Ipsy Glam Bag August '13 Review

Whooooo! Seriously. Whoooo-hoooo!!!!!

Why am I so excited? Well, I got my Ipsy bag and it had the highly coveted Urban Decay Revolution lipstick sample in 'Anarchy' (yes, that's even the shade I wanted!!) and an extra little gift that blew my mind. This month, I love ipsy like a two dollar ho!

Now let's get on with the review:

I wasn't too excited this month because I typically don't get what I want (like the benetint sample in July) and I'm pretty used to it but this was just my month. I got 2 Urban Decay products as well as the charcoal face scrub which I am seriously excited about. Ipsy did well this month. God, they're were so good that they might overtake the reigning birchbox in the fight for the title of  supreme beloved sub!

Why, yes that IS a full-size Urban Decay Moondust Shadow in the picture. 

Oh man, I love it. Seriously. 

Ok, on to the most important part, the item by item review:


Pixi Beauty Lash Booster Mascara in Blackest Black

I decided to start with the least exciting sample so that I could end with the coolest (to make you scroll!!! *evil laugh*). So, this sample isn't quite the best thing (or even 4th best) I got this month. It's mascara and it's ok but I don't love Pixi. I've found that their products seem to get old really quickly and the application gets messed up. Plus, I have YSL's Babydoll, Lancome's Alber Elbaz Hypnose, and another Dior mascara (all full size because I won't even count how many sample sized mascaras I have now) to get through! This sample is a bit of a non-starter. However, considering the other stuff I got, I can deal. But I don't care for it. 6/10


Michael Todd Jojoba Charcoal Gentle Exfoliating Face Scrub

Now, this sample is something that I actually wanted when I saw the little hints we get before the unveiling, so to speak, of the month's bag. I've been considering trying a charcoal scrub and I'm bored with my regular face wash rotation so this is a good addition that came in at the perfect time. The only thing I'm worried about is the rumour that some charcoal products get stuck in the pores and look like blackheads if not cleaned off correctly! D: That is something I will work quite hard to avoid but other than that, I'm a very happy camper. 10/10


Pacifica Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream

Blegh. Another BB cream to add to the mountain of other samples that have become so ubiquitous during the BB cream trend. This one is meant to give skin a glow and when I tried it out on my palm, it actually did have a nice golden shimmer but on my face, it would look like a was sweating golden sweat! It actually seems to be pretty great for drier skin and my mom loved it so this isn't a bad sample per se, just a bad sample for me. 6/10


MicaBeauty Eye Shadow in Bronze

Ok, so I've already got another Mica eyeshadow somewhere from a previous bag (at least I think I still have it) but I don't think I've ever used it because the color just didn't look good on me (brownish or something, I actually can't even remember which doesn't bode well for any product) plus I don't really like unknown brands and tend to stick to the mainstream in makeup (with the exception of Lime Crime, I LOVE them) but it turns out that the bronze color is actually pretty great. It has a really nice shimmer and the sifter isn't too hard to work with. I'll actually be trying this on for maybe a daytime look. I don't know but I do know I Iike the color and texture so I'm pretty happy with this one. 9/10

Yep, you can barely see the bronze with my camera but it's there. Lol. 

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in 'Anarchy'

As soon as I saw that I was getting this, I was incredibly excited. However, I was worried that for some reason I wouldn't get it since random changes sometimes happen before they ship out your stuff in some companies. Thankfully, when I opened this month's glam bag, it was the first thing I saw! Not only do I feel lucky to get something I wanted but I got the shade I wanted (anarchy, a bright fuchsia) since the other shade was 69 (a red) and I already have wayyy too many reds. I have to say that the application and the texture are fucking awesome. No other words for it. It really does feel good on the lips. I even fell asleep wearing it and woke up and my lips were still completely colored. Plus, it doesn't dry out my lips! I think I just found my lipstick holy grail because I've already put almost every shade on my sephora wishlist. I'm actually surprised by just how much I love it. It's freaking lipstick destiny!

Inside the envelope

Small but powerful sample size ;) 

There's the perfect shade. Ewww my laptop looks dirty though! 

Urban Decay Moondust Eye Shadow in Intergalactic (full size)

This item was a total surprise. It's among the items you can get if you refer 2 (just 2) friends to ipsy after you sign up. The other items are a Selena Gomez Nicole OPI Nail Polish (ugh), a baublebar bracelet (yes!), and a lime crime nail polish (yes!). You don't get to choose what you get and I didn't expect to get anything at all and lo and behold, the first thing I saw when I opened the pink envelope was a full size Urban Decay Moondust eyeshadow!! I'd actually had the same shadow in my sephora basket for days and when I saw it in my bag, I actually yelped! Plus the texture is magnificent. I really have to start buying more UD because their lipstick and shadow is comparatively great versus other like brands. The eyeshadow feels finely milled and I was able to apply it perfectly with my finger! No brushes necessary!!!  It was a sincerely great surprise. I'm very much loving ipsy for this wonderful gift because it legit made me happy as a clam ;)  1000/10

Ahhhhhh

Oooohhhh

Yes!!! 

The Ipsy Bag

Finally, the bag itself. It's very cute and back to school in purple and has a little 'ipsy glamour academy' motif printed on it but the quality is just ok. Plus the material used isn't anything new. However, it's very cute as a back to school themed accessory and I'm definitely keeping it. 9/10



Overall, I'm very VERY pleased with this month's ipsy glam bag. There were some issues with shipping because their preferred carrier (DHL) is kind of terrible for this sort of stuff and a lot of bags were delivered late in the month is comparison to previous months but, for me, it was well worth the extra wait! After having a pretty crappy month (especially this week.. thanks pms!!),  a little surprise like the UD shadow made me feel a little bit lucky and I love that something like ipsy can make me feel that way.

Box:

Ipsy Glam Bag

Frequency:

Monthly

Price: 

$10.00 (plus tax in CA, I pay $10.80)

Perks: 

Extra items for referrals, brand discounts for every brand offered each month, full size items included (not guaranteed every month). 

Recommend?

Yes! I love them right now. Seriously. Give it a try if you're interested, it's only $10 and you can cancel if you hate it; although you probably won't ;)
Note:
There is usually a waitlist for subs like birchbox and ipsy and it usually takes from 3-6 weeks to get off. If you're really interested, I'd say check and sign up as soon as you can because the earlier you get on the waitlist, the earlier you get off! 

As I always say, don't spend cash on anything you don't love!