I fell in love with subscription boxes when I started in 2012 witha subscription to Birchbox. Since then, I have fallen in and out of love with different boxes, but I'm always excited to try new boxes. I love coming home to a package in the mail and getting to try new beauty samples without having to spend money on full-size products. I originally subscribed simply because I loved the idea of getting a little gift every month, but I've since found that beauty boxes have actually helped curb my makeup buying habits. I find that (contrary to popular belief) I actually buy less makeup since I know that I will always get a new lip product or nail polish every couple of months
Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription that gives subscribers 4-5 sample and full size products for $10 a month. All of the beauty samples also come in a handy little makeup bag. I love that all of Ipsy's products come in these adorable bags because they are insanely useful for holding just about anything!
Pacifica: Power of Love Natural Lipstick
My favorite thing about this lipstick is that it almost doesn't feel like I'm putting on a lipstick when I'm applying it. The design of the tube and the consistency of the lipstick both feel more like a lip balm than anything else which makes applying the lipstick much smoother and easier. The lipstick color goes on a little bit more orangey than what the lipstick itself looks like but other than that, I'm happy with this one!
Briogeo: Curl Charisma Leave-In Crème
With a recently cut curly lob hairstyle, I was excited to receive this product because I'm looking to try more curl creams that will help hold my curls with the newly shortened hair. I really like the consistency of this cream - it's very thin and feels almost like water on your fingertips. It smells fresh and doesn't feel too crusty or oily on my hair. It doesn't really do too much to hold my curls but would be good for helping to define slightly wavy hair.
Peony Cosmetics: Shadow Trio
The shades on this shadow trio look beautiful! When I swatched the shades on my arm they were much sparkly than they look in the palette so beware of this if you're going for a subtle look and planning on using these shades! The eye shadows come in a tiny little container that is incredibly portable and easy to use for travel. As I've said time and time again, however, eye shadows don't work extremely well with my monolids- yet I keep receiving them in my ipsy bag despite my specified preferences. I will be re-gifting this item to someone else and hoping that ipsy listens to preferences for my next bag!
Elizabeth Mott: Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer
Like the last sample, I wasn't too thrilled to receive eye shadow primer since I do not use eye shadow often and have indicated this on my ipsy profile before. This eye shadow primer is a little bit more on the oily side than eye shadow primers I've used in the past but since I do not use this type of product much, I'm not sure if this changes it's effectiveness. I'll be giving this away with the shadow trio above.
Jersey Shore Cosmetics: Vanilla Bean Anti-aging Lip & Hand Polish
This is my favorite beauty sample from this month's bag! My lips get dry very easily and exfoliating them regularly is something I have been intending to do for some time. This product is perfect because the brown sugar in it exfoliates gently without being too rough on the lips. I also love that the brown sugar gives the polish a nice sugary smell/taste that pairs well with the vanilla scent.
I loved the lipstick and the lip polish included in this bag but wasn't too thrilled with the eye shadow products ipsy sent in my bag. I plan to stick it out at least 3-6 more months but I'm really looking for a beauty bag that is more customizable and won't send me products that I've already indicated I do not use. I'm disappointed since ipsy has been so good to me for the past year, but maybe that means it's time to try another beauty subscription- If you have any suggestions for me, let me know!
