A combination of frustrating skin, general aging (yup, I went there) and a need to look like a human most days has led me to delve further into the world of makeup. A drugstore makeup girl since my early days (I think I was in seventh grade when I first started wearing eyeliner), I've relied on my friends Cover Girl and Maybelline pretty heavily. When my skin first started acting up, I went to Almay for foundation purposes, hoping the more expensive and seemingly fancier formula would help. And it did, for a bit, but alas, here I sit at 25 with combination skin, a fairly persistent 2 p.m. shine and an increasingly circle-y, wrinkle-y under eye situation. YIKES.
Plus, I do like makeup. I think I'm a fairly simple girl as far as most things go, but I enjoy me a good eyeshadow color. I'm also fortunate to have become close with a handful of makeup gurus in the past year or so and they're good at keeping me updated on trends and how-to's. As a result of all of the above I've been exploring things like lipsticks and a whole routine of primer, foundation, bronzer and blush. . .even if it intimidates the shit out of me. I went to Sephora recently with one of my best friends and my hands were clammy.
So, something like Ipsy is pretty perfect for me. I'm able to try out a handful of things each month in the privacy of my own home for $10. I wavered between this and Birchbox for a little (the BFF I mentioned above is a longtime Birchbox subscriber and loves it), but a co-worker convinced me to go the Ipsy route for a few reasons: you get more full-size products, they're typically more attainable products (not necessarily found at a specialty store) and they're more economically priced items. Basically, a gift for makeup babies like me, trying to spread their wings and fly freely and confidently with no fear of cake or crease.
Thus, I present to you my first Ipsy adventure: December's Thinking of You Glam Bag:
 |
| From left: Crown Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush, Nourish Organic Renewing Eye Cream, tarte deluxe lights, camera, lashes 4-in-1 mascara, NYX Butter Lip Balm in Red Velvet and Bumble and bumble. All-Style Blow Dry. |
Ipsy's packaging is cute and worth mentioning - a shiny pink envelope (my husband was home when it came and emailed me, "You have a metallic pink package. I'm rolling my eyes right now."), a postcard of sorts with a special/'empowering' message and the products are inside of a cute makeup-sized bag that changes every month.
 |
| Instagram creeping informed me that not everyone received the same postcard/message, which I think is a super cute touch. |
My first thought upon opening was that I likely couldn't purchase any two of these products for a total of $10 (the NYX balm is the cheapest of the bunch at $4.00 without tax) let alone all five of them and the cute bag.
I've been using each item for a little over a week and am absolutely, completely pleased with the Thinking of You bag. Based on other reviews* that I encountered prior to becoming a subscriber, I was a little nervous - it seemed like the past few months have been pretty hit-or-miss for other subscribers, but this bag was seriously perfect for me.
The Nourish Organic Renewing Eye Cream was an exciting bonus - I wasn't expecting it but it's something I've recently found myself wanting as I've noticed a lack of elasticity. Under eye areas can be such a bummer and any problems (baggage, wrinkles, uneven skin tones) are always super apparent in my photos. After slathering it on every night, I have absolutely noticed a slight firming and lack of depth to my wrinkles. I'm okay looking like I laugh and live a lot, I'm not okay looking like I'm ninety. It does go on pretty wet and has a thin feel to it, so much so that I was skeptical, but as it sets in it gets thicker and feels heavier, which just makes me feel like it's working.
The Bb. All-Style Blow Dry is great. I'm not one to ever spend money on hair product, partially because it's all so damn expensive and partially because I have really finicky hair. A dime-sized amount of this cream every day has caused my hair to look and feel really full and bouncy. I haven't taken my straightener to my hair a single day this week and I'm chalking it up to this cream.
The NYX Butter Lip Balm had me a little nervous. I've been wanting to add lip color to my daily routine but have been hesitant. My skin has a bit of yellow in it so I have to be careful. The name - Red Velvet - had me feeling a little eepies but lo and behold, it's pretty great for a day look. It lasts me until lunch and a quick application afterwards gets me through the end of the day. For what it's worth, I do put it on and rub it in/spread it out with my finger - it helps with the evenness and also lessens a little of the intensity just a bit. From talking to a few others, it seems this is a common practice for NYX lip colors.
And the Crown Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush: how I love thee, let me count the ways. I seriously had no idea I could grow so attached to a freakin' eyeshadow brush but it's seriously my baby. It provides a really, really smooth and even application and seems to grab the perfect amount of color. Major win.
Lastly, the tarte lights, camera, lashes 4-in-1 mascara. Out of the five items, this is probably my least favorite, but it's not bad - it's just not necessarily for me. The application is really wet, like I blinked a little too hard the first day and it was everywhere, and it seems to make my eyelashes seem super individualized but in a sticking-straight-out and uneven way, but once it dries it's better. It has a long wear to it but still comes off easily enough with makeup remover. I prefer to look like I have fuller lashes with more volume and I think this mascara is more for those who desire length.
 |
| Life of a Blogger: taking tons of pictures of yourself for the sake of telling a story. Excuse the choppy editing in some of them, I have to be careful about the background of my pictures. | All of the Thinking of You Glam Bag products are used in all of these pictures. Notice that in the ones with my hair down, the butter lip balm is pinker - that's partially due to lighting and partially due to me not rubbing it in or spreading it quite as much. Possibilities are endless. ;) |
My first Ipsy bag knocked it out of the park - I'm so glad I decided to go through with it. It's a great treat for myself and a way to find and try new products that experts have sifted through and deemed worthy. I'm not expecting to have such a strong love affair each month, I'm sure there will be some 'meh's, but I am looking forward to even the less-than-stellar items in hopes that it'll help me perfect a solid go-to look for day-to-day life.
Any other Ipsy subscribers? What were your favorite products this month? For you Birchboxers (is that what you call yourselves?), what were your boxes like this month? Any general tips or go-to products worth sharing and discussing?
*For what it's worth, I totally know that reviews of these monthly subscriptions are a dime a dozen - I even scoured a few to help me decide between the two - but as a makeup n00b, I'm hoping to help lessen the intimidation factor for others like me out there. You can never have too much of a good thing, am I right? :)
No comments:
Post a Comment