Tag: ipsyforceofnature

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 April 2021 IPSY Glam Bag?

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ, 

            Happy almost May everyone, I cannot believe that we are getting this close to May, after the 2020 that we had it feels like 2021 is just flying by. Also it is April 20th and it snowed in Arkansas today, yea that feels bonkers to me, but here we are.

            I got this in the mail several days ago but I just haven’t been writing as many posts ahead of time as I usually do, (it’s not a good choice but that is where we are at the moment, no matter how rushed and stressed it makes me feel.) so I am writing this on Tuesday night and posting it because that is my life. 

            I got my March bag as well so I will be sharing that here soon, I promise. This post probably will be pretty short because that’s what I am capable of tonight.

            As always the opinions in this post are mine, they always are but I feel like I need to say that and I don’t say it enough. 

The Bag:

            It is more of a canvas and I love the pattern, it’s probably in my top ten favorite overall patterns that I have ever gotten and I really want to find a use for this because I want to carry it with me everywhere. 

The Products: 

Pacifica Beauty Wild Hemp Eyeshadows: 

            I really like Pacifica when it comes to skin care, I used to use their makeup wipes all the time. I use a Makeup Eraser now but I have used them for travelling over the years. This is a great tiny travel palette because it is five shades and two of them are matte so it is a really good on the go type of palette and I always need one of those to go with me when I don’t want to take a full pan palette with me. They are all really pretty warm neutral shades and I am super jazzed about it. 

Pür Mini Fully Charged Mascara: 

            Pür is a brand that I really like as a whole and I had to throw away a tube of mascara yesterday because it was getting to the expiry point. (my right eye is really sensitive to everything and I wasn’t sure if it was the air in the building I work in or the mascara and I think it was a combination of both) So I am always in the market for a new mascara. My one thing about mascara is that I never know what to say about it beyond the fact that it’s great and makes my eye lashes look good when I don’t straight up sneeze while I am applying it. 

Saint Luxe Highlighter in Celestial:

            I think if you have been hanging around my blog for a while you know how much I love highlighters, if you haven’t welcome in, I love highlighters. I like the shade though, it’s a nice shade, a little coppery, it’s a little dark for my skin tone though if you really blend it out, it looks amazing. I think this would be more of a summer shade for me when I have even a slight tan. It is really nice though and I plan on adding this to my summer routine as we get toward that time of the year.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinoid Serum:

            I love Sunday Riley, that’s not a secret either. I wish I could get The Martian toner again because I loved that and now I can’t seem to find it. I would buy full sizes of the products but they are so expensive. I know I am paying for the quality but it’s just a little steep. Seriously, I got the eye cream last year, used it all and was thinking about buying it but it was like $65 dollars and I just couldn’t justify that when I get an IPSY Glam Bag Plus every month and they seem to just be sending me skin care. I am really excited to give this one a try because it’s Sunday Riley and they have such amazing products. 

Tatcha The Water Cream:

            I chose this one and I have chosen it in the past because I love it so much, this is one of those products were I keep saying that I am going to get a full size of it, it’s also really expensive but totally worth it because it’s amazing. This is probably one of my favorite IPSY samples ever, hence why I picked it again. If you want a good hydrating moisturizer, I would 110% suggest this one. I have combination skin but it does get oily and this is moisturizing without making my skin feel more oily and that is the best! If you want a holy grail item for me, Tatcha’s Water Cream is for sure one of them. 

            I loved my bag this month, it hit all the marks for me; which sometimes doesn’t happen, but this month it for sure did. I really liked every product I received in this bag and I am looking forward to next month. 

            I don’t really have much else to say about this one because I have nothing to complain about, it was a great bag and if you want to read my other bags this year, you can check those out: January, February, and March (when it gets published over the weekend).

            I hope everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy.

Until next time, 

            -MJ 

April 2021 IPSY Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 11 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            We are already most of the way through April which is insanity to me. This week coming up is birthday week, it’s not like I am celebrating it because let’s be honest…I don’t really celebrate, I’ll be at work all day and then maybe dinner with my parents. When this post comes out I will have already had my first does of the COVID shot, say what you will about it, get it, don’t get it, that is completely up to you and your choice. I work in a school, I work around kids, and I finally was able to get an appointment to get one so I am. For my health and the health of everyone I care about. I want to be able to hug people again without the fear of transmitting this virus. 

            Right, so, my Glam Bag Plus because that’s what this post is about. I am still waiting for my regular Glam Bag from last month, they are replacing it and it is on its way, so at this point it is just a waiting game. I want to say something about the “ultra-personalization” again this month. It was mostly skin care, I love skin care, but there is only so much you can get and use. I wish they would give me the options for more cosmetics and things like that. It’s just irksome that I don’t really feel like I have choices that I want, they say the items are personalized to me and I am really wondering where they are getting my options. Literally every category I had there was a serum, no one needs that much serum.

The Bag: 

            I absolutely love the bag this month, it’s so springy and fun. I am actually really liking the drawstring bags that they are coming out with in the Glam Bag Plus. 

So what did I get? I am going to share first what was chosen for me and then go on to what I chose. 

Dr. Botanicals Lemon Superfood all-in-one Rescue Butter:

            It’s a face and body cream which I am not mad about and I love the smell of lemons. It has a bunch of oils in it which usually are amazing for moisture in your skin. I love a good moisturizer, there is nothing wrong with a good moisturizer in the beauty routine. Especially if you can use it on your whole body. I don’t think I will use it on my face but I will for sure use it everywhere else. I think putting that many oils on my face would break me out too much so hand and body cream application for this product will be better for me personally. 

Beau Gâchis No. 7 Collection:

            I like makeup brushes but I have a lot of them and not a lot of space for storage right now. I like that there is a spooly in here though because I do not have enough of them. I like a good all over brush set and a set like this I can take when I travel or when I have to not be at home and I want to put on a full but simple look. I opened the bag and it smelled like nail polish remover and I am hoping that if I keep them out of the bag for a while they won’t smell like that. I do like the feeling of the brush though so I am looking forward to giving them a try.

Now on to what I chose, which I have said I feel like I don’t have much choice every month on what I actually get. 

The Nue Co. The Pill All-in-1 Serum: 

            The first of two serums that I chose because I didn’t like any of the other options. I like that this one is a pump and I am excited to eventually give this one a try. For now it will go into the storage in my fridge because I need to keep it fresh until I run through all of the other serums that I have. It has some really good ingredients in it and that is the best. I want my skin care items to have good ingredients and as few artificial ingredients as possible, this one has no fragrance which is actually really nice because I have never been a fan of fragrance in my skin care. 

Serumkind Purple Cabbage Drop:

            I never thought I would be able to say that I had a skin care product with cabbage in it. I love the fact that it is actually purple (even though the picture online is blue) and the packaging is beautiful. It is apparently very gentle which I am really excited about and it’s K beauty, I think, so I know that it will be okay for my skin. It’s anti-inflammatory and that is always really good for all the problems that my skin has. I think I am more excited to try this one than the other serum that I chose. 

Avant Skincare Pro Perfecting Collagen Touche Éclat Primer: 

            Avant is one of those brands that I would never buy for myself because it’s expensive. I think I already have one of these, I checked, it’s not the same but it is similar. Really though at the moment that’s okay because I kind of need to start using a primer when I put on my makeup. I like the idea of having more collagen in my skin care. It’s really expensive, for 30 ml it’s $122 retail and that is just insane so the only place I get them is through IPSY because while I love good expensive skin care, it’s not something I can actually afford to splurge on very frequently. 

            Overall I am not upset about what I got but I still wish there was more of a balance between skin care and cosmetics because I just feel like there isn’t really that “personalization” that they have been trying to do since like August of last year. I kind of miss just picking one product and they pick the rest because what I am offered is a lot of products that I don’t really want or need. I know that is the issue with subscriptions. I still think that if they gave us all the options and said “pick three” it would be better because then there wouldn’t be this weird limit on choices. I don’t want a multiple choice test I want to be able to choose from a pool of things. I know that is something I complain about every month but I feel like nothing is changing and I wish that they would do something to change it. 

            So that was my GB+ this month, you can check out all of my other months for 2021 if you want to, you can read more of my complaining there too, I promise. Just click on the month, January, February, and March.

            I hope that everyone has a great start to the week and my Glam Bag will be my post for Wednesday because I have it and that’s about all I can manage this week. 

            Stay happy and healthy,

            -MJ