Ipsy April

 April's theme was "Beauty Rocks!" And this month's bag sure did rock!

 Big Sexy Hair Root Pump volumizing spray mousse. I've only used a few times, but I love all Big Sexy Hair products.  I am missing my big sexy hair right now but have finally been able to put it back into a high ponytail!  Yep, we're gonna grow it out.  I think.  It's in that frumpy stage right now so we'll see if I can get through this.

 Dr. Brant microdermabrasion skin exfoliant.  My skin has died and gone to heaven with this stuff. The smell is good, the scrub is good, the feeling after is amazing. I was telling Dustin the week before I got this that I need a good face scrub and then VOILA! The Ipsy peeps read my mind and sent me this.  I liked it so much that I splurged and bought a full size.  It will last for a good long time and my skin will be much happier with it.

Starlooks Luscious Longwear Lip Pencil in Naked. I've never been a lip liner gal, but I like this one.  The Naked tone matches my lips well and goes with all my glosses.  It also matches perfectly with March's BareMinerals lipstick!

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Eyeliner in Black Velvet.  This eyeliner did not work for me.  It would not go over my eyeshadow and I don't think I could put it on before shadowing.  I have been using it if I ever do my bottom lashes or outside corners, but I'm happy to stick with my regular liquid eyeliner.

Elizabeth Mott Pop! Goes the Shadow in Champagne.  Even though I like my pigments, I really love this shadow as an inner eye highlighter.  Very happy with the eyeshadow pick for this month!

There were some great items in this month's bag! Made me very happy. :)  It's such a great deal! You can join get all this goodness for just $10 a month here!

Ipsy March

 This month's Ipsy bag was about called "Destination Beauty".  I was not a huge fan of this month's bag (which is why this has probably taken me so long to post about), and am only going to use half the products.

 This is the BareMinerals Moxie lipstick in Get Ready.  The color is pretty good, but at first I didn't feel like it had as much sheen as I usually like with my glosses.  I have come to like it more and will typically add a coat of clear/similar colored Moxie lipgloss to get the shine I like.

 Pixi flawless beauty primer.  It is supposed to be an "even skintone face primer" and "adds a youthful glow".  I haven't noticed it doing anything for my skin tone, and it would add that youthful glow if you wore it alone, but once you cover it with a foundation, the "glow" is gone, which I'm okay with as I felt it just makes me look shiny.  I do use this as a primer, but I wouldn't switch my BB cream or regular primer for this brand.  But hey, at least I'm using it. :)

 Be a Bombshell eyeshadow quad in Bora Bora.  I don't even know what to say about this one.  I like the colors? But as I was testing them on my hand, I found that I have EXACTLY the same colors in pigment form, which I like better:

The right side is BAM Bora Bora, the left side are my pigments- a blue-turns-gold BareMinerals, Perky from Hot Mess, Beyonce Brown from Hot Mess, and Peaches and Cream from Hot Mess.  I like the Hot Mess hues better, and the pigment form better... so this quad went to a friend.

 Nicole by OPI nailpolish in On What Grounds.  I like this color.  I think it's a super pretty blue.  But this is a textured nail polish and the thought of texture on my nails weirds me out.  I haven't tried it yet and don't know if I will.  Anyone's birthday coming up that would like this? :)

 The March Ipsy bag by some designer in San Fran or something... meh.  I wasn't impressed.  but it currently holds all my lipglosses very nicely.  :)
I know this hasn't been a raving review, but hey, for only $10 a month I don't expect to love everything I get.  Still worth it. :)
If you'd like to join, sign up here.

My New Obsession

When we were in Utah last October, Sarah Clawson got me started on buying good makeup.  She sells Hot Mess Cosmetics and introduced me to pigment eyeshadows, and my obsession took off from there.  I love them!  In December I got a Sephora gift card and while I was overwhelmed walking into the store and seeing all the different brands, I knew I wanted to find another pigment eyeshadow.  That's when I discovered Bare Minerals makeup.  I am officially now obsessed!  I love their makeup and I love finding new makeups!  Hence the decision to join Ipsy.
Ipsy is a monthly membership where they send you "samples" of makeup and other beauty products for just $10 including shipping.  I got my first bag this month and am super impressed with it!  Most of the products are real full sizes so it makes for a great deal!
February's bag was "The Look of Love".  Here's my bag and the goodies it came with:

 

J.Cat Beauty Eyelashes & Glue: I have been asked 3 times in the past few months if my lashes were real or not- by the girl who gave me a facial (who thought they were real the whole time), by a coworker, and by a Bare Minerals salesman... and they are definitely real and I love the effect I get using a CoverGirl mascara.  That being said, I don't know how often I will use these falsies, but am excited to work them into a Halloween costume or some other special event.

 POP Beauty Plump Pout Mini in Fuschia Freesia.  I like the color of this gloss but the initial taste was AWFUL. Especially after just getting my Bare Minerals Cool as Ice lip glosses that are amazing.  After a little time, the stank of the gloss has gone down and I can pair it with an overcoat of said cool as ice gloss and it works out wonderfully.

 Zoya Nail polish in Odette: I haven't used this yet and I don't really like purple, but I'm sure I will use it at some point.  As far as purple goes, I like the shade.  Maybe I'll use it on my toes next to try it out. :)

City Color Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon: I LOVE this blush.  The color is great, a nice sunkissed pink.  A little goes a LONG way... like with my blush brush I just lightly dab it and it's plenty enough.  I think I will like this even more this summer when I actually have a little color in my face.  This is my favorite item in the bag.

Skyn Iceland Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud: This was a true sample size so I haven't tried it yet but I'm looking forward to it!

If you want to join in the fun, go ahead and treat yo self! You can sign up here.

But a fair warning, you'll probably get obsessed too. :)