April 2014 Ipsy Bag Review

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This was my first month getting an Ipsy Glam Bag, and waiting patiently for it to come was the hardest thing I've had to do all month. For those who don't know, Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that delivers 4-5 deluxe sample and full sized makeup and skin care products to your door once a month in an awesome makeup bag, all for $10 a month (in the USA). When you sign up you take a beauty personality quiz to help Ipsy narrow down what products out of the monthly list are the best fit for you, and you can retake the quiz at any point to better sync your style up. Each month has a theme and this month's theme was Beauty Rocks, which is reflected in both the products picked and the bag. If you would like to sign up and skip the wait list, you can use my referral link here.

My April Ispy bag arrived with 5 items, 3 of them full sized. Initially I was super happy with what I got minus the eyelashes (I wear glasses so fake eyelashes are not practicle for me), would much rather have gotten the jasmine roll on perfume instead.  Let's start with the bag, shall we?

The bag is taller than the average makeup bag, which is an added plus, and has this great record player design on it. I loved it but I've got another bag I prefer for my makeup right now so this will hold cords and chargers in my bag instead.

These are the eyelashes I received, and while I won't be wearing them I can appreciate the company's attempt to make them look more natural by tapering the ends. I'll be either swapping these or gifting them to someone. These retail for $3.99, so at least it wasn't a high value item.

I received the Cailyn Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in Acid Pink, which is my favorite thing from the bag. The color is shockingly bright pink and has an amazing amount of pigment for a tint. The packaging was really clever too, the lip brush sits inside the lid so you'll always have it available. The other color was a more neutral mauve sort of color, so I'm doubly glad I got this one. These retail for $19, which is a little high for me but between the color and the fact that a little goes a long way I would for sure buy this on my own.

I seem to think everybody received an Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide On Eye Pencil in black, which was a pretty awesome thing to get in the bag. The color was very well pigmented and very matte, which I like. I don't know how well it will survive allergy season but I'd definitely call it smudge proof for the most part. A casual rub of your eye won't ruin it but after a day outside rubbing and having watery eyes it was looking less than stellar. This is a travel size according to Ipsy, 25% smaller than a full sized (which is crazy expensive at $20 for a friggin eye pencil!) making this about $15 in value.

The Color City Cream Eyeshadow and Highlighter was on my wish list, so I was very pleased to get it. I'm experimenting with highlighters, trying to find just the right one and this is pretty high on the list. The texture was velvety and smooth and while I think it'd suck for a straight up eyeshadow it rocks as a highlighter. In the jar it looked pearly but on my skin it had this beautiful gold sheen to it that complimented my skin tone incredibly well. The price online is $3.99, which is a great value. I did discover that a cream eyeshadow from E.L.F Cosmetics that I received by accident is an exact dupe so I'll have to do a post about that later.

I received the coveted Benefit Lollitint Cheek and Lip Stain, and this may make me the odd man out but I hated it. The shade is the exact same color as the jar, and as you can tell I'm fairly tan so this color looked awful on me. There's obviously a learning curve to applying a cheek stain and making it look good, but this color just made me look like I had a rash. I think it would be fantastic on someone really pale for sure, but those of us with warmer tones should try something else instead. I'm going to try it on my lips and see it that works a little better, I'd hate for this to go to waste. A full sized bottle is 12.5 mL and retails for a whopping $30, this deluxe sample is only 2.5 mL so I'm valuing it at $6.

This extra large picture should give you a pretty good idea of the colors. From left to right is Cailyn Lip Tint, the Urban Decay Eyeliner, the Lollitint, and the City Color Cream Eyeshadow/Highlighter.

All total the value of this bag comes to $47.98 by my calculations, and since I only paid $10 for it I'm calling that a huge win! The value of the items I will use on a regular basis is $37.99, which I think is still really good. If you received the April Ipsy Bag what did you get and what did you think of it all?