I’ll start with the bag itself. It looks like they teamed up with Rebecca Minkoff this month and I guess she designed the bag. I know, I’m lame, but if it weren’t for YouTube videos of people showing the contents of their Rebecca Minkoff bags, I would have no idea who she is! J I’m not gonna lie either – I think this bag is rather ugly. It’s a navy background with a weird pineapple and palm tree print. It doesn’t look at all summery to me and it’s just rather ugly. But, I never judge Ipsy by the bag design so hopefully the contents are more to my liking! J
The first item I see is from ClariSea and it is their Sea Salt Solutions Rapid Detox Charcoal Exfoliation for the Face. This sounds kind of interesting, but it looks rather harsh for the face. It’s an exfoliant and the ingredients are: Sea Salt (Pacific Ocean), Mineral Salt (Himalayan Pink), Prunus Amygdalus (Sweet Almond) Nut Powder, Activated Bamboo Charcoal Powder, Silt (Dead Sea Mud). I don’t know about you, but scrubbing my face with harsh sea salt granules, mixed with Himalayan Salt granuales (another pretty coarse salt), not to mention the Almond Powder, which is typically advised to avoid on your face because it can cause minute tears in the skin, just doesn’t sound like a great combo unless you have leather for skin. That aside, it’s a little jar of what is basically salt and I don’t see how you can easily pick any up without having wet hands. Maybe that’s not a problem (you are supposed to use it wet or mixed with your cleanser), but it just seems messy and complicated to me. I guess nice try, but I think that’s a total miss for me.
On to the next gem (please be better!). Meh. It’s a Butter Lip Gloss from NYX Cosmetics. I’m not gonna lie. I’ve never been a huge fan of these. Everyone else I see talking about them thinks they’re fantastic, but I find the ones that I have just are not very pigmented. Maybe that’s due to the shades I’ve chosen, but I’m really not that wowed by them. Plus, NYX’s current cruelty-free status is in question now that L’Oreal has bought them. I should add the additional insult – which isn’t Ipsy’s fault – but the shade is “Éclair,” a shade that I already own! When I wear it, it looks like there’s nothing but maybe a bit of lip balm on my lips. They do smell lovely though – like cake batter. J
Moving on. We have a hair product this time. It is from the brand Marc Anthony, which I know nothing about, and it is the Dream Waves Beach Spray. Ok. Not great, but not horrible. I don’t typically get the results I expect out of a Beach Spray however. I’m always hoping for more waves in my hair, but instead it just seems a bit crunchier. I have actually tried this one since I opened the bag and it smells nice and beachy at first, but then some strange floral scent seems to get added in and I’m not a fan. The scent went away after my hair dried, but I’m not sure it really did much. I dried my hair differently than I normally do when I tested it out and I will say that it did not get crunchy, but I’m not sure if it did anything. It may have added volume, but if it did, it was actually too much volume! J I had a real mane of hair going on that day, but I’m not sure that it was in a good way! I guess it’s a product worth trying again, but I doubt it’s going to become a favorite.
Finally…and yes, there are only 4 items in the bag this month…there is a Liquid Eye Liner from Jesse’s Girl. At least they’re PETA-approved! I think I’ve said this recently, but I’m not a huge liquid liner kinda gal. Especially in the summer. Too much work! J I’ve heard good things about this liner though and it looks relatively easy to use. I actually almost bought this on a whim one day in Rite Aid, but decided I really never use liquid liner, so why buy another one? J I guess now I can test it out when the mood strikes.
I lied. I forgot that there is a fifth item that wasn’t in the bag itself. It is from a brand called Laneige and it is the BB Cushion. This looks like a really weird product, but I’ve seen similar products popping up here and there lately (IT Cosmetics has something similar). It looks like it’s basically a sponge filled with the BB Cream so it dispenses when you push down on it. I’m not quite sure what the value is in that, but it’s a gimmick I guess. This has an SPF of 50+, so that’s fantastic for the Summer. The sample packet is kind of cool too. There are three little packets with the sponge filled with the product (one for each shade) and there’s also a sponge in the fourth little “cup.” Western BB Creams are usually quite light on the coverage, so we’ll have to see how well this one covers.
So that does it for the June Ipsy bag. I’m not impressed. There’s really nothing I am excited to try. There are some items that might be fun, but nothing that I’m likely to absolutely fall in love with. What do you guys think? Was June’s a great bag or a complete miss? I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s a bit worried about Ipsy based on this bag! J A dud is kind of expected once in a while though, so I haven’t lost faith in them…yet! J I hope you enjoyed this peek into my Ipsy bag. If you get one, let me know what you got this month! I hope you enjoyed it more than I did mine!!!
