Ipsy Bag: June 2014

I should really call this "A Tale of Two Bags" this month. My original bag arrived reeking of perfume and beach spray, so they sent me a second one. Hooray Ipsy. I'm hoping that it doesn't turn into another Augustember. But if it does, I am totally prepared to post a "Junly 2014" bag.

The Goodies

Nyx Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee

Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray

Be A Bombshell Lash Out Mascara

Ofra Universal Brow Pencil

Realtree For Her Eau de Parfum

(The reason I ended up with two bags this month is the Realtree perfume and the beach spray stuff. Thankfully, the perfume was in it's own bag, and only ruined itself...the beach spray leaked all over everything else. The box that the mascara was in was a total wash, and I had to wipe down the lip gloss and brow pencil with a Lysol wipe. I'm hoping that this bag will survive a run through the washing machine, because I actually like this one.)

boooo leaky things!

Swatches on my hand

My Thoughts

Nyx Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee

It is no secret by now that I am a huge Nyx fangirl. 99% of the stuff they make I am in love with. This stuff is no different. Surprisingly, this is my first Butter Gloss. I am not the biggest fan of lip glosses. Years of long hair have made me wary of sticky things. But this stuff is amazingly non-sticky. It is also the near-perfect nude gloss for pretty much all skintones. Depending on how thickly you apply it, it can be a sheer wash of color or a rich pink flush. I think this will be in heavy rotation in my day-to-day look.

Ofra Universal Brow Pencil

This pencil...I'm torn. On one hand, it is pretty damned close to universal coloring...on the other, it's so soft and smudgy that I personally find it to be unusable. I have a heavy hand, which is why I like harder/dryer brow products like the Anastasia Brow Wiz. Besides the fact that it is super difficult to over-use, it lasts all day on my face. The first time I used it, the tip broke off and fell down my sleeve. Not impressive for a $13 pencil.

Be A Bombshell Mascara

After the win that was the Bora Bora quad, I was looking forward to checking out the mascara. When I cracked open the tube, I was assaulted with a plasticky/chemical smell. Super off-putting. After googling around a bit, I found that the vast majority of people felt the same way. It is definitely the "WTF product" this month. The husband says it smells like an old magic marker...and he's right. For the sake of science, I attempted to apply this stuff. Even waving the wand near my face was suffocating, and the fumes coming off my lashes after applying burned my eyes. You know, I could deal with a horrible odor if this stuff were magical lash-promoting toxic sludge...but it's not. I literally saw no difference. It barely even darkened my lashes, which is the bare minimum I require from a lash darkening product like mascara. Stay away.

Dream Waves Beach Spray

I don't mind the smell of this stuff...which is good because it leaked and now my living room and mailbox smell like warm coconut oil. I tried this on my hair...which, lets be honest here, isn't the target market for a product like this. On the plus side, it gave my hair some texture (though not waves. It's not magic) and didn't leave me feeling crisp. On the negative side, 3 hours later I can still smell it on my hair and clothes. It also left me with a weird residue on my hands after attempting to  "scrunch" it. This was definitely a miss for me, personally.

Realtree eau de parfum

I would love to review this. Really. I am generally a big fan of fragrances, and the description seems interesting. But it leaked. Almost completely empty. And the overpowering coconut smell from the beach spray clings to the bag and (somehow) the spritzer inside. I wiped the container down with alcohol, and managed to get the broken cap off to get at whatever might be left inside. Such a shame, because this is actually a really pretty, feminine scent. I would definitely consider purchasing this.

And now, my face! I used the brow pencil, which is just ok, and the awful mascara. I love that butter gloss, so that was a home run. I applied the beach waves stuff to my damp hair...and nothing. A bit of frizz and texture, but that is it.

my face after using the mascara

It remains to be seen if Ipsy will send my replacement bag in a timely manner. As yet, I haven't gotten a shipping confirmation or anything like that. But if you would like to check out Ipsy, please consider using my referral link.