December Ipsy Glam Bag!!!

Finals are over!!!

I am happy to report that Danielle and I both survived, even though it was a close call at some points.

I'm even happier to report that today marked another highlight - the December Ipsy Glam Bag arrived!!!

Yayyyyyy!

Just like last time, I am obsessed!!!

This month's theme is Celebration and they have hit the nail on the head because as soon as I opened that shiny pink package I wanted to go out on the town. 

These products are perfect for a fun night out. They're so versatile and will help you create the perfect look for a night of dancing or your best friend's holiday party!

Let's start with this bag though, how cute is this?

I just want to use this as a clutch for a night out and to be perfectly honest, I don't go out so thanks Ipsy for bringing that side of me out! :)

The wonders don't stop there, these products are seriously top notch and had me ripping open their packaging before even leaving the post office!

Lately, I have been on a serious blush and lipstick kick and apparently they lovely behind-the-scene peeps at Ipsy are mind readers because I got just that.

These shades are amazing and work really great with my skintone, however, I think the lipstick is a little on the cooler toned side so I'm going to need to be careful with that because I tend to lean more toward the warm tones. I think these shades also go really well together, they're practically the same color after all, but I think that goes to show that Ipsy really does put the effort in to create a bag that's going to offer the essentials for a really great look together as well as separate. My only struggle is that the blush is a heavy product and probably won't be very well suited for oily-skin types so be careful.
My favorite part about these two are definitely their names though. The lipstick from NYX is called Iced Honey while the Be a Bombshell... cream blush is called Girl Crush! LOVE!

The product I was least excited about when I opened my bag were the eyelashes (which I just realized aren't actually in this picture, that's because I had already tried them out!). \
I don't wear false eyelashes, mostly because of a tragic eyelash experience from like 3 Halloweens ago, but sticking true to my beauty girl ways I gave 'em a shot! And I loved it! 

OMG! I finally understand what all the fuss is about, false lashes are a wonder of the world! 

Check out those lashes! Overlook the new bangs, I was feeling frisky this past week and decided to DIY them.

Overall, the only product I wasn't completely satisfied with was the Nicka K nail polish. I don't what it is but Ipsy loves to put me in really neutral, brownish nail polish shades. Well, I'm just not feeling it.

I cannot even begin to describe how much I love these bags though! 

I highly recommend them!

So, if you're interested, I suggest clicking THIS LINK and heading over to Ipsy and grabbing your own Glam Bag for next month!

till next time, lovelies

xo

aFm

Birchbox vs. Ipsy

Ahh! The beauty girl version of The Great Debate is finally upon us!

I have been ranting and raving about Ipsy ever since I heard about it, and to be perfectly honest I don't remember how that happened, but anyway I checked out the site and fell in love. I just had to subscribe that instance but some yet to be explained reason I was wait-listed! Ugh! 

So in the meantime, and by the recommendation of the lovely Danielle, I tried out Birchbox. Which I had heard about, of course, but was never really too apt to try. However, Danielle seemed to really like it so I gave it a try. 

I managed to get on board the Birchbox bandwagon right before the October Box came out and while it was totally exciting to find the pretty pink box sitting on my doorstep, that excitement wore off quick.

I will say, however, that out of the Birchbox shipments I have received this has been my favorite.I loved the Ruffian Nail Polish (Danielle did too, she even did a review!) and adored the Dr. Brandt microdermabrasion (it's killer, but at $78 I'll stick to my sample and pray it lasts!) but the rest of the box was a bit of a bummer.Don't get me started on the crappy lip/cheek stain or the crazy, ridiculous half up sock bun thingy. Overall it was bland experience. 

As November rolled around a brighter future laid ahead as I received the email that my Ipsy Glam Bag was on it's merry way! Yay! 

However, that high came crashing down when I received the next installment of my Birchbox subscription.

An even bigger fail than last time, literally the only thing usable was the mascara (which Danielle liked so much she wrote about it twice! Check out her Mascara Monday and What We Love Wednesday posts!) the rest was complete crap...even the chocolate bar was horrible. By this time my hopes for the Ipsy bag were dwindling simply by association. That idea was nixed within a week as I found this lovely little item in my mailbox.

After opening this gem, I came to the realization that Ipsy Glam Bags are the holy grail of beauty subscriptions! I had an "Ahhhh!" moment and everything! Seriously AMAZING!

That's right, those are full size products you are seeing there people! That's more than Birchbox could promise in their wildest dreams. I'm am seriously obsessed with these products.
The eyeliner is a really fun inner eye highlighter, there's a perfect creamy nude lipstick, a full size bottle of rose gold nail polish (that's bigger than a nail polish I bought the other day!), a super shimmery brick colored eyeshadow, the perfect winter bronzer, and my favorite, a lip crayon in the shade Hot Damn!
Let's not forget the fun bonus of a gold and hot pink catch-all makeup bag! Also, as an added bonus, nearly all of the products come with a coupon code for their brands. Absolutely perfect to the point that I cannot wait until December's bag!
Oh, by the way, both Danielle and I cancelled our Birchbox subscriptions in time for the holiday sparkle of Ipsy! Out with the old in with the new!
If you want to check out the debate for yourself click the links below for your very own invites!
Birchbox Invite
Ipsy Glam Bag Invite

xo
aFm