BEAUTY | October Ipsy Original Bag

Purchased by me

This October Ipsy Original Bag was a bit of an accident as I was actually going into my Ipsy account (on Oct.31st) to reactivate the "MONTHLY" option so that I wouldn't miss out on the December Bag and in doing so, I ended getting the October bag as well! Now, that I have slowed down the beauty spending, I don't mind having some smaller samples of different products around to try. Obviously the October theme was centred around Halloween and Magic though the theme and the products I received seemed somewhat disconnected. I also received an "accommodation package" for some reason and when it arrived, it contained ANOTHER single foundation? October was just kind of confusing month for the Ipsy Original Bag, but let's get on with it!

BEAUTY | September 2025 Ipsy Original (Glam) Bag

 

Purchased by me

We are now officially caught up with the Ipsy Bags (for anyone who still enjoys these things) and though I know subscription services aren't what they used to be, I like Ipsy because it brings back a sense of nostalgia to when beauty blogging was at its peak in the 2010s. It's when Michelle Phan first started Ipsy and was a true icon of an era of consuming beauty content in a completely novel way. I don't really like her content now, but she will always have a special place in my heart. 

BEAUTY | May 2025 Ipsy Glam Bag

 

Purchased by me

I know, I know. I really should stop this subscription, but I do love the surprise of the products and so far, I have been enjoying most of the products in my Ipsy bags. I do every other month now just to slow down the influx of products as well as save a little bit of money. I am about to catch up though with my Ipsy bag reviews as I would like to keep all the 2025 Glam Bag reviews actually WITHIN the year 2025! Firstly, I will start off by saying that I enjoyed the design of May's bag as this blue and white canvas print really makes me feel like it's summer (which I now know is technically over).

BEAUTY | March 2025 Ipsy Glam Bag

Purchased by me

So, this is the March Ipsy Bag. I know we are practically in September, but I feel like now that I do Ipsy every other month I don't have as much to catch up on! I also feel like I took a bit of a summer break the last month just enjoying being lazy AF and doing other hobbies that bring me joy. Soon, the rain and cold will come and all I will want to do is stay inside so much of the blogging has gone to the wayside this month. It has been fairly warm for Vancouver these last two weeks and it is expected to be very warm next week which I am not looking forward to. Heat and getting older definitely don't agree with me! Let's move on to the beauty stuff, shall we?

BEAUTY | October 2024 Ipsy Glam Bag

Purchased by me

I am well aware that it is June, but hear me out! With the Canada Post strike at the beginning of November, this bag actually arrived AFTER my November Ipsy! Now, with Tariff War 2025 happening, I have slowed down my Ipsy subscription (they only let you skip every other month) in order to avoid the exchange rate and focusing less on American goods. When I did start using the October Ipsy bag I did notice that almost every product felt more suited to NOW than October so it all worked out!

BEAUTY | January 2025 Ipsy Glam Bag

 

Purchased by me

In light of trying to support Canada, I have decided to cut my Ipsy subscription in half and do it every other month. I still get excited when the products arrive as they are all usually new to me so I would still like to have the subscription if I can. I have slowed down on beauty purchases a lot since the beginning of the year as I have been purchasing Pixyls and diamond paintings so I think having a little bimonthly surprise is acceptable!

BEAUTY | November 2024 Ipsy Glam Bag

 

Purchased by me

I am well aware that it is now February 2025 and I am talking about a November Ipsy Bag, but with the Canada Post strike, I did not receive this until last month! I was convinced that it was never going to show up, but what actually happened was that my husband was notified of a package for himself through Canada Post's Flexdelivery and when he got to the post office, they said there was another package for the same address addressed to me. Turns out it was this Glam Bag! I usually get notified, but I am guessing that once CP was mandated back to work, there were packages that slipped through the cracks. I have the December Ipsy Glam Bag to review for you as well as it arrived also last month, but I have decide to pause my subscription for a bit to get through a few products and save the money as the exchange rate is total crap now and I would rather not be spending US dollars if I don't have to. 

BEAUTY | September Ipsy Glam Bag

Purchased by me

I told you I would have September's Ipsy Bag for you shortly! Look at me keeping to my schedule! This bag was fall-themed and had some lovely makeup items inside to celebrate. 

BEAUTY | June 2024 Ipsy Glam Bag

 

Purchased by me

June's Ipsy Glam Bag came slightly delayed as according to tracking it was just hanging out in New Jersey for a few weeks before finally showing up at my door. There is another person in my building who also receives a monthly Glam Bag so I kind of use her deliveries as a guide for mine and when hers showed up 2 weeks before mine I got concerned. Ipsy customer service was quite reassuring and to use their exact wording "We got you!" when I expressed concern about my Glam Bag going missing!

BEAUTY | May 2024 Ipsy Glam Bag

Purchased by me

Another month, another Ipsy Glam bag! I have to say, now that I have less PR coming in and no other subscription boxes, I really enjoy it when the I get my notification that my Ipsy bag has shipped! I feel like this is what it should have felt like back when I was subscribed 10 years ago!

SHEET MASK | FaceTory Sun Bae Soothing Mask

I will be honest that I haven't gone out in the sun much this year. This whole summer I have pretty much worked and stayed inside since I feel like I don't spend that much time at home. I had a ton of plans to outfit the patio with summer chairs and tables at the end of June and while I did get the patio cleaned up, everything in June fell to the wayside when Hemingway got sick. Since then, my motivations for getting things done have gone downhill and while I wouldn't say I've been wallowing and doing nothing, my picturesque view of a carefree summer has been tainted and I will always think of "Summer 2019" as one of loss. Throughout all of this, there have been small joys with friends and thankfully beauty which will always be a source of enjoyment for me.

Purchased by me

BEAUTY BOX | Glossybox September 2015 Edition

A part of me debated not even writing about the last couple of Glossyboxes that I was sent because of how much time had passed, but after looking at their contents I decided that they were worthy of sharing for anyone interested in signing up for Glossybox. This is a US-based subscription service which, with the Canadian dollar currently where it is, may cause Canadians like myself to hesitate when it comes to signing up. I actually still have two US-based subs going because even with the exchange rate, the products I receive are still worth it. Hopefully my reviews of what I received in my September Glossybox* will be just that for you!

BEAUTY BOX | December Birchbox Review + Holiday Idea!

I have talked about Birchbox numerous times over the year and I reiterate that they were the first of the beauty subscription boxes and while MANY subscriptions have come and gone, Birchbox still remains - and at $10 CDN/month + $4.95 shipping. $10 was the magic number 5 years ago and while other subs have slowly hiked their prices, Birchbox has kept theirs at that magic number. I have been so entrenched in this beauty world that sometimes I forget that there are still people that don't about subscription services such as Birchbox. If you are still looking for a gift that keeps on giving, let's take a look at Birchbox!

SUBSCRIPTION BOX | November Vancity Box Review

After October's raving review (here) of the Vancity Box, I was more than delighted to be given the opportunity to review November's box as well especially now that we are into the holiday season trying to get gift ideas for our loved ones (or ourselves!). As I mentioned in my previous review, this is a purely artisanal subscription box that is filled with goods made by local companies and there were definitely some familiar favourites this month!

BEAUTY BOX | July Glossybox Review (Better Late Than Never?)

Call it OCD, but I need to go in order! The summer just sort of vanished and I was still in denial that cold weather was finally here until I was forced to take out my Aritzia winter coat (you all know that Talula one that is like a Vancouver rite of passage) and wear a wool scarf! July's Glossybox wasn't really a summer-themed one, but I found it to be somewhat disappointing as I wasn't too thrilled with the product assortment. Nevertheless, there was one shining star for me in this box which I will highlight with much excitement further down.

SUBSCRIPTION BOX | NEW! Vancity Box "Our City in a Box" - Supporting Local Business in Vancouver

Yes, I love the "big brands" and I will admit that there are times when I believe that God placed me on this planet to be a consumer, but I ultimately have a very soft spot for buying local. Vancouver has some of the BEST locally-made goods especially when it comes to food! Living on the West Coast gives us a huge advantage when it comes to food selection which is why the inaugural Vancity Box* is the perfect start to wonderful and new subscription for BC residents as it is filled with local Vancouver food delights guaranteed to make your mouth water!
 

BEAUTY BOX | Vive La France October GLOSSYBOX

Welcome to one of the prettiest and chic Glossyboxes I have ever seen! I was expecting the classic pink box and and instead was this beautiful Parisienne-themed piece of art for the month of October. It is so beautiful that I had to jump the gun and skip the summer Glossyboxes I still have to show you! On top of this beautiful box (that I now MUST find a use for!), there was a consistent theme throughout that acutally MADE SENSE and contained products with some French flair.

Even the inside of the box was beautifully decorated!

BEAUTY BOX | June Glossybox Review

Welcome to the new Cosmetic Proof where I play beauty box catch up just like last year. I was so proud for doing all that writing last week so that you guys could come here to a new post every day, but then work and late nights caught up with me and we’re back to this unscheduled and impromptu way of doing things. Now, onto June’s Glossybox* which featured some brands that I know and love and some that I had never heard of, but that is sort of the fun with these boxes isn’t it? Discovering new product loves!

BEAUTY BOX | Birchbox x Best Health Collaboration

For the month of July, Birchbox has teamed up with Best Health Magazine to provide a curated selection of only the best in beauty. This “Go for the Gold” Birchbox is all about making sure that you have your “healthiest summer yet”. This is a pretty bold claim so let’s see whether it lived up to my now sky-high beauty box expectations!

 

BEAUTY BOX | Revisiting TOMBox aka The Time of Month Box

At the beginning of the this year, I reviewed an interesting beauty box subscription service called the TOMBox (past review here) which elicited both laughs and comments of disbelief in the comments section. To recap, TOMBox is a monthly subscription service that as of now, only ships within the US, and caters to what a girl/woman might need or want during her menstrual cycle. It’s funny how they only REAL difference between TOMBox and all other beauty box subscriptions is the addition of pads or tampons. I guess we ladies want what we want.