With the arrival of much-awaited Holiday season, Ipsy curators decided it’s time for us to Glam It Up. All subscribers received bright golden makeup bags filled with five sparkly and shimmery bombshell essentials, as well as a full-sized em Cosmetics product as a special extra present for Thanksgiving.
HOW IT WORKS
If you would like to use my referral link click here to join Ipsy. Thank you!
Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in Hot Damn – In real life this color looks a lot brighter than on the company’s website – it’s a true bright red. I have both good and bad things to say about this crayon, good first. The color is absolutely fabulous, I think it’s the kind of neutral red that looks good on everyone, also the matte finish is to die for. The formula is pretty long-lasting, considering that it survived a dinner and two drinks. Now from the negatives, I would like to point out that the texture is a bit grainy, and I really hate the smell of dye the product reeks of. It’s also packed with too many nasty chemicals, so as a lip-licker I definitely won’t use it often.
Pixi Beauty Bronzer in Summertime – I’m super pale white, so all of my subscriptions constantly insist on sending me bronzers and self-tanners. I guess some people would use those, but assuming that all of us fair-skinned ladies want to have sun-kissed skin is a bit unfair. I can make this bronzer work for contouring because it doesn’t contain too much shimmer and seems to blend well, and the sample size is perfect – not too big, not too small. This one will probably last me forever 🙂
Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Amethyst – I’m in love! I was already a huge fan of Starlooks Gem Pencils, but I haven’t tried this particular color before. It’s stunning, and goes on super buttery smooth. I applied it on my waterline and along the top lashes, and it stayed put all day!
Cailyn Sponge Tip Mineral Eye Shadow in Champagne – Another great addition to my makeup routine, thanks to Ipsy. This champagne shimmer can multitask like no other and work as a highlighter, eye shadow, eyeliner, and a bunch of other things. So far I used it on my cheekbones, under the brows, and in the inner corners of the eyes. One negative thing I should mention is that the product is kind of hard to get out of the bottle, and some bloggers recommend de-potting it if possible. I’m not going to mess with it personally, but it’s definitely a valid option.
Nailtini Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer in Champagne – I don’t think I’ve heard about Nailtini before Ipsy, and this is already my third full-sized bottle from them. I must say, I actually like these tall skinny bottles, and I also enjoy using their slightly flat brushes. Champagne is a pretty rose gold foil metallic, it’s about 4 out of 5 on the opacity scale, so you will need at least two good coats to get full coverage.
I got a similar color from Birchbox earlier this month so I was wondering if these two were dupes, and nope, they’re not! While Nailtini Champagne is more rosy, Color Club Top Shelf is more of a vintage muted gold, and it’s also a lot more stripey on application. In case someone else wants to see the comparison, the swatch above shows the difference really well.
[Extra] em michelle phan pillow plush cushiony lip balm in Strawberry – This color of tinted lip balm perfectly complements the lip crayon I got; a small dab on top of my lips was enough to make sure they don’t feel to dry. It also kind of smells like vanilla frosting, but that’s not enough to make me spend $15 on a lip balm. I think it was nice to try, but considering that the ingredients are nothing special, I think the price is way higher than the product deserves.
[Bonus] Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara and Kitsch Bollywood Hair Ties – These two were my referral bonuses, thanks to you lovely ladies who kindly subscribed using my link above. I love BADgal mascara and I’m always happy to have more samples of it. It doesn’t provide the same dramatic effect as They’re Real, but it’s one of my go-to products for the daytime look. And of course I need a giant supply of hair ties to keep my long hair in place. I’ve been a big fan of elastic bands ever since twistband made them popular.
We received so much makeup this month, that I decided to post a makeup look, using all of these fabulous products.
Eyes:
- Cailyn Sponge Tip Mineral Eye Shadow in Champagne
- Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Amethyst
- Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara
Face:
- Missha Perfect Cover Bb Cream #13
- Pixi Beauty Bronzer in Summertime
Lips:
- Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in Hot Damn
- em michelle phan pillow plush cushiony lip balm in Strawberry
THE VERDICT
This has to be the fanciest Glam Bag since I subscribed to Ipsy over a year ago. The vast majority of products were full-sized, and the deluxe-sized samples were very generous. I’m mostly happy about Cailyn shimmery eye shadow, because of its versatility; and the Starlooks pencil that is pretty to even look at.
Are you an Ipsy subscriber? What was your favorite product this month?
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in Hot Damn | $14.00 |
| Pixi Beauty Bronzer in Summertime | $5.50 |
| Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Amethyst | $14.00 |
| Cailyn Sponge Tip Mineral Eye Shadow in Champagne | $15.00 |
| Nailtini Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer in Champagne | $13.00 |
| em michelle phan pillow plush cushiony lip balm | $15.00 |
| Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara | $8.00 |
| Kitsch Bollywood Hair Ties | $9.99 |
| Box Retail Value | $94.49 |
I got the same bronzer, eyeliner & lip crayon, and nailtini in a pewter/silver color…my other items were an em Michelle Phan mascara and the Glam Glow mask. Always happy to get nail polish, this my first nailtini, 2nd nail polish and I’m on my 4th bag. I won’t open the mascara right now, I have so many open. This is the second really red lip product so far, and I tend to go pretty neutral on lips, just feel like bright red doesnt look right on me. The mask was interesting, it’s pretty expensive to buy, and has pieces of tea leaves in it. I only used it once, not sure it was as amazing as advertised, will definitely use sample up, it is designed to be gritty so you exfoliate with it as you’re removing it, perfect for my skin type. Always look forward to the Ipsy bag!
I’m with you about the mascara, I have so many samples lying around that I don’t want to open, because they’ll just dry out before I get to them 🙂 Super jealous about Glamglow mask you got, it’s a cult product!
For my box I had the same Nailtini polish and Starlooks pencil. I got the Be a Bombshell in Shameless, em mascara, Pixi bronzer in Subtly Sun-touched, and a mini bh Cosmetics shadow sample. My favorite thing is the Be a Bombshell lipstick. I loveeeee it so much! After that is the mascara, unfortunately, like you said, as much as I like it, it’s not worth spending $20 for. That Starlooks pencil is amazing, it will stay put for days if you let it (drew a heart on my arm, lasted on through hand washings and showers). Everything else was pretty great too, but those 3 things are what I use the most! Can’t wait until next month!
I think someone mentioned that those bh samples are actually full-sized pans, which is nice. I agree with you, the Starlooks pencil is just awesome, I’ve been using it almost every day since I got it.
How do you get the bonus products?
Hi Elaine! You can redeem Ipsypoints for bonus samples once you have at least 1,000 to spend. For more info check out this page: http://www.ipsy.com/ipsyPoints