Hey my wonderfuls! We have another V.S this month and it couldn't have come sooner. No seriously my Birchbox was being held ransom in Richmond CA again. I was waiting for it all month only to get it on the 28th so I haven't really got to test most the products to see if they are awesome. Ipsy on the other hand never gave me a tracking number and it came with in the first two weeks. I've written to Ipsy before about Richmond CA and their packaging process for Hawaii and maybe they have decided to go with a different company that doesn't go anywhere near that place. The fabulous news is they have re-opened their personal quiz so you can update it when ever you want and it has made a difference in my bags plus I seriously love the person who has been putting mine together. I don't know who you are but I like you. With out further adieu.
Back in action the classic beauty rivals are here:
In our home corner we have the explosive Ippssyyy~
Ipsy has started making their reusable bags in various color combos, prints, and even have made them better then before. I mean some come with an inseam. This packaging was no different the play of the Animal print trend with the neon is super chic, but I'm more of a snake pattern myself. Ipsy has been beating a lot of beauty subscriptions and for good reason.
List of Products:
1.) Full sized, J.cat - Sparkling cream palette.
2.) Full sized, Chella - Ivory Highlighter pencil.
3.) Full sized, NYX- Mosaic powder in Silk.
4.) Full sized, Starlooks - Lip liner in Bare.
5.) Full sized, J.cat eyelashes in EL20.
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| J.cat - Sparkling cream palette |
I was not at all impressed or curious about this product. Glitter is pretty wild in it's self and even daring for those of use to wear it. But I have dealt with glitter creams before and I can say I don't care for them. They are messy, move around, and sometimes the glitter is too rough on the eyes. Though it is amazing that they would give us a full sized palette which is probably as much as the whole bag it's self. (Ipsy 0)
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| Chella - Ivory Highlighter pencil |
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| Chella swatch. |
The Chella Ivory highlighting pencil was what I was crossing my fingers for the most. I've been using a lot of matte beige cream shadows lately for my daily look. This was great to have and use, it highlighted my cupids bow perfectly and match well with my skin. The swatch is on my hand so you can't really tell. I was so happy to get this and use it mostly everyday. (Ipsy 1)
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| NYX- Mosaic powder in Silk |
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| Starlooks - Lip liner in Bare |
Starlooks lip liners, there were three colors you could have gotten, Pretty in pink, Tangy, and Bare. I wanted Bare soooo bad, I needed to find a mauve type of nude to get this lipstick color that was limited edition years ago. It was the Illamasqua's Poison and it is dark and chic and uggh I love it. But it was way past the time I even started collecting my lipsticks. I combined it with NARS matte lip pencil in Train Bleu and it came pretty close. Needless to say I loved it! (Ipsy 3)
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| J.cat eyelashes in EL20 |
These lashed were usually not what I go for but I wore them a couple times as you can see and I like them. The glue is mostly what they wanted us to try and as much as I love the application process and the applicator. My eyes became overly sensitive and in a way were telling me that they don't like this glue. So Yay for the lashes booo for the glue. (Ipsy 3.5)
And now our former and still contending BiirchBoox~
Hmmm what can I say about Birchbox's packaging that I haven't already said before. Yet I found a good use for the boxes as storage for my cosmetics. They even stated that they were revamping the box look. Um it still seems the same to me, lets check out what they decided to hold out on us.
List of Products:
1.) Travel sized, CoolA classic cucumber spf30 moisturizer for face.
2.) Sample sized, Sukiface exfoliate foaming cleanser.
3.) Full sized, LAQA&CO Lil lip duo (Just one in a Pink fuchsia.)
4.) Sample sized, 100% pure coconut & vanilla body cream.
5.) Mini sized, Color club nail lacquer in London calling.
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| CoolA classic cucumber spf30 moisturizer for face |
Hmm what to say about this, I haven't tried it yet and would like to. It's just the title online vamps it up a bit as to what it says on the bottle which to me is just straight sunscreen. So I pretty much got a travel sized sunscreen for 2 bucks. Riiight... but I guess when I use up my Loreal youth code daily moisturizer with spf I can open this up and give it a try. (Birchbox 0)
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| Sukiface exfoliate foaming cleanser |
Again I have to state I never tried this yet but for this I think I might just like it. With a lemon grass sugar face scrub it might just be what I need this summer. I probably could fit two uses of this if I do a light wash but this sample size really won't give me enough to notice any change. I understand that Birchbox is mostly just sample sizes now but seriously. 2 bucks for this? (Birchbox 0)
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| LAQA&CO Lil lip duo (Just one in a Pink fuchsia.) |
Finally we get a full sized product, of course it's a small full size product but none the less. This was interesting to get and usually I get sent the classic red lip but these guys sent me a bright fuchsia pink lipstick. It's creamy and just sits nicely on the lips. On the website it comes as a duo with a nice red. I liked this product. (Birchbox 1)
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| 100% pure coconut & vanilla body cream |
Ok seriously? What is this going to cover? Just my elbows or my knees maybe my feet? I have no idea about these, the product in full size is probably really good. I just feel like I got gypped, this is a little ridiculous for me but eh I love to collect samples of products in case I do travel then I can have more space in my makeup bag. The thing is, those samples were FREE these were 1 buck each. It also comes in green apple scent... I would have LOVED to try that instead. Maybe if these are ok on my dry spots I'll invest in the green apple scent. (Birchbox 0)
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| Color club nail lacquer in London calling |
I was waiting for this to come in the mail, if there are things I love it's lipsticks and nail polish. At first I will admit I was expecting a full sized polish mainly because Ipsy had given every subscriber a full sized Zoya polish. If you subscribe to Birch you must know this...it's mostly small sized samples and one full sized product but it's usually a lip product. I loved this color it's just screams me and what made me think is if I did get a green apple scented sample sized lotion.. ohh yea. I like this play of pastel with neon. (Birchbox 2)
And the winner is.............
Ipsy!
Ok I mean really, this is probably just me being greedy but Ipsy gave 5 full sized items which is ridiculous for most companies. Maybe that is why Ipsy is becoming such a huge hit with everyone. I remember I used to bitch about some of the things with my co-worker. Yet some how over the span of a year Ipsy pretty much bitch slapped my face with amazing products and generosity. Even though Birchbox gave me two things I love getting Nail polish and Lipstick. Those lotions were silly and felt just plain rude. But that's how Birchbox makes their money other wise you wouldn't ever consider buying a full sized product if you already got it. Ipsy just took this fight with a straight super man punch knock out. I will keep trying Birchbox till I feel like I've had enough abuse, even though I know I deserve better.
Alright painters, whether your late in the game or ahead of the trend do it cause it makes you happy.
-Val
