Ipsy Bag - Formerly MyGlam - June 2014!

ETA: I wanted to leave my referral link here for any prospective ipsy interest! They call you ipsters.. but we don't have to talk about that, haha.  If you join using my link I earn points to use to get other stuff which I can review here. My Ipsy Link: http://www.ipsy.com/r/e7ou

I missed doing these for the blog so much! I'm happy to have one today to share, though.  This bag's theme was "Pretty in Paradise" and I think the bag itself actually reflects that well.

I love pineapples, so pineapples on a makeup bag is just adorable.  Inside the bag though we have lots of pretties...

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Let's start with the item the jumps out the most to me - the blinding reflection of the Jesse's Girl eyeliner!

I haven't actually put this on yet, but I was playing around it with a bit and it is very black and dries suuuuper fast.  I intentionally left some on the back of my hand and it stayed on all day despite regular hand washing.  I don't know how it'll hold up on the eye but it seems promising.

Above I just did four quick swipes to show thickness variations and below is the brush.

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Next up is the be a... Bombshell mascara in Lash Out.  I have a concern about this product. It has a really strong smell to it - it's a chemical smell - a mix between a sharpie and KleanColor nail polish.  I've never opened a brand new mascara before and been punched by its smell, ever.  I don't know why it smells like this and I don't know if it's supposed to, but I won't be using it.  I found a blogpost of someone else better describing the issue as well as a screencap of the company's reply: http://havebearwilltravel.com/2014/06/13/profits-before-people-ipsy-gone-wrong-be-a-bombshell-should-be-ashamed/

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Next is NYX butter gloss in eclair. So pretty! Love this addition to my stash!

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Next was OleHenrikson truth to go wipes - which are gentle, moisturizing, age-defying cleansing wipes.  I use moisturizers otherwise and a facial wipe only interests me if it's removing makeup.  These had a light, pleasant scent to them, though.

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Finally we have Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray which I won't be using for practical reasons.  My hair is super thick, super straight and nothing can be done to it with professional intervention.  I had it curled for a wedding once: two hours. It's a shame though, because beach waves are my favorite and I wish I could practically make them happen. 

So there it is! I plan on looking into the mascara debacle a bit more since that seems interesting. Overall, I was pretty pleased with everything except the mascara.  The wipes are nice, I'm sure and it would be fun to get beach waves but I'll have wonderfully lined eyes and the perfect pouty lips in the meantime!  Thanks for reading!

October 2013 Ipsy Bag

I love just about everything from my Ipsy Bag this time around. It was PACKED full of some super fun items that I'm very excited to share with you.

I just have to add how cute this bag is. I love it so much!

Here we have the worst group shot I've taken to date. I have no idea what was going on with my camera and lighting set up today. I made sure to use my familiar settings; there was so much contrast and wonky lighting so I apologize in advance.

First up is be Delectable Strawberry & Cream Hand Cream. This stuff smells SO incredible. It's super sweet, and smells exactly what you'd expect it to smell like. I prefer sweet over floral and musky so this is right up my alley although I do realize it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's got a really nice feel and again, the most delicious scent that may exist!

Next is Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Volumizing Gel. I don't know anything about hair products, but it smelled nice. I have nothing to contribute except the lone picture but here ya go!

Next was a FULL BOTTLE OF ZOYA. Yesssssssss! I adore my Zoya polishes and this is the second one I've gotten from Ipsy/MyGlam. This was a bottle of Giovanna.

Shown above is three coats with no topcoat. There are some slightly visible brushstrokes but it's so beautiful that I don't even mind.  It's just stunning in person!

Next is Buxon Lips in Dolly. I've gotten one or two of these before in previous bags.  Again, I don't know enough to comment coherently about them so I'll just share the pictures.

Finally, the last item in the bag was a package of face cleansing wipes from La Fresh. These have a nice clean, almost citrusy scent.

There ya have it folks! I was so completely pleased with this bag this time around. Last month there were mini butterLONDONs in some of the Ipsy bags and I was really bummed about not getting one (I didn't post September's bag but I most definitely did not get a polish), so this month's bag made up for it in a great way :)

August 2013 Ipsy / MyGlam Bag Reveal

When my August Ipsy bag came this month, I opened it and looked at it, then put it down and fell asleep. I've been beat the past few weeks so this post is a few days late but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

I'm a fan of the bag this time around, super cute. It also informs me that I am, in fact, part of the Glamour Academy. Which I didn't even know existed, so this is huge news.

This bag consisted of 5 items, one of which I've decided is the flub of all flubs, a disappointment AND a head scratcher. Stay tuned. First up is the pixi Last Booster Mascara.

I didn't wear it yet but the brush seems stiff, which I'm not sure if that's good or bad.  It's black, super black. I'm sure I'll get some use out of it in the future; I love getting products in shades that are universal like this.

Next is Noya Natural Lip Balm in Cherry. Ok, so this is just some standard looking lip balm, but holy cow it smells SO GOOD. I didn't even know I was a fan of cherry scented things, but it turns out I am. It reminds me of black cherry soda.  It feels nice as well, but I don't think I've encountered a poorly textured lip balm yet so I'm not sure if that's saying much.

Last of the items that I liked from this bag is the Mica Beauty Cosmetics powder in Bronze.  It's so pigmented/strong/I'm not sure of the proper term.   It's a color I'd wear too, so this is a major plus!

So here is where the questionable products come in. The first one I can't really blame as it's my own quirk.  It's the Michael Todd Pumpkin Facial Mask.  I have discovered as of lately that I have an intense aversion to putting food scented/organically grown/natural recipe stuff on my face. Can't do it. I tried, multiple times. I bought this Yes to Tomatoes face wash stuff and I was trying to use it in the shower, and it just didn't go over well. I felt if whether it was ranch dressing or the tomato face wash, they were equally gross and I was having a hard time doing it.

So when I opened this pumpkin mask and sniffed it, it was a flashback to the tomato massacre that occurred in my shower.  It smells like pumpkin, and I was hoping for pumpkin pie, some nutmeg scent or something. Cinnamon, even. Nah, it's pumpkin.

There it is.

So this last item which is the flub I was previously referring to, is City Color Cheek Stain in Pink.  I didn't realize it was City Color at first because every time I've seen a City Color product it looks like the labeling/packaging was an afterthought on a Friday, five minutes before punch out.  But the packaging here is cute.  I'm surprised to see this brand in this bag because I just associate it with.. lack of quality? And the items I've received thus far are usually pretty good.

So where is my issue here? Aside from my preconceived opinion about the brand, there was a black dot of something, could be anything really, right in the surface of the item.

You see that? What is that? I know, I know - it's miniscule. But what if it fell out of a factory employee's nose or something. OK, overkill, but still. I think more importantly than the mystery of what it is, is the fact it's there - the quality thing I was talking about before. It doesn't equate to the previous and current brands of items in the bag. I also don't tend to put stuff on my cheeks, so this isn't a huge loss for me or anything by any means.

It's also really really REALLY pink. This was one quick swipe on my forearm. Pretty pigmented, which is good. But it came off just as easily as it went on. I wasn't too busted up about that, but definitely worth mentioning.

Thanks for reading! :)

July 2013 Ipsy Bag Review

Who's ready for another futile attempt at make up swatches from a nail blogger? I got my Ipsy package, formerly MyGlam Bag, today and it's full of fun stuff that I'm excited to share with you!

The first challenge presented to me was trying to photograph a neon, transparent bag with a reflective surface. I think I did alright.  Cute bag, right? I like that it's plastic; nice knowing you've got a make up bag that won't leak in the event of an oops.

The bag had 5 items in it, two of which complicated the positioning as you can see. I tried. Let's get going!

First up is the Nailtini Nail Polish.  It's a creme! I'm excited.  The color included this time was "Mai Tai".

Shown above is two coats of Mai Tai, no top coat. Sort of reminds me of a brighter version of Sinful Colors Timbleberry. I've been wrong before in my assumed comparisons so don't quote me.  I'm going to wear this color though, I love it.

Next is Coola Mineral Sunscreen SPF 20 with tinted moisturizer.   That's it. I didn't take any more photos of it.

Same here, just a bottle shot. Bottle says "beach look with conditioning & texturizing spray with argan oil". I didn't try it yet and not sure if I will but it does smell nice.

Also included was a little trio of eyeshadows from bhCosmetics.

I have no constructive comments on these aside from them being pretty and that Malibu is really metallic and shiny.

Finally we have a popbeauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt. It took me longer than I'd like to admit trying to figure out what this was for, LOL. I didn't associate "pouty" with "lips" right away, so I thought maybe it was an all encompassing eye, cheek and lip tool. Yea, no.

So there you have it, July 2013's Ipsy bag! I was personally pretty content with everything, hope you found this review helpful as well (=