The Bag – Very cute nautical print, but it felt a little flimsy.  Not sure how much I’d use this in my purse.  I prefer slightly more durable bags because I’m pretty rough on my stuff!

The Shipping – The tracking reports that they shipped the piece on the 6th, but I didn’t get the code until the 9th.  It was handled by DHL this time, and the piece seemed to move pretty slow.  It arrived at the airport early in the morning on the 8th, but didn’t leave until the 9th and I didn’t receive it until the 11th.  Meh for this month.

Glam Rx Mini Freestyle Palette – I didn’t know that THIS is what I’ve been looking for in an interchangeable palette until I had it in my hands.  It’s a little bigger than a credit card and fairly slim.  It’s perfect for dropping in a few pans and actually taking with you!  I think this was actually created especially for Ipsy subscribers, and I think it’s exactly the sort of thing brands should be doing.  It’s a great taste of what your brand can do and something they’ll actually use–keeping your logo in their bag.  The magnet seems to be plenty strong and the mirror is great.

yaby Eyeshadow Refill – Perfect coordinating on Ipsy’s part.  Yes, DO give us eyeshadow pans when you give us an interchangeable palette.  I got a tealy-green and a pretty muted goldenrod.  These are still confusingly similar to the Coastal Scents shades I got–I’m curious about how Ipsy chooses the sample shades now.  These have great colour payoff even without primer.  They’re a bit small, but it’s a nice sample size.

Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist – I could smell this as soon as I opened my bag.  None had leaked, but it was a nice surprise.  It’s sort of herby and cirtusy on me.  I wouldn’t spray this on my face–sneeze much?–but it would be okay in my hair.  This had pretty decent staying power.  I don’t know about the “hydrating” part of the equation–I didn’t see or feel much difference.  I probably wouldn’t buy this, but it’s a nice freebie.

LA Fresh travel-lite Makeup Remover Wipes – These are okay face wipes.  They did a pretty good job of removing the green eyeshadow, which I think is a pretty solid measure of a wipe’s cleaning ability!  I noticed a powder fresh scent when I opened them, but no smell really seemed to come with the wipe or stay behind.  No stickiness afterward, which I’ve noticed with some wipes.

The Overall: I really liked this bag for the eyeshadow and palette.  I feel like ipsy needs to communicate how beneficial it is for a brand to represent themselves creatively.  Obviously, generating BRAND NEW products for the ipsy bags isn’t always feasible, but it definitely excites me as a potential customer more than something I could get anywhere.  Show me why your brand is unique!