October IPSY glambag: The Art of Beauty

I know. October? That was like, 2 weeks ago. I KNOW! The thing is, right after I got my October glam bag...I promptly misplaced it. Because of halloween I was tearing through all my makeup and it just got lost in the shuffle! 

But this weekend I found it, and now it's here in review in all it's belated glory!

 

The theme of this month was the Art of Beauty. I have to be honest, I was extremely disappointed. I really expected them to have some FUN "out there" products for halloween- or at least a darker vibe to the whole bag..but, nope.
In fact, I'm pretty disappointed with the bag itself (not the contents, the actual bag). It's white and has an uncredited quote on it (for shame) in a loopy, doodle scrawl. I think that appeals to some younger crowds but definitely not to people in their 20s and 30s that I know subscribe to this service. All in all the bag wasn't for me and I don't think I'll be using it for anything else.

I'll get the disappointed product out of the way. This Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Volumizing Gel could be a good product for those who actually blow dry their hair. As for me, I avoid putting heat on my hair as often as possible. In fact, I don't even own a blow dryer. So, as you can imagine, this product is not for me. Nor could I even test it. I do plan on giving it to my mom because I know she has flat hair like me and she blow dries her hair every day so perhaps this could give her a volumizing boost.

showed with my hand for size comparison

I also have to say that the idea of a volumizing gel is a little contradicting- in my experience gels always weigh down your hair. But maybe this product is different! Like I said, I couldn't test it.

This travel size (1.7 oz)  usually goes for $5 on Ulta but is currently priced at $3. The full size (8.5 oz) goes for $16.95.

The next product is another (and the last) that I don't have much to say about. It's a 10 pack sample of the La Fresh Oil-free face cleanser wipes. I like that these are biodegradable- better for the environment!
I haven't opened these yet to try but I am happy to receive them. You pretty much can't go wrong with these types of wipes, especially if it's oil free I am sure I won't have any problems.
You can buy a pack of 30 on the LA Fresh website (here) for $9.99, so I would price this 10-pack at $3.33

I have to admit when I saw this I was not excited. It's a small container of Nourish Organic Deeply Nourishing coconut & argan body lotion. I figured it's just lotion and that's kind of boring to me.
But I've got to be honest it smells REALLY good. I found myself applying it over and over again at work because I loved the smell of it so much, and loved the way it felt on me.
It doesn't leave you feeling greasy like a lot of lotions tend to do. Plus, it's USDA Organic! And like I said, smells totally great!
This is a sample size of 1oz. The full size product is 8oz and costs $11.99 on the Nourish Organic website- where I see a lot of other scents that sound really good, too. However I found the full size at Target online too for only $9.99.
Which makes this sample size worth about $1.37. Womp, womp, womp.

Next I got a Buxom full-on lip polish. It's supposed to be a plumping lipgloss, in the shade Dolly. This is again a sample size, not a full size product. This sample is .07 oz where the full size is .15oz, making this just about half the size of the full product.

The applicator is kind of big already so I am curious as to how big the regular size product is!

Buxom Dolly

The Sephora website says that Dolly is a cult-favorite shade and describes it as muted plum. I honestly don't see that at all.

I don't think it's very 'plum' but I DO see it's definitely 'muted'. Maybe I'm just used to bold colors. It has a nice shimmer to it though!

I don't know if you can tell but the end result is preeeetty sheer on my lips. I suppose the shine was alright but it was a bit too sticky for my taste. While it's not awful, I do not see myself grabbing this in the future, which is unfortunate because it's kind of a 'high end'-ish brand/product and I really wanted to love it.
It's too sheer for my taste. If I'm going to put up with stickiness it should be visible!
Also, it claims to be lip plumping. It leaves your lips tingling for quite a while after applying so if that isn't your thing, then stay clear!
I personally don't think the tingling is too bad, in fact it's kind of fun. But I didn't notice any lip plumping effects. I think if there are any, it's very subtle.
You can find the full size buxom lip polishes here at Sephora for $19.00. Which makes the sample size worth about $8.
Honestly $8 is high for what I would pay for lip gloss. And that's not even the full price!

Last but not least, I saved the best for last!!

My favorite product by far is this full size Zoya nail polish in Giovanna
I have never tried the Zoya brand (a bit out of my price range) but I have heard so many good things about it. Getting this almost makes up for not getting Butter London last month :P

When I saw that people would be getting Zoya polish, the picture I saw was of Giovanna. And my jaw dropped. It looked like the perfect mermaid-teal color. I was in awe!
But then, when I opened my glam room (yes I cheated and looked before my package came!) I saw that I would be getting Neve (the purple color). Now Neve is a very pretty color, but it didn't make my jaw drop.

So, imagine my surprise when I opened my glam bag and found Giovanna inside! I was so excited. Although in person, the color leans much more towards green than teal, it is still a beautiful color. It definitely looks better in the bottle in these pictures though.

To show you what I mean, here is a swatch of just one coat of Giovanna on my index finger.

One coat of Zoya Giovanna

Here in this picture I hope you can tell that it definitely looks much more green than blue/teal.

Zoya nail polishes can be found here on their website and retail for $8. I encourage you to go on the website and look at their picture of Giovanna. That's what made my jaw drop. But alas, it translates different in person. But still pretty!

All in all even though I wasn't impressed with the overall theme of the bag, I can't say I'm unhappy.
There are 2 products that I don't think I'll find myself using but the awesomeness of the rest of the bag (ie: Zoya) made up for it in my opinion.

One thing I must express disappointment in is the size...almost all of these products were a sample or trial size, which means the amount the bag was worth was not as high as it usually is. While YES I still saved money of course, it wasn't as huge of a "good deal" as it usually is. Most of the price was comprised of the Zoya & Buxom products. However, I would never pay $19 for a sticky, sheer lipgloss so I think that's a fluke. I don't think it's worth that much at all.

Overall the bag is worth $25.70.  I, of course, paid $10 for the monthly bag which includes shipping AND the bag.

If you'd like to sign up for IPSY and start trying new brands for only $10 a month, you can click here to sign up using my referral link!

For those who already subscribe- were you happy with your October bags? Did you get anything different than me? Let me know!

Follow your bliss,

Ember Darling