Unboxing // Ipsy June 2016

Oh Ipsy. Every month you try so hard to match me well, but there’s always something just not quite right. This month was no exception. It’s not your fault, really. I know you’re held hostage by the samples and items sent to you by the Big Box Brands. I know there’s no way for you to know of my specific likes and dislikes. I’m not mad at you at all; I just wish there was a better way…

Let’s talk about this month’s bag a little bit. To me, it was a total miss, design wise. I loved the theme (“Rebel Rebel”), and I suppose street art is rebellious, but it’s just not a style I like. Some people love the style, and that’s great for them. It’s not technically bad at all, and in no way am I hating on the artist… It’s just not for me.

Now, onto my actual items:

• Elizabeth Mott Show Me Your Cheeks Blush in Peach Pink. Blush for me is a recent thing; with my surface redness I haven’t truly needed it. I’m branching out now that my skin is getting a bit better, so I did have blush checked in my Ipsy profile, so this does match well. It’s lightly pigmented, so it doesn’t go on too heavy, allowing better control for my fair skin. I have a color similar to this and I’m not sure it’s my favorite color and the gold shimmer to it isn’t preferred (silver is preferable for me). But what irritates me about this sample is the packaging! It’s a plastic clamshell, and if I try to take out the pot, well… it is glued on with a very sticky, non-drying adhesive that is just nasty and won’t come off. Deluxe sample.  Retail value: $11.50
• Jouer Highlighter in Tiare. I’m interested in highlighters right now since it’s summertime, so this also matches my profile. This has a nice, creamy formula (with dry skin, this is especially nice) that isn’t too heavy… But, when I first swatched it, my finger didn’t pick up much pigment- you have to kinda press down into it. I honestly thought there was a plastic cover I had to take off. Also, It is definitely gold-toned/warm which may be great for some of you, but I’m very hesitant about that. Deluxe sample. Retail value: $11.
  

  Finger swatches! Top: Elizabeth Mott blush. Middle: Jouer highlighter. Bottom: theBalm Eyeshadow

• Delectable by Cake Beauty Everything Balm. I’m unsure how well this guy matches my profile as I’m not entirely sure what it is. I did say I have dry skin, so that may be why I got this. That said, I haven’t even opened it and I’m not sure I will: the ingredients list on the back of the tube look safe, but when I googled it, I got an entirely different set of ingredients that contain shea… Deluxe sample. Retail value: $5.60
• theBalm Meet Matt(e) Trimony in Matt Maskowitz. This was my “guaranteed” item, and the only other options were more eyshadows. I already have Urban Decay Lounge, and I haven’t tried theBalm before, so I’m okay with this one- especially because this is in my favorite color (purple). But, the shadow size irritated me. Normally I’m fine with a small shadow- this one is 0.5grams, so more than enough for several uses- but this particular sample comes from a much larger palette, making this… laughable, at best. While it goes for a typical mid-range palette price ($42), Meet Matt(e) Trimony contains 9 shadows and 21.6g total, which is nearly 2.5x the size of Lorac Pro palettes (which contain 16 shadows) and over double the size of their Nude Dude palette, which only retails for $6 less ($36). This makes this sample worth a ridiculously small amount. It’s also not the best pigmentation (although I’ve definitely used much worse). Deluxe sample. Retail value: $0.97.
• Royal & Langnickel MODA Smudge/Crease Brush. The one thing Ipsy knows about me: I love brushes. I rate them highly and usually say “love it” or “like it” (depending upon my mood at the time of the survey/review). This is a beautiful color (although it doesn’t match any brushes I currently have) and the bristles are super soft and not irritating at all. My only complaint is that the fluffy side is a bit large and won’t offer as much blending control. Full size. Retail value: $5.99

Overall value: $35.06.

Yeah, this month’s value wasn’t that great, and honestly I was pretty… snippy about my personal value, too…

Honestly, I’m just salty at theBalm. I wasn’t going to give it a higher personal value than retail value. If this were a Lorac shadow, it’d be worth $2.50 retail-wise… but it’s not. And I’m not sure exactly how I feel about that. I may adjust my highlighter and blush value as I use them, though.