Swim Into Beauty: June Ipsy Glam Bag

Hey, all!
According to the calendar it's still spring, however the thermometer is calling the calendar a liar and saying it's summer. It's been so hot here already I'm pretty sure I'll spontaneously combust this summer. That'll be fun!

My beloved ipsy glam bag arrived. That actually is fun! No sarcasm there. The theme of the month is Swim Into Beauty. The contents of this bag were all pretty good, so in no particular order...

1.  J. Cat Beauty Liptitude Hydrating Lip Stain in Hikilicious - This is a gorgeous creamy lip stain. It goes on with a doe foot applicator. I put it on at around 9 a.m. and only had to reapply after dinner at 6 p.m. I had had a veggie fajita quesadilla with queso. All that oil did a number on this, which is what I expected. It lasted through lunch with no problems.

Liptitude has a minty scent. Hikilicious is a gorgeous satin coral. I got compliments on this. I really love it when people notice my lip color.

Liptitude isn't transfer proof. I kissed my daughter's head and she came away with coral hair, but it stays full color on your lips. I had to scrub it off my hand with a wipe when I swatched it for the photo. I really do love this stain. The product. Not the stain on my hand. Just to be clear.
(Value $5.99)

2. tre'StiQue Mini Shadow Crayon in Kona Coffee - Funny story about this crayon. I thought the lid had fallen off. I searched and searched for it until I realized...

...the tip is the cap. #facepalm Cute packaging, though.

Kona Coffee is a matte dark brown. It's very creamy, blends well, and sticks around all day. They come full sized or you can get a trio of minis of eye crayons and lip crayons. There are six shades of each to choose from.
(Mini Trios $32. Sample Value $10.67)

3. LAVANILA LABORATORIES The Healthy Body Butter in Pure Vanilla - "It smells like clean sexy lady," said my husband. Yeah. Even though the scent is called "Pure Vanilla", there's other stuff in there, too. There's also heliotrope and soft freesia, so this doesn't smell like a cupcake. It's a more mature scent. It absorbs quickly and doesn't feel greasy at all. This leaves my skin feeling baby soft. They also have a full size. I'd really consider buying the full size when the sample runs out. It's lovely.
(Value $4)

4. Smashbox Cosmetics Photo Finish Foundation Primer - I'm not a huge foundation primer fan. Just thought I'd say that straight off. I can't see much of a difference on my skin. And, more often than not, they break me out. I just moisturize and use sunscreen under my foundation. If you're into primers, this seems like a good one. My skin had no adverse reaction. My foundation looked nice. It lasted throughout a cookout in super hot weather. It went on very smoothly. It's a clear, oil-free gel.
(Full Size $36. Sample Value $8.52)

5. IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil in Universal Taupe - I'm soooooo seriously picky about my eyebrows. A good brow day is a good day. Today is a good day, fyi. I had heard so many good things about this pencil and I've been wanting to try it for ages. I'm so thrilled I got the chance to try it for free (-ish).

Brow Power is a mechanical brow pencil with an awesome spoolie attached to the other end.

The pencil itself is an oval shape.

The idea of it is that you can build up color by either going over your mark or by pressing harder, so it should go with anyone's coloring.

My problem with this is that there's a learning curve. The first time I wore it, I felt I looked like Bert or Groucho Marx. That's not a look I aspire to. Sorry, Bert! The shape took me a while to get used to and color really does build  up pretty quickly.

I've been using the NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Taupe since it came out. I'm in love with this pencil. It's very easy to use, the point is so fine that I can get a natural, well-defined look very quickly. There's also a spoolie attached. I feel like I have more control with my NYX pencil. And when it comes to my eyebrows, I'm a control freak. The price points are very different. NYX is $10. IT Cosmetics is $24.

Top - IT Cosmetics Brow Power
Bottom - NYX Micro Brow Pencil
The tip of the NYX pencil is half the size of the IT Cosmetics pencil.

The shades themselves (with IT Cosmetics being used very lightly) aren't that different. IT is a bit darker. I'm not saying Brow Power is a bad pencil. It's not. It just takes some practice.

Also, I found this on IT Cosmetic's website:

IT Cosmetics® has partnered with the American Cancer Society’s Look Good, Feel Better program and for every Brow Power® pencil sold, one is donated to go to help women face the effects of Cancer with Confidence!

So, that's an awesome thing!
(Full Size $24. Sample Value $12)

Left - IT Cosmetics
Right - NYX

The Bag - I have no idea why the zipper looks yellow in this photo. Scroll up to the top. That's what it actually looks like. Go on! I'll wait...

...See what I was saying? Weird.

The bag is black Neoprene with a neon coral zipper and black lining and has ipsy embroidered all over it. It's not my favorite. Not by a long shot.

The grand total for this month's bag is $41.18. If you're interested, ipsy is a $10/month customizable beauty subscription service. If you use my link, I get points. Points add up to free stuff for me. If you just want to go straight to the site, go to ipsy.com. It's totally worth checking out.

Love,