Hello everyone!
I have recently decided to get back to basics and begin taking better care of myself; including taking care of my skin, nails, hair, and doing my makeup a bit more often. To help me pamper myself more, one of the things I decided to do was try a monthly subscription to Ipsy (myGlam). Ipsy is a mail order program, sending out 4-5 deluxe or full size samples of beauty products each month, for $10 (shipping included).
Going into things like this always make me skeptical, I spent way too many years in the 90's trying to get out of CD/VHS/DVD/Book clubs that ship monthly and bill you way too much money. Ipsy is NOT like these other services, especially since you can cancel at time, and there is a whole community of other beauty fans to post looks or videos, and give reviews and tips on how to use the products sent out monthy. As I scrolled through the past bags' contents; I got a bit upset that I had never heard of this program before! I was very excited to see what would be in my very first bag!
Mid-December rolled around (as Ipsy ships around the middle of each month), and I received an e-mail with my tracking number! I was so excited; and couldn't wait for my first bag! A couple days later, in my mailbox was a bright pink bubble mailer, full of awesome goodies for me to use!- Including coupon codes in case I wanted to order more from the manufacturers!
From left to right: Urban Decay 24/7 Eye pencil in Zero, Nyx Loose Pearl Eye Shadow in Walnut Pearl, Be A Bombshell Lip Gloss in Hot Mess, Mirabella face and eye primer, Grey Ipsy makeup bag on top. (missing from this picture is the Mai Couture highlighting papiers)
Mirabella Prime for Face and Eyes. .45 US oz. $29 retail
(available at Mirabella; coupon code ipsy will get you 30% off any purchase until 1/31/13)
Be A Bombshell Lipgloss in Hot Mess .11 US oz. $14 retail
(available at Be A Bombshell Cosmetics; coupon code ipsy30 will get you 30% off any purchase until 1/31/13)
Next up is the Be A Bombshell Lip gloss in Hot Mess. This is another full size product, and one of my favorites in this bag. I forgot to swatch the color, so my apologies, but what I love about this gloss is that it starts out a pretty pink, and then layers to a great red lip. I don't normally do a bold lip, but I absolutely LOVE this color, and Hot Mess definitely is a great term to descrive the Only Average Mom! Grade: 5/5
Nyx Ultra Pearl Mania Loose Shadow in Walnut Pearl .06 US oz. $3
(available at Nyx Cosmetics; coupon code ipsydust will get you 30% off any loose pearl shadow until 2/1/13)
Yet another full sized product:loose eyeshadow from Nyx! I hated the container that this came in (I couldn't get my brush in it, so I felt like I was wasting product by dumping it out on a tissue or in the lid), so this is my own container, a stackable set of three I purchased from Harris Teeters. I think I threw away the original container, sorry!! As you can see by the swatch on my arm, this color is a bit dark for me, but it blends out very well and goes on very smoothly. You have to expect a bit of fallout with a loose shadow, and this shadow does leave a bit of fallout, but nothing more than you would expect. I like to pair this with a bright color and kind of smoke it out. Grade: 4.5/5.
Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in Zero .03 US oz $14.25
(available at Urban Decay; coupon code ipsy will get you a deluxe travel bag filled with luxury samples with any $25 or more purchase)
Swatch of the pencil; this is two swipes.
This was, by and large my favorite item in my bag. The pencil is ALMOST full size (.03 oz vs. .04 oz), and sharpens really well. I LOVED this eyeliner- it went on smooth and creamy, and I was able to smudge it easily, and yet it stays on all day. It is really pigmented, and I honestly did not need to reapply it at all during the day. Grade: 5/5
NOT PICTURED:
Mai Couture Highlighter Papier 25 sheets in a pack. $14
(available at Mai Couture; coupon code ipsy1212 will get you 20% off any purchase until 1/15/13)
The Mai Couture Highlighter Papiers were a half size packet (25 sheets vs. 50), so this was a HUGE sample in my opinion. I wouldn't call this product a fail, but the coloring just wasn't right for me, and it was for my mom. So I gave it to her. The papiers were a good size, and held lots of product to use, and went on very easily. The color match just didn't work for me, as I am super pale, and shimmery highlighter with an orangey base color just doesn't work. Quality product, and i would absolutely recommend this, just for someone with different coloring than me (milk white). Grade: 3/5
The ipsy bag and it's lining.
The bag everything came in was super cute, too! It would definitely hold a night's worth of must haves!
Overall, I was very please with everything I received in my bag, that I spent $10 on. Including shipping. Definitely not average! I'm glad that THIS Average Mom decided to try this service out, and I can't wait to see what January's bag will bring me.
Recap: $10 out of pocket, shipping included
Retail value: $74.25, makeup bag not included. Plus a bunch of coupon codes to get further discounts. I think my title of discount diva/coupon queen of Southern Sussex is secure :)
But then again, I AM Only Average.
If you would like to give Ipsy a try, head over to their site, Ipsy! Leave a comment letting me know how you like my review, and if you would like to see more beauty reviews!
If you do subscribe to Ipsy, leave me a comment and let me know how you feel about this service. Do you think it's worth it? Anything you disagree with me on? Let me know!
Are there any products you would like to see a review for, or service you would like reviewed? Let me know, and I would be happy to do it for you!
Disclaimer: This review is solely my opinion, on a product I paid for out of my own pockets. I have not been compensated for this opinion in any way, and is my honest thoughts on the products listed above.
Thanks for reading!
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Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and visit! I read all the comments and try to reply to everyone. It's the least I could do- it's very...Average.