Ipsy : July 2016

So before we get into the contents of this bag I just wanted to do a little background of my Ipsy experience thus far. Ipsy is a monthly subscription service where you receive five beauty samples for ten dollars, you do not pay for shipping. The charge goes on your account the first of every month and you can cancel (easily!) at any time. When I go through my bag I look up each product on that company’s website and compare the sample size to the actual product size, as well as the price.

My favorite part about Ipsy is that I get to try out products I would never buy myself. Some people think that you’ll only get crazy, unusable beauty products, but I actually found my most favorite black eyeliner from IT Cosmetics through Ipsy. I think there’s a good array of crazy and conservative items, as well as high end and mid range products.

Without any further ado, here’s my July experience!

This month’s theme is “Hot Summer Nights” which seems fitting, especially here in Florida. The bag is holo with pink and white pinwheels, a blue zipper and pink interior. It is definitely one of my favorite bag since I started receiving Ipsy orders. (I love the bags because I use them for all sorts of things, the travel themed bag holds my passports and we used it when we went out of the country. The Rebel Rebel bag goes in my backpack and it holds all of my colored Ink Joys. These bags really are multi purpose.)

The first item in my bag (well it was actually in the envelope, the brushes never really fit in the bag) was a Sedona Lace EB13 blender brush, it’s $13.95 on their site. Since I only paid $10 for my Ipsy bag, this is a great product to receive. It is amazingly soft and I know I’ll be able to use it.

                   

The next thing I pull out is a night cream by Befine fine food skin care. It’s a full ounce of product, which is great and looking on their site, it is $30 for 1.7 ounces. It seems like a great deal but this night cream is a complete fail for me. It smelled like rotting fruit and at first I thought I was crazy, but I had Eduardo smell it and he agreed. I would never be able to handle this scent on my face all night. Some of the reviews I read on Amazon say this triggers allergies. I have extremely sensitive skin and unfortunately, I can’t risk this on my face. So, thumbs down on this one.

Hoping for a win, the next product is the Meet Matt(e)Trimony in Matt Moskowitz. I had seen a similar product in another Ipsy bag, I didn’t receive the product then. I’m not upset anymore than I didn’t get it before… They do not sell these individually on their website but they do sell a Meet Matt(e)Trimony palette for $42. It comes with nine shades, breaking down to $4.67 per shadow. I can get over the formula not being spot on, but this shadow requires so much work, I’ll probably never use it. It’s not too pigmented, which is cool if you’re into that, but I am not. I need something that I can see, it took a significant amount of product to make this opaque and the color is just not right. I think that on my hand, and my eye, it looks like a bruise. Another thumbs down. Boo!

(The left swatch is six layers of product, the right swatch is two)

This bag started on a high and it’s going downhill fast. I can already tell you the next product is not a winner. Model Launcher felt tip eyeliner in Emerald Isle. At first I was excited, I am always looking for a nice colored eyeliner that doesn’t break the bank. And then I swatched it… It’s a pretty, subtle green, but extremely translucent. I applied one coat; it is thin, easy to apply, pretty. Four coats, much better. I waited twenty minutes for them to dry and rubbed the four layer one, it was almost completely gone after two seconds. *grumble* I tend to touch my eyes a lot so if it’s not smudge proof, it won’t work. This does not provide a ‘pop’ of color or even coverage. And for $13 this is not at all worth it. Sad.

*Sigh* I already knew this product would be in my bag, I got the announcement in an email and I wasn’t excited then, still not excited. Too Faced Hangover Primer… Everyone and their mother loves this product, and I’m not saying it’s a bad product, I just have a consistent primer I already use. Also, I think it’s the coconut in this, but it always gives me at lease one pimple and I normally have extremely clear skin. It smells very subtly like coconut, it works well, it’s just not for me. (And the sample is teeny tiny!)

My overall reaction to this month, I’m actually really happy. I love this bag and the brush, both were worth over ten dollars so I got my money’s worth. I think this was the most disappointing month, but it wasn’t so bad I’m immediately going to cancel. If you’re someone who needs value in every product, Ipsy might not be for you. But it you’re willing to try new things and add some seldom used products to your sample collection, this is definitely something you should look into.

Until next month. XX, November.