June Ipsy Graffiti Bag

Again I'm very late in the month. June is almost over and my July bag will be coming in, in a bit. I have to say that for the second month in a row, my disappointment level has been at about a six. Out of my five products, I'll only use about three.

First off, let me start by saying that I do think the bag is cute and colorful. It's "spray painted" in graffiti, make-up graffiti. When I opened my bag, it was drenched in the Marc Anthony Beach Waves spray. The cap was loose and the liquid spilled all over my bag. All of the packaging and note cards were ruined. This was the second time I received a bag and with a broken/destroyed item. I did email Ipsy and they generously sent me a replacement beach spray.

What can I say, I love the smell of the Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray. It smells like coconuts on the beach. I, especially in the summer, hate to blow-dry my hair. I just like to air-dry it. I already use a product from Organix, a spray that hold my waves. I don't have curly, just wavy especially when I air-dry it. This spray seemed a bit tacky. Apparently, you can spray it on dry or damp hair, just spray and scrunch. You can purchase this product at various drugstores across the country. I will use this product, but probably won't purchase another.

Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray

The next product that I will use is the Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Lounge. I know Urban Decay is a cruelty free line. I love Urban Decay and have many of their make-up products. This eyeshadow in particular is very confusing. Is it brown? Is it green? Is it purple? Is it red? It's all four colors in one. The swatch below is horrible. I used this color as an all over shade this afternoon and it looks better on than swatched. In this photo, it looks like a saddle brown. In the pan it looks like a metallic, shimmer khaki brown/green.  This isn't a color that I would pick out for myself, but it's fun and I'll use it up until it's gone. Urban Decay shadows run $19 a shadow.

Urban Decay

The last thing that I will use up for sure is the Juice Beauty Luminous Lip crayon in Zuma, a cherry red.  I know that this product is made with all natural ingredients, something I look for in my products and this is also a cruelty free brand. Because of the natural ingredients, this line can be pretty pricey. The lip crayon in my bag looks highly pigmented, but when applied, it's pretty sheer. You have to build up the color and there is a lot of slip and bleeding into my fine lines. Gwyneth Paltrow is a spokesperson for this line. I know that many people get annoyed by her, but I admire her clean living. The lip crayons run $22 a piece.

Juice Beauty

The next thing that I may or may not use is the Healing Concealer Boo-Boo Cover Up. I'm not a fan of concealer. Concealers sit in my fine lines and actually accentuate the thing they are supposed to hide.  There are only three colors in the range, light, medium and dark. According to the site, these concealers cover up and heal the skin. They contain, vitamin E, green tea, chamomile, and tea tree oil, all great ingredients. The concealers come in two sizes and are $10 and $20.

Boo Boo Cover-up

 The last thing that came in my bag was a nail polish from  Jessie's Girl called Julie G. I'm not a fan of polish because of the ingredients. This brand is free of the "big 3" DBP, formaldehyde and toluene. The scent of the polish is very strong and dries quickly. Two coats are definitely needed. I tried it on one finger and by the next day, it was already coming off. In the polishes defense, I didn't use a top coat. When I do, my polish can last a very long time. This company is a cruelty free cosmetic company, but is not organic. Looking on the site, their products are reasonably priced. This polish is $3,99. The is was cute. It's a mint green/blue. I don't wear polish, so this is something that I won't keep.

Jesse's Girl Cosmetics

Overall, I wasn't impressed with the contents of this bag. Let's hope July's bag is better.

May "Unbagging" 2016

It's that time of the month again, it's time for my Ipsy May "Unbagging". I'm so late to the party,  it's a hectic time at work for me right now. I need to make sure I do the job I get paid for, so this  has to take a backseat. I just wanted to make sure this is posted before June 1st, it's May 29th so I'm still good. I just got back from watching X-men Apocalypse and while yes, I'm tired, I sort of caught a second wind at 1:17 a.m..

First off, some of my friends/coworkers have given up their monthly subscription to Ipsy. They were tired of paying the $10 a month for things they weren't going to use or for things they didn't enjoy. So now they're using that $10 a month at Sephora to get things they actually want. I paid the year off so I'm stuck, but I'm not quite at the point where I'm annoyed at my bags just yet.

I kept my promise to myself and didn't peak at my bag beforehand, however this month's products were a disappointment. I though the best thing to come out of the bag was the lipstick, but in a few moments you'll find out why it isn't.

This month's theme was Destination Chic. The bag itself was adorable. It looks like an envelope with iconic world monuments all over the front and back. I hope that makes sense. It closes with a button front instead of a zipper. The bag came in a few colors. I think pink, but I know for sure blue and purple. I got blue. Now the contents.........

I received a full sized lipstick from Mellow Cosmetics. Somehow this name rings a bell. It was in the color Nude. The site says it's a long-wearing Creamy Matte Lipstick. I disagree. It is a matte for sure, however it is neither long-wearing nor creamy.  It goes on dry, tugs at my lips and the worst part is that it bunches into a ball in the corners of my mouth. I can not find, on the FAQs page, 

if these products are cruelty-free. I like the color and I believe it is similar to the color Anna, by Nars. I'm not saying that this is a dupe, because the textures are completely different. I would have continued to wear this lipstick, but I checked up on their ingredients. This lipstick has Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, a an anti-caking agent. Obviously it doesn't work because it cakes up in my corners. This ingredient is on the list of toxic ingredients in make-up. It's a neurotoxin that can affect the nervous system. So in the trash she goes, If you're still interested in checking out this product, Mellow Creamy Matte Lipsticks are $13.  Mellow Cosmetics

I also got the Smashbox X-RATED mascara. This is a bitty sample size because a full size runs for $22. I wasn't impressed with this mascara. I like the Full Exposure mascara better than this one. I didn't feel like it plumped up my eyelashes. I don't know if Smashbox is cruelty-free or not. I went onto their website and it's a disorganized mess. There is just far too much going on. I'll probably never purchase one on my own. If your're still interested, here is the Smashbox site. Smashbox  Hell, even the URL is a mess. 

The one thing that I got and love is the Hanalei Lip Treatment from the Hanalei Beauty Company. Kauai has been my family's vacation spot for many years. A part of my heart is in Kauai. Hanalei Bay is right up the street from where we stay when we visit. The lip treatment tastes sweet on the lips. I used it after my sugar scrub treatment. A full sized lip treatment in $25. Needless to say I didn't get a full size. I got a tiny sample. The website claims that this is "Hawaii's best kept secret". Hanalei Company

In this never ending bag of duds I got the Hikari Cosmetics bronzer in Radiate. The bronzer is way to warm for me. It's in a quad and looks to be a full sized shimmer bronzer. The sections with the shimmer were a little rough when I swatched them. The non shimmer colors were more velvety. I guess you could try to use one color at a time, but each square is super tiny so good luck trying to get your brush to pick up only one color. According to the site, you are suppose to swirl your brush around the entire palette. I have to be honest and say that I haven't used this bronzer. While these products are apparently cruelty free, according to their site, they do use the toxin Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate. In the trash this product will go. Hikari Cosmetics

The last thing I got that I didn't care for either was the Hungary Hair Oil from Eva NYC. This product didn't come with instructions. I always look on the company websites for the products that I get in my bag, but it would be nice to get a little something with directions about each product. You can use this oil on wet or dry hair. You pour a little (and I mean tiny) amount on your hands, rub together and them rub on your hair. I tried this Saturday. I already washed my hair in the morning, so I used it on the ends of my already dried hair. I typically have oily roots and drier ends. I wasn't wowed by this product and it's something that I wouldn't buy on my own.  I have seen these products at Target and Walgreens. A 1 oz. treatment in $8 and a 3.38 oz. treatment is $20. I won't really use this product because I don't have the thickest hair either, I guess I'm just thin and greasy. Sometimes I use coconut oil infused with lavender on the ends of my hair and for me that works just fine. Eva NYC

Overall, this bag was a dud. I am keeping my promise to myself and I won't look at June's contents beforehand.

This blog is dedicated to my friend Julie who was laid to rest yesterday.