Ipsy January 2014 Glam Bag Review~

Back much sooner than usual because my Ipsy bag came in the mail today! After last month's letdown, this month was a surprising hit.
I think they were going for very simple products this month, in the sense that they weren't makeup heavy and were more focused on things like skin, lip, and hair care. Which is great! Because I have too much makeup as it is -.- I feel like I'll use up these products much faster than I will anything else that I've received. Let's take a look~

The products were very... small this month .-. Size wise. But they're still nice

I'll just get right into the mini reviews of everything~

Starting with....

Face Lotion

Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion; Argan and Rosewater (Approx. $5)

I just received this today, so I can't comment on any long lasting effects of this lotion, however it does smell quite nice, and sinks into the skin relatively quickly, so, I like it~ The scent also fades quickly, which is a plus, because I've noticed how sometimes when I try to fall asleep and I have a heavily scented moisturizer, it's difficult to do so. The fact that it's lightweight is also nice, since I have oily skin and a lot of moisturizers often make the problem worse.

Lip Balm/Tint

Mica Beauty Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in No. 6, Fiesta (Value, maybe $20? The original comes with a brush, but I think contains the same amount of product...)

Upon seeing this, I was worried that it would be as incredibly tinted and drying as the Cailyn tinted 'lip balm' which I received in my September bag, however it was not. It's very tinted indeed, but it actually is a lip balm. I really like the color to! It's pretty dusty pink, and looks nice with natural looking makeup. I wish it had a brush though, then it'd be more easy to access...

Skin Care

4x Proactive + Mark Fading Pads (Let's assume each one has a $1 value; so approx. $4 value)

I'm going to be blunt- I haven't actually used this product yet. However, I do believe that I'll use them all, because it seems fairly useful. I like that they included four sheets of it~ I haven't been able to actually find these online though, they only sell them in sets with other Proactive things... Oh well.

Eye Shadow

Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Creamy Eye Pencil in Pearl (Approx. $7)

This is a very small pencil (which was strange; I'm used to Ipsy eyeshadow pencils being full size), but since it's more of a highlighter color, I don't think the size really matters. I can't see myself using this as a typical eyeshadow, but rather, as a highlighter for inner corner/water line. It has a good formula and doesn't smudge easily, which I like.

Hair Care

Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair Deep Conditioning Mask ($5)

First off: this mask smells amazing. I haven't used it yet, but the scent is wonderful. Smells very yummy~ hehe, I can't say much else about it. But I'm looking forward to using it. I'm afraid that it might only last me two times though, since the container only has 1 oz. of product.

Overall I'm very satisfied with this month's Ipsy bag; it's a huge improvement over last month, since I can actually see myself using these products! :D

How about you guys? Have you ever tried Ipsy? Are you satisfied with it?

2013 Favorites!

Happy 2014 everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic year~
With 2013 over, I thought I'd post a list of some of the things I'd been loving. Before 2013 I didn't have much interest in cosmetics, however around the time when I started this blog I was introduced to Korean cosmetics, which really spurred my interest. So, here's a list of things I've loved (Non-Korean brands too!) that I've loved.

Skin Care: Because where would we be without good skin?

Unfortunately there aren't that many American skin care products that I love; maybe you guys can recommend me some stuff?

#1: ???- I have no idea what the name of this product or the company is (Say, maybe? That's the only English on it and it's in a location that could signify that it's the company). This is a yogurt-scented face wash which foams up a ton, and smells amazing. I bought this a while ago in Las Vegas in some Korean grocery store, thus I haven't been able to get any more of it. Sorry that the bottle is so smushed; clearly I use it a lot xD

#2: Missha Natural Soft Jelly Cleansing Puff Konjac (bamboo charcoal)- This is a very nice product for cleansing skin. It foams up cleansers easily (I love foam c:) and... I don't have much else to say about it, really. But I use it every time I wash my face and it works nicely.

#3: Tony Moly Tomatox Brightening Mask- I reviewed this a while ago, but it's still a great mask. It brightens (not for  very long), but nonetheless it's nice to do before a special occasion of some sort to make your complexion look brighter and clearer.

#4: Skin Food Platinum Grape Cell Emulsion and Toner- These are sample products which, individually  cost thirty bucks each. Ouch. But every so often I use these and they work very nicely. I wouldn't, however, ever buy the full size. Way too expensive for me :/

#5: Sheet Masks- I have no particular face mask which is my favorite (and this My Beauty Diary Sake Yeast mask was the only one I had left; I need to restock on masks ;A;). Sheet masks are really convenient and nice to use; I prefer them to masks which you need to slather on your face, however these have a much more subtle effect.

Face Makeup: To create the canvas~

Oddly enough, I don't even have all that many face products .-.

#1: Skin 79 Chiffon BB Mousse: At the moment this is the only BB cream I have and it's really more summery than wintery, but it's still a good product. I love that it's a mousse~

#2: Skin Food Peach Sake Pore Pact: I have never had a good pressed powder, but this one is amazing. Plus, it smells like peaches! Yum.

#3: Benefit Benetint: This could also be considered a lip product, however I use it more as a blush than as a lip tint. It  give a very subtle amount of color, which is perfect for me since I don't like looking overly blushy.

Eye Makeup: Possibly my favorite thing ever~

I would've opened the palette lids but I have reviews on each if you want to see the colors~

#1: Lime Crime Palette D'Antoinette: This is a really great palette which I've used practically every day since I bought it. The colors look unusable, but they're actually really versatile, as blushes, eye colors, etc.

#2: Tony Moly Cat's Wink Mascara: Until I ran out, this was the mascara I used every day (this is an old bottle which I still keep around on the off chance that it might magically become refilled).  What I loved about it was that it lengthened, separated, and didn't clump my lashes.

#3: Skin Food My Short Cake Eye Shadow [Silk Type] SPK01: This is a really nice base color for eyeshadows; I use it pretty often. Unfortunately I don't have better storage for it, so I'm forced to keep it in the plastic  case it came in. You can buy an actual container to hold these shadows, but I'm too lazy to get it >_>

#4: Urban Decay Ammo Shadow Box: Aside from the Lime Crime Palette, I use this one often. The colors are nice, though all of them are shimmery/glittery so it can at times look more dramatic.

Lip Stuff: I never really use anything .-. But that's okay xD

Only 3 things this time

#1: Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar: I have two of these; Juicy peach and Juicy Orange. The colors are subtle but still there, and they're nice to apply when I'm too lazy to put on lip product (which is almost always)

#2: TokyoMilk Dark Lip Elixer: This is a really nice lip balm which smells scrumptious (Salted Caramel!). Only thing I dislike about it is that you need to use your fingers to apply it -.-

#3: Lip Tar: What I have here is a mini set of 4 lip tars that my friend got for me for Christmas. If you don't know what lip tars are, they're super concentrated lip... stains? You don't need a lot, and it lasts a while. They're pricey, but definitely worth it. My favorite color is Black Lotus, the one on the far right. It's perfect for winter (it's not actually black, more so just a very deep berry color).

Perfume and Nail Stuff: At this point I was too lazy to take separate photos

#1: Tokidoki Siberia Perfume:  Unfortunately you can no longer buy this perfume in stores *sob*, however you can get it online, in both roller-ball and solid perfume form. I use both; the scent is perfect for winter. It's described as being icy, white, and musky, and has notes of Aldehydes, Muguet Petals, Night Blooming Jasmine, White Orchid, White Musk, and Soft Woods. It's a very comforting scent which I like a lot~

#2: Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy: Sadly I can't get the full size because it's expensive -.- But, this small bottle that I got as a 100 point reward thing at Sephora is lasting me quite a while. It's a much warmer and summery scent than Siberia, so I wear it in the summer months.

#3: H&M Nail Polish in Red: Just an ordinary red nail lacquer, however it looks nice and lasts a while. You can never beat a classic, red nail~

#4: Revlon Nail Art Moon Candy in Satellite: The burgundy color in this set is really nice, and the pink glitter is absolutely gorgeous. Combined, they look amazing. Wonderful for the fall months.

Jewelry!: Not really beauty-related, but I like jewelry x3

The scissor necklace is from Forever 21, everything else is from Urban Outfitters

I love jewelry, and headbands aren't really jewelry, but I wear them whenever I'm too lazy to make my hair look decent. The bunny ring I also love: I want to find more animal rings x3

That was a loooong post. Phew. I'm tired. Hope you guys enjoy your week! Tomorrow I will film a makeup video which I'll try to post.... soon. Bye bye!