March Glambag Review

It's that time! For those of you not familiar, a glambag is a monthly beauty subscription service that sends you 4-5 products (full sized and deluxe sample sized. No packets here) in a makeup bag for just $10 a month! If you want one of your own, please be amazing and use my referral link: http://www.ipsy.com/r/1bhk .If you use it, you'll get a thank you shoutout on the blog (both here and tumblr).

Normally each month there are 5 products, but this month everyone recieved only 4. The theme was destination beauty. I personally don't like the bag print. This print was done by a local artist for Ipsy (the company that sells glambags). Even though I don't like it, someone put a lot of time and effort into it.

Here are the products that I received this month and my thoughts on each:

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in Get Ready (deluxe sample)

I have wanted to try Bare Minerals for a while but none of their products jumped out at me or justified me splurging to try something. I was so excited to try this lipstick. First off, how cute is this little lipstick? It is a beautiful sort of rosey pink color. I feel that this color would work on everyone. I normally like wearing bold and bright lip colors, so this isn't a color I would have picked on my own. I love it though, it is a beautiful color. It goes on nicely and it is creamy. The color lasted a few hours.

Nyx Love In Rio palette (full sized)

I love Nyx eyeshadows and know them well. I have loved everything I have ever tried from Nyx. As expected, this little palette is great! It contains 3 neutral shades. Each one is very pigmented and lasts. Nyx makes probably the best affordable eyshadows I have ever used.

Chella Indigo Eyeliner (full sized)

At first, I wasn't too crazy about this eyeliner. I have blue eyes, so I don't wear blue eye products. This eyeliner is an eyeliner pen. It has a felt-marker like tip instead of a brush. This I really like, it makes it easy and quick to apply the liner. The blue of this liner is a deeper shade, so it is wearable and did look good with my blue eyes. It does last all day. I just hope it doesn't dry out as quickly as eyeliner pens like this in my experience have. I'm not sure if Chella makes eyeliner like this in other colors, if so and if it doesn't dry out fast I would for sure buy one. 

Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer (deulxe sample)

To be honest, I didn't expect much from this product at first. I was completely wrong, it is amazing! The tube I was given is a really good size. It retails on pixi's website for $9, the full size is $22. You don't need a ton of product with this primer. It is the consistency of a lotion. I applied it under BB cream. It made my skin look beautiful. I had a gorgeous glow that I have always wanted to get. It gave me a glow without making me look like a glitter ball. My makeup stayed all day with this. I definitely want the full sized. For now though, I bought another tube of the sample sized online

Overall I really liked this bag. I can't wait for the April (my birthday month!) Bag.

February Glambag Review

 Yup, it's that time again. Time for me to review all of the products I received in my Ipsy Glambag this month. If you would like your own (They're just $10!) please, please, please use this link: http://www.ipsy.com/r/1bhk

The theme this month was a love/Valentines day theme. It came in this really cute bag:

 There was also a really cute pattern inside:

Without further ado, here is everything I got in my bag followed by my thoughts on each. 

                                                Pop Beauty plump pout lip gloss

This is the best lipgloss I have ever tried. I even like it better than Nyx's! Im not a huge lip gloss fan, but I can see myself wearing this one a lot. 

I got this in the shade Peony Petal. It goes on very pigmented, so you don't need to cake it on to get good color payof.. I only used the smallest amount possible. It is very smooth! Not sticky at all. It is also very lightweight. The formula is great. This is the best lip gloss formula i have ever tried. I even forget that I'm wearing it.

 

The only con: the size. It is a nice size for travel or to put in your pocket. But it's on the small size. Retailing at $16 a piece, there is way too little product for the price. However, despite the size this lip gloss is worth the price if you are a gloss lover.

                                         Jessie's Girl eye color collection in Behind Blue Eyes

I am not a big fan of the colors in this palette. I have blue eyes, so I do not really wear blue eyeshadow. This palette wasn't anything too spectacular, just ok in my opinion. Maybe I would have liked it better if I had gotten a different color selection. I haven't tried every single shade, but I did try a few. What I did try was a little chalky. I used them without primer, I didn't get super pigmentation. With a primer, however I'm sure the pigmentation would be great.

                                                             Zoya nail polish in Odette

Zoya is my favorite nail polish brand, I am always happy to get more. This color is from the new Natruel line. Zoya describes this color as being "Sultry orchid maroon cream". I would say that it is a mauvey purple. It is a beautiful color. As always with Zoya, it has amazing pigmentation and wear. I have never gotten better wear from any other brand.

                         Mally Beauty Evercolor Starlight waterproof eyeliner in Starshine

I was really excited to try this product, I will from time to time watch HSN and QVC when they show makeup. I have seen Mally Beauty featured a few times and I have always been curious as to how their products are. 

That being said, I was hugely disapointed. I first tried to use this on my waterline and it would not even show up. It was too rough and wouldn't leave any pigmentation. I tried  using it in the corner of my eye and got much better color payoff, but the eyeliner wasn't creamy as I expected. 

                                                    Uberbliss Straight Efect Rituoil 

This is a hair oil made to tame frizz. I don't really have an issue with frizz, but I do have a problem with staticy hair. I didn't try this as directed (applying to hair, blowdrying then straightening) but I did try it on my ends. It seemed like it helped to moisturize my ends and it smells really good.

November Glambag Review

Finally it is time to talk about this month's Glambag! This month's bag was a very special one. It is Ipsy's birthday month, so we got 6 products (normally it is only 5) including a full sized Em Cosmetics (Ipsy founder, Michelle Phan's makeup company) product. The theme was "Glam It Up", which is perfect with the holidays just around the corner.

I liked the bag for this month, it is a super cute little gold bag that doubles as a wristlet. I was a little surprised at how thin the material it was made out of was though.

If you would like your own monthly Glambag, please be awesome and use my referral link ( http://www.ipsy.com/r/1bhk )!

Here are the products I received:

                                  Em Cosmetics Waterliner intense color eyeliner in Teal Tease

Everyone received one Em Cosmetics product. This was the one product I had really hoped to get. I had heard so much buzz in the Ipsy community that I was extremely curious. I'm so happy that I was given the chance to try this.

The color I got was Teal Tease, a beautiful teal color. These eyeliners are automatic (twist up, no sharpening needed). It also does have a little sponge to smudge. It is very pigmented and glides on nicely. What really surprised me: it actually stayed on my waterline! For years, no matter what I have tried, nothing will stay on my waterline. This stayed on all day without budging. I definitely plan on buying more of these. I would love to try the rose gold one.

                                                  Be a Bombshell lip crayon in Hot Damn

I really love lip crayons, but I personally was a tiny bit disappointed in what I got. I received this lip pencil in Hot Damn, a bright red. Ipsy has sent me a few red lip products before and at this point I have more than enough reds. I wish I had gotten the pink color that some people had gotten.

As disappointed by the color that I was, it is not a reflection of the product. This actually is a good product. This was easy to apply, being in pencil form but a little more difficult than other lip pencils i have tried due to the shape.

It is well pigmented. Goes on smoothly. This particular color was matte. It wasn't drying at all and it is  very light weight. I nearly forgot that I was wearing it. After the product was on for 20-30 minutes I drank some water and there was 0 transfer, it stayed put. Although I didn't get the color I preferred, this is still a great product.

                                         Nailtini straight up color nail lacquer in Caviar Cocktail

Many Ipsy subscribers have complained about constantly getting Nailtini nail polishes. I somehow had gone this long without getting one. As this being my first, I am satisfied. The bottle is  nice shape and kind of unique. The Nailtini logo sticker is on the front of the bottle and the color name on the bottle. This is a good sized product. I had a little trouble opening mine at first. The cap on it was weird, possibly screwed on wrong. But I don't think that's the usual.

Caviar Cocktail is a beautiful metallic gunmetal color. It was welcomed, as I don't have any other nail polishes of the same color. It is very pigmented, went on smoothly. The first day I had been wearing this nail polish on 1 nail I had been rearranging some things in my home and I have 0 chips. But a few days later I noticed that the nail polish was completely gone from my nail! So I am unsure of lasting power, I will need to try this polish out again to be sure.

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Topaz

I love glitter! So I was excited for this. Starlooks Gem Eye pencils are very glittery eyeliners. The particular shade I got is a beautiful bright silver. This pencil is super creamy, glides on and feels amazing. It does stay on. My only complaint is there is some glitter fallout.

Pixi Bronzer in Subtly Suntouched

Lately I have been getting into using bronzers, so I was happy for this product. I'm super picky when it comes to bronzer. I use them just for contouring. I am very fair, so most of the bronzers I have tried are too dark for me and don't blend into my skin as well as I would like. That or they are too orangey or with glitter.

This bronzer is perfect for me. It is matte, which is what I look for in a bronzer. It is a very light color and not super pigmented, actually pretty sheer. The color is a tad bit darker than it appears in the pictures above. The sheerness is great for you pale skinned girls like myself. I am alright using bronzers a bit darker to contour my cheekbones, but if I were to contour my nose everything was too dark. With this bronzer, it is the perfect shade! I can now contour my nose without it looking obvious.

I absolutely love this product. The packaging is great too. It comes in a nice simple screw top package. It doesn't take up much space.

GlamGlow Youthmud tinglexfoliate treatment

This I was super excited to try. I have heard so much about GlamGlow and I have been dying to try one if their products. This was the only non full-sized product I got this month. I was impressed at the size of the tube, as this stuff is very expensive. I used this the night before a job interview, I thought that would be as good a time as any to. The mask reminds me a little bit of Lush's BB seaweed mask. It has these little pieces of what I assume is sea weed throughout. It is this grey mask with that and some little beads to exfoliate. I left the mask on for about 10 minutes. It tingled for a while. It didn't burn, but it was a unique experience. It did tighten, when the mask was on I couldn't really move my face.

As I added water to wash this mask off, it turned into an exfoliating scrub. So this is really 2 products in 1. It left my skin feeling great! Extremely soft and smooth, I didn't feel any of the roughness or little bumps that I will get some time. If not for the very steep price tag ($19 for .5 oz, $69 for 1.7 oz) , I would definitely buy this.

Over all, I absolutely loved this bag. It is probably my favorite so far.

Weekly Beauty tip #67 Turn any eyeshadow into eyeliner

Mix some eyeshadow with an eyeliner or makeup sealer to turn any eyeshadow into eyeliner.



This can also work with water, but in my experience it doesn't last as long with just water. A great and cheap (also what I use) sealer is ELF Makeup Lock & Seal. It is this great little kit  that comes with a little bottle of the Lock & Seal, a small mixing pot and a brush.

You can also mix any setting spray, such as Urban Decay All Nighter, or ELF Mist and Set with eyeshadow and get the same result.

September Glam Bag review

It's the end of the month, know what that means? It's time for my review of this month's glambag (well obviously once you read the title). If you would like your own bag with 4 - 5 full and deluxe sized products for just $10 a month, please please please sign up using my refferal link ( http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h051r3lzwoa89xn ). If you do, I will give you a thank you shoutout.

Each month's bag has a theme, this month's was classic beauty. I don't think all of the product options given fit the theme, but all off the products i got sure do. I love the bag its self, it is a beautiful blue color with a cute pattern. I actually am currently using it as my purse makeup bag.

Anyway, on to the products. 

 

Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple
*Full sized 

I'm going to get this out of the way first: Cailyn majorly mislabeled this product. It is nowhere near anything like a tinted lip balm. It is not moisturizing at all and it is way too pigmented to be a balm. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I really did love this product. It is a lipstick in a pot that comes with a built in brush. The packaging is exactly like the Cailyn gel eyeliners  but in a different color. For a lipstick it is pretty bulky, but it is nice that the brush is attached so that it won't get lost.

Big Apple is a gorgeous matte (yes, matte) red. I have many reds but only one other matte one so this was definitely welcomed. Application was a breeze. It went on nicely and is very pigmented. It feels so lightweight that I nearly forgot I was wearing it. It can be pretty drying though (like most matte lipsticks). Lasting power was great until I ate. Overall I absolutely loved this product even though it is labeled as a tinted lip balm.

Nyx Single Eyeshadow in Morocco

*Full sized

I love Nyx and own several of their products. I own many of their eyeshadows. They are always very pigmented and non chalky. Blend great and stay. They come in so many different colors and finishes. Also you can't beat the price. The shade I got is a beautiful deep purple. I love the packaging of these eyeshadows, they're very compact and the lid to it is attached so you don't have to worry about losing it.

 Elizabeth Mott It's So Big Volumizing Mascara
*Deluxe sample sized

I had high hopes for this mascara. It claims to be a very volumizing mascara, which I need. Many mascaras I've tried just lengthen, my eyelashes are already long and do not need length but volume. This mascara does volumize a bit, but not as much as I'd hoped for. The very end of the brush gets clumpy but that is fixable. The formula and color seem nice. For me this was an ok mascara. Nothing phenomenal that I absolutely have to buy.

Butter London Nail Laquer in LA Moss
*Deluxe sample size

I have wanted to try some Butter London nail polish for the longest time, but the steep price tag has always held me back. I nearly literally jumped for joy when I saw this product in my glam room. I thought it would be a full size, but I'm not at all disappointed in the size. I have heard mixed things about Butter London polishes. Many people say they're great. But when I saw the comments on the Butter London page on Ipsy for this month's bag people were saying it chipped easily.I knew as soon as I saw the color, that I couldn't compare the formula to any of their other shades. The higher amount of pigment in darker/deeper nail polish shades cause them to chip more easily. This is something to keep in mind when trying out dark polishes.

LA Moss is a beautiful deep berry red. In the bottle I thought it would be an Oxblood color, but it has more berry tones. It went on fairly easily and pigmented. But, with such a deep color it took 3 or 4 coats to get the color as deep as it looked in the bottle. I was very impressed by how long it lasted, especially for a deeper color. It did not chip for at least a day or two then I got very minor chipping. I will definitely be trying more from this brand someday. I absolutely love the formula (it is three free as well) and the color.

Starlooks Obsidian Kohl Eye Pencil in Onyx

I mostly wear gel eyeliner, even in the outer rims of my waterline. I do sometimes use eyeliner pencils. My favorite eye pencil being Urban Decay's 24/7 liner. Compared to that, I absolutely did not like this eyeliner. It dragged and I could not get it to draw a straight line. I had to smudge it to get the liner on all the way. It wasn't creamy as I come to expect from eyeliners. It for me also ran. However, I gave this to my mom and she loved it. She applies her eyeliner to her waterline and she says that it stays on and it works great for her.

There was also a sample in my bag from Michelle Phan's new makeup line, Em cosmetics. This particular sample is from the Life Palette: Career Life. It is labeled look 4 natural talent. It contains 3 eyeshadow colors and a blush. The eyeshadows are pigmented and blend very nicely. The blush is very pigmented and does blend nicely as well.

I liked this bag. Although I was disappointed by some products I really loved the Cailyn tinted lip balm (lipstick), the Butter London nail polish and of course the Nyx eyeshadow.

Smashbox Try It Kit Review and Primer Comparison

When I saw this kit at Sephora, I had to buy it. I had never tried any products from Smashbox. I love little try it kits like this so of course I was so happy to get it.

This kit costs $19 and contains deluxe sample sizes of 5 products.

Photofinish Lid Primer: 

(Please ignore the background of some of these pictures, I had to take them outside)

This is a great primer. Every time I have worn it, my eyeshadow has lasted all day. The color is darker than the primers I'm used to using ( Elf Essential eyeshadow primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original and Eden) I wish it was lighter like these primers. It has a doe foot applicator (show above) and is very easy to apply.

Hyperlash Mascara:

This is my new favorite mascara, it is literally the best I have ever used. It separates, volumizes and lengthens. With my already long lashes, this mascara makes them look like false lashes. I also love the brush on this mascara. It has a kind of comb on it and it works wonderfully. Whenever all of the mascara samples I have from various sampler kits run out, I definitely want to buy this.

Limitless Eyeliner:

At first, I loved this eyeliner. It is a great shade of black, it's creamy and it glides on smoothly. But it didn't last long and it runs.


Photofinish Foundation Primer:

I have wanted to try this primer for so long. So many people rave about it. I have been using Elf Mineral Face Primer, which people claim is a dupe for this Smashbox primer. But how do they compare?

The Smashbox Photofinish foundation primer is clear, like the Elf primer. The Smashbox primer is thicker than the Elf primer, it also doesn't feel oily like Elf's primer can. I think the Smashbox primer is better than Elf's. Elf's primer is still a good primer, though.

I love the Photofinish primer. It keeps my foundation on all day and it eases application. This is now my favorite primer. I definitely want to buy the full size, but this is a really expensive primer.

Lip Enhancing Gloss in Illume:

This is an alright lip gloss. It is pretty and in a universally flattering color. It is very shimmery. It isn't as good as some other high end glosses that I've tried (Urban Decay Lip Junkie and Too Faced Glamour Gloss). It is a tad bit sticky, while the other glosses aren't. I feel that someone who absolutely loves lip gloss would really like this. I'm not a lip gloss junkie, so I am very picky with lip gloss when I decide to wear it.

Overall this is a good kit if you want to try some Smashbox products, I'm so glad that I bought it.