Ipsy March Bag

Welcome back lovelies.
It's time for Ipsy's March bag, which was themed... "Destination Beauty." I have already started planning our vacation, so I was very excited for this month's bag. Every product I received is perfect for a vacation! I received my bag a little early (the 17th... St. Patrick's Day) giving me plenty of time to play with my goodies before posting this. This month we received 4 instead of 5 products plus the bag, but all the products are of great quality. When I first saw the makeup bag on the Ipsy web site, I was not very impressed. But when it came in, I thought... this is actually really cute. The design on the bag is from an artist named Klari Reis (if you are interested in her work, visit www.klariart.com). Nice job Klari!

My Ipsy March goodies

Klari Reis's design on the March makeup bag

And now for the products!

bareMinerals - Marvelous Moxie Lipstick

I was hoping to get the bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipgloss, but I am extremely happy that I received the lipstick! The color is called Get Ready, which is rosy pink that looks great on all skin tones. The Marvelous Moxie lipstick glides on like butter and leaves your lips feeling smooth and soft. I will definitely be looking into purchasing more colors. I only wish that the lipstick was full sized and not a deluxe sample, but this is a great travel size.

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in "Get Ready"

Chella - Indigo Blue Eyeliner

I have heard great things about Chella and I was very happy to finally receive a product from them. When I saw a blue eyeliner, my excitement level went down (I already have 2, one being from MAC and I love it). When I took it out of the bag everything changed... I was back to being very excited! This is an Indigo blue eyeliner pen and it has a very thin tip for that perfect line and cat eye! Another product that just glides on, very easy to use (which I didn't think it would be), and looks incredible on! This product is NOT just for vacation!

Chella Indigo Blue Eyeliner Pen

Swatches of bareMinerals lipstick in "Get Ready" and Chella Eyeliner

NYX Love in Rio Eye Shadow

I am definitely a NYX fan.  The brand has great products, great colors, amazing prices, and is carried at Target and Ulta. The Love in Rio Eye palette comes with 3 complimentary colors. I received the palette in Moonlit Skinny Dip, which has a light beige, warm/medium beige, and a rich dark chocolate... absolutely beautiful! I know that some people have said that some NYX shadows are not very pigmented, personally I have never had an issue. But for those who do, I say to use a shadow primer (Too Faced has their Eye Insurance which works wonders), plus your shadow will last all day. I have not opened my palette in hopes of trading it either with a friend or my sister (both who are still waiting for their bags). I already own NYXs S119 Nude on Nude Palette which include these 3 colors. If I am not able to trade, I will definitely use it because the colors are beautiful and useful and the palette is the perfect travel size. 

NYX Love in Rio Shadow Palette in "Moonlit Skinny Dip"

Pixi Beauty Flawless Beauty Primer

This was another deluxe sample sized product. I have always been iffy about primers... do they really do anything? I have applied the Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer many times now and yes, I definitely saw a difference in my makeup. The primer feels great on the skin (leaving it feeling soft) and makes my foundation looking amazingly smooth. I also noticed that my makeup lasted longer without touch ups. Great job Pixi! This is another product that I will be purchasing in the future.

Pixi's Flawless Beauty Primer

Swatch of the Pixi Primer (you can see a little bit of the color)

I will give the March Ipsy bag a 5 out of 5. These are all great products that I will definitely keep using and purchase in the future. Also, the bag was surprisingly nice and useful. Keep up the good work Ipsy!

I can't wait for Tuesday for the April sneak peeks to start!

If you are interested in subscribing... here is my referral link to Ipsy.

How was your March bag? What was your favorite product?

See you next time!

xoxo

Qttie1

Ipsy February Bag

Ipsy's February theme was "The Look of Love" right in time for Valentine's Day.  Well, I was sick for Valentine's and I got my bag on the 20th (like usual)... but it was still a GREAT bag!  I was happy with all of the products that I received. Oh, and I also redeemed some points... so it was like I got an extra gift!

I LOVE the bag... it's small, cute, and PINK!!!  I will definitely get a lot of use out of this bag itself. You can see the bag... hiding in the back... being covered... why didn't I take a picture of just the bag?!?!

Now for all of the goodies that came inside (don't they look fun?).  I guess that I am going to list them in the order that I tried everything.

Pop Beauty - Plump Pout Mini

How cute is this lipgloss mini?  The size is perfect!  It fits in your purse, clutch, even your pocket... I will probably be cursing out the size when I run out!  I got the Pop Beauty lipgloss in Fuchsia Freesia. The color is nice and bright with a very glossy finish.  What I really like about the gloss is that even though it is a lip plumper, your lips do not get that weird tingling feeling.  Ok, honestly I have never tried a lip "plumper" that actually plumps my lips, but all the ones that I have tried have had that tingliness (I may have made up that word). Also, the gloss does not leave your lips feeling sticky! Thank goodness!  I hate sticky lipglosses!  So, I was extremely happy with this product.

Zoya Nail Polish

You know I love my nail polish (I have a subscription to a nail polish beauty box for heaven's sake!), so of course I was happy to receive this... AND I love Zoya polishes.  I received the color DOT, which is a creamy, petal pink and looks soooo classy and beautiful.  I received many compliments on my manicure with Dot.  With it being such a light color, you need a minimum of 2 coats, even 3 is not bad. My manicure lasted a full week, which is great.  I absolutely love this polish and will definitely re-purchase it.

+

Tini Beauty Eyetini Cream Shadow and Base in One

More liquid shadow!  I have to say that I was hoping for a different shade, but the purple family works very well for me... so I can't complain.  I received the Eyetini in the color Violette, which is very beautiful.  It was a little strange that the applicator looks like one you would find on a lipgloss, but who am I to judge?  If you apply the shadow right from the applicator to your eyelids, you get a lot of product, which can be nice.  If not, you can dot your lids with the applicator and smudge the shadow with your fingers (or brush) for less product.  In the end both techniques work and look beautiful. I definitely like this product!

J. Cat Eyelashes and Eyelash Glue

My lashes are pretty long as it is and I have already gotten fake lashes in another Ipsy bag, so I was not very happy about getting these.  This is my 3rd pair (2nd from Ipsy) and I am still trying to perfect the art of putting them on.  With all that being said, I got excited when I actually saw them. I got the J. Cat Eyelashes in EL13 and once I get them on right, they are going to look awesome!  And I love that they came with the glue! I cannot wait for the next date night or Girls Night Out to wear them.  I was pleasantly surprised with these!

skynn Iceland Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud

I haven't found a great or miraculous face mask that I love (if anyone has a recommendation please let me know), so I was really excited about getting this product. So can you believe that I still have not tried this? I keep saying that I will try it on a weekend just in case I have a reaction to it, I don't want to go to work with a red or bumpy face! This is a 2 step mask that you do weekly for 10 minutes. The treatment is supposed to polish and re-texturize your skin.  Step 1 is made up of a blue clay and 13,000 year old mud from the Ice Age.  Step 2 is a gel that detoxifies the skin.  I will definitely be trying skynn mask this weekend and report on my findings.

AND FINALL... I redeemed my points... I couldn't help it!  I picked the KISS Nail Art Kit... the other 2 choices was a beauty blender (which I have) or a NYX shadow palette (which I have one like the one offered). I also thought it would be fun to do some crazy, cool designs on my nails.  I opened it, but have not had time to really play with everything.  I will post pictures once I start experimenting.

I give the February bag a 5 out of 5  One product that I thought I wouldn't like, I wound up liking. The other, I wanted, received it, but haven't tried it... so technically my score for this bag can change! Overall I am extremely happy with my bag.  Now onto March's bag....

What did you get in your February bag? Have you ever traded a product?

xoxo

Qttie1 

Catch Up

Hello!  Well, it has been a while since my last post.  I hope that everyone is doing well. Between getting sick for Valentine's Day (can you believe that? Come to think about it, I have gotten sick for every holiday!), my dad taking a last minute trip to the Dominican Republic to see my grandfather (Grandpa's a Valentine's baby, so dad missed Valentine's and my mom's birthday dinner!), tutoring my niece, work has been extremely busy, getting sick again, and then my husband getting sick (he is feeling a lot better today)... it has been a crazy month!

So, where do I begin?  Oh, Urban Decay!  I had placed my order with Urban Decay for the Friends and Fanatics event and I got my order in 3 days!  I received it before my due date, which I could not believe... how often does that happen?  Urban Decay definitely has their stuff together.  My order was perfectly packed in purple tissue paper that says "Beauty with an Edge"... how cool is that?  I received my Naked palette (I absolutely LOVE it), my Revolution lipstick in 69 (OMG!!!!), and a sample of Urban Decay's favorite 4 Revolution lipsticks... F-Bomb (which I was very tempted to buy), Naked, Obsessed, and Anarchy (which I have).  Pictures to come soon.

As I mentioned before, I was sick on Valentine's Day... I actually went to work, but was feeling pretty miserable, so no pictures.  My hubby gave me a funny and cute card, tulips, and we had a great fondue dinner at home.  If you have never had fondue, at a restaurant or at home, you must really try it.  It is a lot of fun!  We had lobster tails, shrimps, scallops, and filet mignon with home made sauces!  Soooo, yummy!  We even made some delicious strawberry daiquiris (I know I was sick, but I had to celebrate with one).

My beautiful tulips after they opened.

Mom's birthday dinner, again no pictures because I was sick  AND then I forgot to take pictures of the birthday girl!  Dinner was fun (even though dad was not there).  She was very happy with her gift... a mani, pedi, face mask, and face scrub  We can't wait to go to the spa for our girl's day!

I received both my February and March Ipsy bags.  I will be doing two separate posts on these.  My March bag actually came in early and I have used all but one product... the NYX eyeshadow.  I am hoping to trade the eyeshadow with a friend for a different color. 

I skipped the Julep March box, but they had a Limited Edition The Wizard of Oz box!  I LOVE The Wizard of Oz, it was one of my favorite books as a child and one of my favorite movies.  So, of course I had to buy it (post coming soon). I even love the box the polishes came in!

Recently the hubby, my family, and I attended a car show at Bedner's Farm Fresh Market.  So this is a farm in Boynton Beach, Florida where you can pick your own strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, and sunflowers (which I am allergic to).  They also have a small grocery store that sells home grown and organic vegetables, fruits, jams, jellies, salsas, etc.  The place is awesome! Around St. Patrick's Day a car club called the Asphalt Angels hold a car show at Bedner's.  Most of the club members showcase their classic cars and anyone can enter their own car to win prizes.  The hubby's thinking about entering his Camaro at next year's event.  As you can see from the pictures below, there are a variety of cars that are showcased (yes, that is a Delorean that someone had)!  The event has different vendors selling sunglasses, jewelry, plants, fresh squeezed lemonade, hot dogs, and there is even a BBQ food truck with great food!  This year they had a group of kids dancing and a petting zoo for the children. We had a great time, but I got a little sunburned (I'm actually peeling right now, uggghhh!).

One of the strawberries that I picked.

Mom and I picking strawberries.

Hubby and I looking down at the cars.

I had a guest at work that I had been helping who gave me a beautiful gift  She has a company named All Girls Love Pearls.  And THIS girl does love pearls!  This was a great gift for me.  Thank you very much Lisa Beek!

So now we get to this past weekend... St. Patrick's Day weekend.  Yes, it should have been fun, but I wound up with a sore throat... AGAIN!  So, what do you do when you are sick?  Sleep and watch television.  Last time I was sick, I watched seasons 1-3 of The Walking Dead... again.  Sunday brought me to QVC.  Oh, QVC, you can be very addictive!  AND this Sunday they had an hour called Beauty's Most Wanted.  They were advertising the Muppets' new movie, Muppets Most Wanted, while showcasing some of the best beauty brands with their bestselling items.  Of course I found something I wanted.  I love the brand Tarte.  I had a makeover done last year by a Tarte makeup artist and I fell in love with the brand.  I contemplated the purchase, but how can you say no when you can make 3 easy payments?!?! :)  The price was great (9 products for under $70)... 2 of the products I have been wanting to purchase and those 2 alone are worth over $70!  My order shipped today and I will post it when it comes in.  

The other great news?  Ulta is having their 21 Days of Beauty!  I received the ad on Saturday and the sales started on Sunday.  They have absolutely AH-MAZ-ING deals!  For those of you who don't know about the 21 Days of Beauty... each day Ulta has a great product at a great price.  For example, 2 London Butter nail polishes for $15 (normally $15 individually), Smashbox Photo Finish primer for $18 (normally $36), or Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush for $15 (normally $30).  Plus there are extra deals or free products with purchase.  Ulta had one of these sales in September 2013, around the Ipsy/Benefit Lashbash time and I was able to get Benefit gifts for my contests (yes, I will post on my Lashbash soon).  If you plan on going to an Ulta store, arrive early because most stores receive about 4 of each product that is significantly discounted (this is what I was told by an Ulta employee last time). I'm actually going this Saturday for the Benefit deal.

Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty Ad

What have you been up to?  Any special purchases (does not have to be beauty related)? Are you planning to go to Ulta for the 21 Days of Beauty?  If so, let me know what you find.

Take care.

xoxo

Qttie1