Tag: F.A.R.A.H brushes

What was in My October 2021 IPSY Glam Bag

.Reading time 10 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            Well, we are like half way through October which means that the year is starting to draw to a close which is absolutely crazy. The last 18 or so months since we have been in the pandemic haven’t felt real, like not real at all and now here we are in month 19 or something and it’s still a thing. 

            Both my Glam Bag and my Glam Bag Plus showed up in my mailbox the same day so that means that I will be writing these posts back-to-back. I am currently, as I write this, sitting at work waiting for the end of the day. I am very much ready for the end of the day. I did enjoy my GB this month, pretty much as much as I usually do. 

            Who doesn’t love spooky season? The theme this month for sure leaned into that idea I love spooky season and I plan on just watching a bunch of Halloween movies this weekend to catch up on the fact that I have almost two dozen to watch. None of them are scary because I don’t do scary movies, I don’t enjoy being scared. I went through a haunted corn maze as a kid and still have emotional scars from it. Like one of the high schoolers doing it pretending to be a dead football player had to take his helmet off and show us that he was really just a person in a mask. I love spooky season, but I hate being spooked. 

            So, let’s start with the bag, I love the design on it, the vampire lips, it’s so much fun. My one problem with it is that I wish that they were outlined in white, they just don’t stick out as much as I would like because it’s black lips on a black background and that makes them kind of hard to see. I still love the bag and I love the witchy aesthetic that comes with it. 

            On to what I actually got: the products.  

F.A.R.A.H. Short Shading Brush 45 E Rose Gold: 

            I have a lot of FARAH brushes and they are a good solid brush. I cannot complain about them and who doesn’t need a good short bristle shading brush. I also love rose gold, that is not even close to being a secret. I am not a huge fan of yellow gold (even though my computer is now gold) but I love a good rose gold moment. It’s a brush though and they work well so I don’t have much more to say about it. 

Lottie London Slay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Yass: 

            The name is a lot of fun, that’s always a plus in my book. I like the shade and it looks like a good fall shade for the maybe three days a year that I actually wear lipstick. I love lipstick but wearing it to work is another story. I work with little kids and they are the first ones to point out that “Miss. Steele, your face looks funny!” and I really would like to avoid having a bunch of middle elementary grade kids all telling me that my face looks funny. Because no one can build you up and tear you down faster than a kid. 

Sur.Medic + Perfection 100 All in One Facial Eye Cream: 

            I have a few other products from Sur.Medic and they have all been pretty great. I cannot complain about them one little bit. I love a good eye cream even though I don’t use them as much as I should. I get good at putting it on and then I forget for a week and that is just a cycle that comes with my life. I am currently using a Purlisse eye cream and love it so I am looking forward to giving another one a try. 

Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream:

            They gave me the option for Tatcha so of course I chose it because I love Tatcha. Their Water Cream is like the best moisturizer that I have ever used. I love all sorts of moisturizers, but Tatcha is amazing. I have been meaning to try this in general for a few years now so when given the option, of course I took it. I do hope that someday ISPY gets full sized Tatcha products because that would be amazing. 

Theorie Charcoal Bamboo Detoxifying Body Scrub: 

            I don’t do body scrubs all that often, I should do them more to get the dead skin off but I just don’t. I like Theorie though and it’s been a while since I have had anything from this brand so I am excited to give it a try here soon. I like Charcoal in some beauty products and the word “detoxifying” is one of my favorites. 

            Over all, I love the theme for October of being “Pretty Wicked”, I love spooky month in general so having a fun theme to go along with never makes me mad. I feel like I don’t really have much else to say about it besides I am looking forward to also diving into my GB+ this month which will be out one week from today and that means that Halloween is just a few short days away by the time that that post comes out.

            I am excited to see what the theme and bag will look like for November and in a few days, after this post comes out, I guess I will get to find out. Their theming this year has been kind of amazing and I cannot complain about that, some of my favorite bags have come out since January this year. The one from May was really cool, as was the one from September, and the one from April was really neat too. I might down the road just do a favorite Glam Bag’s post, but who knows. 

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

            Well, I hope everyone has a great rest of the week and I will be back on Sunday with another post! Until then though, I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy! 

            -MJ 

What was in My August 2021 IPSY Glam Bag?

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            Busy week for me but I am writing this ahead of time because I wasn’t really sure when this package was going to show up. The USPS is great most of the time but when your packages travel through more than one delivery service things can get a little dicey and that always worries me. Also what worried me about this package was the fact that the guy delivering the mail to my apartment complex yesterday left all of the boxes open and left for a while. I don’t think that’s safe.

            But beyond that, I know I should not start a sentence with but, but here we are. Y’all I write for fun and I am a straight up teacher, I am a licensed educator and sometimes my grammar is a hot mess. I blame texting, I also blame social media for the loss of the ability to write properly, but here I am butchering the English language anyway, for fun. 

            That was not what this post was about, that I can promise you. I really cam promise that because the title of this has no bearing on my destruction of written English, whoops me bad. This post is about my Glam Bag this month, and it’s a pretty good one. This post is probably not going to be super long because I am having an allergy reaction in my right eye at the moment so I feel like I am being stabbed. It happened last August too and it’s just super weird. 

The Bag:

            I love a good little fold over moment and it’s alligator print is super cute. I like that it’s tan with that bright green interior like the GB+ this month, I like a contract when it comes to inner and outer colors. The snap on mine is a little stiff, but I think part of that was because the material on the outside got so hot that it just wasn’t stiff enough to manage having it open and close properly. Now that it’s sitting in my apartment hopefully opening and closing it will be a lot easier now. 

The Products: 

111Skin Nocturnal Eclipse Recovery Cream: 

            111Skin is one of those brands that I get super excited about because I love them and they are so expensive I can feel my debit card quaking in my wallet. Like a full size of this one is $280 and that is just insane. Their products are really good though, but way too much for me to spend money on unless I get them in a box. I need a good night cream and I am hoping not to fall in love with this one because then I will have to purchase it and I just can’t do that. 

FARAH Concealer Brush 10 F Rose Gold:

            Who doesn’t love a brush, however I don’t think I have actually ever used a brush for concealer. I use the applicator from the concealer container and then a beauty sponge. Most of the time when I get a concealer brush it ends up being that I use it for eyeshadow because most of the time, a brush is a brush. The brush itself is soft and I love a good soft brush.

Feel Beauty Daily Hemp Oil Facial Cleanser:

            I actually just ran out of travel sized facial cleansers so that’s fortunate that I got one in this bag. According to the highlight ingredients it has anti-inflammatory properties and that is always exciting to see. Most cleansers I have gotten from IPSY don’t seem to effect my skin so I hoping that his product continues that trend. 

Marc Anthony Super Fast Strength Leave-In Conditioner: 

            I picked this one, I don’t do a lot with my hair. I wash it and condition it, sometimes I use a leave in conditioner as well and I figured why not give this one a try as well. I love a good leave in conditioner because then I can get an extra layer of protection on my hair from everything else I put it through. By that I mean throwing it up in a bun and rolling with it because while I know I shouldn’t sleep with my hair up in a bun, I do it every night. 

PÜR On Point Mascara with Hemp:

            Lots of hemp products this month which is interesting. I like hemp products, usually they are super moisturizing and I really like them. This is one of those mascaras that claim that it can do a whole bunch of things and I am hoping that it lives up to the hype. Pür mascaras are either really great or not so great and there is no in between. I am just hoping that this is one of the really good ones. I use so many different mascaras that at this point I can barely remember their brands anymore. I still love a good mascara though.

            So that’s my Glam Bag this month. It might get posted for tomorrow or it might get posted next week, I don’t know yet, I really don’t know at this exact moment. I know that I should know my schedule but this package came earlier than expected and that means now I have a few posts finished and ready to post. 

If you want to check out what else I’ve gotten this year in my Glam Bags, you can! January, February, March, April, May, June, and July.

            So whenever this post comes out I hope that everyone has a good few days until the next one, I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy and I will be back with another post soon. 

            -MJ 

What Was Really in My March 2021 IPSY Glam Bag?

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            So I finally got this in the mail a few days ago, because the other one got lost. I didn’t get the same bag as the GB last month but it’s okay, I got a repeat from last summer. I honestly wouldn’t have minded if they didn’t even send a bag with a replacement, I know it’s expected but I would have been cool with it either way. If you want to see what the bag looks like you can check out my July Glam Bag post from last year

            I feel like I don’t have much to say before we get into the actual products, so let’s just roll right into them because this post is a month later than it should be and at this point; I’m over it. 

The products: 

            I think I got everything that was supposed to be in my March GB because in the email I got they told me that if something wasn’t available it would be switched out with something else so it’s not a big deal.

            I first want to say that I am thankful for the ‘past glam bag’ tab on the website otherwise there is a good chance I would not give all the proper names for these products, I apparently also can still review the items so that’s exciting. 

Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Magnet Mascara:

            It’s is no secret that I really like Benefit, their Roller Lash mascara is one of my holy grail items, I don’t actually have any at the moment but it is one of my all-time favorites. I really like the fact that they use silicon applicators instead of a brush applicator because to me it just gets product on better. You can disagree on that with me and that’s totally cool, we can have different beauty preferences. I just threw a tube of mascara away because it expired and my right eye let me know right away. I may have mentioned that in one of my other posts but at this point I don’t remember. I am excited to give this one a go though because a lot of the reviews say that it has some great benefits to your lashes. 

Clearly Balanced Days It’s The (Lip) Balm with CBD in Peppermint:

            I feel like there are so many products with CBD in them now and I am not upset about that because apparently it has some great benefits. I can read all the ingredients which makes me super happy, I am not a huge fan of lip balms that have ingredients that I can’t read, pronounce, or identify on sight. I have probably a good dozen lip balms scattered around my apartment, in my bags, and just in general around my life and I lose at least one or two a year and then find them a year or two later and have to throw them away. I have joked since college that I want to finish a tube of lip balm before I lose it and I still have yet to accomplish that goal. 

Eleman Beauty Eyeshadow Duo in Aerial & Luna: 

            A brand that I have never heard of before getting it in my Glam Bag but the shades and pigmentation are great so I am noy mad about it. I am always looking for mor brands to enjoy. They are both glittery and metallic which in certain looks are really cool so I am going to put this in my random eyeshadow box and use them when I have a reason to. They are really nice shades though and I want to incorporate them into a look sooner rather than later. I want to see what it looks like with long wear before I really say that I enjoy it but so far as just a swatch, I like it. 

F.A.R.A.H Pressed Powder Brush 620F:

            I am going to have a full collection of F.A.R.A.H brushes here soon enough because I have several of them. It’s a nice soft brush and it’s for powder, I don’t use a lot of powder because it’s never really been a thing that I do but it wouldn’t be a bad cheek brush as well. Let’s be honest with ourselves though, I don’t use all of my brushes for what they are supposed to be used for, one because I forget and just grab a brush, and two, it’s a brush that I can use on my face. 

Milk Makeup Lip + Cheek in Werk:

            This is a little dark and orangey for me. I like Milk Makeup but this is not the shade for me. Alright, after actually putting it on my lips, it’s actually a really nice shade and I like it. Also the one I have is a little cracked. Not a big deal, I can still use it but I have to have the right look to go with it. There is also just something about a lip and cheek product that seems weird to me because I don’t like to use products that claim double duty, I will use it as one or the other, I fear contamination. As someone whose skin is sensitive to just about everything I am really careful about what I put where on my face. 

            Overall, I liked the Glam Bag, it was fine. Some hits and some that could be considered, not per say misses, but not hits. It was nice to finally get the bag though because I wasn’t really sure if I was going to. 

            If you want to check out what else I’ve gotten this year, you totally can! January, February, and April. It’s so weird to write April on this post even though we are almost in May.

            I will be back later in the week with another post, so I hope that everyone has a great start to their week.

            Stay safe, happy, and healthy.

            -MJ

What was in my May 2020 IPSY Glam Bag?

.Reading time 7 minutes.

Hey, hey it’s MJ, 

            I am trying to keep a schedule on blogging, as we can all see from my posts this month it’s not going well. I am trying, I really am but let’s be real life is crazy at the moment. 

The Bag:

            Like the Glam Bag Plus this was also an ombre, this one however was a pink to yellow and much larger than the one in the Glam Bag Plus (it would have made more sense in my head if they switched them but I’m not in charge of things). I do like the bag though, it’s pretty basic with a top zip but I like it. 

The products:

Yensa Skin on Skin BC Concealer in Fair Cool:

            When I opened this it almost pressurized on the inside so a bunch of product just kind of leaked out so I got to try it without really having a choice to do so. It’s about the right shade though it is just a little dark for me, so hopefully during the summer it might be close to the right shade because even though it’s a cool tone it is still a little too yellow for me. I love the packaging though so that is one upside to it, I like concealers but they are hard to match in a subscription service like this. 

F.A.R.AH Brushes Long Blender (25EL) Brush: 

            I like how the brush looks but I am at this point of, do I need any more brushes? The answer to that is no, I know that it’s easy to throw a brush in and call it done. It’s an IPSY exclusive which is cool but it’s a basic eyeshadow brush. Cruelty free and vegan so I can’t be mad and it’s a nice brush to shove in a makeup bag to go because it’s decently packed but not too fluffy and not too dense. 

First Aid Beauty FAB Pharma Arnica Relief & Rescue Mask:

            I like First Aid Beauty it’s a great brand that I don’t use very often but probably should use it more. It is an anti-inflammatory mask so that is exciting for me. It’s a leave on mask so that is also exciting because at this point the only masks that I really want to take the time to remove are sheet masks. It has a lot of benefits that I am all for in a facial product so I am excited to give it a try. 

TheBalm Cosmetics AutoBalm Pic Perf in St. Charles Ave: 

            I have an AutoBalm palette and I really like it, this is not a shade I already have so that was exciting and it’s a nice neutral brown so I was excited about that. I have a problem with single shadows though for the sheer reason that I have to remove them from their packaging to put them in something else if I don’t want to carry around a bunch of tiny shadow containers. I wish that companies would put them in containers that are easier to remove the product from because with this one I will have to do some major excavation and hope not to break the shadow pan if I ever want to take it out. I like the shade though and that’s really all that matters. 

Tarte SEA Jelly Glaze Anytime Lip Mask in Strawberry Jelly:

            It smells like strawberries and it is very small. I like the packaging but I rarely ever use lip treatments, some sugar scrub here and some lip balm there but pretty much nothing else. I also don’t like the feeling of jelly like items on my lips I avoid lip gloss (I did not before college but I do now) I don’t like when my lips stick together or feel sticky, it’s not a feeling that I like. I will give it a chance because I love Tarte but this was kind of the odd outlier in my bag this month. Maybe I’ll like it, who knows.

            Overall I liked the bag this month, it wasn’t the best and it wasn’t the worst so I don’t have much to complain about. If you want to see what else I have gotten this year check out January, March, and April. 

            Do you subscribe? Did you get any favorite new products this month?

            I’ll see everyone in a few days with a new post!

            -MJ 

October ipsy Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 9 minutes.

            Hey, hey it’s MJ,

            I’m just going to dive right into this one, though I hope everyone is having a great week so far. 

            So this month is the first month where ipsy had included a bag in the Glam Bag Plus and now I am just getting two makeup bags a month. I kind of liked that I wasn’t getting a bag with the plus and now that I am, I am going to have to find new uses for them. This one is cute, I will not lie its black mermaid fabric (you know like the pillows and everything else where you can flip the sequins) with Betty Boop in silhouette on the reverse and a red heart zipper pull. They really went all in with the Betty Boop theme this month. It’s also only about an inch larger all the way than the regular bag.

            What did I get though?

            Jolii Cosmetics Spektra stick in Stella

            The packaging on this is the bomb dot com (yes that is a mid-2000’s saying that I don’t think I ever said then but I have heard more recently than I did in middle school) but seriously I LOVE the packaging, it looks like a lipstick tube and then you press on the bottom and then pull the tube itself out. The color is absolutely beautiful, I have already swatched it and it is just so pretty. They describe it as a rose quartz shade and I do not disagree though I would call it rose gold but they are about the same shade. I think this was my favorite product out of the whole bag and usually I can’t pick a favorite.

            Lovecraft Beauty Bronzer Palette

            This is a nice palette, I have swatched them as well and the darkest shade is a little too dark for my complexion, maybe during the summer not so much but for most of the rest of the year it would not work for me. The two other shades though I am totally okay with. I love the packaging, it’s really simple and really pretty and it’s called Lovecraft and all I think of when I see that name is H.P. Lovecraft and that’s just great. 

            Touch In Sol No Poreblem Priming Water 

            It’s rose based so that should be pretty great because I live with a rose water mist on my bathroom counter. I like Touch In Sol because it is a K-beauty brand and usually their formulas are amazing. I am looking forward to trying this but also a little hesitant because I have been burned (not literally) by primers in the past. 

            Betty Boop X Ipsy That’s So Betty Eyeshadow Palette

            I just want to audibly sigh at this one, I chose this product, I chose it and I regret it. It’s an 8 pan eyeshadow palette where only about four of the shades are pigmented, I was really disappointed by the pigmentation and the quality of the product. The shades that do have pigment are really pretty but I was unhappy with the other four shades two of which you can’t really see. There is a really pretty purple shade, it’s pretty in the pan but as soon as I swatched it, it’s just not there and I was so looking forward to playing around with that specific shade. Also there is one matte shade and the rest are shimmer shades which is a rally odd distribution in an eyeshadow palette, the packaging is really hard to open, and it just didn’t wow me. It claims to be a $30 palette and I think I could go buy a drug store palette for under ten with better quality than this. Normally I don’t have much negative to say about ipsy products but this one was a total dud, it may not be for some people but I have used enough eyeshadows that I know that the quality of this is just not there and it’s so disappointing. 

            F.A.R.A.H Brushes Midnight Pro Trio

            The brushes are gorgeous, the handles are built to be able to hold properly and rest while you work on your face. They are all face brushes, a cheek, buff, and stipple and apparently they are all in midnight blue instead of black and looking at them in the light that is super cool. I don’t have any dark blue brushes and I love them. They are nice and soft and I have several F.A.R.A.H brushes thanks to ipsy so getting a few more that are as beautiful as these are were actually really cool. 

            Well that’s it for this post and this bag was a little bit all over the place, I’m not unhappy about that because it means I have been exposed to things that if I was walking through a shop I may not have even given a second glance but might now.

            Do you want to know how I felt about the other months I have gotten this year and what I got? You can, just click on the month and you can read that rambling post like I hope you read this one, May, June, July, August, and September! 

            Have a great rest of you week everyone and I will hopefully see you Sunday with a new post! 

            -MJ 

August ipsy Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 5 minutes.

I should stop missing a full week when it comes to posting because I have been promising myself since January but it’s been one of those years.

            I got my Glam Bag Plus a few days ago and I have been sitting on writing this post since then, I loved my box this month though so let’s dive right in. 

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation Full Coverage Moisturizer in Fair

            I was a little skeptical about anything that is “foundation” or in this case a tinted moisturizer because the shade I use is usually the lightest most brands make because I have really fair skin. I also have found that I need a cool or neutral undertone because I have more of a red undertone. This shade is not a bad match; I have had worse but it is a little too yellow undertone for me but because it is a tinted moisturizer it can be used more sparingly unlike a full coverage foundation.

Tarte Dream Big Eyeshadow Palette

            I wanted this palette so bag when it came out and I never bought it so having this come in my glam bag was really great. It is going to replace my To-Go palettes because it is a nice small neutral palette and like most of Tarte’s palettes it smells great and I cannot describe why or what it smells like. Tarte has some of my favorite palettes even though I don’t have many but the Tartest Pro palette is one of my all-time favorites. 

F.A.R.A.H Brushes Show Me Magic Eye Brush Set

            Okay, these brushes look like crystals on the bottom and I love them so much, I don’t need more brushes really but I love brushes. This set is made up of various eye brushes so that’s really nice and they are so interesting looking that I can’t resist them. They are super soft and I have another F.A.R.A.H brush that I got in a glam bag last year and I really like that one so I can’t imagine that these will be any different. 

Ahava Hydration Cream Mask

            I got this product in my Winter FabfitFun box and I love it, I have used it a few times now and my skin loves it. I put it on right before bed and leave it on all night. You should only use it once or twice a week according to the packaging so it is not and every night moisturizer. If you want to read more about my feelings about this product click the link above in the paragraph for my initial opinions. 

Pūrlisse Blue Lotus Essential Daily Moisturizer SPF 30

            I got three different kinds of moisturizers in this box but I am not upset about it, Pūrlisse is a brand I only know for skin care and I have so far liked the skin care products I have tried from this brand. I don’t want to rip open the foil seal to actually smell it but I Googled what it should smell like and it came up with “fruity” so I guess we will see when I actually open it. I really hope it doesn’t have a strong smell because I don’t like strong smells in skin care. 

            The box overall was great and I love having the ability to try out new things and also get these items at a really steep discount. If you want to read about the other Glam Bag plus boxes I have gotten since May, you can! Just click on the month: May, June, and July. 

            I will see everyone on Saturday! 

            -MJ

June ipsy Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 7 minutes.

I got it in the mail yesterday and I just didn’t open up my laptop with the intention of writing a blog post so I am writing it the following morning, it’s Thursday for me and by the time y’all read this it’s going to be Sundaday just because I have still been dealing with things that have been sapping my creativity and focus so bear with me some more while I deal with those things. 

            I love this box even more than I loved last month’s box, I think though in my opinion that they should think about changing the name from “glam bag plus” to “glam box” because it comes in a box not a bag, I know that is stupid because most beauty “box” subscription services have “box” in their title so ipsy is still keeping it original. So never mind, scrap my idea and keep doing you ipsy, never change. 

            This moth ispy rolled out their collab with Tetris for Tetris’s 35thanniversary with two eyeshadow palettes, a brush set, three lip balms, two lip glosses, and a highlighter. It’s a really cool collection as someone who spent quite a bit of time in high school playing Tetris on the internet while sitting in study hall. 

Sunday Riley C.E.O. Vitamin C Rich Hydration Cream

            Okay when I saw I was getting this I was over the moon, I am a huge fan of Sunday Riley and I am really excited to actually get into using this product. It smells amazing and the packaging is so simple and so recognizable it’s amazing and because it is prestige beauty it is not an inexpensive product so I was really happy to see this in my box. 

F.A.R.A.H Brushes 5-piece Eye Perfection Set

            I have gotten a F.A.R.A.H brush before in my December Glam Bag and I was happy to see this set in my Glam Bag Plus, I saw on social media that some people got the Tetris brush set and that would have been cool too. These are all eye brushes so you could go for a complete eye look with just these five brushes, they are like the other F.A.R.A.H brush really soft and they are very simple, which I like when it comes to brushes. 

Pixi by Petra LashLift 188

            Everyone knows how much I like mascara but I have never used a Pixi by Petra I have also never used a dual tipped mascara and I am looking forward to giving it a try but I won’t be until after I move, I don’t want to open it up, use it once and then have it packed for two months and then have it go to waste. It claims to be smudge proof so I am hoping that it can live up to that claim. 

Ciaté London Liquid Velvet Moisturizing Matte Liquid Lipstick in Pin Up

            The only Ciaté products I have I think are lip products, I may have one mascara from them but I don’t remember. I like the color, it is much more of a fall or winter shade not really for summer but I am already looking forward to using it later in the year. 

TETRIS x ipsy Game On Eyeshadow Palette

            So this is really cool, like I said I spent many days in high school playing Tetris on the internet, I am not the best at it but I still played it quite a lot. It comes with six shades and I really like all of the shades except game changer, it’s a little too orange for me but I am willing to give it a chance to put it in a look. The pan sizes are actually really large for normal eye shadow palette pans.

            Second month of getting the Glam Bag Plus and I am as I usually am with ipsy loving it even more this month than I did last month. All of the products this month seemed to really be things that I will use and I am looking forward to giving all of the products a fair shake. If you want to see what I got in my Glam Bag Plus last month, you can. 

            I’ll see everyone with a new post at some point around mid-week, I am just dealing with some things and I haven’t been in the mood to actually write anything creatively let alone for the blog so I’m trying to get back to a normal schedule and have good quality content so bear with me.

            Do you subscribe? If you do, what was your favorite product this month? 

            Have a good beginning of your week everyone!

            -MJ

What was in my December ipsy Glam Bag?

.Reading time 10 minutes.

This is still one of my favorite monthly repeating posts, I am writing this on Tuesday and it’s going up on Saturday. I should be at work right now but guess who screwed up their back moving furniture on Sunday, it was me so my back is killing me. I do this about once a year and so right now I am sitting at my desk with a heating pad on trying to get my muscles to cooperate so I can go to work tomorrow. I’m already scheduled somewhere Thursday so I have to be better tomorrow. Finally putting my new teaching license to good use and subbing! (personal opinion: all teachers should sub for at least a while, but that is not what this post is about at all.) 

            No this post is about my December ipsy Glam Bag! Get excited! Because of the huge influx of things being shipped this time of year my bag shipped on the 7thand didn’t get here until the 17th that was a really long span of time and there were very few updates in tracking, not the first time and it’s not a big deal because I knew it was on its way and would get here in due time. I can’t even imagine the volume increase of packages traversing their way across the country right now. To all of our postal and parcel carriers, I applaud the work that you do. 

            Now onto the good stuff, first and foremost; the bag.

            This bag is super cute and they have been knocking it out of the park on bags lately, I love the sequins and the gold, they suggest using it as a clutch for holiday parties and New Year’s parties, if I was going to any of either of those I would so take this with me. I love the littler tassel on the zipper closure and the black faux leather back it all ties in really well together to make it look elegant. 

            The Products:

Ciaté London Glitter Flip Glitter Liquid Lipstick in Infamous

            This is the perfect color for this time of year a rich berry shade that apparently transforms from the metallic matte that it looks like in the tube to a glitter in a few minutes. I like the shape of the doe foot applicator and the color is gorgeous. I like the consistency and the pigmentation, this is the second product I have gotten from Ciaté in my Glam Bag and I am a fan of it. I swatched it to see if the claim was true that it would take a few minutes to go from a metallic matte to a glitter and maybe on the hand it doesn’t work the same as on the lips but I for sure saw a lot of glimmer in this shade as it did dry down. 

F.A.R.A.H Brushes Taper Blending (35F)

            First impression this brush is so soft! I love the handle of it because it has groves near the top for your fingers to hold almost like a pencil and that is really innovative because I feel like I don’t have many brushes that do that so I am excited to add it to my brush collection.

Katherine Cosmetics All over Powder in Siena 

            It is a really sheer almost golden/rose golden shimmer, for me it would make a great subtle highlight, or if you just want to sparkle a little bit. I went into the pan to swatch it and when I swatched it on my hand it virtually disappeared just leaving behind a little glitter in its wake. I like it, do not get me wrong but I am so used to the dramatic highlighters that this was a shock. I like it for the less dramatic though because sometimes you only want a little highlight and this is buildable according to the description so the more you put on the better it looks.

The Balm Cosmetics Nude Beach Eyeshadow in Bootylicious.

            Gotten a lot from The Balm in the last few months I feel like but I love the color and the pigment is great. The eyeshadow feels super creamy and it goes on really well. It’s a nice pan size and I really like the shade because it is a shade that I will actually use.

The Crème Shop Limited Edition Holiday Sheet Mask Trio in:

            Let it Glow! Jojoba oil for dry, cracked winter skin

            Oh Deer! Detoxifying Lemon for inflammation reduction

            Clarifying Peppermint Cocoa for acne prone skin.

            I feel it needless to say that I am always excited about sheet masks and ipsy knows that apparently. I need to use more of them because I love the idea I just don’t like the application because I am a glasses wearer and that means for the time I have the sheet ask on, I can’t see and that means laying somewhere with a sheet mask on my face staring up at my phone hoping I don’t drop it on my face, thank goodness for PopSockets! The packaging is real cute and I have used products from The Crème Shop in the past but don’t ask me what they were.

One final thing that was a bonus this month because it is the holiday season and that was the: 

            Kiss and Smink The Everything Stick in Tulum 

            It’s a really pretty metallic pink shade and it can be used everywhere, as a lip color, crème eyeshadow, and a blush I like the idea of an all over stick but I also have some hesitation with the cross contamination of the product when using it over multiple areas of the face. I mean I like the color and it would make a really nice lip color so that is most likely what I am going to use it for because otherwise I would have to designate a brush to it to make sure that I didn’t cross contaminate it. 

So that was my ipsy Glam Bag this month and I say this most months but I will say it again, ipsy knocked it out of the park with this one and I am excited to receive my January bag and that’s not for another month. 

            If you want to read all of my other months they are going to be linked right here, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November, as well as the bonus of the Gold Holiday Collection.

            Do you subscribe? If you do what did you absolutely love out of your bag this month? 

            -MJ