Hi friends,
You know I love my Ipsy, but sometimes while most of the products to sample and try are outstanding, they will have this one month when it is just blah for me. This was the case with the February 2015 bag.
Ipsy is a sample subscription bag for which you pay $10 per month (the shipping is included). In it, you will receive 5 cosmetics/skincare samples (there is always a full size, or two). They really are fun to receive each month and the best part is their customer relations. Once you are subscribed and start receiving your bags, you can review each item and receive points for your review. When someone subscribes to Ipsy under your referral link, you also earn points. Those points will in turn allow you to order more samples for your next bag! How awesome is that?
To me it is well worth the $10 regardless of whether it is a good bag or not. I get to sample new products, in particular makeup, without breaking the bank, and because they are mostly samples as opposed to full size, I can toss them later on without feeling a huge waste. It's a win-win no matter what. You can get your own bag here.
This is my open-bag video for the February 2015 Ipsy Glam Bag:
This is what I received:
1. Mitchell and Peach - Flora No. 1 - Fine Radiance Face Oil - $40
I love Face Oils
, you can wear them alone or under a moisturizer for added benefits. I have so many samples at home, it is not hard for me to compare them against one another. This one, by a British brand I had never heard of, contains coconut oil, Vitamin E, Vitamin B, Apricot Kernel Oil, Wheat Germ Oil and is mildly astringent. The website boasts that it will fight against oxidizing stress, say for instance pollutants etc. In all, these are great ingredients for your face.
Overall, I felt this was a good standard face oil, it does not have any pungent overpowering scent and did not leave my skin shinny, sticky or oily. It does the job and that is really all I ask from a face oil. I cannot say that I have noticed any significant improvement in both tone and texture on my face, but I shall assume that only prolonged use would make a difference.
Here is a little bit of a rant. When a company sells a product at over $40 for a very small amount (0.67 oz for the full size), it is poor marketing to offer samples in bottles that are practically impossible to extract the product from. I do not think it would have cost Mitchell and Peach all that much to add a plastic dropper or even no dropper at all to their sample bottle instead of the French Dropper, which is basically a tiny hole. One has to shake this thing multiple times in order to extract one tiny droplet and I just do not have time to deal with this kind of frustration and ended up removing the plastic cap all together so that I could access the product myself and without hassle.
Other than that, it is standard, not one I would rush to purchase. I still like the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Skin Therapy Face Oil
best (it's affordable) but if you want a bit of fancy, I recommend the Sonoma Naturals Chia Anti Oxidant Facial Serum
. This Mitchell and Peach was just okay for me. Or, you can check more Face Oils
on Amazon
. B.
2. Model Co. - Blush in Cosmopolitan Peach Bellini - $22
I do not think I ever was disappointed by a Model Co. product. It does help that I obsess over blush colors a bit too much to find myself excited about receiving yet another one (mind you I just went through a makeup graveyard series and tossed at least 15 blushes out of my collection, you can watch it here).
That being said, this blush looks matte at first glance (my favorite type of finish), however, it is loaded, and I mean loaded with gold shimmer so much so that to me, it is unwearable as a blush or a highlighter even.
Now, for a young girl who goes out a lot and wants her face to sparkle, this is just perfect, but for crying out loud, I am 44 with lots of fine wrinkles, I do not need to accentuate them with a shimmer or anything glittery.
This is a picture taken from my open bag video, so you can see the shimmer that comes out of this blush. Yikes! Nope, not for me. Otherwise, the formula is excellent, the stay-on is very good, the shade itself (I received Peach Bellini) is beautiful all year long.
This may be a good highlighter and I think it would actually be appropriate as an eye shadow as well. So I am going to call it versatile! I am giving it a A- for the formula but a C+ for the finish.
3. Medusa's Makeup - Eyeshadow in Headhunter - $8
You all know by now that I am a sucker for eye shadows and that purple is my favorite color. I wear purple eye shadows most of the time.
Could Ipsy find a better match? I think not!
This is a great brand, though a bit funky for my age, just visit the website and you will know what I mean from the front page on.
This shadow is beautiful, an iris color that translate as having more grey in it on my fair skin tone. No shimmer, beautiful as a contour or transition color. Stays on nicely, easy to apply with no fall out. Great, great, great! A-. Why not A+? It is Made in China.
Here is a swatch. you can see that despite the color in the pot, it does not translate as being over the top vibrant. Very nice color. It would look great with a matte cream on lid and a bit of pink shimmer, or pair it with some grey to bring out the grey undertone. Overall it is a cool tone color and it may not suite all skin tones, but because the formula is light, it is buildable and therefore can be layered with other ones. Very pleased with this shadow.
4. China Glaze - Glitter Nail Polish in Marry a Millionaire - $7- $9
I have just mentioned that purple is my favorite color, I will not go over that again. What I need to mention though, is that China Glaze is my favorite brand of Nail polishes. Their pigmentation and formula are excellent. I find that they stay on longer than Essie or other drugstore brands and the brush is wide. I, however, am not a big fan of glitter. Actually, I just had a debate as to whether I should just give up on glitterall together, based on my age ( I am a bit conservative when it comes to that sort of thing) and in particular on my nails.
Glitter nail polishes take FOREVER to be removed. They are gritty, no matter what base coat you use, and one needs to soak nails with acetone or remover far too long in order to remove the stuff. That reason alone should be enough to get me to stop pretending I like glitter on my nails. But I do though, I like the way they shine and reflect the light, they are just too darn difficult to remove.
So, what do I think of this one?
The color is beautiful, a rich iris, amethyst color with silver and dark purple glitter. It just sparkles all over.
As a stand alone polish, I regretted trying it on all my nails (as mentioned above, it was way too awful to get rid of it) but as an accent nail over another color...just beautiful!
This one is not easy to apply because the glitter itself is not round, instead it looks and feels like tiny fibers, the stuff overlaps all over the place.
For once, China Glaze disappointed. Matter of fact, I cannot even find this shade on their site (Marry a Millionaire).
I still love the brand best and my favorite from them is Fifth Avenue
.
I am giving Marry a Millionaire a B+ for the color but a D for the formula.
5. Joya - No. 1 Parfum Oil - $30
I really think Ipsy needs to stop sending fragrance samples in their monthly bags. Fragrance is just too personal in order for the brands to get any kind of recognition. For instance, if you are a floral type of fragrance gal, anything spicy or woodsy will be a turn off for you and here is one sample that is a total waste.
Just check my reaction to this perfume in my video above to see and feel what I thought about it.
This is just plain toxic. It is awful, smells like liquid dishwashing soap mixed with bug spray.
Here are the notes as per the website:
But here is the best part - They are sold out!
I don't get it and still hate it despite the obvious hype. Sorry. F (Yep, Wall of Shame it is!).
So there it was, my February 2015 Bag.
Thank you so much for reading my blog and watching my YouTube videos! Share the love!
You know I love my Ipsy, but sometimes while most of the products to sample and try are outstanding, they will have this one month when it is just blah for me. This was the case with the February 2015 bag.
Ipsy is a sample subscription bag for which you pay $10 per month (the shipping is included). In it, you will receive 5 cosmetics/skincare samples (there is always a full size, or two). They really are fun to receive each month and the best part is their customer relations. Once you are subscribed and start receiving your bags, you can review each item and receive points for your review. When someone subscribes to Ipsy under your referral link, you also earn points. Those points will in turn allow you to order more samples for your next bag! How awesome is that?
To me it is well worth the $10 regardless of whether it is a good bag or not. I get to sample new products, in particular makeup, without breaking the bank, and because they are mostly samples as opposed to full size, I can toss them later on without feeling a huge waste. It's a win-win no matter what. You can get your own bag here.
This is my open-bag video for the February 2015 Ipsy Glam Bag:
 |
| Ipsy Glam Bag - February 2015 |
1. Mitchell and Peach - Flora No. 1 - Fine Radiance Face Oil - $40
 |
| Image Source |
, you can wear them alone or under a moisturizer for added benefits. I have so many samples at home, it is not hard for me to compare them against one another. This one, by a British brand I had never heard of, contains coconut oil, Vitamin E, Vitamin B, Apricot Kernel Oil, Wheat Germ Oil and is mildly astringent. The website boasts that it will fight against oxidizing stress, say for instance pollutants etc. In all, these are great ingredients for your face.Overall, I felt this was a good standard face oil, it does not have any pungent overpowering scent and did not leave my skin shinny, sticky or oily. It does the job and that is really all I ask from a face oil. I cannot say that I have noticed any significant improvement in both tone and texture on my face, but I shall assume that only prolonged use would make a difference.
Here is a little bit of a rant. When a company sells a product at over $40 for a very small amount (0.67 oz for the full size), it is poor marketing to offer samples in bottles that are practically impossible to extract the product from. I do not think it would have cost Mitchell and Peach all that much to add a plastic dropper or even no dropper at all to their sample bottle instead of the French Dropper, which is basically a tiny hole. One has to shake this thing multiple times in order to extract one tiny droplet and I just do not have time to deal with this kind of frustration and ended up removing the plastic cap all together so that I could access the product myself and without hassle.
Other than that, it is standard, not one I would rush to purchase. I still like the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Skin Therapy Face Oil
best (it's affordable) but if you want a bit of fancy, I recommend the Sonoma Naturals Chia Anti Oxidant Facial Serum. This Mitchell and Peach was just okay for me. Or, you can check more Face Oils
on Amazon
. B.2. Model Co. - Blush in Cosmopolitan Peach Bellini - $22
 |
| Image Source |
I do not think I ever was disappointed by a Model Co. product. It does help that I obsess over blush colors a bit too much to find myself excited about receiving yet another one (mind you I just went through a makeup graveyard series and tossed at least 15 blushes out of my collection, you can watch it here).
That being said, this blush looks matte at first glance (my favorite type of finish), however, it is loaded, and I mean loaded with gold shimmer so much so that to me, it is unwearable as a blush or a highlighter even.
Now, for a young girl who goes out a lot and wants her face to sparkle, this is just perfect, but for crying out loud, I am 44 with lots of fine wrinkles, I do not need to accentuate them with a shimmer or anything glittery.
This may be a good highlighter and I think it would actually be appropriate as an eye shadow as well. So I am going to call it versatile! I am giving it a A- for the formula but a C+ for the finish.
3. Medusa's Makeup - Eyeshadow in Headhunter - $8
 |
| Image Source |
You all know by now that I am a sucker for eye shadows and that purple is my favorite color. I wear purple eye shadows most of the time.
Could Ipsy find a better match? I think not!
This is a great brand, though a bit funky for my age, just visit the website and you will know what I mean from the front page on.
This shadow is beautiful, an iris color that translate as having more grey in it on my fair skin tone. No shimmer, beautiful as a contour or transition color. Stays on nicely, easy to apply with no fall out. Great, great, great! A-. Why not A+? It is Made in China.
4. China Glaze - Glitter Nail Polish in Marry a Millionaire - $7- $9
Glitter nail polishes take FOREVER to be removed. They are gritty, no matter what base coat you use, and one needs to soak nails with acetone or remover far too long in order to remove the stuff. That reason alone should be enough to get me to stop pretending I like glitter on my nails. But I do though, I like the way they shine and reflect the light, they are just too darn difficult to remove.
So, what do I think of this one?
The color is beautiful, a rich iris, amethyst color with silver and dark purple glitter. It just sparkles all over.
As a stand alone polish, I regretted trying it on all my nails (as mentioned above, it was way too awful to get rid of it) but as an accent nail over another color...just beautiful!
For once, China Glaze disappointed. Matter of fact, I cannot even find this shade on their site (Marry a Millionaire).
I still love the brand best and my favorite from them is Fifth Avenue
.I am giving Marry a Millionaire a B+ for the color but a D for the formula.
5. Joya - No. 1 Parfum Oil - $30
 |
| Image from Ipsy website |
Just check my reaction to this perfume in my video above to see and feel what I thought about it.
This is just plain toxic. It is awful, smells like liquid dishwashing soap mixed with bug spray.
Here are the notes as per the website:
Top Notes: sparkling Italian mandarin, Brazilian orange and fresh quince.
Heart notes: heliotrope petals, tuberose, jasmine, camellia and Damask rose.
Dry down notes: creamy sandalwood, pale musk and a hint of tonka bean.
I am not a perfume maker, so I really cannot judge on the amount of scents they put in there. But to me, less is more. It is sort of like when you mix too many colors together, the result will be a weird brown in the end. This is the brown perfume to me!
But here is the best part - They are sold out!
I don't get it and still hate it despite the obvious hype. Sorry. F (Yep, Wall of Shame it is!).
**************************************
So there it was, my February 2015 Bag.
Thank you so much for reading my blog and watching my YouTube videos! Share the love!
Sophia, NJ
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