(Why does it look like I have such wrinkly fingers? I'm only 19, I swear!)
They also came with some informative cards. The left one shows the brands that participated this month (each subscriber didn't receive a product from each one, but there was an option to receive a product from these brands). Ipsy also offers coupon codes for each of these brands this month. I'm really considering using the Pacifica one because all of their products smell SO GOOD. And, on the right, is a card from NuMe (one of this month's participating brands). On the other side, it has a coupon code for $110 off a hair-styling tool from NuMe! Wow!
Let's just talk quickly about the bag before we get on to the fun stuff. The bag is really sturdy. Mine was totally stuffed, and there were no rips in it or anything. Some people think it's ugly, but I like it. I think it's cute and spring-y.
Okay, now that the boring stuff is out of the way--it's time to show the goods!
Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment ($13.50 for 1 fl oz)
So many beauty gurus on YouTube rave about the Macadamia hair products, especially the Deep Repair Masque and this oil. It's supposed to preserve color treatment for longer, shorten drying time by almost half, nourish dry or damaged hair. It's also paraben-free (parabens being a preservative that is suspected to be a cause to breast cancer) and sulfate-free (meaning it doesn't strip hair of artificial color). It does contain silicones however. If you would like to learn more about silicones, I recommend checking out Elvira(You may know her as Pink Sith)'s blog, as she just wrote a fantastic post on all you need to know about silicones in hair care. I'll test this out and get back to you with more info! If you leave a comment on her post, be sure to tell her I say hello!
Zoya Nail Polish in Blu ($8 for .5 fl oz)
This color is part of the Lovely Spring 2013 Collection, and I am very excited to have received this color, as I have nothing like it. I like Zoya as a brand because they are cruelty-free (thus vegan-friendly) and Big 5 Free (meaning that they do not contain the five harmful chemicals that other polishes contain: Dibutyl Phthalate, Toluene, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, and Camphor). If you're interested in learning more about the harmful chemicals in nail polish to stay away from, comment below and I'll do a post on them in the future!
As for the brush, I think I like it, but I'm not sure. I'll do an individual blog post about this polish in the future. The reason is: I tried painting my nails with this polish, the coats were disgustingly thick and the color went all over the place, despite the fact that I was wiping the brush off before painting my nails. I think I have to figure out how to use this particular formula/brush. Did anyone else think this line was a little different from their regular polishes? On the bright side, despite being a pastel, this color was completely opaque after one coat (though that may just be because of the crazy thickness of the coats--I would do two just to be safe)! I was amazed at the pigmentation, either way. Overall, I like this polish; I just have to figure out how to work with it.
Yaby Concealer in Buff ($4.85)
As you can see, this is just a refill pan, so it fits in our GlamRx palette we received a few months ago. I will actually be putting this in my GlamRx Palette and not my Z-Palette because I don't want this to mix with my eyeshadow in there.
Apparently, Ipsy had a hard time matching subscribers' skin tones to their concealers. I was one of the lucky ones to receive a concealer that would match my skin tone. I'm still testing it out (I still have plenty of concealers to test out) but I will let you know how I like it in a future post. So far, so good, though.
Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Pink ($15 for .14 fl oz)
I love this lip gloss! It's definitely a "my lips but better" look, which is one that I wear most often. I think I'll definitely get a lot of use out of this. It's made with goji berries, acai berries, and agave nectar, so it's filled with antioxidants and nutrients, which is cool. It's like vitamins for your lips (and I hate taking vitamins)!
Isn't this pretty? It's also very smooth and non-sticky, which I like. I can deal with sticky glosses, but I prefer it when they're silky and smooth like this. And so shiny! It adds just a tint to make my lips look naturally more pigmented. I will definitely be using this a lot.
St. Tropez Instant Glow Body Lotion ($6 for 1.69 fl oz)
When I first received this, I was like "Ohhhhhh noooooo." I have never tried a bronzing lotion, and I have never wanted to. Stories of orange oompa-loompa women filled my mind and I shied away. But, since I received it in my bag, I thought I would try it out. I opened the top and the lotion is dark. This isn't a gradual self-tanner like Jergen's, but rather a "One Night Only" kind of lotion, so it washes off in the shower. It also says that you can use your hands to apply it, but I definitely recommend a tanning mitt before using this, just so you don't have to risk having brown/orange palms. For me, it's far too dark for my fair skin, so I think I'll cut it with my regular body moisturizer and see how it works out. I've heard that this is some beauty junkies' Holy Grail Self-Tanner so I just have to give it an honest try. More to come!
Urban Decay Moonlight Eyeshadow in Zodiac ($20 for .05 oz) - That's already twice the cost of the bag!
This was a bonus item included in my bag for being an active member in the Ipsy community. I didn't make videos, because I don't have a very good video camera, but I did comment a lot and watch others' videos, so I guess that's what did it. Either way, thank you so much Ipsy! This is actually the product I'm most excited about. Urban Decay is my favorite makeup brand for eyeshadow, hands down, so I was thrilled to receive this since they're kind of out of my budget. This is a really intense, deep emerald green with an insane (in the best way) amount of sparkle and metallic shine, without chunky glitter and nastiness. It's smooth and silky and I am so excited to find a way to wear it. Stay tuned for a blog post!
This is as excited I've been for an Ipsy bag in months--they're really stepping up their game to a new level! They're a bit more like Birchbox now, in the sense that there are more than five items to choose from so different subscribers will receive different items. I just updated my Beauty Quiz, meaning that from now on, my results will affect what type of items I get. I hope they really do!
Did you get an Ipsy bag this month? If so, what did you think of it? If not, would you consider joining?
