Ipsy December 2013 Review

I have to say that normally I get pretty darn excited when I see the monthly sneak peeks-not this time. Of course I had fun identifying the products in the pictures, but I didn't see anything I just had to have. I think what I was really the most excited about was the bag. That's not to say that I was by any means disappointed  when I opened my glam room. This month I was getting things that seemed a little more back to basics, which is actually pretty great because I can get so caught up in the crazy world of ridiculous products and bright colors that I forget that it can be refreshing to get basic neutrals and just a plain old lipstick.

This month's theme was celebrate, for all the different things that were sent out I think this was a pretty appropriate theme. I love December with all of it's holiday and new years parties it can be a pretty fun month of enjoying family and friends.I do have to say that I have used the products in this bag more than I expected to.

The Bag: When ipsy posted the sneak peek on facebook I thought that it was cute but it looked navy blue. I was actually really excited that it was black instead because I think that it makes this bag really appropriate for a more formal party where you may not want to be pulling out a crazy bag (like last month's gold one). I actually used it recently when I went on a date to a nice restaurant.

Pop Beauty Bright up your life eye shadow trio: I was really happy to get the brown shades in my bag and just in general that they gave out neutral colors. I think both mini pallets are so versatile. however I am sure that most people on ipsy already had something similar to this. For me this product was a total hit because I got to try a new brand. So this is actually a deluxe sample
size of the bright up your life pallet which has 24 shadows in it, the full size is $24 so this trio works out to be worth $7.20.

Be a Bombshell the one stick: So I really loved the lip crayon from last month but I was a little surprised they were doing this brand two months in a row. I love the idea of an all in one product. The formula of the particular one is really nice and the color I got is called girl crush. It's totally gorgeous but I feel like it has just way too much sparkle to use as a lip product. This is a full size product that retails for $16.

Nicka K New York nail color: I was actually the least excited about this one just because neither of the colors appealed to me but both the colors being sent out were both kind of basic so I think I was just being stupid and not appreciating that I was getting a basic color I might actually wear. These retail for $4.99 and are full size. I got the shade Classic Taupe and the other one was a dark red. I think that for what it is it's a nice color to have. I tried it on by itself and it lasted a day and a half so I think it has some potential with a top coat. I used two coats to achieve this:

Nyx Extra Creamy Round Lipstick: I cannot say enough good things about this lipstick. The formula feels amazing and it is so true to color and pigmented. I also have to say that I am so happy I didn't get a red this month. That being said ipsy's general color selection for this product had me very nervous that I would get something ugly. I was fortunate enough to get a color called Muse. It's a super pretty pinky-mauve color that just looks beautiful on the lips. This is another full size product valued at $3.99.

Andrea strip lashes: I stink big time with false lashes. End of story. But really I can't tell you how these work because they will probably sit in my drawer for 6 months until I go out all fancy looking and have my friend apply them for me. This same friend actually told me she really likes this brand of lashes so I suppose I can't be too disappointed. I got the style number 33 and they are black. These retail for $3.29.

My bag value for this month: $35.48

 I'm thinking that this month is my favorite so far just because everything has seemed so useful and practical. I definitely got my $10 worth in this bag and I am so happy about that. For anyone who is interested in ipsy it is a $10 a month beauty subscription with free shipping in the US and for Canadian citizens it's a $5 a month shipping fee. Feel free to use my referral link here to sign up. I hope everyone is having wonderful holidays!

xoxo
Courtney

The Redhead's Guide To- Casual Plum Eyeliner

With fall fashions popping up all over the place I was so excited to start playing with all of the fun colors. Plum has always been my favorite fall color. Urban decay was having a sale on their 24/7 vintage eyeliners. I bought crash when the price went down even more. I think that plum is a great color for us redheads. Unlike navy it has more brown tones in it which make more wearable. This can definitely be modified for anyone else but I did do this on myself first with my special mascara (Just For Redheads Voyage Mascara in Ginger Red) so lets get started:

Step 1: prime your eyelids. I used Urban Decay Primer Potion all over my lids. I am still on the lookout for a drugstore primer that works this well but so far no luck.

Step 2: Apply Benefit Creasless Cream Shadow in "No pressure" on the lid.

Step 3: use Lo'real infallible 24hour eyeshadow in "endless pearl" on your brow bone for a highlight.

Step 4: Use a grayish taupe eyeshadow on your crease and blend. I used this matte one called "dove" by gabriel colors

Step 5: Apply Plum eyeliner to upper and lower lash-lines and smudge.

Step 6: Curl your eyelashes. I use a heated eyelash curler from salon perfect to keep my lashes curled all day. After its curled apply mascara and you are done.

I hope this tutorial was helpful. I really enjoyed making this look and it is definitely becoming a go to look for me.

EDIT: So the pictures that were on here previously were taken with my phone and I just really didn't like them. I found out not to long ago that after I had tried to delete this post from my tablet it hadn't worked and it was still up. I will try to get some nice pictures up soon but no promises because I am super crazy busy.
Xoxo
Courtney

November 2013 Ipsy Review

For the past three month I have been hopelessly glued to my phone for the first couple of weeks. I have actually had some issues with putting it down long enough to focus on my online classes. The sneak peeks drove me crazy this month and I was just counting down the days until that shiny pink bubble wrap package was stuffed into my mailbox. It's kind of ridiculous. When my glam room updated I was crazy excited. I don't by any means have the most valuable bag this month but I do have things that I feel like I could get a lot of use out of.

For those of you who don't know ipsy is a beauty subscription service that sends you 4-5 deluxe sample to full size items a month for the monthly price of $10. Shipping is free if you live in the US and if you live in Canada you pay a $5 shipping fee every month as well. There is also a annual subscription for $110 which means you essentially get one month free. I have been an ipsy subscriber for 3 months this month and I am enjoying it very much. If you want to subscribe to ipsy feel free to use my refferal link: http://www.ipsy.com/r/13bs . So anyway lets get into this bag...

 This months theme is called "Glam it Up" This month a 6th full size bonus item from Michelle Phan's makeup line was added to the bag which I thought was pretty darn great.

The Bag:

This month the bag was definitely not something I would have picked out myself. To be honest I hated it at first but when I actually say how it looked in person it kind of grew on me. I think it was the hot pink zipper that I wasn't initially attracted to.

 Pillow Plush Cushiony Lip Balm: 

This was the bonus full size Em product that I received. I was more hoping for the waterliner but I am very excited to be receiving this. The value of this product is $15 and it is a full size product. The color I received was Creamsicle, the texture feels a lot like a heavy lip gloss at first but once it soaks into your lips it feels really nice. I was worried about the color making my already stained teeth look yellow but I think it actually looks really nice.


Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon:

 

 This is another full size item. Everyone received this in one of two colors. I got mine in the shade "Hot Damn" but the other one was "Shameless" The one I got looks really red in the package but looks more like a dark pink when applied. I think this shade will be great for the holidays.

Nailtini Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer:

This product has been featured a past ipsy bags but in a different color. It is a full size valued at $13. I was given the color "champagne" and the other one was "caviar cocktail". I haven't tried this yet but I am looking forward to it.

Pixi Beauty Bronzer:

This was one of the sample size products given out this month. Everyone was given this bronzer that is a little less than half the amount of a full size. It was given in two colors this month. The full size is $18 for the product plus a kabuki brush. I valued this at about $7 because it about half the amount of product and we did not receive a brush. I got the color "Subtly Suntouched" and the other one was "summertime". I tried to swatch it on my hand but I couldn't get a good picture. I tried it on my face it it looks really great on my pale skin. I am actually really excited to use this and maybe even get the full size.

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil:











I found it to be extremely exciting that we were getting such an array of products this month, eyeliner has always been a favorite product of mine so I was really excited to see this in a sneak peek. This is a full size product retailing at $14. It was sent out in the colors amethyst and topaz. I got Topaz. It looks really blue in person. I think this color would be really fun for a night out or on a date if you use it a little more subtly.I have a feeling I will use this one more than the black starlooks pencil from September.

TRESemme Tres Two Extra Hold Hairspray:

This was a travel size item, I wasn't really all that excited to see this only because I have a couple of these already (the picture on the right shows my other two bottles with this one). I actually really like this hairspray. It's second to my pantine pro-v extra hold one for thick hair. It does hold my hair very well. I'm not at all disappointed to be getting this but I'm not sure when I will get around to using this particular bottle. I suppose I can't really complain about getting it though because it means ipsy was spot on with products I like.

So that is all of the products in my bag this month As a whole I thought it was very well rounded, I got a hair product, two lip products, a face product, an eye product, and a nail product. I am very happy with what I got to try this month and I hope ipsy continues to send bags like this one in the future. My total bag value for this month is $65.75 so it's quite a step up from last month and I am very happy with everything.

xoxo
Courtney

Ipsy October 2013 Review

If you were to gauge my excitement during the sneak peeks and when my glam room went live this month, you would definitely find that I was more excited before I knew what I was getting. By no means would I say that my bag was bad, but I didn't really want what I got.  The value of my bag this month was a lot less than what it was last month. I did get some pretty great products, I'm just not sure I will use them.

The Bag: Ok the bag was pretty darn cute. It felt like it was a little bit better quality to me than last months but that could have just been my imagination. I though it was going to be more red but it is actually a really pretty dark pinkish color. I'm a little nervous it will get gross if I use it too much, but I think it's nice overall.

Zoya Nail Polish: I was really excited to see that this would be sent out to everyone. The three colors the sent out are from their new fall cashmeres and satins collection. I got Neve. It's a super gorgeous blue color. I'm kind of waiting to use it until I get some nail polish remover so I can't really tell you how this works, but I have seen some awesome results online. One of these costs $8. Edit: I tried this out last night. It dries in a reasonable amount of time and I have yet to see a chip. So I suppose I will give it a while longer.

LA Fresh Eco Beauty Oil Free Face Cleanser Wipes: These were just ok for me. I hate the smell. It's gross and for $5 I can buy ones I actually like the smell of. These do work fairly well and were relatively gentle but I don't think I will buy the full size. This sample size costs about $4.50

Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush: This was the one product that really surprised me. I didn't think I would like it all that much but once I actually used it I loved it. It's crazy soft and not too flimsy. For the price I will probably buy more coastal scents brushes. I used it with my eye shadow this morning and it went on very nicely. Definitely worth buying more, especially at $2.95 a brush.

Wet 'n' Wild Photo Op Eye Shadow: This pallet if one of a few from Wet 'n' Wild's Fergie line. I find that the shadows from this line behave exactly like the color icon shadows from wet 'n' wild. They went on smooth and have decent staying power and awesome color pay off. Unfortunately I never use those kinds of orange-y red colors and I have colors that look just like the other three, which is why I passed this product up when I walked past it in Kmart--several times. So this pallet went to my mom who does like it a lot. Retail is about $5

Sexy Hair Blow Dry Gel: I was super excited when I saw that everyone was getting a sexy hair, I haven't used this either...I just plain don't blow dry my hair. Like ever. So I probably wont use this for like another 6 months. Retail is about $5 Edit: I tried this on my hair the night before my giant Halloween party. My hair was a disgusting mess after this. So this is just not made for my hair type. I'm going to let a friend borrow it and she can tell me how it works for her. I'll get back to you on this..

Honestly this month was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't get a whole lot that I will use but I can't say it was terrible. I'm really looking forward to next month's bag. The total value of my bag this month is about $25.45. Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that is $10 a month with free shipping in the US. In Canada it costs $5 to ship per month. The annual subscription is $110. It really is a great subscription service and totally worth it. It's a great way to try new things and find out what you do and don't like. If you want to subscribe feel free to use my referral link!  http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-hjt2e2dwt4og14qn .
xoxo
Courtney

Online Makeup Shopping Haul (Nyx, Urban Decay, Benefit)

As lame as it sounds I have never tried a lot of products that so many people talk about in tutorials. I do in fact have a reason though- I don't have very easy access to those brands from stores. I don't have any sephoras, ultas, or even a wallgreens anywhere near me. So it basically boils down to me finally breaking down and buying makeup online. I actually had never tried anything from these brands except a Nyx eye shadow I got in my September ipsy bag (review coming soon). I have been crazy excited every time I get a new package in the mail because I want to see everything and start using all the new pretty makeup. I decided I wanted to share my excitement with you and do a haul post and mini review on each item.

Urban Decay:

24/7 Vintage Eyeliner- I bought two of these on sale for $6 each in Deviant (bright blue) and Graffiti (bright green). I think these are some super fun colors and I think this was the product I was most excited about. They definitely have some serious staying power. The only complaint I have was after a while under my eye started to turn the color of the liner but I was able to fix that with a tiny bit of water and just wiping it away. At first this concerned me but I washed my face before removing my eye makeup and it still stayed put so I am very happy with this purchase.

Eye Primer Potion- I ended up getting two free samples of this and I don't think I need to go into much detail about this product. I'm pretty sure most people know how this works. I'm totally thrilled with it. My eye makeup has never lasted longer with any other primer. I will definitely repurchase.

Deluxe Shadow Box- I got this on sale for $10 and it comes with one of the tiny samples of primer potion. I think this is a super fun pallet with a great mixture of bright colors and more neutral ones. I don't think I would have paid full price for this but at the sale price I think it's a great buy.

NYX:

Concealer Jar- On the cap for the jar it says "Above and beyond FULL Coverage Concealer" I have to say it just didn't work well for me at all. I was really hoping this would work well to cover my recent breakouts. It doesn't do anything for that. I bought this in both the green and the porcelain. The green looked way too crazy and I couldn't work with it because every time I tried to blend it so it would work it would just come right off. The porcelain one I think may work for the more red areas of my skin but I definitely won't use it to cover acne. So I don't think I will be repurchasing this one.

Eye Shadow Base- I tried this with a long-wearing eye shadow from Sonia Kashuck (Review in Shopping spree haul post). As a primer type product it's ok. After wearing it for about 6 hours I'm noticing some fading and it isn't as bright as before. That being said my eye shadow hasn't moved but I can't be sure if it's the eye shadow staying power or the primer. With a regular eye shadow I found that it was kind of iffy. My shadow was definitely on longer than it would have been if I hadn't used a primer, however after a few hours it was almost gone.

Wicked Dreams Collection- As a whole I love this eye shadow pallet. It has 24 shadows in all different colors. 12 are matte and 12 are shimmer. I was super happy with some of he fun matte colors like the dark blue and a pinkish tone. I was hoping that the pallet would be a bit bigger and there would be more of the individual eye shadows, especially for $15. This isn't my favorite pallet but I'm glad I have it in my collection because the colors are all super pretty and nicely pigmented.

Nude Matte Shadow- I have been super obsessed with matte shadows lately and I say that nyx had some so I snapped up a pretty taupe-y pink color called "Leather and Lace"  with an ipsy coupon code.I love the color and like the pallet I mentioned above the shadow is nicely pigmented. I think I will wear this one pretty darn often.

NR EPDM Sponge- I got this as a set of two as a free gift and I can't even find it on their website. To be completely honest, I hate them. I just don't like the texture and I'm pretty set in they ways that I do my face makeup. So I think these will probably be going to a friend.

Benefit:

Poisetint- I totally love this product. It's such a gorgeous color and it does stain incredibly well. I wish that that deluxe sample size was a little bit bigger for as much as this costs on it's own. That being said I love this product and I have intentions of purchasing this and cha cha tint, either this week or next week after I get my new car.

Girl Meets Pearl- I love the way this looks for like a dance or a night out. It has a great effect but it's not something I will wear a lot. I don't think I will buy the full size until I run out of the sample, which will probably take a while. It didn't seem to clog any of my pores it just has this really glistening effect.

That Gal- Ok this stuff really worked for me. I got my benefit package in the mail after getting home from school and I could not wait to try this on. It looks great on top of makeup as well as with your foundation. I think I like it more as a touch up product though. I might buy the full size of this but I haven't decided yet.

Creasless Cream Eyeshadow- Alrighty...So this product is pretty darn interesting. I feel like the sample size is freaking huge. I think this would make a good base for a softer look. It goes on pretty sheer, which surprised me. I was surprised at how glittery it looks. After having it on for almost 6 hours it looks about the same just slightly more faded. I think this is a pretty awesome product, would I pay $20 for a full size? Probably not. The only color the sample comes in is a soft brown color called "No Pressure". I don't think I would use it in any other color and I think this sample will last me for quite a while. The color options for the full size are pretty nice but I just don't think I need to pay $20 for an eyeshadow.

So basically everything I got from benefit was a deluxe sample because I am so nervous to spend that much on products I'm not sure I will like. I have a cart of stuff on my account set up for if I do like what I get that will be purchased if I like them. The first three items were part of the "Goodtime Gals" set for $15 so I couldn't pass that up. I also got a couple packettes but I think it can be difficult to base a decision off of trying a product once.

I hope you found this helpful or at least enjoyable. I have a few projects i'm working on so I hope I will have those up soon.
xoxo
Courtney