Ipsy (March 2013)

Ipsy is the second subscription "box" that I signed up for. I say box in quotes because it's really a pink bubble envelope with a makeup pouch inside, no box. I will somehow get over the devistation.

Aaaaand over it. I know I have read mixed reviews on the March shipment, but I honestly really enjoyed the products I received and am happy with Ipsy so far. Here is what I got:

- Anchor/Nautical Print Make Up Bag
- LA Fresh Make Up Remover Wipes
- Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist
- Glam RX Travel Palette
- Yaby Eye Shadow in Sand Dune
- Yaby Eye Shadow in So Vein

I didn't like:

I didn't really dislike anything in this bag.

I liked:

- LA Fresh Make Up Remover Wipes: The makeup wipes worked to get off even my mascara. I don't really travel so makeup wipes aren't something I typically buy myself, but I like having a pack handy.

- Glam RX Travel Palette: The travel palette was again something I wouldn't typically buy because I don't travel, but it has a good magnet and I am keeping the Yaby shadows in it.

 
- Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist: The Juice Beauty mist almost made the dislike list because of the scent, I don't care for it. BUT I found it comes in very handy to keep in my purse to mist on my hair when it gets frizzy. Was that the point of this product? Going to go with probably not.

I really liked:

- Anchor/Nautical Print Make Up Bag: So cute!

- Yaby Eye Shadow in Sand Dune: A little more yellow than I would usually go for, but it's a shadow color I really don't have.

- Yaby Eye Shadow in So Vein: Similar to other shadows in my collection, but I think it coordinates with Sand Dune to make a beachy kind of look.

 (Sand Dune, top - So Vein, bottom)

Sand Dune and So Vein on the lid/crease and Sephora Long-Lasting Liquid Liner in Metallic Gold:

Sorry if I have been a little lacking lately on the comments. I know my posting sucks, but I usually try to be better about at least commenting. I just have the usual excuse about work being busy and me being tired. It will be good to have a decent paycheck before going to visit my bestie Kristen in a few weeks, though.

Beauty Army (February 2013)

Took me longer than I thought to test out everything in my February Beauty Army box, selection is almost open for my March box! How it seems to work if your selection opens up at the monthly anniversary of your joining. Didn't realize that when I joined at the END of a month. Oops. As a refresher, it's $12 a month for this box and you get to pick 6 samples from an assortment of products.

Before I talk about each product, I would like to point out how there is coppery sparkle over everything. It's especially obvious on case of the right hand product. This is because the lid on the eyeshadow pigment vial was not on tight and it opened during shipment. Luckily only about 1/3 of the product spilled out, so I still had enough to try.

Dermisa Skin Face Cream (.9oz)

retails @ mfgr for $10.99/1.78oz - sample is valued at approx. $5.56

I picked this one originally because I wanted to use it on the soup-scar on my chest. Then I remembered that I can't remember to do anything ritually like applying a cream. I started using it on my face and oddly enough liked how it helped clear up any blemishes which is not all the point. Whatever works. Wish it didn't smell like Nair, though. 

GG Gatsby Oh La La Volume Shampoo (.5oz)

retails @ mfgr for $14.99/8.4oz - sample is valued at approx. $.89

I selected this solely because of my love for the show Jerseylicious. For those unfamiliar, the show's original focus was the Gatsby salon in New Jersey. This shampoo was created by the salon's owner, Gale Giacomo (hence GG Gatsby) What I missed in my fan girl excitement was that this was a sulfate free shampoo and I haaaaaate not having lather. I was surprised, though, that this very very lightly lathered. It was enough to let me know when I had applied enough product. I did actually think my hair seemed a little more volume-y and Jerseylicious after using this.

Yes To Carrots Super Rich Body Butter (.1oz)

retails @ mfgr for $12.99/8.45oz - sample is valued at approx. $.15

I didn't think about this one very well. I ordered a .1oz sample of body butter to somehow test of my fat self. This little packet covered part of one arm. I think it worked ok? But then my one arm was more moisturized than the other and perhaps that just made things worse. I'm not saying it was a bad product, I just don't get why such a small sample would be provided of something you are expected to use all over your body.

Ruddy Water Blushed Fragrance Towels (1 towel)

retails @ mfgr for $22/24 towels - sample is valued at approx. $1.09

When I opened my box, all I could smell was this fragrance. And it was amazing. I think it smells very similar to Aquolina Pink Sugar perfume. Unfortunately I think my towel packet may have had a hole in it or something because the towel was completely dried out and when I tried to rub it on my skin, none of the scent would transfer. I guess I don't really get the point of perfume towels, either. It's so much easier and environmentally friendly to just get a rollerball-sized of a fragrance you want to be more portable.

Whip Hand Cosmetics Camo Collection Loose Shadow in Medal of Honor (.02oz)

retails @ Beauty Army for $11.90/.1oz - sample is valued at approx. $2.38

Despite arriving open and all over everything, there was still plenty left in this sample vial to try out. I think this color is nice enough, but it really needs a primer and a sticky base to show off all of its sparkle. Applied dry reminded me a bit of MAC's Melon Pigment.  

 

Skinn Cosmetics Color Touch Eye, Cheek & Lip Glow in Teen Tone (full size .17oz)
retails @ mfgr for $17

First of all it confuses me that this was full size, but the actual package said it was .134oz. It definitely seemed like a full size product, though, so who knows. It was a nice creamy texture and a very versatile pink color. I don't really like cream blushes and I can't think of wanting this color on my eyes, so I use this for my lips. This is the product I was giving a sneak peak of in my last post. It was a tiny bit dry, but not uncomfortably so. I do think that $17 seems kind of pricey for this. I'm not really familiar with Skinn cosmetics, but you can get cream blushes from other higher end brands with better name recognition for about this price.
 

Total box value: approx. $27.07

My Dad Wouldn't Even Know How To Use "The Skype"

Kristen and I were talking the other night and realized that between us we have enough clothes and shoes and jewelry and makeup and hair products to make our own transformation room on RuPaul's Drag U. Neither of us have wigs, though, so we will need a wig person. Applications are being accepted now.

Saturday I was feeling absolutely miserable from a migraine, but for some reason decided to attempt makeup anyway. I actually wanted this one to be for Rachel, using electric blue liquid liner as mascara. I didn't hate it aside from the corpse-lips. I kind of loved having super gold eyebrows...

And then Sunday I decided to play with my Urban Decay Ginda palette again. Apparently I didn't get any good pictures. Oops. It kind of just looks like nothing in these. My lip color is a sneak peek at something I got in my most recent Beauty Army box, though. I'll post about everything from that sometime this week.

Now off to watch the newest RuPaul's Drag Race with Kristen. Does anyone else watch tv with friends who don't live near you? We just text about the most intense moments.

The Used (February 2013)

I almost forgot to watch this week's Willam's Beatdown (nsfw for anyone who still isn't familiar). I swear I don't get paid to advertise. I should. SUBSCRIBE... god dammit. Anyway it has Lauren aka Queen of Blending on this one and she's adorable.

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Volumizing Root Boost Nourishing Daily Conditioner: I decided to change it up from the Strong Lengths one. I don't think it did anything different. My roots are not boosted. I don't think I like the word root. It reminds me of dirty vegetables.

Bath & Body Works P.S. I Love You Triple Moisture Shower Cream: This was actually my brother's, he left it behind when he moved out. I avoided it at first for fear it would smell like Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. I ran out of shaving cream one day, though, and figured something that touted triple moisture might be a good substitute. It was, though I still don't know what it smells like. Maybe roses. All the ingredients are chemicals and I am not familiar with the scent of Tocopheryl Acetate and Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium.

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Strong Lengths Nourishing Shampoo: Still good. I also finished one of these back in November. It was shampoo-like.

Benefit BAD Gal Lash Mascara: This was one of the mascaras I actually blogged about back in my Mascara Chronicles days. It seems like every time I get rid of a trial size of this stuff, I somehow get another. Sephora loved to put them in their mascara sampler kits. This time around I didn't hate it quite as much as previously. The formula was slightly less dry and I appreciate the brush more since it was soft and didn't attack my eyelid skin like so many others I have been trying lately. Still wouldn't buy a full size, though. It flaked off like before and wasn't dramatic-looking enough for my taste.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner (Indigo): I loved the color of this liner, it was very true to the color of the packaging. Unfortunately that was about it for me. The liner tip was flimsy and didn't really work well for me when I wanted to wing my liner out. It also seems to have dried out very quickly. For $20 a pop, I was bummed that this didn't last anywhere near as long as my go-to black L'Oreal liner.

Studio 35 Beauty Dry Skin Cream: I think Studio 35 might be Walgreens-brand skincare items? I'm not sure. I actually bought this back when I had the terrible Yes To Cucumbers Moisturizer that I posted about in November. I needed something to smooth out the lumpy gross-ness and this was cheap. Turned out it wasn't a terrible moisturizer on its own and it lasted a long time. Not my favorite, but definitely something I will keep in mind if I find myself poor and under-moisturized at the same time.

Solstice Scents Sugared Amber Whipped Cleansing Scrub (Tropical Moon): I shouldn't have left this one for last because it's another one I already reviewed previously which makes it kind of boring. It was scrubby, it smelled like tropical. Heavy on the smoky coconut scent. Yeah, I need to think the order over better when I photograph in the future. End with something that I have more to say about. Though props to me, I have dragged this paragraph out pretty well for something I had nothing to say about.

There has been lots of exciting news for my friends and family lately. My childhood friend Jessica had her baby (he was a month early, but weighed like a billion pounds so I think he was just trying to be born before his 3rd birthday) Today is another childhood friend's birthday (which means it is also my 1/2 birthday) It is ALSO my brother and his boyfriend's 1st anniversary today, so Happy Anniversary Sean and Jacob!

The Tale Of Glinda

Glinda may not be such a good witch, breaking Jason Segel's heart like she did, but she IS a good eyeshadow palette. Ever since my bff Kristen showed me hers, I was obsessed and needed it. I happened to stop in Sephora a couple of weekends ago and it was there and it became mine. Sort of.

For those who haven't seen it, The Glinda Palette is by Urban Decay and you can see it on the Sephora website. It comes with 6 shadows (they try to call it 8 but their 1/2 shadow nonsense isn't fooling me) and 1 lip color. The case is reusable so you can pop any UD singles into it to create your own travel palette once this one is gone. Cool, right? Except mine looked like this:

4 shadows and two... things. I was super sad. I took the palette back to Sephora, but they didn't have any more to sell me. Instead they gave me a credit to use to order it online. Only the credit didn't work online, they can only be used in stores. Luckily the manager understood where I was going with all this and offered to order one in for me.  Finally this past Friday it arrived and was not defective and I love it. So of course I had to play with it.

This adorable bow was a gift from Laura @ The Shop of Worldly Delights

(blush is MAC Veronica's Blush Pearlmatte)

Overall I am really happy with this purchase and though I was ready to write Sephora off after the gift card that wouldn't work online thing, they came back and restored my faith when they ordered the palette in for me. Special thanks to Matt and Kristen (he for telling me not to scream my head off at them and she for letting me vent about the issue) for your help in making this happen. Now off to eat Girl Scout cookie and watch RuPaul's Drag Race.