Ipsy May 2016 Review

For those who may not know, Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription service. For $10, you will receive 4-5 sample (sometimes full) sized items to try. It's a great way to try new things without committing to the full price tag. Check them out here: IPSY

As usual, I pay for this service myself and all opinions are my honest ones. CF or NCF denote Cruelty Free or Not Cruelty Free. A ? means I got no fucking idea.

I don't remember what the theme is because the card that comes with this bag went right in the trash. Honestly, there's no useful info on it so it's only a waste of paper. I really wish Ipsy would join the rest of the subscription community and put the items/info/prices on the fucking card.

I really like the bag this month. It looks like an envelope, with a fold over snap front. Like a clutch purse. Cute print, too, with silhouettes of worldly landmarks - oh, yeah, the theme was travel or something like that. Whatever.

Soo-Ae Face Masks (?): I loooove face masks. I'm glad they included 3 in here because you only get one use per mask. I've already tried the Firming/Elasticity one. I don't know if it firmed anything but DAYUM my skin looked nice afterwards! The mask itself is super soft and the eye/nose/mouth holes are perfect. A little big so as to accommodate any face/feature shape. I think this has become my new favorite mask brand. You can get these at Target (which is awesome) for $15 for a 5-pack so $3 a piece is pretty good!

Pacifica Eyeshadow Trio (CF): I remember getting a Pacifica eye shadow a long time ago in an Ipsy bag but I broke it when I depotted it. It was waaay too soft. I imagine these would be the same. Gorgeous colors and they lasted on my eyes all day, without primer! But, as you'll see in the pic below, these are extremely similar to the City Color trio I got a few months ago - though that one is a lot warmer than the Pacifica shadows.. Why can't they switch things up and put in less neutral stuff? Oh well. I liked both trios and will use them! This particular color trio was designed specifically for Ipsy but their regular trio shadows (.1 ounce) go for $12. This .07 ounce is probably $9-$10.

Smashbox X-Rated Mascara (NCF): The last Smashbox sample I got was AWESOME. So I look forward to trying this one out. It claims to be the most buildable mascara - meaning you can layer it up and it won't look like shit. Full sized goes for $22 so this .10 fluid ounce sample is about $5.

INSPR Eye Fluff Brush (?): I don't think I've ever heard of this brand before. I've already tried it out and it's awesome. Very soft but dense enough to work as a blending brush or to apply eye shadow (particularly in the crease - of the EYE, you pervs). This is full sized and costs $12.

Clark's Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream (CF): Good sized sample of a night cream. It smells kind of odd (not like Jasmine like everyone else claims) but it's nice and thick. The more you smooth it on your skin the more it feels like silk. Very interesting. It stings a bit, though, which I don't care for. Full size (50 ml) costs $115. Wow. Just...wow. This 15 ml sample should go for around $38.

The whole bag has a value around $67. I dig it!