July Ipsy Review

A primer for the uninitiated. Ipsy is a $10 a month beauty subscription service that sends subscribers a unique bag design, and 5 items ranging from skincare, hair care, makeup, tools, polish and fragrances. Items are curated for subscribers based on a personal profile that is set up upon subscription. Disgusting, I know but it was my first and gateway subscription, leading to Birchbox, Target and now Sephora Play! but so far I want to say Ipsy does it best. The items are more closely tailored to my preferences than any of the other subscriptions, thus far, and the points system is superior to Birchbox (if you can manage to earn enough points, that is). The sample sizes are pretty decent and often include deluxe and full sized items. One thing to note though is that Ipsy's  inventory ranges from high end to drugstore so if that is an issue for you you may want to opt for Sephora Play! which has better sample sizes and more makeup items or Birchbox which has high end products and the occasional full sized item.

Quick and to the pointless: not the best month, Ipsy. Not bad, just not the best. This month was a collaboration with the Sanrio character Gudetama, the world's laziest egg. I see a depressed egg and I'm pretty sure if he had an opposable thumb he'd pull the trigger. Poor little guy. I can't say I'm a fan of the bag design, nor am I a fan of the zipper position but it's very well constructed. The bag has a bit of a pearlized finish, a matching yellow satin lining and the outside feels waterproof/easy to clean. The contents were equally underwhelming: staples but boring. Side note: I've already updated my profile last month to mix up the items I will receive but I believe it takes a month or two to for any changes to reflect. This month's bag included:

• Tarte Cosmetics Rainforest of the Sea Deep Dive Cleansing Gel - $1.25, CF
• mPrincess Pressed Eyeshadow in Biscuit - $15.45 Full Sized
• Ciaté London Wonderwand Gel-Kohl Hybrid Liner in Black -  $9.82, CF
• Jersey Shore Cosmetics Mandarin Green Orange & Ginger Mongongo Lip Conditioner -  $10 Full Sized, CF
• Beau Gâchis Illuminator Brush - $9.95, CF, V

Why is it still sideways?!

I've seen bloggers and vloggers clamoring over Tarte Cosmetics Rainforest of the Sea Deep Dive Cleansing Gelb ut I can't bring myself to care. It's not a bad cleanser. I mean, It's a cleanser. It didn't have a scent and it lathered and cleaned like it was supposed to. This product produced a healthy amount of lather and washed off easily. It left my face feeling neither stripped nor coated. Unfortunately 7.5mL is such a teensy tiny size. I've grown used to seeing my face cleansers being no less than 10mL over the past few months.

mPrincess Pressed Eyeshadow in Biscuit

I got mPrincess Pressed Eyeshadow in Biscuit and I love that Ipsy attempted to get me out of my shell with a different shade but I hated this shadow. One obvious issue with it was the shade. I lightened my skin tone on my profile to tan/olive which is the third darkest shade to see if I would get any different shades of shadow instead of just the brown shades I always get. I want to say that it was a poor choice but honestly, even Alicia Keys wouldn't be able to pull this off with her tone. This "beige" was a cream tone that was just below white. It had a satin finish but my god was this dry and powdery and difficult to swatch. I don't know if a brush would be able to pick up any product and using my finger to swatch felt like a futile effort. ETA: Lastly, I absolutely hate the packaging. It's pretty cheap flimsy plastic that doesn't clasp and just doesn't feel very durable or secure. I would expect this from like a late 90's Covergirl or ELF Essentials or something.

Ciaté London Wonderwand Gel-Kohl Hybrid Liner

I love getting Ciaté London products in my bag and I'm typically alright with getting liners. The Wonderwand Gel-Kohl Hybrid Liner is pretty nice. It's a black wooden pencil liner and it's creamy enough to work with but not so creamy that it's a hot mess. It doesn't tug at my eye but it does apply very easily and it is a dream to tightline with. It also has a brush at one end to smudge out liner with (a look that I personally do not enjoy) and while it smudges pretty easily it stays put after a few seconds. The one draw back I've found with this liner is that it's awful to use in the butt-sweatiest part of Summer that is late-July. In all fairness to this liner, that's any eyeliner that I've tried though. I think my tightline has found its way down to my mid-cheek by the end of a 9 hour work day. Damn these oily glands (gross though).

Jersey Shore Cosmetics Lip Conditioner

Praise the Lawd! (uhh...what just happened?) A new lip balm. This month it's the Jersey Shore Cosmetics Mandarin Green Orange & Ginger Mongongo Lip Conditioner. I know it's a boring item but it has a RV of $10 which is obscene but it smells amazing! It's very crisp and citrusy smelling and it just reeks of summertime but without the endless ball sweat. Sorry guys, I'm playing this one blue tonight. It's the third balm that I've received from Jersey Shore Cosmetics so far and the Coconut and Mango balm I received last August is just about dead. I have enough balm to last me about 3 years but I'm still thrilled. It's my kink, I guess.

Beau Gâchis Illuminating Brush

I love getting a good brush and this month I got the Beau Gâchis Illuminator Brush. I'm not quite sure how to use this but it's very soft but still somewhat dense. It would be a nice flat fluffy eye brush but it's too large to use on my eye, if that helps describe it at all. So far my true highlighters look a little ashy and it's just too hot and humid outside for me to feel comfortable highlighting or wearing a full face of foundation. Breaking my self-imposed no buy: I need to go out and see if I can find a drugstore tinted moisturizer or super sheer coverage foundation and for the love of Christ, not E.L.F. I don't feel like oxidizing orange, tyvm!

The Breakdown:
The bag this month was worth $46.47. That's pretty good. The bag itself isn't my style but it's durable and waterproof and I can see how other people would think a Sanrio character is just the cutest thing ever. I was excited to get a lip balm, a highlighting brush and I was ok with the idea of another black eyeliner, this one in the traditional wood pencil form. I was less than thrilled with a cleanser that I will still get use out of and was just flat out disappointed in a shadow that 1) did not work with my skin tone and 2) was just a godawful texture. I wasn't disappointed in my bag but I am trying to branch out of my comfort zone with shades and products.