July Ipsy Glam Bag Review

Hey guys! Another month means another Ipsy Glam Bag review! It's always a little exciting to see that pink mailer in my mail box every month and I couldn't wait to dive right in. This month the theme was #SummerLovin and products that are beach friendly and perfect for a summer makeup look. 

The bag this month is a canvas bag with a colorful chevron pattern and a blue zipper on the side. It's sturdy and the perfect size for tossing in your beach bag. I'm loving the bright color and indie vibe with this one. 

The first product are these OLEHENRIKSEN the clean truth cleansing cloths. They're makeup remover cloths enriched with anti-aging components and anti-oxidants so they're good for giving your skin a little love while wiping away your makeup. Plus the citrus vanilla scent is light and gentle enough for sensitive skin. I've tried these before and I actually really love them so I'm glad I've been reminded of that by getting these. 

Next up is an eyeshadow quad by Nicka K New York. I've never tried this brand but these eyeshadows are actually pretty nice. They're smooth and buttery and blend out really well. They're all shimmer or satin formulas, so that's a downside for me since I love a good matte transition shade, but I'm dying over the beautiful rose gold shades in this quad. 

With summer brings a lot of beach trips here in San Diego, so this Coolway Beachy Salt Spray is perfect for getting those beachy waves without actually taking a dip in the ocean. It's lightweight and doesn't make my hair feel heavy or thick and I really like how it doesn't make my hair crunchy like some salt sprays. Instead it separates my hair and leaves it soft while still holding the style. Plus it smells amazing! My only gripe is its a pump spray which can make the first few spritzes come out with a little too much spray. 

I've tried BelláPierre Cosmetics before thanks to Ipsy and I like what I've tried so far, so I was excited to try out this Mineral Lipstick in the shade P.I.N.K. It's a bright, slightly frosty pink and perfect for summer. The formula is creamy without being too slippery and it actually wears pretty well for several hours before fading off. The vanilla scent is a little strong, but it fades away after only a few minutes. 

Last up is what I was most excited about and its this sample of the Tarte Park Ave Princess  Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer. I've never tried this (surprise I know!) so I was super excited to give this a go. It's a nice warm bronzer with a hint of shimmer. It blends out so well and really gives my face that summery bronze glow without making my pale skin look orange, which is so common with a lot of bronzers out there. Plus the waterproof formula really helps it last all day without fading off from the heat.

This month had such a good glam bag for me. I really like all of the products I received and I'm so glad that Ipsy has been stepping up their game lately and sending a good array of samples to try. 

What did you get this month in your glam bag? 

Buxom Customizable Eyeshadow Palette

A few days ago I took my bi-weekly pilgrimage to Sephora to scope out some new goodies. Lately I've been a little unimpressed with what some brands are coming out with, so I spent most of the time strolling around the store looking at the brands I don't normally buy from. I was ready to leave when I came across the Buxom display. I've only ever tried their lip products, so when I saw their customizable eyeshadow palette, I was intrigued.

Basically, it's a small empty palette and you get to choose six eye shadows from 40 different shades for your palette. I think this is a totally fun idea and it's something fresh and new. I don't know how many times I go to do my makeup and end up using three or four different palettes for one look, using one or two eyeshadows from each palette. So this is super convenient because you get to pick what colors you want and pack them all together in one convenient place. 

The palette itself is a sleek black palette with a textured snakeskin finish with Buxom written in gold. It's plastic yet it doesn't feel cheap, with a secure click closure. It comes with a nice mirror inside as well as a mini makeup brush. There is a small drawer on the right side of the palette that you pull out to load your eyeshadows in. The drawer is quite difficult to pull out, but to me its a little reassuring that it won't open on its own in my makeup bag and ruin the eye shadows. 

Each eyeshadow comes individually packaged reinforced in plastic in a little box. You slide the shadow out of the plastic package, click into place in the drawer and you're done. Slide the drawer back in and that's it! 

I picked out six shades that I tend to lean towards everyday, a mix of light shimmers, warms mattes, a pinky nude transition shade and a staple matte black. I tried to pick out shades that I could wear daily, but still create multiple looks from for both day and night time makeup looks but it was definitely hard to pick just six! There's a good range of neutrals and vivid colors to choose from so I think I'll need to pick up more later on. 

I picked up the shades Silk Sheets (cream shimmer), Champagne Buzz (pink champagne shimmer), Feather Boa (pink mauve matte), Spoiled Sexy (purple based brown matte), Jetsetter (cool toned gray-brown matte) and LBD (black matte). The eyeshadows are smooth and have nice pigmentation and with the primer-infused formula, they last all day without fading or creasing. With a primer and they literally wore for my whole 12 hour shift plus my travel time before and after work (about 15 hours total) and they still looked flawless. 

The palette is $40 which is actually a good deal. It breaks down to about $6.67 per shadow, which is a good price considering a single NYX eyeshadow is $4.49 and a single L'oreal infallible shadow is $7.99 by comparison. Each eyeshadow is pretty decent size and big enough to swirl your brush into, unlike say an ABH palette with smaller pans. Single pans are $12 a piece, so on par with ABH single shadows.

Overall I really like this Buxom palette. I love the idea of choosing my own shades without having to deal with a bulky ZPalette or worrying about my single shadows breaking. It's ideal for travel and I love the idea of swapping out colors whenever I want to pick up more shades. I would totally recommend this to anyone who wants a small palette with good quality eyeshadows.