If you ever get stranded on a tropical island, what products do you wish you had with you? This month the bag theme is Pretty in Paradise, and Ipsy stuffed it with a few suggestions! Also, in June Ipsy collaborated with a fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff to create a special bag using the fabric from Rebecca’s latest collection. Check out this dress with the same pattern!
HOW IT WORKS
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Be A Bombshell Lash Out Mascara – I wanted to love this mascara, I really did, but it turned out to be the worst-smelling mascara I have ever tried. I really don’t like badmouthing products, because what didn’t work for me could be someone else’s HG product, and vice versa, but this mascara had this awful rancid smell that made my eyes tear up the moment I opened the tube. It’s like a very strong, almost nauseating smell of portobello mushrooms that went bad. Yuck! 🙁 Did it work for any of you?
Nicka K New York Shimmer Eyeliner in Green – I wanted to try wearing a bright eyeliner this summer, so I was excited to see this beautiful shimmery emerald green shade in my Ipsy bag. The sponge tip applicator is very easy to work with even for beginners; it can draw both super thin lines and really chick ones with minimal effort. Once the formula sets, it stays on all day!
Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray – I normally don’t use products for beach waves because they always seem to dry out my hair, so I will pass this sample along to someone else. by the way, it smells wonderful!
Skinn Olive & Enzyme Cleanser – After reading lots of blogger buzz about this cleanser, I almost expected not to get it in my bag, because I don’t like having my hopes up. Glad that I got it, because it’s wonderful! It smells like lemon meringue pie, so sweet I want to lick my face off 🙂 It’s a multitasking product that can be used as a mask, cleanser or makeup remover. So far I used it as a mask, and my face always felt so soft afterward! I applied it for 10 minutes, and then rinsed off with a washcloth for best results.
NYX Butter Gloss in Crème Brulee – Loved it! No wonder you all were raving about this lip gloss, because the formula feels amazing on the lips. It’s buttery, smooth, glossy, and very comfy, just like a lip balm with a hint of color. Now I want [need!] to pick up more shades for my collection.
[Bonus] Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Peony – Looks like Ipsy offered several bonus products to purchase with points this month: a GlamRX palete, two shades of Jouer lip gloss, and a set of four masks. I grabbed the gloss in Peony, because the color looked great for Summer. Well, the color turned out to be stunning indeed, but I ended up liking NYX Butter Gloss more, mainly because NYX smells like cupcakes, while Jouer smells like plastic. I’ll still use it, but not as often as I would have if it had a formula similar to NYX Butter Gloss.
THE VERDICT
Despite getting a stinky mascara and a hair spray that I won’t use, the bag left a positive impression. I really enjoyed NYX Butter Gloss, and I’m absolutely going to purchase a few more colors, because the formula is absolutely fabulous!
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| Be A Bombshell Lash Out Mascara | $15.00 |
| Nicka K New York Shimmer Eyeliner | $4.99 |
| Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray | $3.18 |
| Skinn Olive & Enzyme Cleanser | $12.00 |
| NYX Butter Gloss | $4.99 |
| [Bonus] Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss | $20.00 |
| Box Retail Value | $40.16 ($60.16 with bonus item) |
I got the Beach Spray that I’ll never use and the awful BAB mascara, but the rest of my bag was good, too. I had no idea about the RM dress! How cool
I know, right? It’s nice to feel that even your makeup bag is on-trend, haha 🙂
I have heard about the BAB mascara debacle. I hope they try and fix that! The enzyme cleanser sounds exactly like what I need! I cancelled my ipsy bag b/c I was swimming in samples, but I’m glad to hear the quality of the contents is still excellent!
I know what you mean, I took a break from Ipsy too, because I was simply overloaded on samples, but they started sending all these nice brands, so resubscribing was hard to resist. I don’t regret it though, everything I don’t use I either give away or sell on eBay.
I like this bag! I need to get off their wait list for real!
Grrr, that waitlist is torture!
We got a similar bag! I also experienced a really stinky mascara 🙁
Bag twinsies! So sorry to hear about the mascara, it must have been a terrible experience 🙁
I got the beach spray and will never use it. I am afraid it will probably dry out my hair. I does smell great but Ill give it to some else for sure. I wish I got that teal liner, I got the Miss Jessie’s girl one and its nice, but that teal is sooooo summer and fun. And wow that mascara- yucky! I did for sure love this bag though. I so didnt know about the Jouer gloss and other goodies to purchase. Great post!
I’m with you Jamie, those beach sprays do nothing for my hair, it becomes dry and limp. And yuck, that mascara was the worst indeed, how in the world did that formula slip past BaB quality control?
I’ve been a Skinn fan for awhile (he’s on the home shopping channels a lot) and that Olive and Enzyme cleanser is one of my all-time favorite cleansers! It smells like a creamsicle and doesn’t dry out my skin. I’m sorry that the Jouer smells like plastic 🙁
Ooh, that’s great to know! I think it’s now one of my favorite cleansers, too, and I’m going to pick up the full size when my sample runs out. Yeah, too bad about Jouer lip gloss, that really shows that sometimes a cheaper product can totally outshine the high end one. Have you tried other Skinn products? Any recommendations?
Great bag! Loving the eyeliner ang lip glosses shades. Too bad the mascara was no good.
Agreed, the bag was good even without the mascara. Too bad that it was unusable, I had high hopes for it.
Everyone’s bag I have seen has been great!
Seriously! This is one of the best Ipsy months, and the only real dud is that awful mascara.
I love the NYX glosses. The bag as a whole looks good too.
Totally agree with you Carleen, the bag this month was fabulous!
The lip products look fab and to be honest this box looks better than some of the ones I received recently.
Glad you like those lippies too Erica! This is defiitely one of Ipsy’s best bags to date, and it’s really hard to beat for the price. Did you see my recent Sample Society unboxing? Pathetic! 5 moisturizers and a perfume, are you kidding me?
I like the last few Ipsy boxes and am seriously thinking about subscribing.
You’re right, the last few have all been seriously great, with some nice brands included. Let’s hope that’s a pattern rather than a fluke.
Oh! hell to that bombshell mascara as well. well said about the stinkiness
Yuck, I know right? That smell was just awful! I felt so wasteful throwing it away, but I’m not going to get anyone sick by giving it away.
this bag was great. i have been wanting a butter gloss
Glad you liked it too, Laura. Those butter glosses have been all the buzz lately!
that mascara! YUCK! I got a replacement item that I’m much happier with!
Uhh, it’s the worst product I have ever received from Ipsy. Maybe I should complain, too, and hope they replace it with something I can actually use.
Love that butter gloss!
It’s so gorgeous, and the formula is fantastic, too. Makes me want to go and buy the entire lineup 🙂
Your description of the mascara reminded me of the worst portabello crepe I have ever tasted in my life, yuck! I’ve read awful reviews of that mascara, I wonder whats’ the culprit behind that smell….
Uhh, that doesn’t sound too good, I hope you didn’t get sick after eating that crepe. Yeah, pretty much everyone I know hated the mascara, and even those brave enough to use it said that it’s really bad as far as mascaras go.
Love that shade of gloss. Corals are always appropriate for summer!
They sure are! It’s one of my favorite colors ever, not just for Summer.
This month made me wish I was subs to get the bag 🙂
I know the feeling! That’s probably why I stay subscribed even when I’m unhappy with 1-2 bags in a row, because I don’t want to miss out on bags like this one 🙂
The mascara was the wooooorst!
I know, right? How did the company think it was acceptable quality?
Both lipglosses are pretty
Right? Too bad Jouer smells like plastic.
I’m so sad I didn’t get that liner! It’s gorgeous!
Aw bummer! Let’s hope they repeat it and send it to you in a future bag. Ipsy did that with some other samples before.
I couldn’t stand the smell of the mascara–so much so that I threw it away. I wanted the Jouer gloss but it was sold out!
Yuck, that mascara is the worst, isn’t it? Too bad that you couldn’t snag the lip gloss, I heard it was gone within a few hours of them adding it on the site. Maybe they restock it for July!
oh I’m just pouting that everyone else’s bag was better than mine.
I like the selection of products you received.