Dre Does an Ipsy Unboxing

Happy Friday friends! In case you missed my last post about Ipsy, I've decided to change how I post about it. Instead of reviewing every product every month, I'm going to write a quick post showing everything I got each month with it's retail value and links to find out more about the products and where you can purchase them yourself. Then every few months I'll share my favorites from various bags. This way I can truly test out products and don't feel like I'm bombarding you with information! If something is horrible however, I'll make sure to share that too. With that being said, here is what I got in my May Ipsy Glambag.

Should we start off by talking about how adorable the bag is? It has a neon lime green lining too so it is amazing! I love the sketch on the front.

1. Klorane Smoothing and Relaxing Patches: I received two sets of these eye patches that are designed to go right below the eyes and do exactly what the name says; sooth and relax. I love when Ipsy gives you a few sets to try the product more than once! You can get 7 sets for $21 at Kloraneusa.com

2. Chella Eyebrow Color Pencil in Tantalizing Taupe: This super fine pointed eyebrow pencil reminds me a lot of the Anastasia Brow Whiz, minus the spooly on the end. I do like that it is automatic so no sharpener needed! Retails for $18 at chella.com

3. Cotz Face Natural SPF 40: A natural and smooth matte finish sunscreen that is 100% free of oils and chemical sunscreens. A full size retails for $19.99 at cotzskincare.com.

4. Luxie Beauty Tapered Blending Eye Brush 205: A 100% cruelty free brush with synthetic hairs and rose gold retails. This exact brush retails for $12 at luxiebeauty.com.

5. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Primer Pencil in Ozone PLUS Bonus samples of the Revolution High-Color Lip glosses in Failbait and Bittersweet: I really like that Ipsy included the samples of both of these new products from Urban Decay so that you can see how they work both together and separately. I always love new lip products to try especially from brands I already know and love. The primer pencil retails for $16 full size and the lip glosses are $22 both at urbandecay.com.

So overall I'm really excited about this Glambag. It's full of things I can't wait to start trying. Not including the value of the bag and bonus lip glosses, the value of this month's bag was $45.23, which is amazing considering the $10 it costs for the monthly subscription!

Does anything stand out for you? I can't wait to try it all! Let me know if you want to see some reviews on any of these specifically and look out for that post on my favorites in a few months!

If you're interested in signing up for the subscription yourself, click this link here!!

Have a beautiful Memorial Day weekend,

Dre

Dre Does Ipsy Favorites

Happy May! My favorite month of the year because not only is it my birthday month but it's when it really starts to warm up and feel like summer is on it's way!! It's no secret that I haven't been doing my monthly Ipsy Glam Bag reviews but I am still receiving them. I decided a good way to catch up would be to share some of the products that I have loved recently that I would recommend to you. If you have never heard about Ipsy and curious to know more, look to the tool bar on the right and under favorites click the word 'Ipsy' to see all of my previous posts on the subscription service! (Hint: you can do this with any word you see to filter posts!)

1. Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder: If you made me choose one product as the best thing I've ever received in an Ipsy bag, this would be it. I cannot tell you how much I love this powder. I don't normally use powders so the fact that I love this that much is saying something. I started using the new NARS Weightless foundation and I found that with the luminous finish I needed a setting powder so that it was easier to contour and blend my blush, highlighter, etc. I reached for this powder because it was in my collection and oh my word. This powder truly gives you the most flawless, airbrushed look without changing the finish of my foundation. I absolutely love it and will be purchasing it as as soon as my little guy is done. The full size retails at $37 for 0.4 oz, while the mini they sent me in my glam bag was 0.03 oz (a $2.78 value). I love to do the math when it comes to small samples like this because what it shows me is that if that sample lasted me a month, I can only imagine how long that larger one is going to last me! So worth the money! (Stay tuned to why this intrigues me more!


2. Dr. Brandt 'pores no more' anti-aging mattifying lotion: I can't tell you how excited I was to try out this sample because first off I LOVE Dr. Brandt products and second, as an oily girl, I have a really hard time finding anti-aging products that don't break me out. Generally, aging and more mature skin lacks the sebum (oil) production which disarms the protective nature of the acid barrier of your skin, so anti-aging products will try to boost that amount of oil. However, us oily girls can't handle more oil, but we still want to prevent aging! Luckily this product does just that. Provides anti-aging benefits (hello apple stem cells!) while still keeping our skin from breaking out and having too much oil. I love how quickly this absorbs into the skin and mattifies without feeling like you didn't put any moisturizer on in the first place. A full size retails at $60 for 1.7 oz. and the sample I received was 0.25 oz. (a $8.82 value).

3. Malin + Goetz Mojito Lip Balm: The second I opened the glam bag this came in, I put this on my lips and I've never looked back. I'm aware that sounds dramatic but this stuff is like heaven for your lips. It is the smoothest, most buttery lip balm I have ever tried and I will most certainly be buying this once it's gone. If you want it for the scent, I wouldn't get too excited though because I can't really smell or taste anything. This doesn't bother me however because I wear lip balms for the moisturizing factor not the scent. This one was a full size lip balm which retails for $12 on their site. I love keeping it in my purse because it's so easy to apply as well.

4. Crown Brush Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush: I was really excited to see a Crown Brush come in my glam bag one month because I had heard great things about the company before but never had tried any brushes before. I'm always looking for great pencil/smudge brushes because I love a good smoked out lower lash line, so I was excited to give this duo brush a try. I do have to say I prefer the pencil side to the flat shader side but overall the brush is a great addition to my collection. The pencil brush is nice and precise! At a value of $17.50 online, you know it's a great deal to get in your glam bag!

5. Elizabeth Mott All Over Shadow Brush: While I have received Elizabeth Mott makeup products in my glam bag before I was excited to see a brush one month. I love when you get to try a diverse amount of products from a line to see how it is as a whole. This brush is pink and white so it's really cute as well. It is exactly what you would want from an all over shadow brush. It is soft and does a great job of picking up and packing on shadow to the lid. It is worth $9.99 which again is a great value to receive in a glam bag since it is a full size item.

What do you think of posts like this? I feel like posting every month can get a bit repetitive if I haven't really gotten the chance to review products, so I'd rather show you a quick snapshot of everything I got right when it comes in the mail and then every so often share favorites from multiple months. What are your thoughts?

Have  a beautiful Monday,

Dre

Dre Does an Ipsy Review

It's that time of the month already and I'm back again with another Ipsy Glambag review for August! Here is a photo of everything I got this month. 

The bag this month was school themed so I liked that they switched up the shape of the Ipsy bag and made it a round pencil case-like shape! 

But now for the good stuff that came inside! 

First up was this Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk. I really loved this dry shampoo. The dispenser was awesome because it sprays out a very dense mist which is great at getting all of your roots. I also love how it doesn't leave my hair feeling really sticky and dirty like most dry shampoos. It also doesn't smell that bad so it works well in my book! I even found that while it was a white product, it wasn't that hard to work into my scalp to get rid of any sort of white cast that you traditionally get with dry shampoos.The full size is valued at $19.50 so this 1.06 oz size is worth $6.46!

The Jersey Shore Sub Mongongo Nutrient Dense Anti-Aging Lip Conditioner was the next item I found in my bag. It's in the flavor Mandarin Green Orange Ginger and it's a great moisurizer. I've been keeping it by my bed to apply at night before I sleep and I've been loving it! This is the full size chapstick and it's worth $5.50 bringing the total to $11.96!

Next, I received a Flying Solo Individual Eyeshadow from J.cat Cosmetics in the shade Half Naked. While I thought it was very cool that the packaging includes a mirror if you flip up the shadow, I wasn't very impressed with the shadow. The shade is awesome but the pigmentation isn't quite there. It took me a few swipes to get what you see above which is not what I like in a shadow. This is a full size shadow but since it retails for only $2.99 I'm not very surprised with the pigmentation and quality. This brings the bag value to $14.95.

 

Next up we have the Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer. I really liked the texture of this primer as I applied it. However, I felt like it was very drying as I blended it into my skin. Almost as though it felt a little rougher as I blended it in which I can only imagine it feels worse on dryer skin since I am very oily. It's more expensive than my holy grail primer Benefit's Porefessional so I don't think I would ever repurchase it. I did like how my foundation blended over it though so I think it does a good job of filling in your pores. The full size will set you back a good $45, so this .25 oz deluxe sample is worth $11.25! Now we are at $26.20!

Lastly, we have a deluxe sample size of Urban Decay's new Perversion mascara. I have been curious about it so I was excited to be able to try it out. I was shocked at how much it didn't do for my lashes though! It felt as if the brush was too dense and my eye lashes couldn't properly get through the bristles to pick up any product. I had to do three coats of it to notice any difference on my lashes which honestly just looked like one coat of any other mascara. The worst part was that by the end of the day I couldn't even see any remaining mascara on my lashes. It wore away to the point of looking like I hadn't put any on. Let's just say that I'll be sticking with my favorite Benefit's They're Real Mascara! A full size Perversion mascara is worth $22 so this deluxe sample is worth $5.50 and brings the final value of August's Ipsy Glambag to $31.70!

While this bag was technically the lowest valued bag I've received so far, I wouldn't say I was disappointed with it. The products I liked made the value still way over $10 so as long as I'm getting my money's worth, I'm happy!

As usual, here are the previous months' reviews and values!

August Ipsy Review ($43.73)
May and June Mini Review ($37.67 & 37.36)

March Ipsy Review ($46.71)

February Ipsy Review ($45.02)

January Ipsy Review ($38.17)

December Ipsy Review ($57.17)

Click here to subscribe to Ipsy yourself!

Have a beautiful weekend,

Dre

Dre Does an Ipsy Review

I hope you didn't mind my quick posts of my previous two Ipsy Glambags! I'm back with my review of my July bag and I couldn't be more excited to share this month's bag because it is my favorite so far. Let's start off with this bag. It's a hot pink faux leather material with gorgeous scalloped edges! I would seriously use this as a clutch on a night out because it's so adorable. I used it recently to hold makeup items on a day trip to Chicago and the bright color makes it super easy to find in a massive black purse and I even got a compliment on it from a stranger!

Now you'll notice that my bag has an extra 6th item in it because I chose to redeem some points! Each month when you receive your bag, you get the opportunity to share your bag on Facebook, take some surveys, etc. in order to not only keep Ipsy updated on what your liking and disliking, but also you can earn points! You can also earn points if someone signs up for Ipsy with your link. Once you reach 1,000 points, you can choose between a few different options and redeem them for another item in your upcoming Ipsy Glambag. I saw this bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick as an option and after receiving a baby sized one in a previous Glambag, I knew I had to snag this lipstick! I love the formula and the shade that was offered 'Light It Up', is a beautiful coral for summer! I was expecting to get another baby sized lipstick so you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find that this redemption got me a full sized lipstick valued at $18! This month was already off to a great start with the beautiful bag and free full sized lipstick, but let's get onto the actual July bag!

First up, we have another bareMinerals product, that I was dying to try. I work for Benefit at an Ulta Beauty so I am surrounded by new makeup products and I had been eying these BB Cream Eyeshadows.  They are 5-in-1 and claim to do these five things; provide 12-hr long wear, prime the eyelids, have powerful brightening effects, smooth fine lines, and protect with an SPF 15. I received the shade Divine Wine which is a pretty taupe brown shade that I really love. I have only worn it once, but I was really happy with the application and wear of it. I like how thin the product is so I think if you want to create a very specific shape for your eye look, this would be an amazing product to start with. It was very easy to apply shadows after and blend so I can't wait to wear it more. A full size 5-in-1 BB Cream Shadow is 0.10 fl oz and valued at $18. So the adorable 0.03 fl oz size included in the Glambag is valued at $5.40!

Next, we have the Marrakesh Endz Argan & Hemp Oil Therapy Split End Mender & Preventer. This product smells absolutely amazing and I can already say I will be buying a full size of this product once my current hair oil is gone. I have been putting it on my damp hair after I get out of the shower and I can see a huge difference in how soft and moisturized my hair feels once dry. I love that the product contains NO: animal testing, animal ingredients, drying alcohols, parabens, THC, Dyes, propylene glycol, petroleum, or phthalates. The full size is 4 oz. and valued at $17.99, so this 1 oz. deluxe sample is worth $4.50, bringing the Glambag total so far to $9.90.

I received another product from the brand Hang Ten this month, this time it was a Dark Tanning Oil with SPF 8. While I haven't had the chance to spend much time in the sun recently, I can say that I'm happy to have received this tanning oil because it is organic and does still have an SPF in it. I will update you in an Instagram post probably once I use this and the Hang Ten SPF that I received in a previous bag, so if you aren't already following me on there go do it! CLICK HERE for the link! This tanning oil uses a natural sunscreen and is water resistant so I know I will like it! The full size is worth $11.99 at 8 oz, so this deluxe sample of 1 oz. is valued at $1.50. Current total of the Glambag? $11.40!

Next we have a deluxe sample sized nail polish from the brand Whet in the shade Facetious. I love that the definition of whet was on the packing and said "[hwet, wet] to stimulate curiosity, appetite and desire". I had never heard of the brand before but was super intrigued by the color. The polish is three free and vegan, made in the US and claims to be 7 day chip resistant. I wore it when I went on that Chicago day trip and it was such a beautiful color. The best way I can describe it is as a neon cobalt blue, which seems silly because cobalt is dark, but in the sun it was so vibrant and beautiful. I have to say it didn't last the whole 7 days without chipping, but I rarely find a nail polish that actually stands up to claims like that so I'm not too disappointed. A full size Whet nail polish is 5 fl oz. and is valued at $15, so this 0.3 fl oz. sample is worth $9, bringing our current total to $20.40!

The last item to come in my July Glambag was the cutest little baby pencil eyeliner I've ever seen! Haha! It is a Black SILK mini kajal kohl-liner by Lord & Berry. I have yet to use it but it seems like your average black pencil eye kohl liner pencil. It has a semi-matte finish and is very dark and creamy. I will do a similar Instagram update when I have used it and seen it wear throughout the day!
While I can't seem to find how much product is in a full size pencil, I know it's worth $16 and if I had to guess I would say the sample is about a third of the size of a normal pencil, so we're going to estimate and say this sample was worth $5.33! This brings our grand total to $25.73.

To be honest I'm shocked that this bag is only valued at around $26! I think it goes to show that you don't have to spend ridiculous amounts of money on really high end products, when there are cheaper alternatives that do a great job as well. Even though this bag is worth the least amount of all the Ipsy Glambags I've received, I would still say it was my favorite! With the bonus bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick that I redeemed too, this bag is worth $43.73, which is even better when I technically only paid the normal $10!

As usual, here are my previous Ipsy reviews:

May and June Mini Review ($37.67 & 37.36)

March Ipsy Review ($46.71)

February Ipsy Review ($45.02)

January Ipsy Review ($38.17)

December Ipsy Review ($57.17)

Click here to subscribe to Ipsy yourself!

 

Have a beautiful week my friends!

Dre

Dre Does an Ipsy Review

Long story short, I moved and my Ipsy Glambags got lost and delayed. So we're here now 3 months behind. Whoops. Instead of completely skipping over two months worth of IPSY Glambags, I've decided to include what I got for my May and June bags with the price breakdown and then I'll do my normal July review within the next week! 

To be honest this bag for May was the most underwhelmed I've felt so far with Ipsy. I was surprised to calculate that it was worth $37.67 because I didn't think it would be. If it wasn't for the Pur-lisse hydra-moist face moisturizer sample valued at around $16 though, it wouldn't have been worth as much. I do like to see deluxe sizes of expensive products though so in the end I think it was a smart move for Ipsy if the rest of the products weren't going to be valued at as much. I think for a spring bag it was great to get more skincare related products than makeup because I really like to keep my skin in check with the summer weather changes. Both the Hang Ten SPF 50 sunscreen and Avène Thermal Spring Water are great to keep in your purse for when you need a high SPF or your face deeps some moisture from a facial spray. Click here to read about my pool routine so you can see why I like to keep them on hand! I always love a good cream shadow base, so it was nice to try one from City Color in a pretty gold shimmery shade. Lastly, the full size Nailtini Polish was a nice addition since in May it's time to start making sure those toes are looking good at all times with the upcoming sandal weather! 

My June bag was valued at almost the exact same at $37.36! While I was completely in love with three products, I threw out the Be a Bombshell mascara (because it smelled so terribly of cheap tar) and I'm not a huge fan of perfume samples in a sample pack I'm paying for, so the Real Tree sample wasn't my favorite. A NYX butter gloss that I already love is always a plus in my book, so when paired with a Marc Anthony Beach Spray for your hair that smells like summer and a universal eyebrow pencil from OFRA, I was happy with the month of June. I like that you can get various shades of the product based on how much pressure you apply, so many people can use it! And can we talk about how great the bag was for June, designed by Rebecca Minkoff?! I love the floral print! 

Stay tuned for my July Ipsy Review friends! We will get back to how I normally review the bags with descriptions of each product individually and price breakdowns! I can't wait to show you how great the July bag is! Thanks for hanging tight in the mean time because I know how much you guys love the Ipsy reviews. If any of the products above caught your attention though, please feel free to comment on them and I'll be happy to answer questions or review them further!

And as usual, here are the links to my previous Ipsy Reviews! You can tell just by the numbers the past few months haven't been worth as much as previous months, but I like that I'm getting a larger variety of products so this doesn't bother me. The whole point of a subscription service like this is to try new types and brands of products, so as long as I'm getting a value of over $30 for spending only $10, I'd consider it worth it!

March Ipsy Review ($46.71)

February Ipsy Review ($45.02)

January Ipsy Review ($38.17)

December Ipsy Review ($57.17)

Click here to subscribe to Ipsy yourself!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does an Ipsy Review

I'm back with a review on my March Ipsy Glambag and it was an awesome bag this month! I only received four products compared to the normal amount of five, but as you'll see in the totals later, this didn't decrease the value of the bag at all. Three out of four of the brands were higher end products which is great to see! Below is a summary of all the products and the bag.

The bag this month was really unique and featured the artwork of the artist Klari Reis. The design was inspired by the neighborhoods of San Francisco and I love the unique print. I think this is an awesome aspect of this months bag! 

First product up is the Marvelous Moxie Lipstick by bareMinerals in the shade Get Ready. It's a great natural shade that will look good on most skin tones, as it isn't extremely cool or warm. I absolutely love the formula of this lipstick and would definitely look into purchasing more after trying this mini one. As a typical woman I'm obsessed with the cute little size of this lipstick and I think it's a great shade and size to keep in your purse for everyday wear since it can match any makeup look and outfit choice. This 1.5g mini lipstick is valued at $7.71 (full size is $18). 

Next up is the Chella Felt Tip Eyeliner in Indigo Blue. It claims to be water resistant, smudge proof, and stain resistant as well, while being free of parabens which is awesome. While I found all of these claims to be true when I wore it, I did have a problem with the application using the felt tip. When you swatch it on the back of your hand it has great flow and pigmentation, but when you hold it up to your eye to draw a wing like I did, I found the tip didn't get enough saturation so it took a long time to get an exact fine tip to my wing. The color is gorgeous however and I received many compliments on it, so I'll definitely keep testing it out! This is a full size product valued at $24! This brings the total so far to $31.71.

Next I received a Love in Rio Eyeshadow Trio from NYX Cosmetics in the shade Voodoo Love Spells. I really like these shades. It's a great little everyday palette as there are two mattes (the darker shades) and one shimmer (the lightest). While these shadows aren't the most pigmented that I've ever tried from NYX, they are still good for that everyday eye look. This is the full size palette and it's value is $6.00, bringing my bag total to $37.71 so far!

Pixi is a brand that I always seem to swatch and look at when I'm in Target, but due to their larger price tag (for Target) I have never actually bought anything from the line before. I'm a sucker for face primers so I was really excited to see this really deluxe sized sample in my Glambag. It has a great sheen to it but it doesn't make you look oily. It doesn't have that silicon texture that a lot of primers have (i.e. Smashbox photo finish and Benefit's Porefessional) so if you don't like that, I recommend trying this one out. It has a subtle pink undertone to it, but it doesn't show up when blended out on your skin. I really like the smooth texture it gives my skin before applying my foundation. This deluxe sized sample is valued at $9.00 so my grand total value of my March Ipsy Glambag is $46.71! This is an awesome value for only getting 4 products! It's the second highest valued bag that I've gotten so far! Good job Glambag :) 

As usual I've linked my previous month's bags and my link to sign up if you're interested! 

February Ipsy Review ($45.02)

January Ipsy Review ($38.17)

December Ipsy Review ($57.17)

Click here to subscribe to Ipsy yourself!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does an Ipsy Review

It's that time of month again! I'm here with my February Ipsy Glambag Review and I'm sorry that I'm a little later than usual. You will see why though when you read on!

My apologies but my overall shot of all of my Ipsy products doesn't include all five. I did however snap individual product shots before I either a, gave away a product because it smelled so bad...(yes haha read on) or b, used it up! Whoops! I got a little excited...The bag itself is adorable as usual. It's pink and a great wipeable material. The inside has a cute pink leopard pattern which is fun. But let's get to the good stuff :) 

The first product I want to talk about is my favorite from the bag. A full size Zoya polish! These babies retail for $9 and are 5-Free! Incase you're unfamiliar with this nail term, it means that the polish is formulated without Formeldahyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate, Formeldahyde Resin, or Camphor, which are all harsh chemicals that we don't want to be putting on our nails. (3-Free nail polishes are also good which are formulated without Formeldahyde, Toluene, or Dibutyl Phthalate! The 5-Free just takes it a step further!) Polishes formulated without these chemicals are generally more expensive so it's awesome that Ipsy included a full size one this month! I love this gray/purple shade called 'Odette'. I feel like it's a happy medium between nude and color. I just got a gel manicure last night though so this is why I had to swatch it on my hand...haha However, I can tell it's a nice cream formula that would apply well. I've only heard great things about Zoya. 

The next product is a face mask and being my background in esthetics, I was ridiculously excited to see this included. This post is a little delayed because I wanted to wait and use this mask when I had enough time to really enough it. It's the Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud by Skyn ICELAND. It's a two Phase mask which means that there are two pouches of product that you apply on top of each other. First you apply phase one which is made of Blue Clay and 13,000 mud from the Ice Age (haha this made me chuckle). It had a cooling sensation that feels nice and is supposed to oxygenate, smooth, and clarify your skin.Then you apply phase two right on top, which is a clear AHA gel complex that refines and detoxifies your skin. You massive the gel into the blue clay and it becomes warm and foamy. It's pretty fun to do, not going to lie...hahaThere's also Aloe in the mask which makes it soothing and good for all skin types, even sensitive. Overall my skin felt really awesome afterwards. I would definitely consider purchasing the full size product which is $39 for 6 mask sets (six of each phase). That makes this mask worth $6.50 and brings our Glambag total to $15.50 so far! 

And because what's a face mask without an awesome selfie for you to see what it looks like on? :) 

Next up we have lashes from Jcat Beauty. While I don't wear fake lashes very often, they're always a nice thing to get and have on hand. I've never tried lashes from this brand but they look like a nice length and shape, while I don't normally use it, it's awesome that they come with a mini sized lash glue incase I ever forget my favorite one by Duo. I'll keep you updated on how I like them when I use them! These retail for $3.99 bringing our total up to $19.49!

Next up we have the Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow and Base in One in the shade Violette which is a pretty lilac shade with shimmer (it's a nice nod to the 2014 Pantone shade Radiant Orchid). It's a cream base for your eye shadows that is supposed to be a creamy base and powder shadow in one (as the name clearly states haha). This combo is supposed to prolong the wear of your shadow by preventing any fading or creasing throughout the day. I have only used it once before I will have to play with it a little more to give a strong review on it, but so far the wear seems pretty average. It applies nicely and the color is beautiful. With a retail value of $18 since it is full size, I'm very happy to have received it. Current total = $37.49!

Lastly we have the item that smelled so terribly that it was given to a friend within seconds of opening my bag because they could stand the smell and wanted a free lip gloss...haha! It always disappoints me when companies don't spend as much time working on something like the smell of a product. I personally can be completely turned off from something even if I love the actual product, if it smells terrible (especially a lip product because hiiiii...my lips are pretty close to my smeller!). The actual gloss looked nice and pigmented and was a beautiful color but I couldn't get past the 'awful, chemical, disgusting, I don't even know smell'. I did however snap a photo of it before it was adopted. The full size 8.5g product retails for $16, so this mini guy is valued at $7.53 at 4g. This brings our grand total this month to $45.02! Not bad Ipsy, not bad.

Overall I really enjoyed this bag once again! Even without that gloss it was worth over $37 so I'm thrilled! Let me know if any of you have tried any of these products and if you are an Ipsy Subscriber let me know what you got! As usual Ipsy has all the discount codes for all of the brands they worked with this month, listed on their website so it's an awesome opportunity to try out a full size of something you enjoyed from your bag! Below I've linked my two previous months' reviews and the link for you to subscribe yourself if you'd like to! 

Click here for my January Ipsy Review.

Click here for my December Ipsy Review.

Click here to subscribe to Ipsy! 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does an Ipsy Review

It's already time for another Ipsy Review and I absolutely love this month's Glambag! It's a great mix of skin care, hair care, and makeup. It was my second bag and I'm still incredibly happy I chose to start my subscription with Ipsy. Read through to the end to see how much it's worth! Here is an overall glance at my January Glambag!

First off the bag is adorable. I really like the material of it because it's got that plasticy feel that seems like it would be really easy to wipe off and clean, so I look forward to using this for travel! Not to mention the cosmetic bottle cartoons are really cute. 

Now for the products, first off I got this MICA Cosmetics tinted lip balm. Seeing as I've never heard of this brand, at first glance this looked like it would turn out being a sheer tinted lip balm that wouldn't do much. Boy am I glad was I wrong! This is one of the most amazing lip products I've seen in a long time! It's a ridiculously pigmented product. Probably one of the best I've ever used. It's extremely thin and comfortable on your lips and even though it dries to a matte finish it didn't feel extremely drying. I wore it to school the night I got my Glambag in the mail and I got so many compliments on it! I love the shade I received (#6 Fiesta) and the wear was also really great through the evening! I found myself researching the price of these normally before the night was even over. So basically I'm already hooked and will be purchasing more of these as soon as possible, especially since Ipsy gives you a 40% code for MICA Cosmetics! A tinted lip balm normally retails at $30 for 4g, but this sample isn't too far behind at a value of $18.75 for 2.5g. So your bag is already paid for with this product!

The next product is from the new Proactiv + line. They sent me four Mark Fading Pads which contain Salicylic Acid in them. I like that they sent me more than one so I could get more of a feel for the product, but since fading is a gradual thing, four isn't really enough to see a difference and see if they work. I was excited to try them however because hyperpigmentation and dark spots are my biggest concern for my skin. The main thing I didn't like though is that Ipsy included a product that you can't buy on its own. You have to buy the whole Proactiv + line to get them so I probably wouldn't ever purchase them. It also made it pretty hard to calculate its value, but it looks like it only added a dollar so that brings our total to $19.75.

Now for something I loved. I have heard of the Nourish Organic brand before is I was excited to find their Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion in the scent Argan + Rose Water. It smells sooooo amazing and is a great sample size. You can get many uses out of it. The product is just like they say, lightweight and moisturizing so it's a great daytime lotion for me since I get oily throughout the day in my T-zone. The 1.7 oz full size retails for $21.99 so the deluxe sample at 0.5 oz is worth $6.47. This brings the current total to $26.22.

At first I was really excited to see a eye product called the Smooth Shadow Creamy Eye Pencil from the brand Elizabeth Mott because I love eye shadow bases, especially neutral ones. This one is in the shade Pearl and while I like the color, I don't like how much chunky glitter is in it. It was hard to photograph exactly how glittery it was but we're talking disco ball here. I will probably use it up since I have it and just place other eye shadows over it to tone down the glitter but I like bases that I can use on their own in a rush if needed. The 1.5g full size retails for $14.99 so this mini guy is valued at $7 at 0.7g. This brings our total to $33.22.

Lastly, we have the Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask. Depending on how much hair you have you can probably get a good two or three uses out of this sample which is pretty good! I recently got 9 inches cut off so my hair is pretty healthy. Therefore, I can't really judge it on how well it repairs but I can say it made my hair really soft and it smells nice. The 5.25 oz full size retails for $26 so this deluxe sample comes in at $4.95 for 1 oz. This brings our final Ipsy Glambag total to $38.17!! That's almost 400% the price you pay for the bag!

Overall, I'm still extremely happy I started my subscription with Ipsy last month. I loved this bag even more than the first, and as an esthiology student who loves skin, I was happy to see the broad range of types of products this month. I still recommend subscribing and will continue to review them every month! If you'd like to join the link is below!

http://www.ipsy.com/r/1ji4

If you'd like to see my review on last month's bag, click here!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does an Ispy Review

I've been eyeing the various beauty subscription services for a couple of months now and was deciding between Ipsy and Birchbox. I ultimately chose Ipsy because I'd been hearing recently that Birchbox was slacking on sample sizes, repeating products, and giving lots of perfume samples. For $10 I decided to get Ipsy and I was so happy with my first bag! One of the perks of Ipsy is that your products come in a makeup bag every month, made specially for them. I really like the black quilted faux patent leather pouch I received 5 full size products in and so far I'm really happy with everything I got. When you sign up you take a quiz that allows them to get to know you better and what types of products and colors would work best for you. Below is a summary of everything I got in my December bag!

First off is the Pop Beauty Bright Up Your Life Eyeshadow Trio in Smokin Hot. I'm not a huge fan of grays but since I don't own anything like this, it wasn't a bad addition to my collection. The shadows are pretty creamy and have good pigmentation. At first glance they look like the glitter might be chunky, but when applied, the shadows look more shimmery, which I was happy about. While you can't buy Trios from Pop Beauty, these shadows are from a 10 color palette that retails for $24 at pop beauty.co.uk. So this trio is valued at $7.20. 

Next we have The One Stick from Be A Bombshell cosmetics in the shade Sunset. This is a great multipurpose product that you can use on your cheeks, lips, or eyelids. It was really pigmented and blended really well on my cheeks. I also liked it applied to my lips, but have yet to try the eyelids (and to be honest I doubt I will haha). On beabombshellcosmetics.com it retails for $16! Bag total so far = $23.20.

Next up is the Mirabella Beauty Eye Blender brush. The handle is pretty heavy which I kind of like, but the brush head isn't that soft or dense. I'd say it's a so so brush. Don't think I'd buy it on its own. I was shocked to read the $27 price tag if you buy it through Mirabella, so I'd say if you're going to spend that kind of money definitely go somewhere else. Bag total so far = $50.20. 

Now we have the Salon Perfect Perfectly Natural Strip Lashes. I haven't used these yet so I can't really say much besides that they look like nice, natural looking lashes. I'll probably bust them out for New Year's Eve and make sure to update you all when I do! They retail at Walmart.com for $2.98. Bag total so far = $53.18.

Lastly in my bag, I got the J. Cat Beauty Big Lip Pencil in Red Rose. I love this pencil so far! I've worn it twice and it had a great matte finish, good pigmentation, and awesome staying power. I love the color and I think it's perfect for the holidays. Of all the products in the bag, I'd say this one is the one I'm most likely to purchase on my own. The only con that i can come up with is that this isn't a twist up pencil like some of the popular ones right now, but I already have a lip pencil sharpener so it's not really that big of a deal. It retails at jcatbeauty.com for only $3.99 which is awesome! I think it's a great product for the money. This brings the entire Ipsy bag total to $57.17 plus the value of the black bag it came it. 

I'm extremely happy with my December Ipsy bag and I would definitely recommend it so far. Paying only $10 but getting $57.17 worth of products is amazing! I'll make sure to keep reviewing these on a monthly basis! What subscriptions do you have? What ones do you have your eye on? Let me know in the comments!

If you'd like to join Ipsy yourself, click this link to get started!  http://www.ipsy.com/r/1ji4

Have a beautiful day,

Dre