I've heard some good and bad things about Ipsy, the bad being mostly that people began to get tried and bored of the products because they rarely received something that they would actually use. After more research into this, I noticed that you can do reviews after you've received your Glam Bag for the month. It's critical to do these particular reviews so that Ipsy can curate a better Glam Bag for you. Additionally, long waitlists tagged along with social media gimmicks have many people becoming frustrated with trying to grab a Glam Bag. I signed up for Ipsy just last month (April) and was put on this so called dreaded waitlist.
In order to be removed from the waitlist, one needed to connect one of their social media accounts (be it twitter or facebook) with Ipsy and basically promote Ipsy through the chosen account and just like that you're off the waitlist. Now when it comes to social media, no one wants to be that person, but I did find a rather common sense loophole through this. I went with my facebook account and shared whatever Ispy needed me to share, but set the settings for the post to 'just me' so that only I saw the promotional posts. Just like that, in under a minute, I was off their waitlist and ready to recieve a May Glam Bag. I could see how this can be annoying, but a little thing like this didn't bother me that much and took little time to resolve.
One of the main reasons why I decided to finally go with Ipsy was the price. At $10 (plus tax) and free shipping, a deal like this can't get any better especially when you're taking into consideration how expensive shipping costs alone can be. Another reason was that Ipsy seems to be more focused on makeup than skin/hair care products, and I'm always interested in trying out new makeup brands rather than skin/hair care products since I'm already pretty comfortable with the products I use now. Now I don't want to keep you any longer, so lets get on to the first impressions review!
I received five items in my Glam Bag, three being full size (if you count the brush as a product) and two being sample/mini sizes. The packaging was overall okay. The bag, wrapped in pink tissue paper with along with its card placed on top, came in a hot pink standard mail packaging bag. While it wasn't too aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it was understandable considering it's hard to package a bag of items rather than a box of items. The card was a cute touch, but I wish it had the products listed on them rather than having me hunt them down on the internet. The bag itself is clear plastic, which I've noticed this is becoming a huge trend again for bags. It also has an ice cream pattern which is adorable. The feel of this bag is a little cheap though, but for $10.00 a month, what do you expect. While this bag isn't entirely waterproof as you can see through the zipper when closed, it's still pretty good to use for areas like the beach or a pool. Since it's plastic, it's also easy to clean and won't get dirty, ensuring more uses out of it.
The first item (full size) I tried was the nail polish. It's a Gel Effect Nail Polish by the brand ADESSE New York and it's in the color Surfer Girl. Normally I would never choose this kind of nail color, I tend to go for oranges, pinks, and reds. However, after trying it on, I was pretty surprised that I liked the color. The photo above is showing only one coat of this polish on. It also dries extremely fast, which I was impressed by. Usually when nail polishes claim to dry fast or in 30 seconds, it never really works. This product goes for $18.00. It's also a good thing that I like this color, since I can't find my nail polish remover, so it looks like I'll be wearing this color for a few days. This product is also cruelty free, vegan, and made in the USA.
The second item (mini size) I tried is a Mini Matte Lip Crayon in the color Tuscan Wine from the brand trèStiQue. The color is a rich, and beautiful red. While I find this color to be more appropriate for the fall/winter, I was overall pleased with it. This mini size goes for $12.00 and full size goes for $28.00. This brand is also cruelty free and this product is made in the USA.
The third item (full size) I tried was the Artist Edition - Luxe Longwear Eyeliner Pen from the brand STARLOOKS. The right side of this eyeliner contains a pen, while the left side of the eyeliner contains a stamp in the shape of a star. I'm pretty sure I won't be using the stamp side of this eyeliner as I'm not entirely sure what look I would go for with it on. On their website you can find other stamps such as a heart, lips, or a smiley face. The stamp side of this eyeliner did bleed slightly, but the pen side was okay and glided smoothly. While this is considered to be a 'longwear eyeliner' I'm certain this isn't a waterproof eyeliner, which is usually a must for me. While cleaning my wrist after these trials, the eyeliner did come off fairly quickly using only water. So keep this in mind if you're looking for a new eyeliner. This item goes for $19.00. This brand is also cruelty free.
The fourth item (sample size) I tried was the Urban Decay Afterglow 8-hour Powder Highlighter in the shade Sin. Based off of reviews, this highlighter is supposed to be creamy and lightweight in order to give you that natural glow. I however didn't get that from this product. To me the product was very chalky and when applied to my skin, it looked very patchy. The pigment also wasn't that great either. The first and second photos are after about five good swatches. I decided to go ahead and try swatching it with a brush, as maybe my finger was the culprit here and just didn't want to pick up the product, but nope, that was an even worse idea and there was major fallout. Additionally, after trying to see how well this product would blend, it ended up just completely vanishing like I never had any of the product in the first place. I wasn't very impressed with this highlighter and was a bit taken aback by all the great reviews it had received. While the color looks pretty and Ipsy did a good job choosing my correct shade, getting the pigment in the first place was a task. As I mentioned before, once on the skin it looks quite patchy which makes it terrible for someone with dry skin to use. The full size item goes for $26.00. This brand is also cruelty free and vegan.
The last product (full sized) is the Luxie Dreamcatcher Precision Foundation Face Brush 660 by the brand LUXIE. This brush is incredibly soft, which can be tricky to achieve when it comes to synthetic brushes. What's also tricky to achieve with synthetic brushes, is preventing shedding. So far, from just tugging on the bristles a little, this brush held up 100%. I'm excited to see how well it'll do in the long run. This brush goes for $23.00. This product line is also cruelty free and vegan.
My rating: ★★★½
My overall rating for this Glam Bag would have to be 3.5 stars. Other than the red lip crayon, I felt Ipsy was able to stick closely to the theme, Summer Friday, which is always enticing in a monthly subscription box/bag. I felt that 3 out of 5 of the products were of great quality; the lip crayon, the nail polish, and the brush. I'll be doing the product reviews soon and I'll be excited to see what ends up in my June Glam Bag. This post ended up being longer than I expected, but I hope you still found it interesting and/or informative!
I received five items in my Glam Bag, three being full size (if you count the brush as a product) and two being sample/mini sizes. The packaging was overall okay. The bag, wrapped in pink tissue paper with along with its card placed on top, came in a hot pink standard mail packaging bag. While it wasn't too aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it was understandable considering it's hard to package a bag of items rather than a box of items. The card was a cute touch, but I wish it had the products listed on them rather than having me hunt them down on the internet. The bag itself is clear plastic, which I've noticed this is becoming a huge trend again for bags. It also has an ice cream pattern which is adorable. The feel of this bag is a little cheap though, but for $10.00 a month, what do you expect. While this bag isn't entirely waterproof as you can see through the zipper when closed, it's still pretty good to use for areas like the beach or a pool. Since it's plastic, it's also easy to clean and won't get dirty, ensuring more uses out of it.
The second item (mini size) I tried is a Mini Matte Lip Crayon in the color Tuscan Wine from the brand trèStiQue. The color is a rich, and beautiful red. While I find this color to be more appropriate for the fall/winter, I was overall pleased with it. This mini size goes for $12.00 and full size goes for $28.00. This brand is also cruelty free and this product is made in the USA.
The third item (full size) I tried was the Artist Edition - Luxe Longwear Eyeliner Pen from the brand STARLOOKS. The right side of this eyeliner contains a pen, while the left side of the eyeliner contains a stamp in the shape of a star. I'm pretty sure I won't be using the stamp side of this eyeliner as I'm not entirely sure what look I would go for with it on. On their website you can find other stamps such as a heart, lips, or a smiley face. The stamp side of this eyeliner did bleed slightly, but the pen side was okay and glided smoothly. While this is considered to be a 'longwear eyeliner' I'm certain this isn't a waterproof eyeliner, which is usually a must for me. While cleaning my wrist after these trials, the eyeliner did come off fairly quickly using only water. So keep this in mind if you're looking for a new eyeliner. This item goes for $19.00. This brand is also cruelty free.
The fourth item (sample size) I tried was the Urban Decay Afterglow 8-hour Powder Highlighter in the shade Sin. Based off of reviews, this highlighter is supposed to be creamy and lightweight in order to give you that natural glow. I however didn't get that from this product. To me the product was very chalky and when applied to my skin, it looked very patchy. The pigment also wasn't that great either. The first and second photos are after about five good swatches. I decided to go ahead and try swatching it with a brush, as maybe my finger was the culprit here and just didn't want to pick up the product, but nope, that was an even worse idea and there was major fallout. Additionally, after trying to see how well this product would blend, it ended up just completely vanishing like I never had any of the product in the first place. I wasn't very impressed with this highlighter and was a bit taken aback by all the great reviews it had received. While the color looks pretty and Ipsy did a good job choosing my correct shade, getting the pigment in the first place was a task. As I mentioned before, once on the skin it looks quite patchy which makes it terrible for someone with dry skin to use. The full size item goes for $26.00. This brand is also cruelty free and vegan.
The last product (full sized) is the Luxie Dreamcatcher Precision Foundation Face Brush 660 by the brand LUXIE. This brush is incredibly soft, which can be tricky to achieve when it comes to synthetic brushes. What's also tricky to achieve with synthetic brushes, is preventing shedding. So far, from just tugging on the bristles a little, this brush held up 100%. I'm excited to see how well it'll do in the long run. This brush goes for $23.00. This product line is also cruelty free and vegan.
My rating: ★★★½
My overall rating for this Glam Bag would have to be 3.5 stars. Other than the red lip crayon, I felt Ipsy was able to stick closely to the theme, Summer Friday, which is always enticing in a monthly subscription box/bag. I felt that 3 out of 5 of the products were of great quality; the lip crayon, the nail polish, and the brush. I'll be doing the product reviews soon and I'll be excited to see what ends up in my June Glam Bag. This post ended up being longer than I expected, but I hope you still found it interesting and/or informative!
Nicole
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