Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday Gift 2015!

Every year Sephora gives members to their rewards program a free gift in their birthday month!   If you're not a Sephora Beauty Insider, what are you waiting for??? There's no catch to join (no credit cards, no nothin!) and you get a free gift every year while also racking up points on every purchase you make to redeem for deluxe samples later. There is also the highly anticipated 15-20% event for Beauty Insiders every Spring and Fall.  This year, the gift was two mini Nars lip pencils for Beauty Insiders and VIBs (and an extra eyeliner if you are a VIB Rouge!). 

The pencils come in sleek containers with the housed color displayed on the end. These minis are .06oz of product each compared to the full size which is 0.08oz of product (pretty close!). The pencils, just like their full size versions, are NOT twist up so require sharpening. 

The two colors that come in the birthday gift are Cruella, a cult favorite bright matte red, and Rikugien, a satin mauvey pink. 

Here is Cruella on my lips. It applies really easy and smooth though I would recommend using a similarly colored lip liner to get a really perfect outline. This one can be a little rough around the edges since it is such a large pencil.

Above is Cruella compared to some other cult classic red lipsticks! 

Rikugien is very similar to Cruella in terms of application, but it is far less pigmented since it is a satin instead of a matte finish. I like how natural this pencil is and I think it is a great everyday lip color! 

Above is Rikugien compared to some other mauve tones I have in my collection.

The wear time of these lip pencils is pretty good at 6 hours, but you have to reapply after eating and drinking. Cruella does not wear off in a flattering way and leaves a red rim around your lips so make sure to bring the product with you for reapplication during a night out on the town.

Overall, I love that NARS included a bold statement color (and a fan favorite), along with a wearable everyday color. The value of this set is about $39 and it is COMPLETELY FREE if you are a Sephora BI!

No, its not a trap, I promise!
xxSJ

Ipsy June 2015 Bag!

 Ipsy is a monthly subscription service that sends you 4-6 deluxe sample-sized products each month for the low cost of $10 including shipping. Ipsy is SO popular that in order to sign up for this subscription, you must first get yourself on their waitlist... I did just that weeks ago and completely forgot about it until I received an email that my June bag had shipped! It arrived a couple days ago so I thought I'd share my thoughts on these products and this service.

In this month's bag, I received 2 pairs of Altcheck Depuff Eye pads, a treStique eyeshadow pencil, a Smashbox photo finish face primer, an ItCosmetics brow pencil, and an Aurora Gel Effect nail polish. All of these goodies were housed in a black bag with 'ipsy' printed all over and bright orange zipper enclosure!

I was most excited by the ItCosmetics brow power pencil as this product claims to be a 'universal brow product.' Hmmmmm I'm hugely skeptical of that! I also thought the eyeshadow pencil was missing its cap at first but was relieved to find that the pencil-like pointed tip is really the cap housing the product inside! 

The eyeshadow color I got was 'Marimoto Pink Pearl' and it is really pretty! It is a light gold shimmery cream eyeshadow with peachy pink undertones. I wore this on my lids with a soft brown swept through the crease and it wore beautifully all day.  The brow pencil is in the color 'Universal Taupe' and it actually works pretty well for my brows. This product is meant to be lightly applied for blondes and then more heavily applied the darker your hair color. I could definitely see this color working for many people, though I recommend trying it out in store before purchasing this. The packaging is really nice as it is a weighty aluminum and there is a spoolie for eyebrow grooming on the opposite end of the pencil. 

The nail polish is a gel effect polish by the brand Aurora called '4 Alarm Fire.' I do really enjoy the color of this hot raspberry red, but I don't think the formula is all that great. I had chipping within 24 hours of application and the brush is huge making application a bit difficult on my tiny nails!

Overall I was impressed with the variety of samples in this bag. The value of each product is as follows:
Nail Polish $8
Smashbox Primer $8
Eyeshadow Stick $10
Eyebrow pencil $12
Eye pads $4

That puts the total value of this bag at $42! Not bad considering I only dropped $10 on it and these are all products I will get some use out of.

I really enjoyed my first experience with Ipsy but I don't think I will be continuing my subscription. I have a lot of makeup as is and I don't feel the need to have a ton of little samples lying around. I would definitely recommend Ipsy to people just starting to get into makeup though! It's an inexpensive monthly service that could introduce you to new makeup items and brands to expand your collection and its great for getting some travel sized products for weekend getaways ;)

Try out Ipsy for yourself Here!

xxSJ