Posts Tagged ‘makeup’

Ipsy September 2013: Classic Beauty

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Alright! My Ipsy bag arrived on Monday but I’ve been getting home from work kind of late so it’s always too busy at night for me to do a proper video or get pictures (plus the lighting isn’t as nice). Sooo I made sure to get those pictures taken today for this post. 🙂 Oh, and I have the video up now!

Ipsy is $10 per glam bag and comes with 5 or so beauty/skincare products. Bags are sent monthly with no option to skip. There’s usually a waitlist to get the subscription. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free products.

ipsy september 2013 bag items with card including cailyn tinted lip balm in big apple, nyx eye shadow in fantasy, it's so big volumizing mascara, freeman paper masks in rose, star fruit, and blue agave, and starlooks eye pencil in obsidian

I just wanted to note that this was the flattest bag yet, to the point that I almost doubted there was anything in the pouch before I opened it! Funny how that works.

collage of cailyn tinted lip balm in big apple from ipsy september 2013 classic beauty bagCailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple – keep. I quite enjoy the unique shape of Cailyn products. I haven’t really gotten to use the purple eyeliner I traded for from a previous bag, but I did have some fun with it (and discovered I really suck at making good lines). Now this is something I can’t really mess up! The red is more bright and bold than I’d choose for myself, but since it came in my bag I’m all for it. Totally into non-lipstick lip products these days, including lip balms, tinted lip balms, and lip scrubs.

collage of nyx eye shadow in fantasy from ipsy september 2013 classic beauty bagNYX Eye Shadow in Fantasy – trade. This one was unavoidable since everyone got one and while it’s cute, I just don’t use eye shadow. Definitely going up on the trade list, as with any other eye shadow I will ever get. I’ll give Ipsy a pass on this since it wasn’t one of the items that you might have gotten – it was one for all the bags and IpsyMatch certainly can’t unmatch you to a staple item.

collage of it's so big volumizing mascara by elizabeth mott from ipsy september 2013 classic beauty bagIt’s So Big Volumizing Mascara by Elizabeth Mott – keep. I’ve started to use a little mascara here and there for work, so this will come in handy. I’m still looking for one that is really waterproof/smudge proof since I always forget and end up rubbing my eyes. I don’t enjoy looking like a raccoon for half the day! We’ll see how this one performs. Volumizing is cool and all, but what I really need is one that will stay on my lashes until I decide to wash it off with oil or makeup remover.

three freeman facial paper masks in brightening rose, purifying star fruit, and hydrating blue agaveFreeman Paper Masks in Rose, Star Fruit, and Blue Agave – keep. These I’m excited about!! I enjoy masks of all sorts and I’ve been trying a bunch but these would be my first paper masks in a long time. I’ve never tried Freeman before so I’m excited to see what they have to offer. These masks seem really nourishing and I absosultely love that they included three different ones to try! Almost makes up for the fact that they gave me all these eye products that I don’t really use. I’m probably going to want to repurchase these at some point.

collage of starlooks eye pencil in obsidian from ipsy september 2013 classic beauty bagStarlooks Eye Pencil in Obsidian – trade. So this is the one I’m most disappointed in, since I already had to get the eye shadow that I won’t use and now I’m getting this pencil that I won’t use, PLUS it’s a product that came in a previous bag. If they had to do that, I would have been fine with a Pop Crayon since I traded mine and then decided I wanted to try one, haha. Even better would have been the Butter London nail polish, which is something I actually really want. Definitely going to try my luck trading for one of those, though I don’t know what colors people got.

Ok, so it looks like IpsyMatch either faltered a bit or just didn’t want to give me the cool high-value nail polish I would have enjoyed a lot. Well, it’s always a risk and at least I’m happy with the masks and I’ll be trying out two of the other items. Thank goodness for trading! Oh, and the bag itself is cute. I like the round zipper tab and the more subtle design. The summer bags have been more flashy and fun so it’s nice to get a change from that.

So what do you think of the items I got? What came in your Ipsy bag this month?

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this bag and wanted to share what I got!]

Ipsy August 2013: Glamour Academy

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Lookie at what arrived yesterday! I checked my mail late in the day and I wish I had gone earlier so I could play around with my new stuff but hey it’s all good. Soon after this great surprise, I received the offer letter for the job I really wanted, making it an awesome day. 🙂

Ipsy is $10 per glam bag and comes with 5 or so beauty/skincare products. Bags are sent monthly with no option to skip. There’s usually a waitlist to get the subscription. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free products.

ipsy august 2013 bag items with card including noya lip balm in vanilla, pixi lash booster mascara, pacifica bb cream, michael todd jojoba charcoal facial scrub, and nailtini nail polish in mai tai

collage of noya lip balm in vanilla from ipsy august 2013 glamour academy bagNoya Lip Balm in Vanilla – keep. It was either Noya lip balm or Urban Decay lipstick and since I don’t wear lipstick, this works perfectly. I have plenty of lip products at the moment so I won’t start using it just yet but it smells yummy! I’ve never heard of this brand before but I like what I’ve seen so far, since it appears they have natural products. That’s a company I can get behind for sure.

collage of pixi lash booster mascara from ipsy august 2013 glamour academy bagPixi Lash Booster Mascara – keep. This comes at a good time, since I’ve been thinking about using some mascara here and there and I only have one with me. I can’t quite remember where that one is most of the time so it’s always nice to have a backup! I’ve never tried Pixi before so I’m also curious about this brand and how its products work. I’ve seen them at Target and considered purchasing but haven’t yet.

collage of pacifica bb cream from ipsy august 2013 glamour academy bagPacifica BB Cream – keep. I keep hearing great things about Pacifica and they seem to have a really loyal following. I want to try their body butter when I get a chance, but I’m happy to get their BB cream in the mean time. I’ve been on a BB binge as of late, trying sooo many brands to see what works best for me.

collage of michael todd jojoba charcoal facial scrub from ipsy august 2013 glamour academy bagMichael Todd Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub – keep. YES!! I was really hoping I’d get this rather than the pumpkin face mask. I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin and I looove anything with charcoal. I’m also a major sucker for scrubs of any kind and jojoba beads feel really good.

collage of nailtini nail polish in mai tai from ipsy august 2013 glamour academy bagNailtini Nail Polish in Mai Tai – keep. I didn’t get this in last month’s bag, so I’m happy to get it this time around. I’ve never tried Nailtini and I like how it applies. This color is fun, vibrant, and warm, which is great for summertime. I like it!

That’s right people, this is the first bag where I’m not trading a single item! IpsyMatch seems to have worked (or just by dumb luck I got exactly what I wanted) this time around and I’m very pleased. What do you think of these products? What did you receive in your Ipsy bag?

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this bag and wanted to share what I got!]

Physician’s Formula BB Powder review

laelene Posted in reviews,Tags: , , , , , ,
1

Last month I received that free Physician’s Formula BB Powder and I’ve gotten a chance to try it out a couple of times now. I like the powder concept since I don’t have to worry about leaks or my carry-on liquid limit when flying.

collage of physician's formula bb powder in box, out of box, and bottom

It comes in super shiny packaging and the underside has a bunch of ventilation holes. I wasn’t sure what that was for until I opened up the compact!

collage of physician's formula bb powder open showing powder, mirror, and brush

Turns out there’s a secret compartment underneath for the brush and mirror! Maybe this is standard with all powder makeup items, but I never use them so it was a nice surprise for me. Everything is a nice quality and the compact feels sturdy. The mirror is sometimes hard to get to, since you need to release the clasp but not let it fall back down on its own weight. I’ve found that opening it upside down does the trick.

collage of physician's formula bb powder brush with bb powder

I’ve never used a long flat brush like this, so that was interesting to see. I like how I can get a large area of my face in one swipe, but the edges need to be blurred out so there aren’t lines on my face where the powder was more concentrated. I’ll need to track down a round brush to try in comparison, which I think will help achieve a much more even finish. Still, this little brush gets the job done when you’re out or in a pinch.

As for the coverage, it’s a nice matte evening effect. Not full coverage if you’ve got giant blemishes like me, but it does help minimize the look of them. The powder is great for toning down your oily face with light, natural-looking coverage. Some of the BB creams I’ve tried are not meant for oily faces, so pairing that with the BB powder helps create a more covered look with a matte finish. Shine be gone! It also has SPF 30 coverage, which is pretty high for a beauty product! Definitely great in protecting your face from sun damage AND beautifying the overall look of your skin.

This is going to last me a very long time and I’d definitely consider buying it again when I use it up. I like the convenience and less messy application than a wet cream. The built-in mirror comes in handy at times when you don’t have a mirror to use and I’ve yet to see a cream come with a mirror. If you want full coverage though, I’d recommend pairing this with something else like a foundation or a BB cream. I’m so glad I got to try this for free! Thanks Physician’s Formula for your cool giveaways. 🙂

Ipsy July 2013: Beach Beauty

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
5

My July Ipsy bag arrived in the mail today! Even though I didn’t get the scrub I really wanted, I was still excited to have a package to open up. It’s been awhile since I’ve received something.

Just like last month, my first impression of the bag itself was meh, but then I grew to like it. I mean, I am really not into pink, but I do like that this bag is a fun tube shape and waterproof, so I can put items I’m afraid might leak in it and not have to worry as much. For the items I got, I’m mostly planning on trading. Does IpsyMatch ever work? It seems to completely ignore my preferences. Oh well, thank goodness for trading!

Ipsy is $10 per glam bag and comes with 5 or so beauty/skincare products. Bags are sent monthly with no option to skip. There’s usually a waitlist to get the subscription. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free products.

ipsy july 2013 bag items with card including pop beauty pouty pop crayon in fuchsia flirt, coola mineral sunscreen tinted moisturizer in rose essence, benefit benetint lip and cheek stain, healthysexyhair soy renewal beach spray, and bh cosmetics calfornia collection eye shadow palette

Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt – trade/keep. I was kind of hoping for the coral since I don’t really have lip products in that shade and I might have tried it. I’m going to try trading this and if someone happens to offer the coral one I might give it a try. If I don’t manage to trade it after awhile, I’ll probably just give it a go. I’m trying to use more lip products and this is not too makeup-y so I’d definitely use it.

COOLA Face Mineral Sunscreen Tinted Moisturizer in Rose Essence – trade. I’ve got two tubes of the cucumber sunscreen (not tinted) so I really don’t need more mineral sunscreen from COOLA. At first I was considering trying it for the rose scent, but now that I know it’s tinted I’m not interested. Not really sure why since I have been going crazy trying BB creams, powders, and even a DD creme, which seem to be similar. Plus the size is tiny which I was kind of sad about.

Benefit Benetint Lip & Cheek Stain – trade/keep. This one I was also disappointed was much smaller than I envisioned. I also didn’t realize it was so liquidy and I’m not sure I’d ever use it. If I can’t trade it out though, I think I could give it a whirl. However, there seem to be a ton of people interested in it so I think I can manage a swap.

HealthySexyHair Soy Renewal Beach Spray – keep. This is the only item I got that I’m keeping for sure! Not only is it a fun product I’ve never tried before, I just love the bottle. I’m kind of excited for this beach look since I am no longer close to a beach and creating that look would be fun. I love that it contains argan oil, so I know my hair will be well-conditioned.

BH Cosmetics California Collection Eye Shadow Palette – trade. I don’t wear eye shadows, so cute as this palette is and as pretty as the colors are, I just wouldn’t use it. I left it sealed for trading but I did check out pictures online of the colors inside – there’s a purple, gold, and bronze I think. They all look great and if I was a makeup person I’d totally love this. Alas, I do no more than put on lip balm and maybe BB cream so eye shadows are far too much effort for me!

What do you think of these products? What did you get? If you’re interested in a trade, let me know and don’t forget to see what else I have up on my FSOT list. 🙂

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this bag and wanted to share what I got!]

Ipsy June 2013: On The Wild Side

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

I was deciding whether I wanted to get Ipsy again when I inadvertently missed the deadline to unsubscribe, so I figured why not keep going with it for another month? I mean, for $10 I’m getting a bunch of products and if I don’t like them I can always trade. I was eager to find spoilers but as each one was revealed I got more and more concerned, since none were products that I use. However, I’m actually enjoying discovering this new stuff and maybe even starting to use some makeup?

Ipsy is $10 per glam bag and comes with 5 or so beauty/skincare products. Bags are sent monthly with no option to skip. There’s usually a waitlist to get the subscription. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free products.

ipsy june 2013 bag items with card including cailyn gel eyeliner in iron, chella ivory lace highlighter pencil, nyx rouge cream blush in bronze goddess, j.cat sparkling cream palette in volta, and starlooks lip pencil in bare

I liked the texture of the bag a lot more than the previous one, though I don’t like the pattern as much. Still, I didn’t think I’d like it at all when I first saw the spoilers, so I’m glad it impressed me more than expected. As for the products, here are my thoughts:

ipsy june 2013 bag items including cailyn gel eyeliner in iron, chella ivory lace highlighter pencil, nyx rouge cream blush in bronze goddess, j.cat sparkling cream palette in volta, and starlooks lip pencil in bare

Cailyn Line-Fix Gel Eyeliner in Iron – trade. I’ve never tried applying gel eyeliner before, so I might as well go all out and get it in my favorite color (purple). I’m definitely putting this up for trade so I can get all wild with purple eyeliner.

Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter – keep. I’ve been noticing how my eyebrows look more recently, so I’m totally ready to experiment with this highlighter and see what it can do for me. At the least it should be able to help calm down some of my redness.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Bronze Goddess – trade. While I like the shade of this blush and I’m super curious about cream blushes, I just don’t use blush so it’d be such a waste. I’m sure there’s someone else who can make good use of this and trade me for something I’d actually use more than once.

J.cat Sparkling Cream Palette in Volta – trade/keep. I’m going to list this up for trading but if nobody wants it (and it seems most people don’t really care for glitter), next time I go out at night I’ll use some of this to add playfulness. I don’t mind being silly with some glitter!

Starlooks Lip Pencil in Bare – trade. I don’t think I will ever want or need a lip pencil. It’s just not my thing. Definitely going to swap for something else with this one!

What would you have done if you got these products? What are you planning on doing with the ones you did get? Let me know and definitely reach out if you’re interested in a trade. Don’t forget to see what else I have up on my FSOT list.

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this bag and wanted to share what I got!]

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