moist & Firm Beauty Balm Cream #02 (Light) - retail value $35.00, deluxe sample size value: $1.35 - I like this item, it has a nice consistency to it, unfortunately the color is a little dark, this may be my fault though because I probably should have written in my beauty quiz that I'm "fair" (I'm changing that immediately!)

Total value of my IPSY February Bag: $38.87

This bag only cost me $10 and since I liked everything in my bag, I effectively quadrupled the value of my money and received a cute curved pink bag to boot!

To sign up, click here.

Allure Beauty Box Winter 2013 Unboxing

I was so thrilled to receive my Allure Beauty Box for Winter 2013 (this is a quarterly box so they only ship out 4 times a year, one for every season)!! This is my first one and this is somewhat of a tricky service but it's definitely worth it to try to get one of these boxes! For a minuscule $50, you get $327 worth of products!

Here's how it works: you make an account and sign in to http://allureaccess.com/. They will post a message when the next box is expecting roughly a month before the box becomes available. Then you have approximately 20 minutes to get your box before they sell out at the time announced! Happy hunting, everyone!

Watch  my unboxing video here!

Products Received

Almay Color + Care Liquid Lip Balm - Value $6
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion - Value $7
e.l.f. Contouring Bronzer and Blush - Value $3
Julep Nail Polish in Missy and Anissa – Value $28
Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream - Value  $14
Loreal Paris Extraordinare by Colour Riche Liquid Lip Color in Coral Encore – Value $7
Neutrogena Pore Refining Daily Cleanser - Value $7.49
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Primer - Value $13
Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadow Stick in Stay Golden- Value $8.49
Not Your Mother’s Knotty To Nice Conditioning Detangler - Value $6
NYX Love in Paris Eye Shadow Palette - Value $10
One n’ Only Brazilian Tech Keratin De-Frizz Wand - Value $15
Red Carpet Youth Cream - Value $15
Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Liner in Black – Value $6
Rusk Deep Shine Color Care Lock In Treatment – Value $14
Rusk Deep Shine Color Care Invisible Dry Shampoo – Value $19
Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Dry And Go Drops - Value $5
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat - Value $5
Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Makeup - Value $13
Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Polish in Fuzz Sea – Value $5 (replaced a Sation nail lacquer that was supposed to be in the box but could not make it)
Sally Hansen Triple Shine Polish - Value $5
Smile Sciences Teeth Whitening Pen - Value $78
Ultra Repair Cream Intense Therapy - Value $28
Zoya Pixie Dust Nail Polish in Tomoko – Value $9

October IPSY Glam Bag Unboxing

Ipsy is a consistently amazing beauty subscription service, sending out 5 deluxe sized or full sized samples each month in a zip-up makeup bag (this doesn't count as one of your items but is an extra bonus each and every month). So far out of the ones I've been getting (Glossybox USA, Birchbox and Ipsy) this one is the best value. For only $10/month you will consistently get a box that is valued much higher. It is in direct competition with the Birchbox but it sends out far less foil packets which is great (I don't think I've ever received one even though I've been subscribed since March)!

The subscription: Ipsy

The cost: $10 US/month

Total product value: $28.79+ free bag

Why is it unique? You get beauty products curated by Michelle Phan, made famous as being the most popular YouTube beauty vlogger/guru. Every month you get a free makeup bag. You have a customizable profile which lets you choose the type of products you want to receive.
Where can I subscribe? Click here





For October, the products were housed in this adorable (yet not autumnal themed) makeup bag, constructed very well and which will last you a long time (this is customary for their quality). My only criticism is that this bag looks like it belongs in February for Valentine's Day, but I will use it just as I use the ones from their previous months (to house my beauty blender sponges, lip liners, or facial masks)

First and foremost, my favorite cleansing product of all was sent - makeup remover wipes! I received a La Fresh Oil-Free Face Cleanser sample, 30 wipes retail for $9.99 but we received 10, so this is a $3.33 value. While this isn't a full sized product, I am happy that I received 10 wipes rather than a few.

I also received a very useful tool that is quite universal and I don't think anybody would be upset to receive. You can never have enough eyeshadow brushes, so thanks for the Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush. I am happy to report that this is a nice and dense brush at the affordable price of $2.49 and I received the full sized product.

My absolute favorite product in this month's bag was the Zoya nail polish (color "Neve") which is a shimmery navy blue (or sapphire blue metallic), perfect for fall. This nail polish is also free of formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate and camphor. This sample was full sized and retails for $8.

The next product which I was very excited about was the Wet n Wild Fergie 5-Color Eyeshadow which is full sized and retails for $4.99 at Walgreens in the color "Desert Festival". See swatches of the colors on the right. The colors were of a nice consistency, as I have come to expect from Wet n Wild eyeshadows (the best eyeshadows you can purchase in the drugstore) they are creamy, blendable and easy to work with. All of the colors are flattering and would work well on any skin tone and the compact is so large you get a ton of product.

Sexy Hair Big Sexy Blow Dry Volume Gel was also in this month's bag, and we received a 1.7 fl oz. sample (since the full size is 8.5 fl oz and retails for $14.96 regularly) the value of this deluxe sample is $3.00. I'm excited to try this and I have heard many great things about this brand!





My bag had a total value of $28.79
I'd love to hear about what others got in their Ipsy Glam Bag this month, I saw there were many other possibilities for products!!