Tag: complex culture

March 2021 IPSY Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            Well here we are again, another month another IPSY unboxing post. I don’t feel like I have all that much to say with this to be completely honest, not up here in the beginning anyway. Normally I have a lot to talk about before I actually get into the post, like those recipe blog posts that take five hundred words to actually get to the point of the post. Today is just one of those days and we only have a few days left until spring break (when this comes out, it’s a week for me as I am writing this on Sunday, if you are reading this go check out Sunday’s post a new look into my highlighter collection.)

            Also for some reason my tab key isn’t working too great and that’s annoying so I feel like the less tabbing I do the better off I am going to be so let’s just get into it.

The Bag: 

            Because it’s Women’s History month this month’s theme was Stronger Together which is a good theme for any month because in general we are stronger together rather than apart but tis not here nor there. On the inside of the bag is red and it says “confidence comes from within” and I am a sucker for motivational quotes written on the inside of things.

The Products: 

It Cosmetics Heavenly Skin, Skin Smoothing Complexion Brush #704:

            It’s a skin care infused brush, that’s interesting. I feel like I don’t use as many brushes as I used to but I have so many, though this one is different from pretty much all of my other brushes because of this added element. Also the brush bristles are super soft and really densely packed so that’s a good thing when it comes to complexion brushes in my book. They chose this one for me so here I am rolling with it. 

Half Caked Totally Tubular Mascara in The Heights:

            Very 80s from what I understand of the 80s because I was not born until the 90s. I was just thinking to myself before this bag was revealed to me that I haven’t gotten mascara in a few months and that’s odd for IPSY, they really like to send out mascaras and I am getting a mascara in my regular Glam Bag as well when that shows up who knows when. I like the more gel consistency of this one as opposed to some of the more paste like mascaras that I have and am using at the moment. This kind in my experiences usually does take longer to dry and if you sneeze while applying it, it will go everywhere. 

Complex Culture Good Lighting Highlighter Duo in Lucid + Afterglow

            I just wrote an entire post on highlighters and I didn’t mention this one because this post hadn’t been written yet so here we are with another highlighter to add to my already large collection. I did choose this and I am happy that I did. I love Complex Culture brushes because I have gotten several and their style of grey and gold is so classy and all of their packaging is sleek and minimalist and I love it. The pans in this dup are huge which is great and I love the differences in the shades. Afterglow is more of a champagne gold and Lucid is more of a copper gold and they are just really nice shades. Looking forward to not only adding these to the collection but also using them, though their highlighter brush is one of the brushes that I am missing. (I have other highlighter brushes but I do love me a good CC brush.)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Gel in Taupe:

            I picked this one as well but it was more of a, ‘this was the only one that I was remotely interested in’ as opposed to ‘I need it!’ kind of mindset for this one. I love Anastasia and I have used brow products from this brand in the past so I know pretty much what I am getting myself into. It might be a little light for my eyebrows because they don’t give you a choice on color. That is one thing that irks me about the GB+ if they offer complexion products or products that need to match something give people the choice to pick their shade or at least have the option to pick a different shade if necessary. 

Jules Smith Beauty Power 5 Shadow Palette:

            I chose this one as well, again because it was the only one I was interested in when given the choices that I had. They are all metallic shades so while it is a cute palette with good shades, in my opinion for an overall look, this palette wouldn’t be able to stand on its own. The shades are beautiful, but there are no neutral or transition shades unless you want an all metallic eye and as someone who lived through the 2000’s an all metallic eye look is no longer in my purview. That is my only complaint though, I would have liked to have seen like one matte shade because then it would be able to stand on its own in my mind. 

            Overall I liked my GB+ this month, I am just abbreviating it because I don’t feel like writing it out anymore and at this point if you don’t know what GB+ is on this blog, just go back and read the title. (don’t mean to sound sassy, just being honest) There is a good chance that my next post will be my regular Glam Bag but at this point who knows. I never know with how the mail works anymore so we are just rolling with it, which has kind of been my mantra for the last year. 

If you want to read the rest of my GB+ unboxing so far this year, you can: January and February.

            Well I will be back over the weekend with another post so until then I hope that everyone has a great second half of the week, stay safe and stay healthy.

            -MJ

August 2020 IPSY Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ, 

            Well this is the first month of a new format so I will say my opinions and hope that in the coming months it gets better. So you can personalize three of your products now and most of the products suggested to me were moisturizer, eyeliner (which I still don’t wear), and mascara. Each choice gives you four choices of products and I feel like if they are going to do something like that they should just give you the whole selection of products that they are offering in that particular month. I know that this is the first month and they are going to hopefully send out a survey because I was not the biggest face of all of my choices so I felt like it didn’t give me a lot of options that if I had a larger selection I would have chosen, seriously it was a lot of eyeliner and mascara, moisturizer too and they had already chosen a moisturizer for me so I don’t understand why I was given that option multiple times. Granted I did choose a moisturizer for one but my problem with that was it was the only product that I actually liked/wanted of the four choices they gave me. 

The Bag: 

            I don’t know what I am going to do with these drawstring bags in the future but I’ll figure it out. It’s fine and all the products fit in it but it just doesn’t feel as quality as the bags every month. I think I would rather just not have a bag at all at this point. 

Products: 

Picked for me: 

Huda Beauty Demi Matte Cream Lipstick in Game Changer:

            Okay, I like this one but it’s not exactly the right shade for me, there is too much orange in it and I look better in cool tones so while this is a beautiful color it will for sure have to be a more fall shade for me. I love the packaging but let’s be real Huda Beauty’s packaging usually is. It is a demi matte lipstick and it feel like a mix between a gloss and a lipstick which is an odd consistency but I don’t mind it.

Murad Perfecting Day Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30:

            I love Murad I have used them for a few years now and I have actually been looking at this exact lotion online for a few months now but I have a lot of moisturizer to get through but it’s fine. It claims to be very hydrating and I always need that especially when it’s consistently like 95 degrees here and it’s just humid so all you are doing is losing all of the moisture out of your body and I know that now as we are getting into the fall and winter my skin will get so dry. 

I picked: 

Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara in Brynn:

            I mean I chose a repeat product because this is my hands down favorite mascara of all time. The packaging is heavy and I cannot recommend this mascara any higher. It’s just so good. I feel like I can’t say much about it because I have already put it in multiple posts, which you can read; they are my July IPSY Glam Bag Plus from last year, and my Top Beauty of 2019. I love it so much. 

Wander Beauty Frame Your Face Precise Brow Gel in Clear:

            I like Wander but this was the least objectionable out of my options the other two I remember were an eyeliner and a mascara and again it felt like  lot of these were the options like they were trying to clean out stock. It’s a clear eyebrow gel and I haven’t really used eyebrow gel in a long time but it’s a much smaller more precise brush than the ELF one I used in college. 

Dermedicine Advanced Skincare Weightless Face Moisturizer SPF 25:

            Another moisturizer in my box this month and I chose this one because again this was the most tuned to my skin care needs of the other products which I honestly cannot remember at the moment. I am looking forward to giving it a try though because I feel like I have gotten so into skin care in the last few years because skin is important so having all sorts of moisturizer is not a bad thing. 

Points Redeemed:

Complex Culture All Over Shadow Brush: 

            You get points every month for reviewing the items and I haven’t redeemed anything in the two and a half years since I started getting IPSY bags, so some of my points have for sure expired but I wanted to redeem something and the Complex Culture brushes are really nice and so having a third one is not a bad thing in my makeup bag. It’s a cute fluffy little shadow brush and I cannot complain about it because it meant that I got an extra item in my bag this month. 

            Overall with this bag, I am hoping that it’s just a learning curve, it’s taking the reviews and insights of their customers and actually it improves because there just will eventually something that will give and it won’t be the best. Four options is a little weird because that means that there are several products that you don’t have a choice on and if you are going to give me a choice let me pick from all the items for the month, let me make my decisions between 30 items or however many there are that month, not 12 that are arbitrarily chosen for me. I suppose only time will tell but I guess in the coming months we will find out how this change stacks up and if it is really all that revolutionary like they made the hype out to be. 

If you want to see what else I have gotten this year you can! January, March, April, May, June, and July.

            I will be back later in the week with another post, have a good start to the week!

            -MJ

July 2020 IPSY Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Hey, hey it’s MJ,

            Well so July is pretty much over which is still crazy to me because I feel like it was just February but let’s be honest with ourselves time isn’t real anymore and I just don’t think the concept of time is something that defines us right now. 

            So the Glam Bag Plus is changing next month with three customizations, three of the five products rather and that’s insanity to me, I know it’s to give more customization to the members. I like the idea of more customization but I don’t know what next month will bring because the customization doesn’t open until the beginning of August so I will have more information and insights next month on what I personally think of the new service. 

            The bag like the regular Glam Bag this month was plasticky which is fine and I know the bag will be changing next month, again I will let you know. The bag is cool though it’s purple and teal with wanderlust written on it, again, very 80’s to me and I still love it. I like this one more than the regular glam bag this month but purple is my favorite color so that makes sense. 

Products: 

Ciaté London Watermelon Burst Hydrating Primer: 

            I got a Ciaté watermelon product in my regular glam bag though, it was a lip oil and I wore it the whole time I was writing that blog post (which for me was yesterday but several days ago for you guys) and I actually really liked it. So this is a primer and I have so many primers now because of IPSY, like I like primers but let’s be honest you only need like two I have a good dozen and I have a lot of primers. I wish I used primers more but I don’t know how I feel about a watermelon primer but it says it’s really hydrating and that is something I for sure always need no matter what because I live in the south and it’s hot during the summer. It’s also silicone free and pore refining so I am going to give it a try.

Awake Glow Pill Super Serum:

            Two of my favorite things to see on packaging is cruelty free and vegan which is always great but I am for sure getting more and more into serums, I am currently loving the Better Skin Co. Epik C Serum and it has done so many good things for my skin. I remember a time when I just had to like rinse my face and it was fine now I have like an eight step skin care routine, you can check that out if you want. Back to the serum though it has B vitamins in it and it helps hydrate so it sounds like all good things and the packaging both on the cardboard outer sleeve and the component itself so I can’t wait to try this out (for now it’s going to go in fridge so it stays fresher longer) I really do need a skin car fridge and at this point with the amount of skin care I have now I really need like a dorm fridge for all of it. I mean really. 

Complex Culture Contour • Blush Brush:

            I have one other Complex Culture brush and I kind of love it but this brush looks so cool! I can for sure say that I do not have any brushes that are shaped like this so it will for sure go into my main brush holder. I like how it feels and I actually redeemed my IPSY points to get another brush from this same company because I like their brushes. It is a brush and a good brush is a good brush.

Tarte SEA Surfer Curl Volumizing Mascara:

            I love Tarte and that is no secret but I have never actually had a full size of their mascara, sample sizes sure but never a full sized so I am intrigued to use their mascara and this is a pretty new formula, I think. The packaging is nice and simple and it also has some of my favorite words, cruelty free and vegan. I am looking forward to getting to try it because again right now since no one is doing anything why am I going to use it and waste it so you know I will use it eventually. 

Pūrlisse Beauty Matcha Green Tea Antioxidant Priming Moisturizer: 

            I really like Pūrlisse and I have been using it a lot recently and I am a huge fan of a lot of the products I have gotten to use from them and I know that I will more than likely like this one as well because it’s green tea and green tea is a great moisturizer and a lot of their products have white tea in them which is great for sensitive skin so I’m excited about it. Their blue lotus eye cream is my current favorite so I am excited to have the opportunity to try more products.

            Overall it was a great bag, lots of skin care like mostly skin care but next month seems to present an interesting challenge and opportunity so I will report back on that next month. 

            Wanna see what else I’ve gotten this year? January, March, April, May, and June!

            Hope you have a good week and I’ll see y’all with another post soon!

                        -MJ

March 2020 ipsy Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 7 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            I promised myself I would write this like a week ago but we are all still on quarantine and I haven’t had the creative energy to actually sit down and write a blog post but I got the email today with the spoilers for my April Glam Bag and Glam Bag Plus so I figured now was the time to actually get this written and done and over with. 

The bag:

           It’s a cute little fold over with a snap and on the inside of the flap it says “unstoppable”, again the color scheme like the Glam Bag this month is actually really nice. This is I think the first bag I have gotten that doesn’t have a zipper on it and I like the change in style. 

The Products: 

The Coffee Scrub Coconut Body Scrub:

            It’s a rarity that I use body scrubs but I am willing to try most beauty products once and if I don’t like it, I don’t like it. I understand the need to get rid of dead or dry skin and it is helpful to do that every once in a while so maybe this would be really good for just a nice day of self-care. (which with what’s going on right now, we all need a little bit of self-care.) But it’s a pretty basic thing in general so there isn’t all that much to say about it. I did open it and it is a super strong smell and as soon as I opened it the zipper on the inside broke so that was a bummer moment. 

TheBalm Cosmetics AutoBalm Day 2 Night:

            I chose this, I really did and it’s a pretty interesting product and I like the pigmentation, I actually just put it on with my fingers and got a pretty good really quick eye look. There are a lot of metallic shades in it though so it doesn’t quite make a full look if you want matte shades mixed in.

Phase Zero Make Up Matte Liquid Lipstick in Undercover:

            I don’t mind this shade and it goes on pretty well. I’m not sure if I am insane because of being at home all by myself but I think it smells good. It’s a rosy shade which is great for occasions year round. 

Malin+Goetz Revitalizing Eye Gel:

            I have used this a few times now and I actually really like it. I don’t have a lot of undereye products even though I know that I should and I really want to put it in my fridge and actually get those benefits as well. 

Seraphine Botanicals Luna Liner Water-Resistant Liquid Eyeliner in Black:

            Three out of the last four months I have gotten an eyeliner, I do not wear eyeliner and in April I’m getting one as well. Something I will never use and I am really still upset about it because that is a waste of a product for me. I don’t understand why, when I review a product poorly they still send it to me. They sent out a survey asking subscribers if there was a pause feature on certain products what we would think and I said I would pause eyeliner indefinitely because I don’t use it. It’s a good liner but I do not use eyeliner. I also like the brand and I am not saying anything against them, it’s just a product that I don’t use in my makeup routine.

Complex Culture Precision Concealer Brush:

            I mean, it’s a brush. I like the shape and the bristle packing, it is rare that I use a brush when I put on concealer anymore, I haven’t since I started using a beauty blender but I’ll give it a try. 

            Overall I liked my Glam Bag Plus this month except the eyeliner and that is becoming a common trend and I am not super excited about that but not everything can be a win. 

            Here’s hoping that the world gets less crazy in the coming weeks and I hope everyone is happy, safe, and healthy.

I’ll see everyone in a few days with another post,

            -MJ

December ipsy Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 10 minutes.

Hey hey it’s MJ,

            So it’s been a while, my bad. I felt like I needed a hiatus and that’s alright because I had a lot going on outside of my online life and that meant that I just didn’t have the creative impulse to write blog posts.

            Also my glam bag and glam bag plus last month were both a little disappointing and I was hopeful that this month would be better and for the most part, my plus was a little better.

            I have had this sitting on my desk for a few days now so bear with me while I unpack what I received this month.

            Let’s talk about the bag first off, I remember saying that I would love a bag in my Glam Bag Plus several months ago and now that we are getting bags in every box I am on the fence about it, granted I like it but it’s not big enough to actually fit the full sized products you receive and there is a part of me that actually really liked not getting a bag in my plus every month. This bag is silver, pleather looking, and a front zip not a top zip. (I think that the regular Glam Bag is a top zip, I haven’t gotten mine so when I do I will let y’all know.) I can’t say it’s one of my favorite bags, but not every bag can be a winner.

            On to what I got I suppose. I was happy with about half of the items and I feel as if the beauty quiz algorithm for the plus products either isn’t all that great or because it is still a program that is less than a year old they don’t have the selection and range that would allow for a more personalized approach. One of the new features is picking a product and I chose to let them surprise me and I wish there was a feature that would show you your matches and let you switch a product instead. 

Complex Culture Press & Set Bronzer Brush

            It’s a nice brush but it’s just that; a brush. It’s soft and vegan and cruelty free but it is just a brush. I think it’s interesting that according to the card insert it is meant for pressed powder and bronzer which is such an odd combination, usually you see a blush and bronzer brush but not a powder and bronzer brush but who am I. It’s a sleek and minimalist design which I like but I am getting to the point where I think maybe ipsy just really likes to give out brushes because it counts as an item no matter what. 

Illamasqua Liquid Eyeliner

            This was the most disappointing match I had this month, not because of the brand I like Illamasqua, I have gotten products from their brand several times in the past and I haven’t had any problem with them. However, I do not wear eyeliner I haven’t in years and that was for sure a thing in my beauty quiz so they saw that I liked the brand and didn’t think to check or cross check with my preferences to see that eyeliner is not something that I use. Will I attempt like I have for the last several years to perfect that winged eyeliner look, probably but am I super jazzed that I received this, not so much.

 Ittsē The Van Ness Eyeshadow Quad

            Okay so I love me some good eyeshadow and everyone knows that, I have gotten ittsē single shadows in the past and they make pretty good shadows and this idem is super cool, you can remove the inner portion and it becomes a small magnetic palette which is great for travel and for on the go situations. I can’t be upset with this product because the shades are beautiful and I love a good neutral quad in my life and it’s vegan leather according to the packaging so there is always that. 

Évolué Skincare Hydrating Serum

            It’s currently in my refrigerator because the tip was that it will do better there and I have been coveting a skin care fridge for the last several months because I have become that basic. I saw a few people on social media saying that it smelled terrible but luckily mine smells like it should, it smells like a good skincare product should. I am excited to give this a try because I am always on board to try skin care and see how it reacts with my skin. What I like about this one as well was that tit didn’t come with a cardboard unicarton it just came in the box. I have been recycling and there is so much cardboard that comes with boxes like this that it’s insane. Beauty and skin care brands, is there any way to cut down on the cardboard and paper waste? 

111Skin Cryo Activating Hydra Gel

            This product alone is worth 8 times the cost of my box, I love 111Skin I was introduced to their products through FabFitFun in the summer box and they are a really prestige brand so seeing this product in this box was shocking to me. The brand was started by a doctor and usually that means that their products are absolutely amazing but also come with a hefty price tag so to get this is like an early Christmas present to me, it will also be going in my fridge for now until I can talk myself into ordering a stupid tiny skin care fridge for my incredibly small bathroom. Pray for me being the most basic white girl ever.

            So over all I was happy with more than half of my products to be honest and ipsy is still figuring things out since their expansion of the brand earlier in the year. If you want to know what I have gotten in my other Glam Bag Plus’ over the year you can click on their month! May, June, July, August, September, and October. I did not write out November so sorry about that!

            I hope everyone has a great start to the week and I will see everyone somewhere around mid-week with another post.

            -MJ