Ipsy - December 2014

My Ipsy bag arrived this week, and December's Theme is Thinking of You.  Unlike the recent cards with the Ipsy stylists on the front this months card had several variations of messages on them, mine was "Creative Genius".

Bumble and Bumble Repair Blow Dry -  This was one of several Bumble and Bumble products sent out this month and I'm glad I received the Repair Blow Dry because I blow dry my hair daily and this is similar to other products I've purchased myself.  The website lists it as being for dry, damaged hair that needs heat protection.  The 0.5 oz sample size I received should be enough for me to decide if I like it enough to repurchase, and has a value of $3.

Cailyn Just Mineral Eye Polish  -  I received this in the shade Orchid, which is a shimmery champagne beige color.  It includes a sponge applicator in the packaging and is closed up except for the applicator opening.  This feature is nice because it prevents the mineral shadow from spilling everywhere like others I've tried (I'm looking at you BareMinerals), but might also make it difficult to get the last of the product out.  The eye polish is full size and worth $15.

Nourish Organic Renewing Eye Cream -  Ipsy has sent out Nourish Organic products before but this is the first one I've received.  I enjoy trying all-natural beauty products so I am interested to try this out.  It is a 0.5 oz tube which is a generous size for an eye cream and I like that it is in a squeeze tube rather than the little containers you have to dip a finger into to use.  I couldn't find this when I searched online, and read on the Makeup Talk boards that this is a new product Nourish Organics is releasing in January.  While it is nice to get to try something new, it unfortunately made it impossible for me to accurately value the eye cream or be able to tell if it's a sample or full size product.  I'm going to assign it a value of $5 which is in keeping cost/volume wise with their face cream but I'm guessing that may end up being on the low end of what it sells for if the 0.5 oz ends up being the full size.

NYX Butter Lip Balm -  I received this in the color Parfait, a light pink, which was one of 4 colors Ipsy sent out.  I really enjoy the NYX Butter Glosses and am looking forward to trying this balm out.  Like most tinted balms this isn't highly pigmented but I like that for times when you just want a light wash of color or for when you need to apply a lip product without a mirror as balms are easy to do that with. This is a full sized lip balm with a value of $4.

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara -  I have the full size of this mascara that I received back in May in the Allure Summer Beauty Box.  It does add quite a but of length and volume so I like it as a night out mascara but find too heavy for me during the day.  It also dries a little hard and doesn't leave my lashes soft.  Overall though I do like it in my mascara rotation and will use this sample size when my full size is dried up. The 3mL sample is worth $8.33.

The bag this month is a satiny black bag with a pink zipper and detachable pink heart Ipsy charm.  It's not my favorite bag so far but I don't dislike it either and I'm sure I will get some use out of it.

Overall I'm happy with my Ipsy bag for December.  I will use all of the products I received and my bag had a total estimated value of $35.33, though as mentioned the eye cream value was just a guess on my part.  If you'd like to try Ipsy it is a monthly subscription service that costs $10/month including shipping.  I also have a referral link you can use here.  My video unboxing of this bag that also includes a review of my November products is below.

Ipsy - September 2014

I received my September Ipsy bag this week and it was a big improvement compared to my August bag.  This months theme was Street Style and I also opened it up on my Makeup Miscellaneous YouTube page, as well as giving a quick review of what I thought of the products from August.

The first product from my September bag was the Crown Brush Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush. I enjoy receiving brushes in my bags and this brush feels very soft and has synthetic fibers.  I just recently picked up some other Crown brushes from a Hautelook sale so I'm glad to add this to the bunch.  My only issue with this brush is that it's double ended, which I don't prefer since I store my brushes standing up and one end tends to get ruined.  I will probably test this brush out a few times to see how I like it and then put it away for travel when it will come in handy to have two brushes in one.  This brush has a value of $6.99.

The second product in my bag was the Cailyn Art Touch Tinted Lip Gloss in the color Basic Instinct. In the tube the gloss comes off as a more of a pink neutral, but when I tried it out it has more of an orange tone to it.  I'm not sure it's a great color for me but I'll play with it over lipstick to see if it will work.  It is a well pigmented gloss and doesn't seem terribly sticky so in a different color I might like it more. The gloss retails for $19.00.

The third item in my bag was the NYX Hot Singles Eyeshadow in Velvet.  I like NYX products and this is a nice neutral brown shade that will be good for a crease color.  It wasn't as pigmented as I would have liked when swatched, but I'm hoping it will be helped by primer.  This shadow is worth $4.50.

Next I received a Pacifica Nail Polish in the color Red Red Wine.  I was very happy to finally receive polish in my bag and this is a 7 Free Polish which I like as well.  The color is a nice deep red that will be great for fall.  It swatched well on the nail stick and looks like it will be opaque in two coats.  Looking forward to using this one and will probably use it as my next pedicure color.  The polish has a value of $9.00.

The final item in my bag was the Briogeo Don't Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Mask.  The mask is for dry, damaged, or chemically treated hair and I currently have all three of these issues so I'm happy to try this mask out.  There isn't much of a noticeable smell to this conditioner and it is cruelty free & gluten free.  It came in a one ounce sample size that I should be able to get 2 uses out of and has a value of $4.95.

I completely forgot to take a picture of the bag by itself this month but you can see it in the first picture at the top of this post.  It's a nice silvery pleather-like material with some simple silver studs at the top on one side.  This will go well with a black leather purse I have so will probably use it as my makeup bag whenever I carry that purse.  Overall I'm really happy with my Ipsy bag this month and as I said above it definitely makes up for my disappointment from last month.  Including the brush I received 4 full size products and one sample size, and the bag had an overall value of $44.44.  If you'd like to try Ipsy it is a monthly subscription service that costs $10/month including shipping.  I also have a referral link you can use here.  My video unboxing of this bag and review of August is below.

July Favorites

I recorded a video of all my favorite products from the past month & it's up on the Makeup Miscellaneous YouTube Channel now.

Here are links to all the products I talked about in the video:

Nailtiques Formula 2 Plus
Elcos Daily HydraPrimer SPF30
Wet n' Wild Color Icon Bronzer in Ticket to Brazil
Maybelline Master Hi-Light Highlighting Blush in Nude
Benefit Lollitint
Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Pallette
Maybelline Color Tattoo Metal in Inked in Pink 
Real Techniques Blush Brush
Maybelline Baby Lips in Mad for Magenta (Amazon Link because it's not on Maybelline's Website)
Maybelline Baby Lips in Grape Vine
NYX Butter Gloss in Vanilla Creme Pie
NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Streudel

Ipsy - June 2014

I finally received my June Ipsy bag in the mail yesterday, shipping took several days longer than normal this month.  From the spoilers and Glam Room reveal of the products I received I have to say I was probably the least excited about this bag so far in the 4 months I've been getting Ipsy.  However I will use most of what I got, and the bag itself is nice so it still wasn't really a disappointment.

June's theme is Pretty In Paradise and all subscribers received 5 products.  There were a lot of potential bag variations and Ipsy had said this bag would be more makeup heavy than May's but there were still quite a few of skin and hair care items in the mix.

The first item I received was a Nyx Butter Gloss, which was the only item included in all bags, though with different colors.  I already own 4 of these glosses and plan on reviewing them on the blog soon because I love them.  The odds were against me to try a new color from Ipsy because 2 of the 3 they sent out I already own, and I got Creme Brulee which is one that I have.  I'm okay with owning a backup of it though since I use this color often.  This is a full size gloss worth $5.

The second item in my bag was the Be a Bombshell Lashout Mascara.  I wasn't too excited about it because I already have a couple of unopened black mascaras, but I figured I'd at least try it out eventually.  However, I started reading on Facebook and the Makeup Talk boards about it having a bad smell so I opened it when it came and sure enough it smells terrible.  Be a Bombshell has posted that they ran separate tests on the batch and it is safe to use but I wouldn't use any product that smells this bad so it unfortunately went into the trash.  I liked the Be a Bombshell eyeshadow I got in March so I don't dislike the brand overall but I'm surprised they would sell a mascara like this.  This is listed as their lengthening mascara and I received a 9 gram full sized product worth $15.

Next up was a .16 oz sample of Realtree Beauty Realtree for Her perfume.  I'm not much of a perfume wearer but this has a nice sweet scent so I tried it out when it came.  Unfortunately it still gave me a headache as many perfumes do so it's not for me, but that's not Realtree's fault, just my own allergies so I'll pass this on to someone who will use it.  This sample size is worth approximately $1.18.

The fourth item I received was a full sized .4 oz Ofra Universal Eyebrow Pencil.  This is advertised as being perfect for all skin tones, but swatches as a brown color.  This works find for me since I have brown hair and even darker eyebrows but I can't see it working for someone with blond or red hair.  I have I couple of other products I use for my brows but this is a nice soft pencil and I will use it up eventually.  This brow pencil is worth $13.

The final item in my bag was the Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray.  This is the item I am actually most excited for out of the bag.  I've been wanting to try a spray like this but didn't want to spend the money in case it doesn't work for my hair.  I haven't had a chance to use this yet but it has a light pleasant coconut scent and the full size 4.2 oz product is only $8.79 so it's affordable if I want to repurchase it.  The sample size I received is 1.52 oz which makes it worth $3.18.

The bag this month is cute and was designed by Rebecca Minkoff.  It's not completely my style but will be fun for summer and I really like that Ipsy partnered with a higher end designer.  It even has a Rebbeca Minkoff tag on it so it looks like one you could purchase, and Rebbeca Minkoff items are quite pricey.  As usual though I won't include the bag in my overall estimate for the month.

While June's products weren't the most exciting for me the only fail was the stinky mascara.  The overall value of this bag was $37.36.  Even if I take out the $15 for the mascara that went in the trash it's still worth $22.36 which is more than double the $10 price I pay each month.  If you'd like to sign up for Ipsy you can do so using my referral link here.