IPSY GLAM BAG: February 2013

oh hello procrastination!! how did you ever manage to delay this post until the day i get a shipping notification from ipsy saying that my MARCH bag is on its way...

oh geebus.
anyway, here's a little reminder that there is less than THREE hours to enter my giveaway! then my Saturday will be dedicated to going through the entries so i can select 3 lovely winners.
if you are a fellow procrastinator, click to enter here!!

so let's keep this post short and sweet...

March's ("Red Carpet Ready") bag contained:

1) POP Beauty Smoky Lash Kapow!!! Mascara in "No. 1 Smoky Black" - haha i like the use of exclaimation marks in the name :) can't exactly crack this open yet but it seems that many people are saying that it is clumpy. i wonder if it is that way because they followed POP Beauty's instructions that include using 3 layers of this. i ain't got time for that!
one time when i was flying home from LA, the lady beside me must have spent a good 20 minutes putting on mascara and then using a safety pin to separate her lashes and repeating this process over and over.

odd thing i noticed is that the full sized version gets the "e" in Smokey. guess there wasn't enough room on the mini one!

promotion: 20% off purchase that ended... yesterday. oops! oh well, it wasn't available to us Canadians anyway!
size: 4.8 g
retail value: $18.50 (7 g)

2) MicaBeauty Ultra Smooth Gel Eyeliner in "Black" - i am pretty sure i have seen MicaBeauty booths at the mall before but i have never stopped long enough since i'd feel obligated to buy something when the prices are probably pretty steep.
i love gel eyeliners since they are the most pigmented type of eyeliner. i also love black eyeliners so i will definitely be using this baby up. the other colors such as Blue, Purple and Green look gorgeous but i don't think i could pull colored eyeliner (on my top lash line) off! the full sized version also comes with a built-in application brush.

promotion: 30% off purchase that ended... 8 days ago. again, no real 'loss' here since Canada was excluded. :(
size: N/A but looks pretty big - perhaps a full size but just without the brush?
retail value: $35 (5 g)

3) Lash Card The Lash Card - one, two aaaaaaaaand three. third time's a c----- rap.

promotion: buy 2, get 1 free. ended 2 days ago. was valid for Canadians. no one is sad here.
size: 4 cards (this ipsy deluxe sample was special)
retail value: $6.99 (10 cards)

4) Pixi Flawless & Poreless primer in "No. 1 Translucent" - this primer has the same kind of texture as the Benefit POREfessional - light and velvety. i did not notice any difference in my pores and how long my makeup lasted. but i just found out that it has salicylic acid so i will now pay attention to whether or not it helps with my current situation (THREE pimples in one week boooooooo - this i am sad about).

promotion: 20% off purchase until yesterday.
size: 15 mL
retail value: $29 (30 mL)

5) Coastal Scents Shadow Palette Sample in "Glitz & Glamour" - this palette sample included the colors "Candlelight" - my desription: a shimmery white/silver; official description: a decadent wash of silvery-grey with a satin finish
"Gunmetal" me: a soft black with red shimmer; official: a sultry, deep grey with a slight satiny finish
"Incognito" me: a semi-matte dark navy blue-almost black; official: a mysterious black hue with a matte finish
"Ashen" me: a shimmery champagne; official: a light greyish-taupe hue with a satiny finish

my sample palette also came a little broken.

by looking at it, i thought "Gunmetal" looked like an amazing color! the red and the black was just gorgeous. sadly, the red does not show at all! in fact, the rest of the colors were also just okay. after debating about Coastal Scents for all these years, i don't feel like i am missing out. i like that i got to try it out though. plus the tiny samples are rather cute and can pretty much fit into a wallet.

top: natural light; bottom: flash

promotion: 25% off until... you guessed it - yesterday.
size: 2 g
retail value: $1.99 (1.3 g)

all in all, i like the variety that ipsy delivers. they are also quite prompt when it comes to sending out their bags (unlike how i received my Glymm for February today...). the bag looked slightly cheap though - with the rushed sewing job to brand ipsy on the inside and the zipper that won't open all the way up.
and what is up with the eye-straining info card with the black font on a black background??
<will insert group photo later>

anyway, i will be getting my March ipsy bag shortly! and i *will* post that within a reasonable time frame. :)

BEAUTY BOX 5: October 2012

so i finally got my BB5 today - seems that many of my blogger friends already got their's last week. and what is up with the tracking info for BB5?? i always get an email with my tracking number and after listing "October 15" as the day i got my electronic notification, nothing else happens after that. not a very useful tool! i did not peek myself but i already heard the general consensus that October's BB5 was not that impressive.
so let's see, shall we?

October's BB5 "Tricks of the Trade":

1) Margania Pure Argan Oil - i know argan oil is good for you but i am still getting used to putting oils on my face after years and years of limiting myself to specifically marked "oil-free" products. the sample comes in the form of an eye dropper since you only need very little. it is clear and 'thin' (as opposed to thick... or should i call it runny?). it absorbed quickly into my skin and i can feel the difference between where i applied it as compared to other parts of my face - it feels sleek and smooth. do you remember the Vitamine & Sea serum we got in our Glymm June bag? well i much much much prefer this one! the Vitamine & Sea one was pretty much the exact opposite: hard to use, stinky and oily.
on the Margania site, it is recommended you use 2-3 drops on the neck and face, or you can also use it on your hair for some extra shine. aside from the "Pure" version, you can also purchase argan oil "with a touch of" amber, eucalyptus, lavender or vanilla.
size: N/A ... little eye-dropper size
retail value: $32 (60 mL)

2) City Lips Lip Plumper in "Clear" - so i do not need a lip plumper but to add to this, i got the most boring "color" available - Clear. everyone else seemed to have gotten a nice color! i think i am going to put this aside for a gift or a swap - even these sample sizes are quite pricey (the sample is worth $9.60 - or you can purchase 3 of these mini sizes for $39.99)!
i checked out the site and it seems that the company is also focused on eyelash enhancing - now that i need!
size: 1.5 mL
retail value: $32 (5 mL)

3) ShowStoppers Fashion Tape in "Black" - these are actually quite useful items but i've only used them a handful of times. the ones i got are black but i've seen others receive nude ones.
size: 2 strips
retail value: $9.99 (24 strips)

4) Goat Haus Dairy Lip Balm in "Sugar Kisses" - i have way too many lip products right now but this one is interesting since i can spot "glitter" as one of the ingredients listed. apricot kernel oil is the first ingredient so i am guessing it will smell like apricots.
size: N/A ... normal lip-balm size (full size!)
retail value: $2.50

5) Furlesse Elevens (Frown Line Reducing Patches) - i have never seen such a product before... it's very interesting. i wonder how well it works except i can't test it out since i currently do not have frown lines (why are we frowning so much anyway?).
size: 3 patches
retail value: $19.99 (30 patches)

6) Lash Card (Individually Wrapped Mascara Shields) - this again? twice in one month?! i got them already in my recent Glymm bag. go to that post to see what i have to say about this - i don't want to discuss how ridiculous this idea is again.
size: 2 cards
retail value: $6.99 (10 pack)

the majority of these items came with a promo code which is one of the nice benefits of Beauty Box 5. it also came with one of those useless NuMe $100 gift certificates that i have received one two (too) many times.

this is one of the lightest BB5 i've had in a while. the beauty samples are definitely on the smaller side this month. it appears that BB5 tried to compensate the smaller sample sizes by providing 6 samples (instead of the usual 5). there's not a whole lot here that i'd use often - i'm probably most excited about the Margania Pure Organ Argan Oil (LOL Aleksandra). what did you guys think about this box?

GLYMM BAG: October 2012

first thing i see: Glymm brought back the product cards!!! yessssss! it is now in the form of a brochure (instead of the previous card and booklet formats). thank you Glymm for listening to your customers!

as for the bag, it is pink this month in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. it's always nice when you notice a little bulge in the bag! i am predicting that we get a new type of bag next month but we'll see. actually, i'm really hoping that Glymm comes up with something completely different - i think most of us are getting tired of these bags...

October's edition:

1) Lash Card (Individually Wrapped Mascara Shields) - so Glymm was smart to include a product like this in a bag that also contains a mascara but really, the product itself is pretty lame. the Lash Card is described as "innovative" and it's actually "patented". really?! very silly since i am sure most people do not use such an item when applying mascara or even if they do, they just use a simple FREE business card. or any type of card period.
i also think it's funny how they try to recommend "1 card per make up session" - is that really necessary? or is it only because they want to sell a box of 10 for a whopping $7?
size: 2 cards (each card has 2 curves - a large and a small, depending on your eye shape); Glymm says: up to 4 uses (not really sure how that works given the previous statement)
retail value: $6.99 (10 cards)

2) Femme Couture Lightning Lash Mascara in "Midnight Black" - Glymm has a slight typo on their card, calling this a "Lightening Lash Mascara" - i paused for a second since i thought that people wore mascaras in the first place to darken - not lighten - their eyelashes. ;)
anyway, this Lightning Lash Mascara focuses on lengthening. i have some Femme Couture loose eyeshadows somewhere in my stash and i've always been tempted to pick up something else from them while at Sally's. mascara takes me a long time to get through so i don't know when i will be able to use mine up and review this!
size: 11.3 g (full size!)
retail value: $14

3) CyberDERM H2O Hydration - think it sounds familiar but looks different? it's because Glymm sent these out in their July bag but it was in the form of a syringe. it did not have a scent and felt moisturizing and light. be careful when you first use this since it can get messy.
size: N/A... looks about 5 mL?; Glymm: 10 uses
retail value: $60 (50 mL)
see 4) for pic

4) CyberDERM Every Morning Sun Whip - after using H2O Hydration in the morning, you can apply this Every Morning Sun Whip which is a matte sunscreen with SPF 25.
the Sun Whip is thicker and not as creamy as the H2O Hydration. there's hardly a scent to it. i like this product but not enough to fork over $38 for a 50 mL sunscreen.
size: N/A... about 5 mL; Glymm: 2 uses
retail value: $38 (50 mL)

5) Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme - buttercreme... you'd think that butters and cremes are for the body right? so of course i was thrown for a loop when i read that this for HAIR. i have never heard of such a product before... looking at the instructions, it says that this moisturizer is to be used on wet hair. you only need a nickel sized amount to soften "dry, crunchy curls" - i have neither dry nor crunchy nor curly hair... if you check out the website, you will see that the company is focused on curly hair.
to me, buttercreme sounds well, buttery and creamy - both of which will probably weigh down hair or make it look greasy - and both of which are hair no-nos.

nonetheless, i decided to try it. i used it on my wet hair and only on the ends of my hair. my hair is still air drying but i can feel the difference between my ends and my roots. the ends are noticeably softer but i still wouldn't recommend using this product on your roots.

it smells like shea butter and... wait, caramel is listed in the ingredients? correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't recall caramel being used in cosmetics. i wiki-ed it and it lists caramel candy, caramel coloring and caramel sauce. under caramel coloring (which i thought would be the most likely reason), it says it is used in food coloring and beverages - no mention of cosmetics. sooo do you guys know?
size: 59 mL ("full size"!) - as in full size of a mini version; Glymm: 5 uses but i hardly even scraped the top layer
retail value: $9 (also available: $32 for 237 mL and $58 for 473 mL)

6) *bonus* Johnson & Johnson Johnson's Baby Oil - i don't understand why people are complaining that this item is in the bag... it is a bonus item and it is to promote Glymm MAMA. i think it's a neat idea and i can use it to remove makeup or for shaving (which i didn't know so yay!).
yeah so this is baby oil and it smells like babies!
size: 88 mL
retail value: $4.49 (414 mL) or $6.49 (592 mL) according to well.ca

i think this is definitely a step up from last month's Glymm - bigger samples (hello full size items! it's been a while!) and a bonus item. plus the list of samples is back! still my overall impression of the bag is that it's good - nothing jaw-dropping but good.
are you guys happy with this month's bag?