Honest Review: February 2018 Ipsy Bag!

Ipsy is a monthly subscription specializing in personalized makeup and beauty products. They also have exclusive offers, and how-to video tutorials from our ipsyStylists on their website and social media accounts. Each month subscribers receive a gorgeous Glam Bag with 5 deluxe samples or full-size goodies for only $10. 

Start your own subscription by clicking here!

I love that Ipsy lets me try new makeup before I have to commit to the full price products! Some times there are even full sized products in the bag! Here is everything from the February 2018 Ipsy bag with (as always) my honest reviews!!

This months bag is really cute! I am a sucker for lace! The only down side is the material. It gets stained really easily which isn't a great idea for keeping makeup in... Now on to the products!

Klorane Dry Shampoo: This is a deluxe sample which you can buy online for $10. Their description: "An award-winning dry shampoo that cleans hair, eliminates oil and adds volume and texture to hair with ultra-gentle botanical ingredients." This dry shampoo contains oat milk which strengthens hair and fights dandruff!

I love dry shampoo, it is a great fix when you are between hair washes but still need to get that oil under control. It also adds nice volume to your hair! Unfortunately Klorane is pricey but I've found that Herbal Essence gave me the same results!

You can check Klorane out here. To see Herbal Essence dry shampoo click here

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye : This concealer retails at $24 for a 8 ml tube. It's available in 6 shades. Their description: "Developed with plastic surgeons, this best-selling, award-winning, cult-favorite waterproof concealer delivers highly pigmented, long-lasting coverage that won’t crease or crack. Infused with high-performance pigments and anti-aging peptides, vitamins, hydrolyzed collagen, hyaluronic acid and antioxidants, the game-changing formula improves the appearance of wrinkles and effectively conceals the look of skin imperfections including dark circles, bags, redness, hyperpigmentation, broken capillaries, age spots and discoloration. Finally, a multitasking, full-coverage concealer that makes your skin look younger!"

I'm going to have to play around with this a little more. It is highly pigmented which is awesome because it really does cover everything. I followed the instructions on the package and used my fingers to apply. The resulted in my using way too much product. I am going to try it using a brush next time. There is an awesome video to help with application on their website.

Watch the video and buy yours here

Luna Highlightr in Electra: This is a full size product!!! It retails for $23. Their description: "Baked formula known to last longer than cream formulas, High pigmentation, Perfect for any skin tone, Smooth and silky, Glows and shimmers."

This highlighter is so pretty! It is a pretty light rose gold color that shimmers beautifully! I love all my Luna products and I never would have heard of them with out Ipsy!

Get yours here!

Pacifica Beach Crystals Eyeshadow Palette:  This palette was made just for Ipsy subscribers. You can find these colors in their Crystal Matrix and Beachy Punk palettes. Their 10 shade palettes retail for $18. Their description: "Highly-pigmented mineral eye shadows, velvety finish and gorgeous payoff, in a range of your new super wearable favorite colors."

I really like this palette! I love purple but I am really feeling all 5 shadows! They look great blended together. These have a nice pigment that look beautiful on. The are soft and comfortable to wear. 

Check out all Pacifica's eyeshadows here

Luxie Brush 249: This is a brush designed specifically for Ipsy Subscribers. Luxie brushes retail for around $12. Ipsy's description: "One brush to get any eye look you dream up? You bet. This ipster-exclusive, double-sided beauty is tapered on one end (for packing down your powder shadows) and fluffy on the flip side (for oh-so-easy blending). It’s too cute to not show off. The rose gold handle is très chic. The super soft bristles are synthetic, so no furry friends were harmed in the making of your fluffy new brush."

You know I love brushes!!! The bristles on this Luxie brush are so soft! I love that it is 2 brushes in 1! 

Check out all Luxie's brushes here

What I think Overall: This is yet again another great month for Ipsy! I liked every product in the bag! I definitely recommend getting your own subscription! Sign up here!

Total value of this bag: $63.75!!!!

Honest Review: Bullet Journal Supplies!

I have entered the wonderful world of Bullet Journaling! I have been wanting to do this for a while so I am excited to finally be doing it!!!! Here is some info on Bullet Journaling and the supplies I have been using.

What is Bullet Journaling?


A Bullet Journal (BuJo) is an organization system that allows you to show off your artistic side. You start off with a blank notebook (usually one with a dot matrix pattern) and make it your own! It can really be anything you want. The basic BuJo usually starts off with a calendar section. My favorite part is that since you are making it you can customize it to be exactly what you want/need. After that section you can add section such as: habit trackers, books to read, movies to watch, spending tracker, series tracker, the possibilities are endless.

 
Although you can make a bullet journal using any notebook and pen I wanted to go all in so, although I made sure I was getting a great deal on everything, I did get some awesome BuJo supplies. Here they are with my honest opinion on each one.


Notebook

I started off going very budget friendly. I found a notebook on Amazon that was only $5.57. I though "ok that's a pretty good price".Well I should have known better when I saw that they only had pictures of the outside of the notebook. First, the pages were so thin that evrything leaked through, second, the dots on each page were HUGE! They would overpower anything written on the page. If you want to see it on Amazon here's the link.

After realizing I would need to do more research on a notebook I went to google and read a million reviews and finally decided on the Northbooks dots hardcover bullet notebook for $13.99. It measures 5x8 inches which is the perfect size for a notebook you might want to carry around in your bag. The pages are nice and thick and the dots are the appropriate size and melt into the background so your designs can get the attention they deserve! Unfotunatley it is out of stock right now on Amazon but you can get the ruled version if you want to try it out. Northbooks Ruled Journal


Pens/Pencils/Markers/Ruler

An absolute must is a pencil. I just went to Dollar Tree and got a 3 pack of mechanical pencils. These are great for laying out your designs before you commit to making them permanent. Another must is a ruler. Because the notebook is small a 6 inch ruler works best for me (fortunately I already owned one). You can get fancy pens that I am sure would look amazing but I just used a regular Bic pen. Highlighters are also fun to add some accents.

As for markers and colored pencils I found an awesome set at Walmart! It has 10 Prismacolor pencils, 10 Sharpie fine tip markers, and 8 Sharpie Art Pens all in a hard carrying case. (the fine tip markers bled through so I mostly used the art pens) This whole set is on sale right now at Walmart for $13.13 (usually $19.93) Order yours here!


Stencils

I am not a great artist so for a lot of my pretty designs I used stencils. The first set I ordered was the GP Life Bullet Journal Stencil Set for $6.01. It is a set of 12 stencils, 4x7 each and comes in an adorable carrying case!



The second set I ordered was more
for the alphabet stencils but they also have some other cute designs. They are the XYBAGS 8 PCS Alphabet Stencil Letter for $8.99. They are much bigger at 7x10 inches. I don't actually use these as much as the GP stencils but they are still nice to have.



There you have it. These are the supplies I have been using. I am going to try out hand lettering next. I'll let you know in a future blog which supplies I liked best! Thanks for reading! Leave me a comment if you found it helpful!!!