Ipsy May '13 Glam Bag

My ipsy glam bag has arrived! I'm definitely enjoying this month's selection way more than last month's and at $10, this month's haul is pretty awesome. May's theme is 'spring fling' and I think the products/colors are meant to reflect that. Also, last month I got an ugly ass flower print makeup bag because the April bags were said to not be up to safety standards and this month I got last month's promised bag (all white with hot pink trim/zipper) and May's zig-zaggy Missoni knockoff looking bag. All in all, this month features a respectable selection of items. Since this is only my second month with ipsy, I'm still a bit on the fence about how long I'll be subscribed but my may bag is doing a bang up job keeping me subscribed for another month.

A closer look at the ipsy may items . 

On to the item by item review:


Zoya Nail Color in 'Piaf'

Good things: full size, seemingly shimmery, named after french chanteuse Edith Piaf. Bad things: seems extremely shimmery, the color veers from golden yellow to ugly yellow depending on the light. The official description is "a full coverage, fresh forsythia yellow metallic. It was apparently originally created as a custom color for a designer, Zang Toi. I'll admit that I like this color a lot more than last month's nude and it seems perfect for spring. 9/10

Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment

I hadn't heard of this line before but it was coincidentally recommended to me by an ulta employee today. It's a 1fl oz deluxe sample bottle of 'therapeutic hair oil for all hair types'. I'm currently drowning in hair oils (figuratively! literally would be pretty damn horrible!) and have a bunch of full sizes and sample sizes that I alternate using on my ragged ends. Therefore, I wasn't super excited to see this sample but I'll give it a try. I am a hair product fiend and if there's anything I'll be willing to try, it'll be a hair oil. 8/10

Yaby cc008 in Buff

Ok, this one is a bit weird. It comes in a tiny pan inside a plastic thingy (best way to describe it apparently) and is supposed to be a concealer? an under-eye cover up? It doesn't say!!! Ok, upon further research it seems that it IS concealer. Awesome because I actually need one right now. I bough benefit's 'fake up' concealer in 01 and the shade is great but it is way too greasy for my recently super oily skin. I need something that'll cover up the issues but not leave my face feeling like it was doused in fry oil. Hopefully, this one will help. Solid sample. 9/10

Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Perfume Roll On

Another pacifica product! I was introduced to pacifica with the inclusion of a lip tint in may's popsugar must have and now I must deal with this perfume roll on. I've never really been a roll-on girl. The only roll on I own is one of Eau de Chloé and that's because it was gifted to me. I'm super particular about my scents so this isn't really a welcome sample. Plus, in all honesty, the gardenia scent pretty much reeks of my grandma. It doesn't make me gag which is great but I'd never personally wear it and I might have trouble gifting it due to the whole smelling exactly like my grandma situation. Unless I'm already excited abou a specific perfume, a scent sample is completely caca to me. This sample is a bust. 2/10

Juice Beauty Lip Gloss in 'Pink'

Last but not least, I got a full size (aka AWESOME) 'juice beauty' lip gloss this month. The label just says pink but it looks a bit darker inside the container. However, a quick try-on shows that this is truly a light shimmery pink that feels nothing like typically gooey lip gloss. It feels smooth and it smells citrusy, almost like orange juice. Not a weird chemical orange smell but an honest to goodness organic orange smell. So, this item smells good, feels good, and the color actually looks great on my lips. This one is going directly into my daily use makeup bag. No joke. This item is definitely my favorite this month. A full size lip product that ticks off the good smell, good texture, and good shade boxes? Perfection. 11/10

A closer look at this month's haul. 

Overall

This (my second) box is a great improvement over last month's selection. I'll be trying on/using 4 out of the 5 samples and that's not a bad average. Plus, getting a full size nail polish and a full size lip gloss for $10.80 (they charge tax in CA) feels like a fantastic deal. 

Box: 

Ipsy Glam Bag

Price: 

$10 (plus tax in certain states) 

Frequency:

Monthly

Perks: 

Great website with a huge community, social participation earns you extra goodies in your 'glam bag' and they post teasers of their products every month. 

Recommend? 

Yep! I'm new to this sub and this is only my second month but right now I really do like it. I was reticent to sign up because I was already a faithful birchbox subscriber and the bitchy wars I saw on facebook about ipsy being better or worse made me worry about signing up and ultimately being disappointed. Nevertheless, I did and it was a good choice. This month's bag is pretty good and I'm glad that I got it. I say try it for a month if you're interested. I mean, you could waste ten bucks on one drink at a bar that'll be immediately digested, give you a crappy buzz and will subsequently be peed out urgently or you could spend $10 on a makeup bag filled with little surprises. The choice is yours! ;D