The first ipsy bag of 2016 is themed “The Eyes Have It”, and it’s filled with goodies for eyes. And the makeup bag featuring 1950s faces with cat-eye sunglasses is the most adorable I’ve received yet in more than 2 years of subscribing. Don’t you just love it?
Four of the five items I received were eye products, yay! The fifth was a body cream from Mitchell and Peach, an English skincare company that makes its organic products from the flowers and herbs it grows on their farm. The cream has a pleasant, light herbal scent.
So here’s the lowdown on my goodies. If you’d like to watch my MeVee video stream that I recorded when my bag arrived, just click on the stream link. If you’re not familiar with the new iPhone app, MeVee, it’s pretty cool, a way to live stream videos to your friends or to the world plus watch other folks’ streams. I think it’s fun. But if you prefer, just read on…
- theBalm Mr. Write(Now) eyeliner pencil, shade Jac B. Bronze, a slightly metallic bronze: This was the prize product in the bag this month, and I was glad to get it. It’s a little stiffer than I’d like, but hopefully it’ll get easier to use over time. The shade is bronzy, though it can look brown. Not quite as metallic as I would like. Nevertheless, I’m glad to get to try this out. It’s the perfect shade for me. I could even use it on my brows! Full size, $17
- Hikari Cream Pigment, shade Mink, a beautiful shimmery (not glittery) rose gold. Applied over primer, it shows up very well. I haven’t tried it on my lids yet. Full size, 4g/0.14 oz, $13. It comes in about 5 other shades. Lovely.
- Peek Natural Stain Brow Powder, shade Espresso. This is a new brand to me. At first, I thought this was another eye shadow, and I swatched it over primer so the shade would show up! I had thought it was a little powdery, doh! Even though it is brown – a milk chocolate color – I may be able to use this on my brows. I love the cute little metal pan. 1.3 g, about $11. The powder usually comes with two shades, one of which looks like a highlighter that you can blend into the darker shade to lighten it. Wish we had a little of the lighter shade in this pan so I could blend them. Full size price is $22 delivered.
- Pur-Lisse Blue Lotus 4-in-1 Eye Serum. Truth be told, I wasn’t excited when I sawf the Pur-Lisse Eye Serum, not because there’s anything wrong with the products, but because I have so much skincare. But then I tried it! This is a fabulous eye serum, a light to medium weight gel cream that feels great on my eyes and doesn’t burn my sensitive skin. I love it, and I can’t believe how pricey it is! Deluxe sample 7 ml/0.24 oz., $32.50!! (full size is 15 ml for $65)
- Mitchell & Peach English Leaf Body Cream. A lovely, natural, lightweight cream with great ingredients. Travel size, 30 ml/1.01 oz., $8.50
Here are the swatches:
I really liked this month’s ipsy makeup bag as well as the products I received. As always, the value of the bag far exceeded the $10 I paid for it. The contents were worth a whopping $82 this month!! Woohoo! And I’ll use them all.
Plus that makeup bag is the cutest ever!
I have the feeling that ipsy may be getting better now that L’Oreal has spun them off, and they have so much more experience dealing with vendors and customers. I’m still in. If you’d like to join, I’d be grateful if you’d use my referral code. And right now, there’s no waiting for new subscribers. In addition to the ipsy bag for $10 a month, you can use your points to get free products. And one of the best features is getting a discount, usually 20-30% off, of all of a brand’s products. For example, you can get 20% off theBalm now. And I’m still kicking myself for missing out on the 40% off CoverFX last year, grrrrr 😛
If you already subscribe, what did you get in your ipsy bag?
I agree that this month’s bag is the best! I’ve been subscribing for slightly more than a year and was so close to cancelling in November because I received months of crappy bags but it’s been brilliant the past 3 months. My Jan bag hasn’t arrive because I’m located in Canada but I’m excited for it. I do wish I got the Hikari cream pigment but I received Pixi eyeshadow duo which I don’t mind because I love Pixi as a brand. I am also really excited about pur~lisse eye serum! I adore their soy cleanser which is one of the gentlest on my skin so I’m looking forward to trying another product from them.
Shireen L. Platt recently posted…Create Your Own Scent with Demeter Fragrance Library FOOLPROOF Blending Set
I’m glad that you’re excited about your ipsy bag this month too, Shireen! Even though I had a couple of meh bags in 2015, the vast majority were very good IMHO. And I still like getting the makeup bags that I definitely use. I have a bunch of pur-lisse skincare products from ipsy, and I like them. I had no idea the brand was that expensive! I must say the eye serum was quite a good surprise. It is so lovely! I just started a Birchbox subscription and I’m curious to see how it stacks up over time
I got the exact same stuff this month in my bag, and I agree it’s the best ever. I am excited to get an eyeliner from The Balm – I love their stuff, but hadn’t tried an eyeliner yet – and it’s not black! lol! I think the Hikari shadow is so pretty, too. Let’s hope future bags are this stellar!
Nidia – Lit From Within recently posted…Bliss Every Which Way
I’m glad you love your bag too! I agree, hope they’ll stay this good!
That makeup bag is so adorable! I’d usually groan if I got another Be a Bombshell or Hikari makeup product in an Ipsy bag, but that cream pigment actually looks nice! I’m surprised that theBalm’s eyeliner isn’t as creamy as it could be, since I usually like their products a lot. I hope it gets softer over time for you, too!
Sammi the Beauty Buff recently posted…Birchbox: January 2016 Review
I’ve only gotten one other Hikari product, and it was a gorgeous purple-red lipstick so I’m happy to get their stuff. The eyeshadow is great. After BAB gave us the tainted mascara, I haven’t forgiven them 😉 theBalm Mr. Write(Now) is a bit stiff though when I applied it yesterday, it wasn’t too bad. I like the shade, bronze, but it could stand to be a little more metallic. Nevertheless, it’s a great shade for me, and it’s not black!!!
Wow! The makeup bag, itself, is absolutely adorable! This has got to be the best ipsy bag that you have featured, so far! It definitely looks as though they are stepping up their game! Thanks for the wonderful review!
I definitely think it’s the cutest makeup bag I’ve gotten so far, and the goodies are keepers too. Hope they keep it up! I’m curious to see how things will change without L’Oreal as a backer.
That was a great bag! I am still not regretting unsubscribing though, I feel like I have way too many products right now and would rather save that extra 10 bucks each month. They add up eventually! 🙂
I hear you. I have a ton too, but I still get to try stuff that I wouldn’t otherwise buy or try out. I’m still OK with it…for now 😉
The Hikari pigment is BEAUTIFUL!!! I can use the Peek brow powder, too.
Kim recently posted…Irresistible Me Diamond Professional Flat Iron for Silky Smooth Hair
I’m wearing the Hikari Cream Shadow now with theBalm eyeliner. And the Peek brow powder works well with them too. Yay, so happy it was a good bag for me this month. I think the stuff I got would be good for lots of women
My bag was very different and pretty disappointing. I sort of threw it aside and can’t remember what was in it other than theBalm pencil. I guess I should look to see where it is.
MarciaF recently posted…Melody Susie LED Light Gel Nail Dryer plus a double giveaway
I just looked it up since I’d forgotten! I got a small Pixi e/s duo, a smudge brush from Skone, a mini Burt’s Bees facial oil, theBalm eyeliner, a lip scrub. The bag itself is adorable. I didn’t get the value you did though. And I still have to find it all.
MarciaF recently posted…Melody Susie LED Light Gel Nail Dryer plus a double giveaway
Thanks for going back and finding it, Marcia. I don’t have much experience with Pixi, just what I’ve gotten in my ipsy bag, and it’s a decent brand. I agree that your contents are not as exciting. I’m wearing the Hikari shadow now, and I love it – it goes so well with the eyeliner and the brow powder. Fortunately, the brow powder does work for me. I haven’t used the Mitchell & Peach body lotion yet but I’m lucky that I got stuff that I’ll actually use. Hope next month is better for you. BTW, did my popup signup box show up when you were on my site? I fiddled with it recently and I don’t know if it’s working!
I did get a pop up but it was after I posted my comment so it didn’t interfere at all.
MarciaF recently posted…Melody Susie LED Light Gel Nail Dryer plus a double giveaway
Oh good! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know, Marcia. Please let me know if you want me to check your site again 🙂
I’m loving that Hikari eye shadow color.
Aleya Bamdad recently posted…BioRepublic Cucumber Breeze Face Mask Is A Winter Must Have
I’m wearing the Hikari shadow now with theBalm eyeliner. They go so well together, yay!
What an adorable bag! that Hikari cream eyeshadow is everything!
Cindy (Prime Beauty) recently posted…IT Cosmetics Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara
I’m wearing the Hikari cream shadow now with theBalm bronze eyeliner and they go so well together. The bag is just beyond cute!
I thought they did a great job with bags this month. I haven’t tried the eye serum yet. I’m glad to hear you like it. I’ll try to remember to use it tonight. I liked the Peek brow powder, but it was much too light for my brows. It’s funny you say you thought it was an eyeshadow, because I use matte crease shade instead.
My bag was the same as yours, except I my pencil was the shade Scott B. Bordeaux (the one shade I already had, of course, lol) and instead of the Hikari cream shadow I got the City Color Cosmetics Eyeshadow Trio in Falling Leaves (beautiful peachy/bronzy shades).
I’m glad that you were generally happy with what you got. When I did the unboxing live stream, I really did think the Peek was a matte shadow and I was surprised ipsy would give me two eyeshadows. What a dope, but then I couldn’t see to read the tiny letters on the packaging! For me, the Peek shade is a tiny bit too dark but I can wear it. I may try it as eye shadow though it’s a bit powdery, don’t you find? Sorry you got the Bordeaux eyeliner that you already have. Not fair! And glad you like the City Color trio! Let’s hope next month is as good!
The brow powder was firmly packed, but I didn’t have any issues with it being powdery or with fallout. It definitely wasn’t buttery or creamy, though. I wouldn’t buy it, but I’ll use the one I received for something.
Seriously…that bag is ADORABLE!!! Such great products in this one!
Elaine recently posted…How To Wear Red Lipstick For Work
I just adore this bag! I’m trying to figure out something special to do with it. I carry so many products in my purse that it’s not big enough, lol. I know I’ll think of something. And yes, I am so happy with the products this month. Right now, I’m wearing 4 of the 5!!
What a cute bag! I am really feeling the shadow shade too, but how can you not like a bit of rose gold?! 😀
Bailey recently posted…Skincare Saviours
That’s a super cute bag. I like what you got in it too!
Phyrra recently posted…Aromaleigh Eyeshadow Swatches
Thanks! Me too:)
It was a nice bag this month. Not my favorite – but nice. I like the items you got!
Lisa Heath recently posted…DIFFERENT dimension Serendipity Collection
I haven’t seen some of the other goodies yet, but I think I lucked out with mine 🙂
I agree, that makeup bag is so cute! I like the contents for this month
Kath TheFabZilla recently posted…T. LeClerc WINTER COLLECTION | Divine Compact Powder, Divine Chubby Lip Balm, Divine Cream Eyeshadow
I definitely lucked out with ipsy this month 🙂
That Hikari shadow! And the bag is adorbs.
This really was a great bag. The Hikari shadow with the bronze eyeliner from theBalm and the brow powder really rock, and the bag is too cute
I’m dying over that makeup bag!
Justina recently posted…Becca Poured Highlighters
The bag is the cutest! Love it
You got a great selection of items this month esp the lotion, eye serum, and eye shades!
Ursula
I was definitely pleased with ipsy this month!
I have been wanting to try those liners from theBalm.
I like the liner. It’s not quite a soft and long-lasting as the new Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencils but I like it anyway!
That makeup bag is adorable!
The Beauty of Life recently posted…Throwback Thursday: Smiling That Big, Toothless Grin
Ha! Happy Dance that the eyeliner wasn’t black. I got the bronze shade too along with the Hikari shadow and Pur-lisse serum. I’m impressed with the quality of the shadow and it’s gorgeous. The other products I received were a Lasting Smiles Peppermint lip balm and a Jelly Pong Pong mascara. I’ve told them so many times that I’ll never get excited over a chap-stick like product but I keep getting them. lol I do like that it’s peppermint though. The mascara is a drier mascara with a fluffy brush. It’s actually pretty nice.
I’m glad to hear that you got the good stuff too this month, Natalie. I’m grateful I didn’t get the peppermint lip balm since I can’t do peppermint, but the mascara sounds very intriguing! I’ve heard of Jelly Pong Pong but never tried it.