Friday, August 23, 2013

August Ipsy glambag: Glamour Academy

This month's theme for Ipsy was back to school, glamour school that is!

The bag itself is really cute in my opinion. It's a great wine shade and has gold "coat of arms" decorations with beauty products. Pretty fitting for glamour academy! 

August Ipsy Glambag
August Glambag
Keep reading after the jump for all of this month's content, and LOTS of pictures!
So I am going to start with my favorite item from this month's bag, which I don't normally do.

I know that this was a controversial product because not everyone got it and frankly, everyone wanted it. I'm talking about Urban Decay's Revolution lipstick sample. 


It came inside a little booklet that advertised  and talked about the lipstick line, then had a chart of all the shades in this lipstick line. I liked this touch because it gave you the chance to see what other shades they made, in case this one wasn't your cup of tea. As you can see, it also circles the shade that is included that way you know before you open it up! 

The lipstick itself is nestled into the spine of the 'brochure', it is a small metal lipstick. It is so cute because although it is a sample it is really just a miniature version of the full sized product.

urban decay revolution lipstick sample

I got the shade '69' and I am so glad. While it wouldn't have been my first choice from the collection, it is definitely something I would have indeed picked out for myself. I also saw that some people got the shade 'anarchy' and I must say I'm glad I was not one of them. I got two bright pink lip products in my last 2 Ipsy bags and I'm not really a bright pink type of person!

close up of urban decay lipstick in 69

This color is definitely red, but it also leans raspberry. It is not a true blue-toned red or even coral. But I really like it!

urban decay lipstick in 69
Urban Decay Revolution lipstick in 69
I just love how cute it looks!

swatch of urban decay lipstick in 69

Here is a swatch on my hand. As you can see, it is very pigmented, bright, and creamy. I don't have any swatches on my lips yet, because my lips were very dry when I received the bag and didn't want to accentuate it. But I will definitely be writing a full review of this lipstick and relaying whether or not I will be purchasing a full-sized version of this product! I love Urban Decay so I have a feeling I already know the answer!


I love that on the bottom there is a sticker in the corresponding shade and name. 

A full size version of this lipstick retails here for $22 for 2.8 grams
This sample version is approximately half of that, making it worth roughly $11

The rest of the bag wasn't wow-worthy. However, I find that the UD lipstick definitely makes up for that. This month more than any other, I saw huge differences in what people got in their bags. Let's see what I got in mine:


Mica Beauty Cosmetics shimmer powder in bronze. I discovered through their website that this is mineral makeup, even though it doesn't say it on the packaging. The website says it is free of preservatives, chemicals, dyes, talcs, oils, and other fillers. Which is pretty cool! 


This is a full sized product at 2.5 g I have never heard of this brand before but I was pretty impressed by the packaging. Seemed very professional.

mica cosmetics bronze eyeshadow

Inside there is a sifter with a few holes that make it easier to seperate product and not spill it everywhere. And no, that's not a spill! I did that on purpose ;)

mica cosmetics bronze eyeshadow swatch
Mica cosmetics swatch

Here you can see it swatched on my hand, without any primer. As you can see it is quite shimmery and pigmented. It was very easy to get this product to show up. While I wouldn't say that bronze would be my first choice, it is a nice color to have in my arsenal, especially in a mineral shadow.

And yes, that is the Revolution lipstick still clinging even after I tried rubbing it off. I decided to leave it to show that it stays put!  Hopefully it does the same on the lips!

This product can be found here and retails for $14.95

Most people got one of two Michael Todd True Organics products. I got the Pumpkin facial mask.
 It says it moisturizes and nourishes, and is okay for all skin types except sensitive. I don't think I have sensitive skin so I should be good to go on this.
This is a brand I have never heard of or tried, on top of the fact that I don't usually use face masks. That doesn't mean I won't use it, though! Face masks aren't apart of my normal routine but I am down to try things.


The website claims that it dissolves impurities such as dead skin and clogged pores. It also claims to add brightness and significantly improve fine lines & wrinkles after just one use.
Those are some pretty heavy weighted claims! I can't wait to try it out and see if it really lives up to all the claims it makes. 

michael todd organic face mask swatch

I have to admit I was excited when I saw pumpkin. However, the pumpkin smell is more like raw pumpkin, like that you would find it baby food or something. Not too appealing. But, it could be worse!

Even though this is a fairly big bottle, it is actually a sample size. It says to apply a thin layer and only to apply once every 1-2 weeks, so I think this sample will last me a little while! 

The full size of 3.4 oz can be found here and retails for $34.00
The sample size is 1 oz which amounts to roughly $10


I realize I should have had some sort of size comparison to make it obvious that this is a "premium sample size". In fact, I just entered a sweepstakes they were having on facebook to receive a premium sample of this product, and won! So now I have two samples of this.

Of course, I have heard of Smashbox even though I don't own anything by them. I have tried samples of their infamous primer before, and it worked great.

However, I am one of the girls who uses Monistat Anti-chafing gel if I need to use primer under my foundation (which I rarely do). The ingredients are the same and in my experience (and plenty of other bloggers- just google it!) it works roughly the same amount.

With that said, I will happily use up this sample! It just won't be a product that I will be purchasing in the future. 

I didn't bother with a swatch seeing as it is clear.

The full size bottle can be purchased here and retails at $36.00
Nowhere on the site do I see the size of the full version, and as you can see the sample is .25 fl oz
I am going to make a ROUGH estimate (I could be completely off) that this sample is about a 5th or so of the full version. Making this worth ROUGHLY $7-8. It could be way less, or it could be way more, I am really bad at guessing that type of thing, sorry!


The last thing in this month's bag was this Lash Boostter Mascara in blackest black by Pixi

I have never tried this brand but I see it every time I am at target. This seems  to be a full sized product but I can't be sure.


Honestly I was so excited to receive a mascara that I immediate put it on- without curling my lashes first and I was sorely disappointed. The website claims to define, lengthen and thicken. The only thing I saw was thickening. I am going to give this one another go but so far, I am not a fan.

This can be found here and retails for $17.00

All in all I am pleased with the products I got to try, and the WOW effect of the Urban Decay lipstick make up for the rest of the bag, completely.

In terms of value, once again I am impressed!

Retail value: $60.50
As usual the monthly subscription cost: $10

That is huge! Especially considering the fact that you can't BUY samples, so if you wanted to try these things you'd have to shell out the full price, which ISN'T included in the retail value!

Once again I come away recommending everyone to try Ipsy. Especially if you are like me and don't try new brands very often, it's a great way to try out brands you may have never considered!

If you do sign up, I would sure appreciate it if you did so through my referral link!


Follow your bliss,
Ember Darling

p.s. I'm quite proud of these pictures, as I put more effort and time into them. Let me know if you noticed a difference! I'm probably the only one but I'm satisfied! :P

13 comments:

  1. I think your pics look nice! I'm gonna drop julep and join ipsy (and or get on the waiting list) this month...I did it a few months and I'm just always meh about it and I'm not a big fan of the polish formula...it takes forever to dry...its over rated in my opinion :/ I'll definately go through your link when I do :)

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    1. Aw thank you!! Good luck! I have heard that its very hard to get ahold of Julep to cancel. But I really suggest Ipsy, I have only been doing it for a few months but I haven't had any problems yet. Thanks for using my link if/when you do!! I have never used Julep's polish but a friend who signed up for the box got two of the same shade (weird, right??) gave me one, I just haven't tried it yet. Glad I never wasted any money on it if you don't like it! :/ Thank you for stopping by and commenting!! xo

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  2. very cute bag, it's the right size for cosmetics to take with you :)

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    1. yes, it is! I carry it in my purse with me! thanks for stopping by and commenting xo

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  3. very cute bag, it's the right size for cosmetics to take with you :)

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  4. Gorgeous lipstick shade! We have just started following your blog and love it! Maybe you would like to check us out and follow back?
    www.ourlondonwardrobe.com
    xx

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    1. I agree, it's a great shade! thanks for following and commenting, I'll check your blog out right now!

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  5. We had almost the same exact bag this month! Except I received the Nailtini polish and not any Smashbox. I really liked my bag this month, but I am not happy with their new YouTube program. I have not gotten any emails that I qualified for the offers and I was within the top 20 every time. So annoying.

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    1. haha we must have the same taste! I saw a lot of people get toootally different stuff this month. I got the nailtini last month. Did you get the shade Mai Tai?
      Really? I didn't know that about their youtube program. I have gotten a few emails but they haven't interested me. What do you mean top 20?
      that is annoying hopefully you will get an offer soon! Xox

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    2. In the YouTube offers it works like this- You have to connect your YouTube account to your Ipsy account via the Ipsy website. As if it's not already extra steps you have to take because we already connected our Facebooks, you then have to get back on YouTube around a certain time (usually around 10am or 11am Pacific) and they post a video. You then watch the video from one of their beauty gurus and you then comment below with whatever phrase they tell you to put. Then supposedly it is a first come/first serve type of thing and Ipsy goes through and emails you if you are A) Connected with Ipsy & Youtube and B) If you commented correctly. So, you have to wait for this email and there is only a limited # of products to be given out, so if you're like within the top 20 you would think that you would get the product, but I never received an email. I did get 1 message on the first event that said I qualified, but that my accounts were not connected, but when I logged onto the site it said I was, so I emailed their support and all they told me was to "watch out in my email", because I might still get one. I was highly ticked off! I never received an email for the other 2, but people are still getting emails days later. I don't think this system works and I am disappointed in it. It doesn't really make sense either, as I see it is more work for both Ipsy and it's subscribers.

      As for my bag, I did receive "Mai Tai". I guess if you didn't get it last month you had a good chance of getting it this month.

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    3. Yeah I don't think that makes much sense either haha. Honestly it's a good idea, in theory, since for example our payment method is already in Ipsys's system, but I probably won't be using it at all unless it's a REALLY good deal that I can't pass up or something.

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  6. Love the pumpkin face mask!!! haha

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    1. haha of course! I haven't used it yet but I think the scent may be a little overwhelming because it doesn't smell like cooked pumpkin or cinnamon or anything. just raw pumpkin haha

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EmberDarling