January 2013: Ipsy Bag

Today I received my Ipsy bag in the mail and this month's theme is 19 reasons, which I think, has something to do with new year's resolutions. The products came in a nice sky blue bag. However, I felt that this months bag is quite plain and boring when a new years theme could have made it way more glamorous and cool.

Willa Naturals On The Go Face Towelettes: There are 10 lavender scented moist towelettes in a very compact pack, making it perfect for traveling. However, I found the scent to be somewhat off and not very pleasant. Also, I would prefer the L.A. Colors wipes that I received in a previous Ipsy bag over these Willa ones, because of all the unnecessary ingredients used.

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner: This is a more natural and supposedly healthy leave in conditioner i.e. made with soy and cocoa. I have not used it yet but I'm definitely looking forward to it. Also, this is one of the only products that I am excited to try from this month's bag.

Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow in Penny: Firstly, this pencil looks more like a liner than a shadow pencil. Secondly, it is quite sheer and needs a couple of swipes to build up some color that still looks very light. Therefore, I am definitely not going to swipe this tiny pencil back and forth on my eyelids. However, it does not budge once it sets, I literally had to scrub my hand with soap to get off the color and there is still some left.  As far as the color is concerned, it is a true copper color with noticeable shimmer particles. On a side note, this is my second product from this brand that was sent by Ipsy, first being a mascara and unfortunately I don't like either of the two. 

Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Pencil vs NYX Jumbo Pencil

Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion: I have never heard about this product before so I went onto their website to have a look at it. I found that it is formulated with all organic plant based ingredients and without any chemicals and parabens. Also, the 50 ml bottle of this product comes with a pump and retails for only $21.99. However, the issue is that I understand, it is a  lightweight product but despite of ingredients like argan oil, almond oil, vitamin e, shea butter etc, it is just not moisturizing so I'll not buy it.

Mica Beauty Tinted Lip Balm in Natural: As you all know I am not a huge fan of this kind of pot packaging due to hygiene reasons. Other than that, the color is really beautiful rosy nude shade and the product is more like a lipstick than a lip balm as it is quite concentrated and sets to a semi-matte finish. 

Overall, this  months bag was a fail for me as I liked only one product i.e. the Healthy Sexy Hair Leave In Conditioner and that is the only that that I am probably going to use out of all. Also, it is not just what I received but all the products listed under myglam this month are kind of blah. Apart from that, I found the theme to be quite boring and not special enough to represent the new year. Hopefully, next month there will be something interesting for Valentines day. 

What did you get in your Ipsy Bag this month?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

NOTD: Sparkly Bling

Today's nail look is somewhat different for me because normally I do not wear glitter polish on all the nails at once as it is a pain to take off. However, this time I made an exception because my original plan of glitter accent with a nudey mauve shade didn't go well. 

The polish that I used is Clio by Julep and to be honest I am quite disappointed with it. I bought several glitter polishes from Julep last month and based on how it looks in the bottle I thought this one is going to be my favorite, which unfortunately it isn't. In the bottle, it looks very condensed and multidimensional with beautiful pinkish rose gold specks mixed in with silver and gunmetal glitter. However, the problem is that on the nails it looks like plain flat silver glitter. 

Also, another issues is that I had to use thick four coats to get this look and I can still see some gaps in between. I think next time I am going to layer it over a darker color for some added depth and intensity. However, on a side note, I really like the silver top of this polish as regular Julep polishes come with a black cap. 

Do you like glitter polishes? How do you wear them? 

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

 

Smashbox Photo Op Shadow Palette: Soft Box II

Few days ago, I went to Sephora and was amazed at the wide range of sale item as it is quite rare in my area. One thing that instantly caught my eye was Smashbox Soft Box palette. This palette usually retails for $44 but was on sale for only $23. There are three similar palettes in the regular line, however, I believe this was a limited edition one. I always wanted to try Smashbox's infamous photo op formula but never did, so, this time I had to pick it up because both the colors and the price were appropriate. 

Packaging: The box is classic black with raised shiny imprint on it. It is quite compact and sturdy. However, it is one of those kinds that easily get dirty and show every single touch mark on them, so quite a let down. 

Layout: There are six shadows laid out in two rows along with a decent quality brush. However, where one side of the brush is flat shader, I don't know why the other side is such a tiny precision or a smudger instead of the usual blending brush. The only issue I have with the layout is that the names of individual shadows are printed on a loose clear plastic sheet, which is a hassle to keep in place.

Color Selection: There are three matte and three shimmery shades. One half of the colors belong to coppery brown family while the other half belong to purply taupe's. However, all the colors are great to put together a neutral eye look. 

Russet, Truffle, Bare, Juniper, Sandstorm, Sumatra

Texture & Pigmentation: All the colors are very soft and creamy on touch. Some of them are more pigmented than others. Truffle, Juniper and Sumatra show up way more subtle than they are in the pan.  

Russet, Truffle, Bare, Juniper, Sandstorm, Sumatra

Russet: A beautiful shimmery coppery brown. 

Truffle: A cool toned grayish taupe.

Bare: A very light nude pink.

Juniper: A muted purple with golden shimmer. 

Sandstorm: A true shimmery champagne gold. 

Sumatra: A cool toned medium chocolate brown. 

Overall, I really like this palette, especially at the price I got it for. The shadows are not overly intense but really good for everyday looks. Also, I like the mishmash of cool and warm toned shadows in one palette. As I said earlier, I have picked it up just a few days ago and there were at least thirty more palettes on the shelf that day so most probably you can still find it at Sephora stores near you. 

Do you own this or any other versions of this palette? If yes, which one? And do you like it?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

NOTD: Pinkish Sparkly Rosegold

The China Glaze nail polish Strike Up A Cosmo was released earlier last year as a part of their Autumn Nights Collection along with eleven other beautiful shades. But even after a year of release, all the colors are still readily available. 

Strike Up A Cosmo is a pinky rosegold shimmery shade, which is marketed as a foil finish by the company. The consistency is really nice and goes on opaque in just one coat. 

In the pictures, I have two coats of polish along with a regular base and top coat. As I said earlier, one coat is enough to get the color in the bottle but I used two just because I always do that. I have few other colors from this line that I'll share in the future posts. 

Do you have any polishes from this collection? If yes, then which one is your favorite?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!