December 2012 ipsy (birchbox delayed)

Ladies!!!

It's that time of the month! No, I'm not talking about mother nature's gift -- I'm talking about ipsy and birchbox! *insert applause*

But before anything, bad news.. birchbox fooled me and said my box was shipped around a week ago. Then 2 days ago, they send me a second e-mail apologizing for a delay on my December birchbox :(! Though I was compensated with +100 bb points (the equivalent of $10 credit when purchasing full sized items from birchbox), I must say I'm pretty disheartened as I was looking forward to trying the Juice Beauty CC Cream.. (yes, I took a peak at my box. nothing else I'm really excited for, unfortunately).

I did, however, get my ipsy bag around a week ago. I didn't post earlier, thinking my birchbox would come sooner..

Here's everything straight out from the pink bubble package! + my Christmas themed vase :)

This month's theme is "Haute Holiday". The glam bags (yes, ipsy still calls them glam bags) from the past 2 months were both holiday party themed -- I personally don't go out enough to wear such bold looks on a regular basis but I guess they're fun additions to my growing makeup collection :)

Here is a list of the products (left to right):

1. Mai Couture Highlighter Papier
2. NYX Loose Pearl Shadow in Mink (LP19) "Pale Gold"
3. Mirabella Prime for Face and Eyes
4. Be A Bombshell Lipgloss in Hot Mess
5. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Zero

I just had to share this, as December's ipsy makeup bag is my favorite thus far. It lacks the narrow structuring of the previous bags, the gray color is highly versatile, and the material is very nice and of high quality (feels like silk)! I just might make use of this month's bag after all :)

I'm excited to use this highlighter product! It seems very convenient (compared to liquid or compact formulations) as you use it once and discard it. I'll be going out next week after finals, so I'll see how this product looks on camera :)!

I received the color Mink Pearl (described as "pale gold" from the NYX website) in my glam bag, and BOY WAS I GLAD! My skin has heavy yellow undertones, thus pink or silver pearly products don't necessarily flatter me. This product is great as inner corner highlights for the eyes. It's highly pigmented and the powder is so fine that it actually floats as opposed to falling.. how cool is that!

I haven't used this yet as I already have face and eye primers that I use regularly. While I'm content with the products I use currently, I'll give the Mirabella Prime a try whenever I'm feeling more experimental with my makeup :).

Can you say this lipgloss is BOLD much?! It's a gorgeous true red color, but I'm not your typical bold lip type of gal... so I may use it like a tint, but all over the lips would be an overkill (for me, that is).

Ah. The most anticipated product in this month's glam bag! The Urban Decay 24/7 liner is well spoken of in the beauty industry. I already had the full-size product from a previous purchase, but won't complain about a lil' extra! The one ipsy sent was a "deluxe" size liner (0.8 g), as you can see the size difference between it and the full size (1.2 g) from the picture above.

Overall Rating: YAY IPSY! You've completely won me over 3 months straight!!! I'll be honest, I'm not the easiest person to impress. BUT I'm highly impressed by both the quality and quantity of product we receive from ipsy for just $10/month. I promise you, whatever you're doing now, you're doing right ipsy.


My next post will be when my December birchbox finally arrives (I'm afraid it could be as delayed as much next year)..

In the meanwhile, keep warm and beautiful!
XO Karries