Ipsy September Glam Bag

If you have never heard of the website Ipsy, you are seriously missing out. Alright so was I until about a month ago when I stumbled upon this link on a friend's blog: http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-hkcvfa0g17mczhw It's a beauty site that will send you a personalized bag of goodies for only ten dollars! You take their beauty quiz and answer questions about favorite products and skin tone, enter some payment information and then get put on a waiting list. I was only on the list for about two weeks before I became an official "Glam Bag subscriber" (very exciting, I know), at which point I received an email notifying me of when I would receive my first bag. I eagerly awaited my September bag and checked the mail everyday, and about the middle of the month I finally saw a shiny pink package in my mailbox and couldn't wait to tear it open. Inside I found a small blue zippered bag with a black lace print. The bag contained five products:

John Frieda Full Repair conditioner- 1.5 fl oz

John Frieda Full Repair shampoo- 1.5 fl oz

NYX single eye shadow in Earthy Shimmer

Starlooks Obsidian kohl eye pencil

It's So Big volumizing mascara by Elizabeth Mott

I have to say I was quite disappointed by my first bag, and judging by other users' comments on Ipsy, I wasn't the only one. But by no means am I going to cancel my subscription. If you are anything like me, you love to be surprised and love trying new things. I got to try two brands I had never heard of before and to me, that alone is worth the money. Below I have reviewed the products that I received. (On a side note: because the bags are personalized, not all Ipsy members receive the same things. There were 14 different products this month, including Butter London nail lacquer, J. Cat Beauty Fantabulous lipstick, and even a facial mask)

John Frieda Full Repair Shampoo and Conditioner:

This is definitely a blog post for another day. I only use Redken and Matrix shampoos and conditioners so these samples were definitely wasted on me! I do have to say they are perfect for traveling; just the perfect size to fit those pesky airline regulations.

Full size of the shampoo and conditioner is 8.45oz and retails for an average of $7, at $1.20 an ounce making these sample sizes worth $1.81 each.

NYX eye shadow in Earthy Shimmer:

If you haven't used NYX products before, I would definitely recommend picking some up and trying the line out. They are reasonably priced and surprisingly good quality. At first glance I really didn't think I would like this shadow because it looked green and is even listed as a pale green on NYX's website, but when I did the swatch I found it to be a nice shimmery green-gold color. The consistency is really smooth and I think would be really nice as a brow bone color on top of an eyeshadow primer. 

Excuse this less-than-perfect picture, but as you can see it's actually quite pretty. The top swatch is the shadow over NYX's jumbo eye pencil in 'Milk', and the bottom is with no primer at all.

Each shadow retails for $4.50 online at NYX.com

Starlooks kohl eye pencil in 'Obsidian':

This was one item I was less than thrilled to get, mainly because I haven't worn pencil liner in years. I am a liquid liner lover (say that three times fast) till death. But i put my pencil prejudice aside and wore it to work. Big mistake. Note to self: do not try new eyeliners at work. Since I stand over a fryer or hot grill most of the day at work, this was really not my best decision. I didn't get to a mirror for about five hours after the initial application so I had no way of knowing that I had a big case of raccoon eyes. The liner did not stay in place even a little bit! Granted I did line my upper and lower waterline and then fry chips for two hours so maybe I'm asking a bit much of my eyeliners but my liquid stuff doesn't budge! Needless to say I will not be doing that again. I don't think that means this product is useless however; I do think it might work with a smoky shadow look since it's kohl and smudges so easily. I will have to try that another day.

This eye pencil retails for $12 and can be found here

It's So Big mascara:

Maybe loving the name of this mascara makes me crude or immature but I don't care. I think it's funny, memorable and completely clever! Not to mention it's an accurate description of my lashes post-application. I was incredibly thrilled with this product, I wish I could give back my other four products in exchange for a full sized one! It really does give your lashes volume and length and even stayed put during chip frying too. There was no transfer at the end of the day, and it's semi-waterproof. I think it's a fiber formula which accounts for the waterproof-ness and the increase in size of the lashes. If you haven't tried fiber mascaras before, let me tell you they are the way to go. They don't smudge and they give you the false lash look without the annoyance of having to apply strip lashes every day. More on my mascara collection in a future post!

The sample size of this mascara is 4mL, and the full size is 10mL retailing at $20; with each mL $2 this sample size is worth $8! You can find this cruelty-free mascara here

The total value of this bag comes to $28.12!

Overall I would still recommend joining Ipsy to anybody that has a makeup obsession like myself, or even the novice makeup user just wanting to try some new products. It's a great deal and you can really find some awesome things to add to your collection. 

Join Ipsy*

*This is a referral link, meaning that if you so choose to join Ipsy through my link, I will receive points towards extra items in future glam bags.