December 2012 Ipsy Bag

Time seemed to move at super speed during the holidays and although I received my Ipsy bag at some point during December, I apologize for only getting to it now. It’s funny, but I find unboxing posts take the longest to write/take pictures and such, but are the posts that are the quickest to read!

I don’t think there was too much variation in December’s Ipsy bags unless you were one of the select subscribers who received a sample of Urban Decay’s BB Cream for being a more “active Ipsy community member”. I’m not sure if that’s just limited to those in the US though…

August 2012 Glymm Bag

For those of you looking forward to Yoshi presenting, I am sorry, but he was just not in the mood. He was crammed in a corner and unwilling to even give the camera a glance…

I am one month away from the end of my year long relationship with Glymm and this month’s bag is not making me want to renew my subscription which makes me a little bit sad. I don’t want to break up! I feel like once those jellybeans disappeared from our boxes, things went a little downhill. I hope that the items I received add up to $10 because there isn’t one full-sized or even travel-sized item in this month’s bag!

Here is what I received this in this month’s Glymm Bag:

 

I haven’t been a fan of the makeup bags we have received so far, but like a lot of other people, I LOVE this month’s bag! I love patent leather so this is perfect!

Naked Shine Luscious Lip Gloss in Barely Nude

This sexy gloss stimulates collagen, is non-tacky and plumps your lips ever so gently.

Thoughts: This is a tiny sample! I actually think this will be the first lip gloss I will fully finish in awhile! The colour is quite nice and smells and feels great on the lips.

Full size: 2.96mL/$26.00

I received: 0.24mL/$2.11

The Laundress Delicate Wash in Lady

Take care of your beautiful delicates and lingerie with a wash that's effective yet gentle.

Thoughts: I do handwash some of my delicates so I will use this sample. I thought this was an interesting addition to this month’s Glymm bag.

Full size: 500mL/$22.00

I received: 15mL/$0.66

Mai Couture Highlighter Paper in St.Barts

The Papier collection by Mai Couture exudes novelty and modernism.
Whether you need coverage, color or highlights you’ll find a quick and effective solution.

Thoughts: I love the concept of having a single sheet be enough to highlight your face, but I don’t think I would ever spend the money on these considering how expensive they are.

Full size: 50 sheets/$26 (at the most)

I received: 2 sheets/$1.04

Vitamine & Sea Mineral Clay Mask

This natural facial mask made with clay directly from the Dead Sea will tingle as it softly exfoliates, eliminates toxins, promotes circulation, cleanses and strengthens your skin.

Thoughts: It smells exactly what I would imagine a volcano would smell like! This smells very old and “fossil-esque”. It’s not my favourite scent and I hope it does more good to my skin than to my olfactory buds.

Full size: 210mL/$62.00

I received: 10mL?/$2.95

Bentaberry G-1 Moisturizing Face Cream for Boys and Girls

This cream is made from 100% natural active ingredients: burdock, jasmine, mandarin, blueberry, white dead-nettle and zinc pidolate.

Thoughts: I guess this face cream had better be good what with the extra long product name and the ongoing list of natural ingredients! I’m having a hard time figuring out what zinc pidolate does which sort of bothers me…

Full size: 30mL/$22.00

I received: 3mL/$2.20

Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee

An electrical current runs through the subtle sweetness of vanilla, jasmine and fresh lime to bond with rich oak moss, woods and spicy coriander.

Thoughts: I loved the Orange Sanguine sample I received before so I had high hopes for Vanille Insensee as well. I do like the scent, but I think I prefer a more citrus-like scent. The vanilla scent will be nice for the coming colder months.

Full size: 30mL/$70.00 – this is $65 on ebeauty.ca

I received: 1.2mL?/$2.60 – we’ll go with the lowest pricing

Total Value of Glymm Bag: $11.56…I’m not including the actual bag for $12 because I signed up for product and not packaging. Value was a little disappointing this month, but I did a cute makeup bag out of it. Those that received the full-sized nail polish definitely got the better Glymm bag this month!

June Luvs <3

It’s time for monthly favourites again! As a lot of other bloggers have said, I can’t believe we’re halfway through the year already!

1. Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel with Marula Oil

This product has an interesting texture as it is a gel when squeezed out, but once applied to the face, it just melts at your fingertips and feels just like an oil! According the Clarins website, this cleansing gel is suitable for all skin types and washes right off with water. Occasionally, I do like to use cleansing oils to remove my makeup as I like the texture and the idea of oil emulsifying all the dirt and makeup and lifting it off my skin. Marula oil has been used by people in Africa to clean themselves instead of using water and is considered a bit of a luxury by the locals as well. I just hope there’s plenty of marula oil around or I think I might have to find another cleansing oil! There is nothing too chemically impressive about marula oil other than its chemical stability so this definitely wasn’t the appeal for me, but I find that when I don’t feel like using a separate eye makeup remover, a cleansing oil is a great product for removing everything, even waterproof mascara!

 

2. Ola Tropical Organics Creme Lotion in Coconut Lemongrass

I discovered Ola Tropical Organics through my Divalicious Sample Box and I’m so happy I did! All of their products are made in Hawaii with a very long list of all natural ingredients that make you feel all that much better about putting this product on your skin! There is a Coffee Chocolate Cane Sugar Scrub on their website that sounds absolutely amazing! The only thing about ordering from them is that the shipping to Canada is $25.95…

Although I don’t normally like the scent of coconut, I’ve realized that when it’s done right and not artificially sweet in scent, I love it! The lemongrass adds a bit of zest to the scent and as for moisturizing capabilities? The texture is on the lighter side so if you’ve got really dry skin you might need something thicker. Now that the weather is not quite as dry, I have found that a lighter body moisturizer works for me.

 

3. Benefit Box Powder in Bella Bamba

I picked up Bella Bamba at a February Shoppers Shopping Spree and I have also been loving the colour and the hint of shimmer it provides. I never thought I’d be a Benefit box powder convert, but I am ready to admit that I am! I think this colour would work for anyone and on me, a little goes a long way! This is going to last me awhile!

 

4. Mai Couture Social Gloss in G’Vinity

I received this lip gloss back in my April Glymm Box and I had said that I wouldn’t wear it very much because it was too frosty in finish. Boy, was I wrong! I’ve been wearing it over my Pandora lipstick in Soft Caramel and I’ve been loving the finish!

 

5. inm Out The Door Topcoat

I have raved quite a bit about this topcoat and it is now what I’ve been using for all of my manicures so if you’ve seen any prior NOTDs, then you will have seen what an amazing shine this topcoat provides in addition to making my manicures last!

 

6. Lush Coconut Deodorant Powder

I have to thank for Steph for this recommendation because again, I don’t normally like the scent of coconut, but I feel like this past month I have rediscovered it! This smells so light and fresh that when I went on my little Lush shopping spree and had a sniff, I was immediately sold on it. On days when I’m just lounging at home, I use it as an underarm deodorant and I have been sprinkling this in my shoes when I don’t wear socks and the coconut powder has kept my feet dry and odourless (for the most part!).

And there you have it! My June favourites!