My Gift to All of You.
my glam
MyGlam/Ipsy September 2012 Review
So let’s start here.
I got by bag on September 22nd. That’s NOT mid-month. It shipped on the 17th. That’s closer to mid-month, but still wrong. While I will grant that I’ve been having zero love for the postal service lately (the second package was misdelivered out of Cincinatti, I guess.)
The bags were shipped late because MyGlam relaunched itself as “ipsy“.
A brand, not even a year old, renamed itself. That’s never good.
The rename came with the launch of a big online community… thing. It’s for uploading makeup looks. Okay. But renaming yourself? Something so wildly different? I dunno.
Bag: Black, gold zipper, long handle. The bag is seriously the best thing I got this month. It’s really nice and seems sturdy.
SOHO Smudge Brush: Fluffy brush, really long handle, feels substantial. It works beautifully. I’ve been smoking out my eyes since I got it. I didn’t have a smudge brush, so this was a nice get. The bristles are nylon, but they almost feel like real hair. This is $5.97 at Walmart.com
Jane Sparkle Lip Gloss: I got this is a pretty bright watermelon shade. It’s a pretty wearable colour. It’s sticky and I don’t really like it at all. These are only sold in sets of three for $9.99.
Andrea’s Choice Nail Polish in Tightrope: This is a bright fuschia/purple neon. I actually bought this shade from Sinful Colors, and I’m much happier with the Andrea’s Choice polish (by about a million.)
Carol’s Daughter Monoi Repairing Split End Sealer: First of all, lets get this out of the way–“split end sealer” is a lie. This is a big ol’ glob of oil and silicone. And I just want you to know, dear readers, that I’m only trying this for you. It smells like a sunscreen I used once, mixed with some sort of herbal smell. It’s strange. It feels nice in the hair and would work as an overall smoother. And my ends do feel smoother–for now.
Mirabella Eye Color in Semiformal: This colour is a little strange. It looks bronzey in the package, but it’s sort of a pinkish goldy brown on. It’s not for me. The colour payoff wasn’t exceptional (which I’m glad.) It’s shimmery. This shade would be nicely suited to a warmer skin tone than mine. Also, I know they only do pans without a hard casing, but it kinda sucks to have one pan like this, just floating around. I’ll find a way to store it, but I’ve avoided purchasing loose pans for a reason.
Anyone else get a Myglam Ipsy bag this month?
MyGlam: August 2012
Another month, another Glam Bag. The August theme was Endless Summer, which the GlamTeam took to mean “don’t ever look old”. Fair enough, MyGlam.
The bag was neon orange mesh with a neon pink zipper. I was raised to react with horror to that color combination. But it’s a nice little bag. I’m starting to feel like a lot of other Glammies: these will be great at Christmas.
Let’s go with my order of excitement for this bag:
– Demeter Fragrance Roll on Perfume Oil in Clean Skin – Finding out Demeter was going to be in MyGlam was amazing for me. SO EXCITE. I was hoping to get the other fragrance–dragonfruit–but this is lovely and admittedly probably more wearable for me. It smells like a clean baby to me. Light hint of baby powder, a little skin muskiness, a whiff of a lullaby. The site describes it as “Clean Skin is a blend of orange, lemon, white rose, bergamot peach and vanilla, making the perfect shower-fresh scent.” But I don’t pick up on that so much… maybe a hint of the bergamot and vanilla. With MyGlam, I get a 20% off discount at Demeter, and I’ll cash that in. If you’re not familiar with Demeter, you’re missing out. The roller perfume isn’t really a sample size, but it’s definitely not their full size product. This size is $10 in itself.
– Circus by Andrea’s Choice in Ringmaster – I hope this isn’t what wrecked my nails last time. The color is great. It’s a bright neon pink, deep and IN YO FACE. The polish is a bit thin, which is disappointing because the white was thick and took two coats for glory. Two coats of this and I can still see the white of my nails. Still, it’s a nice polish with a smooth matte finish. And it doesn’t flake off. Full size product.
– Eclos Cellular Activator System & Moisture Therapy Regenerative Cream – I’m always so skeptical about these products. Plant stem cells are going to get rid of my fine lines? Fat chance. Still, this stuff smells nice–spicy, vaguely hippie–and a little goes a long way. I’ve been using it in the morning to see if I notice any difference. I won’t hold my breath. Sample size on both products.
– MyGlam Lipgloss – This was a “bonus” item, as a thank you for our support or whatever. I was excited to see they’d developed their own lipgloss, and I popped it on without reading the box. It smells faintly of watermelon, but tastes oily. It’s a little sticky, like every lipgloss ever. In the bottle, it’s very pink, but that color doesn’t translate. But then I read the box. Whomp whomp. Parabens, mineral oil and nothing that would indicate what was causing the smell. Full sized.
– SALTY Cosmetics Eye dust in Glama-ZOID – Meh. I put this on and I’m totally meh about it. The color appears to be white, but it’s got a bit of shimmer. On, it goes on faintly pinkish plum. I applied two layers without primer and it’s pretty minimal still. On me, it looks more purple, though the site said it would look more pink. Whatever. It was clumpy in the container and tricky to even apply. A lot of fallout. They charge $4 for this gram sample size. NOPE.
The verdict?
Good value this month. It’s not MyGlam’s fault I’m a hater; I definitely see how someone else would’ve been over the moon with this bag. I’ve been meaning to invest in a morning skincare routine, anyway, so cool. I’ve been moaning about how I can’t wear perfume for sneezing everywhere, and the combination of Clean Skin and Eclos and the Nume conditioner from last month is a wonderful substitute. I smell a little hippie, though.
MyGlam July 2012 Extended Cut
Let’s revisit that MyGlam post, shall we?
I hadn’t gotten to try out a couple products when I reviewed, so Imma tackle them now.
First, the conditioner. I mentioned that it smelled nice. When I got it out in the shower, I have to say, “nice smell” went to “OH MY GOD I LOVE.” It’s vaguely hippie meets autumn. Not quite sandalwood, but sort of spicy like that. I kind of want this as a perfume.
As for the actual, indended purpose of the product? The very tippy ends of my hair are pretty dry, but the rest of my hair is average. I get a lot of flyaways even when I’ve trimmed and my normal hair texture is sort of wavy bordering on slightly curly at the ends when it air dries. I brushed it straight and let it air dry. The bottom half of my hair went NUTS with curls after this stuff. I really loved the effect, and hated to brush it out again this morning. My hair feels slightly slicker, but I’m about average on flyaways and overall fluffiness.
On to the nail polish! I stripped my nails down and did them all with Reverso, one coat. When I was a wee tot, I tried painting my nails with white out. This is sort of what I’d been hoping for all along. It feels sort of chalky and matte, but has a faint shine. The polish itself is nice and thick. It’s a bit streaky, so I think two coats is ideal. I had a hard time getting the tips of my nails painted, due in part to the thickness of this polish. Still, it’s a totally lovely white, what I’d almost describe as neon white. SO WHITE. Like, Ross’s teeth white.
Myglam Bag Review: July 2012
This month’s bag was themed for beach beauty. It had a couple items that everyone got, then some this or that options. I think that’s actually sort of fun because even when I totally ruin the surprise of what’s in the bag, I still get something of a surprise. I love a good spoiler, but I also like getting a little bit of a treat in the end. I was sort of hoping for the green apple SPF moisturizer, but oh well.
This bag came today. The bag was cute. It came with a couple coupon codes, too; 50% off at NuMe and a special offer on one of their products. If you want either of them, first to ask gets ’em.
Random weirdness in this bag? The postcard advert for Andrea’s Choice nailpolish was a sticker. ERMAGERD. I AM TOTALLY STICKING THIS TO MY TRAPPER KEEPER GUISE.
In my bag:
Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Lotion – This came in a small blue bottle with a label that looked sort of generic. I’m a huge proponent of a company doing their best packaging for their samples. Kiehl’s clearly has other priorities. Unfortunately, those priorities seem to have little to do with making an interesting product. I (with some difficulty) squeezed out some of this lotion–it was thin and opaquey white. While it’s not at all oily, it wasn’t much of anything for me. I put it on and didn’t feel much of anything. Doesn’t really smell nice (theoretically fragrance free.) The list of ingredients was surprisingly long.
Nume HydroPunch Hydrating Conditioner – I don’t have a lot to say about this because I haven’t used it yet. But it smelled nice. I got a small squeeze tube of this. Smells like tea tree oil.
Yes to Cucumbers on-the-go Facial Towelettes – These have a nice smell of cucumber, but also the usual baby wipe smell. These have the same soapy feel that most facial towelettes seem to leave behind, but it’s a product I’d buy for the right price.
Josie Maran Magic Marker Lip and Cheek Stain – First of all, YAY FINALLY A COLOR I LIKE. But second… cheek stain? Not this color. I marked it on my hand and tried to smudge it and I just don’t see using this on a wide expanse of skin. I put it on my lips and it stays pretty well, but it doesn’t taste nice. That’s something the Covergirl markers have on everyone. It feels a little sticky while wearing. Considering the Covergirl markers are about half the price, I’d stick with those unless the fragrance free/vegan/natural ingredients/recyclable is worth the cost.
Circus by Andrea’s Choice – I got this nail polish in Reverso, a pretty basic white. It went on nice and thick and didn’t have too harsh of a smell. But can we talk about the bottles? They were notably heavy to me. There’s just too much glass.
Did I get my value? I love the bag (it’s pink mesh with multicolor solid stripes) and the nailpolish is actually one I’ve been needing. The lipstain is nice and my boyfriend said it looks nice on me (WINNING–seriously, you don’t know how happy I am to finally get a lip color from myglam that isn’t too much.) I wouldn’t miss the conditioner, but I’ll use it. The lotion I don’t care for at all, but hey. It’s lotion. So for $10, I’m satisfied.
MyGlam: June
My June MyGlam bag came on the 12th. Last month’s arrived on the 16th, so I was much more pleased with the delivery of this one.
As soon as I opened the bag, I caught a whiff of something fishy. Another well-crafted MyGlam good, clearly. It was the bag. I assume the glue holding on the glitter was the stink offender. Unfortunately, my bag was also perma-creased from getting smushed down in the envelope.
First in the bag was NYX round lipstick in Eucalyptus. Pretty true to the plant’s pink blooms, and too overwhelming for my face, but more wearable than the colour I got last month. The texture of the lipstick is a bit loose. It’s sheer. Since it’s so bold, I like to dab it on and use it as a lipstain, which it does pretty well. In a different colour, I think I’d be pretty fond of this brand. $4/tube Would purchase.
Next up was a trial tube of Philosophy’s take a deep breath gel moisturizer. I’m not sure what “gel moisturizer” is supposed to mean, given than it’s just slightly more glossy-looking than regular moisturizer. I used it on my very try (for some reason) hands and patted a bit on my nose. It felt nice and not greasy at all. Halfway through the day, though, I’m needing another hit. $34/2 oz. Likely would not purchase due to price, but I recommend the product.
An adorable little chubby bottle of Living Proof (no) frizz styling cream was in there. The instructions for this are pretty vague–just to use a generous amount and work through hair from root to tip. The amount is very relative and I was hesitant to use a lot; many products leave hair looking pretty greasy if you use an ample amount. I worked it into my wet hair, and I am noticing many fewer flyaways at the top of my head. The ends of my hair, though?
Still as big and crunchy-sounding as ever. I totally need to get it trimmed, and this product didn’t do much to alleviate the symptoms. It’s part of a whole system of hair stuff. And I’ve heard good things. $46/2oz+2oz+3.4oz Would not buy due to price, not sure about recommending based on styling cream alone.
Finally, the Marbella waterproof eyeliner pen. Holy snot. I used this to draw a line on my hand for testing. I could make a gorgeous and superfine line, and the black was rich and true. I let it dry, then wet my finger and tried to make a smear through the line. There was a very tiny bit of smudging. I wore it through a shower. I washed my hands. It SLOWLY faded over the course of two days. $19/pen Would recommend!
The verdict?
I feel like the myglam team has listened to everyone’s concerns about the size and quality of the samples. I know these subscription services have up and down months, but I hope this month isn’t just a bandaid for quality complaints. For $10 a month, the value is there, but I’m wondering if I’d be happier if I just went out and spent $10 a month on something else that I’d be guaranteed to love.
I don’t know if I said this in my previous post, but myglam as it is now is NOT for makeup hoarders and gurus. If you’ve already got the most expansive makeup collection on the block, skip subscription services entirely. A lot of reviews focus on how common some of the items are (like primers,) but I just feel like that’s missing the idea of a sample trial.
A Review of MyGlam Bags from a Normal Girl
Where I’m Coming From:
I keep seeing reviews of the MyGlam bags from Youtube Gurus and makeup hoarders who are upset with the quality of the MyGlam bag content because they already have dozens of each product. I really feel like the point of the MyGlam bag is to introduce makeup novices to new products. There have even been products in the MyGlam bags that I would think a real makeup horse would already have outright–that tells me it’s not really geared toward someone with an extensive makeup collection.
So here’s a review from someone who isn’t a makeup genius. I have a pretty limited makeup collection. I joined MyGlam because I want to try new products, but simply can’t risk the expense of buying a full-sized product only to find that I’m disappointed. Spending $10 a month seemed like a smart way to budget my cosmetic expenditures, since I was spending too much on cosmetics some months.
I’ve been a member for two bags now. I ended up on the wait list, so I got in just after a lot of the billing and shipping confusion went down and was (for the most part?) corrected. I have never had a billing or shipping issue.
The Bags:
The first bag was April. The bag itself was shiny pink. Inside was the hunter green Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye pencil, the most demure set of All-Belle lashes, the Dermstore Lip Quench and the two MyGlam brushes for that month (an all-over eyeshadow brush and eyeliner brush.) I was fortunate to get the green liner–some people got the hot pink Woodstock and were really upset. I hated the Dermstore Lip Quench–it make my lips feel sort of stingy, was really hard to get out of the tube and tasted awful. Overall, an okay bag. I considered switching for the Birch Box, but decided to wait it out for another bag or two.
The second bag was May. The bag was bright blue with pink kisses. Inside was a sample of Philosophy Love Sweet fragrance, Studio Gear lipstick in a horrid brown-mauve color, Miss Beauty nail bling with hearts that are too small for my nails and the two brushes for the month (concealer brush & defining eyeliner brush.) The lipstick was gouged along the sizes and was sweating oil–they chose to mail lipstick in late May, and this was only in my mailbox for less than an hour in 75 degree weather. So everything that happened to it occurred in transport.
My Issues with MyGlam:
My problem with MyGlam is that I filled out a profile that clearly stated my makeup preferences. At this time, they’re not using those profiles and just sending a random product. In the sneak preview photos for the lipstick, the colors looked bright and pink. I got a color that is unsuitable for virtually any skintone I can think of. Some people who prefer very demure makeup got hot pink eyeliner. I think it would really be easy for them to sort people’s preferences in, say, three types: adventurous, glam, natural. Sort the colors among the three preferences and mail them out in three batches. I don’t think that would be logistically difficult at all. In fact, I think it would help them better request products from their suppliers–we need X of hot pink and blue, Y of brown and green, Z of black and purple.
A lot of people have complained about the smell of the MyGlam brushes. The first two I received didn’t have a noticable smell, but my latest two definitely did–like gasoline. This is AFTER people have complained to MyGlam about the smell of the brushes. Is the smell the lacquer of the handles? I worry about the safety of these brushes. Similarly, we received eyelashes from overseas–how are these products safety inspected? Is it even legal to sell us these products?
Another issue I have with MyGlam is the shipping. I’m billed on the first of the month, but the product doesn’t BEGIN shipping until the 10th. I end up receiving it around the 15th. It seems like it would make more sense to bill customers as shipping occurs–and to ship items at the first of the month. There is sometimes a delay between the actual shipment and email notificiation that the item has been shipped. That’s a little stressful when I’m already aware of their past shipping errors. I’d like the option to skip months without losing my subscription, as well.
The Verdict:
Two months in, I’m staying subscribed. Like a lot of people, I want this venture to go well. I love Urban Decay and some of the other brands that have been a part of MyGlam, so I’m sticking around. I’ve gotten mostly full-sized products in both bags, so I feel like the MyGlam team has heard the complaints that their “deluxe” samples were kind of bogus in the past. I also really liked the concept of the brushes. Again, for a makeup novice, getting decent brushes is a godsend. For a guru? Useless, I imagine.
I’m on the fence about the actual bags. Getting a new makeup bag a month? I might save them to give presents away at Christmas, because I simply don’t need any makeup bags. I think the MyGlam team could actually do away with the little bags and focus that funding elsewhere. I know they’re MyGlam -bags-, but how many pink makeup bags does one person really need? They come in a pink mailer pouch, so blam, makeup BAG. I’d rather get more custom-made MyGlam products.
