February Ipsy Glambag

For months, I debated whether or not to sign up for Birchbox, which is a monthly beauty subscription. Then while browsing Instagram I saw a few pictures from people who had received their monthly beauty subscriptions and it included a gorgeous black and white chevron makeup bag with red details. But it wasn't Birchbox. It was from Ipsy. So, again, I sat on my butt for a few days before I bit the bullet and signed up. It's $10 a month which includes shipping ($10 + tax in atleast CA now). It includes a makeup bag and beauty samples that follow a specific theme. I got by first bag in December.

It's now February and I received my glambag themed Red Carpet Ready. The makeup bag is a simple, shiny, black vinyl pouch with a red lining. The bag smells exactly like a beach ball, plastic-y and very cheap.

 

Here is what I received in my glambag.

Take a closer look at what I received after the jump!

I received Coastal Scents in In the Spotlight. I'd always read about Coastal Scents and their humongous eyeshadow pallets for a really cheap price but I never actually bought any mainly because on a daily basis at most I'll do is a neutral eye. This is my first CS eyeshadow.

When I opened the package,one of the little pots popped right out.

 

Swatched on my arm, left to right: sunbeam (matte), dark golden olive (shimmer), golden globe (shimmer), and dark goldenrod (shimmer). The texture of the eyeshadows is velvety smooth and they're quite pigmented. But to be honest, I can really only see myself wearing the dark golden olive and dark goldenrod. Anyone want the other two? They pop right out of the container.

The next item I received is this Mica Beauty Cosmetics gel eyeliner. I think this is the brand that I usually pass right on by their kiosk at the mall. I usually use liquid eyeliner for my daily makeup; my current HG of eyeliners is the Milani Eye Tech liquid eyeliner in black, mostly due to the applicator tip. For nights out, I tend to use my Sonia Kashuk Dramatically Defining long wear gel liner in ebony applied with an angled eyeliner brush. I'm currently wearing this Mica Beauty eyeliner and am curious to see how it holds up against the Sonia Kashuk.

 It also included Pixi Flawless & Poreless primer. I had received a sample of this a couple months ago in a Target beauty bag and the sample I received in my glambag is definitely a deluxe sized sample. I have lots of old acne scaring from high school and when worn under makeup it looked UH-mazing and flawless. The downside is that I broke out after I used it. To be honest, I can't remember if I had changed anything else about my beauty routine at the time so I'm willing to give it another try. I'm currently wearing this underneath my Revlon Photoready liquid foundation.

 It's a light beige color but it blends into my skin wonderfully.

Next up are these Lash Cards. The first thing that came to my mind was, "why is the writing backwards?" Duh, when you use them looking in the mirror the writing magically is the right way.

It came with four individually wrapped lash cards. Both ends can be used, one labeled "small curve" and the other labeled "large curve." You basically hold them between your eye/face and your eyelashes while you apply your mascara to prevent it from smearing all over the place. Great idea and I kind of wish I'd thought of it but I wouldn't buy them. They don't do anything different than a small piece or paper or tissue can do.

Speaking of mascara, a sample tube of Pop Beauty Smokey Lash Kapow!!! in No. 1 smoky black was also in the bag. You can never have too much mascara... or can you? Really rich, deep black color which I absolutely love. It noticeably lengthened my eyelashes but it applied a little clumpy for me. I had to go over my eyelashes a few times to brush out the little chunks.

  

Overall,  I'm pleased with what I got in my February glambag, minus the Lash Cards. But for what I received that I can use (the primer, eyeliner, and mascara), it was worth the $10.90 price tag. Do you receive any monthly beauty subscriptions in the mail? What did you get? What do you think about them?