year in review: ipsy glambags 2015

 

hi guys! here's my year in review of my ipsy bags*! ~Lin-chan ^.~

january

1. bella pierre shimmer powder in celebration -- this is such a pretty coppery gold shade. super gorgeous!
2. elizabeth mott all over shadow brush -- this is a great fairly stiff, but still flexible brush. i love using these types of brushes for all-over shadow application
3. la fresh be good. good day. day moisturizer -- this smells really weird. it's kinda like sunscreen but not really...i think it's the cucumber or something that makes it smell like this.. i'm undecided if i want to actually use this on my face though. the scent really bothers me.
• product was given away
4. pacifica natural mineral coconut eye shadow in ethereal -- this is so pretty. i feel like the name is very fitting because it's super highlighty and shimmery...idk maybe that's just my word association at work...
5. probelle nail polish in into the blue -- this polish formula is awful. it applies super patchy and it barely lasted a day on my nails.

february

1. modelco blush in cosmopolitan -- it's a very pretty blush shade, but not super happy with how much powder my brush kicks up.
• product given away
2. mitchell and peach fine radiance face oil -- i was using this for a little while, then i moved onto other things. i need to get back to it and decide how i really like it.
3. eva nyc up all night volumizing spray -- i ended up using this only once and it was ok. i wasn't really huge into it, but i need to try it more.
4. emite make up professional eye lash curler -- i'll just leave the following link here.
• AVOID THIS PIECE OF CRAP LIKE THE PLAGUE
5. city color cosmetics creamy lip stain in flirtini -- this didn't dry down and got onto anything i ate or drank. the staining power was negligible.
• product was given away

march

1. nyx butter lipstick in hunk -- while it's a great color, i couldn't really find myself wearing it. 
• product was given away
2. pur-lisse pur-delicate gentle soymilk cleanser & makeup remover -- this product was ok. i'm not so sure if i'd use this directly on a completely made-up face, but it seemed to work well.
• product was finished
3. boo-boo cover-up concealer in medium -- this was too dark for me.
• product was given away
4. dr. brand pores no more anti-aging mattifying lotion -- i wasn't a fan of their regular pores no more...
• product was given away
5. vintage by jessica liebeskind illuminating face highlighter -- this is such a pretty pink highlight!

april

1. elizabeth arden beautiful color moisturizing lipstick in red door red -- while i really liked this color, i'm thinking of giving it away since i'm probably not going to wear it much.
2. mullein & sparrow mini lip & cheek tint -- this was kinda oily feeling and where's the tint??? i didn't see any!
• product was given away
3. mica beauty eye primer -- it's thicker in texture, but similar to nyx eye primer in skintone. the nyx spreads out nicely and matches my skin color. this was orangy on me.
• product was given away
4. theBalm nudeDude shadow single in fit -- this is such a pretty gold shadow!
5. pandora's makeup box pink carnation blush -- i never got around to using this blush. i think i tried once, but i forget. if i remember right, it does kick up a bit of dust with a brush though. really pretty color.

may

1. briogeo rosarco milk reparative leave-in conditioning spray -- this stuff is ok. it smells a little salon-y when you first spray it in, but the scent doesn't linger.
2. it cosmetics your skin but better cc+ cream with spf 50+ in medium -- this was too dark for me.
• product was given away
3. skone cosmetics pretty eyes automatic eyeliner in navy -- this was way creamier than i wanted to deal with. it was navy colored in the pencil, but swatched, it was closer to a medium blue.
• product was given away
4. klorane smoothing and relaxing patches -- these were interesting. i'd never used this type of product before, so it took a few tries to even place them on correctly...and it still felt too close to my eye when i blinked... at first these felt a bit cooling. after a while, my skin felt itchy and warm, and by the 20 minute mark (when to remove them), i didn't feel like there was any difference.
• used one, gave one away
5. urban decay mini 24/7 lip pencil in ozone & gloss samples in failbait & bittersweet -- failbait is such a pretty color! i'm not 100% on this formula mostly because i'm not huge into glosses, but it's nice! i never really got around to using the lip liner. aside from sheer laziness, i don't know why i never got around to trying this item out. i definitely eventually will. but at the time of this posting, i've only swatched it on my hand a few times.
• bittersweet gloss sample was given away
6. indie lee brightening cleanser -- i only just recently opened this guy up and it's not too bad. i didn't really notice any brightening effect, but my face does feel clean when i use it and doesn't irritate it. the scent's not bad either, not super perfume-y like their CoQ-10 toner.

june

1. formula x for sephora mini in power source -- i love formula x, but this is not really my color, so i gave it away.
• product was given away
2. smashbox photo finish foundation primer -- looove lovve love this primer.
• product was finished
3. tre'StiQue mini shadow crayon in marimoto pink pearl -- this was an unexpected gem! i really enjoy using this. very comparable to laura mercier caviar sticks or loreal infallible shadow sticks.
4. jules and esther vitamin c serum -- i never got around to using this. i'll try to make a better effort in using this.
5. biorepublic skincare sheet masks in aloe rescue (revitalizing), cucumber breeze (soothing), and green tea (detox) -- like i said before, i probably won't be repurchasing these because of the cost, but the quality of the paper they used for these masks was really nice. for reviews of cucumber breeze & green tea, see my june empties post. for the aloe rescue review, see my december empties post.
• products were finished

july

1. tarte mini amazonian clay bronzer in park ave princess -- this is a really great product! i already had one, so i saved it to give away.
• product was given away as a gift
2. bella pierre mineral lipstick in P.I.N.K. -- while i really liked how this looked, i wasn't sure how often i'd be wearing it. so i gave it away.
• product was given away
3. eva nyc freshen up dry shampoo -- i only used this once because i couldn't find the one i had open at the time, but i liked it. i'll have to elaborate more whenever i get around to using it up.
4. ofra cosmetics bliss eyeshadow -- this is the most freaking gorgeous shadow/highlight ever. so freaking pretty and i love it!
5. jersey shore sun mongongo vanilla coconut cream lip conditioner -- pretty good lip balm, has the texture that i like, but the scent is really confusing to me. it smells as it says..but it's kinda crazy.
6. it cosmetics brow power universal eyebrow pencil -- i really enjoy using this pencil. i will say that the elliptical shape is a little weird from an application standpoint, but i really enjoyed the color and the spoolie on the other end.

august

1. doucee ultra precision eyeliner in black -- [worn in the waterline] this isn't quite as good as my favorite rimmel scandalEyes kohl kajal liner in black, but it still works similarly. it takes a little more effort to apply as dark and pigmented, but it lasts just as long. cost-wise, go for the rimmel liner.
2. marc anthony nourishing argan oil treatment -- this smells so yummmm. made my hair feel and smell great!
• product was finished
3. la fresh good night night cream -- this really was not very moisturizing to me. i only tested this on my hand and it was really weird and dried down too fast. for a night cream, you normally think of something heavier or feeling somewhat more luxurious...this was definitely not that.
• product was given away
4. hikari cosmetics lip gloss in merlot -- while i thought this formula was pretty nice, i'm not sure how i feel about this color on me. like it works, but i don't know... and since i'm not huge into glosses, i think this'll get more love elsewhere.
• product was given away
5. lord & berry ultimate lipcolor & liner in nude -- this is actually a pretty great mlbb shade for me. i'm not huge into using lip liners, but this one might be the exception. 

september

1. nyx x ipsy eyeshadow trio -- this is actually a pretty nice little set! i'm not huge into super dark eyeshadows, but the other two are just perfect!
2. thebalm put a lid on it eye primer -- this primer was ok. i mostly didn't like how wet the texture of it was.
• product was given away
3. formula x for sephora nail color in ignite -- as stated in my haul post, i already have a full size of this, so i gave it away.
• product was given away
4. glamglow flashmud -- i really enjoyed using this mask. whether it actually brightens your skin or not..i'm not totally sure, but it was still a pleasant experience.
• product was finished
5. not soap, radio the phoenix hand/body lotion (persimmon & plum scented) -- this is such a great scent! i loved using this lotion. it had the right consistency and absorbed pretty fast, but it still felt like it was working its "magic" without feeling sticky or tacky for very long.
6. la fresh hello. lip treat lip balm -- this lip balm, while it felt nice, chapped me. so sadly, i passed it off because my lips did not like something in this product!
• product was given away

october

1. theBalm meet matte hughes long lasting liquid lipstick in committed -- this is such a strange product. it does dry down matte, but my lips still stick together...? no. just no.
• product was given away
2. nourish organic pure hydrating argan face serum -- this product kind of weirded me out. i'm still not into the oil is ok on your face thing--even though, i should be over it. but i'm not....
• product was given away
3. emite make up professional slant tweezer -- these seemed only ok. and i have several trusty pairs of tweezerman tweezers, so i passed them off to a friend.
• product was given away
4. balanced guru scrub me body scrub -- i couldn't tolerate the scent of this..so i passed it off.
• product was given away
5. aurora gel effect nail polish in inky dinky -- tried this on my toes and it lasted about a week before chipping, which is kind of short for me..idk. i do like the color, but not too sure about the formula.
6. luxie beauty tapered blending eye brush 205 -- this is my new favorite fluffy crease/blending brush. i really want to get another!

november

1. trestique matte lip crayon in chile red -- this is not really my color or suited for my skintone, so i passed this off to a friend. i did think the formula was pretty nice though.
• product was given away
2. skin inc pure revival peel -- this was an interesting product. it felt like a weird gel that you put on for 10 seconds, then start rubbing in circular motions before rinsing off. my skin did feel a bit nicer and smoother afterward, but i'm not sure i'd be repurchasing this.
3. smashbox full exposure mascara -- this did nothing for my lashes. i am looking for volume and length, and this gave me a teensy bit of length and separation.
• product was given away
4. luxie beauty matte eyeshadow pan in aubergine (#290) -- this actually surprised me. i ended up enjoying using this in the crease as a dark grayish-purplish corner color.
5. jelly pong pong liquid gossamer -- this is a great product, only complaint is that the packaging is awful. this has a gel-like consistency but can blend, smooth, and dry very nicely on the skin. the packaging is awful because it's like a tube of toothpaste, there's no nozzle, so you can easily dispense like a month's worth of product on accident.

december

1. tarte smooth operator finishing powder -- i still have yet to open or use the one i had before receiving this one, but i went ahead and gave this away.
• product was given away
2. elizabeth mott thank me later eyeshadow primer -- this is actually a pretty good eyeshadow primer. dare i say it's comparable to urban decay or too faced?
3. rickycare by ricky's nyc classic 3D blender -- i actually ended up trying this out and i liked it quite a lot. i'm toying with the idea of repurchasing.
4. marc anthony coconut oil and shea butter deep conditioning treatment -- this was a really nice deep conditioner. not sure if it was really my favorite though.
• product was finished
5. pacifica power of love natural lipstick in nudie red -- not sure what was up with this product, but  i ended up giving it away.
• product was given away

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