Ipsy Bag July

My Ipsy bag finally arrived! I was really hoping for the perfume this time around...but alas I did not get it. I did get some other cool stuff though, so I'm a happy camper!

The Goodies:

Nailtini polish in Mai Tai

Coola Mineral Sunscreen

BH Cosmetics California CollectionTrio

POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray

A NEON pink bag (like it was meant just for me!)

The first thing I tried was the lip crayon. I love these things in general, so I was happy to get this to try. I kinda love the formula, and it has a very nice cooling effect. But the color...I got Coral Crush, and I just don't think it's for me. Plus, it seemed to enjoy highlighting every flaw on my lip. On the upside, it has great lasting power. I think I wore this for about five hours with minimal fading. If I get the chance, I may pick up a different color. (I'm jealous of that fuschia that other folks got.)

in my lightbox

indirect natural light

a very thin layer, blended out with my finger.

I have never tried BH Cosmetics eyeshadows, but I was definitely curious since they are a wallet-friendly brand with some loud-looking colors. The gold color, Malibu, was decently pigmented. The other two, San Francisco and Hollywood, notsomuch. The picture below is two swipes with my finger on bare skin. I tried them with NYX Milk underneath, and the purple is still pretty muted. Bummer. The other two do blend nicely together, and I can see myself wearing them at least once.

top to bottom: Malibu, San Francisco, and Hollywood

Now, of course, my favorite part! I had never tried Nailtini, so I was excited to give it a go. The bottle is tall and kinda narrow, as is the handle. That makes it super comfortable for those of us with long fingers to hold and control. The brush is a bit stiff, but it doesn't really get in the way of a smooth application. When I put my first coat on, I was almost giddy. This had the potential for a two coater....had. I applied a second coat...and there were still as many streaks as there were with the first coat. WTF. It took me 3 coats to cover the streaks and the nail line. Damn, so close to perfection! I really didn't care for the color I received, Mai Tai, when I saw it in the bottle. It looked like a dusty red-orange cream. Completely uncompelling. But once I got it on, I really liked it. It actually suits me well in natural light, and actually makes me look a little tanned. Streaks notwithstanding, I am a fan of this polish.

3 coats of racecar orange!

I tried the beach spray, and it's not bad. It smells faintly like tropical flowers, which I don't mind. It makes my hair feel a bit like the DIY version I made, but I far prefer the smell and the nozzle on the Sexy Hair version. But I'm really not the target market for this stuff. My hair is quite short at the moment, so I don't really get the "beachy waves" so much as "kinda wavy old lady hair". I'll still use it, because its great stuff in general for lazy hair days.

I think I'm in love with that sunscreen! It has a faint plasticky smell, but it dissapated quickly. I was temporarily horrified, because it gave me a faint white caste. But the saving grace was that it dried completely matte. I mean no shine whatsoever. My big gripe with sunscreens is the sheen they all leave on my face. I hate it so much. But this stuff had none of that. I used the Olay bb cream/tinted moisturizer, and it seems to really like the Coola. My face is far less shiny than usual, and the only thing I've changed is my sunscreen. I can't recommend this stuff enough. When I run out of my current sunscreen, I am definitely buying this!