Ipsy Glam Bag : Beauty Rocks : Apr. ’14

I received my April Glam Bag from Ipsy, yesterday; I had very mixed feelings about this one. Ipsy is the one beauty subscription services I’ve held on to since I went on my subscription box binge beginning in Summer 2012. I got bored with Glossybox, Julep Maven and downright fed-up with Birchbox but Ipsy, I stayed with for well over a year now. I still look forward to my monthly bag of goodies but some months are not as awe-inspiring as others. Some can be pretty disappointing, actually. April was one of those months for me and for several reasons: Some of the products are good products, perfectly fine, but they’re just not awesome. Some arrived damaged this month and caused some extreme disappointment. I really like the design on the bag this month. I’d love it more if it didn’t actually say “Ipsy” on the record but, hey, that’s branding. I also love that all the products I received this month are made in the USA; that’s pretty neat. (I’m not actually 100% sure where the Cailyn lip balm was made, it doesn’t say on the bottle.)

• Cailyn – Tinted Lip Balm in Apple Pink – I like the color I received; It’s the kind of color I would totally pick out for myself. I would’ve liked to have been sent Acid Pink, though. That’s not a color I would normally choose and one of the main reasons I started with cosmetics subscriptions was to be challenged and try products and colors I normally wouldn’t. When paying $19 for a lip balm, you’re going to select the one you feel most comfortable with, one you know you’ll use. For $10 and a surprise with no guarantees, I want to be shocked more, scared even. What made this product a real disappointment for me wasn’t the color, however. This product came half full. One side of the container is pretty full to the top and it just slopes down, barely covering the bottom on the other side. (That’s a bit confusing to explain: It looks like the product melted while being stored on it’s side. Still, the container wasn’t filled with product so there was ample room to move to one side.)

• Urban Decay – 24/7 Velvet Glide-on Eye Pencil in Black – Urban Decay 24/7 pencils are my absolute favorite liners ever. I am never disappointed to received these and always have them in my makeup case. Never a disappointed. I could complain that this product is nothing new and nothing out of my comfort zone as I did above with the Cailyn color but I don’t want to. I love these pencils and will never complain about getting them. I have them in many shades and colors and use them almost daily.

• Demeter – Roll on Perfume Oil in Jasmine – Not “wowed” by this product at all, it does smell nice… It smells like Jasmine. I find it a bit odd that Demeter encourages the use of multiple scents. I suppose it makes some sense: Why smell like Jasmine when you can smell like Jasmine and [blank]? I don’t know. I’m more of a one scent kind of gal. Not disappointed with this product but not excited about it either.

• Dr. Brandt – Microdermabrasion scrub – Like every scrub or lotion I receive from Ipsy, I’ll use it but I’m not thrilled about receiving it. It smells terrific! It feels really nice too. I also really like any Dr. Brandt product I’ve received but still not “wowed”.

• Elizabeth Mott – Pop! Goes the Shadow in Champagne – First of all, I’m getting bored with the Elizabeth Mott products; they’re not that great. Second, my eye shadow arrived completely broken up. It’s more of a dust shadow now. Such a huge disappointment. The color is nice and I hope to get to use it properly sometime but it’s a mess. I can’t even open it without losing product every time when it comes spilling out of it’s cheap container. Party foul, Ipsy.

By redeeming Ipsy points I’ve accrued, I also got a 6th product this month:

• TokyoMilk Dark by Margot Elena – Slated Caramel Lip Elixir – This stuff is pretty amazing so far. It smells fantastic! It feels pretty fab too and even tastes great. My mom gave it a try and loved it also. I’m so happy with this product and love that Ipsy offers that points reward system to earn extra products but I shouldn’t have to rely on the extras to make my monthly experience worthwhile. This may have been the month I threw in the towel had I not received this lip elixir.

One more gripe, since I’m griping: The selection of products that Ipsters can redeem their Ipsy points for needs to change more frequently. As of present, I have no other options allowed to me until they add a new item to choose from since I’ve gotten them all. And thats not because I do not want doubles, I would order another TokyoMilk Elixir in a second if I could. I have plenty of Ipsy points to spend and want to get my hands on more products! (Don’t we all?) The options seem to stay up on the site for months, perhaps until they sell out?

Had it not been for the Urban Decay liner and the TokyoMilk Lip Elixir, I would’ve been a very unhappy Ipster this month. I’m pretty unhappy as is but I would’ve been uber disappointed otherwise.

Thanks for reading! I’ve been getting a lot of feedback recently in spite of my lack of posting and I’m so happy you guys are reading! There’s nothing I like more than comments! If you’re interested in signing up with Ipsy, please follow my link to sign up. Once you’re an Ipsy subscriber, you’ll be provided with your own personalized link and when your readers sign up using it, you’ll earn Ipsy Points. If you’re going to sign up, clicking my link earns me those points and it is always mucho appreciated: Sign Up with Ipsy

In other news: I posted last month about my car accident. My collarbone is almost 100% and last week I purchased a new-new car. I’m now rolling in a new VW Passat and feeling very grown-up! Thanks for the kind messages and emails while I was healing, it means a lot. After a bit of a rough patch, it seems things are coming back together nicely and I’ll have the pleasure of posting more frequently. Thanks again for reading and all the support!

Love, GK