Mai Couture Blush Papier REVIEW

I've seen and heard lots of things about Mai Couture's papier products, and received a deluxe sample of their highlighting papiers in my December Ipsy bag.  The color did NOT suit me at all, so I promptly gave them to my mother, but I loved the concept of beauty products on a paper that absorbs the oils from your face and won't make a mess in your purse.  


I e-mailed Mai Couture and asked for some samples of their blush papiers, and was pleased to get a speedy reply, asking more about my skin tone and eye color, and for my address to send them to.  Pretty fantastic customer service, if I do say so!  Definitely Above Average!


The envelope came within a few days, and here is what I received: 

Mai Couture blush papiers in Prettyful and Sunset Blvd

Each of the little sample packs came with two 1/2 size sheets (I've seen the full size products).  

To apply the blush papiers, you simply fold the sheet in half, and rub the paper onto your cheeks.  And presto!  You are wearing blush!  This is a great idea for anyone on the go, and don't want to carry a large blush brush or use fingers.  The packets are very slim, so they fit in a pocket or purse very easily.  

Sunset Blvd. is a pretty, shimmery salmon color, and perfectly suitable for my skin tone for day wear. 

Prettyful is a lovely shimmery pink shade, and great for a night out, especially for my very fair skin tone.

The price on these is very reasonable, in my opinion, for a high end product: a booklet of 50 sheets (50 applications) is $17.50. The booklets include hits and tips for wear on the inside back cover, which I think is a great idea.

Mai Couture also carries highlighters, bronzers, blotters and foundations; all in papier form, as well as lip gloss.  Their products are available online, and at select retailers, although none are near me.  Boo.

I love how great their customer service department was, they replied to me very fast, and the samples arrived before I began to look for them, which is a really good sign, in my opinion.  If you think papiers will make your makeup routine easier or better, go on over HERE and check them out!

I might order more in the future, but I just bought Physician's Formula Happy blush in Rose, and I really like it, so until I get bored with that, I'm good with blushes.  

Have you tried Mai Couture's products? Love them? Hate them?  Let me know!

Disclaimer: These samples were provided to me at my personal request, at no charge.  I am not obligated to review the products, nor have I been asked to do so by the company.  The above review and opinions are my true and honest impressions of the products, and I am not being compensated in any way.  Have a product you would like to see reviewed?  Let me know, and I would be happy to oblige!

Ipsy (MyGlam) December 2012 Review

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)

The first item I will review is the Mirabella Prime for face and eyes.  This is a full size product, and retails for $29. When I first went to use this, it seemed really wet, but once I shook the tube up, it went on well.  I have only used this for my eyes and not my face (I have combination/oily skin), and it makes my lids silky smooth and ready to hold on to my eyeshadow all day! Grade: 4/5

 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!