Ipsy Plus “Shine On Shine On” Bag for December 2019

I’m having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. What day is it? Yesterday was Thursday, not Monday? Well, eventually I’ll get with the program.

Hope you had a marvelous holiday season with memorable moments and occasions with friends and loved ones! And I hope your 2020 is filled only with good things.

I had one of the best New Year’s Days I have ever had: hiking by the ocean, an impromptu cocktail party that my friend K. sponsored at the ocean view Beauport Hotel, and getting to see “Little Women”, all in one day. Loved every minute! Now, back to normal days again.

Before Ipsy ships out my Plus bag for January, let me tell you about their holiday bag, “Shine On Shine On”.

First, it came with a metallic silver makeup bag that definitely fits with the holiday and “shine” theme. Here’s what was inside my bag for December:

• 111Skin Cryo Activating Hydra Gel: 111Skin is a luxury skincare brand that I first tried via samples from Barneys NY. Although I loved every product I tried from 111Skin, the price tag is too high for me to buy. I’ve been thrilled that Ipsy Plus has provided me with a full size facial serum a few months ago and now a full size moisturizer that does double duty as a primer. Cryo Activating Hydra Gel is a rather soupy gel-cream that’s waterless but super lightweight. The formula contains niacinamide, an ingredient that my skin loves, as well as filling spheres that help smooth out the look of skin. I use it primarily as a daytime moisturizer/primer that I apply after sunscreen and before foundation. The regular price is $200, so I was ecstatic to get this. And Ipsy is offering additional full size jars to their subscribers for $18! Pretty amazing IMHO.

• Evolué Skincare Hydrating Serum: I’ve been looking for a new essence now that winter is upon us. My 18 year old humidifier built onto my 18 1/2 year old gas furnace have both stopped working, and without a humidifier my skin is even drier than usual. I had just bought a bottle of Tony Moly Green Tea Watery Essence that I had also discovered through Ipsy Plus, when I saw the Evolué Skincare Hydrating Serum in my monthly box. I’ve been using the low molecular weight, highly penetrating hyaluronic acid serum for a couple of weeks now, and it is helping a lot. The price is $68. Though I may not choose to spend that much to buy another bottle after I finish this one, I’m enjoying using it and getting good results.

• Illamasqua Liquid Eyeliner in black: Once Sephora stopped carrying Illamasqua, it became much harder in the U.S. to buy the British brand. Recently, Ipsy Plus has been featuring quite a few of the products. The liquid eyeliner with a thin felt tip is very easy to apply, and it’s a good substitute for Kat von D Tattoo liner since I am trying to avoid that brand in response to her objectionable opinions that she should be embarrassed to say aloud. $22

• ITTSE The Fulton Magnetic Eyeshadow Quad: ITTSE is another makeup brand that I’ve been wanting to try, so I was happy to get this small palette in my box this month. The quad with a faux leather Florentine gold outer covering, a full size mirror inside, came with 4 neutral, cool-toned shadows, 2 mattes and 2 shimmers, that are perfect for daytime or evening looks. I haven’t tried them yet, but the product card describes the pressed powder shadows as buttery with all the benefits of cream shadows. You know I love creams, so hopefully these will deliver. In addition to the eyeshadows, the palette itself is very useful because it’s magnetic. Just take out the foam piece surrounding the 4 pans and add as many as will fit. Looks like I could easily add 8-10 more. Very nice!  $60

• Complex Culture Press & Set Bronzer Brush: Although I don’t use bronzer, and I seldom use setting powder, this luxurious, super soft, incredibly densely packed, fluffy vegan CF makeup brush is too lovely to give away. It feels so good on my skin. The flat side of the bristles is supposed to be for pressing in setting powder, while the fluffy rounded side is for applying bronzer. I will try using it to apply blush or highlighter, and I may even try using the flat side for applying foundation. I’ll let you know how that works out. I hope Ipsy will give us more brushes from this fab brand. $35

Along with the December box, I bought a travel size jar of Belif Moisture Bomb because I love it especially for winter.

I really love the fact that Ipsy offers add-on products at vastly reduced prices: $3 for travel sizes and either $12 or $18 for full-size products. It’s a wonderful way to pick up an extra of a product I got to try through Ipsy that I ended up really liking.

I was very pleased with the December Ipsy Plus “Shine On” holiday box. I paid $25 for the box, and the value was a whopping $385. Not bad, not bad at all.

This year, because of my subscription to Ipsy Plus, I decided to pass on Beautylish’s Lucky Bag. Although I got a wonderful Wayne Goss brush either last year or the year before, I can’t say that anything I got in the Beautylish bag for $75 plus $10 shipping was that much better than what I get from Ipsy Plus. Just my opinion.

Today's Author

Allison Cohen

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