Ipsy September 2014
When I was a kid, my friend and I decided one day that we wanted to dress up as “streetwalkers”. If I remember correctly, we were inspired by some movie based in a big city where all the women were fashionable and edgy and wore lots of makeup. When I asked my mom if she had any makeup we could borrow and explained why we needed it, she was clearly horrified. That was the day I learned about prostitution. Street style may have been a better choice of words, but hey, I was seven. The September Ipsy bag takes on this theme based on New York style with dark, bold colors that are perfect for fall. The bag is a dark metallic silver with studs. I’m not a fan of studs, but I live in a part of the country where people think it’s okay to bedazzle the heck out of everything they own, so these kinds of things scare me.
Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask 1 oz, $4.95 value
Hair products just aren’t something I will ever swoon over. If it makes my hair soft and doesn’t weigh it down, then it’s doing its job and I can’t complain. The Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask did this, so it gets a thumbs up. It also smells like yummy coconut. 1 oz, $4.95 value
Crown Brush Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush, $6.99 value
One can never have too many makeup brushes. I received a Crown Brush Pro Blending Fluff brush in my May Ipsy bag that I use regularly as a backup for days when I’m too lazy to wash my MAC brushes, and it’s a decent replacement. This Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush, however, does not even remotely compare. First, the shadow brush end came with the bristles squashed and leaning to one side because it did not fit in my Ipsy bag. I let it sit out for almost a week and even washed it to try to get them to go straight, but they are still leaning to one side. At this point, I assume it is permanent. The bristles on each end of this brush are extremely soft, so I had high hopes for it. The shadow end, in my opinion, is far too bulky and full to really be able to to effectively cover your eyelids in shadow. The crease end is also way too big for doing anything that requires detail. Both ends don’t seem to pick up shadow very well, so I kept layering and layering until I gave up and used another brush. Sadly, this one is a bust. $6.99 value
NYX Hot Singles Eye Shadow in Arrogance, Full size 0.053 oz, $4.50 value
Out of all of the NYX Hot Singles Eye Shadows available this month, I was happy to receive this one over one of the more neutral shades. I have enough of those already.
NYX Hot Singles Eye Shadow Swatch in Arrogance
Arrogance is a gorgeous deep purple in the pan, but when swatched, it appears more charcoal gray with some purple. The shadow is very powdery and not very pigmented. It looked terrible when I tried to blend it into my crease, so I had to start over. I decided to wet my brush and use it as an eyeliner instead. I was much more successful with this method. It really brought out more of the purple and it didn’t look powdery and cheap as it did before when I was trying to blend it. I’d never buy this specific shade because it performs so poorly, but I’m not willing to discount the whole line based on one dud. I like NYX and they generally have some pretty good stuff. Full size 0.053 oz, $4.50 value
Pacifica Natural Water-Proof Eye Pencil in Fringe 0.026 oz, $2.86 value
Another eyeliner pencil. In brown this time! I’m glad this version of Pacifica turned out better than that awful eye shadow duo I ended up with in my May bag, but it still isn’t as good as the 65743892564837925 other eyeliner pencils I own.
Pacifica Natural Water-Proof Eye Pencil Swatch in Fringe
It’s brown. I never wear brown, and I probably never will unless I’m having a lazy makeup day. The pencil is very soft and glides on smoothly, but it doesn’t have much staying power and quickly disappeared from my water line and was smudged on the outer corners of my eyes by the end of the day. 0.026 oz, $2.86 value
Hikari Lipstick in Cabernet, Full size, $13.00 value
Now that it’s Fall, I’ve been wanting to find a red lipstick with a hint of pink and berry. This Hikari Lipstick in Cabernet seemed like the perfect fit from the moment I swatched it on my wrist.
Hikari Lipstick Swatch in Cabernet
The color is so vibrant and gorgeous, but this has to be the driest lipstick I have ever used. It took FOREVER to apply. Once I managed to get the color looking even after about a thousand swipes, my lips looked very dry and crinkled. I had to put lip balm over it to get them looking smooth again, but once I went there, the color wore off quickly. Such a disappointment. Full size, $13.00 value
Here is what the September Ipsy products look like:
Ipsy September 2014 on Face
Total bag value is $32.30. At first glance, I really loved everything in my September bag. In the midst of what has been a very chaotic couple of weeks for me, I was DYING to get the chance to finally try these out. Unfortunately, most of the products didn’t perform well at all. Maybe next time.
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