Destination Beauty: My Glam (Ipsy) March 2014 Bag

This may come a little late but I still wanted to share. I've been seeing different hauls and I feel like there were a lot of product combinations. I'm really happy with what I got and I'm excited to use them!

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Subscription Haul: My January 2014 Ipsy (My Glam) Bag

Hey guys!

Today I wanted to show you what I received in my Ipsy Bag this month. Here are all of the products together:

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Subscription Haul and First Impressions: Ipsy/ My Glam September 2013

Today, I bring you the September Ipsy (My Glam) Bag. If you didn't know yet, Ipsy is a beauty subscription service headed by one of YouTube's most successful beauty people, Michelle Phan. It's for $10/ month and you get about 5 products (mix of sample size and full size). This month's theme is Classic Beauty.

I'm really happy about this month's products so without further ado, here they are:

Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner (Retail: $6.99) - This is one of the products I'm really excited about. I haven't had any luck finding a felt tip pen liner that I really love so I have high hopes for this one. I've only tried it on the back of my hand and so far so good. It writes a very fine line so it's perfect for subtle eye liner looks.

Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple (Retail: $19.00) - This lip balm has the same exact packaging as the gel eye liner I got a couple month's ago from Ipsy (see here). I really like this as it has a more opaque color payout than a regular lip balm and the lasting power (at least when I tested it on my hand), is pretty impressive. 

Nyx Eyeshadow in Cryptonite (Retail: $4.50) - This is my first single eyeshadow from Nyx and I now understand the rave about it. The pigmentation is beautiful! This particular color is a very nice grayish black with green and gold sparkle.  This would make a really pretty smokey eye look. I think Nyx is one of the best inexpensive makeup brands and I'm happy to add this to my collection.

It's So Big Volumizing Mascara from Elizabeth Mott 4ml (Retail: $19.99/ 10ml) - I'm looking forward to trying this out. This is from the same company that brought us the Lash Card that I also got from one of my Ipsy bags that I honestly never used. They're just in a drawer, chillin'. Anyway, the mascara looks really black which is what I prefer. The wand isn't shaped in a particularly exciting way, just your regular, good old straight wand with a little bit of a skinnier middle. 

J. Cat Fantabulous Lipstick in Honeycrisp (Retail: $2.49) - For this last item, I have to give a special shout out to the Ipsy Customer Care Team! My lipstick came in damaged and so I emailed customer care to get a replacement. I received a reply less than 48 hours later and my replacement was shipped a couple of days after. Fantastic service! Anyhoo, This lipstick is a nice, creamy, nude color - as in erase my lips kind of nude. At first I was like, "Meh. I don't think I'll ever use this." but then I realized that it's prefect for layering over a brighter, bolder color for that papow! my lipstick in your face! effect. It's super creamy and the color pay off is really nice. I love that a lot more inexpensive lipsticks are coming out with the quality that is way beyond their price point.

Overall, I'm really, really pleased with this month's bag. There's not one item that I don't like or I'm not excited to try out. I have to say, I think Ipsy has been getting better and better lately.

Here's the coupon codes for this month if you're interested:

Jesse's Girl: 20% off your purchase with code IPSYSEPT2013 (valid through 10/15/13)

J.Cat Beauty: 25% off your purchase with code FABIPSY (valid through 10/15/13)

Nyx: 30% off eyeshadow bases and HD eyeshadow bases with code IPSYPRIME (valid through 10/15/13)

Elizabeth Mott: 50% off your purchase with code IPSYBIG (valid through 10/30/13)

Cailyn: 30% off your purchase with code IPSY30 (valid through 10/15/13)

So, what did you think of this month's bag? Anything you're particularly interested in?

Beach Babe (My Glam by Ipsy July 2013) + A Special Package

Hey fellow Beauty fans!

I received my July Ipsy bag today and I'm sharing it with you guys! I have to say, I'm a little bit disappointed this month not because I didn't like the products but because I was expecting something else. In my post about my last Ipsy bag, I mentioned that I heard that there was gonna be Benetint and a lip crayon in this months bag. Well, both products were featured BUT I don't know why I didn't realize that there was a possibility that I would get just one of the two "featured" products. See, sometimes, they give out different products in each bag. Not all the products are different but just maybe one or two. I got really, really excited about the Benetint. Lots of people have been raving about it and I wanted to try it out for myself. But of course, life had different plans. Lol I got the Pop crayon instead. Not a big deal but... ya know. I got my hopes up.

Anywayyyy, I think my favorite part of the whole thing is this month's bag. It's a transparent, neon pink, rounded purse. I think it's my new favorite one from Ipsy. Well, no. Maybe it's a tie between this and the chevron one I got last year!

If you're new around here and have never heard of Ipsy, it's a subscription service that send you about 5 beauty products a month for only $10. It's a great way to try out new products before purchasing them full size and to find out about products you wouldn't normally pick up.

Here's the July 2013 bag -

COOLA MINERAL FACIAL SUNSCREEN (.23 fl. oz.) - Happy about this. I need a new travel sunscreen for my purse for days that I need to reapply or when I'm rushing and forget to put sunscreen on. Additional details FYI: mineral, unscented and organic. (Retail: $36 for 1.7 fl. oz)

BIG SEXY HAIR WEATHER PROOF SPRAY (1.4 oz) - I'm not a big hair person but this is handy to have around. I've used Sexy Hair products before and they seem to do their job. This spray is supposed to fight humidity and frizz. Hmmm, interesting. (Retail: $18.95 for 3.4 oz)

POP BEAUTY POUTY POP CRAYON in CORAL CRUSH (Full Size) - Aaaah, this just reminds me of the product I couldn't have. Oh, Benetint, when will you come my way? Haha Anyhoo, I've been hoarding more lip products lately. I'm a fan of CoverGirl chubby sticks and find that lip crayons are so much easier to use and they're not too overwhelming like lipsticks sometimes are. They're sheer but still give your lips a nice hint of color. This one by Pop is a really pretty coral color on the stick but I find that it's a lot more pink when I applied it. I wished it was the same color as on the stick but oh well, it's still nice and you can't really have enough lip colors, can you? (Retail: $25 for a set of 6 crayons)

DERMA E MICRODERMABRASION SCRUB (1 oz) - This is probably the one I'm most excited about from this month's bag. I love facial scrubs! I try to exfoliate my face 1-2 times a week to get rid of dead skin cells. I am deeply in love with my Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser so this one by Derma E has some pretty big shoes to fill. It's a white cream in the jar with very fine crystals that kind of remind me of the texture of white sugar. I think I'm gonna use this tonight.  Additional details FYI: gluten free and vegan (Retail: $26.99 for 2 oz)

BH COSMETICS CALIFORNIA COLLECTION EYESHADOW PALETTE SAMPLE (3 pans) - Honestly, this was such a let down for me. I've been eyeing the California palettes at the BH Cosmetics website for the longest time and I was quite disappointed to find that they have very poor color pay off. When I first tried to swatch them with my finger, they didn't show up at all. I could only see sparkle on the back of my hand. I tried 2 different brushes on my hand and even tried it on my eyes but again, it didn't show up as pigmented as they were in the palette. I know a lot of people who use BH cosmetic palettes and are quite happy with the products so I'm hoping that this palette is just a bad egg. (Retail: $9.95 for each palette)

The last photo is the product card that came with my bag this month. 

There you go, my 5 products for this month. Have you tried any of them before? Are you an Ipsy subscriber? If so, what product are you most excited about? Did you get the Benetint?!

Let me know!!

And if you want to join Ipsy, click here.

OOOOH. And PS. I posted this photo on my Instagram today!

I'm se excited to share that I'm one of Influenster's recipients of the new Ponds Luminous Finish BB Cream. There's a special project coming up so stay tuned! I'm trying this out tomorrow and hopefully film a video on it. Yay!

On The Wild Side (My Glam by Ipsy June 2013 Bag)

Hey guys! So I know this is a little bit late but I still wanted to share with you what I got for my June Glam Bag (Ipsy) in case you're thinking about signing up for it. I love, love, love beauty subscriptions because it opens up my world to products that I wouldn't know about or try if it didn't come in them. 

Right now, I am subscribed to My Glam, Beauty Box 5, and New Beauty Test Tube. I am also gonna be sharing what I got in the other two in the next posts if you're curious about them! I'm actually cancelling my Beauty Box though. I'll tell you more when I talk about June's box.

Anyway, I am particularly happy with this month's glam bag. It come's in around the 15th of the month so I'll try to share July's bag as soon as I get it.

So on to the items.....

As usual, it comes in the pink bubble mailer. And in case you didn't know, every month, you also get a small make up purse! This month's purse is a leopard print bag with neon green zipper. It's made out of water resistant material so it's perfect for bringing to the beach or the pool!

There's a PURPLE GEL LINER BY CAILYN (retail: $21) - I love the packaging on this! The top part comes of and reveals a brush. SO convenient! I've never really used colored gel liner before but I think this might be good for summer days when I want to wear a little liner. It would be a little bit softer and more subtle than black.

J. CAT SPARKLING CREAM PALETTE (retail: $4.49) - This one, I'm not crazy about. It's basically just glitter in a palette. I THINK Ipsy is coming up with some kind of costume makeup contest so I think this one's in line with that. Not sure what I'm gonna use this for. Halloween maybe? Or it could be fun for holiday make up.

There's also NYX ROUGE CREAM BLUSH IN ORANGE (retail: $6) - I love NYX products! I've never tried their cream blushes before and this one's pretty good. Cream blushes are perfect for the summer since generally, cream make up holds better in the heat. The color pay off's pretty good too. I love this shade as well. It's perfect for my summer tan. Woot-woot!

And then there's STARLOOK'S LIP PENCIL in TIPSY (retail: $12)- This is one of those things that I'm glad I get in subscription boxes. This lip liner is in a really pretty matte peachy-pink color. It's something I wouldn't necessarily pick up but I'm excited to try. I think it's gonna look really pretty with a nude-ish lip gloss on top.

Lastly, I got the PSSSST! INSTANT DRY SHAMPOO (retail: $5.99) - Cute name, huh? I love dry shampoos and have tried a few from different brands. This one works as well as others but I'm not fond of the smell. It kind of smells chemically like hair spray. I don't love it but I don't hate it either. It works, so hey! I'll use it.

There's also the little product and offers card that came with this month's bag. 

There you go. All in all, I'm very pleased with this bag and I'm looking forward to July's! I hear there's gonna be a deluxe size Benetint in there as well as a lip crayon. Woohoo! 

I highly recommend signing up for Ipsy. It's one of the cheapest out there. Not every product is a great fit but you definitely get your money's worth with the stuff that do! The overall retail cost for all the products this month is about $50 and subscription is only $10!)If you decide to sign up, use my referral link, will ya? Sign up here. :)

I hope you enjoyed looking in my Glam Bag! Do you subscribe to Ipsy? Did a particular product interest you? Let me know if you want me to do a review on any of them!

See you next time,

Mary

PRODUCT RAVE: Pequi Oil Treatment by Couture Colour

Hey guys!

Today I just wanted to quickly rave and share with you a product that I absolutely love - The Pequi Oil Treatment by Couture Color. 

I received this little guy from my October My Glam Bag (read about what I got here). I only started using it in December. I have loved using it on my hair after I shower, just before my hair completely dries. I do a few drops on my palms and apply it to the ends of my hair and when it dries, it's a lot shinier and softer. I have been enjoying it so much on days when my hair feels extra limp and even included it in my February Favorites collection.

The reason I'm doing a separate post on it though is because I have fallen even more in love with this product when I brought it with me to my trip to Boston a couple of weeks ago. It was so cold and windy and on days like that, my outfit usually consists of scarves, chunky knitted sweaters, tights, and boots. Now, because of the wind and the friction from my scarf/ sweater, my hair gets more static and frizz than usual and at the end of the day, it's just one big tangled, rough mess! The first day we were there, I tried combing my hair to get rid of the tangles but that was a BIG mistake. I ended up pulling a lot of my hair off and afterwards, my hair just felt rough and dull. So the next day, I decided to apply the Pequi oil to my hair and then just worked it in before I brushed and I cannot tell you how much it helped!!

My hair was out of tangles in just a couple minutes and when I was done combing and brushing it, it was so shiny and smooth and soft! I was so glad I tried it out and now I've been using my Pequi oil more frequently now. It just helps manage my hair so well! 

I recommend it for everybody especially if you live in a place where it gets crazy cold and static-y. I know a lot of people are concerned that it'll make your scalp and hair oily but it definitely does not. Just make sure you don't apply the oil to your scalp and you'll be fine. Apply it on the ends of your hair, working your way to the middle part and just comb your fingers through to bring back the moisture and shine. Doing so will keep your hair healthy and will prevent breakage (read: SPLIT ENDS).

If you are interested, I found it the cheapest on Amazon here. They also carry it at Sephora but it costs a little more. I'm not sure if they have it in store. It is a little pricey but it lasts you for a really long time. It is definitely worth it. This .5 Fl. oz bottle lasted me til this month. I only use about 3-5 drops every time and  I am definitely repurchasing this product!

HAUL: My First IPSY/ My Glam Bag!

Hallloooo eb-ri-ba-dy!!

I know I've been MIA (again) but I swear I'm working hard. I'm also trying out this new and VERY exciting thing that I can't tell you guys about just yet. It's something I've been wanting to do forever but just mustered up the courage for. Once I feel more comfortable, I'd tell you all about it!

And so moving on.....

I've recently subscribed for a couple of (subscription) beauty boxes and I've been sooooo excited for them to come. I honestly can't remember how many I signed up for because a lot of them would let you register but tell you that you're on a waiting list and you'd have to wait before you can purchase a box. Boo! 

But on Friday...... this little baby came and I was so freakan' happy! 

It's the sparkliest mail envelope ever!

Now if you don't know what Ipsy is, it's basically a monthly subscription started by youtube sensation, Michelle Phan where you'll pay $10/ month and they'll send you products to try out. Some are sample sized, some full sized. It gives you the opportunity to try out a product before you commit to buying it full size..or lets you try new products that you wouldn't necessarily come across with otherwise. Learn more here.

Here's what's inside my glambag for this month:

awww, shucks!

Don't you just love the bag it came with? I am obsessed with chevron! This little clutch is just perfection and is probably my most favorite of the whole package!

And the products:

Pequi Oil Treatment 5fl oz. (reg price- $12)

Be A Bombshell Eye Liner in Onyx (reg price - $14)

The Balm "The Body Builder" Black Mascara (reg price - $19)

Mirenesse Lip Bomb No 9 (Nudes) (reg price - $28.08)

Coastal Scents Eye Shadow Palette

Honestly, I don't know if I love the product choices for this month. I definitely got my money's worth if you look at the regular prices but they're not necessarily products that I would pick up.

I'm definitely happy about the mascara and eyeliner since these are two of my make up essentials. I used the eyeliner today and I'm pretty happy with it. I have yet to try it for a few days before I decide if I love it. Like pay-14-bucks-for-it love it.

I'm also excited to try the hair treatment. I don't use a whole ton of products on my hair but I've heard good things about the Pequi treatment so I'll def try that one out.

The lip stain is also okay. It's not my color choice since it's too nude but it's alright. I tried it on top of my regular lipstick and it seemed to hold up well. I think I'll end up using it as a lip highlighter.

And as for the eye shadow.. hmm... meh. I've tried coastal scents eye shadows before and I'd say they're average. They're alright for normal everyday use and their pigmentation's okay but I'm not crazy about this palette in particular. I would use neutral eye shadows since I don't put make up on everyday but this one is just too light, even for for me. It's actually a lot lighter in real life than in the pictures and when I swatched it on my hand (2nd picture), it took me a few strokes before they showed up. One of them barely showed up even after a few applications. 

Additionally, I looked down on my hand just now and it's all gone. The sparkles are all that's left. It looks like I put glitter lotion on.

So there you go, my first glam bag! Woot, woot! All in all, I'm not too crazy about this one but I'm still satisfied. I'm don't regret signing up for it and am looking forward to next month! I'll use all the products and see what I think about it and I'd definitely let you guys know.

Wanna sign up for Ipsy? Head over here.

Are you an Ipsy subscriber? What do you think? Which product(s) are you excited to use? Let me know!

<3,