Sammi the Beauty Buff: Ipsy Glam Bag: September 2015 Review

Hi, friends! Can you believe today is the first day of fall? And tonight is the autumnal equinox, so we're approaching shorter and shorter days. How crazy is that? Where has the time gone??

Today I want to talk to you all about my September Ipsy bag. This one was quite a doozy, and I don't mean in a good way. Stay tuned to find out why...

Ipsy? What's that?

Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription service that sends you five products with a themed makeup bag for $10/month. They offer a variety of products that change monthly, and determine which ones you receive based on the results of your beauty profile quiz. Ipsy also has a rewards program, in which you can earn points for reviewing products and redeem them for prizes. This month they sampled products from Tarte, Ole Henrikson, Essie, and plenty of others! If you're interested in subscribing, I would love it if you used my Ipsy referral link! Thank you!

This month, my products came in a little brown makeup bag. The bags are usually small and a little cheap-feeling, but they're useful when you're going on a trip and need something to stash and/or separate your stuff in. This one was kind of "meh" looking, but to each their own.

This month's theme was "Face Fashion." I think that's an even more obscure theme than Birchbox, to be honest.

But enough about that. Let's get to the good stuff~

GARNIER FRUCTIS Sleek Primer Style Prep
(FULL SIZE: $3.47 for 5.1oz)

The first thing I noticed when I opened my bag was that it felt wet and smelled like shampoo. Sure enough, this bottle was all slimey when I pulled it out. I couldn't figure out exactly where it was leaking from, so I guess it either wasn't closed all the way or didn't like being stored sideways in shipping. Either way, I'm kind of annoyed. Considering Ipsy is giving me a product I not only could easily buy in my local drugstore if I wanted to, but I don't even use style extender since I typically don't heat style my hair. LAME.

I haven't used this yet, and I don't really intend to. What a waste. It's bad enough wasting a sample, but a full-sized product? It's a shame.

ELIZABETH MOTT Queen of the Fill Tinted Brow Gel
(FULL SIZE: $20 for .14oz)

This box looks like it's been through the ringer. Thankfully, the product inside was okay. It wasn't like the envelope was crushed when it arrived at my house. It just felt damp because of the Garnier Fructis product. That stuff really got everywhere!

This is kind of similar to the Benefit Gimmie Brow, if you've heard of that. It's a tinted brow gel with a teeny-tiny mascara-esque wand that fills in sparse areas and locks your eyebrows in place.

It actually works relatively well! My only complain is that the color is a little lighter than my brows, so it (to me) looks like I'm wearing eyebrow makeup. But my eyebrows are a very dark blonde, so I'm kind of in the middle of two shades.

Also, this is a full-size tube, and it's quite small for $20. You only need a little bit, but I thought this was a deluxe sample at first! Yikes!

FIRST AID BEAUTY Ultra Repair Cream
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [1oz]: $6) (Full-size cost [2oz]: $12)

I'm not sure if they've changed the name of this product, or just the packaging, but I can only find a product under the name "Ultra Repair Cream Intense Therapy." If they're the same, I believe I've tried this moisturizer once before in a Little Black Bag purchase, and wasn't incredibly impressed, but I'm willing to give it another go. It was only a tiny jar, and this is a larger tube, so I'll be able to give it a full testing period. It advertises that it can be used both on the body and face, though they also make a Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer. The beauty community was going crazy over this brand not too long ago, so I have high hopes!

JCAT BEAUTY #Motd Waterproof Glide-On Pencil in Bronze
($2.49)

Ugh, I knew I was going to see another product from JCat sometime or another in an Ipsy bag. Jcat was a brand included in one of my last bags before I cancelled. From what I've experienced, their products are cheap and kind of crappy, so I wasn't thrilled to see this. Though, the color is pretty, I could say otherwise about the formula.

Immediately when I went to swatch this on my arm, the tip broke off completely! I couldn't tell from the packaging if this was a mechnical pencil or a self-sharpening one, and when I twisted the bottom piece, it came right off!

It looks like a pretty color, but when I swatched it on my arm (after sharpening it later on), the staying power was kind of a joke. I let the swatch sit for a few minutes, and when I went to rub it to see how it set, it rubbed right off! It came off in little flakes, so maybe it was too dry? Either way, I don't expect this to last on my eyelids more than a few hours, but I'll give it a go and keep you updated.

NYX Ipsy Eyeshadow Trio
(FULL-SIZE: $6)

I was a little apprehensive to use these, since when I first pulled it out of my bag, there was some Garnier Fructis residue on the inside of the packaging. I guess that's one of the cons of including a poorly packaged liquid in a subscription bag. Still, after wiping it down, I think my eyes will be okay.

The pigmentation isn't bad, but it's not the best I've seen from NYX. I'm not impressed with the lightest shade in the palette, but perhaps the sheerness will lend itself well to highlighting the inner corners of the eye and other parts of the face.

These swatches were also done without primer, so it could be that it needs a helping hand. Not the best eyeshadows I've used, or the worst. It's not part of their regular Love in Rio line, and the palette is just shown as shade IPSYNYX01. If anyone's tried regular non-Ipsy NYX products, how does this compare? I've never used their eyeshadows, but I know their blushes pack a PUNCH, so I was quite surprised by this.