August Ipsy Bag Review

Alright, so remember how I promised I would be patient and not sneak any peeks at my bag this month? Yeah well... that didn't happen. Once again, I was a little disappointed, until I got my items that is. And then I was still somehow a little disappointed afterward.

For those of you who aren't even reading this don't know, Ipsy is a $10 a month subscription service that sends 5 full, deluxe and sample sized products a month in a makeup bag that is usually pretty cute. Ipsy is one of the cheapest makeup subscription services out there (right next to Birchbox, which I haven't tried yet). If you a are interested in Birchbox reviews or want to see a comparison of Ipsy vs. Birchbox check out My Subscription Addiction.

I received my bag on August 16th and this month Ipsy only offered one beauty tool, which seemed uncommon. I've been a subscriber since April and it seems like they have at least two brushes per bag (or the dreaded nail file) but this month the only offering was a sponge.

I won the lottery and scored the Beau Gâchis Paris Pro Series Applicator Sponge. A two pack of this and another sponge runs for $28 on the store's site (at the time of this writing they are on sale for $23 for the duo pack). Ive been wanting to try a beauty sponge for a while now but I hadn't quite worked up the nerve to buy one so I'm extremely glad this rolled through that door...

A Roundup of My Favorite Blogs (Addendum)

I've fallen hard into watching beauty gurus on YouTube in the past two years but lately I've become a little disenfranchised with them. I don't feel like browsing through notes to see who is being honest with reviews and who is peddling an item, I don't care for the showmanship which may or may not be genuine, and really, after browsing way too many videos it feels like my go-to people are doing nothing but filler videos.

Let's be honest, I just like reading, and if I can't get quiet time to knock out a novel or a Netflix series, I can at least read a tv episode transcript or Google a one-off blog post.

Of all of the random Googlings I've done, I've encountered 4 blogs that I find myself routinely coming back to:

Brutally Honest Beauty (formerly Cheap as F*ck)-the name says it all, and I just love Lyn's tone. She speaks like a real person and really skips the bullshit. A reviewer, entertainer, and beauty therapist all in one.
Everything and Nothin'-Elisabeth is absolutely relatable, honest, has a wonderfully organized, easy to navigate site, and oh my god the freebies. I just recently started checking out her freebie section. I religiously visit this site for reviews though.
My Subscription Addiction-this site is aptly named. I'm very fortunate that this site exists because, working in a lab I make jack shit, and a few peanuts, in terms of income. That's where MSA comes in. The founder, Liz Cadman and husband are subscribed to like, a bajillion boxes, and they have other writers on the site for various nine boxes (I tend to follow Celicia Gantz, representing women of color). The site also has a swaps page and a directory for a slew of subscription services for almost every interest.
The Passenger Element-(named for Autolux?) I stumbled upon this site when I was looking for a swatch for Urban Decay's Lounge eyeshadow. This site is more to see what's new or up and coming when the author reviews items companies send to her. I do love that she is always straightforward about what she purchased on her own and what was sent for free by a company.

Update: This is a blog I failed to originally list in this post because it appears to be defunct. The last posting was in 2014. But I loved reading through it because it is smart and fairly analytical. After a long enough read the cynicism grew to be a little tiresome but a student's t test or chi squared test comparing Birchbox and Ipsy is always good for a laugh.

What happened to E.L.F. Cosmetics?

At one point in my life, as recently as two years ago, I found myself perusing the ELF (or Eyes Lips Face) Cosmetics at least once a week checking out the awesome deals they had on new products and best sellers. Hell, I even remember a time where I would see the brand in Target around Christmas time, see the name ELF and think "oh wow, how cute and festive!" (I was so adorable and ignorant back then). But I absolutely loved the brand, as hit-or-miss as they were. Let's back this up and have a little story time, shall we?