February 2013 Ipsy Bag

This was one of my favorite Ipsy bags I've gotten so far. A mini eye shadow palette? Seriously? And a mini mascara, primer, and what appears to be a full-sized gel liner? Way to go, Ipsy. Way to go.

I forgot to individually photograph the Lash Cards ($6.99 per pack of 10) and Pixi Flawless & Poreless primer ($29 for full size), but there wasn't much to say anyway. I haven't used the lash cards and doubt that I will. I usually just set my makeup mirror flat on my vanity and look down at it while I apply my mascara, which stops me from getting mascara on my skin. Lash cards just seem like an unnecessary step. And if you can't figure out how to put on mascara without getting it on yourself, I doubt you'll be able to finagle a lash card into place and use it properly. And I only say that because Lash Cards just look like a headache.

Also, I like how the Pixi Flawless & Poreless primer made my foundation look on my skin, but it seems to really accentuate all the blackheads on my nose, which is really horrific. I bought some Bioré strips over the weekend just in case, you know, this primer was just letting me know it's time to Bioré. But yeah. Moving along.

I'm seriously excited about the eye shadow palette. Not that I think I honestly will use it much. I'm too in love with my Lorac Pro Palette. But it added such great value to my bag! And I've been so curious about Coastal Scent shadows ($1.99 per single shadow) because they have such great value palettes. Here is the four shadows swatched (clockwise in the palette, starting with white):

As you can see, there was a ton of fallout with that second shade, but the other three shades were of surprisingly nice quality! Definitely a step above drugstore quality.

Now onto the loveliest gem of my bag. I also forgot to individually photograph the packaging of the gel liner (forgive me! I was in and out of sanity this week with this stupid cold). But you can see it photographed in the first picture. It's from MICA Beauty ($30), a brand I've never heard of (which happens a lot with Ipsy, I'm finding). I used to use gel liner but switched to the Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner pen because it had a pointed tip that made winging out my eyeliner so much easier. But nothing is quite as pigmented and deep as gel liner, in my opinion:

Look at that gorgeous winged liner! I will admit, it took me a smidgen longer to get the look, but gel liner is SOOOO long-lasting, and so worth the trouble if you want your liner to last! And it almost seems easier to make it a smooth line, because you're essentially painting it on with an eyeliner brush. Love it.

Lastly, I received POPBeauty Smokey Lash Kapow Mascara (full size is $18.50). I love receiving samples of mascara because it means I don't have to go out and buy more mascara when my current one is up. I also don't really have a "favorite" mascara, so I'm still kind of on the look out for one that really wows me.

This stuff is pretty nice! Here is a photo of my lashes with two coats of this mascara on: 

So that's it for this month! I just received my Birchbox yesterday, and while I haven't posted about it yet, I will say that I liked the contents of my Ipsy bag much more than my Birchbox. I love the quality of the samples I'm sent in Birchbox, but it's hard to beat Ipsy when they keep sending makeup samples (as opposed to tons of perfume and lotion and face washes and whatnot), even if it is just mid-range makeup.

What about you ladies? Do any of you have a monthly beauty box subscription? Do you like it? Thinking of switching? Let me know!