IPSY November 2013

I received my November IPSY bag in the mail.  This month everyone was promised an EM by Michelle Phan product in their bags. I think that everyone that subscribes to IPSY is aware of who Michelle Phan is, so there was a lot of hype behind this bag. Keep reading to see if it was worth all the hype.

First Look!

This month's bag was a gold snakeskin print with a wristlet.  This bag was different because it was the first bag that I have received that was made to be more than just a cosmetics bag that you throw in your purse. This bag was marketed to actually be used as a clutch - although I probably would never do that. The bag still looks and feels a little too cheap to use as a purse at a party. But I appreciate that they made that attempt and you really can't expect a high quality bag in a $10.00 beauty subscription. 

This month's theme was "Glam it Up" they also included a card in this month's bag all about Em Cosmetics.

FULL SIZED Be a Bombshell lip crayon in Shameless.  I was not expecting too much from this product. I have received a blush in an IPSY bag in the past and it was nice, but not something I really took notice of.  As with the blush, the lip crayon's packaging feels really cheap and thin.  I tried out this crayon for work one day and I ended up liking the color on my skin tone and the color lasted on my lips for a considerable amount of time. I would be happy to receive another product from them and would even consider purchasing some more colors of the lip crayon from this brand. I just wish that they sold them in stores near me. I think that they only sell online and with shipping costs and not being able to see the colors in real life it makes it hard for me to purchase online. I really prefer seeing the product in stores and deciding then to purchase. 

FULL SIZED EM by Michelle Phan 'Lash Gallery Dramatic Volume Mascara' in black. I was originally disappointed that I got a mascara in by bag (you could have received a lipstick, lipgloss or eyeliner) - until I saw a video of an IPSY unboxing where they received the same mascara. When I received this mascara I immediately put this at the bottom of my mascara drawer and said that I would get to it later. After seeing the video I realized that this is a fiber mascara.  I tend to like fiber mascaras because my eyelashes are really thin and short.  I am excited to try this one out to see how well it works at making me look like I actually have eyelashes. 

FULL SIZED Starlooks Gem pencil in Amethyst. I was super happy with this color! It is a light purple shade with full on shimmer. I have been using this product on my lower water line and then lining my bottom lashes with the purple eyeshadow that I received in my IPSY September 2013 bag. I only wish that the liner was long wearing. 

FULL SIZED Pixi 'Beauty Bronzer' in Subtly Suntouched. This shade is a little light for a bronzer, I will use this as a blush and layer on a brighter color on top. 

BH Cosmetics 'Galaxy Chic' baked eyeshadow in Sun.

I received this terra cotta shade that is a nice color for the fall. 

FULL SIZED Nailtini nail lacquer in Champagne. I have been receiving a lot of these rose colored polishes recently.  They are all a little different from each oher (pinker, more of a bronze color, glitter) but I am getting a little sick of this color. 

I was very happy with this month's bag and IPSY continues not disappoint each month. They seem to send out mostly full sized products, as opposed to the sample sizes that Birchbox sends. But Birchbox tends to send higher price, luxury products in brands that I have not heard of before. I like both of the sample boxes for different reasons and will continue to subscribe for those reasons. 

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IPSY August 2013

This month I received my IPSY Glam Bag really late in the month.  I am included in the middle of the month shipment schedule and was sent my bag at that time. But upon receiving my metallic foil packet and opening it up I saw that there was nothing inside, except for two postcards. 

Apparently something happened during shipment and my package opened up and my Glam Bag fell out. My mailman delivered me what was left.  I am not sure what happened to my Glam Bag or where it ended up or fell out along the route to my home, but I contacted IPSYcare to see what could be done. 

It ended up taking a really long time for a response to be sent back to me. I sent out two emails through the IPSY website, but wasn't even sure that the first one went through, because I didn't get a confirmation email and wasn't linked to a site that said that the email was sent out. I contacted them again (according to the website you should receive a response from the company within 48 hours. I waited over 48 hours for a response after the first email and wrote them back when I did not receive a response.  

At the same time that I was having issues with my bag, a lot of other subscribers were having issues with their Glam Bags being lost in the mail.  IPSY had some issues with their shipping and a lot of the bags were being shipped late, or were lost, or something, I don't know - I was not one that was affected in this shipping snafu. Needless to say, IPSYcare was being bombarded by other subscribers, letting IPSY know that their bags were affected. So I gave IPSY some slack, knowing that they were having a lot of issues that they had to deal with along with my issue. 

Eventually my bag was reshipped out and I was sent an email letting me know that my bag was coming, but that some of the original products that were in my bag were out of stock and being replaced with a compripable substitute. 

I received the bag at the end of the month and immediately saw what one of the substitutions was.  All of my products were placed in a different bag than what all other subscribers received, granted that their shipment went out as planned.  This is what the August bag was supposed to look like. As I was waiting around for my bag to arrive I checked out some other subscriber's reviews of the bag and for the most part, most subscribers did not like the bag. 

The bag that I received was the July bag. I didn't like the bag when I received it in July and I still didn't like it when I received it in August. Needless to say, I subscribe to IPSY for what's in the bag, not what is the bag.

FIRST LOOK!

0.34 fl. oz. Pacifica 'Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream'

FULL SIZE NYX blush in 'Desert Rose' This color is a very dark, deep red shade that needs to be applied very carefully on my light skin tone. 

This is the other product that I received as a substitution.  I checked my Glam Room on the IPSY website and it said that I was supposed to have received a City Color Cheek Stain.  I would have liked to try out the City Color brand, as I have never heard of this brand, seen the brand or tried out any of the products before. However, I am horrible at cheek stains so the sample may have been pushed to the wayside as previous cheek stains that I have received have been destined to the bottom of my makeup drawer. 

Noya 'Vanilla Lip Balm' 

Apparently, you could have received either this lip balm or the new Urban Decay 'Revolution' lipstick sample.  I really wanted to have received the lipsticks and was disappointed to have received this instead.  I haven't tried the lip balm, but hopefully it will be nice. 

Michael Todd Organics 'Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub' 

If you previously saw my Little Black Bag August 2013 post, you will see that I received a sample with my Little Black Bag subscription.  I could have received either the Michael Todd 'Pumpkin Mask' or the 'Jojoba Charcoal' scrub. I stated in the August post that I would have been happy to have received either one, as I have heard some really great things about Michael Todd facial products, but did receive the 'Pumpkin Mask'.  I was happy to have received this in my Glam Bag and can't wait to try it. 

Pixi 'Lash Booster' Mascara in "Blackest Black"

The thing about sample boxes, that I have recently been noticing is that it seems that beauty companies tend to go on a marketing campaigns and they contact a lot of different subscription boxes at one time. I understand that it's probably easiest for the company to do this at all the same time, with the manufacturing of the product and all the other logistical issues that go along with this campaign. But for the subscribers or multiple boxes, to be receiving products from the same company - often times they receive the same product from various subscription boxes at one time - it can be a little disappointing.  I was happy to have received these two Michael Todd products in the different monthly sample boxes, but I was interested in trying out the brand. For someone that isn't interested it can be a letdown to receive multiple products from the same brand. But this is just something that monthly box subscribers have to deal with and comes with the territory.  That is what I like the best about the subscription box model. I love to be surprised every month with different products to try out. Very few of the boxes let you choose what you receive (Elizabeth and Clarke lets you choose clothing from a selection of their products, Beauty Army has a choice of six samples that will be shipped out to you, etc...)  So I really can't complain, because it's what I signed up for and knew what I was getting into...

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