For those of you who are unfamiliar,
Ipsy is a $10 a month subscription that sends members a makeup bag with 5 beauty, skincare or hair care items. Items vary in size from sample to full sized and range from drugstore to indie to high end labels. I've used Ipsy to build up a decent variety of makeup and tools for dirt cheep and I advise anybody trying to build up a starter hoard of makeup on a budget to go about it this way.
May's theme is Go There and features a bag covered on one side with travel stamps. The bag is pretty sturdy vinyl and easy to clean. The bag side is a solid coral color and the inside is satin lined in bright orange. The products were very skincare heavy this month (yay!)
VenEffect has found its way back into my good graces with their micro-exfoliant after the February 2016 train wreck. This micro-exfoliant has everything I look for in a scrub: the very fine grit makes for the perfect amount of exfoliation without irritation and the polylactic microbeads are plant based and biodegradable. Net win!
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| Three coats of Bellini with a base and top coat with artificial daylight bulbs |
While I absolutely love the shade Bellini, I would argue that Adesse isn’t my favorite formula. I suppose it is great that it doesn’t take forever to dry but on the other hand, no pun intended, I am used to a thicker formula. This polish easily requires 3 coats for opacity and even then, it’s not full opacity. The shade though is a beautiful ballet slipper pink which plays a classy nude on my chewed up nails. It’s the only polish I have in this shade since I tend to lean lavender and periwinkle for reasons unknown to me.
PureHeals provided one of the strangest mud masks I’ve ever used. The trend lately has been charcoal in everything so I forgot what it is like to use a clay mask that doesn’t contain charcoal. What made this mask strange was the large flecks of what I can only assume was green tea. It reminded me of seaweed snacks, the way they flake if you don’t bite into them correctly. This in turn made me crave seaweed snacks, leading me to go to Costco, buy in bulk, come home and find that I bought sesame flavor (uck). I had some fun wandering around like Swamp Thing though. The mask left my skin feeling a little tight but not overly dry, not a dry patch in sight.
It might just be the humidity but I am not enjoying First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Hydrating Serum. I hate it so much that I cannot even attest to its hydration. It just feels like a sticky mess on my skin and doesn’t absorb well. I’ve taken to using it at night, a small amount mind you, and it leaves this sticky layer on my face that sticks to pillows and turns into a humid mess on my Cupid’s bow from my breathing. My entire face feels like I stuck it under the external dryer vent on the side of a house when it is muggy and 87° outside but the thunderstorm never arrives. And what’s worse is I
love humidity, I’m just very particular about certain textures and sensations on my face. The very thought of this sample just pisses me off to no end so... moving on!
A product I did love this month was the
Trèstique Mini Matte Blur Stick. I love a good mattifying primer and this one does the job well. I particularly love using this little guy sans makeup to eliminate the inevitable shine I will develop throughout the day. I also love the brand’s signature packaging (it’s so adorable) and how travel friendly it is. I would love if subscription boxes sent more mattifying primers and fewer pore filling ones as pore filling primers are often slightly tinted and leave an ashy cast whenever I use them.
This month was a skincare heavy bag which leads for more boring reviews but I loved just about everything I received and I will definitely get use out of all of my samples. My bag value was at about $46.84 and I like that it was items that will get used up and not sit and collect dust as I try to plow through a backlog (hello, eyeliners!)
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