Ipsy: April 2016 Glam Bag Unboxing

April was a very good Ipsy month, with plenty of lovely, usable products and a beautiful watercolor zipped bag. Note that I forgot to include the blusher brush they gave me in the above image.

Pur~lisse Blue Lotus plus White Tea Sheet and Blue Lotus plus Seaweed Masks 

I tried one and gave the other to a friend, and while it wasn't the most amazing mask I've ever used, it was hydrating and comfortable to wear. I wasn't too impressed with the ingredients list (which features mainly glycerin with some fairly cheap herbal extracts) so would rather stick to my The Face Shop masks from Koreatown.

Swatches from left to right: Starlooks eyeliner, Trust Fund Beauty Highlighter, Tarte Lipsurgence in Wonder

Tarte LipSurgence lip creme in Wonder

This was probably my favorite item of the whole bag. I love how pigmented the Tarte Lipsurgence products are, and also needed a bright red (see swatch from earlier). It's a gorgeous color that applies easily and with a slightly minty taste and feel.

Trust Fund Beauty That Glo Tho Face Highlighter



This is a total wannabe copy of Benefit's Watts Up (which I also own), and unfortunately isn't nearly as good as the latter. It's disappointing as I love the packaging, which looks high-end and features a beautiful design on the outer box. Seriously, this product barely shows up when you apply it (just look at the swatch above, which took several coats to get), and what does show up are chunky pieces of glitter. It's ok, and at least usable, but I wouldn't go out and buy it.

Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Pencil in Jet

I love how smoothly this applies, but unfortunately it smudges like crazy (see how easily it smudges in swatch below) - even if I don't touch my eyes, it becomes a smudgy mess after a couple hours. Use this to get a smoked eye look, not for a sharp line. I stick to my Tarte eyeliner for that.

Crown Brush C427 Duo Fiber Blush Brush

Finally a brush from Ipsy that's actually soft and usable! This is one of those brushes with an uneven cut, meaning that there are fewer bristles up top so you won't be at risk of picking up too much product when you dab it on a pan. This makes it perfect for picking up and applying blusher. It's super soft, and I absolutely love it.

As mentioned, I was pretty impressed with all of my Ipsy picks for April, as for $10 it really can't be beat.

Ipsy: March 2016 Glam Bag Unboxing

March was a great month for me on Ipsy, as I wound up with a batch of good, useful products. 

Beau Gachis Eyeshadow Brush

This was the one dud in the bag. I needed an eyeshadow brush, but the bristles on this one were just so rough that they feel like they're scratching my lids, and thus makes it pretty much unusable. My recommendation for soft brushes are The Body Shop, and I'm still using that one.

Manna Kadar Eye Shadow in Fantasy

This is a beautiful shadow, and is absolutely perfect to sweep all over the lids. I mean, just look at the swatch above - so rich and shimmery and with a slight deep shade that's flattering for most skintones. 

NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in color 04, Soft-Spoken 



I've only used this a handful of times, but was surprised by how flattering this deep shade is (I normally go for brighter lip colors). True to NYX's reputation, this product is incredibly long-wearing, even after drinking and eating. The only thing is I prefer more natural ingredients in my lip products, and this definitely isn't it.

Pixi by Petra Beauty Blush Duo in Rose Gold

While the packaging for this is beautiful, the pigmentation is pretty weak and the texture is rather chalky. You can barely see the pink upon application (as above). It works well though for a subtle highlighter.

Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco 3 Day Smooth Perfect Blow Dry Cream
Heat protectants are always useful for me as I regularly blowdry and heat style my hair, so this was certainly a useful product addition at the very least. I can't say it works any better than any of the other heat products I've tried. It comes out a light white cream and has a subtle scent. Not bad

Overall, March was a solid Ipsy month and I was very happy with the products I received.

The Best Tinted Lip Balms: Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm

This has truly been a life-changing discovery for my lips, and I don't say that lightly. I have the worst dry lips ever, which seemed to always get flaky during the day no matter what balms I put in. Traditional lipsticks usually would make them worse, and cause them to start peeling.

But not with these Burt's Bees lip balms. These were so hard to track down as they were sold out in almost all drugstores, and for good reason as they're truly an amazing product. The pigmentation is incredible on the lips - I know it's hard to tell from the swatches since I used a fairly light hand on them, but on the lips they are rich and vivid, better than most lipsticks. Even better, they never make my lips chapped. In fact, after a week of regular use, my lips actually improved in texture, and I stopped getting so much flakiness! I'm not exaggerating either - try it out!

From left to right: Rose, Zinnia, and Hibiscus

I love that Burt's Bees products are always made of natural ingredients, which is especially important for the lips since you wind up eating most of the products you apply.

From top to bottom: Rose, Hibiscus, Zinnia

I can't recommend these enough. My favorite color out of the three I've tried is Hibiscus - it's a beautifully rich pinkish red shade that's so flattering on my Asian skintone. Rose is also good, though oddly enough is less pigmented upon application and more of a warm red relative to Hibiscus. Zinnia is close to my natural lip color and makes for a nice nude shade. They all have a faintly floral scent and give your lips a slight shine. For those who are also not fans of the pepperminty feel of the original Burt's Bees balms, don't worry as that's not present here.

Overall I plan to stock up and use these for years to come.

L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara

This post is more of a warning for fellow ladies who suffer often from smudging of their mascaras. For me, this happens with most mascaras, as I have monolids and my lashes point straight down. This means they're almost constantly brushing against my undereye area, and often by the end of the day I'll have black marks there.

What I've realized is that this problem is made much worse by L'Oreal and Lancome mascaras (they're the same company, so probably no surprise they share certain formulations). The Lancome Hypnose mascara smudges like mad under me, and unfortunately so did this L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara.

While I did like the applicator and dark formula, I now know to stay far away from these brands. Try Covergirl or Maybelline mascaras for slightly less problematic wear.

Ipsy: February 2016 Glam Bag Unboxing

I wasn't nearly as impressed with my February box as I had been with my January one to tell the truth. The products generally seemed pretty cheap or were just items I knew I wouldn't use much, not to mention I'd already received the Pink Gel Coat as a deluxe sample from a Sephora haul I had done earlier. Let's go through what I'd received:

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil

This was easily the best product in the box, but pity I'm not a big primer user. I did try it a couple times and enjoyed it - the thing that impresses me the most is the quality, natural ingredients that are in this oil (no cheap mineral oil here!) I still have most of this sitting around, but I guess that's a reminder for me to start using it up. 

Pure Brazilian Deep Conditioning Hair Masque

This product I haven't even touched, mainly because hair masks are another product I rarely if ever have time for, especially when the product calls for you to leave it in for 15-20 minutes. I just don't get how you can, since these are products you have to use after shampooing. So am I meant to shampoo, then sit around in the bath for 20 mins? Or go out soaking wet and then come back into the shower after 20 mins to rinse off again? Just not practical. 

Vintage by Jessica Liebeskind, Sparkling Lipgloss in Pink Sequin 

Sorry again Ipsy, but this product looked and felt like the kind of tacky, cheap makeup you would sell to a ten-year-old. It's glittery beyond comprehension, which isn't completely bad but just isn't the type of look that I can go sporting around in my mid-20s. Similarly, the packaging is absolute cheapness defined - plain plastic white tube and a rather middling brush. I will try to somehow use it up, but right now, not impressed.

Paula Dorf Baby Eyes Enhancer

This one isn't terrible, but again is not something I would ever buy for myself as the ingredients list is again full of cheap ingredients. The texture isn't horrible, as it's soft enough for use in the undereye area (which is where I apply it). It just isn't a wow product, and again it's something I have to force myself to use up.

Perfect Formula Pink Gel Coat

This product was floating all over Sephora stores and apparently on subscription services, and I was suckered into using my insider points for it. Unfortunately, it was only after receiving it that I looked at the ingredients, and found that it features formaldehyde(!) Should have figured, and goes to show you definitely cannot trust what the big retail stores are featuring. Nice packaging that totally deceived me about the junk nature of the product inside.


Luckily as you'll see soon, my March glam bag was quite a step up. But another one of these bags and I probably would quit Ipsy - I'd rather use that $10 a month on one product I'll actually get good use from rather than a handful of essential junk. Will keep you guys posted.

Lush Charity Pot Hand and Body Lotion Review

I have a general fear of stretch marks. When I was in high school, I ran cross country, and somehow wound up with stretch marks on my legs. Luckily none have sprung up since, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry, so I've been on a hunt for moisturizers with cocoa butter, which is supposed to be one of the best stretch mark preventatives. I've purchased straight cocoa butter before from Whole Foods (the Now brand), but for those not familiar with it, straight cocoa butter is rock hard until you melt it down on your skin. With my busy routine, I just didn't have time to sit and massage it in for several minutes everyday all over, so was looking for a natural body lotion that already included it.

Enter the Lush Charity Pot lotion, which while not cheap, is a terrific product AND supports charitable causes. 

The product is buttery smooth and moist, plus it contains a boatload of skin beneficial ingredients aside from just cocoa butter - there's moringa oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, and more. All of these have skin firming and /or stretch mark preventing properties, so I'm willing to invest in this single product. It also smells delicious, a light rich scent that isn't cloying.

I don't use it all over my body (I use a cheaper shea butter moisturizer from Whole Foods for that), but I do use it over areas that are particularly sensitive, e.g., the chest, neck, and my existing stretch marks. It's not a miracle worker and probably won't do much to diminish the look of existing stretch marks (nothing really can), but I'm hoping it does do its job as a preventative.

The other aspect that drew me to this product versus some of the other Lush body lotions is the fact that there's no preservatives. It is "self preserving", which is Lush's new designation for products that are made with naturally preserving / long-lasting ingredients such as shea butter, cocoa butter, etc. Look out for methylparaben and other nasties in some of their other body lotions, which I make sure to stay as far away from as possible. This one, luckily, is free of them and I highly recommend it if you're on the lookout for a skin beneficial lotion. 

Estee Lauder Daywear SPF 50 Review

I'm now 100% a Supergoop convert, but back when Estee Lauder was running its free gift with purchase I went ahead and spent the $35 to get a hold of the Daywear SPF 50 sunscreen. All in all, it's a pretty decent sunscreen that skews on the more greasy side, but still works for the face and is easy to apply.  

As a major label product, it's not surprising that this product contains some of the less healthy sunscreen ingredients like oxybenzone. But at least there's no retinyl palmitate, and as a boost it also contains sodium hyaluronate, making it a nice dual mix of sunscreen + moisturizer. 

I would massage it over my face each morning, and found it easy to absorb and very hydrating (almost too much as a warning for those of you with oily skin). The product also has that familiar cucumber scent in most Estee Lauder products. 

The only issue I had was that it honestly didn't last very long. I think you can get maybe a month or two of total use from each bottle if you put it on your face alone, which is not great for a product at this price point. Basically, I think there's better sunscreens out there for a much better price. But when you combine it with the gift for purchase, which at the time landed me with a free bag as well as sample sizes of Estee Lauder skincare, it becomes a better value. Basically, I wouldn't go out solely to buy this.