Ipsy August 2015 Review

Ah. . . the end.  The end of my Ipsy sub (this is the last month for me) and the end of the summer. . . at least judging by the "prep school" theme Ipsy's gone with for the month.  I actually really like the bag and Ipsy packed it with some of my favourite products I've ever received from them! Well played! So what did I get?

Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Oil Treatment ($3.30 value for 0.7oz sample, full size is $7.99 for 1.69oz)

I love this kind of product for my hair as it can be a little coarse and frizzy at times.  This makes it smooth and soft and it smells awesome! Since you really don't need to use a lot, this sample should last for a long time.

Skone Luxe Doubler Eye/Lip Pencil in Wine ($7.15 value for 0.1oz sample, full size is $12 for 4.7g)

Some other bloggers seem to think this is full size. . . my math says otherwise.  It's 0.1oz which is about 2.8g and the full size is 4.7g on Skone's website.  It drives me crazy how often I have to convert metric to imperial and vice versa to figure these things out.  Why can't the same product be measured using the same system? Ridiculous! Anyway, that aside, I love this.  It's a creamy, smooth pencil which can be used either to line the eyes or on the lips.  While I know that this wine colour would look fantastic on my lips, I've been seeing a lot of burgundy / berry liners and shadows lately (especially coming out of k-beauty styles) so I had to try it on my eyes.  While I was convinced that I would look either ill or super-stoned, it was actually pretty flattering.  It didn't look unlike some of my purple liners on, just a little more berry, and really made my green-blue eyes pop.  While it's not an everyday look, I'm going to keep working on it :)

Noyah Natural Lipstick in Desert Rose ($4.50 value, full size is $18 and 4x the size at 0.16oz)

I received a plummy shade of Noyah lipstick in an early Ipsy bag and loved it so much, I actually considered buying a full-size version.  The formula is smooth and not overly drying and I found the colour pay-off of that shade great too.  This colour isn't as great for my skin tone - it's a little too pale (actually paler than my lips) which I have a hard time with unless there's some shimmer or gloss involved - but I do like it.  I also like Noyah's efforts to use natural ingredients and bamboo (instead of plastic) packaging.

Aila Cosmetics Luxury Nail Lacquer in Mister Pookies (FULL SIZE $17 value, I think?)

This nail polish is 5-free, paraben and gluten free, vegan and cruelty-free.  Love that! The colour is. . . interesting.  It's described as being a steel grey with purple undertones but it looks more of a purpley brown on my nails (most of the time, although in some lights I see the grey).  The formula is great - the swatch below is one thick coat which dried quickly.

Juice Beauty Cleansing Milk ($1.63 value for 0.5oz sample, full size is $22 for 6.75oz)

I always love a good cleanser sample - especially when the full size is so pricey.  I've also heard good things about Juice Beauty and have never tried them out so I'm looking forward to this although I haven't opened it yet.  Juice Beauty says this will cleanse and remove makeup (but I like my two-step routine and have yet to find a face wash that actually removes make-up that effectively).  They also claim to offer great products because they are "pure" and organic, and have Gwyneth Paltrow on board.  I'm always a little skeptical of everything goop but I will reserve judgement for now.

Super-blurry swatches of the Skone liner on the left and the Noyah lippie on the right, nail polish swatch at far right

Overall Verdict:

This month was probably one of my faves.  I love both lip (err. . . eye too) products and the nail polish.  I will get a lot of use out of the hair oil and I always enjoy trying out new face washes in small sizes just in case they don't go well.  I don't think I've had a month that hit my likes so well in the entire year I've subbed. . . so, of course, it's the last one! While this doesn't have the highest value, at $33.58, it is still more than I paid (it worked out to about $15 with shipping, exchange, and the discount for purchasing the whole year up front) and all of the products are great (I have a hard time finding value in an expensive item I won't use).

As for Ipsy, I have enjoyed the year but I'm ready to move on - there are only so many black eyeliners, neutral eyeshadows, and make-up bags one can use! Would I recommend Ipsy? For someone who's looking to try new products / brands or just starting out, absolutely - it's consistently a great value for the price.  Ipsy is, as I've said before, a great gateway sub :)