I haven't blogged about my Ipsy bags for a while - to be honest, my bag last month was completely underwhelming, between the canned water, fragrance, and subpar eye shadow. However, the items in my bag this month seemed rather promising, so here I am.
First of all, the bag is a Rebecca Minkoff design. I don't actually know anything about Rebecca Minkoff aside from the fact that one of her bags was given away on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I assume she's some fancy designer line? My bag has a negative-image of pineapples or something. *shrug* Last month's bag was cooler.
I got a Jesse's Girl Cosmetics liquid eyeliner pen. I thought it was a felt-tip liner, but on closer inspection, I found that it wasn't actually felt.
I think they actually are really sleek, stiff bristles. I really liked the application, but the liner wasn't really anything to write home about - I love a dark, inky black liquid liner, and this one was just okay. It took a few passes to get it looking like what my preferred liquid liners can do. I would love to know if this formula is waterproof - that would really elevate it, in my opinion.
I also got Be a Bombshell's Lash Out mascara. (I didn't photograph it.) Again, it wasn't really special. The formula seemed a little on the dry side to me (I prefer wetter mascaras), and a couple coats didn't really add much to my lashes. Wah wah. (But it does not flake off into my eye and irritate me, so... that's a plus. My lashes feel soft.)
I was super excited to get a tube of NYX's Butter Gloss! I've heard good things about their Butter Gloss and Butter Lipstick, so I'm glad I got one to try.
The shade I got is called Apple Streudel, which is really confusing to me, because it looks like it should be called melon or coral. It is the color that you see in the tube, because the tube is actually clear. However, when I swatched and applied it, it wasn't that beautiful coral color, but just a pale pink. So I'm not in love with the color (especially for summer, when my skin gets darker and therefore I REALLY can't pull off pale pastel lipcolor), but the formula is nice - soft, slick, not sticky. I may at some point want to pick up a Butter Gloss in a color more suited to me.
I also received a deluxe sample size of Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray. It's to help me "create sexy, tousled beach waves all year long." Unfortunately, I have stubborn-as-hell stick-straight hair in a pixie cut, so... yeah, I'm gonna give this to someone who can actually use it. (Enough with the hair products, Ipsy! There's a reason why I left Birchbox years ago!)
Lastly, and perhaps most intriguingly, was this deluxe foundation sample I received:
The brand is called Laneige ("neige" is French for snow, isn't it?) and it's some sort of BB foundation. I'm definitely always curious about these. The pack came with samples of all three shades (light, medium, dark) as well as a mini "puff" (which is really just a sponge, not puff-y at all).
It says something about a patented cushion, and indeed when I opened it, there was a little spongy thing inside the pan. I guess the sponge holds all the product and helps you dispense the right amount.
Is that really a patented thing, just to stick a sponge in your liquid foundation? *shrug* I figured I was closest to Medium, so I applied it to my face using the "puff," and then I decided to use my fingers to apply Dark as a contour and Light as a highlight.
I thought it was rather frustrating to pick up product from the "cushion" using the "puff," and infinitely preferred using my fingers. Also, in recent years I've grown accustomed to blending my foundation with a brush, so... yeah, I wonder how compatible this "cushion" is with using a brush.
The color match wasn't too bad, but to be honest, a Medium-Dark option would've been better. I felt like the Medium was a little on the pale side for me. It gave a light-ish coverage. Although, since I was just testing it out, I wasn't piling on a bunch of it or anything.
The scent is really strong, and I don't love it. As I ate dinner afterward, all I could smell was my foundation, which is no bueno. However, I don't feel it on my face, so I guess that's a plus?
If I sound unimpressed by my bag this month, it's probably because I am. I don't hate anything I got this month, but I didn't love anything either - I'm always up for trying new products (which is why I'm still an Ipsy subscriber in the first place), and sometimes you get a hit, and sometimes you get a miss. They're not bad products, and as you can see, they don't look terrible on me (at least, I don't think they do) - it's just that I already have a lot of products in exactly these categories (foundation, lipgloss, mascara, and eyeliner) that are SUPER good, so it would take a lot to impress me.
Bottom line: Decent products, though not exceptional. The combination of products really makes for a nice little "kit" - as you can see, I was able to create a decent look with just the items from my bag (which I can't always do with my Ipsy bags), and I really appreciate that. A cute little bag with everything I need for a quick look is always appreciated. (Though, the foundation samples were single-use, so... yeah, I guess I can't create this look a second time necessarily.) With the exception of the NYX Butter Gloss (which I had already been wanting to try before this month), I don't think I'd purchase any of these items for myself, but again, that's because I already have go-to products in these categories.
If you're interested in subscribing to Ipsy, feel free to use my referral link here.
*EDITED TO ADD* My Ipsy Glam Room tells me that the liquid liner IS waterproof, so there you go. I like it better already. :)
 |
| June items, and me wearing them |
I got a Jesse's Girl Cosmetics liquid eyeliner pen. I thought it was a felt-tip liner, but on closer inspection, I found that it wasn't actually felt.
I think they actually are really sleek, stiff bristles. I really liked the application, but the liner wasn't really anything to write home about - I love a dark, inky black liquid liner, and this one was just okay. It took a few passes to get it looking like what my preferred liquid liners can do. I would love to know if this formula is waterproof - that would really elevate it, in my opinion.
I also got Be a Bombshell's Lash Out mascara. (I didn't photograph it.) Again, it wasn't really special. The formula seemed a little on the dry side to me (I prefer wetter mascaras), and a couple coats didn't really add much to my lashes. Wah wah. (But it does not flake off into my eye and irritate me, so... that's a plus. My lashes feel soft.)
I was super excited to get a tube of NYX's Butter Gloss! I've heard good things about their Butter Gloss and Butter Lipstick, so I'm glad I got one to try.
The shade I got is called Apple Streudel, which is really confusing to me, because it looks like it should be called melon or coral. It is the color that you see in the tube, because the tube is actually clear. However, when I swatched and applied it, it wasn't that beautiful coral color, but just a pale pink. So I'm not in love with the color (especially for summer, when my skin gets darker and therefore I REALLY can't pull off pale pastel lipcolor), but the formula is nice - soft, slick, not sticky. I may at some point want to pick up a Butter Gloss in a color more suited to me.
I also received a deluxe sample size of Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray. It's to help me "create sexy, tousled beach waves all year long." Unfortunately, I have stubborn-as-hell stick-straight hair in a pixie cut, so... yeah, I'm gonna give this to someone who can actually use it. (Enough with the hair products, Ipsy! There's a reason why I left Birchbox years ago!)
Lastly, and perhaps most intriguingly, was this deluxe foundation sample I received:
The brand is called Laneige ("neige" is French for snow, isn't it?) and it's some sort of BB foundation. I'm definitely always curious about these. The pack came with samples of all three shades (light, medium, dark) as well as a mini "puff" (which is really just a sponge, not puff-y at all).
It says something about a patented cushion, and indeed when I opened it, there was a little spongy thing inside the pan. I guess the sponge holds all the product and helps you dispense the right amount.
 |
| Clockwise from the top: Sponge, Light, Dark, Medium FYI: I took this picture after I applied the foundation, so that "puff" has been used by me. It didn't arrive all dirty =P |
Is that really a patented thing, just to stick a sponge in your liquid foundation? *shrug* I figured I was closest to Medium, so I applied it to my face using the "puff," and then I decided to use my fingers to apply Dark as a contour and Light as a highlight.
I thought it was rather frustrating to pick up product from the "cushion" using the "puff," and infinitely preferred using my fingers. Also, in recent years I've grown accustomed to blending my foundation with a brush, so... yeah, I wonder how compatible this "cushion" is with using a brush.
The color match wasn't too bad, but to be honest, a Medium-Dark option would've been better. I felt like the Medium was a little on the pale side for me. It gave a light-ish coverage. Although, since I was just testing it out, I wasn't piling on a bunch of it or anything.
The scent is really strong, and I don't love it. As I ate dinner afterward, all I could smell was my foundation, which is no bueno. However, I don't feel it on my face, so I guess that's a plus?
 |
| Me wearing everything except the hairspray. No powder or primers or anything. Face was clean pre-application |
If I sound unimpressed by my bag this month, it's probably because I am. I don't hate anything I got this month, but I didn't love anything either - I'm always up for trying new products (which is why I'm still an Ipsy subscriber in the first place), and sometimes you get a hit, and sometimes you get a miss. They're not bad products, and as you can see, they don't look terrible on me (at least, I don't think they do) - it's just that I already have a lot of products in exactly these categories (foundation, lipgloss, mascara, and eyeliner) that are SUPER good, so it would take a lot to impress me.
Bottom line: Decent products, though not exceptional. The combination of products really makes for a nice little "kit" - as you can see, I was able to create a decent look with just the items from my bag (which I can't always do with my Ipsy bags), and I really appreciate that. A cute little bag with everything I need for a quick look is always appreciated. (Though, the foundation samples were single-use, so... yeah, I guess I can't create this look a second time necessarily.) With the exception of the NYX Butter Gloss (which I had already been wanting to try before this month), I don't think I'd purchase any of these items for myself, but again, that's because I already have go-to products in these categories.
If you're interested in subscribing to Ipsy, feel free to use my referral link here.
*EDITED TO ADD* My Ipsy Glam Room tells me that the liquid liner IS waterproof, so there you go. I like it better already. :)