An honest Ispy beauty review? Yeah right, nobody is honest anymore ammiright? If you are even remotely tapped into the beauty industry right now you'd know that there's a lot of buzz going around about truthfulness and transparency with Influencers.
I don't really consider myself an "Influencer" and I have zero interest in getting involved in any of the drama but will say I have a takeaway from the entire thing, and that is- I will offer the good and the bad about a product moving forward. My old rule of thumb used to be that if I didn't like something I just didn't talk about it. Now realizing that we (us) need to know the negative results just as much as the positive. In the past, I didn't want to deter anyone from trying something new because of whatever issue I may have had with it. We all have such different skin types, what doesn't work for me might be something you'd love and I didn't want anyone to miss out on a product that could potentially be a go-to. It dawned on me that goes both ways. I get it now and why taking the bad with the good is imperative to helping each other avoid wasting our time and money.
From here on- I can offer my experience and you can make the call yourself from there, how about that? Ok. So with that out of the way here is my honest review of the Ipsy bag from January. Since we pick our bags ourselves if you opt-in for that, mine might be different from yours, just a heads up.
I subscribe to the Glam Bag Plus, which is 5 full-size items every month. I do have the Glam Bag X coming next month as well, so keep an eye out for that one, it's going to be epic.
I also signed up for their affiliate program so if you see banner ads for Ipsy that's why. I tried about four different beauty subscriptions before settling on Ipsy as my favorite so far and that is why I promote their products here on my blog. I work with whom and what I love, simple as that. If you want a list of brands I'd never work with, maybe that will be next lol. We've opened a can of worms here.
Let's dive into the bag-
Now- I'm a HUGE fan of rose-scented things (it must be the grandma vibes I embrace so dearly), so I was already excited about it. Then I felt the formula which is incredibly silky-creamy-smooth- so dreamy. I have normal to dry skin so this is my kind of moisturizer. I want to feel it soaking into my skin over time, not instantly evaporating. I've never used any Korres skincare but this got my attention. I love it.
Honest negatives: If you don't like rose-scented products, you will hate it. If you have oily skin, you might not like it. This sits on the skin for a bit, unlike the more gel-like formulas. Perhaps you'd like the PUR Charcoal Night Gel or the Clinique Moisture Surge if you want fast-absorbing moisturizers.
This reminds me so much of the It Cosmetics Bye-Bye Under Eye! It has that same sort of- silky style feel to it.
I do see how this is considered a "BB" considering I'd prefer to use this tapped under eye with my finger for a more natural skin look when I'm not wanting to wear a lot of makeup that day. I think my color was a bit too yellow for me so I don't think it's getting a fair chance. I'd be willing to try this again but likely won't buy it. I plan to keep using it for a while to see if anything changes.
The honest negative: It's advertised as weightless but I feel like it's on the thicker side. The tiniest bit goes a long way so be careful to not add too much. It's not going to be my new favorite by any stretch but I can see why it gets good reviews, this is probably ideal for people with a lot of dry-texture under eye or fine lines.
Retail $40
I actually purchased this when it first came out and returned it, I didn't like the way it looked after about an hour. Somehow, after getting this again and giving it a second shot, I find I actually do like it. I don't know what witchery magic they've done or if my skin is different, but it's actually really natural and pretty! It looks like just...skin. It has good coverage and I actually love the packaging and how you can just press your brush or sponge into it and it glides on beautifully. It's my darkest tan shade for when I'm newly bronzed from fake tan otherwise it's too dark so I'd like to see it in a more natural color for me. I have nothing bad to say about it really. I guess one honest negative part could be it might not look good on everyone so try it for yourself. I don't see this as a "universal" formula.
Retail- $18
First impression, love the packaging. It's super 60's retro fun and has a trampoline style bouncy splash guard inside with a powder pouf. Most of my translucent powders have annoying packaging so this gets an A+ purely for that. I'm actually thinking of pouring my favorite translucent into it after it's empty, I like it that much.
The honest negative part-
Formula-wise, I used this with the Purlisse concealer and it went sort of dark on me. Not sure which product did what but, I have to give this another shot with different concealers to see if it does that across the board. So far it's ok, but still in the experimentation phase, and will need to use it a BUNCH more.
Retail $20
I love the brushed metal gold vibe of the packaging. I love the weight of it, it definitely seems like the packaging is a big part of the quality of the product in general. However...
I don't think I'm the best market for this. I have sparse-over plucked brows so there isn't much for me to brush this onto, to begin with. I think if you had big bushy brows and just wanted something to fill in here and there you'd like it more. The wand is small and would be good for getting into little spaces. So the honest negative part- I wouldn't pay $20 for it. There are more affordable brands who make products just as good in my opinion. If you like nice packaging and don't mind spending more coin then go for it.
That's my two cents on the January Ipsy! I do truly love getting these every month. It would be nearly impossible for everyone to love everything every month, you just can't please 'em all. I personally love getting these since I don't work in makeup retail anymore and don't get my monthly gratis (cry face tears). I sure do miss all the free stuff. So this has been a nice replacement for it at such an affordable price. One product almost pays for the entire bag which I think is a great deal. Even if I don't like one item, I still win. I just give the product to someone I think will love it or it goes in my pro makeup kit for beauty gigs where I'm bound to find someone it would be more suitable for.
Hope this gives some real insight into how a monthly glam bag works and the things you can expect to receive! I will surely share the Glam Bag X next month when I get it.
Thanks for popping by.
xoxo Seanna
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