First Ipsy bag! *first impressions and swatches*

So I FINALLY got my June Ipsy bag! 

If you remember my excitement almost a month ago, I was so eager to sign up, I tried to get in before May but alas I had to wait until June. I began seeing others getting their bags almost 2 weeks ago... clearly, I have a bone to pick with the USPS! It is absolutely absurd to me that it would take so long to get from North Carolina to Florida. Even more absurd is the fact that the tracker had it in orlando for FOUR days. I am less than 2 hours from Orlando. Clearly, no reason to take five days! 

I'm crossing my fingers that the rest of my bags arrive in a timely manner. I can only hope. 

Now, on to the good part! The stuff!

I was pleasantly surprised with my first bag, and I am happy to have no regrets about subscribing!

First of all, let's be real. The way this arrives is cute as hell! It screams glamour and I couldn't wait to open it once I laid eyes on it.

The bag itself is a cute leopard print with lime green accents. I like the little tag that says Ipsy :) I was a little surprised at the material- doesn't seem to be the most durable. But since this is one of many to come, I'm not complaining at all! Soon I'm gonna have more than I know what to do with! (This is a big fat joke. You can never have too many bags. I am a bag lady.)

First item I opened was the Nyx mosaic powder in Dare. I saw that some people got blush with theirs and honestly I'm pretty happy with this! It's a gorgeous shade as you can tell from the swatch. I really like it! Nyx is a brand that I am familiar with since it is being known for being affordable and fabulous which is obviously right up my alley! I have never tried any face products of theirs before, however! I have only tried eyeshadows and lip products. I am interested in seeing how I like their face powders. 

Retail price: $7.00 via nyxcosmetics

Next up is the Jcat sparkling creme palette in Suzie . This is the "warm" or golden toned version. Some people got the silver or "cooler" toned version and I think I would have liked that one much better! But I' not complaining, as these colors are still pretty!  This is a brand I have never heard of. 

This is probably my least favorite item from this bag. I really want to love it but it's a strange consistency. I have heard from various sources that this is meant to be a face and body glitter only and is not meant for the eyes. I have a few gripes with this. First one being-why wasn't it labeled as not being eye safe? I think that's something that should be printed very clearly on the label. Secondly, let's be real. I'm not in middle school anymore so I don't exactly wear glitter on my face or body. Some people can and they rock it and that's great but I'm not one of those people (anymore) I really like the colors and honestly I might try wearing it on my eyes and seeing how it goes since I can't find any other use for this palette. If I can't use it on my eyes I will have to unfortunately render this product useless :( 

Retail price: $4.49 *as I am writing this the Jcat website is down! Perhaps from all the traffic generated by Ipsy users?? Either way I couldn't check the price, so this price came from a random review that I found via google. No promises that it's accurate! You know how fickle google can be ;)

This is the highlighter crayon in Ivory Lace from the brand Chella. This is another brand I have never heard of. I am eager to try this product. I don't feel either way about it, so I will just see what I can do with it! I haven't tried it on my face yet so I'm not sure if it even matches my skintone. It almost seems like I could use it as a concealer as well as a highlighter! I will have to play with it and see what I can come up with :)

retail price: $18.00

The next product is a lipliner from the brand Starlooks in tickle me pink 

This is another brand that I have never heard of! Confession time: I have never used a lipliner. I know, right? Who am I? I claim to be a beauty blogger? Whatevs. I am digging this color. I can't wait to try it out! It is a gorgeous shade.

Retail price: $12.00

The last product I received was this gel eyeliner from Cailyn in the shade Iron. 

Full disclosure: I only use gel eyeliners! So I'm a little biased! I have never heard of this brand but I really like the packaging. The brush goes right into the top so it all stays together and the brush doesn't get icky! I am not sure about the shade so far, it's a steely gray with some shimmer. I think I will learn to love it, though, if we're being honest.

Retail price: $21.00

All in all even though there were no products that WOW-ed me, I am still totally happy with this month's bag! I can't wait to see what next month has in store!

The total value of this bag was over $63! And I can't believe I only paid 10!! What a GREAT investment

The best part about Ipsy is that when you subscribe you are given access to all kinds of tutorials on the website that teaches you ways to use the products you were given.

As if that's not cool enough, you also are given discount codes so you can buy the brand/product you got in the bag! It's awesome. 

If you are thinking of trying it I definitely encourage you to do so! It's a monthly subscription service so it automatically gets taken out every month but you can cancel after your first month if you don't like it!

you can sign up here, and yes this is a referral link. So I may recieve incentives if people sign up through me (think of it this way, if you join, you get the same opportunity!) but let me be clear I am NOT recommending it for that reason. This blog is completely honest. sign up here!

Follow your bliss!

Ember Darling