It's Ipsy time again! I had the best morning ever with this bag. I was fast asleep in bed, being lazy on a Saturday morning, when my phone chimed with a text message...I sleepily looked at it and it said:
Mom
U have an Ipsy bag on ur porch!
Best way to wake up EVER! I then proceeded to leap out of bed, rush down the stairs and let my mom (and the awesome hot pink envelope!) in my house! She and I then marveled at the wonders inside that hot pink bubble-wrapped holder of fabulous goodies.
This month's theme is Pretty in Pink..."If you leave, don't leave now, please don't take my heart awaaaay, promise me just one more night...then we'll go our separate waaaays......"
OK, if you don't know where that's from, shame on you...and for the record...I would have picked Duckie ::sigh::
Back to Ipsy...
In this month's bag we have 4 products: A blush, eyeshadow, nail polish and hair product.
The bag itself is white on the outside with a hot pink lining at the top and a hot pink zipper. I'm not a big fan of the bag, but then again, I'm not big on pink accessories. It's still pretty cute though! The inside was a fun surprise as far as design goes:
ITEM 1 - BE A BOMBSHELL BLUSH in Sweet Cheeks
I'm so in love with that chic gal just casually leaning up against the sassy looking letter b! Did I mention matte black container? Ohhhhh yes...adore this.
Ipsy sent out two different color picks for the bags, so you'd receive either Beach Please (Bright matte pink) or this one called Sweet Cheeks (Soft rosie pink with shimmer). I would have totally been happy with either, they're both just gorgeous, but I have to say, I am so pleased with the shimmer in this one! It goes on so nicely, I really didn't need to use a highlighter on my upper cheekbones! It's soft when lightly applied, but if you layer, it gets darker and more vibrant. It lasts well without primer and WITH primer, I'd say it'll last all day. Definitely a great blush to have in one's stash!
ITEM 2 - BIG SEXY HAIR POWDER PLAY VOLUMIZING & TEXTURIZING POWDER
I LOVE Big Sexy Hair's products. Seriously, mad about them. I have their shampoos, their hairsprays, etc....that being said...I never liked Powder Play. I first purchased it about 3 years ago, and I tried and tried to use it, and it never impressed me. It could be the way I style my hair, or the fact that I wash it so often, I don't know, but this just doesn't impress me. There are only two BSH products that I ever had problems with, this and their What a Tease Backcomb in a Bottle. Other than those two products, I just gush about everything else. Their hairspray is seriously the best I've ever used! I'm so sad I didn't receive the other either/or hair product which is Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Nourishing Styling Treatment. It sounded so awesome and interesting and I've yet to try it! Stands to reason I should receive the Powder Play though, I'm BIG on volumizing my hair...hehe...big.
ITEM 3 - TWO COSMETICS DUO EYESHADOW in Heartache
This little duo is just soooo darling and it matches the Be a Bombshell blush container so well! Ipsy, I think you planned that, you sly thing, you! The two options for the eyeshadows were either this or Mica Beauty Cosmetics Mineral Eye Shadow in Earth. I'm just tickled pink (OK, OK, I'm done trying to be clever and funny, I promise!) that I received the duo, I think the two pinks are gorgeous.
On the left is a shimmery cool pink and on the right is a matte rose blush pink. I always love eyeshadow duos, you can do so much with them. Especially in this case where they're both similar colors that you can layer/combine/blend in so many different ways! They go on very well, not ridiculously pigmented, but easily layerable. With a primer this shadow will last hours!
ITEM 4 - SATION NAIL POLISH in Love at First Byte
What I found to be interesting about this bag is that every item was an either/or. For the nail polishes, you either received this (a peachy nude) or Of Corset I'll Call You (a light lavender-rose). Just a moment here, I must say...who picked these names?! I love you, you're my new best friend! I am one of those girlies who will...no joke ladies...buy a polish JUST BECAUSE I think the name is adorable. Admit it, it's so hard not to! Moving on...At first I was disappointed since I was crossing my fingers for the light pink, but actually this polish is quite pretty for a peach. It's very sheer, however and even with 5 coats you can still see where the white of your nail starts. I tried two different methods of polishing with the sheerness in mind. First I just kept layering and got up to 5 (not counting the base coat) and this is what it looks like:
Excuse the mess, I didn't bother cleaning up along the cuticle, I knew I'd end up taking it off. The white undercoat definitely helped with the opacity and it gave the color itself a more pop-of-peach tone...vibrant/bright.
For an example of the opacity with the layers (both white base and not) I took pictures of my fingers with sunlight streaming through. The first pic is the 5 layers, no white:
You can obviously still see through some streaks, nothing too bad though.
Here is with the white base:
You pretty much can't see through this one at all.
I think you could go either way with this, depending on the look you want. I think this polish would be ideal for a french tip, but if not, I'd go with wearing a colored base coat (white, grey, nude, etc.).
SWATCHES
On the left are two swatches of the blush, far left it is blended the other is just swiped a few times. On the right is the eyeshadow duo (no primer). In the container, the two shadows look similar, but once you swatch it, they are totally different! They're very smooth, no dragging and I had no problem blending the blush (I just blended by hand!)
PRODUCT COUPON
WORTH AND PURCHASE
Be a Bombshell Blush in Sweet Cheeks: $16 (full-size)
Big Sexy Hair Powder Play: Full-size is $15.95* (.53oz), and the sample I received is .07oz, so roughly $2.11. *(Per Ulta's price listing)
Two Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Heartache: $6.99 (full-size), but they are currently having a sale on this item for $5.75!
Sation Nail Polish in Love at First Byte: $5 (full-size)
Total Worth of Box: $30.10
I always find it incredible when a beauty sub company doesn't just double the worth of what you paid, but TRIPLES it! Especially when one of the items is more than what your whole monthly sub cost is, and I'm not even counting the worth of the white/pink bag itself! Another wonderful month of good value from Ipsy <3
FINALE
We have two finale sets to show! Face and nails! Let's start with nails -
The formula, even though it's sheer, it's actually quite amazing. It goes on very smooth and dries very quickly...and even though I'm wearing 5 coats, it doesn't feel it like. I really growing quite fond of this polish. Are you wondering...hmm...it's seems so unlikely that Cookie wouldn't do more with this polish...no design or anything? Well...you'll just have to wait for my next post ::wink wink:: I do have something in mind! Keep an eye out for the next Positively Polished!
Makeup! - Fair warning, I may look tired and or upset...I'm not, I have allergies...the darn thing makes me look so melancholy lol
Prepare yourself, I did a Pretty in Pink crazy 80's kissy face:
You're welcome...now I'm gonna go get my Duckie & Andie fix! Forget Blane...Team Duckie!
Happy Makeup-ing!
and remember "Drinking and driving don't mix, that's why I ride a bike."
Love,
Cookie
Awesome review of the April Ipsy bag! I really enjoyed reading it!!! :D
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm so glad you liked it! <3
ReplyDelete