Ipsy is pretty good at following their monthly themes, and in June theme is “Swim Into Beauty”. The cosmetic bag itself is made with what I believe is neoprene, a synthetic material used for making diving drysuits. I love that, I think that was a smart and super creative idea, so A+ to whoever came up with that! Also, I’m totally spoiling this review for you, but I loved my samples this month; in fact, this might be my favorite Ipsy bag this year so far. Read on to find out what made me a happy camper….
HOW IT WORKS: 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 videos and play along with the stylists with the same products that they are using, all for only $10/month. If you would like to use my referral link click here to join Ipsy. Thank you!
I’ll list samples in the same order as I tried them, and the first one on my list is LAVANILA LABORATORIES The Healthy Body Butter in Pure Vanilla. This brand is mostly famous for their aluminum-free deodorants, which I like by the way, but I’ve been curious to try their other products, like fragrances and skin care. This lotion smelled exactly like the deodorant – slightly soapy, with hints of bitter vanilla. It wasn’t buttery or smooth, and felt very similar to another natural lotion in my stash from DermOrganic. Since this 100% natural formula doesn’t contain silicones and mineral oil, it takes a little bit of extra rubbing time to spread, but once absorbed, it made my skin delightfully scented, soft, and moisturized without the stickiness.
Very few beauty junkies haven’t tried the cult classic Smashbox Cosmetics Photo Finish Foundation Primer yet. Its murky silicone formula helps create a smooth canvas and blur out small skin imperfections, which in turn makes the foundation apply better and more evenly. I particularly like it for masking enlarged pores on my nose, cheeks, and chin, and it does a splendid job at that. I’m sure there’s a statistic somewhere on how many of these primers are sold in the world every minute – this stuff is crazy popular, and rightfully so.
IT Cosmetics took beauty community by the storm with their absolutely gorgeous concealer a few years ago, so I’ll always be excited to try any of their products. They totally didn’t skimp on packaging for a travel-sized sample of Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil – it came in a weighty frame, that looks high quality, and even the outer box looked like something straight off the retail shelf. At first I was a bit confused by the color, after all, light gray doesn’t seem like it would match me well, but the brand promised that the shade has some color-transforming properties that adjust to the wearer. Talk about high tech in beauty! Well, I gave it a try, and it turned out okay – I got very natural-looking brows, slightly darker than my hair color. There’s also a spoolie at the end of the pencil that you can use to brush in the color and make it more natural. Anyhow, it was a nice product to try, but I think I’ll stick with my current brow mascara for now.
I’ve been loving the revamped store brand nail polish line, and have quite a few bottles of Sephora Formula X already in my stash, but Power Source wasn’t one of them. What a fun summer coral, and it perfectly fits the theme of the box! And the mini-bottle is just totes adorbs 🙂
And finally, a completely new brand to me – tre’StiQue Mini Shadow Crayon. The packaging reminds me of those new Marc Jacobs pencils, except this one is made with black plastic rather than with silvery finish. There were four shades sent out, and I received Marimoto Pink Pearl [again, perfect shade name for a “swim”-themed box], which Ipsy described as a pinky-nude with subtle pearl finish, but to me it looked more sandy. It’s a beautiful shade that is universally flattering, it has just the right amount of shimmer and I can use it all over my lid, or as a highlighter in the inner corners of my eyes. The pencil is very compact, and doesn’t take much space in the cosmetic bag.
THE VERDICT: I think this month my Ipsy bag was absolutely outstanding! So many great brands, and fun products, I seriously have nothing to complain about [and I’m a big time complainer]. I wish all of my Ipsy bags were as good as the one I got this month, in terms of the overall quality and variety.
What did you think of your June Ipsy bag? What product do you wish you had gotten? Let me know in the comments below!
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| LAVANILA LABORATORIES The Healthy Body Butter | $2.41 |
| Smashbox Cosmetics Photo Finish Foundation Primer | $9.00 |
| IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil | $10.71 |
| Sephora Formula X Nail Polish | $3.42 |
| tre’StiQue Mini Shadow Crayon | $8.66 [just guessing] |
| Box Retail Value | $34.20 |
Disclosure: This post features products purchased by Glamorable and may contain affiliate or referral links. For more details about my product review policy, copyright, and information about affiliate links, please refer to Disclosures & Content Use page.
