Ipsy March Review + Swatches

Hello Everyone! Welcome to another Jaqtastic Review! Today I will be reviewing the March Ipsy Bag. This review will be longer than usual because I had quite a lot to say about some of the products. (: Enjoy!

I  p s y   M a r c h

The bag chosen for the month of March is one that is exclusively made for Ipsy. It was designed by a San Francisco artist by the name Klari Reis. It is said that this design is supposed to represent San Francisco and the ipsy headquarters.  Honestly, I wasn't too excited by it initially when I first saw it as a spoiler online.  However, as the days passed with it in my hands, I am growing fond of it. 

It is charming in its own way, and it does remind me of the many paintings my sister and one of my best friends use to draw many times in high school.

Inside, the bag is a nice royal blue color. Not the best material out there, and overall the bag feels kind of like plastic, but it is unique.  On the card, it says Ipsy will provide some opportunities for other artists to create future bags. How fun!

Contents of the bag

As you can see, there were only four items for the march bag.  It was a bit of a let down since I was used to getting five, even six, items for some months. Still, I was pretty excited that the items chosen for me were right up my alley.

Chella Indigo Blue eyeliner  [Full Sized]
The item I was most excited about! I am obsessed with eye and lip products, and have been wanting to try out colored eyeliner for a while now. I was a bit discouraged though, because many people say that blue eyeliner are a no-no for those with blue eyes. I disagree and feel like I can work with it somehow.

This is a liquid eyeliner pen is said to last all day,  be water resistant, and smudge proof.  I was left disappointed. While the color itself is a gorgeous blue, that is both bold and vibrant, the application itself fell pretty short.

Cons
My first issue: This pen dries out incredibly fast. I made sure I kept it closed tightly, and yet, by the second day I had trouble getting any product onto the tip.  Keeping it upside, or to the side, does nothing. I'm not sure how I can even get more color out of it.

Secondly.  It is very hard applying this on to my eyelids. Now, I'm not sure if I just happen to have extremely oily lids, or perhaps too dry ones, but when I try putting it on it starts fading and drying out. If I try applying another layer, it just ends up scraping off the layer underneath it. Uhm.  Weirdly enough, if I apply this eyeliner pen on my arm or hand, the color shows up perfectly fine.

Third. This is not waterproof at all. I have been able to wipe this clean off with hot water and a few scrubs
. 
Pros
The good? It is smudge proof and once you allow it to dry on your lids, it stays on perfectly for hours. It does not fade too much at the end of the day, so that was wonderful. Besides that, the color is just absolutely gorgeous. Not too bright, but not too dark.  It allows an extra pop of color.  I have tried this both as a standalone eyeliner color, and paired on top of a black liquid eyeliner. Needless to say, it looks perfect by itself.

I really did want to love this product. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it, I greatly like it.  But I'm not sure what I can even do with this product if it's not releasing any product 99% of the time.  I'm lucky I got this in my Ipsy bag. I would be horrified if I paid the full price of this (about $16) and had to deal with a malfunction product. Here's hoping they improve on it!

 ✦✦S w a t c h e s✦✦

Arm Swatch.

On the eyes.

bareMinerals - Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready
Yes! I got the lipstick! Before, I used to only love wearing lip glosses, but I have recently been branching out to lipsticks- which I now prefer!

This is a miniature sample size of the bareMinerals lipstick in the color- Get Ready.

This is a very beautiful natural pinkish rose color.  While it does look dark in the tube, it applies more softer and gives a nice color.   It is not too drying, though if you are someone who has dry lips often like me, it does not hydrate as much as it says it does. On the plus side, it won't dry you out so much, that your lips begin to look like dried out leaves.

If you let it sit on your lips for a few minutes, it does stay and doesn't transfer over. After an hour of having it on, I press my hand to my lips a few times, and not much color came off, so that's nice.  If it does manage to transfer over, or fade away, it is not too noticeable since it is more of a natural lip shade. (At least for me this was the case).

At the moment, I don't have much complaints about this.  I will update my post if I find any pros or cons with it personally.

 ✦✦S w a t c h e s✦✦

Arm swatch.

On my lips.

NYX Love in the Rio Eye Shadow in the color BAREFOOT IN THE SAND
[Full Sized]
I love eyeshadows, and would have been happy with either shadows sent out.  I have also heard so much praises about NYX products in general, I was excited to try it out.

My excitement was killed however when I tried it on.  There is hardly any pigmentation in any of the three colors, even after swiping at it roughly.  Pity, the colors look so beautiful too. 

I have read online that using an eye primer will help the colors show up more.  Perhaps having a white base will help too. Who knows. Will try testing this out more.

This will look absolutely adorable paired with the blue eyeliner.


Pixi Beauty Flawless Beauty Primer
A primer said to even skin tone, hydrate skin, and give you a glow.

I'm still not sure what exactly a primer is for. I have seen many say you can use this for a base for makeup. However, this product by Pixi Beauty should not be used any where near the eyes due to the ingredients used for it. So I'm assuming this is just left to be used before you use any foundation, or blush, and what not? Hm. Things I don't even use anyways. Sigh.

The color comes out as a shiny orange- the type of orange you see people tanning with.  Blending it into the skin gives it sheer tint that does give it a glow, leaves no real noticeable coloring behind.

I don't really have an opinion for it.  I'm not sure I want my skin glowing, as it tends to already do so naturally (I have a combination skin type).  Still, I may play around with this some more.

 ✦✦S w a t c h e s✦✦

On the arm.

OVERALL:
I was very pleased with my products! Ipsy matched me perfectly with things I would love to have or try out.  Yeah, there were a few issues, such as the eyeliner drying out incredibly fast, or the eyeshadow not having any noticeable pigmentation. But, overall it was worth the $10 I paid for it.



What is IPSY?

Each month, subscribers will receive a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products. Members can watch and play along with the stylists with the same products that they are using. All for only $10 a month.

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