ipsy Review: January Glam Bag

New month, new shiny pink envelope! Wee! 

Like last month, I was SO excited to come home to my new haul (bonus: it came a day early!). Also like last month, I totally posted slightly annoying shit to my Facebook in order to get the Sneak Peek so that I knew what was coming. 

Despite that, I was surprised at the size of the items - in a pleasant way. 

From left: LaFresh Eco-Beauty Be Good. Good Day. Day Moisturizer. (Malin & Goetz) Mojito Lip Balm. Manna Kadar Cosmetics Sheer Glo. Hikari Cosmetics Mechanical Eye Liner in Smoke. Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow.

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that I was all about the Fresh Start theme to this month's bag - after all, I specifically mentioned wanting to focus on my skin. Having seen some of the other items that were sent and having used these items for a little over a month, I definitely think I won the ipsy lottery this month.

Ipsy Review: December Glam Bag

I don't know exactly how the whole containers-of-goodies-arriving-via-mail-once-a-month-for-a-low-price phenomenon originated, but I am far from complaining. I love mail, I love goodies, I love things for cheap: sign me up.

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.