Ipsy, Is It Worth It? December 2013

Welcome to my cheerful little blog where talk about the fact that I really enjoy playing with makeup. This will be the regular monthly installment of Ipsy, Is It Worth It? Please forgive my background I was anxious to get this post up and consequently didn't have all of my photographic stylizing tools at my disposal.

This month we received some great products which are all new to me. I have tried some of the brand before but all of the products are new to me.

Let's start with the Ardell 120 Demi Lashes. These retail for $3.99 at Ulta and I am very excited to receive them. I will be attending my office after hours Christmas Party tomorrow night and you can rest assured that I will be sporting these guys! 

Next is The One Stick in Sunset from Be A Bombshell which is valued at $16.00. This product can be used on cheeks, lips and eyes. Initially, I was less than wowed by this product. Then I swatched it which changed my mind. It is more like a cream to powder finish. It is not greasy at all. It's very light and easily blendable. I look forward to really trying this product. Swatches will be available at the bottom of the post. 

This is The Big Lip Pencil from J. Cat Beauty. I received the shade BLP203 which is a terribly exciting name for the lip color. So I will explain that it's a bright cherry red. The Big Lip Pencil sells for $3.99 and is available on the J. Cat Beauty website. I will be curious to see how well this wears and will do a full review soon. Swatches will be available at the bottom.

Next is the Nicka K New York Nail Color in Classic Taupe which retails for $4.99. I have never even heard of this brand before and am looking forward to trying it. Surprisingly, I really have no colors like this in my collection. So this is a pleasant addition. 

Another brand I know nothing about is Pop Beauty. This month I received a lovely trio aptly named Naturally Bare. After doing some research it seems that they do not sell eyeshadow in trios. So this must be a special creation specifically for Ipsy. These colors are richly pigmented, silky and blendable. This trio is valued at $7.20. Swatches will be available below. 

I received a bonus item this month due to the fact that I had enough points to trade in. I selected the Beauty Blender since I have not owned the original one that started the beauty sponge craze. I have an off brand and will be doing a head to head competition of the two. I was quite delighted to have enough points to trade for this happy pink little sponge.  The Beauty Blender retails for $19.95. 

J. Cat The Big Lip Pencil in BLP203 on left
Be A Bombshell The One Stick in Sunset blended out in the center, full strength on right

The Big Lip Pencil is definitely a bright cherry red as I stated earlier which still scares me but I am determined to give it a go! The One Stick is swatched on the right and I blended it out in the middle. It blends with very little effort. I am already impressed with this product. 

Pop Beauty in Naturally Bare

These powder shadows are very silky and creamy. I am quite impressed with the pigmentation and the blendability of these shadows. I definitely look forward to wearing these. 

This months CELEBRATION! themed bag has a value of $36.17 without the Beauty Blender. I will not include it since it is not part of the regular subscription service. If you would like to see previous monthly of Ipsy bags please click the tab located just under my header. Thank you so much for peeking in to see what was in this months Ipsy bag. I truly appreciate it! Have a Merry Christmas!!