Tag: the balm cosmetics

October 2020 IPSY Glam Bag Plus Unboxing

.Reading time 7 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ.

            How is it already half way through October? There is no way that that is true but here we are and I mean this is my favorite time of year it starts to cool down and the leaves start to change, I know it’s like the most basic white girl thing to say that my favorite season is fall but it is. I also love Halloween but the not so spooky versions. 

            The choices this month felt more diverse so I am hoping that that trend continues as we move through the rest of the year and beyond. 

The Bag:

            On the front is like what I would call a zodiac wheel or an all seeing eye but it’s surrounded by makeup items and I really like it, I think that the Glam Bag is similar and I wasn’t sure if I would like the draw string bag but I actually am really liking it. 

            The back says ‘you’re magic’ and I thought that was the cutest thing. 

What did I get?

Lovecraft Beauty Basic Rituals Eyeshadow Palette:

            I love this palette it is the perfect Halloween palette for quite a few darker looks. I also love the packaging and the holographic moth on the front because it all feels very Halloween and I can get behind a brand that sticks to their theme. The pigmentation isn’t bad on any of the colors even the white which is not a shade that I have many of. So overall pretty great little six pan palette. This was their first choice for me, I didn’t even pick this and it’s great.

Tarte Shape Tape Setting Powder in Translucent:

            I just love saying “shape tape” in funny voices and I cannot tell you why but this was their other choice for me which is a pretty great product to get, I don’t use setting powder all that often because I just setting spray and go. I love Tarte though and that is really not a secret so having another option for when I do use setting powder is never a bad thing. 

The Balm Cosmetics Autobalm Grl Pwdr Cheek Palette:

            I need to stop swatching while I am typing because I am just covered in eyeshadow and cheek products. I like the two shades of blush in this and the bronzer, the highlighter is a little dark for my complexion but I am not complaining. I like The Balm and the pigmentation is pretty great on this one as well. I like the little travel palettes that I have been getting because it means that I can carry them a lot easier to travel with and still have choices on what I put on my face. 

Skin&Lab B Plus Calming Cream:

            K-beauty for the win, I picked this one because I have been focusing more on skin care in 2020 because I have had the time to do so, it only takes a pandemic to really develop good skin care routines. I can’t really tell you much about this one without trying it but it claims to use B5 vitamins to calm the skin and regulate sebum levels and that all sounds great to me. 

Thrive Causemetics Brilliant Eye Brightener in Aurora:

            I love Thrive, their mascara is my favorite, there are plenty of posts on the blog about that one. I have one of the other eye brighteners and I really like it but that’s in shade Stella which is a lighter champagne this one is more of a rose gold champagne and it’s a beautiful shade. 

            Overall my Glam Bag Plus this month was amazing, I really enjoyed it after having like two months of just okay bags. I feel like this post is kind of short and I don’t know if that’s a good or a bag thing but here we are either way. 

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

            Hope everyone has a great start to the week and I will see y’all in a few days with another post!

            -MJ  

What was in my July 2020 IPSY Glam Bag?

.Reading time 8 minutes.

Hey, hey it’s MJ,

            July, I have no words really. I have been social media detoxing to be completely honest. I just decided to take some time away from the internet because social media has just gotten so toxic in our time of quarantine. Like we can be nice to each other but people just aren’t and it’s a lot for me to deal with. It just came to a point where I was feeling a lot of negative emotions that I don’t like feeling but I had to take a step back from the internet for a few weeks. Also my dad and I went back to Indiana to see some family friends, and a lot of people down here have been wearing masks but up there, not a lot of people were and we got a lot of funny looks but seriously, mask up for safety. 

            Beyond that welcome back to my blog, I will be doing this post and probably one other this month and I just, I want to get back to it but I just want to get back into doing things that make me happy as well still live in a world that is still really uncertain times so here is just something that is keeping my life sane at the moment. 

            So let’s talk about the bag, it’s plastic, I don’t mind it because it would be good to take to the pool or to the beach, (I go to neither so, I can’t shrug over the internet but shrug for me here) The zipper pull is an airplane and it says escape which feels really 80’s to me. (I am a child of the 90’s but it’s very neon!) It’s cute though so I like it.

Products: 

Ciaté London Watermelon Burst Hydrating Lip Oil:

            I got a Ciaté Watermelon product in my Glam Bag Plus as well (spoilers), I like watermelon products and I am usually not a user of lip oil and I will say this spells very lip smackers watermelon (again child of the 90’s). I like it and it’s not sticky like gloss so that is a plus for this. It’s like a weird consistency between a gloss and a lip balm and I like it, maybe I will use this to get more and more into lip oils. Who knows.

NeoGen Dermatology A-Clear Soothing Foam Cleanser:

            I got a cleanser last month too and I really like that one as well and when it says it’s dermatologically tested and usually those products don’t seem to dry my skin out or break me out. I will give it a chance here soon when my other little face cleanser runs out and maybe I will get come back here and tell y’all all about it. 

Luxie 205 Pack and Shade Brush:

            I really like how this brush feels and there is a notch in the handle for your thumb which is such a good idea! Such a good idea and I really like how the brush feels, it’s not as dense as some of my other packing brushes and I am totally cool with that. I’m just getting distracted watching YouTube videos and playing with the brush so that’s a good thing I guess. 

Space Case Eyeshadow in Space Food:

            Odd name for a shade but a really pretty neutral brown, I actually really like the shade and I like Space Case, I have gotten one of two products from them in my IPSY glam bags in the past so their eyeshadows are really nice, the pigment is great it is also a nice texture. It’s a nice brown shade and I don’t know what else I can say about it because it’s a great shade to just have many of. 

TheBalm Cosmetics Will Powder Blush in Perseverance: 

            Okay so on the website they call it highlighter, well they did in the review and that confused me because it is labeled as blush but I usually don’t see blush that is shiny like a highlighter. There is a lot of glitter in it and the shade is just a little too dark and a little too orange for my skin tone so while I love TheBalm this is just a little off for me.

            So there is my bag for this month and for the most part it was great, the Glam Bag is I feel more diverse with products and that’s great. The Glam Bag Plus is changing and I will talk about that in my other Glam Bag Plus unboxing that will be out later in the week (hopefully).

Want to check out my other Glam Bags from this year, January, March, April, May, and June!

            Have a great week and I will see you all with another post soon,

                        -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 

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

What was in My July 2019 ipsy Glam Bag?

.Reading time 11 minutes.

I have been super MIA for the whole beginning of July and for that I apologize, I am in the process of moving, as in from when this post goes up, like 72 hours. It’s not like I’m moving cities or states, I am only moving a few miles away from where I currently live but it’s still been an eventful process that has had me up in the air for the last month or so. 

            I am going to say one thing before I get into it, I am writing this post Saturday night at like 9 PM listening to the Pop Punk Powerhouses playlist on Spotify, currently Fall Out Boy and I am living my middle and high school musical memories right now and living for it. Nothing else about middle or high school was that great but that music shaped me to the person that I am today and I just needed to comment on that before moving into what is usually a really happy and positive post. If you like what we considered to be “mid-2000’s emo and punk music” I highly recommend giving it a listen. 

            Now I was looking forward to getting this bag as I always do and I was not disappointed, as I am writing this ispy is down in Miami and I am getting travel envy from their Instagram story. 

            Onto to the bag and the products though because I want to actually write my thoughts and not paragraph upon paragraph about nothing at all. 

            The bag:

            Okay I love this bag; my mom thinks that getting a new makeup bag every month is ridiculous but in moving let me tell you something they are great to have around for all sorts of things! I organized my whole makeup and beauty collections into my past glam bags and I have never been able to do something like that before. This bag though is super cute I love the monstera leaves and the palm fronds on it with that beautiful I want to call it salmon background and bag lining. I love that aesthetic of big tropical leaves and this bag does not disappoint but their bags usually don’t disappoint. 

            The Products: 

            Again I am always thankful for the little insert and the one good thing that Birchbox did was give you a price for a full sized product right on the insert but different companies do different things. 

            Hempz Herbal Body Moisturizer in Sweet Pineapple & Honey Melon:

            This stuff smells amazing! I am not kidding I opened it and gave it a good sniff and I fell in love, I used to use hemp based lotion when I was in high school and into college because it was a bit of minor rebellion to have a marijuana leaf on something that I owned. I know from past experiences that hemp lotions (that I have tried) are usually really moisturizing and they leave your skin feeling really soft. I am so looking forward to throwing this in my purse (with the other six lotions I have in there, oops) and use it on the go.

            Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash Curling Mascara:

            No joke this is one of my favorite mascaras, I even included it in a blog post on my favorite mascaras but I have never had a trial or travel size of it and my last tube sadly has found its way to the trash because it was getting dangerously old. So seeing this in my box made me smile because I have a new one to play with. I am going to tell the story of how I found this product in the first place, in probably late 2015 or early 2016 I was watching a British beauty influencer who I used to watch all the time and she recommended it and because I am easily influenced I went out and purchased it even with the price tag associated with it and let me tell you, I have never looked back. 

Mídflower Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Mask (set of 2): 

            I have been using more and more face masks this year because I have been putting one on and listening to a guided meditation. I find it to be really relaxing to do that because it’s just a 20-minute self-care break from life when the rest is complete chaos. Hyaluronic Acid is (or has been) becoming a big thing and I have seen more and more masks advertising this ingredient. The card says this is a biodegradable mask and I am so excited! I try my best to cut down on my trash and knowing that this product will naturally break down makes me feel a little better about using it, the packaging however is not so it is a double edged sword. 

Phase Zero Make Up Blusher in Cotton Candy:

            Love the packaging and the color of the blush, it is really pinky and that is right up my street. I love the compact because there is a mirror in the product and usually on small products you don’t actually get a mirror so this is a great one to take in your handbag for touch ups during the day or to check and make sure that your makeup is still holding strong. Blush is probably the thing I have least of, that and bronzer because those are newer things that I have been adding into my beauty routine when I go full glam which is not very often. I am looking forward however to actually giving this product a good test out. 

The Balm Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Ooh La La:

            I don’t think I will ever get over The Balm’s packaging, it is always so creative and consistent across all of their products and launches and I just think that it allows for people to focus on the product more than the packaging it comes in because I am a sucker for packaging but there are plenty of brands who when they release a collection do very different style and themes. The Balm keeps that same consistent thematic overtone so you can always recognize a product from their brand. I love the matte brown shade; it is a great neutral for the outer corner or crease of your eyelid or sweeping it below the lash line to give your eyes a more dramatic effect. 

            Over all I loved my Glam Bag this month! Come back mid-week for my Glam Bag Plus and my saga with the post office over it. If you want to read how I felt about the rest of the bags this year you can go and read those posts, January, February, March, April, May, and June. One of these days I will make it so you can click on one and get all of my past posts, I am working on it.

            I will see everyone on Wednesday (which is my move day) with another post, I hope everyone has a great beginning of the week!

            Do you subscribe, if you do what’s your favorite product this month? 

            -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