Ipsy December 2013

This is my first Ipsy! I decided to give a shot, despite hearing mixed reviews. I figure for ten bucks, it can't be that bad. Here's my review of my December 2013 Ipsy glam bag.

All of my bag's contents. Overall, the bag was cute. I don't see myself using it all of the time, but it'll be nice for a night out when I just need the basics. 

I have a confusing relationship with Pop Beauty. Sometimes, their products are nice. But thus far, I haven't encountered an eyeshadow of theirs that doesn't leave fallout everywhere and fade within a couple of hours. 

 

As you can see, the pigmentation is unimpressive. This was two swipes, no primer. After primer, there was a bit more of a show, but it still wasn't fantastic. The fallout wasn't bad, but the wear time was minimal. Honestly, I feel like this is drugstore cheap. Not even good drugstore, either. Just something I'd pick up for a preteen who is just testing the waters of makeup. 

While I like the idea of "One Stick to Rule Them All," this product is only really good as a blush. Everywhere else it's just greasy and oily. On my cheeks, though, it blends out into a beautiful coral pink with a hint of golden shimmer. Sunset is definitely a winner in the blush category, and I'll just choose to ignore the part where it mentions using it as a lipstick. Ugh.

This lip pencil is described as a Caramel Mocha, and I think that description is pretty good. Coming from a barista at Starbucks, this color is pretty similar to that soft, caramel brown you get from the Caramel Brulee seasonal sauce. It's not dark enough to make me look washed out, and it has just enough pink to balance it out. It's a nice color that I think is actually quite flattering. Not for every occasion, but it's still a good color that I'll wear pretty often. It's also hydrating, although the wear time is about what you'd get from a balm. So there's that. 

This is a brush. It's fluffy and does its job. Nothing special here.

I also received a nail polish that I haven't fully swatched yet because I'm currently wearing polish strips for the holidays. The lazy person's nail art! 

However, I have noted that it is a bright, cherry red that goes on smooth in two coats. It chips easy though, so make sure you have a good base and top coat. I just wish they had labelled the color in case, y'know, I actually wanted to buy a product they sent me. 

Overall, it's not bad for a first bag. The products were very generously sized and all of my complaints were relatively minor. The Pop shadow won't be used often, but I might toss it on when I'm going for a very subtle, neutral look. 

If you're interested in joining Ipsy, here's a referral link! Thanks for reading!

Review: Revlon Color Stay Shadow Palette in Inspire

Yet another of my spontaneous purchases, I got this on Clearance at my local drugstore. I love blues and greens, so I jumped on the chance to pick this up for a measly $2.

I’m glad that I got it so cheap, though!

 At first glance, the colors are great. Upon swatching, however, the colors are pretty washed out. In fact, I didn’t even bother with a first picture because it was hard to tell there was even anything on my arm. The colors were pale and barely there, which is a shame.

However, and that is a big however, with a primer, these colors suddenly come to life. After applying my base, everything was much more noticeable. The blue was blue, the green was green. The shimmer showed up nicely.

These are nice colors for  starting a collection, I have to say. The colors really pop once there is a base of primer, and they blend really easily.

Wear time on these is pretty standard for a shadow. About ¾ of the way through my day, I had the urge to reapply. By the time I got home, the colors were a little muddied and little wan. Still there, just not as poppy. But after a day of working around hot steam and coffee, that’s pretty good. I’m sure without the primer, I would have gotten zilch for wear time.

These colors look funky together, though, I have to say. I attempted the look on the back of the palette and I looked like I was trying too hard to be from the 80s. They are great when mixed with other palettes, though, and used as accents to darker blues and blacks.

The highlight color is nice, though. It almost perfectly matches the color of my the skin just under my brow bone. It adds a touch of shimmer and smoothes out the primer.

Not a bad deal for $2. I would have paid a little more for it, just for the versatility. By itself, though, it has a little lacking. Especially without a solid foundation.

By all means, snag his palette if you have others that you want to use with it. It’s going to get use from me just on that factor alone.

Thanks for reading!

November Birchbox 2013

Yup, it's that time of the month again! I've finally used all of my Birchbox products. They have been tried and  tested, and now you get to hear how much I loved or hated them.

First and foremost is this little serum by DDF.

This "amplifying elixir" is supposed to increase my skin natural moisture retention rate. And with winter in full force, even here in the South, that's something that I find really important. My skin is now in its winter state of dry, scaly awfulness. Even my eyelids are dry, and honestly, how does that even happen?

Honestly, though, this stuff didn't come to the rescue. In fact, I've only used it twice. The first time was a disaster. My skin felt like I had a really bad sunburn. It itched and tingled. It was red and blotchy and painful. Even after a full night of sleep, I woke up to warm, tender cheeks that still looked like I'd been slapped. I was going to put this product off as another failure, but I gave it another chance. Why? Because before application, I had just exfoliated. I thought that might have something to do with it.

And sure enough, the second application wasn't nearly as painful. But it didn't really do anything for my skin. At all. And it tingled just enough to be uncomfortable, and I'm not about that. I wear beauty products to make myself happy, not to punish myself. End of story.

Next up was this perfume:

Since it's hyped so much by the Birchbox staff, I was expecting something tremendous. But in the end, this was just an ok perfume. Nothing new or noteworthy. Floral, fruity, and young with just a hint of mature musk, it smells an awful lot like everything else on store shelves right now. Kind of a meh for me.

However, the iffy box was redeemed by the next several products I used. First and foremost, this Color Club nail polish in Baldwin Blues. 

I love blue. LOOOOOOVE it. And this shade is no exception. It's a deep, denim blue that goes on perfectly in two coats. Color Club never fails when it comes to polish. This one is as stunning as all of the others that I've tried. 

TheBalm Stainiac was....alright. I'm a bigger fan of Benefit.

The color is great, don't get me wrong. It's a pinky-red color that is bright and flattering. It's the formula that breaks it for me. It's a gel, which is odd enough on it's own. But this gel has a habit of clumping up into these little nuggets of color that settle into the cracks on my lips. It doesn't provide an even coat of color. Just a spotty wash. Now, if your lips are in awesome condition, then fabulous! This product will give you a bit of a just-bit-my-lip pink. Otherwise, you'll have to exfoliate the living daylights out of your lips to get it to work well (like me). 

And last but not least, the Mox Botanicals Bath Milk. 

This little teabag was awesome! It had a bunch of great smelling goodies inside that did really well in my steaming hot tub.The scent was just right, a mix of earthy and smooth. The coconut really came through during the whole length of my bath. I can't say much about how my skin felt afterwards, because my skin always feels awesome after a bath. But I can say that I smelled really nice. 

I would love to try out the other scents that this brand has and give them all a good, solid review. 

Thanks for reading!