Hi friends,
Here it is! The complete review on all the products I received in my January 2015 Ipsy Glam Bag!
Let me start by again giving a whole bunch of hoorays for Ipsy for providing a great variety of makeup samples on a monthly basis and never making the bag boring. For $10 per month, you just cannot get wrong!
Follow this link to get your own bag, you earn points for reviews and referrals which allows you to redeem more samples each month!
You can see the open bag video on my YouTube Channel:
First the bag: HIDDEOUS! I hate it, by far the worst I have received in almost one year's worth of monthly bags! Whoever thought of pairing cobalt blue with salmon pink and Ivory MUST return to design school. So there, I said it!
So, on with the review:
1. Elizabeth Mott - All-Over Shadow Brush - $9.99
I am always very excited to receive new brushes in my subscription boxes. It is not like I need anymore, having tons of brushes already. I simply enjoy comparing brands and this one is nothing short of phenomenal.
This is a synthetic brush, short in length, making it ideal for travel. It is super dense and super soft. As an all-over shadow, it does a great job at multi tasking. You can blend with it, or apply single shadows and because is it tapered you can use it sideways as well. Very high quality and for the price online of $9.99 I find it to be a bargain to value winner!
A few months back, Ipsy introduced me to the Crown Brush
brand and I fell in love. One of the rare times where I went ahead and actually purchased a few items as a result of my subscription to Ipsy. This Elizabeth Mott brush is very similar in quality and feel to Crown Brush. The only con I would share with you is that since it is a travel size, I wish it was sold with a cap or some sort of protection for the brush head itself. They do get tossed a lot inside makeup bags and can get damaged as well. If it were not for the lack of a practical protective cap, this brush would be on my Wall of Fame. I give it an A.
2. Malin + Goetz - Mojito Lip Balm - $12
Let's start with the obvious: no matter what, I just cannot see myself spending $12 on a lip balm regardless of the brand and or quality, it just seems so over-the-top.
Moving on.
This is a brand I have tried in the past and thought was just okay, a lot of people rave about it, I can see the appeal, it is nondescript and not in your face with regards to packaging, it reminds me of Kiels'.
This lip balm comes in a tube with a slanted plastic applicator. I am not a big fan of those, they collect quite a lot of remaining lipstick and always end up looking gross after a while (Just a personal preference).
Flavored with (MALIN+GOETZ) Mojito, our lip balm is scientifically blended to restore and replenish. Our hydrating lip gel easily integrates for daily maintenance, prevention and treatment of dry, irritated lips. Color and paraben free. Quoted from the Malin + Goetz website).
Basically, this is a polymer filled lip product that glides on smoothly and feels like a very fluid Vaseline type formula. It does not have a taste or a scent and though it is a customer favorite, I really was not wowed by this product. I think the delivery through the slanted plastic mouth piece is my biggest turn off. As for the formula I felt it was just okay. Not thrilled, but I don't hate it either, I would not run to go purchase another one. B-.
3. Hikari - Eye Liner Pencil in Storm - $13
I have never heard of this brand and was pleased to receive a twistable eye liner.I am one of those lazies who never sharpens her pencils and am constantly looking for ones that are either twistable or self sharpening. The color I received is Storm, a silver grey with a bit of shimmer.
Overall, I felt this is an okay eye liner, I did not find it difficult to apply in that the formula glides on and does not tug at my eyelid whether I already applied shadow or not. The color payoff is so-so. It is not a highly pigmented liner, so it may be good for under eye or corners. For complete lid coverage I wish it provided a more vibrant contrast. So in all, this is a subtle liner. If you are not into heavy liner and popping eyes, this might be a good one for you.
It stays on well, not all day, but has good stay on.
Again, it's just okay for me, I think that for the price of $13 I could find a better liner with more pigment and many drugstore brands will outperform this one. So, "not impressed" is my final review on this one. B-.
4. Pacifica - Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow in Ethereal - $14 for palette
A few months back I had received a Pacifica 
shadow duo which I felt was unbelievably dry and did not use as a result.
This time around, I really was not crazy about receiving yet another eye shadow from the brand but was very surprised when I first swatched it during my open bag video.
I am not sure whether these coconut eye shadows are part of the same collection I had originally received but, this one is creamy with a beautiful shimmer, making it perfect as an all over lid or highlighter.
The color pay off is great and the color I received: Ethereal, is a beautiful soft pink/champagne which reminds me of
Champagne Truffle from the Too Faced Chocolate Palette. It is smooth and easy to apply, you definitely need to blend it well if used as an all over lid as it tends to crease (probably because of the coconut infused pigment).
Unfortunately, these are not sold individually and must be purchased as part of palettes of 3 or 4 shadows. I have checked the Pacifica
Website and simply could not find a palette which would contain this specific color, so I am at a loss here, and feel very frustrated. It seems that Pacifica
continues to provide great body creams and scents, but leaves to desire when it comes to makeup. I am giving it a B+ because it is a good shadow, but if I could find it, it would get a higher grade. Not cool Pacifica
, not cool at all!
I think (not sure) that this one belongs to the Radiant Shimmer Coconut Shadow trio palette, which you can find at a lower price on the Amazon Pacifica page!
A for the shadow, C+ for not being able to find it on their website.
5. Velvet 59 - Lip Gloss in Noisette - $19
I am not a huge fan of lip glosses, for some reason I just find them to be too tacky and or gooey. I had also never heard of this brand and for the same reason why I signed up for Ipsy, was very glad to receive it as it is a way for me to try a new products and/or new brand.
The color I received is Noisette (Hazelnut), a good all around nude. The gloss comes with a small brush applicator, not a doe foot, so it
does require a bit more work for application, again these are matters of preference.
Unfortunately, this color completely blended in with my skin tone and natural lip shade, all you get to see is gloss, no color. So, for the price of $19 per tube, I really do not see any need for me to own this product. Other colors are available and probably more pigmented but again, I think the price is prohibitive when considering I could purchase a MAC Lip gloss for less! C+.
This was my review for the January 2015 Ipsy Glam Bag, it was overall a good bag. I am not sure why they have chosen to send two lip products this month alone, it seems a bit redundant when considering they are practically giving the same result, at least for me they did.
Here it is! The complete review on all the products I received in my January 2015 Ipsy Glam Bag!
Let me start by again giving a whole bunch of hoorays for Ipsy for providing a great variety of makeup samples on a monthly basis and never making the bag boring. For $10 per month, you just cannot get wrong!
Follow this link to get your own bag, you earn points for reviews and referrals which allows you to redeem more samples each month!
You can see the open bag video on my YouTube Channel:
First the bag: HIDDEOUS! I hate it, by far the worst I have received in almost one year's worth of monthly bags! Whoever thought of pairing cobalt blue with salmon pink and Ivory MUST return to design school. So there, I said it!
So, on with the review:
 |
| Ipsy Glam Bag - January 2015 |
1. Elizabeth Mott - All-Over Shadow Brush - $9.99
I am always very excited to receive new brushes in my subscription boxes. It is not like I need anymore, having tons of brushes already. I simply enjoy comparing brands and this one is nothing short of phenomenal. This is a synthetic brush, short in length, making it ideal for travel. It is super dense and super soft. As an all-over shadow, it does a great job at multi tasking. You can blend with it, or apply single shadows and because is it tapered you can use it sideways as well. Very high quality and for the price online of $9.99 I find it to be a bargain to value winner!
A few months back, Ipsy introduced me to the Crown Brush brand and I fell in love. One of the rare times where I went ahead and actually purchased a few items as a result of my subscription to Ipsy. This Elizabeth Mott brush is very similar in quality and feel to Crown Brush. The only con I would share with you is that since it is a travel size, I wish it was sold with a cap or some sort of protection for the brush head itself. They do get tossed a lot inside makeup bags and can get damaged as well. If it were not for the lack of a practical protective cap, this brush would be on my Wall of Fame. I give it an A.2. Malin + Goetz - Mojito Lip Balm - $12
Moving on.
This is a brand I have tried in the past and thought was just okay, a lot of people rave about it, I can see the appeal, it is nondescript and not in your face with regards to packaging, it reminds me of Kiels'.
This lip balm comes in a tube with a slanted plastic applicator. I am not a big fan of those, they collect quite a lot of remaining lipstick and always end up looking gross after a while (Just a personal preference).
Flavored with (MALIN+GOETZ) Mojito, our lip balm is scientifically blended to restore and replenish. Our hydrating lip gel easily integrates for daily maintenance, prevention and treatment of dry, irritated lips. Color and paraben free. Quoted from the Malin + Goetz website).
Basically, this is a polymer filled lip product that glides on smoothly and feels like a very fluid Vaseline type formula. It does not have a taste or a scent and though it is a customer favorite, I really was not wowed by this product. I think the delivery through the slanted plastic mouth piece is my biggest turn off. As for the formula I felt it was just okay. Not thrilled, but I don't hate it either, I would not run to go purchase another one. B-.
3. Hikari - Eye Liner Pencil in Storm - $13
Overall, I felt this is an okay eye liner, I did not find it difficult to apply in that the formula glides on and does not tug at my eyelid whether I already applied shadow or not. The color payoff is so-so. It is not a highly pigmented liner, so it may be good for under eye or corners. For complete lid coverage I wish it provided a more vibrant contrast. So in all, this is a subtle liner. If you are not into heavy liner and popping eyes, this might be a good one for you.
It stays on well, not all day, but has good stay on.
4. Pacifica - Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow in Ethereal - $14 for palette
shadow duo which I felt was unbelievably dry and did not use as a result. This time around, I really was not crazy about receiving yet another eye shadow from the brand but was very surprised when I first swatched it during my open bag video.
I am not sure whether these coconut eye shadows are part of the same collection I had originally received but, this one is creamy with a beautiful shimmer, making it perfect as an all over lid or highlighter.
The color pay off is great and the color I received: Ethereal, is a beautiful soft pink/champagne which reminds me of
Champagne Truffle from the Too Faced Chocolate Palette. It is smooth and easy to apply, you definitely need to blend it well if used as an all over lid as it tends to crease (probably because of the coconut infused pigment). Unfortunately, these are not sold individually and must be purchased as part of palettes of 3 or 4 shadows. I have checked the Pacifica
Website and simply could not find a palette which would contain this specific color, so I am at a loss here, and feel very frustrated. It seems that Pacifica
continues to provide great body creams and scents, but leaves to desire when it comes to makeup. I am giving it a B+ because it is a good shadow, but if I could find it, it would get a higher grade. Not cool Pacifica
, not cool at all! I think (not sure) that this one belongs to the Radiant Shimmer Coconut Shadow trio palette, which you can find at a lower price on the Amazon Pacifica
page!A for the shadow, C+ for not being able to find it on their website.
5. Velvet 59 - Lip Gloss in Noisette - $19
The color I received is Noisette (Hazelnut), a good all around nude. The gloss comes with a small brush applicator, not a doe foot, so it
Unfortunately, this color completely blended in with my skin tone and natural lip shade, all you get to see is gloss, no color. So, for the price of $19 per tube, I really do not see any need for me to own this product. Other colors are available and probably more pigmented but again, I think the price is prohibitive when considering I could purchase a MAC Lip gloss for less! C+.
This was my review for the January 2015 Ipsy Glam Bag, it was overall a good bag. I am not sure why they have chosen to send two lip products this month alone, it seems a bit redundant when considering they are practically giving the same result, at least for me they did.
Sophia, NJ
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