Ipsy September '13 Glam Bag

Bonjour Peeps!

It's taken me a while to recover from last weekend's debauchery but I've tried and tested and judged all of ipsy's september bag and I'm ready to review.

First of all, I have to admit that I wasn't overly excited about this month's ipsy glam bag when I saw the items I was going to get this month.  My 5 items are basically all eye stuff with the exception of a tinted lip balm. Eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow and an eyebrow pencil. Since I already have all of those items in spades and am not so keen on eyeliners (plus I was kinda pissed that I didn't get the butter london nail polish since I love them), I was ready to get angry and eviscerate this month's bag in my review. However, after careful consideration and testing, I've approached the items with an open mind and found that I actually appreciate getting some of them (especially the eyebrow pencil). It's not the best bag ever for me by any means but it isn't bad at all when you consider the fact that I paid $10.80 for all of the following!

September's Ipsy Glam Bag items. 

A closer look at the eye items w/ flash

A closer look w/o flash

The tinted lip balm aka the only non-eye makeup item in the whole bag.

Ok, on to the review: 

Elizabeth Mott 'It's So Big' Volumizing Mascara

First of all, let's get this out of the way: the name sounds dirty! Maybe it's meant to be to call attention to the item but since we're talking about mascara here, my initial reaction was more along the lines of wtfffff. As I've said, I have about a zillion mascara samples as well as more full sized mascaras than I can use in the next 2 years so I'm not crazy about this item. The hourglass shape of the brush is interesting but the mascara didn't really do much to make my eyelashes "so big!". In fact, I'd much rather wear my YSL Babydoll mascara (which I freakin' adore) than this one. It isn't too bad (no major clumping or raccoon eyes) but I guess I'm mascara'ed out right now so this sample feels like kind of a waste. 7/10


NYX Single Eye Shadow in 'Hollywood'

I've gotten the few NYX items that I own all through ipsy. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing but I do enjoy trying their stuff and my local target just started carrying their stuff (and Oscar Blandi too!!!!) so I'm pretty sure I'll be trying out more NYX in the future. 'Hollywood' is an icy silver shadow with a lot of glitter in the pan. However, when I applied it, I got lots of glitter but a basically transparent base. Plus, the texture of the eyeshadow wasn't up to par with my faves (urban decay and Chanel) because it was kind of chalky and didn't have that buttery silky feeling that I love. However, I'll definitely use it to play up my Halloween makeup with some extra glitter so, all in all, it's a score. 8/10



Starlooks Obsidian Kohl Eye Pencil

Starlooks is a sub in it's own right but this is the second time that the brand has shown up in my ipsy bag in the past few months. While I very much like the quality of starlooks' makeup, I have to admit I'm not overjoyed at getting an eyeliner pencil. I rarely (if ever) use them and I just don't love the way I look when I do. Nevertheless, I tried it on for the sake of this review and the color and application are pretty good indeed. If you like eyeliner (and it's full sized), then this item is for you. 7.5/10


Victoria Jackson Taupe Brow Pencil

I sincerely have never heard of this brand before so I did have reservations about the eyebrow pencil when I saw it. However (!!!) it was fantastic!! I've been looking for a pencil to help with my eyebrow situation (I currently use benefit's brow zings but the end result is too dark) and this one did the job impeccably. Plus, it was incredibly easy to use. This pencil almost immediately became my favorite thing in this month's bag. 10/10



Cailyn Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in 'Big Apple Red'

Cailyn Cosmetics is yet another brand that I knew absolutely nothing about until I was introduced to it by ipsy. I got their gel eyeliner (another freakin' eyeliner!!! ugh) a couple of months ago and I was lucky enough to not get two eyeliners in this bag and was given a tinted lip balm in 'big apple red'. I personally love tinted lip balm and red lipstick respectively so this combination is perfect. I also like that the packaging includes a brush for application (the packaging is nearly identical to that of the eyeliner except for the color (white for the lip balm and black for the eyeliner. Despite my unhappiness about some of this month's items, this one (along with the eyebrow pencil) is a winner. 10/10

Tinted Lip Balm in 'Big Apple Red'

Overall, this isn't the best bag I've gotten by any means but I'm not in love. I am hoping that next month will have a much more varied bag (sample society also did the every item dedicated to one area with this month's skincare themed box) that'll raise the odds of me finding something that I actually want to try. With the fact that I got mainly eye makeup, I'm gonna have to rate this box a big' ol C. It's a great value for $10 with full sizes but most of the brands are virtual unknowns and lower end with respect to marketability. The bag is cute and fall appropriate but suffers from crappy material syndrome and there was a little sample insert for Michelle Phan's (ipsy founder) new cosmetics line, Em. Theres some blush and a bit of eyeshadow on a card but my sample was for the "career life" palette and I have many a neutral so this sample was also pretty meh to me. While I'm not very rah rah for this month's bag, I do hope that next month's bag is back to the ipsy I know and love because last month was pretty much the best so that might be why this bag is a bit of a letdown.

Box:

Ipsy Glam Bag

Frequency:

Monthly

Price: 

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

Perks: 

Ipsy points that can be earned and converted to extra items with referrals, brand discounts for every brand offered each month, full size items included (not guaranteed every month). 

Recommend?

Yes! $10 for a bag full of makeup is a pretty good deal indeed. Give it a try if you're interested, it's only $10 and you can cancel if you hate it.
Note:
There is sometimes a waitlist for subs like birchbox and ipsy and it usually takes from 2-5 weeks to get off. If you're really interested, I'd say check it out and sign up as soon as you can because the earlier you get on the waitlist, the earlier you get off (of the waitlist, dirty minded ones!!!).

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