YAY!! My July 2014 ipsy glam bag is here. If you aren’t familiar, ipsy is $10/month and sends its members a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products. Ipsy bills on the 1st of the month and usually ships from NC around the 10th of the month. Since I'm in NC I got mine in about 2 days.
The July 2014 ipsy glam theme is “Sensationally Sunkissed”. They don’t include a true information card with your products listed on it like some of the other boxes do. That information can all be found in your account. Ipsy sends out bag variations, via “ipsymatch”, which is based on the preferences you enter when you take the ipsy quiz. There were 21 different products this month and I believe each bag got 5 products. Here’s what was included:
~The Ipsy Bag: It's cute with a "leather" feel too it but nothing really special about it.
~BareMinerals 5-in-1 BB Cream Shadow (Divine Wine)($18): I was kind of scared of this color when I first opened it up but after wearing it, it's great. It's a bit darker than a milk chocolate color with the tiniest bit of shimmer. It blends out beautifully and does not budge all day without primer.
~Pixi Tinted Brillance Balm (Pretty Pink)($14): I love the way this feels on my lips! It has a very slight peppermint scent but is super moisturizing. The color is a bit too pink for me and the longer you wear it, it keeps getting pinker so this will be going to my niece.
~POP Beauty Sunkissed Bronzer (Secret Sunshine)($10): This was the only full sized product in this months glam bag. The color is great, especially if you have fair skin, but it does have shimmer in it which I don't tend to gravitate toward. It would be a nice all-over bronzer but I would stay away from it for contouring.
~SexyHair Soy Renewal Beach Spray w/Argon Oil ($19.95): I have short naturally wavy hair and this works great for keeping my waves looking good all day. I love that it has Argon Oil in it to help maintain my frizz. I have to use it on damp hair though because I tried on my dry hair and it just made it feel dirty.
~Hang Ten Dark Tanning Oil SPF 8 ($11.99): This was my least favorite product out of the entire glam bag simply because I don't tan. It does smell good though. :)
After totaling everything up (deluxe samples at 1/3 cost), I came up with a value of $31.32 for the July 2014 ipsy glam bag. Not bad for a for 5 new products to try and a free makeup bag. Even though I didn't love all of the products, it's still totally worth $10 a month for me.
Did you get this month's Ipsy Glam Bag? I'd love to know what you got and what you thought of it! If you're interested in subscribing or learning more about the Glam Bag, click here.
After hearing all they hype and watching a few videos I have to say I was skeptical about this foundation. Finally I made a trip to Ulta and decided to try it. When it comes to foundation I'm picky to say the least. I have very dry skin and alot of redness to cover up on my cheeks, chin and nose. I tend to go for a medium to full coverage foundation and honestly couldn't see how I was going to get those results from a foundation that has the consistency slightly thicker than water but I tried it anyway. The employee that color matched me at Ulta used the BareMinerals brush that you are supposed to use and I just wasn't happy with the results. It was streaky and blotchy although the 03 Bare Linen was a perfect match for me. I wore the foundation all that day after playing with it, trying to blend it a bit more, and was happy enough to go back the next day to buy it and try it on my own.
I didn't purchase the brush but instead wanted to try it with my trusty Sigma F80. It was flawless! BareMinerals advertises this foundation to be a sheer coverage with 1-2 drops, a medium coverage with 3-4 drops and a full coverage with 5-6 drops. I found the key to this foundation is less is more and blend like you've never blended before. You really have to work this stuff into your skin. For me, I start with 2 drops on my finger and dotted it on half of my face then blended it in. Then another 2 drops for the other half and 1 drop for my forehead. This gives me a medium to full coverage although I do take another drop and dot it over the majority of my redness and blend this layer by pressing it in instead of buffing it all over because it moves the layer underneath.
This foundation comes in a 1 oz. plastic dropper bottle, that I absolutely love, has a broad spectrum 20 SPF, is serum based and retails for $29. It is water, oil, silicone, paraben and fragrance free which is great for sensitive skin like mine. It claims to be a tone correcting foundation and skincare in one, giving you a brighter more youthful appearance. I can say it does even out your skin tone leaving it looking very natural almost like your not even wearing makeup. After wearing it for about 3 weeks now I haven't noticed any brightening or changes in my skin when I'm not wearing it. It does leave your skin with a dewy finish which I don't mind considering how dry my skin is but if you have combo skin you may want to set it with a powder and I wouldn't really recommend this for oily skin types. I haven't noticed any clinging to dry patches and it lasts all day for me. I do set all my makeup with a setting spray for a little extra insurance.
This is the 03 Bare Linen shade which is the 3rd lightest shade in the collection. There are 20 different shades, so finding the perfect shade shouldn't be a problem for just about anyone. I would suggest going to a retailer and getting matched though. I have light skin with yellow undertones and this one works perfectly for me. Normally I wear MAC NC20, Urban Decay Naked Skin in 2.0 and Philosophy Hope in a Jar foundation in Shade 4.
After using Benefit's Gimme Brow and Anastasia's Clear Brow Gel for so long, I wanted to find something in between the two. Something that would give me the all day hold like Anastasia without drying completely stiff and something with a more natural color with some hold, than Benefit. Well, I found the perfect mixture of the two. MACs Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set. This stuff is amazing and retails for only $17! It holds all day without feeling like you hair sprayed your brows into place, the color doesn't budge and it matches my dark brown brows perfectly. This stuff is so waterproof you literally have to remove it with eye makeup remover.
I got mine in the color Bold Brunette and it's the perfect match. Also, pairs great with the MAC Brow Pencil in Spiked. The brow gel comes in six different shades ranging from Emphatically Blonde to Brown Ebony.
The brush is slightly larger than the Benefit's Gimme Brow and definitely smaller than the Anastasia Brow Gel. Again a perfect medium for me. It brushes easily through your brows with just the right amount of product to give a slightly fuller look without looking completely fake and painted on. I have dark but very sparse brows and I think I've found a new holy grail brow gel.
