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.

2015: A ReSet

Yes, folks, it's that time: time for a New Year, New Me post. A post full of resolutions and goals. A post full of reflection and positivity.

I am really into making things real by writing them down - I know how that sounds, but I'm a to-do list maker, a grocery list writer, a post-it note inspirer. I think that maybe this is why I haven't written down resolutions for quite a few years now: if I don't write them down, they aren't real so I don't have to hold myself accountable.

Well, part of the fun of having a blog is having an outlet for these types of things, am I right? Not only am I putting thought to word as a means of holding myself accountable, I'm inviting you to hold myself accountable as well. 

I'm viewing 2015 as a reset year for myself. I know what should be happening across the board and have opted to ignore all of that. In 2013, my focus was on my wedding - even after it was long over, I felt like we were still piecing together a collage of Life After Marriage (which included some large setbacks, like a disease/surgery). 2014 brought a year of a mess and although it has ended well, it was tough more often than not. So in 2015, I'm focusing on all of the stuff I can change and should change and am going to change it. I'm going to use it as an opportunity to press the reset button, so that we can begin to prepare for the future and whatever it may bring. 

personal collage | Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Reading Challenge, Financial Goals, Fitness Goals, Makeup/Skincare Goals, Closet/Clothing Goals

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.