May 2015 Ipsy Unboxing

This month's Ipsy was a big ol' "meh" for me. As I'm getting more into beauty boxes that give me what I want, I find myself more and more unimpressed with Ipsy, and this is only my second bag. I'm going to keep my subscription and see where it goes, but I was largely unimpressed this month. If you would like to try it out, here's an invite link to join. I will say, though, that when I picked up my shiny pink bubble mailer, I was surprised at the weight, and finding a full-sized hair product in there. So let's start with that.

Oscar Blandi Hair Lift Mousse

This month, I got a full size mousse, which retails at $23, so right there, I got my money back for the subscription and then some. Ipsy uses a series of questions to determine your products, and since I described my hair as "needs volume," they sent this mousse, which I'm not completely unhappy with, because I was going to need to buy some soon anyway for a wedding, and as far as product goes, I've heard good things about the Oscar Blandi brand.

Glamglow Thirstycleanse Daily Hydrating Cleanser

Again, another product I've heard great things about. The instructions are intimidating though... rub into my dry skin, then get it wet, then keep rubbing, get it more wet, then rinse. It seems... complicated for a face wash. However, I've been told though (and this is a direct quote from my friend Palmer) "If their cleanser is half as good as their mask, Angels will straight up fly out of your pores and start singing and shitting kittens." It smells great...

Jesse's Girl Pure Pigment Eye Dust

Way to fucking cheap out, Ipsy. I have better quality eye products and feel like something you can get at a drug store for a dollar isn't great. Also, the color is poopy and unflattering. Pass.

Klorane Soothing and Relaxing Patches

I do tend to get tired, baggy eyes, so these might actually work okay for me. We'll see.

Luxie Beauty Tapered Blending Eye Brush 205

This was pretty much the only thing I was looking forward to this month, since I'm a makeup brush addict. It's cute, soft, and fluffy. It basically feels like your standard blending brush but I think it might be gentler than what I'm currently using. Would have liked it to be a tad bit denser, but over all, decent.

Boxycharm May 2015 Unboxing!

I decided to put my Julep box on hold this month to try Boxycharm, since I'd seen some unboxing videos and was pretty impressed that they send full-size products for only $21 a month. I feel like for a first box, May's was really nice. I noticed as I was accessing the pictures that some came out a little off in color, and that's probably due to the flash on my cell phone. Sorry.

This is one of those off-color photos

Bodyography Essential Brow Trio and Brow Brush

Honestly, the brow trio seems really nice, especially for people who want to try different brow colors based on their hair color (like right now, my hair isn't as dark, so my current brow powder seems a little off). I swiped a little of the darker color on my hand and it seems really well pigmented, so I'm looking forward to trying it (unfortunately, I forgot to pack it this weekend). The brush is nice because the bristle end is soft, but still stiff enough to fill in brows, and it's just nice to have a spoolie around, honestly, and having it on the other end means I won't lose it, like I'm always afraid will happen with my NYX brow cake spoolie.

Model Co. Bronze Shimmer

I will admit, I'm a little afraid of bronzer because a) they're usually shimmery, and b) I'm so pale I'm afraid I'll just make myself look dirty, rather than glowy. While this bronzer is shimmery, it's a really nice shade for my skin tone, so it feels less intimidating. Also, look at the size of it! This bronzer alone paid for the subscription and then some in value!

Lauren B. Beauty nail polish in "Sunset Blvd."

I had never heard of this brand before, but it's 5-free, cruelty free, and vegan. Normally, I wouldn't go for an orangey-shade (I guess this is more coral than anything) but I'm really excited to do a pedicure with it because it's a perfect summer color.

OMG

The Lip Bar lipstick in "Purple Rain"

Look at that packaging! So beautiful! The color is not something I would typically buy, and it scares me a little (I still haven't tried it yet, but my lips are really dry right now so if I'm going to test it, I want it to be on healthy lips). I was just really taken by the packaging (it even came in a little velvet pouch) and the vividness of the color. 

Total value of this box? $98.00! Remember, these are full-size products, not samples. Definitely keeping this subscription active! Ipsy will be my next post...

Birchbox May 2015 Unboxing

Since I don't have the ability to do videos, here's a blog post! I've been subscribing to Birchbox for three months now and this is the first box I've been disappointed in. If you would like to subscribe, here's a handy link.  Read on...

L to R: Juice Beauty Stem Cellular CC Cream, Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer, Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect, Coastal Scents Revealed 3 eyeshadow quad, Front: Harvey Prince Sincerely perfume

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular CC Cream
I actually kind of want to try this, since I've been thinking of moving from full-on foundation to a CC or BB cream, especially for summer where wearing full foundation is heavy and gross feeling.

Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer
I don't mind getting moisturizers, since I'm realizing I need to take better care of my aging skin, so the fact that I got a moisturizer isn't bad. The scent, however, is awful. It smells like oranges. I like to eat oranges, but I absolutely hate the smell of oranges. The fact that it smells like oranges does not make me want to rub it on my face, so it's going to be relegated to hand cream. It does absorb quickly, which is nice.

Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect
A detangler/leave in conditioner. Yay. I don't use detanglers/leave in products and no longer have long hair, so this will probably not get used. At least it doesn't smell horrible like the last one that got sent. Meh.

Coastal Scents Revealed 3 Eyeshadow Quad (Desert Bloom)
The colors in this are nice and rich, each a good compliment to the other, however I would definitely need a different highlight color as the gold in this quad is going to be too much for the browbone.

Harvey Prince Sincerely perfume
I hate getting perfume samples. Hate it. I don't like this fragrance, and a huge issue I have with getting perfume samples is Birchbox doesn't ask scent profile questions, so I keep getting all these gross florals and "soft" scents, and regardless of me choosing the options to get fewer perfume samples, I think they're putting them all in up front. I hate the scent, and I'll probably see if my niece likes it.


So this month was meh. I've already gotten a glimpse at my Ipsy and I'm already not impressed, so I'll write about that when it comes. I also signed up for Boxycharm, but I haven't gotten shipment confirmation so we'll see when that comes too.