Saturday, February 14, 2015

Ipsy February 2015 Review

Unlike last month, not only did my Ipsy bag arrive at its usual time (during the second week of the month for me), but I am also together enough to get this review put together within a week of receiving it! Don't get used to it - I'm never this organized in my personal life no matter how hard I try!  But enough about my lack of time/motivation/whatever, let's get to it, shall we?

Ipsy, is a monthly subscription service which sends you 5 make-up, skin care or hair care items per month packaged in a make-up bag.  The products are often deluxe sample sizes but there are usually a few full-size items as well.  The cost is $10 per month with free shipping if you happen to live in the states but for those of us in Canada, add $4.95 shipping as well as exchange.  There are savings to be had if you subscribe to a longer period, though.  I paid for a year up front which worked out to $184.33 Canadian funds, or $15.36 per month.

If this review piques your interest in Ipsy, please consider using my referral link :)  I'd appreciate it!  There is usually a waiting list but they often offer ways to skip the line.

Here is what came in my Ipsy bag this month:


Not going to lie, I misplaced the card that describes the theme of the month (most likely, my son decided it was his and squirreled it away somewhere).  I also took way fewer photos than usual as my camera was almost out of juice.  Seriously, need to get a new camera and/or just keep the thing plugged in more often.

So, when I first saw these items in my Glam Room, I wasn't super excited - the blush and eyelash curler were the most exciting of the bunch but the rest just didn't float my boat.  In person, I'm a lot happier.

Here's what I got:

City Color Cosmetics Creamy Lip Stain in "Flirtini" (FULL SIZE, $4.99 value)

At first, I thought this was going to be a bit too vibrant for daily use and I'm not a huge fan of lip products that have a sponge-tipped applicator.  But I do like this.  A lot.  It's not sticky like a gloss.  It dries down pretty matte and the colour is much more raspberry than flourescent.  On me, it is a great colour - sort of like my-lips-but-better when it dries.  While I didn't take many pics, I did decide to do swatches this time.  Flirtini is on the left.  And no, that's not swatched on white paper - that's my arm (seriously pale here).


ModelCo BLUSH Cheek Powder in "Cosmopolitan" (Ballerina Pink) (FULL SIZE? $22 value??)

The uncertainty in the valuation here is in whether or not this is full size.  If it is, that's the value, but the ModelCo website doesn't seem to state how large their blushes are.  It does look like it might be full size, though.  This could have come in a peachy shade, which I was actually hoping for as I don't have one, but I got the pink.  Not disappointed though as this is actually a really nice pink on me (see the swatch above, on the right) and a solid product.  I do find it to be quite pigmented so a little goes a long way. . . and this is a pretty large blush!

Emite Make-Up Professional Eye Lash Curler, plus refill pads (FULL SIZE, obviously, $25 value + $3 for refills)

I have never owned an eyelash curler and am excited to try this one out.  It feels like a much nicer quality than the one my sister owned when we were in high school (that I borrowed frequently, lol).  Bonus points for the refill pads!

Eva NYC Up All Night Volumizing Spray (FULL SIZE $10 value)

This should be used on damp hair before blow drying.  I don't blow-dry my hair often / at all so that's unlikely to ever happen.  It can also be used on dry hair as a revitalizing mist.  I might try that.  I don't have hair products as a "like" on my quiz so I'm not sure why I keep getting them.  I know that they pick the bag that's the best fit for me but this is still a bit of a waste for me.  If it works on my hair, dry, I'll keep it.  Otherwise, this will go to a new home.

Mitchell and Peach Fine Radiance Face Oil (10ml = approximately $25 value, 20ml costs £30 on their website, excluding shipping,which is about $57.50 Canadian right now)

Sometimes figuring out values for these products is simple.  Sometimes it's not.  This valuation is a bit of a guess since I couldn't easily find a Canadian site selling this.  It might be worth a little more or a little less but I think $25 is a pretty reasonable guess (although not a reasonable cost!).  This is a facial oil that you massage into your skin before your day/night cream.  I have more than enough excellent skin care products at the moment plus an oil like this is not a great idea for my skin type.  I also found it to be pretty strongly scented which doesn't excite me.  I passed this on to my mom who is excited to try it since she has never used any skincare products outside of cream and eye cream.

Overall Verdict:
Holy value, Batman! This is definitely the most value I have ever received in an Ipsy bag at about $90! Even if that blush is not full size and I discount the value of the face oil, this is still a pretty high value bag! Most of that value comes from the fact that so many of these items are full size and that the eyelash curler is not a cheapo.  While I can't say that every product is a total win for me, I love the lip tint and blush.  I'm really happy with the eyelash curler and will try the volumizing spray.  Hopefully my mom likes the face oil (and the collagen sleeping pack I gave her that I couldn't bring myself to use!) as it seems like a nice product and I do like the company.

What did you get in your Ipsy bag this month?  And, as always, if this review is drawing you to Ipsy, I'd love it if you would use  my referral link.  Thanks!

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