Ipsy Glam Bag: November 2015

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!

This month's ipsy bag has a beautiful starry sky pattern which I loved! Despite the fact that I've been subscribed to ipsy for over a year, I still love receiving these makeup bags and am always finding new ways to use them - they're handy for storing and carrying nearly anything!

Absolute New York: Nano Liner

I love that this liner is specifically designed to help draw the perfect cat eye. As someone who wears the cat eye eyeliner style nearly every day, this is definitely a product I would have appreciated in my beginning cat-eye days. The liner is very thin which makes it much easier to make precise lines.  My only complaint is that the liner dried out halfway through my cat eye and I had to let it sit for 5 minutes before I could continue. I think I am going to stick to my go-to liquid eyeliner for my cat eyes but overall, I think this nano liner is a great product if you're looking to try a cat eye but haven't had much practice and need something that is easy to use!

Smashbox Cosmetics: Full Exposure Mascara

As I've said in my previous posts, I am not a mascara person because I still haven't figured out a reliable way to keep my stubborn eyelashes curled so as to prevent any and all mascara from stabbing me in the eye (If you have any suggestions or personal experience with this please share - I would love to hear from you!). This mascara goes on well but I don't love that the mascara globs pretty heavily on the tip of the brush. I'll be gifting this sample to someone else for the holidays. 

tre'StiQue: Mini Matte Lip Crayon

This is my favorite item from this month's ipsy bag! I am a huge sucker for any and all lip products - but especially for lip pencils/crayons. This lip crayon is just a touch pinker than my natural lip color and gives them a little boost to make them look more awake! This little lip crayon also has great staying power especially when I put a light layer of foundation over the top. 

Sinful Colors: Nail Polish

I've always been a big fan of the Sinful Colors nail polish line so I'm excited that I received this in my ipsy bag! The Sinful Colors line is very affordable and has a huge variety of colors to choose from. On top of that, You might not be able to see it in the picture but it's a beautiful deep sparkly red shade that I can't wait to try. 

Albertini International: Warm Love Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask

I love a good face mask so I was excited to try this Pumpkin Mask from Albertini. The mask goes on smoothly and tingles a little. While I don't love the pumpkin smell, it's a decent mask that I'm still happy to use. 

I also got a nice little bonus in my bag this month - a Pixi by Petra eyebrow set that I bought with my ipsy points. I love that ipsy allows you to review your bag for points because then I get to redeem cute little extras like this!

I liked but didn't love my ipsy bag this month. While I love my bag most of the time, my main complaint is that I often feel that the bag is not tailored enough to my specific beauty preferences. Through ipsy's online website, you can see all of the samples that were available each month along with which of the samples you received and this page always gives me serious FOMO. There are tons of samples that I would have loved to receive but for some reason they weren't chosen for me! I would love to see ipsy develop a better algorithm or even ask more specific questions to better determine my beauty profile. 

 

What did you think of your ipsy bag? Have any thoughts on a beauty subscription that I might like? Or one that might tailor more specifically to my beauty preferences? Shoot me a note! 

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PopSugar Must Have: November 2015

Getting back on track by reviewing my November PopSugar Must Have box while it's still actually November! My cat was really loving the PopSugar box this month so I've included some of her best moments with the box as well :)


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The PopSugar Must Have box is a monthly subscription ($40/month or less if you make a 3, 6, or year long commitment)  that sends subscribers full-size and sample versions of the season's must-have beauty, fashion, home, and fitness products.

I love that the PopSugar box includes this little card with descriptions of all the products. Having these descriptionsmakes me even more excited to try all of the products because there are suggestions on how to use each one of them. Plus, being the nerd that I am, I love to go back through my past subscription cards to see all the goodies I've gotten over the years.

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Deepan Gurnani: Katie Crystal Headband - Retail $56

This little headband is really the star of this month's PopSugar box! It's so sparkly and really stood out as soon as I opened the box! The headband is really comfortable and looks beautiful - I'm excited to wear it to some upcoming holiday events as it's perfect for the holiday season! 

Gramr Gratitude Co: Exclusive Thanksgiving Postcard Pack - Retail $10

These postcards are absolutely beautiful and I am so excited to send them to the people I am thankful for this year. While I do think it's appropriate to have them be Thanksgiving themed since they are in the November PopSugar box - I'm not usually one to send postcards out on Thanksgiving - maybe on Christmas, but Thanksgiving just seems like a weird time to be sending postcards. Regardless, I'm excited to have these to send! 

Terrapin Ridge Farms: Pecan Honey Mustad - Retail $6

I love mustard because I'm a huge sandwich girl and toppings like mustard really pull together all the flavors nicely. This mustard is no different- it's delicious and I love that there's a little twist of pecan in it as well! My only complaint? The top of this mustard jar screws on so tightly that I can't get it off on my own. Time to get working on those push-ups :(

West Emory: Bingo Set - Retail $20

This bingo set is absolutely gorgeous - I love the simplicity of the design and how classy all of the pieces are. I've had it sitting on my living room coffee table ever since I received it from PopSugar and it actually makes for a nice little decorative piece as well. I'm not too big of a bingo fan so I don't think I'll be keeping it but it'll be perfect for re-gifting this Christmas!

Tarte Cosmetics: Beauty & the Box Eye Shadow - Retail $22

These eye shadow shades are absolutely beautiful and so perfect for fall! Since I have a monolid (this means I don't have a crease above my eye), it is more difficult to wear eye shadow so I usually don't buy it on my own, but this little set inspired me to try a few looks! The shades are beautiful but since they're probably not going to get much use in my makeup collection, I'm planning on re-gifting this set. 

Capri Blue: Mercury Jewel Box in Rain - Retail $18.95

I think this candle from Capri Blue has officially gotten me hooked and candle-obsessed. I've had tons of friends telling me for years about how amazing candles are and how they really "just warm up a room". I'm finally a believer thanks to this little box! The candle smells amazing and I love that the little box has decorative holes all around the sides that allow the candlelight to shine through. I've been lighting the candle in the mornings while I'm practicing yoga and I love the ambience it gives the whole room. 

Inkdot Gift Card - Retail $20

I am definitely planning on using this gift card for the upcoming holiday season! I love giving personalized things for Christmas - mugs, notebooks, mouse pads - you name it and I've probably given it to someone for Christmas with their family's face on it. I love being able to personalize items but it looks like Inkdot's main focus is prints and you can only create a couple ofdifferent personalized items (phone cases, coasters, throw pillows). Regardless, I am still excited to use this gift card to create maybe a nice phone case or pillow for my family!

Additional Coupons

PopSugar also included two additional coupons from Capri Blue and Gramr for future purchases. 


This is my second PopSugar box and I have to say - I think I liked the October box just a little bit better since I'll be re-gifting a lot of the things I received in this month's box. Overall, however, the value of this box is still through the roof and I love that it will be saving me some money during the holiday gifting season!

What did you think of this month's PopSugar box? Have any suggestions for other boxes I should subscribe to? I'm always up for suggestions and would love to try more!

5 Thanksgiving Survival Tips

Sometimes the holidays can be an incredibly stressful time - from traveling long hours to dealing with difficult family members - so I thought I would share some Thanksgiving survival tips that I've picked up over the years!


1. Audiobooks/Overdrive books

Thanksgiving = traveling = boredom.  Whether you're traveling via plane or car, traveling is exhausting and usually entails hours spent trapped in a seat. As someone who travels by car during the holidays, I use audiobooks (sometimes I forget and still call them books-on-tape- #nerdalert #grandmastatus) to survive the long hours spent driving. Through my library back home, I checkout free digital audiobooks through an app called Overdrive - it is literally the best app discovery I've ever made! I find that listening to audiobooks keeps me more awake while driving and makes the hours go by more quickly. This Thanksgiving, I'll be listening to Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella - 5/5 stars for the Shopaholic series if you want a good laugh and love British accents

2. Pack Simply

I have a tendency to overpack - especially when it comes to visiting home during the holidays. I think I'm going to need so much stuff when in reality, I spend most of my holiday weekends in pajamas since my family really doesn't care what I'm wearing. To try to simplify things, I go as minimalist as possible and select pieces that really can't go wrong. This year, I'm packing combos of sweaters/scarves/leggings (my favorite leggings are these crazy warm ones I impulsively bought off Amazon last year) because this is a tried and true combination for me that is not only comfy but also sufficiently cozy looking for the holiday season! If your tried and true style combination is jeans and a sweatshirt or dresses with tights - whatever it may be - it's always handy to have outfits with you that you know are flattering and don't require any extra planning on your part. This helps me stress less and focus more on the important things :) 

3. Group App Games

I'm that annoying family member that tries to rally my entire family into playing a board game with me instead of having us all stare at our phones! An easy way I've found to get my family engaged quickly is to play group games on my phone - my favorite is Ellen DeGeneres' Heads Up. It's simple and a hoot when people get really into the game. With some of my girl cousins, I'll also pull out phone games like truth or dare - not only does it bring back some hilarious memories from when we used to play it back in our teen years, it's also a fantastic way to start up some really thought-provoking discussions.

4. Knitting

This one might sound a little bit weird - but let me explain myself. You know how everyone has that one boring aunt/cousin/grandmother who you love with all of your heart but just can't manage to have an engaging conversation with? As much as you truly want to care about your grandma's flourishing tomato garden, it just isn't the most entertaining thing in the world. That's where knitting comes in. I always feel horrible about being on my phone if I'm having a conversation because I want to make eye contact with the person and show them that I'm listening, so knitting has become my alternate strategy. It's perfect because it provides just enough entertainment and satisfaction that it allows me to continue any boring conversation. It's also great because even if you're knitting, most people are aware and know that you are able to listen to them despite being simultaneously engaged in the process of making a scarf. Plus, it's the perfect hobby for the fall season so it's a win-win all around for my Thanksgiving weekend :) 

5. Let It Go

*Cue Elsa* Normally I'm a bit fitness-tracker obsessed. It's not even because I exercise that much - I just have a compulsive habit of tracking my attempts at maintaining a healthy lifestyle. When it comes to the holidays though, I just let. it. all. go! Life is way too short to be worrying about how many pounds you're going to gain from eating that turkey or how much exercise you're going to have to put in to work off those buttery mashed potatoes. What other time during the year is it perfectly socially acceptable (in fact, encouraged) to eat 3 times your weight in delicious foods?! Answer: Never. 

 

Do you use any of these survival strategies for the holidays? I would love to hear from you! Wishing everyone safe and happy travels this Thanksgiving :)