I couldn’t justify doing an Empties post with these products because they’re really not empty. In fact, these are some barely touched products that I’m just completely chucking from my collection. These are items that I just don’t use in my collection and so I have no reason to keep them around. So let’s check out what I’m pitching or passing on!
KIKO Smoky Look eyeshadow pencil in 09
This was actually a great product. I loved KIKO’s Smoky Look eyeshadow pencil but I only got to use it twice before it dried up and fell out of the tube that was its home. It dried up within a year which I found slightly shocking since I have eyeshadow pencils that are much, much older than that and aren’t anywhere near as crusty and hard. Into the bin with this one.
Hard Candy Highlight and Contour Cheek Duo
Oh god this thing is AWFUL. Hard Candy‘s Highlight and Contour (really? Contour your cheeks with pink?!?!) Cheek Duo smells rancid right out of the package. It smells like plastic that has gone off. It goes on the cheeks in a waxy, slimy mess. It never fully sets, so you’re left with a grease smear across your cheeks. This one isn’t even worth passing on to anyone so I’m throwing it out.
MICA Beauty lip balm in Natural
MICA Beauty lip balm in Natural came in my very first Ipsy bag and I’ve not used it since then. It’s too pigmented to be convenient in a pot as I really feel like I need a lip brush to use this product. My mom liked the colour however, so I’ve passed this on to her.
Absolute! You’re the Balm in Grape
Another Ipsy item. I got this Grape balm from Absolute! in my August Ipsy bag and hated it right away. I couldn’t bring myself to wear it again, so it’s getting tossed. Jelly balm with chunky craft glitter in it? No thanks.
Elizabeth Mott It’s So Big mascara
This never ended up working for me how I wanted it to, so I passed it on to my mom who was willing to try it out. (Yet again… another Ipsy product…)
Elizabeth Mott Pop! Goes the shadow in Champagne
And anottttther Ipsy-delivered item I never reach for. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this eyeshadow, it does in fact apply rather nicely, I must have about five different dupes for this shade in my collection. It’s the most basic of basic eyeshadow colours and not one I need multiples of. My mom snagged it from me.
Lord & Berry Black SILK eyeliner
Are we noticing a trend here? Yep, another Ipsy product, also from my August bag. The world’s smallest eyeliner from Lord & Berry and it’s useless. Not creamy or smooth, barely transfers onto the lid, not fun. GARBAGE.
Nivea A Kiss of Olive Oil and Lemon
Nothing wrong with this product other than the fact that the scent of Olive Oil and Lemon doesn’t seem to be too enticing for me. I love Nivea lip products in general though so I’m definitely not harping on the product quality. My mom liked the scent so she snagged it from the pile of things I was going to throw out.
Pacifica eyeshadow duo
And lastly, another Ipsy product. Pacifica‘s eyeshadow duo is too weak in pigmentation for me to bother using. My mom liked the softness of the colours (aka lack of pigmentation) so she’s taking it home to play with.
While culling my makeup collection of items I don’t use/don’t like, I noticed that the bulk of them are all from Ipsy bags. Of the nine items I’m getting rid of today, six of them are from my Ipsy subscription. That right there was enough realization to cause me to cancel my Ipsy delivery. I’ll be receiving the bag for the month of September, but that’s it. For me, it’s just not worth the money to be receiving products I generally tend to use up without repurchasing or just throw away entirely. It was a fun novelty for a while, but the excitement has really worn off by this point.
Everyone’s already talked about how the bag of the month looks like a deflated beach ball… So now that I’ve stolen everyone elses’ much smarter observation than my own, let’s move on to the contents of the actual bag!
The theme was back to school, but as with all Ipsy bags, the theme never really seems to make any sense. I mean it’s all makeup at the end of the day… we wear this stuff year ’round!
Urban Decay Perversion mascara
The big hitting product this month was Urban Decay‘s brand new Perversion mascara. People were absolutely freaking out over the size of this sample on the Ipsy threads, but when I go back and compare it to previous deluxe size samples of mascara I’ve received through Ipsy before, it’s near identical in volume. Most deluxe size samples are between 0.1 and 0.2 fluid ounces (this one is 0.1 fluid ounce). There is nothing wrong with this sample – heck you can even tell they stuffed the tube because the darn thing makes a squelching sound every time I open it. If anything, I think UD just really knew how to package this sucker.
ANYWAY. On to the actual mascara. Plain and simple: I love it. It has a natural, “normal” brush and it coats my lashes wonderfully. It’s smooth, thick and wetter than most mascara formulas, which is something I like in particular. This one is a winner, and I may very well buy the full size when I finish this one.
Dr. Brandt – Pores No More pore refiner primer
I had amazing results with Dr. Brandt‘s microdermabrasion scrub, but unfortunately a primer just isn’t necessary for me. It smells heavily of tea tree oil, which is really nice (if you like the scent, of course!). It has a silicone feel on the skin, which I quite like, but I couldn’t tell you if this does what it’s supposed to do because I never notice a difference with my foundation whether I use primer or not.
LORD & BERRY Black SILK mini kajal kohl liner
This is a black liner that does absolutely nothing. There’s nothing remotely enticing about this product. Lord & Berry say it’s a kohl kajal, but the damn thing is so stiff that it’s hard to get colour pay off (as you can see in my eye shot above). It was difficult to even get that much on my lid. I tried tightlining with it and I swear it smudged off within 30 seconds. I’ve no use for this liner at all.
Absolute – You’re The Balm – Grape
This one wigs me out. Absolute‘s You’re The Balm in Grape looks, feels and smells like a very cheap product. It’s a relatively clear, gelatinous balm with multicoloured sparkles mixed in. Normally the glitter would fill me with glee, but since it goes on the lips rather gritty, I really just feel like I’m wearing a Wet n Wild sparkly balm from the 90s. I’ve only tried it once and was too disgusted to try it again. It’s sitting in a corner on my makeup desk, waiting for the moment that I gather the courage to try it again…
Coastal Scents Forever Blush Sample
These Coastal Scents blushes aren’t too bad actually. The pans are really tiny and I made the mistake of accidentally cracking the product on one of them while trying to get it out of the plastic packaging. It can be a bit difficult to get your blush brush into these products though since the pans are so bloody small. The colours, however, go on my cheeks rather nicely and have lasted throughout and entire work day, so that’s a huge bonus for a relatively inexpensive products.
Ipsy August 2014 Breakdown (all prices in USD)
Urban DecayPerversion mascara (0.1 fl oz @ $5.50, full size is $22 for 0.4 oz)
Dr. BrandtPores No More pore refiner primer (0.25 fl oz @ $11.25, full size is $45 for 1 fl oz)
Absolute You’re the Balm Lip Balm in Grape ($2.99, full size)
Coastal ScentsForever Blush Sample Duo (2.5g @ $2, full size is $7.95 for 10g)
Lord & Berry Black SILK Kajal Kohl-Liner (0.6g @ $7.50, full size is $15 for… double the size? – just a guess, I can’t find sizing info anywhere)
BAG VALUE = $29.24
My Thoughts
Kalyn basically summed up my thoughts in her own post on this month’s Ipsy bag, but in essence… aside from the mascara, this bag bored me. After such an amazing last month, this bag was just an absolute downer. It was so offputting that I’m considering whether or not want to stay subscribed to Ipsy. I think I’m at this point where I’m realizing that some of this is really just unnecessary products that I use, but never really fall in love with. I’ll see how next month goes and then make a solid decision.
Nope, not a La Senza haul, instead this is a product empties post and that big ole La Senza bag just happens to house all of them.
Product Empties
Having never really saved my empty products until I created this blog, I was a bit surprised that I had enough empties for another blog post only three months after my last one. I’m only posting products I’d actually haul – so you’re not going to be seeing shampoos and toothpaste in here.
First up are the actual makeup products, because I know that’s what interests me most when I read these kinds of posts.
CoverGirl Clump Crusher (water resistant) and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black (waterproof)
These are my two staple mascaras. The CoverGirlClump Crusher mascara is probably my favourite out of the two of them, but even though this is the water resistant formula (a true waterproof one doesn’t actually exist in this formula) is really isn’t water resistant at all. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating, if you get water near your lashes while wearing this, it will definitely run or smear. That being said, the formula really is fantastic and it’s worth wearing – although I stick to the summer months when my eyes are less likely to tear up.
During the winter, or when I need a truly waterproof mascara, I’ll use L’Oreal‘s Voluminous Carbon Black mascara. I always come back to this formula, but I definitely prefer it when it’s in the “wet-er” stages, which is within the first month of opening a new tube. I’m currently using another tube of the L’Oreal one right now.
The Revlon Lip Butter in Cherry Tart is a beautiful shade on the lips, it goes on smooth and looks rather glossy. The wear time is about average for a balm (~1.5 hours before you need to re-apply) so don’t expect this to be a particularly long lasting product. I’ve used up as much as I can get out of the tube without actually digging into the bottom of the bullet (can’t be bothered really). While it’s lovely on the lips, I’ve also grown rather tired of the maintenance required with non-long-lasting lip colours so while I like the colour, I just don’t have the patience to keep touching up my lip colour every hour or so.
Verdict: Unlikely re-buy
Ardell Lashes – 102 Demi
These Ardell102 Demis are my favourite false lashes to wear and I have certainly worn these to death. I don’t wear false lashes often (once or twice a month, if even) and I believe I got about 8-10 uses out of these. They’re starting to look rather gungy (not to mention they’re also quite old) so it was time to just throw these out and start in on a fresh pair.
Verdict: Definite re-buy – I’ve already got another set waiting in the wings!
Jack Black Lip Balm in Natural Mint
This Jack Black balm was included in my Products I Want To Use Up In 2014 post, and I’m happy to have finished it. You can see remnants in the tube, but I really can’t squeeze anymore of it out. This product was… adequate. I don’t feel it did much for my lips, neither helpful nor destructive, it was just kind of there. It was great for protecting against windburn throughout the winter since its main ingredient is petrolatum. The thing I liked most about this product is that it comes in a squeezy tube, which makes it easy to apply. I’m not a germaphobe at all, and double dipping in my potted lip products really doesn’t bother me from a hygienic point of view, but I reaIly wish more lip products came like this if only because it’s so much easier to apply on the go.
Verdict: Unlikely to purchase again
l-r: Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden, L’Occitane Delicious Hands Almond, Illamasqua Hydra Veil, Laura Mercier Face Polish, Nourish Organic Face Lotion, Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
I know sample size empties are hardly exciting, but sometimes they’re worth mentioning for that first impression.
Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer – Won’t buy full size
I used this just for the sake of using it. I didn’t notice it affecting how long my foundation lasted on my skin, but then again I’m not prone to foundation just sliding right off my face in the first place.
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden – not sure what to think…
I’m not sure what to think about this. I started using this primer right around the time where even my OriginalUDPP started creasing on me (which shocked and frightened me, to be perfectly honest), so my only exposure to Eden is to say that it creased on me. But so did my usual primer at the time. So maybe it was a weird hormonal fluctuation in my skin, but this didn’t work out for me at the time that I used it.
L’Occitane Delicious Hands Almond – won’t buy full size
Smelled like almonds and worked well but it’s pricey and not a scent I’d usually pay a lot of money.
Illamasqua Hydra Veil – possible purchase
My first exposure to a gel moisturizer – this felt SO COOL. When I think of gels (of any kind), I think of alcohol, so I didn’t really understand how the heck this was going to moisturize my skin. This felt really neat on the skin and I *loved* the smell of it. However, at the $48 CAD price point, I’d have to be gifted this because I’m perfectly happy with my Aveeno facial moisturizer and that is way too steep of a price in my books.
Laura Mercier Face Polish – won’t buy full size
This felt cool to use, but it’s not something I really need or want. The granules in the polish are so small that they actually feel kind of soothing as you rub it into your wet skin.
Nourish Organic Face Lotion – will avoid for life
The smell became rather sickening after a while and after this dried down on my face it felt like I had a thin mask over my face that I had to crack just by moving my features around. Unpleasant all around.
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer – won’t buy full size
Just like the Clinique one, I don’t find this foundation primer actually did anything for my makeup. /shrugs
China Glaze – Kiwi Cool-Ada
I used the pants out of this China Glaze shade. Kiwi Cool-Ada was a matte neon polish (use a top coat to get some shine) that just glowed in the daylight. Since the polish went on rather streaky, you usually needed about three coats before it looked perfect.
Verdict: Possible re-buy, but I’d rather use up some of my other polishes first.
Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes
MarcelleGentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes has been my go-to makeup remover for years and years. It’s an oil-based remover (shake before using) which, of course, ensures that it’ll take off any and all waterproof makeup. I find this works just as well as MAC‘s makeup remover (the one in the red/pink tube), if not better, and at almost half the price. Since the Marcelle normally runs around $15, I usually wait for a sale at Shoppers and/or buy it when it’s in the larger bonus size bottle (like the one above – 33% more product). I can’t recommend this enough, I’ve been using this remover for well over six years now and haven’t found anything better.
It’s hard to vocalize just how disgusting these Make-Up Cleansing Tissues from Absolute! are. I saw on the Ipsy forums that someone referred to these as smelling like beer… and they nailed it. In my original Ipsy review, I said that they smelled like some kind of alcoholic fruity drink, and I was kind of close, but also off the mark. These smell like beer that has gone rancid. They don’t smell like pomegranate, that’s for sure. And they don’t even work that well either – removing waterproof mascara was a nightmare and I’m fairly certain I pulled out more lashes than I actually cleaned. (Let it be known that it also said on the packaging that it would remove waterproof mascara.)
Verdict: You couldn’t PAY me to use these again – avoid like the plague
The Body Shop Body Butters – Satsuma & Coconut
The Body Shop Body Butters are legendary – I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard of someone disliking them. They’re thick, moisturizing and these two in particular, Satsuma andCoconut, smell especially fantastic. Satsuma was my favourite one out of these two and I’ve got a backup sitting on a bookshelf behind me.
Verdict: Love these and will definitely repurchase at some point.
Embryolisse – Lait-Creme Concentre
I picked up Embryolisse‘s Lait-Creme Concentre while vacationing in France in 2012 (picked up a few tubes actually, this was my last one) because I’d heard so many people rave about it. And it’s… okay. It’s not especially expensive (under 10 euros I think), which is rather nice, and cheaper, than my usual facial moisturizer. It feels kind of fancy to say you use French skincare that you bought in France… but the reality is that I didn’t notice anything different about my skin after using this cream. It smelled like generic “unfragranced” skincare and goes on smoothly.
Verdict: Will repurchase if I’m in Europe again.
Bath & Body Works – Midnight Pomegranate Body Lotion
This Bath & Body Works lotion in Midnight Pomegranate took me forever to use up. It’s one of the mini bottles, but the scent was so strong that it was actually incredibly overpowering when I used this a few times at the office (just ask my coworkers from several offices over). I was happy to finish this up (and I’m still struggling with the 3-wick candle I have in the same scent, although I have to say the candle is far less powerful than the lotion) but it’s not something I can say I really enjoyed. The lotion is on the thin side and really didn’t seem to do anything other than fragrance my skin.
Verdict: Won’t repurchase
Lindesa – Skin Conditioning Cream
I was given this Lindesa hand cream as a gift and I believe it came from a German Christmas market. The cream seems to contain a substantial amount of beeswax, so it could feel pretty heavy on the hands. The smell was really nice, although mild, and it was a great moisturizer for when my hands were on the drier side.
Verdict: Unlikely re-buy since I have no idea where to even get it!
Sabon – Body Gel Polisher in Lemon Mint
I never see any Sabon products mentioned in the beauty world but I love their products so much. I first discovered them in New York City about seven years ago by accident. They also have a location in Toronto, but it’s nowhere especially close to where I live. Anyway, this Body Gel Polisher is fantastic, it’s a full body exfoliant, but you don’t need a ton of product to get the desired effect. I quite like the Lemon Mint smell, although I’ve been told my others who got a whiff of it that they can’t stand the smell of it – to each their own!
Verdict: Will repurchase when convenient.
Not an especially exciting empties roundup, but I was happy to empty out my bag of garbage!
This is my first month as an Ipsy subscriber. Being in Canada, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pay the additional $4.95 USD just for shipping (the bag itself is $10 USD which includes the cost of shipping if you’re in the USA). However, after seeing years worth of Ipsy haul videos on YouTube filled with so many good things, I finally decided it was worth it.
When I originally looked at spoilers for my bag, I was little “meh” about it all, but I have to say I’m pretty happy with what I got in my first bag! I had the opportunity to test out all the products before I made this post, so you’ll not only see what I received this month, but you’ll also get an idea as to whether the products are actually any good.
Enough talking, on with the goods!
The first item didn’t fit in the blue makeup bag, but was just sitting inside the foil packet.
Coastal Scents Small Foundation Brush ($4.95 USD, full size)
In spite of the fact that I absolutely love makeup, I’m really not one to purchase many makeup brushes. Reason being that I dislike spending my money on tools. I’d rather spend my cash on actual products! So because of this, while I have enough brushes to bust out a look, the reality is that I just don’t have a wide variety of them. All this to say… I was really pleased to see a brush in this bag (especially since my bag also came with foundation). The photo above makes it looks smaller than it actually is (it actually looks like a MAC 232 above, hah), although this IS a smaller face brush. Coastal Scents‘ Small Foundation Brush is a synthetic brush and this is full size, which thankfully means no shortened handle. It’s also pretty densely packed, which is not something I expected for a $5 brush.
As you can see in the shot above, it definitely is sized for the face. I do like how it applied my foundation, but I’m not a fan of flat brushes to apply my foundation. I tend to prefer larger buffing brushes if only because it takes me less time in the morning when I’m trying to get my butt out the door to work. That being said, I’ve only used it once so I’ll give it a few more tries and see if I can adapt to using flat brushes. If it doesn’t work out for me for foundation, I’m sure I’ll find another use for it.
MICA Beauty Cosmetics in Natural ($30 USD, full size)
I’m completely unfamiliar with MICA Beauty so this is an all new experience for me. The first thing I did was look up this tinted lip balm to find out how much this retails for and my eyebrows just about shot off my face. This little 4g pot sells for $30 USD. Now, I don’t know who is actually paying $30 for this because that is an extremely high end price for something being touted as a tinted lip balm.
But is this really a lip balm? Not so much. This is more like a potted lipstick. The sensation of this is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s smooth and… well, it’s not slick, but it’s not creamy either. It’s not uncomfortable… it’s just totally different than anything I’ve ever worn on the lips.
MICA Beauty Cosmetics in Natural
I received the colour Natural and it looks pretty brown in the pot but goes on the lips rather rosy. It’s rather shiny when first applied, but it dries down to a satin finish. This does not feel remotely like a lip balm to me. When it dries down, it tends to make your lips feel like they’re shrunk a bit and yet it’s not utterly uncomfortable to wear. The dry down will actually help increase the longevity of the product. You’ll be able to touch your lips without transferring any colour – it isn’t until you actually rub your lips where you’ll notice a colour transfer. I don’t feel it’s particularly moisturizing, but it didn’t dry out my lips either.
I didn’t wear this for a great deal of time (only about an hour or so), but I do really like the shade. If I can get used to the sensation of the product, I’m sure I’ll end up keeping this in my desk at work for the days when I forget to bring in a lip product.
Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion Argan + Rosewater (0.5 oz for $6.47, full size is 1.7 oz for $21.99)
Nourish Organic‘s Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion with Argan + Rosewater is indeed a pretty thin moisturizer. It feels incredibly liquidy, which doesn’t give me the feeling it’ll be moisturizing enough. It took a bit of rubbing to get the product into my skin, but it did sink in eventually. However, once it dried, it made my skin feel slightly tight, almost as if it had formed a shell over my skin and it needed to be cracked. I realize that sounds incredibly dramatic, and it’s not like it formed an entire plaster over my face, but it didn’t feel great. I’ll finish up the deluxe sample, but I wouldn’t ever purchase this product. Also… this smells like apricots even though the product says it’s the argan and rosewater variety. Odd.
Thin moisturizerAbsolute! Make-Up Cleansing Tissues in Pomegranate Extract ($2.49 for 10 wipes, full size)
I received the Pomegranate Extract scent/flavour of the Absolute! Make-up Cleansing Tissues in my bag. They claim to remove all makeup, including waterproof mascara. Since I wear waterproof mascara daily, I was more than happy to try these out after a day at work.
So I came home yesterday and swiped off my makeup. And rubbed at it. My foundation came off without a hitch, but I did have to rub a decent amount at my lashes, including a lot of wiggling of the tissue *on* my lashes. It’s not something unusual for a makeup removing wipe, but it’s not something I particularly enjoy doing. In the end, they did work, but not as good as some other wipes I’ve used (Neutrogena springs to mind).
The other thing about these is that they smell kind of off. I don’t know if it’s just relegated to the pomegranate scent, but they initially smelled like an alcoholic froufy drink… and then the more I rubbed it on my skin the more nauseating the scent became. I’m glad there’s only ten in this pack because the smell of them would do me in if I used many more than that. I wouldn’t re-purchase these with my own money, but I was happy to try them out and I’ll finish up the package.
Yaby Liquid Foundation Natural Finish in Buff ($13.55 USD, full size)
This was incredible! I’ve heard about Yaby before, but didn’t own anything by them and don’t ever recall seeing them in stores. I was a bit skeptical about receiving a foundation because blind colour matches can be almost impossible. But this shade in Buff is a PERFECT match for my skin right now. It also looked and felt incredible on my skin. It was one of those moments where you step back from your mirror and go “whoa”. It was THAT good. I also like that the foundation is so small (although this is a full size tube) and has a nozzle end. This makes this the absolute perfect foundation for travelling with and I intend to save it for those occasions.
Keep in mind that ounce for ounce, this is a very expensive foundation. Since the full size tube is only 8 ml (versus the normal 30 ml in most foundations), if you were to buy a full ounce of product, as most foundations come, this would set you back about $50 which is on parr with high end foundations.
Yaby foundation in Buff under two different sets of lighting
To me, this foundation actually feels pretty similar to Revlon‘s Colorstay. It seems to have the same long lasting effect and it does make my skin feel a bit tight (not an issue for me now that I’m a bit more used to wearing foundation, but it is a bit annoying around the 12 hour mark). I love this and I would definitely repurchase this when I run out. As a side note, I was pleased to find out that Yaby is actually a Canadian-brand, developed in Toronto!
Ipsy January 2014 Breakdown
Coastal Scents Small Foundation Brush – $4.95 USD (full size)
I do have to say box’s overall monetary total is greatly inflated because of the tinted lip balm – I really don’t know who would pay $30 for that, it seems totally out of line. Regardless, I am really quite pleased with this bag. I enjoyed getting a new brush and I was SO HAPPY with that foundation that those two right there made the whole bag for me. The moisturizer wasn’t to my liking, nor were the wipes, but that’s really just a personal preference. The lip tint was interesting to play with although not a complete winner for me.
I’ll definitely be staying subscribed to Ipsy in the coming months. It really is a steal at $14.95 USD (for Canadians, $10 for Americans). If you’d like to sign up and would like to give someone a referral credit (I receive points I believe, not compensation of any kind), you can use my referral link.
If you received something different in your bag, let me know what you got and whether or not you like it!
