Ipsy - February 2014

The Look of Love

"Get ready to set your gaze on beauty goodies so good that you'll fall in love at first sight" - ipsy.com

Hello there! My first beauty subscription review for the month of February is here! Yay! I actually have a few more than usual for this month, so I figured I'd get it started as soon as I can with one of my absolute favorites...Ipsy!

Ipsy is feeling tha' luv this month with their super adorable The Look of Love theme (just adore it). Last year for February they did a darker, red carpet theme. It was very sexy, seductive and glamorous, but this year I was hoping they'd go all out with cutesy Valentine's, and they did!

I did also write up a monthly REVEAL post for Ipsy's February Glam Bag, here's the link if you'd care to check it out:

February 2014 REVEAL - Ipsy Glam Bag


Now on to what I received!....

A hair product, nail product, eye product, lip product and cheek product.

Everyone received a nail polish (in one of two shades), a lip gloss (one of two shades), then the other three products were variety.

  

I need to take a moment to say how CUTE this Glam Bag is! It's plain bright pink on the outside, with a simple white zipper, but the INSIDE is pink leopard print! AGGGHH! I die! It's so adorable! I'm not even a fan of pink and I love it! Then again....I think I adore all things leopard print ::giggles::.

On to the review!....

NUME

INTENSE RENEWAL MASK

"Treat your tresses to a day at the spa with a miracle in a jar. Your hair will show drastic improvement and superior results after the first treatment. With a special blend of powerful ingredients, the restorative and rejuvenating effects of the Intense Renewal Mask will leave hair feeling replenished, and alive." - numeproducts.com

I have been on a mission to soften my hair and replenish it's strength since I am constantly scrunching, blow drying, etc. so this little beauty came at JUST the right time!

The formula is great, it's smooth, easy to spread through the hair and isn't too thin to where it slides right off or too thick to where you're having to apply so much product to cover all the strands. I like to shampoo my hair first, then use a nickle to quarter sized amount of the mask, running it gently from my roots out (usually I flip my hair upside down to do this since it makes it easier to comb through), then I get another nickle sized amount and concentrate it just on the ends of my hair. I let it sink in for a good 7 to 10 minutes then rinse! My hair feels SO silky smooth afterwards! My fingers just glide right through the strands when rinsing like my hair is a waterfall. 

I haven't had any problems with the hair mask weighing my hair down, which is always very important to me, typically conditioners make my hair look lifeless. I also noticed the ends of my hair look a little bouncier and healthier! Love it!

The smell reminded me a bit of hydrangeas, although not so florally if that makes sense, haha! It's not at all overpowering, and the soft fragrance does linger in your hair throughout the day after use. 

This mask is great for those of you like me that have color-treated hair, hair damage from coloring, blow drying, constant styling, etc. It's definitely given my strands a big boost to looking and feeling better!

ZOYA

NAIL POLISH

in Odette

"Zoya Nail Polish in Odette can be best described as full-coverage, sultry orchid maroon cream. Pair with any of the other Naturel Collection shades for a chic tone-on-tone look!" - zoya.com

Haha, this is going to be an easy review for me because...well...I already own this shade! Haha, I was crossing my fingers to receive the other shade going out, Dot, but alas. You know what that means, right? I may just have to include this in a giveaway that may or may not be coming up soon! OOooooo, the excitement! I know you're excited!

So these photos being used are actually MY bottle of Odette, I've already put away the new one. ::winkwink::

When I first tried it, I absolutely fell in LOVE with the formula. This shade is from Zoya's newer Spring line called Naturel, which consists of six cream polishes, all in neutral/nude rosy tones. 

• Chantel - french vanilla cream
• Taylor - light toffee cream
• Rue - boudoir blush cream
• Brigitte - bombshell mauve cream
• Odette - sultry orchid maroon cream
• Normani - sable mauve cream

I ordered Rue and Odette from this collection when it first came out, and I love them! Odette is a perfect two coater, spreads evenly with no running or pooling and only has minimal streaking when applying the first coat.
  

Zoya Nail Polish in Odette can be best described as full-coverage, sultry orchid maroon cream. Pair with any of the other Naturel Collection shades for a chic tone-on-tone look! - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Odette-ZP708.html#sthash.LRMsDNkA.dpuf

Zoya Nail Polish in Odette can be best described as full-coverage, sultry orchid maroon cream. Pair with any of the other Naturel Collection shades for a chic tone-on-tone look! - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Odette-ZP708.html#sthash.LRMsDNkA.dpuf

Zoya Nail Polish in Odette can be best described as full-coverage, sultry orchid maroon cream. Pair with any of the other Naturel Collection shades for a chic tone-on-tone look! - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Odette-ZP708.html#sthash.LRMsDNkA.dpuf

This photo is taken sans topcoat, so as you can see it's pretty glossy by itself! However, I always recommend using a good base coat and topcoat with all polishes. I wore this mani for nearly a week with little to no chipping (using base and topcoat). So pretty!

  

'TINI BEAUTY

EYETINI EYE CORDIAL SHADOW + BASE

in Spiced Rum

"Say goodbye to creasing and fading with Eyetini Eye Cordial Shadow + Base. Our revolutionary formula glides on beguiling creamy color and sets to a transfer-resistant finish that doubles as a wear-extending base under powder shadow. Spiced Rum serves up shimmering warm bronze." - tinibeauty.com

I love, love, love 'Tini Beauty's Nailtini line, so I was so excited to try out a product from their Eyetini line! This Eye Cordial Shadow + Base is phenomenal! The color Spiced Rum is positively gorgeous. What's funny is originally I was hoping to get one of the other two shades going out (Ambrosia or Violette) when I found out I was receiving this as a variety item, now I wouldn't have it any other way, I'm madly in love with Spiced Rum!

The packaging is similar to a lip gloss, with a doe foot applicator. What you see in the photo above is the exact amount of product that comes out when you pull the wand out of the tube. It's really the perfect amount to start with, since the formula is SUPER pigmented and goes on fairly thick. I also love that it's not overly gloopy or runny on the sides of the applicator. Less mess that way!

Didn't I TELL you it was stunning!? Look at that single swipe? I mean HELLO! ::swoon:: The color is a gorgeous coppery-gold with some golden shimmer throughout. The small flecks in the shimmer are much more apparent when blended. You can see it blends beautifully with no patchiness or dryness. When first applying it starts like a thick gloss, then dries to a dry base. The way I like to apply it is to spread a little on where wanted, then lightly pat and blend it in with my fingertip. Once that dries, I'll add more, blend it in with my fingertip, and repeat until satisfied with the pigmentation. The more you repeat, the more pigmented it becomes. You could just swipe it on thicker but it doesn't last anywhere near as long that way and can smudge a bit during wear. With the blend, dry and repeat technique I had full cover with no smudging or fading for over 11 hours! Can I get an amen! Another thing that's great about how it dries is that since it becomes a base consistency of sort, you can easily blend on shadows on TOP of it if you want without wiping or smearing off the cordial! I feel I need more of these...

POP BEAUTY

PLUMP POUT

in Peony Petal

"This plumping pout perfector combines the high-shine of a lacquered gloss with the long wear of a stain and is packed full of lip-plumping peptides and avocado & jojoba oils. Lightweight, creamy texture immediately merges with lips & delivers intense glossy colour for an extremely long-lasting finish" - popbeautycosmetics.com

I'm definitely no stranger to Pop Beauty as Ipsy has been sending out their products for quite some time now! I've tried out their Pouty Pop Lip Crayon, a sample eyeshadow trio from their Natural Bare palette, and a travel-sized sample of their Lash Kapow! Mascara. 

First off, how cute is this packaging? I love it. It's a mini version of their full-size but I have to say, I think I like the look of the mini better! Haha! The full-size is wider.

The lid is a twist-off cap, with a standard gloss applicator wand. What you see here is exactly how much comes out on the wand tip when pulled out of the tube. It's a fairly decent amount but I did need to go back and get more when I was applying a full-coverage lip (no blending). The color is a beautiful bright pink rose shade.

The formula is pretty thick, almost as thick as what I like to call liquid lipsticks. It's very, very pigmented, and can be either worn with full coverage and pigmentation all over the lips, or blended out for a subtler shade. It's not sticky at all for a thick gloss and doesn't hang heavy on the lips.

As you can see it's easily blendable, and the color does blend out nicely and evenly. Even blended you still have a strong color that will stand out beautifully on your lips. If you want just a very, very light tone, then you can dab your finger on the end of the applicator and gently wipe it on your lips instead of directly applying. It's not overly glossy but it definitely has a soft glossy shine, however that does tone down after a few hours of wear.

The longevity of the wear wasn't bad at all! I had a glossy finish for about 1.5 - 2 hours after application, strong color at the 4 hours mark, then a strong tint of color at the 6 hour mark. Six hours for a lip gloss is pretty darn good! This is with eating and drinking, so if you limit those, yours may last longer!

I did hear on Makeuptalk.com that some of the ladies that received these glosses in their Glam Bag said that the gloss has a strange gasoline scent. It seems that a bad batch may have gone out but Ipsy has been offering to replace any that have that smell! Mine doesn't seem to have any particular strong scent, except possibly a little bit rubbery, however it's very mild and doesn't bother me.

CITY COLOR COSMETICS

 BE MATTE BLUSH

in Fresh Melon

 "Our Be Matte Blush comes in 8 revolutionary colors, giving your cheeks a vibrant glow for every look. Its silky-smooth texture and richly pigmented hue comes in the perfect matte finish with an ultra blend-able formula. These stunning shades are highly build-able and allow you to create either an elegantly subtle or dramatically bold look. It's every girl's must-have secret!" - citycolorbeauty.com 

I was DYING to receive this blush, in this exact shade, I really was! When I saw this blush as a variety item, being sent out in four different colors (Fresh Melon, Blackberry, Toasted Coconut and Dragonfruit) I kept saying over and over: "Please let me get Fresh Melon, please let me get Fresh Melon!". Behold! Fresh Melon! ::dancedance, dancedance::

  

Now you see why! Look at that! Is that not the most scrumptious, yummiest, most beautiful blush you've ever seen? The color is out of this world! It's a bright, vivid salmon coral that is ridiculously pigmented and oh....just amazing....I can go on...

What's fantastic about this product is that it is completely matte! It's so hard to find a good matte blush, they either aren't pigmented, or have some sort of shimmer in it. The best matte blushes I've found that have strong pigmentation are from Coastal Scents. Now I feel I must try ALL of City Color's Be Matte blushes!

  

My ONLY gripe about this blush is that because it's matte, it can be a bit dry. It's a bit tricky to blend if you're not using a good brush. As you can see from the photo above, when blended, it does get a bit patchy, however I was using my fingers to swatch instead of a brush. Look how crazy pigmented one swipe is, though! 

Because it has such strong color you really need to build up slowly when applying. I barely touched a large fluffy blush brush in the pan, and still tapped off as much excess powder as I could, THEN I slowly blended it on the skin working in small circular motions. I think I only did that twice and I still had strong color on the cheeks that needed to be lightly blended out. 

Other than the slight dryness, which doesn't bother me too much, this product is absolutely amazing and I'd still very highly recommend it!

WORTH AND PURCHASE

1) NuMe Intense Renewal Mask:

• Full-size (6 fl oz) - $29
• I received a 0.85* fl oz sample tube - $4.11

2) Zoya Nail Polish in Odette:

• Full-size (0.5 fl oz) - $9
• I received a full-size!

3) 'Tini Beauty Eyetini Eye Cordial Shadow + Base in Spiced Rum:

• Full-size (0.14 oz) - $18
• I received a full-size!

4) Pop Beauty Plump Pout Lip gloss in Peony Petal:

• Full-size (8.5 g) - $16
• I received a 4 g mini size - $7.53

5) City Color Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon:

• Full-size (0.314 oz) - $2.99
• I received a full-size!

Total Paid for Bag:  $10

Total Worth of Bag:  $41.63


Very nice, Ipsy! Awesome worth this month, over four times what I paid! I also received 3 out of the 5 products in their full-sizes, and even the samples of Pop Beauty, and NuMe are generously sized. Awesome!

FINALE

This is a serious makeup finale! Haha, especially since three of the five products were makeup and I've already shown you the nail swatch! So if you're a Charming Cheshire follower you may be squinting your eyes right about now and saying: "Wait a sec...hasn't Cookie worn these products already? I could have SWORN that I've seen that 'Tini Beauty Eye Cordial, Pop Beauty lip gloss and Be Matte blush....". Well, you'd be right! I used these products in my recent Makeup and Mani (click link to read post) post for Valentine's Day since it's what I wore ON Valentine's Day! Surprise!

Really the shades of blush, lip gloss and eyeshadow cordial just inspired me to do something bright, romantic and a little different. You'd never know that a golden-bronze eyeshadow, salmon-coral blush and bright pink rose lip gloss would go together so well, am I right? I was pleasantly surprised and absolutely LOVED my Valentine's look!

So I wanted to tie in some of the colors I was using from my Ipsy products with some eye shadows so I used a range of pinks, some dark shimmery plum-browns, a salmon-coral and a few other shades. You can see a detailed list of everything I used for this look in my Makeup and Mani post!

Isn't the blush absolutely gorgeous? I told you it was super pigmented! For the lips here I did apply straight from the applicator to the lips but I lightly softened the glossiness by dabbing my finger on my lips to lightly blend it in.

I used the Eyetini Cordial on the inner 1/3 of my eyes, and blended and reapplied it about five times to reach this pigmentation. I did blend it enough to where it was a thin layer, but you can leave it a bit thicker if you'd like for stronger color. 

 Well that's it for this month's Ipsy Glam Bag review, I hope you enjoyed! I can't wait to see what's in store for us for next month! Did you receive a Glam Bag this month? What products did you love?  Thinking of joining Ipsy? Please feel free to use my referral code to sign up! Click HERE to start to subscription sign-up process!

Happy Makeuping! XOXO