Somehow I think I accidentally skipped last month’s Ipsy bag and never got a review up, and since we’re well into June – I didn’t want to make the same mistake with this bag! Especially since it’s a good ‘un.

First I’ll start with the bag itself… it’s one of my favorites to date! It’s soft and has a gorgeous design and it feels really summery. Unlike some of the slightly more plastic-feeling bags, this one just has that “natural” and “simplistic” vibe. I can definitely see myself using this one often for overnight trips or just for tossing in my purse when I need to bring a few products with me for whatever reason. I really appreciate that Ipsy makes the bag an important part of the presentation, and I use all my various bags for tons of different things.

Here’s what was inside this month:

Avéne Thermal Spring Water: This was a funny item to get in this month’s Ipsy bag. Generally I would have been like “wtf this is just a can that sprays water on your face” but I got it right in the midst of my horrendous sunburn – and I can’t tell you how amazing it felt on my burnt skin. That’s not to say a spray bottle filled with water couldn’t do the same thing but having water in aerosol form during a sunburn was kind of magical. I can’t see myself singing this product’s praises on any sort of normal day, however. If your skin isn’t burnt to a crisp and crying out for the gentle mist the Avéne Thermal Spring Water can offer… it’s just water in a can.

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer: I’m gonna be honest; I’m still not totally certain how to wear bronzer. And this particular bronzer seems extremely dark, in my opinion. I read that a good bronzer should only be about two shades darker than your actual skin tone… I feel like if I used this one, it would look like I rubbed chocolate all over my face. So I haven’t tried it yet. I do like Too Faced though, so I’m sure I will figure out something to do with it.

Hang Ten Natural Sunscreen in SPF 50: Similarly to the Thermal Spring Water, on any normal day, this would just be a tube of sunscreen. But because I started this summer off with the Worst Sunburn Of My Life, I was happy to receive anything to help prevent it happening again. This is pretty basic sunscreen, but the packaging is cute and it fits in my purse, so kudos to ipsy for keeping our skin safe and beautiful this summer.

Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask: I think this is the third hair mask I have gotten from Ipsy in the past few months. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it’s been sort of nice to try out the different brands to get a sense for which ones I like. I wouldn’t mind getting a little more diversity in the products I receive, but that’s not to say I don’t like hair masks – I just think three is a little excessive. They all do basically the same thing. This one claims to repair and strengthen (which is something I’ve been looking for in a product since I have naturally fine and sort of limp hair) so we’ll see if it delivers!

Pacifica Natural Beauty in Duo 1: A cute little eyeshadow duo! I’m always down for more simple base colors to toss in my makeup bag, and this one did not disappoint. The shadows have just the right amount of shimmer/sheen, they work nicely together, and the packaging boasts the product to be cruelty free – which is always a plus. That’s something I often need to look up myself when I get Ipsy bags in the mail so I appreciate it when companies put it right there on the label.

Despite sometimes being displeased with a certain product here or there, I’ve been extremely happy with Ipsy and it’s a lot of fun getting a bag full of surprises each month. If you’d like to join in the fun, sign up here!

Let me know if you’re already subscribed and which products you got last month!

I’m about to go out of town to film a secret project, but before I hit the road I figured I had enough time to get this ipsy Glam Bag review in. There was a very diverse assortment of products this month, which was exciting. I tried them all this morning amid furiously packing so my face looks sort of crazy. Also I only have one fingernail painted. It happens to the best of us.

Jesse’s Girl Eye Color Collection in “Behind Blue Eyes”: This is sort of a fun little palette! The colors aren’t extremely pigmented, but they get the job done! For a blonde like me, this collection of blues and grays is a fail safe product to toss in an overnight bag for those mornings away from your normal makeup collection. I gave it a little try this morning and was happy enough with the results, but I can’t wait to leave it at my boyfriend’s apartment and really try it out there.

Pop Beauty lip gloss in “Peony Petal”: You probably know this about me if you’ve been following my blog and reading these posts month after month, but I am not a fan of lip gloss. It makes my lips feel sticky, my hair always manages to get stuck in it, and it stops looking good after about twenty minutes. That being said, I didn’t have as many of those problems with this one. The color is nice, it smells great and was slightly less sticky than your average lip gloss. So, I give it a B.

Mally Evercolor Starlight Waterproof Liner in “Starshine”: I feel like I complained about getting a light silver eyeliner relatively recently, didn’t I? Getting another one makes me feel like maybe there’s something I’m missing here. At first try I still don’t see the point, but my goal this month is to figure out how the heck to use such a light eyeliner.

Zoya Professional Lacquer in “Odette”: More nail polish. I have nothing to say about nail polish! It’s a nice color I guess? I have too much! No more nail polish, ipsy! It’s all the same to me!

Uberliss Straight Effect RituOil: This is the kind of stuff I really like getting in my ipsy bag: totally new products I didn’t even know existed! Hair oil? Good oil for your hair? I’ve recently started straightening and curling my hair more than usual, so having more products to soften and protect my locks is a good thing for sure. Kind of early to know I’d keep using this long term, but it did make my hair shinier.

Benefit High Beam Complexion Enhancer: I’ve never used anything like this before. From reading the instructions I gather that you apply this product over your makeup to sort of add an additional glow to your cheek or brow bones. I have no idea if I did it right. It was a little more sparkly where I applied it but overall I didn’t see much of a difference. I do really like Benefit products though, so again, another goal for the month: master the complexion enhancer.

As usual, if you want to sign up for ipsy, you can help me earn more insider points by signing up using this link! Insider points give me access to more free products, like the High Beam I got this month. It’s a lot of fun! Let me know if you got any of these products this month and what your thoughts were.

Got my ipsy bag for the month! This one contained an unusual array of products; it’s probably the most diverse ipsy bag I’ve received yet. I love the design on the bag this month, but it smelled quite plastic-y when I first opened it. It may take awhile for that smell to dissipate, unfortunately.

Anyway I tried all the products between yesterday and today, so here are my thoughts!

1. Deep Conditioning Mask by Briogeo: I’m not particularly picky about hair products, so I am always down to try something new! Generally I switch between a higher end shampoo/conditioner (Joico Body Luxe) and a middle of the road set (L’Oreal Everstrong) but I’ve never tried a hair mask of any sort. I read that it’s good to leave this stuff on for 3-5 minutes once or twice a week, so I won’t know how much I really like it until I’ve used it a few times – but already I can tell my hair is pleased with the results. Especially during the dry winter months I can really see this being something I will likely add into my normal routine, since my hair has felt brittle and sad since it started getting colder. Unfortunately I have nothing to compare the brand itself to, but I at least give hair masks in general a thumbs up.

2. Tinted Lip Balm by MICA Beauty Cosmetics in “#6 Fiesta”: To start, I really love the color and feel of this lip balm. I don’t have many lip products that come in a pot like this one, and I think they’re fine for applying makeup at home, but would be terrible on the go. After applying, my finger was (naturally) covered in the residual balm and I had to hunt down a tissue to get it off. Verdict: Lovely purpley pink color but I’d take lipstick with an applicator over this any day.

3. Smooth Shadow Creamy Eye Pencil by Elizabeth Mott in “Pearl”: This isn’t the first time ipsy has sent me a product like this. It claims it’s a shadow on the packaging, but it’s so thin it has to be an eyeliner. I tried it on my bottom waterline and it’s kind of pretty, but hardly noticeable against my fair skin. Send me brighter colors, ipsy!

4. Mark Fading Pads by Proactiv: They sent me four little testers of this product, though it’s definitely one of those items you’ll want to work into your daily facial regiment to see any real results. I used to be one of those people who had an entire arsenal of acne-ridding products I cycled through each day, but the more I research acne prevention the more I’m starting to come around to the “less is more” mentality. I still have problem skin but I have been experimenting with just a gentle cleanser morning and night and exfoliating once a week or so with a sea salt scrub. It’s been working relatively well for me. This has been a long tangent basically to say I’m hesitant to try this product because I have been trying not to overdo it with my skin and if this one aggravates it, I’ll be setting myself back. So I won’t be trying this one, at least night right now.

5. Moisturizing Face Lotion by Nourish Organic in “Argan + Rosewater”: Seems to be another standard moisturizer. I tried it this morning. It smelled a little off, but felt nice enough on my skin. I use Clean and Clear Dual Action Oil Free Moisturizer (surprisingly great product) but this one seems good enough to toss into my travel bag.

It’s felt a bit, lately, like I’ve been more unhappy than excited about the contents of my ipsy bags, but I realized lately that I actually enjoy testing products regardless of whether or not they make it into my official makeup bag. I still consider myself a bit of a makeup n00b, and I’m very inexperienced with many types of products. This subscription is cheap enough that I feel like I am doing something productive by learning about products even when ultimately the verdict is “never buy lip balms that come in pots”. As long as I like 1-2 of the products in each bag (which I always do) then personally, I still consider that month a success.

If you want to subscribe to ipsy, you can use this link here, which will give me ipsy points for the referral that I can trade in for fun new products!

I am super late on this, but I’m still using NaNoWriMo and Christmas as an excuse. The products are still new to me, so let’s do this thang!

November’s Gold Ipsy Bag:

-BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic Baked Eye Shadow in “Eclipse”: I haven’t historically been the biggest fan of BH Cosmetics eyeshadow, but I might have to make an exception for this one. The color is a shimmery purple – glittery eyeshadows can sometimes come across as a bit much, but the range of glitter colors in this particular eye shadow really do bring out a distinctly “galaxy” vibe. I don’t know how often I’ll use it, but the color is really neat.

-Be A Bombshell Lip Crayon in “Shameless”: I love the color of this lip crayon. It’s not a color that would jump out to me on a shelf, but I really like it. I usually like my lip products to be a bit more on the lip-stain side, but this crayon surprised me.

-EM Michelle Phan Waterliner in “Royal Amethyst”: I am always down to try a new waterliner. I’ve been branching out to colors other than black, and this purpley hue actually goes quite well with the “Eclipse” eyeshadow.

-Star Looks Gem Pencil in “Topaz”:  I don’t understand the point of light silvery liners. I haven’t found a way to use it yet that does it any justice, though I will say it’s a much brighter silver than most others I’ve tried. I think it will have to be a detail makeup product, because I can’t see it standing out enough on its own.

-Pixi Beauty Bronzer in “Subtly Suntouched”: I am fiercely dedicated to my Benefit blush right now, so it was hard for me to give this new blush a try. I do like Pixi brand makeup a lot though, so I’ll be honest and say it’s a nice, subtle color that I can see myself tossing in a makeup bag for a sunny vacation where I won’t be wearing much makeup. It’s nice. A bit sparkly too, which I like.

Nailtini Nailpolish in “Champagne”: It’s a very pretty color (actually one of my favorite colors ot wear on my nails, so +2 points for that), but I really wish ipsy would stop sending me nail polish. I will never use it all.

December Black Ipsy Bag:

-Pop Beauty Eye Shadow trio in “Smokin’ Hot”: I just can’t get my mind past the fact that the packaging looks incredibly cheap. I don’t know much about Pop Beauty brand makeup, but it’s packaged like a Wet N Wild product. I don’t wear black/silver/white very often, so I’m sure it’ll come in useful when I find myself needing these colors, but I’ll be honest and say I haven’t actually opened this one yet.

-J. Cat Beauty The Big Lip Pencil in “Red Rose”: Super bright, super red, and very easy to apply. If and when I need my lips to be THE BRIGHTEST RED, this product will be perfect. Until then, it will sit in my makeup bag.

-Mirabella Eye Blender: The only blending brush I have and use consistently is more of a short, stubby one, so this brush was sort of new terrain for me. The bristles are so long! I haven’t really gotten a good handle on how to use it yet, but it’s soft and surprisingly high quality and I am happy to add it to my collection.

-Be A Bombshell The One Stick in “Sunset”: I literally have no idea what you’re supposed to use a one stick for. Everything, apparently? I tried using this thing as blush and it worked alright, but as I said, I already have a blush I use pretty much every day. This thing kind of freaks me out, as does most makeup you can use all over.

Okay I just looked it up and apparently you can use a one stick for cheeks, eyes and lips. What!?? What kind of witchcraft is this thing? Apparently I need to go back for further testing.

-Salon Perfect False Eyelashes in “53 Black”: I was very pleasantly surprised to get falsies in this month’s ipsy! I don’t wear false eyelashes that often, but I do really like them. These ones, believe it or not, are actually kind of on the smaller end for me. I’m glad to have another set though (perhaps to wear to more sensible events), and I love the brands that include eyelash adhesive.

You can sign up for ipsy as well if you want to receive these fun little makeup bags each month! It’s just $10 a month and you definitely get much more than $10 worth of products. Here’s my referral link; if you sign up using it I’ll get ipsy points I can use to try more products!