At last, my July Ipsy bag finally arrived! From the spoilers I knew that this month was going to be pretty fun, with so many great products to sample I almost didn’t care what bag variation I would like the best. The theme of our July bags is “Beach Beauty”, and the products included are meant to prepare us for the hottest time of the year, and even fake the beachy waves!
About Ipsy:
Each month subscribers will receive a new Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products customized according to your beauty profile. Members can watch and play along with the stylists with the same products that they are using, all for only $10 a month.
If you would like to use my referral link click here to join Ipsy. Thank you!
POPBeauty Pop Crayon in Rose Romance
This was the only color I wanted to get, and I’m so happy that I got it! I feel like IpsyMatch really works well for me because I consistently keep receiving products that actually match my beauty profile. This lip crayon goes on semi-opaque and feels buttery and smooth on the lips. Imagine that your favorite lip balm and lipstick had a baby, this crayon would be that baby. Well, I was all excited about the beautiful shade and how good it looks with my skin tone, and then I saw petrolatum in the list of ingredients, which means I won’t be using it after all 🙁 Booooo, I should have looked before I swatched it, because I could have used it as a gift or swapped with somebody.
Overall: 3.5/5
Purchase: No
BH Cosmetics California Collection Eyeshadow Sample Palette
I own a BH Party Girl palette so I’m somewhat familiar with the formula and the pigmentation of these eye shadows. They absolutely need a primer underneath, otherwise it’s impossible to get any decent pigmentation. For the swatches I used Tarte 24 Hour Creaseless eye primer, which is one of my makeup staples that I use every day. The colors in this trio are vivid and bright, but after trying them on my eyes I decided that they just don’t work for my complexion. Too bad!
Overall: 4/5
Purchase: No
Benefit Benetint
Benetint is a cult classic product and one of benefit’s bestsellers. It’s meant to provide lips and cheeks with a hint of color that will last throughout the day. Benetint can be worn alone or layered under your favorite lipstick. When I first opened this little bottle, the first thing I noticed was the strong scent of rose water. If you don’t like the bitter rose fragrance you probably wouldn’t like the smell of benetint either. Luckily, I do, so that’s actually a good thing for me 🙂 Another thing, if you put it on your lips, they sting a little bit at first, and afterwards they feel pretty dry, so I had to apply a thick layer of lip balm.
Overall: 4/5
Purchase: Yes
Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray Conditioning & Texturizing Spray
This spray seriously dried out my hair. The only good thing I have to say about it is that I really like the feagrance, and the spray pump is really high quality for a travel-sized product.
Overall: 2/5
Purchasse: No
COOLA Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented Moisturizer
COOLA makes fantastic sunscreens, both physical and chemical ones, and I rarely have that much admiration for a sunscreen-making company. Coola’s sunscreens are ultra lightweight and packed with plant extracts, vitamins and antioxidants. They also never contain harsh chemicals like oxybenzone and parabens. After the application my skin felt soft and supple, while being protected from the sun’s rays. Love it!
Overall: 5/5
Purchase: Yes
[Extra] Nicole by OPI Nail Polish in Pretty In Plum
This was a bonus item for referring at least one person to Ipsy last month. I never got the email that someone used my link so I have no idea who it was or when it happened, but thank you! Pretty In Plum is a gorgeous opaque plum creme with blue shimmer, it’s very glossy and super smooth, just like most OPI polishes.
Overall: 5/5
Purchase: Yes
The verdict: I liked the actual bag a lot, it’s made out of sturdy vinyl and the shape is perfect fort my new beach purse. I was also pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the bonus nail polish – both the color and the formula. And of course, Coola sample and most importantly, the Ipsy discount that I plan on using to purchase their new Plant UV moisturizer.
Are you an Ipsy subscriber? What did you think about this month’s bag?
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| POPBeauty Pop Crayon in Rose Romance | $4.16 |
| BH Cosmetics California Collection Eyeshadow Sample Palette | $2.70 |
| Benefit Benetint | $6.00 |
| Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray Conditioning & Texturizing Spray | $6.65 |
| COOLA Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented Moisturizer | $4.86 |
| Nicole by OPI Nail Polish in Pretty In Plum | $6.67 |
| Box Retail Value | $31.04 |
When I first got my bag I had two problems, first off I wanted to HATE my bag because everything seemed like a travel/sample size and felt so let down. Then I actually opened the bag up and started “playing” with everything and found that I actually only got a few sample products while the others were full size. Everything is great this month and I would definitely buy some of these products on my own. But my second problem is that since the bags have been amazing these past couple of months I decided to get a second subscription in the hopes that (with all the variety) I would get a different bag. I made sure my profiles were completely different (one is “conservative” the other “edgy”) and sadly when they came in they were identical bags. 🙁 The only difference was that I received the Nailpolish (which I adore). I hope next month I can at least get different bags or I’ll end up canceling the second bag.
Bummer! I had two Ipsy bags a couple months ago when they sent Zoya nail polishes. Luckily my bags were totally different that time, but it’s a risky business with this subscription, usually people are guaranteed to have 1-2 repeats. I hope next month yours are different 🙂
This seems like a really good bag, I am always tempted to subscribe but holding off a few more months. Sad you decided not to keep the lip gloss, it’s really gorgeous. Also your eyeshadow swatches look WAY better than any others I have seen, now I understand why ! 🙂
writingwhimsy.com
Yep, a good primer can make any eye shadows look bright and pigmented 🙂 It’s too bad that the lip crayon didn’t work out for me, but I try hard to stay petrolatum-free at least with my lip products, because I end up eating most of it throughout the day.
im super happy with this months bag. i only wish the coola sample had been bigger. i love just about everything for the face,but i have really dry skin, so getting the derme e scrub and the coola was awesome.
Ooh yes, if you have dry skin, that Coola is going to be perfect for you! And you were one of the lucky few to get derma e scrub, too, seems like it was the rarest item to get this month 🙂 Congratulations on an awesome bag, and I hope you get another sweet one in August!
What a great bag! Those eyeshadows look so wonderful.
Indeed! The colors really pop with a primer, and look true to the color in the palette pans 🙂
I was SUPER impressed with this bag. I was hoping upon hoping to get the humidity-resistant spray and not the sea salt spray (my hair is curly, no good for sea salt) and I did! I haven’t tangled with it yet, but I got both nail polishes and love them both (despite the Nailtini being a bit streaky). The eye shadows also were pretty cool, and I haven’t even used a primer with them yet!
It’s great that you loved your bag! I was also hoping for the humidity-resistant spray, but got the sea salt instead. Oh well, can’t win them all 🙂 Seems like a lot of people are actually disappointed with this bag, but I think it was good, at least it was better than last month with that scary J. Cat glitter palette.
I think it was me 🙂 I subscribed last month and I’m pretty sure I used your code.
Thank you again then, Alyssa! 🙂