Ipsy October 2014 Review

Ipsy October 2014

Am I the only one who has had Bow Wow Wow stuck in their head all week? I swear, every time I look at this bag…

This month’s theme is Beauty Candy (for Halloween, duh), and even the little bag is a shiny teal with puffy squares resembling candy. I actually think this one is my favorite. Each month, Ipsy subscribers receive a makeup bag with 4-5 deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products for only $10.

ECRU New York Acacia Protein BB Cream Beauty Balm for Hair 1 oz, $12.00 value

As I’ve said 56430532 times before, I’m not gaga for hair things, so it should come as no surprise that the ECRU New York Acacia Protein BB Cream Beauty Balm for Hair didn’t really float my boat. It’s supposed to condition, smooth, and add shine to your hair, but I didn’t experience any of those things. I think I’d just rather stick with my usual product-free hair. 1 oz, $12.00 value

Skyn Iceland Mini Glacial Cleansing Cloths 10 cloths, $5.00 value

I have the type of skin that rarely allows me to blow off washing my face at night, so I don’t use face wipes very often. If I’m not able to take a shower or wash my face immediately after working out, though, that’s when they come in handy. I tried the Skyn Iceland Mini Glacial Cleansing Cloths one night, and while they were very refreshing, they weren’t very effective in removing my makeup. According to the description on the package, these are supposed to do something magical to my skin. They smell like icy, cool cucumbers (real ones, not the Bath and Body Works kind). The scent made me feel like I might have been transported to some fancy spa or hot spring. I even remember thinking to myself, “Dude, I need to go to Iceland”. In the end, my skin was very dry and I still needed to actually wash my face off. They’re not the best cleansing cloths on the planet, but they’ll do just for wiping off sweat as long as I moisturize afterwards. 10 cloths, $5.00 value

Figs & Rouge Mango Mandarin Hand Cream 0.67 oz, $6.56 value

Let me tell you something. Figs & Rouge has some pretty adorable packaging. However, I wasn’t too excited about trying the Mango Mandarin Hand Cream because I got a tube of their lip balm in one of my Glossyboxes a while back and found it to be pretty mediocre. Have I also mentioned that I hate, Hate, HATE mango with a burning passion? I hate mango as much as I hate Huey Lewis and The News. If I was capable of putting everything mango and everything Huey Lewis into one massive pile, I would set it on fire. All of it. That being said, this isn’t really that bad. The scent is a little strong and too mango-y at first, but it fades completely in a couple of minutes, thank goodness. Mango aside, this is actually a pretty darn good hand cream. It moisturizes deep into the skin and doesn’t have a greasy or sticky feeling. If I were to ever buy it, I would probably opt for a different scent, though. 0.67 oz, $6.56 value

Starlooks Lip Gloss in Guilty Pleasure

At this point, I’m kind of sick of getting the same lip gloss color all the time, so I don’t have much to say about this. It’s Starlooks in Guilty Pleasure and it’s a rosy-pink.

Starlooks Lip Gloss Swatch in Guilty Pleasure

This is basically the same color as my lips. It’s not too sticky and it lasts a while, but it’s still lip gloss. I’m just not that into you, lip gloss. Between Ipsy and the Beauty Blogosphere, there seems to be quite a bit of confusion about how many ounces this particular sample actually is. Ipsy claims 0.3 oz while bloggers reviewing the full size are saying it’s 0.14 oz. Obviously, that makes no sense. Unfortunately, Starlooks gives no information about it, so with the full size being valued at $12, I’m going to assume this sample is 1/3 of that and give it a $4.00 value.

MicaBeauty Mineral Eye Shadow in Harlequin 0.1 oz, $14.95 value

It’s been several years since I’ve used loose shadows regularly, but I’ve recently been getting back into them because I ordered a truckload of them from various indie cosmetics companies. They can be messy to handle, but I actually really enjoy them and don’t remember why I ever stopped using them to begin with.

MicaBeauty Mineral Eye Shadow in Harlequin

I couldn’t have ended up with a better color. I have been all about rust-colored things for fall for ages, but this year I have inexplicably been gravitating toward plum and pine.

MicaBeauty Mineral Eye Shadow Swatch in Harlequin

MicaBeauty Mineral Eye Shadow in Harlequin is a metallic forest green with a gray-brown base, a very faint golden shift, and iridescent sparkle. It’s smooth, easy to work with, and has great color payoff. I looooove it. 0.1 oz, $14.95 value

Here’s how the lip gloss and eye shadow look:

Ipsy October 2014 on Face

Total bag value is $42.51. Despite its few shortcomings, I really like October’s bag and will probably end up using everything it came with. The eye shadow alone is worth more than the monthly subscription, so it’s a big win for me.

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