Dermstore: Wet Bag | Retail: $19.99
Avene: Thermal Spring Water | Retail: $14
Glo Skin Beauty: Suede Matte Crayon | Retail: $18
Elemis: Pro-Collagen Marine Cream SPF 30 | Full-Size: $130
R+Co: Death Valley Dry Shampoo | Full-Size: $30
Bioderma: Sensibio H20 Micellar Water | Full-Size: $14.90
Skinceuticals: Light Moisture UV Defense SPF 50 | Full-Size $39
Sun Bum: SPF 30 Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion | Full-Size: $15.99
MD SolarSciences: Mineral Tinted Creme SPF 30 | Full-Size: $30
Raw Spirit: Eau de Parfum Spray in Desert Blush | Full-Size: $185
Box Faves:
Avene Thermal Spring Water! I about jumped for joy when I saw this one in the box. Funnily enough, it was already in my shopping cart on a different website so my BeautyFix subscription box saved me from having to purchase this on my own! What I love about the Avene hydrating mist is that it comes out in a very thin mist and has almost no scent to it (I've had mixed experiences with scented hydrating mists) which makes it feel especially luxurious and hydrating - highly recommend!
R+Co Death Valley Dry Shampoo - Another tried and true product that I was about to re-purchase myself, this dry shampoo is by far the best dry shampoo I've ever tried. A lot of dry shampoos leave a weird sticky residue on my hair but this one is the first one I've tried that really leaves my hair feeling just as light and dry as it was before I applied the dry shampoo. Another one of my favorites (albeit a little on the pricey side!).
Glo Skin Beauty Suede Matte Crayon - Although I wish the color was a little on the nude-er side, this crayon went on evenly, had great staying power, and even had a nice minty feel to it - such a nice surprise! I'll definitely be keeping this one in my bag!
Bioderma Sensibio H20 - This is another tried and true one for me (there were a lot of them in this month's box). The bioderma micellar water might be one of my all-time favorite micellar waters. It feels super light but does an absolute killer job taking off make-up. It's way more effective than I initially expected and I've loved it ever since! Although it tends to have a slightly higher price point than other micellar waters out there, I think it's absolutely worth the price difference for how effective this micellar water is.
Box Flops:
MD Solar Sciences Mineral Cream - I've received this product before and unfortunately, it is a huge flop for me. I'm not sure if I'm receiving especially oily samples or what, but this mineral cream has a ton of oil in it that starts to separate if you don't mix up the product. Since I'm already prone to oiliness on my T-zone, it just feels counterintuitive to put this on my face - sorry!
Raw Spirit Eau De Parfum - The scent I received just was NOT for me. I'm always wary of receiving perfumes in subscription boxes and this is why! They are such a personal thing (and I tend to be so picky about scents) that I find myself chucking or gifting most of my perfume samples :(
This month's BeautyFix box was an absolute slam dunk for me! I was excited about trying nearly all of the products and many of them were already some of my favorites! Usually, I'm just on the fence about receiving products again but most of the repeat products I received this month were items that I absolutely loved from previous boxes! It's clear that many subscription boxes have a strong sunscreen theme in the summer months and although they don't necessarily excite me, I have to admit that sunscreen based products are extremely useful and have saved me a ton of money over the years!
What did you think of your subscription boxes this month? Any other ones you think I should try? I'd love to know!
Ipsy Glam Bag: May 2018 Review ★
The Ipsy Glam Bag is a monthly beauty subscription box that gives you a personalized bag of full-size and sample size beauty and make-up products for $10 a month. All of their products also come in a cute, handy little make-up bag!
Tarte Cosmetics: Smooth Operating Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder | Full-Size: $33
This finishing powder is so smooth. I love the way it feels once it’s applied on the skin! I have pretty oily skin, so I tend to be pretty picky about the powder products I use. This one leaves my skin feeling extremely matte and has good staying power so it has quickly become a favorite. Plus, I love the cute size of this sample because it’s been perfect for me to throw into my bag for quick touch ups and travel :)
Veneffect Skin Care: Micro-Exfoliant | Full-Size: $60
One thing I love about subscription boxes is when they read my mind and send me a product I've been meaning to buy or try! I recently ran out of an amazing exfoliating scrub and this one came at the perfect time. I love that the beads in this exfoliant very fine so it feels like you're getting every nook and cranny of your face.
TonyMoly: Painting Therapy Pack | Full-Size: $6.50
I'm really excited to be seeing more skincare in ipsy bags lately! This clay mask from TonyMoly was a lot of fun to play with - plus, a little bit goes a long way so this little sample will actually last me quite a while!
SLMISSGLAM: Sparkle Everyday Glam Beauty Sponge | Retail: $17.50
I use sponges from both beauty blender and real techniques regularly in my make-up routine so I was very excited to see this beauty sponge included in my May ipsy bag! Unfortunately, this sponge was a little disappointing. It’s not quite a full size sponge and it doesn’t grow in size as much as the other beauty sponges I own. I find that the beauty sponges that grow in size tend to be the most bouncy which makes it easier to blend foundation into the skin. This sponge did the job, but wasn’t as great as other sponges out there.
First Aid Beauty: Ultra Repair Hydrating Serum | Full-Size: $36
Like I said, I'm so excited to see more skincare in my ipsy bags like this serum! I am a huge fan of First Aid Beauty - in fact, I think I'ved liked every product I've ever tried from them - and this serum is no different! It has hyaluronic acid and aloe, two of my favorite skincare products, and like all other First Aid Beauty products, it feels super clean and natural on the skin.
Products Mentioned:
I’ve subscribed and un-subscribed to ipsy numerous times over the past couple of years and I think the reason for this is two-fold. 1) If I get a couple of bags in a row that I find underwhelming, it can be difficult to justify the monthly cost given that the samples are usually so small and 2) I have other subscription boxes to which I’m more committed and when I think I have too many samples and can’t keep up with the influx of products, usually ipsy is the first to go! This is why I’m super excited about the fact that they now offer a couple of different subscription options that allow you to change how often you receive an ipsy bag! You can choose to receive a glam bag once a month, once every other month, or even pause your subscription for 3 or 6 months. I've now chosen to receive ipsy just once every other month and I think this will be a great fit for me!
What did you think of your ipsy glam bag this month? Thanks for stopping by!!
BeautyFix: May 2018
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. This means that I may receive a small commission from any clicks or purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
Dr. Brandt: Pores No More Luminizer Primer // Retail: $38
It seems like every month there's always a full-size product included in BeautyFix. This month, it was this primer from Dr. Brandt. Although I really enjoy this primer's texture, I'm more of a matte foundation person and won't get a ton of use out of a luminizing primer. Plus, I actually previously received this in a Boxycharm. If you're subscribed to more than one beauty box, you do often receive multiples of the same products.
Murad Multi-Vitamin Infusion Oil // Full-Size: $72
I've tried a couple of different products from Murad (another frequent BeautyFix brand) and have enjoyed all of them! I really like this oil because you only need one tiny drop to cover your entire face and has a very light, inoffensive smell (unlike some of the other oils I've used).
Juice Beauty: Stem Cellular CC Cream // Full-Size: $39
I was really excited to receive this product because I am a huge fan of cc creams! Anything that minimizes the number of steps I need to do in my make-up routine is great for those days where I'm running short on time! Compared to my other cc creams, however, this product was just way too thick and didn't offer very good coverage. I still ended up adding foundation to the mix just to get some more coverage on red spots so this is not a product I'll end up re-purchasing.
Replenix: Plumping Lip Treatment // Full-Size: $36
Lip plumping seems to be a huge trend lately - I am now the not-so-proud owner of 4 lip plumping products that I do not need! My lips are already pretty big as it is, so lip plumpers are just not a product that I need in my life. I still decided to test out this lip treatment, but the smell was super artificial and if you get any of the product outside of your lip line it does tend to burn so overall, this was just kind of a dud product for me.
Dermablend: Loose Setting Powder // Full-Size: $27
I've received this product in a BeautyFix before (BeautyFix Aug 2017) and really enjoyed it! It's a nice setting powder that is super, super fine and just completely mattifies everything on your face! I'm excited to have received this product again, but a little disappointed that it's a repeat!
Tocca Beauty: Giulietta Eau de Parfum // Full-Size: $72
If you've read my reviews before, you'll know I am not a fan of receiving fragrance samples! I'm super picky and so most fragrance samples are just wasted on me! I might have to eat my words, however, because I loved this fragrance. I didn't love it enough to buy it myself, but without really thinking about it, I used up the entire thing in a week!
VMV Hypoallergenics: Smart Moisturizer for Combination Skin // Full-Size: $32
I love changing up my moisturizers so BeautyFix is the perfect subscription for that! This moisturizer is designed for combination skin which is perfect for my skin!
Skinceuticals: Discoloration Serum // Full-Size: $98
This serum is a the newest release from skinceuticals (a brand that is often featured in Beautyfix) and it was a nice thin serum with almost no smell - it almost felt like water on the skin! The reason I mention this is because I've had mixed feelings about previous skinceutical samples smelling weird or having strange sticky textures. So far, I haven't experienced any of that with this sample!
Peter Thomas Roth: Mega-Rich Body Cleanser // Full-Size: $20
Another commonly featured brand in BeautyFix, I was super excited to receive this cleanser from Peter Thomas Roth. I have a nice little sample pack of their face masks and thoroughly how high quality and thoughtful their products are. This cleanser smells amazing and I'm excited to be able to throw into a travel bag for some upcoming trips!
Neuma: Neumoisture Instant Fix // Full-Size: $26
I credit BeautyFix with jumpstarting my interest in hair care and each month, they continue to fuel this new obsession! I don't take super good care of my hair but since I started subscribing to BeautyFix, I've really enjoyed a lot of the hair products they've included and I think my hair is pretty happy about it! This serum comes in a nice spray bottle and I've been enjoying using it on the ends of my hair to help my split ends.
Fillerina: Dermo-Cosmetic Filler Treatment Grade 2 // Full-Size: $165
This product is a topical hyaluronic filler but I have to admit, the packaging kind of scares me. The serum itself is nice and cooling, but packaging it in what looks like a needle is misleading! I'm still at a point in my life where I don't feel that needles are necessary in my skincare routine, so I'm not a huge fan of using a product that looks like a needle - despite the product itself being fine as a serum.
Shop BeautyFix May products:
This month a lot of my other subscription boxes are on the brink of getting the axe, but not my BeautyFix subscription. I'm still extremely impressed by the value of each BeautyFix box - I definitely think I'm getting my money's worth! Each month there's always at least one full-size product that is worth the value of the box and it feels like every sample on top of that is just an awesome bonus. Although I didn't love every product in this month's box, I'll still be able to use all of them and love getting to try different skincare brands to see what products work for my personal skin needs!
What did you think of your subscription boxes this month? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
