April 2014 Ipsy Review

*contains referral link*

Hello again!  I'm baaaccckkk.  lol  I know I am really hit or miss with my posting and I apologize for that.  Unfortunately the up and down weather over winter really affects my bones and when my pain levels get to a certain point, I don't feel like doing much, not even my nails.  I have, however, still been getting and enjoying the items in my monthly Ipsy bags even though I haven't posted them all here for you to see.  If you would like me to a 'catch-up' post on the bags between the last one I posted (November I believe) and now, just let me know in the comments and I will do that.

For those not familiar with Ipsy, it is a monthly beauty subscription plan where you receive 4 to 5 deluxe to full-sized beauty products per month for just $10.  They do have a points program where you can earn points for referrals, reviewing the items you receive, and site participation.  They do have a wait-list from time to time so if you are considering joining, you may be put on the list for a short time.  You don't have to, but if you'd like to join, I'd consider it an honor if you'd use my referral code by clicking here.  When you join, you fill out a short quiz and then they start personalizing your bags from there and from the reviews you do on each product every month.  During these reviews, you can tell them that you love something, hate it, would like it in your bag again, or not like it.  You can also retake your quiz at any time to sort of re-set things.

The theme for April is Beauty Rocks.  Your items will come in a make-up bag that is different each month.  This month's bag looks like this:

In this photo it looks purple, but it is actually a very dark navy-ish blue, with a 45 record & needle printed on it.  This one is more square shaped than ones I've received in the past and I actually do like it.  I may not use it to carry around in my purse, but I will definitely find a use for it.

I received 5 items in April:  Dr Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant (sample size); Demeter Roll-On Perfume Oil in the scent Jasmine (full size); Mary Kay @ Play Jelly Lip Gloss in Berry Me (full size); Elizabeth Mott Pop Goes The Shadow in Champagne (full size), and Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil Travel Size in Black Velvet (deluxe size).

Swatches of Elizabeth Mott Eyeshadow on the left, Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in the middle, and Mary Kay @ Play lip gloss on right.

Price breakdown:

     Dr Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant 0.25 fl oz approx $9.75

      (full size is 2 oz and sells for $78)

     Demeter Roll-On Perfurm Oil 0.29 fl oz $10

     Mary Kay@Play Lip Gloss 0.32 fl oz $10

     Elizabeth Mott Pop Goes The Shadow 0.07 oz $12.99

     UD 24/7 Eye Pencil 0.03 oz approx $15

     (full size is 0.04 oz and is $20)

Total value approx $57.74.  For $10, that is not a bad deal at all.  I may end up putting the Dr. Brandt up for trade as I have very sensitive skin and am very particular about what I use in my skin care routine and I'm not quite sure the Jasmine scent is up my alley quite yet.  I'm not usually a floral scent kind of person, but this one does smell quite nice so I may keep it.  Even if you don't like all the items you receive every month, it's usually a really good value for getting to try something you might normally not.  Since joining a year ago, I've discovered several new to me brands, tried colors I never would have, and thanks to the trading board that Ipsy has on Facebook, I've been able to trade the items that wasn't quite right for me for items I preferred.  This is also great for those who are just starting out with beauty items as a way to start building their collections.

And there we have my April 2014 Ipsy bag.  Do you receive Ipsy and if so, what did you receive in your bag?  Please let me know in the comments!

As always, thank you for spending a bit of your time with me.  Until later...Huggles!

Three months of Ipsy, starting with May....

DISCLOSURE:  Referral Link contained within this post.

All items were paid for out of my own pocket and were not provided by any company mentioned.

Thank you for reading!

Good early morning (or late evening, depending on where you are) darling readers!  I apologize for being gone so long.  My surgery went well and I'm nearly healed.  My new SCS battery is working very well and doing a good job for me.  Right now I only have a few settings, but will be meeting with the company rep again at my next doctor's appointment to do some more programming and that will make me a very happy patient.  :0)  This new system I have is called an Eon Mini and is half the size of my previous system.  It's also rechargable, which means I can recharge the battery when it needs it.  I usually don't wait until it needs it however, I charge on a weekly schedule because it's easier for me to remember.  The old system, I would plug my charging unit into the wall and then put the antenna where it needed to be and sit as still as I could while it did it's thing.  This new system, I can take with me.  It's completely portable!  Once I'm done charging, then I can recharge the charging unit with a wall charger.  Kind of neat, but it's also kind of a pain in the tush because my charging sessions are now longer.  Before, they were 45 minutes to an hour long and now they are just short of 2 hours, so far.  I far prefer the shorter charging time even if it means the inconvenience of sitting still for an hour so if, in 7 to 10 years, when this battery reaches its end of life and there are no other options and I can have a choice, I am going to see if I can go back to the other type of system unless I can get used to this one in the meantime.  Okay, enough of my complaining about medical stuff and onto the nail, or in case of today's post, make-up, stuff!  :0)

Today, I have for you, three months worth of Ipsy! Back in mid-January, I read a review on someone's blog about a subscription service called MyGlam or Ipsy as it is now known.  For $10 a month, members receive between 4 to 6 deluxe or full-sized samples.  On the website, you can upload or view member videos and partipate in product discussions.  There is also a new referral system that just started in May.  If you would like to join Ipsy, you can do so here.  At the time I read about it, Ipsy had a waiting list, so I didn't get my first bag until I came off the wait list at the end of March.  But since I just received my May bag, I am going to start with that one and work my way backwards to my first bag I received in March.  :0)  Since this is going to be a long post, I will add a jump after I am finished with May's bag.

Without further ado, a photo of what was included in my May bag:

The theme for the month of May is:  Spring Fling!  I think the colors of the bag reflect this very well.  I probably wouldn't have bought it for myself if I had gone to the store, but now that I have it, I do like it.

Normally all Ipsy bags are very similar with only 1 or 2 items slightly different, but this month, there were quite a lot that were very different from each other as there were several different item options.  From left to right, these are the items I received with suggested retail prices.

Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Butter 2 oz tube $7

Zoyz Nail Lacquer $8

Yaby Concearler in Buff $5.06

Mirabella Perfecting Powder $30

Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Pink $12

Total value of bag $63.06

Same items, but with the boxed items unboxed.  Now you can see the color of Zoya I received.  It's my favorite color, purple!  The name of it is Julie.  I'll be trying it very soon.

An inside view of the bag.  Very pretty!

And that is my May Ipsy bag.  Do you subscribe to Ipsy?  If so, what did you get that was different?  Were you able to take advantage of the referral program to earn either of the bonus items?