Tag: The Balm

What was in My July 2019 ipsy Glam Bag?

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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?

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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

What was in my November ipsy Glam Bag ?

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The Bag:

            The bag this month was pretty understated, I had a very zebra moment with it; is it black with white stripes or white with black stripes. The bag is not black and white or striped but it is a navy blue with black hearts, I do wish the hearts were the proper way round though, but overall still really cute. I just have decided that I need to start carrying one of the many makeup bags I have gotten from ipsy around in my purse for miscellaneous things that I don’t want to lose at the bottom. (Ground breaking I know! How didn’t I think of that sooner? I did I just keep putting it off and then regretting it as I have to shove my entire arm in my handbag like I am Mary Poppins trying to find something in the abyss.) 

The Products:

            I am going to say this before I go into the break down, this month in my opinion my glam bag was above and beyond, all of the products were a slam dunk and I am in love with all of them It was a great mix of brands that I have heard of and those that I nowwas to explore. So great job ipsy love you much. 

(1): Eddie Funkhouser Twisted Kisses Matte Lip Pencil in Kiss Me Twice 

I have never heard of this brand but I LOVE the packaging if you have font on your packaging that is reminiscent of KISS I am probably going to be a fan no matter what. I am such a fan of ipsy because it gives me an excuse to look up more makeup brands that I don’t know but might love. The shade is an almost perfect nude for me and with nude shades I have been trying to find a shade like this for a long time; clearly I have just been looking in the wrong places. Honestly I can’t wait to use it more. 

(2): The Balm Cosmetics Mary-Dewmanizer Liquid Highlight 

So I am a sucker for highlighters even though I didn’t have them in my makeup routine until about a year ago but I have fallen head over heels for them since then. Liquid highlighters still scare me a little bit so I do tend to stick with powder but this liquid highlight has a great color pay off and it’s a deeper shade of gold than most of the other highlighters I have. I have been a fan of The Balm for years now, I have one of their old school eyeshadow quads that I just can’t bear to part with because I don’t think that they make it anymore and it is a great little quad. (After looking on their website, I was right it isn’t made anymore) I feel like I don’t appreciate this brand enough with how much I love them and have loved them over the years so getting this little highlighter and a bronzer in my ipsy bag in October was a gentle reminder on how much I enjoyed them when I was younger. 

(3): Ciaté London Wonderwand Mascara

I have a confession to make on this one, I have been a silent fan of Ciaté for years and I have been pronouncing their brand name wrong the entire time, I feel so bad for that, I thought honestly that it was pronounced like Kate not c-ya-tey until I heard someone pronounce it and I felt like my life was a lie! But on from my embarrassment, I am really excited to give this a try because even though I have been a fan I have never actually had any Ciaté products before so there is a first time for everything, right? I love mascara, it is one of those parts of a makeup routine that even if you are going for a natural look and only slap on foundation or a tinted moisturizer and some mascara at least you look half put together. Their packaging is simple and elegant and I am a huge fan of that too. 

(4): Oribe Hair Care Texturizing Spray 

I got an email from ipsy that I was getting an aerosol product and I was a little hesitant because I am normally not a user of many aerosol products, I don’t like hairspray, I only use dry shampoo when I have to, and I was unsure of what other aerosol that they would send my way. It was a texturizing spray which is from what I understand hairspray but not hairspray and I was willing to give it a shot. I haven’t tried it yet but maybe for Thanksgiving I will give it a go. 

(5): Juno & Co. Microfiber Velvet Sponge

Second confession in this blog post; I almost bought this sponge a few weeks ago after seeing a review of it on YouTube. I was aware of Juno & Co. at the time but hadn’t thought about them in a while. I am so excited to add this to my every growing basket of beauty applicators and I hope that my experiences with it are as nice as the reviews I have seen. I think this was the most exciting thing for me in the bag because it is actually something that I wanted and almost purchased for myself rather than letting fate decide on what I was getting in my ipsy bag this month. 

            Overall like I said, this bag knocked it straight out of the park with all of the products within it. I promise I will figure out how to make an ipsy unbagging folder so I don’t have to link all of the past months like I am about to do but here they are: April, May, June, July, August, September, and October.

            If you could have one beauty product show up in your ipsy bag what would it be? 

            If you are an ipsy subscriber what was your favorite product you got this month? 

            -MJ 

What was in my October ipsy Glam Bag?

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I was a little surprised this month to get my Glam Bag so early, normally it comes from about the 17th-22nd and this month it came on the 12th. I know it is the 16th but I have been a little busy and not super inspired to write anything in the last few days. (sorry my bad!)

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Onto the bag, as I was walking from my mailbox to my apartment I could not remember if I had seen what the bag actually looked like. Once I opened the neon pink packing bubble envelope I remembered seeing it, now this bag is solid red with the embossing of an opera mask on it and guys, I love it. It was very masquerade to me and one of these days it is your girl’s dream to go to a masquerade party. Granted I wear glasses and hate contacts but I would suffer if I got to wear a fancy dress and one of those opera/masquerade masks.

 

The Products:

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(1): City Color Glow Pro Stellar Pressed Highlight in Nebula.

This was actually featured on the card inside as a part of a Halloween makeup look. It is a beautiful iridescent blue and it does pop quite a bit. I loved that it was called Nebula and it was a blue tone because that reminded me of Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy, don’t ask me why but that was my first thought when I saw it was called Nebula. It goes on really smoothly and the color payoff is great. Looking forward to having a reason to wear this highlighter because I think it’s going to look real cool.

(2): The Balm Take Home the Bronze Bronzer in Oliver.

Now I have a few of The Balm’s products already but I do not have any of their bronzers. This is depotable to put in a Z palette which I probably will do eventually with some of the products from my Glam Bags. Now this bronzer is a nice subtle bronze and it looks pretty good with my skin tone so I probably will wear it throughout the winter during the months when there is no such thing as sun and your tan completely leaves your body.

(3): Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Liquid Foundation in Shade R230.

I’m going to start out by saying this is not the right shade for me, it’s an okay match if I am tan but you guys know if you have been reading my blog for a while that I have really fair skin and this one is a little too much of a red undertone for me. Now let me tell you guys something else, this foundation was my first ever liquid foundation. I used Make Up For Ever foundation all through college and even after I graduated, I switched to a more cost effective and found that my skin did not like it so I switched back to Urban Decay for long wear applications and use a drug store brand for short term wear. I think that my shade in Make Up For Ever was either 110 or 115. I cannot actually remember and I can’t tell from the website, I would have to see it in person. Love the foundation though so I am excited even to have a mini size of it to try again.

(4): K Voss NYC Strawberry Peppermint Lip Balm.

Never heard of this brand and normally I am not a fan of glossy lip balms because it makes everything sticky, that is part of the reason I don’t wear lip gloss anymore. I was a teenager of the mid to late 2000’s and we all went through a lip gloss phase. There were a lot of beauty and fashion nightmares of my age group, sorry world. I will give this a chance; I don’t know how I feel about the scent combination either but I am going to give this a try because how can you say you don’t like something if you have never tried it.

(5): INMO Eyeshadow Brush

It’s the same every time I get a brush, I love brushes and this one is really cool it has a very interesting handle that actually makes it easier to hold so I am really looking forward to trying this one out as well. I don’t know if there is much else I can say about it beyond, per usual I love brushes.

 

Overall like last month I loved the bag. It was fun and it had a lot of products that I am excited to try in it. If you want to read my other unbaggings for April, May, June, July, August, and September click on the month!

One of these days I am going to do two things, one, do a full face look with all of the products that I have gotten and two, create a whole folder just for ipsy because this is like a quarter of my posts on this blog currently.

Do you subscribe? What did you get in your bag?

-MJ