May Ipsy Glam Bag Review!

Hello Everyone!
This months Ipsy Glam Bag is in and it is cute! I love the bag and how it is shaped like an envelope. This month I received:

• Aurora Gel Effect Nail Lacquer in Safety Orange
• em Michele Phan Makeup Mood Enhancer
• epice Hydrating Mask
• Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow Trio
• Glamor Dolls Blending Brush
• it Cosmetics No Tug Waterproof Eyeliner

Aurora Gel Effect Nail Lacquer in Safety Orange

First off, im not sure why im receiving nail polish since I don't have it as a product I want to receive. Anyways, the nail polish is nice for the summer, it will look good with a tan I think. Formula wise, I find it chips really easily, no where near as good as a gel mani.

em Michele Phan Makeup Mood Enhancer

I was really excited to receive this product as Michele is the founder of Ipsy. The formula is great but im not a fan of the color. It is like a metallic purple kind of highlight. I think I will try mixing it in with my foundation to see what that looks like. Otherwise, I don't see myself using this on my face much. I have been playing around with different highlighters lately, trying to find my perfect shade. While I like the Pixi by Petra one I received a couple of months ago, I don't think a golden glow is right for my skin. I am really liking the Sephora Collection Radiant Luminizing Drops in Morning Light - champagne. So I guess my skin looks best with a peachy highlighter. I really like liquid highlight because it melds into the foundation. I would also like to try to find a powder to put on top since any other powder applied on top that isn't a highlighting powder cancels the highlight right out.

epice Hydrating Mask

This mask goes on easy, smells nice and leaves your skin soft and smooth. Is it the best mask I ever tried? No, but not the worst either.

Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow Trio

This is the second Pacifica product I have received and I love it. The colors are great for summer, they give a really nice natural look. I like that it is made with coconut and is cruelty free.

Glamor Dolls Blending Brush

I haven't tried this brush out yet, just because when I received it I felt it was so immature looking. I don't want my brushes to have whales all over them. A friend has told me that it works really well and is super soft so I guess ill give it a whirl.

it Cosmetics No Tug Waterproof Eyeliner

This eyeliner glides on smoothly to avoid tugging of the gentle eye area. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is not continuously sharp. This product would have been better with a smaller tip.

Overall, this months bag was more misses than hits for me but its always fun to try new products out! Hoping that next month will have a bunch of winners in it for me.

New Purchase: Beauty Treats Strobing Highlighter

I have been searching for a new contour kit and found this one today, Beauty Treats Strobing Highlighter. I purchased it at my local Pharmasave store. If you haven't heard of strobing, its a new technique where you add "strobes" of highlight to your cheekbones. It is much like the usual contouring except that the highlight is much lighter. I am not really a fan of the look, I prefer contouring, but the colors in this kit are more for contouring in my opinion. The top three colors are cream and the bottom three are powder.

The colors are all really nice and shimmery, I used the fourth color from the right as a contour and it is the perfect shade for pale skin. The highlight that is best, depends on whether you like a white highlight or a or a more peachy one. My skin looks best with the peachy shade (first color on the right). I will have to play around with application a bit more but overall, this is a great kit for brightening your face. It also comes in light colors (it seems I picked up the dark without knowing it because it doesn't say light or dark anywhere on the package). The dark is fine since it is summer and my skin will be getting darker, not to mention I have enough light highlights and was more looking for contour colors.

Remember to let your inner beauty shine!
xo,
Katrina

High End Mascara: Is It Really Worth The Price?

Hello Everybody! Today I am going to talk to you about my fave beauty product, mascara! If I had to use only one makeup item for the rest of my life, it would be mascara. Can't live without it. I forgot to put it on one day at work and it was like "are you ok?" "are you sick?" "you look different today". Not to mention how naked I felt without it! Ah, mascara...thank you for always being there for me and opening up my peepers.

I have always been a drug store makeup kind of gal because lets face it, I am not rich and it's more convenient! In the past few years having ordered from Sephora, I have received mini mascaras of the high end variety. Recently, I have been loving the Nars Audacious mascara in Black Moon. When I first received it, I did not like it because of the applicator. It is very spiky and hurts your waterline if you're not careful with application. After I got the hang of it, I started loving the effect it had on my lashes. It separates, it volumizes, it gives length, girl it does it all! I have been going back and forth with myself on whether I should splurge on the full size version ($34). Mascara tends to last me a good amount of time so I think its worth the price for this one. I have read reviews saying that it clumps after awhile, but I have nothing negative to say about this mascara at all. Please keep in mind that I am blessed with long lashes so you may not get the same length but I am sure it will give you great results regardless.

While debating on whether I should purchase the full size Nars mascara, I figured I would put on my old mascara Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Flared in Blackest Black. The difference is crazy. The Maybelline mascara doesn't give the same length, separation or volume as the Nars. The Nars black is also a richer black, it looks more like false lashes than the Maybelline does.

For me its a no-brainer, I will be sticking with my new found love Nars Audacious Mascara and saying goodbye to drugstore brands!

Thanks for reading, remember to let your inner beauty shine!
xo,
Katrina