Ipsy My Glam Bag Review May 2013

Sorry for the start-and-stop posts on this blog recently. There's been a lot of intercession classes (me),terrible time-consuming and exhausting work projects (Andy), and tornadoes 10 miles or so North of us (which is right on top of us in tornado land). I managed to spit out a Julep post before my intercession course (which was awful by the way), but now that it's ended. I've decided to finally post Ipsy (a month late and 3-4 tornado scares later). 

So for those of you who don't know, Ipsy is a monthly subscription bag that comes roughly on the tenth of each month. It costs $10 a month for the subscription, and you get 4-5 beauty products alongside a makeup bag every month. And while some of the items are sample/small size, you get a few that are regular sized. It's always been worth my money. 

So let's start at the beginning: 

Ipsy comes in a pretty pink bag that lightens up your mailbox. 

Here's the lineup for this month including the cute spring chevron bag that goes with the "spring fling" theme, which I'm valuing at $8:

First item on the list is a concealer cake from Yaby Cosmetics. It's small, I already have a concealer, and honestly I was a bit put off by the color, which is honey. Because it doesn't really match my skin tone, and concealer is typically supposed to be lighter than your skin tone/foundation so that you can blend it better and so that it hides blemishes instead of highlighting them. And honestly, it's not too dark, but it's also not  not light enough. I was disappointed because typically Ipsy picks things that match my skin tone. Lo and behold, that was not the case this time. It's wearable, but I typically stick with my own concealer. For those who have received previous Ipsy bags, it can go inside your magnetic Glam RX palette. It's price tag comes at $4.85 over at yaby's website. 

Image from Yaby Cosmetics

Next on the list was a Shimmerati Glimmer Gloss from Mirabella. Which I was excited about because I love lip stuff. All lip stuff. Lip liners, lip sticks, lip gloss, chap sticks. All of 'em. And then I opened the package and the thing had busted everywhere inside of the box. Luckily it didn't escape the box and get over everything else. Once I got it out and cleaned up, I did notice that the lid was faulty, but that the gloss was intact and usable, but not for carrying with. 

On to talking about the gloss itself. It's a pretty red color, the site describes it as "ruby red", but I wouldn't go that far. My lips aren't that red and it barely tints them, but what it does do is pretty enough and it doesn't taste funky or anything (yay!). So I was still pretty excited and happy overall. 

Image from Mirabella

The cost on this bad boy over on Mirabella's site is $24 normally, but is on sale for $16 (probably because of Ipsy). That's still a pretty penny for a gloss though.

Next on the list is a perfume roller from Pacifica in Island Vanilla. Which I expected because Ipsy has a love affair with Pacifica or something (who knows). I mean, I don't really mind because their stuff smells good, but I do mind because it almost always has almond in it, which I'm allergic to and I don't really like rashes no matter how nice they smell.

This fortunately doesn't have almond in it, and it's a nice summer day smell because you can't wear Coco Chanel's Noir everywhere, even though I totally would regardless. The only problem I have is that the smell wears off quick. And I thought "well, it's just me getting used to the smell, like people do". Nope, it wears off to the point that the only time anyone can smell it is if they're smelling your actual wrists or neck where you put it on (thanks, Andy. You didn't know I was testing things on you, but I totally was). They can't be talking to you and smell it. They can't be hugging you and smell it.

"Well maybe you're just not putting enough on, Katie. God, you're so judgmental and harsh." Nope, tried that too. Put WAY too much on, still couldn't smell it like... half an hour later. Which is fine, it doesn't smell so nice that I want to like, waft it into everyone's noses all the time forever and ever, amen. Also, maybe my roller is faulty, because I can't really control the amount that goes on sometimes (I didn't actually try to put too much on, it just sort of opened up and spat a whole bunch out on me).

The cost for this bad boy over on Pacifica's site is $12.

Yet more things were waiting for me inside of my Ipsy bag, becuase I also received a Zoya nail polish in "Piaf". I liked the name, because who doesn't like Edith Piaf, but I'm not so sure I like the color. I haven't tried it on, so I'm not the best judge. But it just kind of looks... sickly. I don't know. I've seen some people with it on, and it looks better Zoya's site, but still. It costs $8 on Zoya's site. 

In this bag was yet another Pacifica item, this one with almond in it. It was Pacifica's Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Butter. I have several issues with this. a.) almond, b.) it doesn't bronze, and c.) it smells like coconut. We've already covered that I don't like rashes, regardless of how nicely they smell. But when they smell like coconut, I especially don't like them. Because I don't like the smell of coconut. Don't get me wrong, to a normal-- not crazy and picky and neurotic person it probably smells fantastic. But to me, it smells like coconut. Finally, it doesn't bronze. I tried it on my leg, just to see if it "instantly added a sun-kissed glow" or if it made me "radiate from the inside out". You know or any of the other things that the website promised me it would do. Mostly it just added a lot of sparkles. Which isn't the same thing. If the joke's not too old yet, I'm not a vampire and I don't sparkle when the sun hits me (or maybe I'm just a real vampire and I burst into flames). Anyway, the body butter is $24 over at Pacifica's website. 

Finally, we hit the jackpot with the final item (which I'm sorry, but the picture's upside down). It's $110 off of a hair styling tool or extensions and a free thermal pouch (which is worth $19) from NuMe. The thing is, the cheapest styling tool they have, you still owe $18, but hey-- paying 18 dollars is better than paying 128 dollars. Overall, this one item is worth $129. And I checked, just in case it was a misprint and my code works. 

With everything added up minus the bag, this Ipsy bag was worth $201.85 minus the chevron bag and 209.85 with the chevron bag added in. Overall, I would say $10 dollars for $200 dollars worth of product is a pretty good deal, wouldn't you? If you'd like an Ipsy bag, you should head on over to Ipsy's site and get in line. Last I checked, they'd gotten through the waiting list and were just taking new people on, but that may have changed.

Julep Maven Box for May 2013

Hey everyone! I'm back again now that my boxes have come in. A few days ago I got my Julep box and after preparing myself mentally (and finishing up the last of my Finals for the semester), I got around to writing this post.

For those of you who don't know, Julep is a online subscription box where you can pay $19.99 a month and (depending on your profile) get either 2 nail polishes and a beauty/hand/foot product, or three nail polishes, or three beauty products.

The process is, you take a quiz that determines what you are (Modern Beauty, Boho Glam, Bombshell, It Girl, or, like me, Classic with a Twist). It doesn't really matter what you get, because if you don't like it, you can switch to another one. But Modern Beauty always gets all beauty products and It Girl always gets three nail polishes.

Your goodies come in a small black box every month:

And it's always really prettily wrapped, this month's wrapping was my favorite:

First Look:

And the Full Haul:

Julep has a thing for info cards that (usually) mean nothing to you if you aren't a first time "buyer". And I have a passionate hate for useless cards and things. I mean... if they tell me something I don't know and can't see plainly with my eyes, that's fine. But otherwise, save the paper.

This month's theme was Set the Stage, as inspired by the Roarin' Twenties. The quote that came along was from George Gershwin: "Life is a lot like jazz-- it's best when you improvise." Which is nice, but... eh? The card in the back there tells me the theme (which they email you about), a picture of what's in your box (look, look with your special eyes) and your profile type (which you choose...).

On the back they have hints to jazz up your look, which I won't judge too harshly, because I do spend a lot of time researching vintage makeup and just about all of this is wrong. But it's what people think of when they think 20s, so I'll let it slide.

It came with a lipstick trio. I got the Paris set. The first is Sweet Lorraine, the second is Charleston and the third is Lady in Red. Sweet Lorraine is way to light to show up on my lips. The second is really nice and sheer. The third is a nice matte color. They stay on really well and everything. They cost $28 (or $22.40 Maven Price).

My two nail polishes looked like this:

                                     

On the left is Zora, the right is Myrtle. I thought Zora would look horrendous, but it's actually really pretty on. The issue I have at this point is that I have received a red nail polish in each and every box except one. Every single box. Don't get me wrong, I love classic red polish. But I'd really like a little variation. Each polish is $14 (MP: $11.20).

Finally they also sent out this:

                                    

While these are super cute, they pull your hair like no one's business. But they are cute and I do wear them. They don't have a price for them anywhere, so I'm not going to guess.

Overall, the box is worth $56 (MP $44.80), which doubles your money. If you'd like to join, please include me as your referral. My referral code is 9021705, just write it in the code section when you sign up.

 

Ipsy My Glam Bag for April 2013

So I've finally gotten around to reviewing my Ipsy Glam Bag for April. And I've taken long enough already, so I'll just jump right in.

Ipsy is a company where you can pay $10 a month and recieve 4-5 beauty products. Usually it's a really good deal, and it definitely is worth more than the $10 a month.

And it comes in a pretty pink bag:

And here's the line-up for this month:

This month's theme was "Pretty in Pink" which I think would have gone better with Valentine's day than the "Red Carpet Ready" of February. But hey, I'm not the people running the company. 

This card just tells you about the convention that they're having in Los Angeles. Something that I'm not particularly interested in, but if you haven't figured out that I have very little patience for info cards then you must be reading another blog.

These are the products included in the glam bag for this month. Another good thing about ipsy is that they give you a percentage off of the brands included in the bag during the month. 

This month you have Be A Bombshell Cosmeteics (30% off + Free Eye Shadow), Mica Beauty Cosmetics (30% off), Miss Professional Nail (20% off), Sexy Hair (Save $5), Two Cosmetics (25% off + Free Lip Gloss). I didn't recieve anything from Mica in my bag, but I think that they sent some people Mica and some Two. 

First off we have:

Two Cosmetics' Duo Eye Shadow in "Heartache" which is valued at $6.99 regularly (but currently $5.75) at their website over here. I used it the other day and it was nice and neutral. The only problem I have is that one color is so light that it's still barely visible over top of my pearl primer and the other isn't much better. Once I heaped on enough for it to be visible, it looked nice. 

Image from Two Cosmetics

Big Sexy Hair's Powder Play, but only .07 oz of the regular .53 oz. I did the math and the teaser is worth about $2, I found the usual price over at Ulta's website. It's supposed to work as a texturizer and add volume, which honestly I do not need. My hair is thin, but there's so much of it that adding volume turns my head into a pumpkin. That being said, in the name of good reviews and science, I put some on my head anyway. It was WEIRD. Okay, so it's a powder, but it feels like a liquid on your head and once it's in your hair, it feels like hairspray. I did give my hair a little volume-- it may work better on someone with longer hair.

Miss' Sation Nail Lacquer from their Miss Antoinette collection in "Of Corset I'll Call You"

Usually, Miss' Nail Lacquer is $5 and so I was a little nervous that it wouldn't be the greatest polish, since the bottle was so large (.5 oz), Julep charges twice that for half the product. Despite the fact that it went on super thin for the first coat, it was nice-- it dried pretty quick and it's a pretty color.

Image from Miss' Website

Be A Bombshell's Blush in "Sweet Cheeks" which I started out thrilled with, just based upon the brand. I really like Be A Bombshell's cosmetics. I have some of their eyeliner and I've been eyeing the lip colors for a while. My heart dropped when I opened the box. It looked WAY too dark for my skin. I tried it anyway and it actually wasn't too dark. The site calls it medium rose, and I guess I'm lucky it's not as dark as I thought it was. Their charging $16 for it over at their site.

It looks much darker in my bathroom under artificial light

And then of course, every month they send you a cosmetics bag-- which I love. I'm a big fan of sectioning out everything and keeping it in different bags and the more bags the merrier. This one was cute inside and out. I always value their bags at $8 because good cosmetics bags can cost upwards of $14. 

Overall, this bag is valued at $29.99 without the cosmetic bag and $37.99. Either way, your money is at least tripled. If you want one, I suggest you mosey on over there and get in line (as there has been a waitlist lately, although when I joined there wasn't).

Julep April Maven Box 2013

I know it's been awhile and that I'm super late posting this, but to be completely honest I was swamped with schoolwork the last two weeks and this past weekend I took a breather at the Medieval Fair and the Zoo. But I'm back, and I've got several posts to make.

To start us off with the frantic catching up game we have the Julep April Maven Box. For those of you who don't know, you can go to Julep's website and subscribe to their Maven Boxes. For $20 a month, you get three full sized nail and "beauty" products from Julep. Good news is, Julep is a high-quality hand and nail company who make nice nail products and so you're not wasting your money. More good news is that, if you tend to want to get something makeup/nail/hair related every paycheck--like me, it helps you do that and get more bang for your buck. Since signing up for Julep and Ipsy, I don't go out and spend money at Ulta or Sally's Beauty Supply unless I need a specialty item.

Let's get this show on the road.

When you sign up for Julep, you take a quiz designed to pidgeon-hole, I mean... analyze... your sense of fashion. In all truthfulness, it really is a good thing because if you're not a bold person with an addiction to bright colors, you can be that person who doesn't get those things. And regardless of what you end up with (I got "Classic with a Twist"), you get sent an email with all the boxes a week or so ahead of time and get to pick which box you want. Which is good. I mean... it takes the surprise out of it, but it's good.

Every month, my Maven Box comes in a small black box:

Inside that box is your treat, and they wrap it up rather nicely:

Another thing Julep like to do is send you ALL the cards. The thing is, they're not info cards that tell you how to best use the product or tips and tricks or the newest style for nail art, no they're just there to tell you things you already know. Like that this is a Julep box and it's for April and that their theme is "Turn on the Brights" and that you are "Classic with a Twist". The reason they provide you with all of this info (again), is because you can send your box to a friend for the month. Just to let them have a nice little something. But here's the cards:

This month they actually did include a card with pedicure instructions. And one with a quote from RuPaul. Sometime you should let me tell you about how RuPaul is my favorite human being, accept no substitutes.

But anyway, that being said, I bet you want to look at actual stuff now.

This month, I got 2 nail polishes and one beauty product. 

In this order: Jackie and Avery

These two are Jackie, a deep red, and Avery, a hot pink, and each is priced on the Julep site at $14, but like all Julep items-- if you are a Maven you get a percentage off so the Maven price is $11.20.

I also got the Mighty Nail and Cuticle Serum. This is designed to help strengthen and smooth your nails and moisturize your cuticle beds. So far, I've seen a really nice improvement in my cuticle beds, but my nails look the same. And I have a bad issue with my nail splitting so that you can chip the nail itself back. It's a common problem, I've been told-- but it looks terrible and I'm hoping that, with regular use-- this serum can turn it around. It comes at $28 a pop (For Mavens: $22.40). So I'm pretty glad I practically got it for  free.

We also got the freebie of a stick of rock candy (they always send you a sample or a freebie of some kind). I'm not going to value this. I was so excited for it though and it was delicious. I was eating it and Andy came up and asked for a taste, when I got it back I had one solitary crystal hanging on to the bottom, I started to eat at it again, but she took that too! What a cheat!

Overall the box is priced at $56, way worth the $20 price tag. I really enjoyed this box and I hope you guys look into getting one yourself. If you want a Julep box for yourself you can get the first one for .01 plus 3.99 in shipping ($4.00) by typing JULEPVIP in the field box, also-- when you go type in my referral code: 9021705 in order to get me some free stuff!

Thrusday Thoughts

It's another round of Thursday Thoughts. Zoo Edition. (We went to the Zoo last Sunday.)

Red Panda

~ Oklahoma needs to make up its mind about weather. It has been absolutely insane here. The sheer fact that it was 82 degress Monday and 32 degrees Tuesday is ridiculous. There was actually a map of the state where it was 9 degrees in the panhandle and 80 degrees on the southern tip at the EXACT SAME TIME. Oklahoma, let's work this out.

Tiger

 ~ We are doing serious planning this weekend. I am getting online banking (after saying I need it for a year), cancelling cable, Katie is updating her banking info, we are making a budget, and house cleaning schedule. We keep talking about all of this but have never done it. Since we don't have any plans this weekend, we are going to plan things.

Baby Galapagos Tortoise (Katie's Favorite Animal)

~ I have asked Katie to make a list of her favorite Disney movies. I am going to start doing Disney Dates. It is where our date is themed by whichever movie I pick that weekend. There will be lots of fun posts and cool ideas for you and yours as well. Definitely watch this space for those.

That is her "I want this face."

~ I am also going to start sorting out what things I need to sell. I have a Foosball table that definitely needs to go. I have a lot of other things that can go and hey, who doesn't like more money? Also, this will help when we move as well. (Mostly, I watched the new episodes of Hoarders on Netflix and panicked when I thought about all the things I have.)

Will finish with my adorable girlfriend and her favorite animal

Thursday Thoughts

                                                   It's that time again! Thursday Thoughts.

 ~ The absolute main thought I have had on my mind all week is Marriage Equality. I have been with my girlfriend for two years. She is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. We have talked about moving into something that is more like a house, getting a dog, picking kids' names, etc. However, there is one main issue that causes a bit of tension in our relationship. I am not out to my family. I have only come out to my mom and it was full of tears and her voicing her fears of me losing all of my family. Because that is pretty much what will happen. As much as my co-workers, friends, etc support me here in a big city of Oklahoma. Back in the deep south where I come from, there is no acceptance. It has been such an emotion week for me, seeing half of my facebook light up with red equal signs as the other half yells about gays ruining the world. This fine line wears thin most days. However, it is the overwhelming support that I have seen for equality that has made the bad days seem good in the long run.

 ~ I have been saying I am going to cancel cable for nearly 3 months but still haven't done it. Now, it is telling me that they are having a free weekend of HBO for the Game of Thrones season premiere. Curse you!

 ~ We are going to a Easter Party at a Pet Store this weekend because they are having a petting zoo. We won't look strange not having a dog and just showing up right? Oh well, we are gonna do it anyway. Strangeness be damned.

 ~ Katie has been working so hard with school work and her teaching internship that I am trying to plan something really, really nice for her after all this.

~Which reminds me, we are going to see The Lion King musical in Tulsa in July! So excited. My mom and I have seen it before but Katie hasn't so hopefully she enjoys it.