Victoria's Secret Eye Shadow Quad in Plenty | Swatches & Review

I've always loved Victoria's Secret, it's a must-go stop for me whenever I travel south to Bellingham, Washington for shopping trips (no matter how short!). So when they finally opened up in downtown Vancouver and Metrotown, I was ecstatic! However, I noticed really quickly that Victoria's Secret in Vancouver did not carry products from their "Professional" Makeup line. There were still the lipglosses and nail polish, etc, that was found at the checkout line, but it wasn't until about a month ago when I was browsing the Metrotown location did I notice they've finally introduced the rest of their makeup to Vancouver!

Actually, I have never puchased ANY Victoria's Secret makeup products. I tend to focus my spending in that store on clothing, lingerie, and shower gels (which are absolutely amazing). Fun fact: Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works are actually owned by the same company! But today, this little eyeshadow quad really caught my attention:

Victoria's Secret Eye Shadow Quad in Plenty

One of the reasons why I stay away from VS makeup products usually is the price. This quad that I bought was priced at $24.00, which it QUITE pricey considering this is not really an actual makeup brand.  Also, VS products are often hit-or-miss according to majority of the reviews out there. However, that day I had a 20% off coupon from email so I though, why not? If it's good then I'd love for you guys to know, and if it's not I hope I can help you guys save money :)

So let's take a look on the inside.

The packaging is nice and sleek, simple snap closure in the front is sturdy and tight. The entire quad fits into the palm of my hand, more or less, so I can even consider taking this in my purse for touch ups. This packaging reminds of me drugstore eye shadow quads because it comes with a clear window on the top instead of a mirror on the inside. 

The colours are neutral and very easy to style. One of the best features for this quad that sets it apart from others, same brand and other drugstore brand, is that it includes TWO matte shades. More often than not, small eyeshadow palettes that contain 6 or less shades are all of similar finish, and hardly ever includes matte shades. This VS quad in Plenty gives us a matte "Highlight" and "Lid" shade. 

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"Base": A light, cream-coloured, shimmery shade. It doesn't lean too cool or too warm. The shimmer is not an overspray and continues to be present as I keep using it, it is not chunky glitter and looks delicately sparkly on the lids. At the same time, it doesn't come off as being obnoxiously light-catchy so it's great for everyday wear as well. 

"Lid": A warm-tone medium brown matte shade. The texture is smooth and buttery, pigmented yet blendable. Even though the designers of this quad likely assumed this shade to be used all over the lid, I love using this type of colours as transition colours in my crease, and being that it can be nicely blended out, it's a great colour for that purpose.

"Highlight": A skin-tone matte shade. This shade actually blends in with my skin almost completely, and I do not have the lightest skin tone around. I imagine people with any skin tone that is lighter than my typical asian skin would likely not be able to use this for any "highlighting" per se, as it would be too dark. The texture of this shade is very similar to the "Lid" shade in that it is smooth and blendable, so I actually use this to blend out any harsh edges and it works beautifully for this purpose. For my daytime eyeshadow looks, I can often get by without applying any browbone highlight, but when I do, I need to find something else lighter (i.e. Foxy or Venus in Naked Basics palette).

"Crease": A deep, chocolate brown shade with larger bits of gold glitter. The base of this colour has some subtle shimmer to it, and the gold glitter is quite noticeable in the pan and in the swatch, but doesn't really translate to the eyelids. I don't get glitter fallout from using this colour but there is usually a bit of deep brown colour fallout if I don't tap my brush out first. I do not use this shade in my crease, because that would be too dark and smokey for my liking on a day-to-day workplace appropriate look. Instead, I use this shade in my outer-V corner to add definition to the eyes. It's not as pigmented as it may seem in the pan so this is probably the more disappointing shade out of all 4. 

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Now, this quad really interested me because as a whole, it was a neutral palette which I love, plus when I swatched the medium brown "Lid" shade in the store, it was pigmented and very smooth. It's often common to find matte shades that swatch patchy, uneven, and unpigmented, so I was pleasantly surprised by the quality in this little VS quad. So naturally, I proceed to swatch the matte highlight shade, very smooth once again; the "Base" shade was shimmery but quite pretty. That was enough to interest me enough to purchase and the following is a picture of all four colours on my arm without a primer underneath.  

 

As you can see, the colour payoff is not too bad, but I was hoping for better payoff on the "Base" shade and "Crease" shade. So next I tried them on top my daily staple: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and here is the outcome:

I think all four colours performed much better but the result was especially apparent with the "Base" and "Crease" shades and I'm quite pleased with the result. "Crease" shade is still not as intense as I would like it to be given what it looks like in the pan, but overall it is alright for what I use it for. 

Overall thoughts:

Texture: Three of the four shades in this quad performed well in the texture department. As a whole, the powders run on the dry side, there are definitely many eyeshadows that are even more buttery than these VS ones. Of course, the brands that immediately comes to mind are high end ones, such as Urban Decay, Too Faced, Lorac, etc. Compared to the majority of drugstore eyeshadow offerings, the VS shadows performed a bit better than most BUT I think Wet n' Wild actually still comes out on top. 

Pigmentation: Again, all shades did well and yielded close-to-pan-colour except the "Crease" shade. As a whole, they translated well to the lids, but could be better. I often find myself reapplying the "Base" shade to the lids after some blending because it seems that I've blended too much away. "Crease" shade was not as deep and dark as it appeared in the pan. 

Blendability: All shades were smooth and buttery, so they are very easy to blend out on the lids. No complaints here!

Staying Power: I had no problems with creasing or fading throughout the day, which is usually well over 10 hours of wear time. However, I always use a primer underneath so perhaps it may not do so well if I didn't use a primer. I think in terms of staying power, these shades performed as well as my other high end eyeshadows. 

Value: So here comes the final and biggest question answered on this post...Is this Victoria's Secret eyeshadow quad worth the $24.00 price tag?? And my answer is....nope. As well as it did perform during this past month that I have been using it, I think it is way over priced for what it is. The colours are very practical and usable, but are definitely not unique. At a fraction of the price, Wet 'N Wild offers an amazing 8-pan eyeshadow palette and trios that gives slightly smoother texture and colour payoff. If you are willing to venture a bit higher in the price points, then you will find great eyeshadow palette options from Urban Decay and other brands found at Sephora.

I'm glad I picked up this one quad to try out, but I highly doubt I would be back for more eyeshadow quads from Victoria's Secret any time soon. I still think I will get a lot of use out of this quad because it's quite convenient for those mornings when I have limited time to make myself presentable. I find for myself that I take too much time deciding what shades to use if I had too many options in a large palette; in this little quad I have 1 shade option for each area of the eye and that eliminates choosing. I'd say skip this eyeshadow quad from Victoria's Secret and save that money towards better eyeshadows from higher end brands, and satisfy your cravings with drugstore options like Wet 'N Wild in the meantime. :)

Until the next post, 

Cheers!    

  

Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments - Swatches and Review!

One of the latest and possibly most highly anticipated drugstore items are these Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments! Ever since Maybelline uploaded a sneak peak picture on instagram I've been on the lookout for when these pigments will land in the drugstore. I finally came across them last week and I picked up all 10 shades that are offered to play with them.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why these pigments are so anticipated by drugstore makeup enthusiasts is because pigments are quite rare in the drugstore makeup department. There really aren't many brands that have ventured into pigment/loose eyeshadows. More over, Maybelline has some pretty impressive claims for its new product, as follows: "Double-dipped pigments create intense eyeshadow colour intnsity. Superior staying Power, for crease-proof wear all day long." -maybelline.ca

Well, doesn't that just make it sound like these pigments are a must-try product? Let's see some swatches below.

Part 1: The Neutrals

3 swipes, no primer

(L to R)
1) 30 Black Mystery - The darkest colour of the entire range. This is a blackened deep charcoal colour that could be built up to an intense black if several layers are used. The finish has a subtle sheen to it, but the most notable feature of this particular shade is that it contains a fair amount of deep blue glitter/shimmer in it that catches the light. The overall colour reminds me of a star-filled night sky.

2) 45 Downtown Browm - A brown colour pigment that leans toward the cool end of the specturm. This is a very easy to use neutral colour that can be incorporated into almost any eye look. There are a small amount of pearl color shimmer in this pigment but it is not super noticable, so the overall finish is simply a pearly brown colour. Colour is buildable, and will definitely work well as an outer corner or crease colour. It will come in very handy for a wearable daytime smokey eye look.

3) 35 Breaking Bronze - A colour that is very true to its name; this is a straightforward bronze colour. Nothing fancy to spice it up, but this colour itself will be able to create for you as fancy a look as you would, or as toned down as you like. I personally think this colour would compliment a tanned complexion beautifully for the summer, or it will look great even on fair skintones for a spiced up night look.

4) 60 Buff and Tuff - This is like a lightened version of downtown brown, and also a bit warmer in tone. There are noticable gold shimmer flecks in this particular colour, which I am personally not a fan of. I would have liked this shade more if they did pearl/silver shimmer instead.

5) 55 Barely Brazen - This is the lightest colour of the entire range, and it's a classic nude champagne-y colour that is perfect as an all-over lid colour to add some sparkle to your eye. Or for a more intense look, this colour can be used as an inner-corner highlight and browbone highlight. There are not mch shimmer/glitter specks noticed in this shade because the entire finish of this colour is just so reflective already.

Part 2: The Brights

3 swipes, no primer

1) 25 Wild Gold - A true-to-pot, solid yellow-gold colour. I personally would consider using this colour as an under eye liner right beneath the lower lashline to add a fun pop of colour. If you have too much yellow tones in your skin already this would not work too well as a main lid colour as it would accentuate the yellow tones too much.

2) 20 Pink Rebel - Unfortunately, this colour did not come off as pink and vibrant as I expected from just looking at the pot, but the colour is still very pretty. The colour is more like a toned-down hot pink, with purple undertones, almost like a fuchsia pink colour. It does have a small amount of silver glitter specks incorporated in it, so it gives a sparkly look when the colour overall catches the light.

3) 15 Potent Purple - A grape-toned pruple colour. This one is almost like the dud of the entire range because it was the hardest to swatch with intense colour, and was also quite patchy and uneven when I tried to swatch it on my arm for the above photo. The colour is pretty, and the finish has a nice sheen, bit it is not easy to work with.

4) 10 Brash Blue - A truely intense cobalt blue colour. The colour payoff on this shade was excellent, true to pan, and brightly intense. Although this colour is definitely not for the faint-of-heart and can't really be used for "every day looks" , I know I will be having lots of fun using this colour to create looks for halloween makeup this year! This is also a great colour that I can consider using under my lower lashline as an eyeliner.

5) 05 Never Fade Jade - This is a type of forest-y pine green colour that isn't really that close to the colour of actual jades. This type of green has quite a bit of blue undertone to it so that it appears cooler and darker. Still this is a gorgeous colour and is considerable for anyone who enjoys using greens often, especially because it compliments brown eyes beautifully and really makes them pop. This is also a great colour that I can consider using under my lower lashline as an eyeliner.

Overall Thoughts...

As exciting as these are to the drugstore makeup world, after playing around and experimenting for one week, I don't think these are a groundbreaking product by any means. The following breakdown will likely explain why that is.

Texture: The texture for most of these pigments are very smooth and forgiving. The exceptions would be Potent Purple and Pink Rebel, as they came off quite uneven and splotchy. The ones that have noticeable glitter in the pigments did not feel gritty on the eyelids either.

Fallout: YES, these pigments will be a major fallout pain if you don't prepare a sticky base for them. Therefore, an EYE PRIMER is a must in order to use them because otherwise you will find a fair amount of the colour on your cheeks. Also, to further avoid fallout, do not use the swipe motion with your brush to apply them. Instead, the pigment should be patted into the eyelid with a flat eyeshadow brush, sponge-tip applicator, or even your fingers to ensure minimal fallout.

Pigmentation: Pigmentation is strong for most of these colours, again with the exceptions being Potent Purple and Pink Rebel. However, I don't think it's as exceptional as what Maybelline appears to claim it being. When compared to the minimal track record of drugstore pigments, Maybelline has done a really good job with these already, but by no means will it be turning be away from my MAC pigments any time soon. Using these pigments on top of an eyeshadow base definitely intensified the colour payoff for me, and another great way to get strong colour payoff is actually to use a Color Tattoo Cream Shadow in a corresponding colour (i.e. Never Fade Jade & Edgy Emerald, Wild Gold & Bold Gold, Breaking Bronze & Bad to the Bronze, etc etc) as its base, because that is also a nice and sticky, long lasting base trick! I really believe Maybelline meant for these pigments to be paired with the Color Tattoo Cream shadows...what do you think?? :)

Lasting Power: I needed to use a good base underneath the pigments on my eyelids in order for them to last most of the day and remain crease free. Without a base, the colour started fading quite fast and also started to fallout onto my face o.O" So I would have to deem the claim of "for crease-proof wear all day long" to be another fail, as that was not possible unless extra measures were taken. When a primer type of product was used prior to the application of the pigment, the performance of the pigments were significantly better than without.

So overall, I enjoyed trying out these new pigments but I don't think they are an absolute must-have by any means at this point in time. The colours are nice and I like how the range is separated into neutrals and brights, so there will be something for everybody :) If you enjoy using loose, mineral eyeshadows and pigment type of eyeshadows, you will likely enjoy trying these out. If you prefer something that is less messy to work with then I'd say stick to the regular eyeshadows in pan-forms, because these can be quite a disaster if not used carefully.

These pigments retail for $7-10 each for 1.3g of product depending on which drugstore location you get yours at. These are new, permanent items to Maybelline's lineup. I imagine we may be seeing new, limited edition colours in later Maybelline collection launches.

Have you spotted these are your local drugstore makeup departments yet? Will you be trying them out? Let me know! :) Thanks for reading~

Joanne


Disclaimer: Products mentioned in the above post were all purchased by myself with personal funds. This post and its content are not sponsored in anyway and all are my personal, honest opinions. 

TOPBOX May 2013 - Open Box Time!

It's time to talk about the May 2013 Topbox! This month I actually had no time to check out any sneak peaks of products other people have received because the shipping time for this box was insanely fast.

The email from Topbox with the tracking number for my box was received at 7:30am, which I did not read until 10am, and at 12:25pm I received the delivery notice from Canada Post! I was pretty shocked at the speed!

And then of course I procrastinate about preparing this post until after the weekend... :( I am trying my best to be regular with these posts! I opted (once again!) for the Regular TopBox, because similarly to the previous months, the Prive Boxes just did not appeal to me. Besides, I enjoy being surprised by the products as opposed to knowing exactly what will come 2 weeks beforehand.

Here are what I received this month:

Cuccio Colour Nail Lacquer in Tel-Aviv About It!

Cuccio Colour Nail Lacquer - 13ml (0.43 Fl. Oz): "Triple pigmented colour, DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde FREE, High Shine Professional Nail Colours. Full Size: $10". I am very pleased with the colour that I received, as this is a work-appropriate nude colour, with a hint of tan undertones, that I can definitely wear everyday! I haven't tried it out on my nails just yet, but the swatch on my nail wheel proved this to really be a pigmented polish. The colour applied very smooth, without streaks, and has excellent self-levelling abilities, indeed providing a very shiny finish. The fact that this is a 3-free company makes it even more appealing! Value: $10.00

Lise Watier Haute Couleur High Coverage Liq Lacquer in Stylelista

Lise Watier HAUTE COULEUR High Coverage Lip Lacquer - 1.5mL: "INtense Colour, Extreme Shine, Long Lasting. Full Size: $23 (6mL)". A nice sample from a local Canadian Company based in Quebec, well-repected for quality products. I am pleased with the size and presentation of this sample. Lise Watier is not one to capture attention with highly innovative products or outrageous packaging, but I personally do enjoy several of their colour cosmetics. This lip gloss is a nice berry colour, that is nicely pigmented. While I do not find this to be a particularly spring-y/summer-y shade, I do enjoy having colour selections like these in my collection for night-outs, or when the colder season rolls around. This sample comes with a doe foot applicator, which I enjoy for precise application. The texture of this lipgloss is more on the sticky side, and is not esepcially long lasting, but I enjoy the overall effect and will continue to use this. However, I doubt I will purchase a full size since it is pretty much a standard lip gloss, and I can get similar effect from a drugstore selection. Value: $5.75.

Yaby Eyeshadow in ES135 Green Delicious

Yaby Eyeshadow Refill - "Highly pigmented eyeshadow with super smooth texture that blends effortlessly. Professional eyeshadow palettes from $127." I had a bit of a dejavu moment when I took this item out of the box, and then I remembered...I received 2 eyeshadows samples just like this one from Yaby in my March 2013 Ipsy Bag! Well...it does seem like Ipsy is perhaps a bit more generous? Anyway, this green colour would not be something that I would reach for on a day-to-day basis, but it is definitely fun for adding a pop of colour every now and then for a day out in the sun with friends, relaxing from work! The Texture of this eyeshadow is smooth and pigmented, but doesn't $127 for a palette sound quite steep?? I think I will stick to shopping at Sephora, The Bay, and drugstores for my eyeshadows hehe :) Value: unknown.

Deborah Lippmann Smooth Operator Buffer File

Deborah Lippmann Smooth Operator Buffer File: "An ultra-modern 4 way nail buffer. Simply follow the 4 steps to give nails a clean, polished look in minutes. Retail Price: $12". I was pretty surprised to receive a nail buffer as a "sample", and to be quite honest, I didn't know what to think when I saw this. I wasn't excited by it, but I did not dislike it either, as I know that it is definitely something useful that I will make use out of. I believe this is simply a nail buffing block in the shape of a regular nail file. I like the idea, but practically it is hard to apply pressure on the nail for the buffing motion when I'm holding a flat popsicle stick. Being able to apply pressure is really important to getting that shiny buffed appearance. On the other hand, I am an absolute nail polish addict that I don't often go without polish on my fingertips, so I don't buff often at all (plus, buffing too much thins and weakens your nails). Not something I would readily dish out $12 for, but again, I am happy that this was included in my TopBox this month. Value: $12.00

Total Value of Box: $27.75 + unknown value of Yaby Eyeshadow

I think I enjoyed this month's TopBox a bit more than a couple of the previous ones. For one, I know that I will make good use of pretty much all of the products in this box! The value is not exceptional, but I don't think the money I've put into this monthly subscription has totally gone to waste. Overall, not bad! I look forward using these products and for next month's TopBox :)

If you are interested in joining TopBox for $12+tax per month and receiving your own monthly subscription, check out their website at www.topbox.ca (this is NOT an affilated link).

Disclaimer: Monthly subscription paid for with personal funds. This post and its contents are not sponsored in anyway, and all opinions are honest and personal.

NEW! CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencils - Swatches & Review

Hi there! Today I bring you a new drugstore product that I personally did not hear about beforehand, and was pleasantly surprised to find it in a store! These are new eyeshadow pencils that are by Covergirl and the line is called "Flamed Out Shadow Pencil".

On the display I found there were about 10 shades in the range, a few staple neutrals and others fun bright colours. For myself, I picked out 4 that were my type of everyday colours that I feel like I will get quite some use out of after this review :)

These are jumbo pencils type of stick shadows, but is not the automatic type. This will require sharpening with a cosmetics sharpeners. However, these are skinnier than most other shadow pencils on the market currently, namely NYX, Rimmel, Make Up Forever, etc, so it should be easier to find sharpeners this can fit into.

Of the 4 colours I have, they are mostly all the standard frosty shade that makes excellent bases for your eyeshadows to cling onto for some extra pop of intensity. The khaki colour has some chunkier glitter flecks in it but nothing unmanagable. Overall, the texture of all these are smooth and pigmented; they feel gentle on the eyelids and did not cause any tugging.

L-R, top-bottom: Crystal Flame, Ginger Flame, Ashen Glow Flame, Melted Caramel Flame

Swatched with 2 swipes

1) Crystal Flame: A classic frosty white shade that works great as an inner corner highlight on its own, or to prime the area for a powder shadow as a highlight to increase wear-time, as the tear duct area tends to be an area of fast fading.

2) Ginger Flame: A very cute pink shade with a slight warm golden undertone. There is a small amount of sliver glitter specks in this that reflects light nicely, but not enough to cause any fallout. This is a shade that I can consider wearing alone all over the lid on days when I am pressed for time. Of course, this is an excellent powder eyeshadow base as well.

3) Ashen Glow Flame: A rather unique khaki color that is not very common for drugstore cream shadows, so I was glad that CoverGirl decided to include one in their line. This colour is the only one that I currently own that contains, relatively, larger specks of silver glitter, but it does not feel gritty after applied to the eyelids. This is a colour that I would prefter to use more as a base for my green eyeshadows to increase the intensity of the colour.

4) Melted Caramel Flame: This is a beautifully rich chocolate brown colour, and I found that this is the most pigmented of the 4 that I own. This brown could make any of your brown shadows pop with intensity, I also find it to be an excellent choice of base for a smokey neutral eye on the outer-V, or smudged upwards from the top lashline. Another way I applied this was smudged beneath the bottom lashline, to create some smokey definition for the overall eye makeup.

Overall Impression: I think these are a good addition to the selection of drugstore products as cream shadow pencils used to be a novelty that were mostly high-end products. Those that used to be available at the drugstore tends to lack wear-able shade selection and quality. That being said, the CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencils are not without faults. The colour, although relatively pigmented, does require a couple swipes for full opacity, but at least they are acceptably buildable. If worn without a primer on my eyelids, creasing did happen within a couple hours. Worn over an eyeshadow primer, creasing significantly decreased, and topped off with a powder eyeshadow, the total wear-time was excellent.

Within the range, there are several other colourful shades that may be interesting for those of you who enjoy using brighter and bolder colours for your eye makeup as those will serve as a good choice for bases. On a regular basis I enjoy using shadow pencils to outline a shape for my powder eyeshadows because I have much more maneuverability and precision with the placement of the colour using a pencil form than with my fingers from a pot, so cream shadows in a stick/pencil form are definitely my first pick with it comes to creating a detailed eye look!

Disclaimer: All products in this post were purchased by myself with personal funds. This post has not been sponsored in any way, shape, or form. I have not, and will never, accept monetary contributions for reviewing products.

April 2013 IPSY Bag

It's the pink bubble envelope time of the month! I couldn't help it and took a look at some spoiler posts prior to receiving my bag so I kind of knew the items in this bag seemed promising, it's theme being "Pretty In Pink". Nonetheless, I was still very excited with I actually had it in my hands waiting to unwrap hehe~ Let's take a look inside together!

This is April's IPSY bag, and it is surprisingly sturdy! The style is simple but still chic, the white fabric portion is quite thick and the pink pleather paired with pink zipper totally brings out the air of femininity. On the inside, the lining is pink and white striped with "IPSY...beauty by you" imprinted all over, as you can see from the following picture. Overall, I am very satisfied with this month's bag (so far the best by IPSY, in my opinion) and I am gladly transferring all my small makeup items into it as you read this to have this as my carry-around makeup bag!

This month's goodies stuffed to the brim!

So are this month's items as impressive as the bag that holds them? Let's take a look!

1) HealthySexyHair Soy Renewal Nourishing Styling Treatment - 25mL - This product is suppose to be able to speed up drying if applied to damp hair or reduce frizz if applied to dry hair. I think the sample size is quite decent and also the top is still sealed on the inside! I am happy knowing that this sample is for sure brand new and I thank ipsy for their professionalism when handling samples for their clients.

2) Two Cosmetics Duo Eyeshadow in Heartache - Full Size - This is a cute eyeshadow duo that contains two pink shades. The one on the left has a frosty finish and is a lighter pink where as the second one is more of a matte colour with a slight brownish-mauve undertone. On initial swatching, the shadows seemed pigmented but did appear to be on the more powdery side. I personally shy away from pink eyeshadows because they tend to make my eyes appear more tired than they really are. Perhaps I will give this a try on a day when I don't have to work. :)

3) Be a....Bombshell Powder Blush in Sweet Cheeks - full size (5gm) - This is the item I was MOST excited about in this month's bag! I am a total blush lover and the colour seemed pretty promising. I found the product to be of a great quality, this brand has made several appearances in IPSY bags before and so far they have not disappointed :) This blush is a wearable colour, the payoff is great and not too powdery. However, it is not totally matte otherwise I would've loved it to the moon and back. The finish has quite a strong sheen to it, so even though the colour is good it is likely that I would use it more as a highlighter-blush to top off a deeper blush colour at the cheekbones.

4) Sation Nail Lacquer for IPSY in Of Corset I'll Call You - full-size 15mL - fourth and final item in the bag is a full-size nail polish, right up my alley! While looking at spoiler posts for other peopl\e's bags, I noticed that there was another colour given and it is more of a peachy nude colour that didn't quite appeal to me. I was so relieved when I opened the box and found the pink polish because I know I would use this for sure! I haven't had a chance to give it a swatch yet but I should soon to see if this is a good quality polish. According to the box, this polish is a 3-free polish and is made in USA.

Once again, I am very satisfied overall with the value and quality of April's IPSY bag! There are 3 full-size products included and one generous sample of hair product, not to mention an uber cute bag that I will definitely be putting to work. :) I feel that IPSY actually pays more attention to what subscribers really do enjoy and seem to be working hard to fulfill our desires, thank you IPSY! I look forward (as always) to receiving my next bag in May!

March 2013 IPSY Bag

Another month has gone by and I realize that I've missed both January and February IPSY bag posts, so I am going to try to get back on track again and today we'll start by taking a look at the last IPSY bag by myGlam!

How can we forget about the signature bright hot pink bubble pack envelope? ;) Certainly draws attention!

There appears to be a nautical theme this month and the bag is titled "The Big Escape". Definitely makes me feel like leaving this windy, gloomy, chilly, and rainy Vancouver weather behind and escape into a warm paradise! The contents of this month's bag are suppose to assist you in YOUR great escape and become your best travel buddies. Let's dive right in! :)

The first item that caught my attention was the red thing..

???

Oh it's a mini depotted item holder!

So this strange object turns out to be mini-sized Z-palette-like item that can come in handy when it comes to travelling and packing your makeup items for the trip. The mini palette is cute and sturdy, and I LOVE the name, GLAMRX, I mean, how cute is that? :) As for size, it fits 2 regular pans of MAC shadows (raound, 1.5g), side by side. 

Next, I found two tiny powder eyeshadow samples from a brand called YABY and chosen for me was a beautiful hightlight shade called "Seashell" and a plummy brown colour, great for defining the crease, called "Azalea Petal". The samples are no bigger than the diameter of a dime, but secure perfectly inside the previously mentioned empty mini-palette! Well played, IPSY, I like the continuity of products here :)

Next I found a pack of 8 Makeup Remover Wipes by LA Fresh, the line is travel-lite. Very fittingly names, as makeup wipes are much easier and hassle-free to carry with you a opposed to bottles of makeup removing solutions and cleansers.I didn't open this to check out the scent, as I did not want to risk the sample from drying out before I got a chance to use it. 

 

Finally, I found at the bottom of the bag, a 30mL spray bottle of a hydrating mist by JUICE BEAUTY. I have yet to give this product a try but my initial impression of it was quite good after trying out a small spritz on my hand. I haven't detected any strong or overpowering scents from it, but it does have a light fragrance to it. Hydrating mists, provided that they work as supposed, are excellent alternatives to cream moisturizers and are very handy on the go as you can simply take it out of your purse even as you are out for the day and touch up, rehydrate your skin on-the-go!

All in all, I am quite pleased with this month's IPSY bag! Although the products may not be as exciting at first glance, they are all useful and generous samples that would surely get some good use by me sooner or later :) The bag that it came in was also super cute and a great size and I can foresee myself putting it to some good use too! I will continue to subscribe to IPSY and if you are interested too, you can sign up at the following link: http://www.ipsy.com/

Thanks for reading!

Joanne

(This post contains samples sent via a monthly subscription service provided by IPSY, which I purchased with personal funds. This post DOES NOT contain any affiliated links.)