Silicon Valley Wife...Subscribes

November 2015 Ipsy Bag

I’m an addict. The first step to overcoming a problem is admitting you have one, and I certainly do. I can’t control myself around subscription boxes and bags. I want all of them, all the time. Currently, I just partake in three (Ipsy, Popsugar, and Boxycharm), but I could certainly be convinced to have more companies send me random shit every month for a fee.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Ipsy is a monthly makeup subscription that sends five full-size and/or deluxe sample-sized products to you in an adorable makeup bag each month for $10.00 (and that includes shipping!).

This month, the theme was “Beauty Blast” and the bag was MF-ing ADORABLE. It’s galaxy print! I mean, that may be totally uncool/off trend right now, but I’m old and have no way of knowing, so I LOVE IT. Inside were the following five products. If I know the price, I’ll include that, but it is worth noting that you usually get $30-$40 worth of products for your ten clams each month—a superb deal!

(NB: If you click on the picture above, you'll see a full gallery of what I got in my Ipsy bag this month!)

Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara (deluxe sample): Love the brush on this lil’ guy! I love getting high-end mascaras in beauty bags and boxes, because it is nice to try out the formulation for a week or two before you cough up $20+ on a tube. This is a good every day mascara—I’m not sure it’s in my top five, by any means, but it certainly is good enough to wear to work and/or layer with my faves (Better than Sex, anyone?).
Beauti Basics Navy Gel Eyeliner and Brush (full-sized): DARK HORSE, GUYS! I was super pissy about this when I first opened it, primarily because ‘beauty’ was spelled with an i. Then I swatched the bad boy on my hand, and I was left with a streaky, jumpy mess. Strike two, right? Well, fast forward to today, when I decided to try it on my actual peepers. Get this: it’s great! The navy popped with my brown eyes, it didn’t skip on the lash line, and it lasted through a whole day of work without running down my face! Moral of the story: Don’t judge a product by its disregard of conventional spelling rules. I’m pretti sure I realli need to check out some more Beauti Basics in the future!
Dermelect Peptide-Infused Nail Lacquer in Commando (full-sized): Confession: I asked my mom what peptides did, because I wasn’t sure. She told me they would make my nails stronger….which is what I need, honey! My nails are like onion skins, peeling in the breeze (mixed simile….but true). I realize that’s a sign of some type of health problem, but regardless. I need nail steroids. I actually painted my nails Commando today (a name I wholly endorse for a nude polish, and for the ambiguity of that phrase), and they haven’t chipped yet! It’s a great brownish nude, and I think it’ll be perfect for fall. This is a total win!
Trèstique Mini Matte Lip Crayon in Chile Red (deluxe sample? Unknown because it is called “mini.” It’s pretty big. Trust.): Full disclosure: me and my lips are having a moment this year. I never used to want super bright lips, but I’m digging the look for winter and fall (not summer like a normal human, but whatevs). I have to be careful because certain hues give my teeth a yellowish tone, and I can’t use whitening strips (thanks to 1.5 of my frontish-teeth being fake…a story for another time, my loves), so I have to look for lipsticks with blue undertones to counteract that. MAN. This one is good! Not too jarring of a red. Doesn’t get all over your face. Matte but not clumpy and drying. This is a winner, and it is possibly my favorite product from the whole bag. This will be a definite brand/product I purchase in the future.
tucker ashley Perfecting Moisturizer (full-sized-ish? It kind of looks like hemorrhoid cream if we are being completely honest, so I hope this isn’t the actual full-sized packaging): Packaging on this one turned me off. I found it to look like a medical product. The moisturizer itself is unscented, and it did a good job of making the back of my hand…moist? I’m hesitant to try it on my face (as new products have a 47% chance of giving me a 15-year-old breakout on my 28-year-old skin…not a cute combo, zits and wrinkles), but I’ll give it the old college try and report back on this later.

Overall, this month’s bag was pretty bomb! I’m way into three out of the five products, and I’m ambivalent about the mascara. The moisturizer has to wait on a verdict, but I’m sure if all else fails, I can use it as a hand cream in my purse. AND the bag is adorable!

If you are at all interested in subscribing to ipsy, I’m going to leave a referral link below. I’m not even remotely affiliated with the brand (though I’d love to be—holler at ya’ girl!), so all this link will do is give me “points” that I can redeem later for products in their little online store. Even if you don’t use my link, I highly suggest this bag for those of you who are into makeup and don’t mind getting surprises each month!

—xx

SVW