Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Ipsy Review February 2013

I was so happy to see my hot pink envelope in the mailbox today!  Especially after my shipping email said I wouldn't get it until Saturday.  Hooray!  This month's theme is "Red Carpet Ready".  (Sound familiar?  Yeah, it was this month's theme for Birchbox, too.  Oopsies!).  January's bag was completely makeup-free, so it was a nice change to get makeup back in our bags!  This month was all about the eyes... So let's pop them peepers and get started!

Now do you see why I'm so excited to get this each month?




Ok, let's start with the bag.  I saw something sleek and shiny when I opened up the envelope:

Oooooh.... SHINY!

The bag this month is a glossy black patent leather (pleather?).  To me, it's channeling the naughty side of Valentine's Day, although maybe they're just trying to go high fashion.  Either way, it's a cute clutch-style bag, and I will be rocking it on a date with my hubby soon!

Perfect size for a night out!

Oh, and the best part? When I peeked inside and saw the gorgeous bright red lining!

Ooh la la!

Now, the bag doesn't look as full as usual, but that's because you really don't need a whole lot of eye product to go a loooong way.  As I'm sure you know, if you've ever seen someone overdo turquoise eye shadow!

Well, thankfully, there was no turquoise shadow in THIS bag.  The first item I pulled out is a mascara by Pop Beauty.  It's called "Smoky Lash Kapow!!!" and I'm loving it for the name alone!  I am a bit swamped in mini-mascaras right now from other subs, but once I get to this one, I'll post a review!  A .25 oz full-size retails for $18.50, making this little guy worth about $12.60.

Kapow!!!

This next item is a great innovation for clumsy ladies like me.  I can't tell you how many times I've finally gotten my eyeshadow perfect, only to smudge mascara onto my eyelids!  So some genius came up with Lash Cards.  You set the curved end against your eyelid and go to town with the mascara.  Nothing on your eyelids!  Also, if you have an eyeshadow that you love, but sheds everywhere, you can also set this under your lashes to catch any fallout from the shadow.




We received a special "deluxe" sample size, or 4 cards instead of the regular 2.  The funniest thing about these is that they printed the logo backwards.  When you're standing in front of the mirror, using the card, you'll be staring right at the logo the whole time you're doing your mascara!  Clever, no?  A pack of 10 retails for $6.99, making this sample worth $2.80.

I've gotten several black eyeliners in my beauty subs, but this one is different.  I've used pencil liner.  I've used liquid liner.  Who knew there was a third option?  (Hint:  Not me!)  Introducing... Gel liner!  A little pot of MicaBeauty eyeliner in black.  Well, crap, now I need a liner brush.

Any suggestions?

These eyeliners retail for $30. There was no size indication on the pot, so I'm guessing it's about 1/2 size.  It also comes with a brush when you buy the full size, so I'm going to make an educated guess and say this sample is worth about $10.

To make sure that we have the perfect foundation for our eye makeup, Ipsy sent the Flawless and Poreless Primer from Pixi.  This product is supposed to reduce pores and smooth out any fine wrinkles so you have a great canvas for your makeup!  I've been using a BB Cream, which is supposed to eliminate the need for primer, so I haven't been using it lately, but this one may be worth a try!  A 1.01 fl oz full size retails for $29, making this .5 oz sample worth $14.50.



The last item is an eyeshadow quad from Coastal Scents.  Ipsy sent out two variations, one with browns/golds, and one with silver/greys.  I got the "In the Spotlight" quad (the browns/golds).  As much as I love neutrals, I have gotten quite a few of them lately, and this one has a yellow shadow.  Yellow.  Eyeshadow.  Ew.

One of these is not like the others...
Here's a breakdown of the colors:


I did swatches of all 4 colors on my arm.  The Dark Goldenrod and Golden Globe are beautiful, the Sunbeam is... yellow, and the Dark Golden Olive gets everywhere.  It is a nice color, but I'm definitely glad I have the Lash Cards to catch all the fallout that's going to come with this shade!  Here are the swatches in different light settings:



Based on previous quads sent out in the October 2012 Ipsy bag, this quad is worth about $4.

So, while this bag wasn't overwhelmingly awesome for me, it still several things that I'm excited to try, and as always, is a fantastic value!  The bag costs $10 a month, and is worth over $40!  I can't wait to see what they come up with next month.  Emerald is the "It Color" of the year, and with St. Patrick's day coming up, I can't think of a better time to throw some green our way!  Oh and speaking of green, in the pictures, I am wearing the Color Club polish in Wild Cactus I got in my February Birchbox!  I hope you have a great night, and if you got the silver/grey palette, let me know how you like it!

Love, Leigh

Last minute update:  I guess it's a good thing I wasn't too thrilled with this palette... I left it out after doing the blog pics and my 3-year-old found it!  I would have taken a picture of him covered in eyeshadow, but the second I saw him and yelled "NO!!", he stuck his hands in his mouth.  So I figured I'd wipe him off first and just take a picture of the art project he left behind.  Enjoy!

Enlarged, for all the glorious detail... *sigh*

5 comments:

  1. I think the gel liner might be full sized, or at least very close! It is the exact same size as my other gel liners!

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    1. Oh that's awesome! Makes the bag worth EVEN MORE... muahaha!!! I do wish they had included the brush, though. I have to go get one before I can try it out!

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    2. Yeah, it's full sized. :) Asked about it on their Facebook page and they said that it was the only full size item in this month's bag. It would have been nice if they included the brush, but it's not a huge deal.

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  2. Yeah, the gel liner's full sized. :) I asked about it on their Facebook page and they said that this was the only full size item this month. Having a brush with it would have been nice, but not a huge deal.

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    1. Yeah, the only reason I wish they would have is I don't already have one! I think I'm hitting up Target for an ELF brush this weekend. I'll live til then ;)

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