Updates & Alerts!

Hey strangers!

Remember how I thought my life would be calmed down by now? It hasn’t calmed down at all. I’m still clawing my way out of the hole that I buried myself in at work and the two weeks that I had time to upload, my computer decided that it didn’t want to work or show any pictures in the system. Pretty standard for how things go for me, haha. Anyways, I’m working my tush off trying to get caught up and get my life back and get back to you beautiful people. Deepest apologies for leaving you all hanging, but I had to put on my big girl pants and focus on career before hobby and leisure (yuck).

Some updates for you in the beauty department before I get back to working (yes, on a Saturday night. Life is super lame in the buried-myself-in-work-hole):

1. I stumbled upon a fabulous new site/program for fashion lovers who are looking to expand or build their wardrobe or just get out of a fashion rut. Stitch Fix is like a beauty box but is a personal styling service for clothing and accessories.

You sign up and tell Stitch Fix your style, size, lifestyle, and budget preferences. The site shows you different outfits that you rate and you describe your personal tastes. The company matches you with a stylist who chooses items for your box that fit your profile; you can even link your Pinterest account to your Stitch Fix account so that your stylist can get a better idea of your fashion tastes. You sign up for a shipment date – no monthly plan here, you choose your own schedule! – and your stylist will send you five pieces that they feel suit you with suggestions on different ways to wear/style each item. You try everything on at home, decide what you want, and send back what you don’t want (return shipping is free). There is a $20 styling fee for each Fix. If you decide to keep an item, the $20 goes towards it; if you don’t keep anything, you lose the $20. However, there is bound to be something that you fall for and you get $25 off if you keep all five items. When you go back to Stitch Fix to purchase or pass on the items you were sent, you provide your stylist with feedback on each piece so that they can do an even better job on the next box. What an awesome way to be introduced to new brands and get stylish new wardrobe staples that you can try on from the comfort of home! I’m getting a Fix soon and will keep you posted. In the meantime, you can sign up for Stitch Fix too – let them know I referred you!  🙂  https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3438864

2. Hautelook continues to empty my wallet with a great array of beauty offerings. The site just had Sephora by OPI polishes for $3 a bottle and I forgot to tell you guys – beauty blogger fail. My bad. But the good news is that everyday brings new beauty goodies. Current sales include Crown Brush and a Beauty Bag, and Pur Minerals, Argan Magic Haircare, and Sibu Beauty are going live within the next few days. Sign up today and you get access to these killer sales! http://www.hautelook.com/short/3MYw6

3. I’m still getting Ipsy but haven’t been able to post my bags lately with my hectic schedule and stupid computer issues. My November and December bags were so-so, but Ipsy really brought it back to what I love with my January and February bags, so I think I’ll keep my subscription. For $10, it’s a cheap way to try new products that I might not have picked up on my own. Plus I feel like you definitely get your moneys worth – my last bag included a full-sized Zoya from the new Naturals line, which retails for about $8. This means just my polish alone was almost the cost of the entire bag, which included 4 other products plus the bag itself! Good deal. There is a waitlist for Ipsy, but sometimes the company puts up “Waitlist cuts” on Facebook where you get to skip the line, so keep an eye out if you’re interested.

Let me know if you sign up for anything and discover any new goodies that I should try! I’m hoping that I’m all caught up with work soon and can come back here with a vengeance; I’ll keep you posted along the way, so don’t forget about me!

– Jay

“The Art of Beauty” October 2013 Ipsy Glam Bag Review & Swatches

Another month, another Ipsy bag! Even though these bags seem to be coming later and later in the month for me, I still love coming home to find a hot pink package filled with makeup surprises waiting for me.  🙂  This month’s theme is “The Art of Beauty” – “Get ready for a month of masterful makeup tricks and delightful beauty treats. Whether you’re headed to a fancy Fall ball or impressing the crowd with a jaw-dropping avant-garde costume, this month’s brand partners have something to help perfect your Look!”

Every Ipsy customer receives a different array of products out of a possible 15 (which has been a point of contention for some subscribers who see products they want, but didn’t receive – although there is an Ipsy swap section). My Art of Beauty bag contained a full-size Zoya polish, a full-size Bella Terra Mineral Cosmetics Mineral Shimmer, a travel-size Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Gel, a full-size Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush, and La Fresh Eco-Beauty cleansing wipes.

The first product in the bag I tried was the La Fresh Oil-Free Face Cleanser.

These eco-friendly, biodegradable wipes gently clean without parabens, sulfates, dyes, and other products that could irritate skin. The wipes contain good-for-skin ingredients like papaya, pineapple, cucumber, marshmallow, oat, aloe, chamomile extracts, and Vitamin C & Vitamin E. They gently clean and detoxify while removing light makeup. I’m so-so on these wipes. I don’t wear heavy makeup, but I also don’t wear light makeup – I strike a balance somewhere in between depending on how my skin is looking that day. These wipes remove a little makeup, but honestly don’t take off that much. They feel refreshing though, especially as a pick-me-up on bare skin. I also like that these cleansing wipes are good for skin and nature. A 30 pack of these wipes costs $9.99, so I’d value the 10-pack I received at 3.33.

The next product I tried was the Coastal Scents Medium Shadow brush. “This medium sized, versatile brush is ideal for applying any type of eye shadow. The pony haired bristles are both wide in shape and condensed, while remaining evenly distributed. This allows the artist to uniformly cover the whole eyelid in just a few simple strokes, which saves not only time, but eye shadow as well.”

As with the La Fresh wipes, I’m so-so on the Coastal Scents brush. I prefer synthetic bristles for texture and hygienic reasons, so I was wishing right off the bat that Ipsy/Coastal Scents had sent out the synthetic version. The bristles were a little scritchy and smelled weird (blechhh), although washing may solve both. On the plus side, I did like the shape of the brush and the density of the bristles. It applied the Bella Terra shadow quite nicely, but I think I’ll stick the brushes I already have in rotation. This Coastal Scents brush retails for $2.49.

The Coastal Scents brush went hand-in-hand with the next product I tried, the Bella Terra Mineral Cosmetics Mineral Shimmer in Emotion.

While the mineral shimmer is generally used as a dry shadow, Bella Terra suggests eight other ways to use the product –

8-in-1 Mineral Shimmers:

1. Creamy Shadow – moisten the brush to create richer, more intense eye color that doesn’t crease.
2. Matte Shadow – mix the Shimmer with Bella Terra’s Eye Primer for a matte shadow look.
3. Eyeliner – wet the tip of an eye liner brush and apply around the lash line for high-intensity eye definition.
4. Lip Color – mix any of our Shimmers with lip balm or lip gloss to create intense lip color.
5. Nail Polish – add to clear nail polish for a unique nail color that matches your eye shadow.
6. Body Glitter – mix with body lotion to create an all-over body shimmer.
7. Mascara – dip clear-color mascara or Bella Terra’s Mascara Primer brush into the Shimmer for amazing lash colors.
8. Hair Streaks – mix a small amount of Shimmer with hair gel and apply to a strand of hair for a funky, streaked look that easily washes off later.

I stuck with the regular, straight-from-the-pot eyeshadow application. Emotion is a lovely wine burgundy with shimmer that applies a little sheer but builds easily. I may try using this as a cream shadow or eyeliner, but will probably steer clear of the other suggestions just because they’re not up my alley.

Bella Terra Mineral Shimmers retail online for $14.99 each.

The next product I tried was my favorite from this month’s bag – Neve by Zoya. “Part of the Fall 2013 CASHMERES & SATINS Collection, these shades are created to work together with this season’s most stylish runway designs and luxurious fabric blends. These ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE – free of toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).”

Neve is a metallic sapphire almost-blurple originally designed for Zang Toi. The formula was a breeze and I love the jewel-tone of this beautiful shade – it just glows! This will be a great winter shade. Zoya retails for $8 a bottle.

The last product in my Art of Beauty bag is Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Gel. “The Sexy Hair Blow Gel is an alcohol-free gel that thickens hair while adding volume. It also helps retain moisture so your hair never feels dry. Delivers a light to medium hold.”

I don’t blow dry or use any other heat stylers on my hair, so I haven’t tried this product and cannot vouch for it. I plan on giving it to my mom because she blow dries her hair every day and will actually get use out of it. However, I can say that I have hair care products by the line and like all of them. This travel-size bottle retails for $5.

All in all, the products in this bag add up to a total retail value of $33.81; add in the little bag and I’d round it up to $35. That’s a great value for a bag I paid $10 for – woohoo!  I certainly like this bag more than other recent ones and am getting my use out of the products already. I’m happy with Ipsy and can’t wait to see what the November bag brings.  🙂

 

“Classic Beauty” September 2013 Ipsy Glam Bag Review & Swatches

It’s that time again – Glam Bag time! As you may have noticed, I skipped reviewing August’s bag. First of all, there was some kind of delay and I didn’t get it until almost the end of the month. I was excited for it (who doesn’t want a bag of surprise goodies delivered to their door?)…then a little perturbed but still pretty excited…then neutral…then irritated…and then it arrived. Secondly, I didn’t really care for anything in it. I got a “sneak peek” email preview with pictures of Urban Decay’s new Revolution lipstick and Smashbox’s primer and then opened my bag to find chapstick and a light mineral BB cream. Womp, womp.

September’s bag is better (although still not the best). This month’s theme is Classic Beauty and it features products central to classic, beautiful makeup looks. The bag also came with a little self-promotion from Michelle Phan (beauty blogger and one Ipsy’s founders), who is just starting a new makeup line.

 

Trial look card for em

 

 

This month I received Elizabeth Mott It’s So Big Volumizing Mascara, a NYX eyeshadow in Charcoal, Starlooks Obsidian Kohl Eye Pencil, J. Cat Beauty Fantabulous Lipstick in Honeycrisp, and skyn Iceland Hydro-Cool Firming Eye Gels. My bag featured products that could create a nude lip and smoky eye, so I can see where it fits under the “classic beauty” category. The bag is really cute this month, although I wish the outside wasn’t made out of nylon – it looks a little cheap up close (although I suppose it technically is). My other grumble is that Ipsy sent me a “sneak peek” email featuring Butter London but, just like with last month, I didn’t receive that product. I understand that each bag is different and customized, but listen Ipsy – don’t send me a teaser email for a product I’d love to have and then not send it to me. If it’s a mass email to everyone, maybe you should only do that with products that everyone will receive, like the Zoya polishes you sent out in the spring.

The first items I pulled out of my bag were the eye gels by skyn Iceland. I received two pairs and was actually excited to see these in my bag because I am currently trying to take really good care of my under eye area. The skin around your eyes is so sensitive and can age quickly; although I’m young, it’s never too early to take good care of your skin!

I haven’t tried these eye gels yet. I’m saving them for a rough day at work with my 11 year olds so that I can come home, kick back, and pamper myself. Here is how this product works – “In just ten minutes, this cooling transdermal gel patch infuses the eye area with concentrated doses of soothing ingredients to firm, tone and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Peptides and botanicals improve blood flow and reduce puffiness while advanced antioxidants help prevent future damage.” The website has some crazy before/after photos and the product has good reviews, so I am happy that these were one of my selected products. skyn Iceland eye gels retail for $30/8 pairs and I got 2 pairs, so this part of my bag is valued at $7.50.

The next thing in my bag is J. Cat Beauty’s Fantabulous Lipstick in Honeycrisp.

I groaned a little when I saw this in my bag, and not in a good way. First of all, I don’t like J. Cat Beauty. The products are cheap and the last J. Cat product that Ipsy sent me was a horrendous glitter cream palette that scratched the skin and was better suited to a 5 year old than a 24 year old. Second, the color peeking through the tube at me did not look like anything I’d ever reach for on the shelf.

It actually wasn’t as horrendous as I was anticipating, although I stand by my “J. Cat Beauty is a cheap brand” statement. The lipstick glides on, has a slightly sweet smell and creamy texture, and needs a few coats for even, opaque coverage. It’s hard to see on my hand, but it’s more of a natural nude on than it looks in the tube. It’s so nude, in fact, that my lips largely disappeared into my skin when I wore it. I tried taking a picture of this lipstick on but nothing looked quite right because you couldn’t really see my lips. Wear time is okay; I may wear this here and there when I wear a really bold eye and need a neutral lip to balance it out. J. Cat Fantabulous lipsticks come in 48 different shades and retail for $2.49.

Next up is Elizabeth Mott’s It’s So Big Volumizing Mascara. I don’t like opening mascaras until I need them because once you open a mascara and expose it to the air, you’ve introduced the product to bacteria. Once the wand has had that exposure and goes back into the tube, bacteria can easily grow because it’s living in a dark, moist environment. I don’t want that bacteria just hanging out for months until I happen to come back to that mascara; hello eye issues! With that in mind, I haven’t opened my It’s So Big (snicker) mascara yet.

This mascara is meant to lengthen and curl lashes without smudging and deliver the perfect amount of product to each lash because of the hourglass-shaped brush. Word on the street is that this mascara is nice for natural but noticeable lashes, although it won’t give you the volume needed for “Wow!” lashes. Users also report that it does hold a curl very well. It’s So Big! in full size is 10ml/$20; my sample is 4 ml, so I’d value it at about $8.

My bag also featured a NYX single eyeshadow in Charcoal. I’m kind of “eh” about NYX. They’re not bad products for the price, I just don’t love them. They’re nice but don’t knock my socks off, if you know what I mean.

I was pleasantly surprised by this eye shadow! I am a little hesitant to wear black or gray as eye shadow, but this charcoal shade was a light, buildable gray. It was pretty soft and easy to blend. Do I absolutely love it? No. Do I like it? Yes. Will I wear it? Sure! NYX single eye shadows are available in 50 shades in a variety of finishes and retail for $4.50 each.

Last but not least is the Kohl Eye Pencil by Starlooks in Obsidian. Starlooks has this to say about their product: “Dramatically emphasize your eyes with Starlooks’ intensely-pigmented Kohl Eye pencils! These ultra-soft liners glide across delicate lids without pulling. Try a smokey effect by blending outwards with a fluffy brush!”

This pencil stuttered and pulled a little as I first applied it but glided smoothly after the pencil had warmed up a bit against my skin. It gave a dark, even coverage and built up nicely. The liner is smudgeable when first applied and didn’t move on me after it had set; in fact, the swatch didn’t completely come off of my hand with soap. The only downside for me was that the wooden part of the pencil scratched me a little bit, just like my Starlooks lip liner. Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencils retail for $12.

In total, September’s Ipsy bag comes in at $34.49 in value – I definitely got more than I paid for this month! I like this month’s products. The eye liner and eye gels were my favorite things in the bag; I’m pretty impartial regarding the rest. I signed up for Ipsy to try new products and be introduced to new brands, but lately I’ve been receiving a lot of Starlooks, J. Cat, and Chella beauty products. I don’t like J. Cat and while the other two are nice, I would also like to receive a range of brands. Fingers crossed for October’s bag!

“Beach Beauty” July 2013 Ipsy Glam Bag Review & Swatches

Glam Bag time! I love coming home from work and finding that bright pink shipping bag propped up against my door waiting for me.  🙂  July’s theme is “Beach Beauty,” which is perfect because I’m heading to the beach soon (woohoo!).

As soon as I opened up the shipping pouch, I got hit with the smell of plastic. Ew. It turns out that the smell was coming from this month’s bag, which is a hot pink jelly plastic bag. No thank you! It’s not that cute and it stinks. I’m valuing it at only about $1 because it smells and I don’t like it. Good thing it was filled with fun goodies!

To be honest, I was a little mixed in feelings when I opened my bag. I had gotten an email saying Benetint (by Benefit) was a featured product of this month’s bag. I figured that, as such, it would be one of the products that ends up in every bag…nope. Scowl. I have wanted to try Benetint for ages! I’m not very skilled at blending out quick-dry liquids though, so not receiving Benetint could actually be an okay thing.

First up, another product I have been wanting to try – Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray. According to Ulta’s site, this “Soy Renewal Beach Spray provides body, fullness and light hold while helping to nourish, protect and heal hair damage with the power of Argan Oil.  It creates undone texture that looks and feels like you¿ve spent a day by the sea.” It’s listed as a texturizer but also has conditioning properties – snazzy! The full size bottle is 5.1 oz and retails for $19.95; my bottle is a third of the size at 1.7 oz, so I value it at about $6.65.

I was pleasantly surprised by this Beach Spray! That little nozzle packs a punch – the first time I sprayed it I was too close and had one very saturated spot of hair. Holding it at more of a distance gives a nice, even spritz. The bottle says that this product can be used on wet or dry hair. I shampoo and condition my hair and then let it air dry without products, so I’ve only used this on dry hair. Some reviews I’ve spotted have said that using this on wet hair can cause it to dry snarled and sticky. I had no such problems with dry hair. I spray a little on the underside of my hair and tousle it, then flip my hair over and do the same on the top. The spray gives my hair a tiny bit of volume (although it is not long lasting for me), gives me a little texture, and makes my hair feel and smell nice. No big, dramatic results here, but I still like it. Would I purchase it in full size? Ehhh…maybe if I had a coupon or something. I’m taking this little guy to the beach with me as one of my main hair products though!

The next item out of my bag was the Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt from Pop Beauty. This lip crayon comes in a pack of six on the Pop Beauty website, so I’d value my single product at $4.17.

According to Pop Beauty, “these extra-nourishing balms gently bounce onto lips, creating a plumped & pillowy pout and leaving them with luscious, long-lasting colour in a super-smooth texture.” I swatched this first on my hand, just running the crayon back and forth a few times –

The majority of balms I’ve tried have been sheer, with just a touch of color – this one packs a punch compared to most balms! I’d say it’s more like a lipstick than a balm. I like the color I received; although not an everyday shade for me, the bubble-gummy pink is a pretty one.

Natural light

Indoor lighting w/ flash

While I wouldn’t say this crayon “bounced” onto my lips, it did apply very smoothly and with fairly even pigmentation. I used a few swipes and the crayon made it easy to control where the product was ending up. I was a little concerned that I’d have to sharpen the crayon, but the end twists the product up out of the tube. The crayon didn’t moisturize my lips but also did not dry them out. The color also lasted longer than some lipsticks I’ve tried. Overall, I like this product but would like it more if it could be bought singly instead of as part of a six pack.

Ipsy also partnered with bh Cosmetics this month, which is a brand I had never heard of until I received my bag. bh has three California themed eye shadow and blush palettes – Hollywood, San Francisco, and Malibu. Instead of sending a single shadow or a full-sized palette, Ipsy met in the middle by sending a mini palette comprised of one shade from each palette.

Hollywood appears to be a deep purple shadow but is actually fairly sheer and not as deep as it appears. It took a lot of passes to build up the color with this shade. San Francisco is a light, sparkly brown shadow and is, like Hollywood, pretty sheer. Malibu is a golden shimmer, the most pigmented of the three shades, and my favorite of the trio.

Indoor lighting

Shade

These shadows were meh for me. The colors chosen from each palette for this sampler were good choices color-wise in that they form a pretty eye together. However, the pigmentation was less than I like and the shadows weren’t very easy to work with – they felt a bit dry and weren’t very smooth to apply. You can purchase the full-sized bh palettes online for $17.95, although they’re currently on sale for $9.95. I’d value the Ipsy trio at around $2 based on an average of the full-sized pricing.

Next out of my bag was a sample-sized Rose Essence Tinted Moisturizer mineral sunscreen by Coola organic suncare. Here is Coola’s description of this product –

Keep the sun and environment at bay with this SPF 20 broad-spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen, a tinted, light Rose scented, Titanium Dioxide based formula (for those who are Zinc sensitive) made with 98% natural ingredients. Organic Acai Oil – high in Omegas-3/6/9, Vitamins B1/2/3, plus antioxidant Vitamins C and E – delivers a powerful defense against aging. Organic Sunflower Seed Extract promotes elasticity while organic Linseed Oil, containing Alpha-Linolenic Acids, reduces redness and irritation. The phyto-protector Plankton Extract rejuvenates, as organic Cucumber Extract calms skin.

• Hypoallergenic
• Paraben Free
• Ultra Sheer
• Anti-Aging
• Water Resistant (40 minutes)

This sample size is about 1/7 of the size of the actual product at only .23 oz. I am heading to the beach in a little over a week and decided to hold onto this until then to use in place of makeup in the early evenings. I did dot some onto my hand though to test the consistency, look, etc.

Dotted and blended out to the right

Dotted and blended out to the right

This product comes out of the tube tinted but does apply very sheer. I could tell where it was blended on my hand because it had a slight color difference and a little shimmer, but you’d have to know where to look to notice. The product smelled nice and felt smooth against skin. I really like that this product is hypoallergenic and free of parabens, making it more skin-friendly – plus it contains anti-agers and skin soothers! The SPF is a little low and its wear time isn’t very long so I wouldn’t depend on this for actual sunscreen if you burn easily or want maximum skin protection (hence my saving it for early evening instead of prime beach-time). The big downside to this product in my book? The price. A 1.7 oz bottle will set you back $36.00…yikes.

Last but not least is one of my favorite products from the bag – Nailtini’s Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer in Mai Tai, a shade described on the site as a “vibrant sunrise coral.”

I had never heard of Nailtini before (despite being a polish junkie), but knew I liked the brand as soon as I read their description online –

Welcome to the ‘Tini Bar, stocked with top-shelf cosmetics inspired by
“cocktailing.” Wear them alone or layered to create custom looks and colors …
whatever you feel like stirring up. Enjoy, and as always, apply responsibly.

Cocktail-inspired polish? Sounds good to me! I applied two coats of Mai Tai over a base coat for the swatches below.

Direct sunlight

W/ flash

Shade

I love this polish! It was smooth and a dream to apply. Mai Tai dried quickly to a beautiful shine – swatches above are without a top coat.  The polish wore well and the shade is beautiful! It’s a very orange-y version of coral, but the “sunset” description is spot on. Now if only I had a Mai Tai to drink while wearing this… This polish retails for $13.00.

“Beach Beauty” was a really nice bag full of great summertime products. Glam Bags are $10 a month – about $9 for me because I signed up for a yearly subscription. This bag retails at just over $31 total. I believe there is currently a waitlist, but if you sign up for Ipsy I’d really appreciate it if you used my recommendation link! – http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-hfomrhebjvjd1ntm

 

My 1st Glam Bag! Ipsy May 2013 (Spring Fling) Bag

As a beauty junkie, I have been eyeballing subscription beauty boxes and bags for months now. For those of you unfamiliar with the subscription bit – you sign up for a monthly or yearly service and pay a set price per month; in return, a company sends you a random mix of beauty products, usually with some kind of theme behind the blend of products. It’s a great way to try a variety of beauty products for a fraction of the price.After going back and forth (Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes. Will it save me some money instead of me shopping for new products? Probably. Is it worth the money? For me, probably. …and so on) and doing my research, I finally decided at the end of last month to subscribe to Ipsy. I chose Ipsy because they send a lot of full or deluxe sized products as opposed to sample sizes, it’s only about $9 a month (for a year subscription), and they feature great beauty brands.

My first bag came in the mail today! I was so excited to come home to this little pink beauty waiting for me at the front door –

This month’s theme is Spring Fling. There were a number of different products that you could receive, and Ipsy has been releasing teaser Sneak Peeks the past few weeks. The company chooses which of the products to send you based off of a beauty and lifestyle survey that you take when you sign up for the site. The Spring Fling bag is a cute little nylon chevron-print and, man, do they pack the products in there! Here is a good look at the bag and a quick peek at the products I received –

The bag itself is growing on me. It felt a little chinsy at first because it’s thin nylon, but I actually like the material. I think that this will make a nice little bag to toss some odds and ends in for my beach bag. It’s got a nice zipper closure, is easily wipeable, and has a cute print. I’d value it at a couple bucks maybe? I’m going to go with $5, although my hubby says that’s lowballing it.

The first item I pulled out was the Island Vanilla Perfume Rollerball by Pacifica. Pacifica describes the fragrance as – “Inspired by the unique magic of Tahitian vanilla, this sensual blend sets sweet and sultry vanilla absolute, with honey-jasmine notes and a touch of fruitiness, against a deep and beautiful base of tea.” This is certainly a unique summer fragrance. It’s sweet but deep, a little floral but with a strong vanilla note. My favorite thing about the fragrance may not be the scent though – the perfume is vegan, cruelty free, made without junk ingredients like parabens or phthalates, and a portion of the proceeds support clean water. You can smell pretty and support a good company – score! The Rollerball retails for $12/.33 oz.

Rollerball

Next I pulled out another Pacifica treat, a 2oz. Coconut Crushed Pearl luminizing body butter. Pacifica’s site says “Shimmer and glow from the inside out with our Luminizing Body Butter.  A little goes a long way with this generously sized, multi-tasking product that brings you healthy moisture and instantly illuminates skin with just-right shimmer.  Ultra-nourishing phytonutrients and natural powerhouse ingredients like coconut, argan oil and tamanu, hydrate and make skin healthier and younger-acting long term.” A little does go a very long way with this lotion and the luminizing shimmer is nice and subtle. This will be a really nice lotion to use during the summer to make my summer tan look more glowy. The scent is okay. At first it smelled a little too synthetic-coconut for me, but once it started to wear away it became more sweet and wearable in my book. Like the rollerball, this body butter is vegan, contains great ingredients, and a portion of the proceeds support clean water. This 2oz. body butter retails for $7.

Smeared on left, blended into skin on right

The next product out of the bag was a full-sized Zoya polish from the Spring Lovely collection. I had my fingers crossed that I didn’t get Blu, which I already own and swatched! As it turns out, I got Julie, a “soft wisteria” lavender purple with shimmer in it. According to Zoya, Julie is a metallic shade. I only swatched Julie on paper for now (regular swatch post to come), but it looks like a lovely, soft, feminine polish shade. I don’t have many purples and I think I’ll like this one. My brush was a little wonky (see below), but looked okay once I ripped out the weird bristle. Zoya is Big 5 Free and retails for $8.

Whoa brush, calm down

There were a couple different lip products that went out in the May bags to subscribers, some the same product but in different shades. I received a Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Fig, a rosy bronze shimmer. Juice’s Reflecting Gloss is made with all organic ingredients like healing sesame seed oil and a large number of antioxidant-rich ingredients, designed to nourish your lips while providing color and high shine. I loved that this gloss was slick and not sticky, gave the perfect amount of color, and made my lips feel taken care of. And it smells good, which is always a plus! I wasn’t big on the color at first, but I actually think it will look really nice when I have more of a tan (I’m a tad pale at the moment). I still kind of wish I had gotten the pink, but that’s okay! This gloss on the site is listed as $15/0.28oz, but the one in my bag looks a little different in terms of the tube and is marked on the bottom as 0.14oz. As it’s half the size of the listed gloss, I’m pricing it at $7.50.

Fig

Bare lips

Wearing Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Fig

Last but not least, I received a full-sized Yaby concealer refill in cc008 buff. This is an itty-bitty concealer at 3.5 grams – I thought it was a sample size until I got on the Yaby site to check out pricing. Ipsy used my user profile to color match me and got my shade spot on  🙂  I just swiped my finger through the pan, but the concealer feels creamy without being so soft that I fear it will settle into fine lines or crease. Swatched against my forearm, it appeared to give good coverage and didn’t pull much for a pan concealer. The concealer is vegan and comes in a wide range of shades, including correction shades (yellows, greens, etc).  This Yaby concealer retails for $4.85/3.5grams.

Swatched below watermark, indoor w/ flash

Swatched below watermark, natural low light

I signed up for the discounted yearly subscription (vs. paying month by month), so this bag cost me $9.16. The total value of this month’s bag comes to $44.35 (with what I estimated the bag itself at). What a fantastic deal!

I’m really happy with my first Ipsy bag. It came with brands I’ve never tried before and probably would not have otherwise, is a great value, and I love that it contained so many vegan/cruelty-free products. My only gripe is that I’m very impatient and wish the bags came sooner in the month. Also, I really was hoping to get the St. Tropez – I like everything I did get though! I can’t wait to see what next month’s bag brings   🙂

(Sorry that was a novel. Go rest your eyes now.)