Ipsy :: April 2013

To round out my catch up on posts here is my April Ipsy Glam Bag review. You may notice I've completely skipped the March bag and that's because frankly I forgot, didn't photograph and the products were scattered to the four winds once I remember I hadn't reviewed them. From what I remember it contained only a teeny tiny eye shadow sample, a uselessly small empty compact for storing said teensy eyeshadow, tiny pack of face wipes, and a facial mist. The total value barely broke the $10 I paid and overall was very disappointing. It just didn't seem worth my ten dollars for almost no product. I also noticed that the colors of the eyeshadow were boring shades of blah browns and were barely pigmented (they are now in the trash).  This month Ipsy went with a Pretty in Pink theme and for the first time really I saw a beauty subscription really stick to its theme. The bag itself was a plain, cheap looking, asking for a stain, white with a pink zipper. The inside however was a little more exciting with pink and white strips and the Ipsy logo as pictured below.

Product List/Value for the month:
Station Nail Lacquer in Of Corset I'll Call You $5
Two Cosmetics eyeshadow duo in Heartache $5.75
Big Sexy Hair Powder Play approx. $2 (fl sz $15.95)
Be a Bombshell Blush in Sweet Cheeks $16
Total Bag Worth: approx. $28.75

 I fell a bit better this month over last month's disappoint in that there are three full sized products this time around. When I picked this up in the mailbox I was on my way to taking my husband to his workplace which is conveniently close to the beach :D I took the opportunity to photograph my products on said beach and since I had brought minimal makeup with me I went ahead and gave everything a test run. With the exception of the Big Sexy Hair powder I really liked everything I tried. I will try out the powder at a later date but I've heard good things about the brand and expect I will get on with it well enough.

Here is just a close up look at the pink products. The sun was bright so the colors are a little washed out on camera. The pink blush and eyeshadow are very pigmented and the blush in particular has a silvery shimmer.

 Here you can see a swatch of the Be A Bombshell blush in Sweet Cheeks which looks very pale and shimmery on my hand but on my cheeks the color is nice. My hand is a bit tanner than my face so it doesn't look as pale and the shimmer is more subtle than I though it would be but still detectable and nicely highlighty. I would say use a very light hand as well because this product is very pigmented and you can easily hit clown territory with it.

 Next is the Two Cosmetics eyeshadow duo in Heartache. Again the sunlight washes out the color and you can really only see the shimmer. These are very pink on the eye and I would suggest they be worn as an accent color because pink on the eyes can be tricky to pull of with out looking sickly. There is a look I like to do on my eyes when I really feel like playing with color where the inner half of my eyelid I will put a shimmery pink like this one and on the outer half of the lid I will blend into a forest green color. It has a neat affect and not as crazy looking as it sounds. It reminds me of macarons or some other sweet desert. Perhaps in the future I will do a tutorial or something. Anyways I think these pinks will work well with other colors but may not be best on their own.

And finally is this Station Nail Lacquer in Of Corset I'll Call You.......sheesh what a dumb name for such a boring polish. I know Essie comes of with similar cheeky names but at least they have an awesome color to back them up. This color is just blah....and it's the third such blah sheer pink that I've received. This polish took four thick coats to become opaque and even then its not a good look. Maybe it's just my skin tone and this kind of pale sheer pink just clashes. Either way I'm done with it. In the trash or to a friend it goes! Along with my other ones :D

And that's all for this post. Does anyone else subscribe to Ipsy and get anything different? Let me know what you think? Would you like a makeup tutorial? Love to hear from you, see ya later!

Glossybox :: March 2013

 Wow is this post ever late! I get my glossyboxes so late in the month I'm supposed to receive them that I'm already into the next month and tend to forget about all things of the previous month. But here it is, super late my March Glossybox.

Product List/Value for the month:
Koh Gen Do Emollient Cream approx. $33 (fl sz $123)
ModelCo Cheek/Lip Stain approx. $24
Elite Models Intensity Eye Pencil in  $14
Prestiche Essential Oil Bar Soap approx. $8
(Prestiche $40 gift certificate)
Sebastian Professional Hairspray approx.$3 Total Bag Worth: approx. $82.00 ($120 if you include the gift cert.)

 Definitely some variety this month for Glossybox. First off for anyone interested here is the gift code for the $40 off at Prestiche apparently with no minimum purchase as far as I can tell from the fine print. I'm not sure I will use it myself. The bar of soap I received is pretty stinky and I'm not impressed. It's made of all kinds of organicy natural goodness but I don't know for some reason I like to smell nice after a shower? Throw some lavender or mint or something in there to cover up that mashed up plant goo smell...

 Pictured here along with the Prestiche soap are a hairspray from Sebastian (boring) and yet another ridiculously expensive yet unimpressive moisturizing cream from Koh Gen Do ($123 for a full size product!) I tried a bit of it and sure it moisturizes and all but far to expensive for what it does. See my rant from the Man Repeller box's moisturizer and my thoughts are much the same about this one.

 Now this product was exciting for me. I have been forever wanting to venture into either a cream blush or a cheek stain and had been eye-balling Benefit's stains for a while without the bravery to commit to a purchase. So to find one in my Glossybox I was happy to get to try out something similar in the ModelCo Lip and Cheek Stain in Rosy Red. I must say I'm pretty pleased and surprised to find how easy this stuff is to use and how natural it looks. It certainly looks scary on my hand here but this small amount is more than enough for both cheeks. It blends out pretty sheer which makes it pretty forgiving. You can layer it up for drama or keep it sheer for subtleness. I did try this on my lips but it wasn't very flattering. My lips have been a bit dry so the stain sank into all the little cracks and just made them look like I had been punched in the mouth. Which is whatever for me, I wasn't interested in a lip stain anyway.

Finally I received an Elite Models Intensity Eye Pencil in Secret Gray which is a dark gray with silvery shimmer. This a nice product although a bit smudgy. It would do well for smokey looks that allow for lots of smudgy but would not be ideal for precise lines or the waterline as you would wind up with panda eyes pretty quick. I like it though, I like the shimmer and I don't anything similar so it's a nice addition to my collection.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with this month's box. I feel I got my money's worth especially in the eyeliner and the cheek stain. The soap will get used although it is stinky but could have done without the hairspray. The moisturizer will go in my travel bag.

That's it for this post! Hope you are having a great day! Share your comments or questions with me.
See ya  later!

Julep :: April 2013

 Hello Everyone! Just wanted to catch up on my posts! I've been super busy trying to finish up my Medical Transcription program so my blog had to take a back seat for a little bit. this post will be short but I just wanted to share the awesome colors I received for my April Julep box.

So this month I went for the It Girl option which always features three nail colors. I had been getting the Boho option originally but I've now switched over permanently. I feel like getting three colors a month instead of two colors and a random product suits me best and makes me feel like I am for sure getting my money's worth. Not that the extra products have been bad or anything it's just I don't need them. Probably because I get plenty of beauty and makeup samples from my other two subscriptions. All in all I'd just rather have more nail polish!

And WoW! This month I absolutely love every color I got! So beautiful, bright, and cheerful. Also I think they are pretty unique colors that would be hard to find in stores. So starting from left to right I received Mackenzie an awesome bright grass green with a slight shimmer that is visible under sunlight. Next is Eden a gorgeous deep almost royally blue purple color, very unique and also features a satin-like finish when dry. Lastly, the color I was most happy with for Spring is Abbie an sunshine cream yellow. Back in January I had received what I thought would be an awesome yellow color which turned out looking like I had just scribbled on my nails with yellow highlighter, very disappointing. Even over a coat of white polish the color just wasn't very vibrant or flattering. This color however is so much better! It's got a creamy consistency that in just two coats leaves you with a bright solid opaque yellow. This was the first color I chose to wear on all my nails and I loved it! I painted my toes with Eden and that came out really nice too. Next I will be wearing the green either on my hands or feet...not sure yet.

Well I think that's all for this post. Not much to say about the little extra item this month, it was a piece of rock candy which I will probably toss or give away. I don't care for sugary candy too much.

Hope everyone is having a great month! Let me know what your favorite spring nail polish colors are! See ya later :D