Ipsy February 2016 Review

For those who may not know, Ipsy is a monthly subscription. For $10 each month, you will received 4-5 samples (some full size) of beauty, skin, and hair products. It's a great way to try new brands without committing to a high price tag! Check them out at www.ipsy.com

(I purchase this each month with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

This month's theme is Pretty In Pink. Don't know if that's a nod to the 30th anniversary of the John Hughes' film of the same name but whatever. Still useless.

At first glance the bag had me shaking my head but I quickly fell in love with it. I have no idea why but I did. So sue me for being a girly girl.

Dr. Brandt Pore Dermabrasion exfoliator: I love exfoliators, unless they're too harsh. Haven't tried this one yet but I've heard of the brand. Not sure if I had something from them before...Anyway, a 2 ounce size goes for $58. So this 1/8 ounce values out at around $7.25. Hope it doesn't suck.

Promise Organic face lotion: I like to try different face creams and you can actually get this at CVS. Full size, 1.7 ounces, is $15. This sample is about 1/3 size so it costs around $5.

Smashbox Primer Oil: I've heard a few reviews on this. It's not so much a face primer to help your makeup last longer but more of a skin prep to help moisturize your face to get it ready for primer and makeup. I'm oily but I get dry in the winter so this could be cool. 1 ounce costs $42 so this 1/10th size sample costs about $4.

Tre'Stique Baby Blush Stick: I've gotten the eye shadow stick before which is drier than a popcorn fart and just as difficult to deal with. This blush stick is very soft, almost dries to a powder finish, but is a little tricky to blend. The color is peach with a pink undertone (though it looks pretty orange in the swatch). Very flattering. Don't know how much you get in the full size ($34) but I'll take a guess at 1/3 the size so let's say this sample is around $10.

Trust Fund Nail Polish: The color is called "I'm Kind Of a Big Deal". HA! I've received this brand before. And just like that one, this color is nice but pretty patchy. It's kind of thick so two coats will peel very easily off the nail. *shrug* This is a full size so it's worth $15.

Overall, a $41 value is pretty good. I'm happy with this one!

September 2015 Ipsy Bag Review

Okay. Finally getting to my September Ipsy bag review. For those of you who may not know, Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription service that sends you samples (and full size from time to time) for $10 a month. Check them out for yourself at www.ipsy.com

I think I feel a cold coming on so I'd better get all my reviews in over the next couple of days or it'll be ANOTHER few weeks before I return! As always, these are my honest opinions.

Looking at the card, it seems the theme is Face Fashion (could have something Fall related on the back but honestly, I don't give a fuck). I didn't take any sneak peaks this month so I had no idea what was coming, not even the bag which I think it nice this time around. At first glance it looks pretty sweet, right? That's MOSTLY true. Let's get into it.

Trust Fund Nail Polish: never heard of this brand but from first look, and a quick swatchy-swatch on my pinkie nail, it's really pretty. It's a nice medium periwinkle color with a bit more purple to it. It does take 2 coats to get complete coverage but I like it! I believe it's full sized, too. It's called Elegantly Wasted (awesome) and goes for $15!  http://trustfundbeauty.com/collections/all-polish

Not Radio Soap Liquid Freud Lotion: Nice little sample size of this lotion but the smell is rather odd. The coconut comes off immediately but then it turns into this weird amalgamation of mango and vanilla and strangeness. It feels nice on the skin, though. Full size (12.6 ounces) goes for $18 and this is just over 1 ounce so count it as $1?        http://notsoapradio.com/Liquid-Freud-HandBody-Lotion_p_91.html

City Color Mascara Be Bold Mascara: I have some HD loose powder from City Color and I love it. So I'm excited to try this mascara. Lord knows I have a handful of unopened ones so it'll be a minute before I get to this. I think it's full sized, too, so it runs around $6.  http://citycolorcosmetics.com/eyes/mascara/be-bold-mascara/#.VgGAa99VhBd

NYX Eyeshadow Trio: I think this was specifically made for the Ipsy bag because I can't find the color combo anywhere. And there's no color name, just IPSYNYX01. So there you go. As you can see from the first pic, the shadows are not very pigmented. They're also a bit chalky. However, you can build up the color a bit if you want to work with them. They might pop better if you use them wet or over a bright base (like NYX jumbo pencil in Milk). I must say, though, the color stayed on for a long long time. They didn't melt together after a few hours (I'm looking at you, Too Faced) which seriously impressed me. For $6, it's not so bad.

JCat Beatuy #MOTD Slide On Eyeliner in Bronze: I've used JCat products before and they can be hit or miss. Though this pencil says the color is Bronze, it's more of a dark brown with a copper shift. It actually paired nicely with the NYX eye shadow above. It is waterproof so heaven help you getting it off. Which means it does have a lot of staying power, even in the waterline! I have very oily lids and my eyes water a bit so anything that goes on the tightline or waterline is GONE within 30 minutes. There was actually product still on both after wearing it for a good 6 hours. That is impressive. It's got the same staying power (for me) as Urban Decay's 24/7 liners. And for $4 (compared to UD's $20) this is a steal.  http://jcatbeauty.com/eyes-2/motd-slide-on-pencil-for-eyes

That's it for September. This month was all right. Rather average compared to all that I've received so far. But for an approximate value of $32, I'm not mad at it.