Girl Meets Glitter: Ipsy, November 2014

Meh, that's how I've felt about my last two Ipsy bags.

For those, new to the party, Ipsy is a subscription box bag service. It's ten dollars a month, and you supposedly get a customized bag of beauty goods. You usually get at least what you paid, or more than what you paid, it's a good deal, I just haven't been wowed by it lately. 

This month's theme was "girl meets glitter."

I was really hoping that with a theme like that, I'd get some sort of sparkly makeup product... Nope. 

The only thing sparkly or glittery was this month's bag, which I did like. 

First up, some sort of Under the Eye cover.  A good product, in theory, since I have horrible under eye circles because I don't sleep well, at all, have horrible insomnia, and look it.

It was a tiny sample, it's 0.11 ounces, where as the full-size product is worth $24.00, which makes this sample worth a measly .10 cents. It's tiny. You can probably barely get one use out of it. Thanks for the crap Ipsy.

On my hand.

Blended on my hand. The shade isn't even close to my skin-tone, and my face is darker than my other skin because my face isn't covered like other parts of my body. Useless.

This is what was in the bag.

 Marc Anthony Hair Spray, worth approximately $1.40.

It's Hair Spray. I mean I like Hair Spray. I don't mind getting hairspray. But it's nothing special. I suppose it's a nice travel size for when I go home to NJ over the holidays.

SeaRX Face & Body Scrub, worth approximately $3.20.

It's supposedly anti-aging, but again, a really tiny sample, probably good for maybe one use... How can you even get an opinion of a product if you only get one use out of it?'

Not impressed.

Starlooks lip gloss in "Guilty Pleasure", worth $3.25.

 This is on my hand.

I do like Starlooks makeup products. I used to get their Starbox, I miss their Starbox, but haven't bothered to resubscribe yet :x and I've used their lip gloss before. It's a quality product and it lasts. I do like this color, as well. It's a nice pink, a little above a neutral color, but a nice shade of pink.

Be a Bombshell, eye base, in submissive, full-size, worth $14.00.

It's a very light and neutral brown with a slight shimmer. I like it because it's a neutral color, and I tend to wear neutrals to work. 

Total Value:  $21.95

Probably one of my lowest value Ipsy bags ever.

Looking at the rest of this month's products.. They didn't really go with the theme. There isn't an overall glitter theme or anything. I would've preferred a Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil or the Nicole by OPI glitter nailpolish to almost everything I've gotten.

Oh well... You win some... You lose some..

Here's hoping December's bag is a hell of a lot better.

Ipsy: October 2014, Beauty Candy.

Today has been a day of many packages in my household... My new rainbow keyboard came from newegg, my Halloween costume came despite me putting the wrong address on it [thank goodness, the apartment people, who work in the office, know Justin and I by name], my new workout bathing suit came, my new work clothes from Old Navy came... Oh and Ipsy came.

 

Ipsy  is a subscription bag service. It's ten bucks a month, and you get a makeup bag sent to you every single month full of full-size and sample size beauty products. It's probably, one of the best subscription services, as getting the most bang for your buck, in my opinion. 

They supposedly some kind of Ipsy match service to pick your products for you, but I don't really believe that since I do tend to get a moderate amount of stuff, I'm just "meh" about.

This is what was in my pink envelope. This months theme is "beauty candy."

 

 The bag this month was nothing special, it's a nice color, but I'm quite disappointed that a bright teal bag has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Halloween.

 

  Acacia, Protein BB Cream, by ECRU New York, worth $12.00, which seems quite expensive for a 1 fl oz bottle, but that's what the website claims.

My hair is a wreck. I swim every single day, except for the next five days because I sliced my finger open cutting carrots for a salad, and had to go to the E.R. yesterday, and they told me pools are off-limits for the next few days due to germs :(

 

But I digress, the point it, my hair is wrecked, thanks to the glorious chemical known as chlorine. So... If this product can somehow minimize all the damage to my hair, from swimming, it's a product, I don't mind trying. 

 

This is the contents of my bag.

 

 Noyah lipstick, Deeply in Mauve, worth probably about $8.00 because it looks like it's half the size of a regular lipstick, the picture is out of focus, purposely, to show you the glitter.

It's more purple and darker than my picture shows.

Meh. I hate lipstick, and I would never wear a color this dark. 

Rose Berry, Figs & Rogue, Hand Cream, worth $3.00.

I'm indifferent to this item. I don't like nor dislike hand cream. It's something I use, especially in winter, so it's a useful sample, just not something I would have chosen for myself.

Skyn Iceland, glacial cleaning clothes, worth $5.00

I like facial cleaning clothes, especially if they help get makeup off of my face. Very useful item. Maybe it'll help my skin in some shape or form.

NYC BIG CURL MASCARA, full-size, worth $4.99.

I love mascara, I'm excited about a full-size mascara product, especially since it seems one of my mascaras are always empty, so it's nice to have a refill. Very happy with this.

Total Value: $32.99

Not the most expensive bag I've ever gotten, but not the worst either, and still over what I paid for it.

Overall, this bag was "meh", I guess with it being October, I was hoping for more Halloween themed products. I wasn't very happy with what I received this month.

If you're interested, check Ipsy out.

Julep: Jewel Heist Mystery Box

Last week, I ordered another Julep mystery box.

The theme was "Jewel Heist", and 50 random subscribers would get a box filled with all the birthstone nailpolish colors, and some sparkly earrings. 

I ordered the box, knowing I wouldn't win, but hoping maybe I could score some of the jewel birthstone polish, since I don't own any of it.

This was the first look at the box.

Ajani wasn't impressed.

I added one "mystery polish" add on, and these were the three colors I got. 

From l to r:  Kristen, Emilie, & Kam.

Kristen is a combination of blue and silver glitter. I want to say I have it, but if I don't, I have one just like it, but either way, it's a pretty color, and if I do have it, I don't mind a second bottle of it.

Emilie is a turquoise green color. I really like it a lot.

Kam is a pastel mint color. I also really adore this color.

Each nail polish retails for 11.20 with maven prices.

So the total retail value for those three polishes was $33.60 with maven prices. I initially paid $9.oo-$14.00 for the add on, I don't remember which, but either way, the value of those three polishes was far more than what I paid for it, and I really love all three of those colors.

This was the inside of the box.

Julep mascara, in brown, worth $5.99, since it's currently on sale.

Eh. I have several Julep mascaras that I've acquired from various mystery boxes throughout the years. It's not the worst mascara I've owned, but it's nothing awesome either. It's also brown, and I tend to only wear black mascara. This is a fail.

Julep Mask Noir, $25.60 with maven prices.

I love facial masks. In college, my best friend B and I would buy all sorts of face masks in hope of making our skin look better. 

I'm excited to try this because I do love masks, and I tend to love what they do for my skin. So the verdict is: win.

A bronzer brush, worth $22.40 with maven prices.

I don't wear bronzer, I have no desire to ever wear bronzer. I wouldn't have minded an eyeliner or eyeshadow brush, but a bronzer brush?

Verdict: Fail

Green tea facial blotting papers, worth $5.00ish. It's not listed on the website, I based this over similar products on the internet.

I love these. I live in Texas, land of humidity and sweat, and man does my face get oily. I love when Julep sends me these in boxes.

Verdict: WIN

Julep ink gel eyeliner in black, worth about $14.40 with maven prices.

I already own this, I got it in the February Julep box, I believe.

I'm indifferent to this, I tend to prefer pencil eyeliner to liquid or gel, but I don't hate gel eyeliner, and I do like black eyeliner.

Verdict: Indifferent

Nailpolish in Alma, worth $11.20, with maven prices.

Verdict: HATE IT

I hate yellow. I hate yellow, and I hate orange. This nail polish is the fucking color of mustard and disgusting. 

Total value: $84.59

Not even close to the $120+ value that they promised.

Verdict on the Box: Meh

This wasn't a special box. If it wasn't for the three add-on colors I got, I would've been very disappointed with this box.

There were no stand-out products for me.

I was satisfied with some of the products I got, but not wowed, at all.

I also don't understand how they advertised this as a "jewel mystery box", yet didn't send even one of the birthstone colors.

So this was a so/so mystery box, not the worst I've ever gotten, but not the best either.

On another note, October Reveal opened today! The October collection looks good, very much Halloween themed :)

I may or may not have upgraded to the entire collection

Julep: July 2014, The Poolside Collection

 I would like to preface this entry, but saying, I'm very annoyed at Julep this month, which as most of you know, is quite unusual for me.

I'm not that angry about the box coming 8 or so days then usual... Perhaps a little confused? I know people, who got their boxes, when they normally got their boxes, so why did they get their box on time, and mine took about two weeks to deliver? 

Maybe it's because I added extras? I'm not really sure. They did change their shipping service this month, so maybe that's why it took longer to get to me? 

Normally, I wouldn't be so concerned with how long something took to get to me, but I've had Julep for over a year, and ALWAYS got my shit by the first of the month, sometimes even earlier. So I'm just wondering? I mean if they can't ship nailpolish by air, how did I get mine before? Is this a new law?

I do feel bad for the people who ordered the 4th of July nail collections that were extra this month. They probably didn't get those by the 4th, and maybe some of them were really looking forward to wearing America to celebrate the holiday.

Well whatever. 

We'll get to why I'm upset later.

Julep is a nailpolish/makeup subscription box. They've changed their subscription policy over the past few months, so for new members, there are now two options:

My Maven, which is about $19.99 with a three month subscription, and $25.00 per month without a subscription, and it allows you to fully customize what you receive in your box... So instead of just changing profiles, and getting like the IT Girl box instead of the Classic with a Twist box, you could customize a box and remove things in and out from all the different selections this month.

I'm truly tempted to change my subscription to that. I've been very "meh" about a lot of the beauty products shipped with my usual classic with a twist box, and then I'll like colors from IT Girl and another profile, but will have to settle for one over the other because I'm still grandfathered into the old subscription service. So, I do think, I'm beginning to truly embrace the concept of a fully customizable Julep box. That way I can swap out colors I don't like or beauty products I am not interested in for colors I will enjoy wearing.

The other subscription service is Maven Luxe, which is $40.00 a month, and is also a fully customizable box with more products, so you get more bang for your buck. I personally wouldn't be comfortable spending $40.00 on a Maven Luxe box. 

 This is what was inside of my big white box.

This is why I am annoyed. I added on three "Mystery Polishes" for my add-ons. I know you have a chance for repeat colors if you add random colors... BUT SERIOUSLY JULEP YOU SENT ME THREE OF THE SAME FUCKING COLORS!!! I mean are they idiots? Did they NOT realize that they were shoving three of the same colors in my fucking box? I AM SO PISSED OFF. I WASTED FUCKING MONEY FOR THREE OF THE SAME FUCKING COLORS, and to top it off, THEY'RE THREE COLORS I OWNED ALREADY!

The patriotic tootsie rolls don't even come CLOSE to making this better for me!

See, three of the exact same colors.

I AM ENRAGED!

It's not even worth contacting them because they'll just give me some bullshit about how they've already said that mystery colors and boxes and such can be product repeats.

I'll probably give one to Audrey, the daughter, of a friend, who loves her "Jamie" manicures. As for the other two... who knows.

However, because I filled up all my add-ons, I got two free polishes with my order. So from L to R: Farrah and Alexandra.

So that sort of makes up for my three fucking Cynthia polishes because I don't have any of those two colors, but I am still angry.

Farrah is a beautiful color. Only I wish it had a different name because it totally reminds me of Farrah from Teen Mom turned Porn Star and Erotic Author.

But it's a Silk Finish color, not that the different finishes really matter to me. It's a very light lavender with a silver sheen in it, and I like it very much.

Alexandra is a whitish fleshy type color? It's not a bad color. It's just not something I would have chosen for myself, but it's a nice nude color and will probably look good under some glitter finishes.

This months theme was the Poolside Collection, it had some pretty nice colors. I liked June's colors  a lot better, and hope the purchase some of those in the semi near future, but July's colors were also nice. There were at least two or three other colors I wanted aside from the ones I got.

Here's the box within a box.

I went with "It Girl" this month because it was the ONLY box that didn't come with the body milk, and I had seriously no desire to get the body milk which was the big beauty product this month.
 

Was IT GIRL my favorite? Oh hell no, I really liked some of the other colors in the other boxes better, but it was the only one that didn't come with the beauty product, and that's the ONLY reason I chose it.

SEE THIS IS WHY I WANT TO SWITCH TO MY MAVEN.

from l to r: Linden, Braiden, & Dawn. OH AND MORE TOOTSIE ROLLS!

Linden is my favorite color out of the colors I got this month. It's a bright summery blue and it reminds me of the color of pool water at a swimming pool... Though technically the water only looks a certain color based on what color the bottom of the pool is painted combined with the reflection of the sky... BUT ANYWAYS, IT LOOKS LIKE POOL WATER, I LOVE SWIMMING, AND I LIKE THIS COLOR. 

Braiden is a stardust finish silver glitter. It's a silver glitter. I mean I like silver glitter. My twitter name is @silverglitter, and it's really sparkly and shiny, but I've also gotten other silver glitter polishes from Julep that are very similar to Braiden. So, it's nothing unique or special, in my opinion.

I don't like Dawn. It reminds me of yellow mustard, and I hate mustard. I'm also not a fan of yellow nailpolishes, at all, unless they're bright neon yellow, so meh to Dawn. It's just too yellow. 

So there we have July's box. I wasn't very thrilled with it. I'm angry about the three repeat colors I got as my add-on. I didn't like Dawn. And Braiden was just meh.

However, I do very much like Linden and Farrah, and I can find uses for Alexandra, so this month wasn't a loss, overall, but not an OH MY GOD AWESOME month either.

Ummm. You can't win them all? 

Starlooks: March 2014

Technically, I got this box like three days ago, but I've been busy OBSESSING over Diablo III, and that seemed much more important then opening this box. So, apologies for the delayed review :P

This month featured products chosen by Ashley Hackman, I have no idea who that is, but she has very pretty cursive.

I will say, that out of all my boxes, Starlooks is my cat's favorite. As soon as he sees the string that's holding the box closed, he tries to steal it so he can play with it.

Anyhow, Starbox is the subscription box from Starlooks. It contains 3-4 full-size Starlooks makeup products that you receive every month. It's $15.99, which puts it on the lower end of full-size product boxes.  Their makeup is very high quality.

The inside of my box. My little quartz crystal broke, in transit, so I had to throw it out because I didn't want one of my cats thinking it was a cat treat.

Lipstick in Boss, retails for $12.00

I hate lipstick. I especially hate this color. It's like neon red. It's the type of lipstick that I would wear, in college, if I was going to the bar, and wanted to get laid. IT'S SO BRIGHT!

No offense to anyone, who likes red lipstick. 

Here's a swatch of it, on my hand. This is going into the... I HATE THIS, SOMEONE ELSE CAN HAVE IT, GIVE AWAY PILE, that keeps getting bigger because I'm too lazy to get my ass to the post-office. 

Lip Liner in cherry cedar, also worth $12.00.

I don't even understand the point of lip liner. And even if I did, I'd hate the fact that it's very red, even though it does have a pretty name.

This will also be going into my give-away pile.

Eyeliner in black hole, worth $13.00. 

Finally, a product I like.

I love me some black eyeliner. It has great staying quality too because I made this swatch on my hand, and then tried to wash it off, and it wouldn't come off, so now my entire hand looks like it's bruised. 

I really do like their eye-liner and eye products though. I think they're awesome quality.

Their lipstick and stuff is great quality too, I'm sure, they're just not my cup of tea.

So the total value:  $37.00, which is well over what I paid for the box, but this box just seems lower quality than all the other boxes I've gotten.  And with this being a special edition box, I would think their would be special edition colors or products that came with it. 

A very meh box. 

Hopefully April will be better?

I loved my February box, but I don't think this box is anything special.

But if you're so inclined, check out Starlooks, they are a good company, especially if you like lip makeup, which a lot of people do.