October 2014 Ipsy Bag!! :)

Ipsy is a monthly package service where you get five curated items of beauty products sent to your door for $10 a month, free shipping, inside a cute little bag, that's inside another cute pink bubblewrap parcel, inside your mailbox!!! (haha, too precious??) :)  The service sends you items in accordance to a quiz you take on the website stating your beauty product preferences.  I absolutely adore it.  So far, I've only disliked 2-3 items in the five months I have been participating in the website :)  And I've tried so many products that I thought I was going to hate, but ended up totally loving.  It truly has changed my perception of many different types of makeup products for the better and introduced me to some formulas I never would have tried out!

Without further ado, let's get into what was put in MY bag this month!!!

What I Got This Month:
Pretty teal bag
Rihanna Rogue Perfume, .5 oz
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer - Pore Minimizing Formula, .25 oz
Starlooks Lip Gloss, .3 oz
Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser, .5 oz
Mica Beauty Mineral Eye Shadow - Harlequin, .1 oz

Thoughts On Each Product:

Rihanna Rogue Perfume:  This came in it's own box, separate from the bag :)  It is a beautiful, classy looking bottle, and the lid grasps tightly onto it, but you need to give it a little push to do so, and be careful not to tilt it to the side, because you may accidentally squeeze down the perfume, but for me it's not close to being unmanageable and nothing really to complain about. The smell is WONDERFUL.  Upon initial application--those first ten seconds, you do get a bit of a mosquito spray smell mixed with somewhat of an orange oil smell.  20 seconds later, it just smells fresh and clean, with a hint of floral/sugary sweetness.  And a few minutes later, the sweetness really blooms and you're left with this wonderful, feminine, clean scent that isn't over-powering.  I adore it.  It's nothing like any of the perfumes I own and I feel as if this is a scent I could even wear to job interviews and be taken seriously with it on.  It's truly a perfect blend that isn't too much.  My favorite product of the lot.  I would absolutely consider buying the full size bottle.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer:  This is NOTHING like the original Smashbox primer, which I'm not a big fan of.  Right after application, it completely smooths the skin, not sinking into fine lines or pores but just leaving a blank canvas.  It absorbs oil and almost feels powdery.  It ALMOST looks as if it's brinking into the appearance of looking powdery as well, but it just looks natural and lovely.  I adore it.  Because this bag is new however, I question the staying power of it.  I will update this review when I know how it performs better.

Starlooks Lip Gloss, Mica Beauty Eyeshadow - Harlequin, Smashbox Photo Finish Primer - Pore Minimizing Formula

Starlooks Lip Gloss:  This is a pretty, natural shade of pink lipgloss, bordering on a nude shade, but has just a deep enough shade of pink for it to not really be considered a nude on my skintone.  I think it would be beautiful on every skin tone.  The formula feels and appears to be just like the Hard Candy Plumping Serum Lip Glosses (of which there is no plumping action, so please ignore the name).  It just feels smooth, creamy, slightly sticky and has good pigmentation that is buildable and beautiful.  It's a pretty, simple lip gloss that I don't think will disappoint.  There is no unique quality to this that would tempt me to repurchase it, already having the Hard Candy lip glosses mentioned, which are more accessible since I wouldn't have to order them online and come in colors that are more pigmented and longer lasting.  Average staying power.

Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser:  I ADORE the smell of this.  It smells like strawberry, bubblegum, soapy heaven...but more expensive than that (in my humble opinion!).  It comes out like a watery gel, and I do recommend applying it to a dry face and RINSING it off afterward rather than applying it to a wet face--it seems to lather better on a dry face, since there's already quite a bit of moisture within the product.  It is an extremely gentle formula.  I really enjoy it and I think it is gentle enough to use every morning to get the face fresh and clean, though I wouldn't use it alone to remove makeup at the end of the day, as I don't think it'd be enough.  Some girls have mentioned using it to clean makeup brushes--I honestly don't think it would do the job thoroughly enough.  However, to clean a face that's already had it's makeup removed, it's absolutely lovely and gentle.  I enjoy it and it's just what I need.  Harsh cleansers are irritating on the skin when used too often.  Due to it's gel nature, it's also easy to rinse off.  I would consider purchasing the full size of this.  I think it's lovely.

Mica Beauty Mineral Eyeshadow - Harlequin:  This is 100% pure mica.  There are no other ingredients added.  This means, you should really use a primer under it to keep your color lasting and in tact!!  I have been dying to try pure mica, and I'm glad I got to try out this lovely eyeshadow!!  It's a beautiful sea blue-green shade that seems to fade into a lighter green shade.  I tried to emphasize this in the swatch, piling on the shade more heavily at the bottom and keeping the swatch faded at the top.  There's actually a little weight to the container...I don't see myself running out of this product for a LONG time...As LONG as I use a primer.  Would I purchase this?  No.  You can buy pure mica for MUCH cheaper in bulk if you are interested in it.  If I'm to buy an eyeshadow, I want a super unique formula that's going to have longevity and some sort of uniqueness to it, maybe texturally, that makes it superior to pure mica.  Pure mica is HARD to beat.  It's absolutely GORGEOUS.  I highly recommend it.  There is so much depth of color.  But the downside to it is that if you don't have a good eye primer, it falls off.  So buy it in bulk or stick to quality mica eyeshadows that have the unique qualities, and often that means more ingredients, that you desire.


Thoughts On Everything As A Whole:

I loved my bag this month.  When I first saw the products I'd be getting on the website, I was disenchanted and even considering canceling my subscription, but when I got them, it was a completely different story.  The perfume smells wonderful and, while small, is still a larger size than I thought it would be.  The Smashbox Primer appears to be much higher in quality than I'd anticipated.  I don't own a shade like the Starlooks Lip Gloss.  The brightening cleanser, which I really wasn't enthused about, smells WONDERFUL and is gentle as a dream but still cleanses great.  And the mica finally gave me a taste of what pure mica is like--and I personally LOVE it, but I'm weary of the staying power!!


If you're interested in subscribing to Ipsy's monthly service, you can do so by following this link :)


Just a fun little treat I get every month.  If things start looking not so good, I may unsubscribe, but so far, every month I have been cheered by these little presents I get!  Something small and fun, just for myself :)  If you subscribe, I'd love to hear if it works out for you :)  And take that beauty quiz!  It helps!!

NYC Liquid Eyeliner Review and My Eyeliner Story :)

Firstly, I must address this, I apologize it's been so long since my last post (roughly 2 or 3 weeks?).  I find that these makeup blog entries can often take a little bit longer and require more work than the entries of my other blog, Thoughts and Makeup, which is just my own thoughts spouted out!  Give me time, I'm finding my feet, but I have tons of entry ideas in store that I can't wait to share with you!





(NYC Liquid Eyeliner)

I have had times in my life where I utterly and completely struggled with makeup.  I remember my first couple years of college were especially rough in the eyeliner department… I would use old Jordana and NYC pencil eyeliners from high school.  They would melt off my face throughout the day, so every couple of hours, I was running to the bathroom to do touchups (luckily I only wore a little undereye concealer, the eyeliner, and some decent mascara, but it was still a nightmare).  I didn’t know about primer, and I had very few tricks up my sleeve.  I don’t know why it never occurred to me that better formulas were out there—in my head, they simply didn’t exist.  I chocked it down to the fact that everyone must have been doing what I was doing, and I was just failing at keeping up with it quickly enough!!  Luckily, in addition to having some good tricks, I’ve overcome that naiveté and I can share with you something cheap that actually WORKS—and phenomenally, dare I say it.

I had avoided this brand like the plague for some years after my horrible experiences with their eyeliner and other unmentionables that would melt off my face.  But I am a believer in following advice from professionals—via Youtube—and so when I saw a makeup artist I really respect, Chrisspy, using the NYC Liquid Eyeliner, and not only that, but saying it was her, “favorite,” let’s just say I hopped over to the nearest NYC-selling location (unfortunately for my wallet, not very far away--fortunately for my wallet, it’s NYC!).

(wearing NYC Liquid Eyeliner)

I’ve been in the market for a GOOD liquid eyeliner for a while now.  I’ve been sticking to gel pots of eyeliner (Stila was my first, which I bought for 20 dollars, until I found ELF’s version, which was the same exact thing for 3), because in the beginning of this fascination with makeup, what little research I’d done had pointed to that gel pots of eyeliner had that majestic staying power that College Lyza wanted so desperately and did not have (and gel pot eyeliners work great by the way—last ALL day, even when they get wet, and they come in intense black shades, though not as deeply pigmented as liquid liners).

Until present, I have also been using some mediocre liquid liners—and in a way they work for me, because I like to layer them over pencil eyeliner to define and intensify the color—and also to bump up the staying power.  I did that in my About Me picture on the right side of the page using a Milani pencil eyeliner and ELF liquid liner in midnight (the elf doesn’t have great staying power at all, until you enter in a good black pencil).  It works.  Cleans up the look and greatly turns up the staying power.

But, I never dreamed something so cheap would prove to work well on it’s own.

(wearing NYC Liquid Eyeliner)

First of all, let me just say this stuff is the blackest eyeliner I have ever owned, and I have always wanted a highly intensified, pigmented, black-hole black eyeliner, because the deepest shade of black intensifies every look more than any other shade could (just be careful with it!).  I just adore the intensity of this.  It’s wonderful.

It also dries extremely fast, without being so fast that there’s no room to fix errors…In less than a minute, it is completely dry.  The tip of the brush is pointed, but is thick enough to where you can line your eye without having to constantly draw back to create a thicker line (I recommend using the tip of the point to line the middle of your eye to remove some of the product, then going back over after the point is somewhat dryer to create the wing, that way there’s more room for error and you can more easily create a cleaner, pointed wing).  And the staying power is incredible.  It lasts, lasts, and lasts without fading!  I am hooked!

And some swatches on my arm actually lasted without changing or smearing all night long.  Although, I noticed that the thinner swatch of eyeliner, where I barely applied much product but still got a solid line, faded though, so use a thicker layer on your eyes (two coats is safe for me).

(NYC Liquid Eyeliner swatches)

Consensus of Pros:  I purchased this for $2.50 with a buy one get one free coupon (I also got the NYC Smooth Skin Translucent powder—I wish they’d just call it what it is—PALE!!  Someone   The eyeliner is a definite winner in terms of price, staying power (just don’t get it wet—read more below), intensity, and ease of use.  I do recommend not using a thin layer of it—use a thicker layer (two coats, or one thick coat is good) to have the all-day staying power.  You could also try layering a line of black eyeshadow or  a good black eyepencil (I like Milani’s) underneath it as well to change the look, intensity, and staying power, but be warned that experimentation does not always lead to good results : )

with darker skin couldn’t pull it off unless they were using it as a highlighter).

Consensus of Cons: Okay, there is one con that I haven’t mentioned yet, and it’s pretty important.  This eyeliner is in NO way, shape, or form waterproof.  Don’t even touch it with water!!!  This could be a great thing for someone who hates taking their makeup off at the end of the day and would like to remove it quickly.  However, for someone like me, who constantly has to put eyedrops in, this could make things a little precarious.  So I won’t be putting this on my under eyes.  Don’t wear this in the rain without an umbrella, don’t wear this if you think there’s a chance you may cry that day—DON’T.  Stick to gel pots if you have those concerns!!  I still love this eyeliner because of the amazing pigmentation and the staying power.  I can wear it from morning till night and it will not budge or fade in the slightest, and I do have combination skin with oily eyelids.

Because of the water concern, I give this a 4/5.  Still fabulous stuff though, and I haven’t been having problems with it, even with my eyedrops.  I hope it works as well for you as it does for me.

Because of gel pot eyeliners and some other eyeliners with fantastic formulas, like this one, my eyeliner woes are completely over :)  When you want something a lot, never settle for something that doesn’t work for you!!  At least give yourself a chance to look around and do some research first, no matter how silly or small you think it is!  You should be using makeup that you can rely on, otherwise you shouldn't bother using it at all.

And when in doubt, stick to gel pots!! (Some dependable, affordable, and pigmented ones are ELF Studio Cream Liner, ELF Essential Smudge Pot, Essence Gel Eyeliner, and Wet N Wild Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner. All of the expensive ones perform exactly the same as the ones I just listed, so I am not going to bother mentioning them!!)  

Take care and have a fabulous day!