December 2013 Ipsy Review

Sorry it took me so long to review this bag. My month has been absolutely crazy-busy due to work. This is the first time all month I’ve had to truly unwind!

Pop Beauty Bright Up Your Life Eyeshadow Trio in Smokin Hot – I was wondering why this was called “Bright Up Your Life” when it was monochromatic. Apparently, the Pop Beauty website only offers these shadows in a 10 shade palette that includes more colourful hues. Am I alone in thinking that’s weird? I liked this, don’t get me wrong; they were blendable and soft, if a bit messy. I’m not sure I’d pay $24 for the full set, but these were nice as an Ipsy bag item.

Be a Bombshell The One Stick in Girl Crush – This was a pale, bluish pink creme stick, meant to be used for all-over colour. I hated the product. The initial application felt greasy and it’s just not something I’d want to smear on my cheeks or eyelids It went on quite sheer, but felt really heavy. For $16, I’d rather buy separate products.

Mirabella Eye Blender Brush – Haaaated this. The brushed metal texture feels a bit like it should be giving me splinters. It’s so deeply etched that I expect it to collect grime. I think the brush fibers are synthetic, They’re very long and pretty wibbly–using this as a blender was actually a bit difficult because the bristles kept bending over in half. They charge $27 for this sucker. I recommend buying a blender that’s a bit shorter, but still fluffy.

JCat Beauty Big Lip Pencil in Red Rose – Eh. I feel like this was too red for me and a little slippy on. I’d need to use lip liner to pull this off, and that feels like it defeats the purpose of a lip pencil to me. Still, it’s $3.99, so it’s hard to hate. I bet a lighter, more natural shade would be perfect for me.

Jesse’s Girl Holiday Frosted Gum Drops Nail Polish in Sugar Plum Fairy – I’ve been dying to try this sort of textured nail polish for ages. When I opened my ipsy bag, I smelled nail polish and was terrified to open the bag. It turns out that none had spilled, but some of the polish had come out under the lid. The grit of the polish made it nearly impossible to open. The polish took one really thick layer to be opaque, or just two coats. It takes forever to dry, but the result is a nice texturey polish and I love the shade. At $4, I think this is a definite buy!

The overall: I think this was a decent bag, and a nice theme for the holiday season–just in time for New Year’s Eve! I liked this actual bag; it was kind of a bubbled textured bag with a zipper on the face instead of the top seam. Cute. I didn’t love all of the products I got, but I still feel like my $10 was well spent! Need a referral link to join? http://www.ipsy.com/r/3ljv

dootsiebug

December 28, 2013

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3 responses to “December 2013 Ipsy Review”

KathyRo

December 29, 2013 at 12:47 pm

Merry Christmas Dootsie!

This is the first bag I’ve tried before you posted so naturally I was checking your blog every day for a week. ( “Feedly must be broken.. I better check.” ) But I didn’t pester you! I think I should get Brownie points for that.

The Pop eyeshadow left me cold. I didn’t even swatch it — put it directly into the giveaway pile.

I didn’t look up any information on Girl Crush so I thought it was a highlighter! That’s how I used it and it worked fine along the top of my cheekbone. But this would explain why it looked “shiny” but not “shimmery” like other highlighters. Very glad though that I didn’t spread it all over my cheek! I’ll keep it for a bit but I would never buy it.

These are they only items my bag has in common with your bag!

Nicka K Nail polish in Apple Red. ( Not doing nail polish right now. Put aside.) Well I assume the color was Apple Red. There was absolutely no way of telling from the bottle. Had to go to ipsy website to find out.

NYX lipstick in shade B52 — this was the big win for me. Great every day shade. Not as long-lasting as my current Tarte fav but creamier ( that’s the usual trade off, right? ) and a lot cheaper. B52 is the actual name btw — not just a code. I didn’t realize that until I went to the ipsy website. It’s a weird choice of name. I can’t tell if they’re referencing the bomber or the band or the cold war era or what. Any of those things make me think of a deep or bright red but it’s a plummy/neutral shade.

Demeter roll-on perfume. I was excited to get this but did not like the smell. This is pretty much what always happens. Apparently I am doomed to wear only perfumes made by YSL and Clean. (And I wear the Clean perfume reluctantly because I feel like they’re yanking my chain : “Here, let’s just give them laundry soap scent. They’ll never know we put 0 effort into this.” )

On a related note, I’ve been experimenting with mascara because … why not? ( I wouldn’t mind replacing my current favorites — Stila & Benefit — with cheaper brands but let’s be real – that’s not why I do these things! ) Based on YouTube enthusiasm I have tried:

L’Oreal Voluminous
Rimmel Lash Accelerator
Maybelline Falsies
Covergirl Lash Blast
L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes

The last one was a mistake — I thought I was getting plain L’Oreal Voluminous — but it was the only one out of the bunch I liked. I threw the Maybelline and Covergirl out pretty quick but the others are a little better so I’ll probably use them up (more or less ). I’m really disappointed I didn’t like any of the others. Do you have any other recommendations?

Reply
1. dootsiebug
  
  December 29, 2013 at 3:25 pm
  
  Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!
  A million Brownie Points to you! Thanks for letting me think you were being patient. 😉
  I NEED to take a break from nail polish. My nails are so peely right now, they just need some oil and vitamins. But ugh it’s the most sparkly time of yearrrrr.
  Okay, frustration: every time I find a mascara I like, I can NEVER find it again. What even is that?! I tried CoverGirl Volume Exact mascara and LOVE it–no clumping, no flaking, simple brush, a little bit of volume and length. They discontinued it, like, the next day apparently. Every other mascara I have right now… I can’t reccommend at all. BOO HISS.
  
  Reply
  1. KathyRo
    
    December 30, 2013 at 11:05 am
    
    Ha ha — yeah I’ve had that happen a few times, most recently with Ponds Biohydrante makeup remover and Neutrogena Healthy Skin cleanser. Apparently my death threats mean nothing to these people.