Ipsy July 2013 review

Ipsy is one of my favorite subscriptions! For only $10 a month, you get 4-5 samples or full size makeup or beauty products plus a cute makeup bag every month! I love it because it's cheap and it gives me my favorite kind of things to try - makeup!!

July's theme was Beach Beauty. They actually don't ship in a box like most subscriptions - instead they use a pretty pink mailer bag! I always know its Ipsy when I see it!

This is a terrible picture since you can't really even see anything, but this was my "opening the box" shot.

I forgot to take a picture of the makeup bag included this month, but you can see it in most of my pictures. It's a a decent size, clear pink, cylindrical bag. The zipper seems to work well. It fits pretty well with the theme, since I imagine it would work pretty well at the beach. Not my favorite of the bags we've gotten, but it's functional. 

My first item was BigSexyHair Weather Proof spray (~$7.80). You could either get this or a beach spray from the same company. I'm not sure if this is a weatherproof hairspray with hold or just a weatherproofing spray that would leave your hair movable. I think I would have liked either. Assuming this one doesn't have too much hold, it should be nice to try on a day I actually straighten my hair (or maybe if I ever try to lightly curl it - I think I need a new iron though. Any suggestions of good ones that give you big loose waves/curls?). It's so humid here, which is part of the reason why I never bother to do my hair, so hopefully this will help.

BigSexyHair Weather Proof spray

Next up was a Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Coral Crush (~$4.16). Eh, you know how I feel about lip stuff. I pulled this out and, for some reason, initially thought it was red, which really disappointed me - I can usually at least try to pull off softer colors, but red? Nope. When I got a better look though, it's actually a bright coral color. Which, honestly isn't much better, haha. It goes on super smooth and you can barely feel it, which is great, but the color was horrendous. Orangey and clashy and just bad. Looking at the other options, Fuchsia Flirt (which according to the comments, sounds like a bubblegum/Barbie pink) and Rose Romance (looks much more neutral and seems to have more positive comments than the other 2 colors), I think Rose would have probably been a better match for me. But oh well.

Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Coral Crush

The third product that everyone got at least a variation of was the BH Cosmetics California Collection sample set. I'm not sure how to price this since I'm not sure how the sample sizes compare to what they sell, but based on the big 120 color palettes (which go for $16.95 and actually get great reviews. I'm tempted!), I'd guess about $0.50 for the 3 colors together - maybe round it up to $1.00 for the packaging? Seems weird to value it so low, since I really didn't find the colors to be bad quality. It's a cute little set of 3 colors in a little book palette. When I initially saw the hint earlier in the month, I wondered if we'd only get one of the colors, but everyone got the set of 3. They're small samples of each, but I'm still happy. I love eyeshadow. I believe everyone got the same set, and the colors are Hollywood, a purple shadow, San Fransisco, a sparkly light brown, and Malibu, a shimmery gold. When I swatched them, I found Malibu was quite pigmented and probably a color I'll use sparingly - I'm not really a gold person. San Fransisco was fairly pigmented and probably the most usable of the three. Finally, Hollywood was the least pigmented, requiring quite a few swipes and is pretty, but a bit bright to wear on its own - I think it would look great paired with a darker purple, though. It looks like each color is a sample from it's own full palette of blushes and eyeshadows sold by BH Cosmetics. This was probably my second favorite item in the bag.

BH Cosmetics California Collection sample set

For the past few months, the hints given early in the month list 3 or so items/brands that everyone will get along with 2 products from a bigger set of variations. Variations I did not get this month include a small sample of Benetint, a full size Nailtini polish, and Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub. The first variation I did get this month was Coola mineral sunscreen for face (unscented, non-tinted) (~$4.87). I believe there was also a tinted version that went out. I have to be honest, the hint we got earlier in the month made it seem like we'd get a bigger sample. I guess they pictured the full size, but we got a tiny .23 fl oz sample, which is pretty small even for a sample. Reading the comments on the Ipsy site, a lot of people mention that this left their face white. That makes me kind of scared to even try it! I'm pale as it is! I don't mind, but I don't need to be even paler! Maybe I'll try mixing it with my BB cream. At least that would add the SPF 20 to my usual routine.

Coola Mineral Sunscreen, unscented

My second variation was my favorite item in the bag this month! I got Demeter Salt Air roll on perfume ($10). I love the portability of roll ons and I love this scent! Before I got my bag, I was reading comments on the Ipsy site and I got a little worried when one person described theirs as smelling like salt, sweat, and sunscreen. Eek! But I really like it. It smells like the beach! I wore it yesterday and I'm wearing it again today. No complaints from hubby that I smell bad, so he must not mind it. I went over to their site and wow, I'm going to spend a while tonight looking over all their scents. They have a huge collection, including some really interesting ones like "Paperback"! I think I may pick up a handful of samples from them with my 20% off coupon code!

Demeter Salt Air roll on perfume oil

Swatches left to right: Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Coral Crush and BH Cosmetics eyeshadows in Hollywood, San Fransisco, and Malibu.

July 2013 Ipsy bag

I'd say this is a pretty good month. I'm not a fan of the lip crayon, and I'll reserve judgment on the sunscreen until I actually try it, but I like the rest of the bag! I love the perfume enough that I could've hated everything else in the bag and I still wouldn't be terribly disappointed. I especially love that this bag is only $10 a month. It's one of the least expensive subs and I'm almost always happy with what I get. This bag had an approximate value of $27.83 plus, I dunno, $3 for the bag? So about 3x what I paid for it!

Plus, each brand that is featured that month, even the ones you, specifically, didn't get in your bag, has an Ipsy specific promo code (they're all listed in your Glam Room on the Ipsy site) for a percentage off your next purchase! A few months ago, I didn't get a Pacifica item in my bag, but really, really wanted to try them, so I used their code for 20% off my order of several rollerball perfumes and discovered that I love Pacifica!

What did you get in your bag this month? If you want to subscribe, please use my link! Seriously, this is an awesome sub - if you haven't tried it and you like makeup/beauty stuff, you should!

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. The final link is a referral link, but I also included a non-referral link at the top.)