Ipsy Glam Bag July 2013 Review

July is turning out to be an AMAZING month for subscription boxes!

I’ve had a lot of fun testing out the products and samples in my Ipsy Glam bag!

Plus, the bag (valued at $2.00) is super cute!  The pink vinyl is really practical for travel.  You can put your shampoos, conditioners, and lotions/moisturizers in the bag and not worry about them exploding or leaking.  This bag would be super easy to clean!

** Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription that sends you a combination of delux-sized samples and full-size products that are personalized for you based on the results of your beauty quiz.  Along with the beauty products, you also receive a monthly (super cute) make-up bag!  The cost of an Ipsy subscription is $10/month. **

Goodies received:

 

Sexy Hair Soy Renewal beach spray

Full size = $19.95, Sample value = $6.65

As a general rule, I’ve stayed away from Sexy Hair’s Soy Renewal line.  A hair stylist once told me that this particular line (shampoos, conditioners, etc) really dry out your hair.

But since Ipsy sent it to me, I’ve just gotta try it out!

The photo below is my attempt at “Soft Waves” using the beach spray.

The first thing I noticed was the super impressive power of the spray nozzle.  This stuff really sprays an extensive mist of product.  Very cool!

Then I noticed the scent.  I was hoping it would be a beach-y scent, but it seemed more floral to me.

I will say that this spray really made my hair feel dry.  But is that was a texturizer is supposed to do?  How else would you achieve texture without dryness?

Despite drying out my hair, the spray contains Argan Oil, so in theory it shouldn’t really damage your hair.

 

BH Cosmetics California Collection eyeshadow sample

Full size = $17.95, Sample value = $2.70

In regards to the overall palette, these are not really my colors.  I’ll make them work, but I would not have chosen these colors if I had my choice.

I don’t own any good quality and popular eye shadows like MAC or Urban Decay, so I can’t really compare this brand to them.

But here is my experience with these shadows –

I wore San Francisco to work yesterday.  I did not use a primer; I applied the eye shadow directly to my bare eyelids.  I did not experience any messiness of shadow falling onto my cheeks as I applied the color.  But it did take a couple applications of shadow to get my desired color coverage.  After a 10 hour work day, I did not have any creasing and the color never faded.  So that was enough to impress me!

*Please excuse my sub-par eye shadow application.  I’m an eye shadow beginner!

Hollywood – I was worried about this purple color.  I was afraid it would be dark and bold and too intense for me.  But it turned out to be the least pigmented color in the palette.  It was also a matte color, which was unexpected.

 

San Francisco – This was my favorite color in the palette.  However, even as a neutral beige/brown color, I think it’s a little too yellow for my skin tone.

 

Malibu  – This was my least favorite color.  I wouldn’t have selected a yellow-gold color for myself.  I don’t anticipate wearing it much.  Maybe during football season I’ll wear it with a Packers T-shirt.

 

 

Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt

Full size = $25.00, Sample size = $4.16

*Sigh*

I really wanted to love this lip crayon.  I really did.  And I tried.

I wore it three days in a row.  Each day I thought, Maybe this will be the day.  No.  It didn’t happen.

So here’s the deal-  It’s a great product, really it is.  Very smooth application and great color coverage.  And long lasting.  The color faded only slightly after I ate.

But here’s the problem –  the color.  My goodness, it’s bright!  The photo below doesn’t really reflect the brightness of the soft fuchsia color.

I realize that bright, bold lip colors are very trendy right now, but in my opinion, I think it looks kind of juvenile and not age appropriate, even for me, and I’m still under 30.

 

Coola Rose Essence tinted moisturizer

Full size = $36.00, Sample value = $4.86

Remember how much I loved the cucumber Coola sample in my May Birchbox?  I wish I could give another happy Coola review, but I just can’t.  I really disliked this tinted moisturizer.

Yes, it’s cool that it’s SPF 20 and that the tinted color adds a little bit of coverage.  And it did have a very light and subtle floral scent from the rose essence, which was nice.

However, I didn’t feel like this moisturizer actually MOISTURIZED.  I felt like it sat on top of my skin and made me look extremely shiny.  And it was slightly iridescent.  I did not like that at all.

And I don’t know how this happened, and even Chad noticed it – it made the skin on my cheeks look like crepe paper.  Very uncool.

Is it possible my sample was slightly spoiled due to heat and humidity during the shipping process?  My sample was sealed so I’m not sure how much of a factor that would really be.

 

Benefit Benetint

Full size = $30.00, Sample value = $6.00

I was so excited to see this highly sought after product in my bag!

This is a staining liquid that can be used on the cheeks and lips to give a fresh and natural rosiness.

In the photo below, Benetint has been applied to my cheeks and lips.

I had watched the video on Benefit’s website on how to apply the stain.  And I did it exactly as the video instructs.

On my cheeks – I used the applicator brush to apply the color and used my finger to rub it into my skin.  I didn’t feel like the color was super noticeable and my fingers became more stained than my cheeks.  I applied a little more to my cheeks, but that then became a little too much color.

I’ve talked about this before, but I have some red splotchiness on my cheeks.  But it’s not so bad that I feel I need to wear face powder or foundation.  As a general rule, I actually get a lot of compliments on my skin.  But I felt like the Benetint actually ENHANCED my splotchiness, whereas a powder or creme blush often camouflages it.

On my lips – I’ve tried several lip stains.  I love the idea behind them.  But they never seem to work out for me.  So I was excited to see how this compared.  I will say that this was the most natural looking color I’ve tried in a lip stain.  All the other’s I’ve tried, no matter how light the color says it will be, become very dark or very bright (like cherry red) on my lips.

Like other stains, applying Benetint made my lips dry, but I applied Softlips on top and that problem was solved.  And no color transferred onto my stick of Softlips, which is good.

I would actually consider wearing Benetint on my lips on my wedding day if Chad and I ever decide to get married.  Chad doesn’t like kissing me when I’m wearing lipstick or lip gloss.  So I’ve been trying to find the perfect lip stain for our wedding.  So far, this is the best I’ve tried.

 

I had a lot of fun with this bag!  Even though the products weren’t a perfect match for me, I still enjoyed trying them out and seeing what I could do with them.

And still a good value!  I paid $10, and my total box value was $26.37!  I’ve gotten better values from other months, but I can’t complain!

I’m looking forward to what else July has in store for me since it’s been pretty awesome so far!

 

If you’re interested in signing up for Ipsy, please consider using my referral link here.