Ipsy October Glam Bag - Sneak Peeks!

Last month I did not post the sneak peeks because I thought that maybe they weren't that interesting.  While that may be true for some people, I'm posting them anyway.

I'm working on setting up a beauty blog where I will post all my Ipsy stuff, my makeup favorites, makeup reviews, and all other kinds of girly stuff, but until that is perfect and ready to be shared I will be writing about Ipsy here. :)


I will update this post as more sneak peeks are released.

Sneak Peek #1 -  September 30th:

Nail polish!  In May (the month before I received my first Ipsy bag) the bags included Zoya nail polish. Judging by the shape of the bottle, I think this nail polish is also Zoya brand.  In fact, it looks like they are from their new fall collection: Cashmeres and Satins. I am absolutely LOVING the colors! Royal blue nail polish is on my wish list, so I hope I get that one. However, I love the purple color, and I don't currently have any green nail polish so I would be happy with any of these.

I think the specific shades are: Neve, Giovanna, and possibly Mason.

Also "museum-worthy"? Is that a clue to the theme this month?  Hmm....

 Sneak Peek #2 -  October 1st:

I recognize 2 products. The navy blue powder looks like a Mica Beauty eyeshadow.  I'd love to get that. I'd use it as an eyeliner, and it would look fab!  The other item I recognize is the pink lip pencil. That is another Starlooks lip pencil. Since I already have one, I'm betting Ipsy won't be sending me another. At least, they say they don't send out duplicates.

As for the blue-green gel, the white lotion-looking item, and the deep burgundy gel, I have no idea what they are. I'm guessing the lotion-looking item is a BB cream of some kind, and the reddish item is a lip gloss.

Also "timeless works of art" is hinting at the same thing as yesterday's sneak peek with "museum-worthy". Also, this picture is on a paint palette. So the theme has something to do with art, I believe.

Money gets taken out today!  Only a week or so and we'll have our bags!  Yay!

 Sneak Peek #3 -  October 2nd:
 

I like how they're showing the texture of the products in this sneak peek and the previous sneak peek.  Pretty cool.

Judging by the color of the bottle, and the fact that the bottle is semi-transparent, I think the item on the right is a travel size Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Volumizing Gel. That product also fits with their clue of "big bold statement."

I think the item on the left is mousse.  If you look at the gel in the person's hand, there is a tiny bit of white foam there... So, after browsing through some more Sexy Hair products, I found this Style Sexy Hair Blow It Up Volumizing Gel Foam. It's a black bottle like the sneak peak, and it's a mousse, like I can see in the picture.

I'd love to get either of these products! My hair is very thin and flat. I actually haven't blow dried it since I've moved to the southeast, but, I think I will once I have my own place, space, and I can get my routine back.

Do you think I'm getting better at guessing products?  I sure am pleased with myself! :-)

 Sneak Peek #4 -  October 3rd:

Annnnnd... I'm back to being bad at guessing the products.  Looks like there are some kind of facial wipes, an eyeshadow brush, eyeshadow, a finger using a facial wipe (?), and lip gloss.  As far as brands goes, I have no idea. None of these items look familiar to me.

 Sneak Peek #5 -  October 3rd:

I don't know what these are either, but I like the sound of having skin care items.

 Sneak Peek #6 -  October 4th:

Here's the sneak peek of the bag.  Looks like it will be white and red, which I think I will love.

 Sneak Peek #7 -  October 4th:

I'm not sure what this is, but something leads me to believe it either smells like cupcakes, or tastes like cupcakes, or maybe both.

Does anyone remember when Jessica Simpson had that edible lotion line? I think it was sold at Claire's. So weird.

I'm not really a fan of sugary smelling lotions, so this is not something I want in my bag.

Here is what I think our bags are looking like:

• Zoya nail polish in either blue, green, or purple.
• Sexy Hair's Blow Dry Volumizing Gel, or Sexy Hair's Blow it Up Volumizing gel foam.
• Any combination of the following: Mica eyeshadow, the blue gel, the white lotion, the burgundy gloss, Starlooks lip pencil, eyeshadow palette, eyeshadow brush, pink lip gloss, makeup removal wipes (?), a prepping item of some sort, or a sugary-smelling lotion.

My dream bag:
Blue nail polish, Sexy Hair Blow it Up Gel Foam, Mica eyeshadow, the blue gel (yes, even though I have no idea what it is), and one of the prepping items.

I'm excited to find out what I get!

Interesting in joining Ipsy? I'd love it if you used my referral link: http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-hh1dhitczm8r4e9

Ipsy September Glam Bag Review

Look! It's a shiny pink bubble mailer!

Once again I received my bag the day they say they start shipping bags.  I'm not complaining. In fact, I feel super special. Ipsy must love me!

Note: I didn't take pictures of each product by itself.  It was hot outside, and the sun was a little too bright for my liking. I planned to take more pictures later, but... it's been like 2 weeks and I still haven't. So... this is what I've got.

The September bag is all about classic beauty. Oh, how I love classic beauty. It makes me think of black cat-eye eyeliner and bold red lips.

What is ipsy?

Each month, subscribers will receive a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products. Members can watch and play along with the stylists with the same products that they are using. All for only $10 a month.  (From ipsy's site.)

Normally, I'll adjust my online beauty profile depending on what I'd change about the products they've given me.  However, last month's bag was so awesome, I left everything as it was and I have yet again received another wonderful bag.  Way to go, Ipsy! You go, Ipsy!

The bag this month is pretty cute. I seem to be getting more and more ideas about what I can do with all these bags, while at the same time thinking about giving some to my mom and sisters...  I should let each of them pick one, and then work on my ideas with the bags that come in the future.

Anyhow... on to the products! That's the whole point, right?

• Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple. Full size. $19 if you buy it from Cailyn's site.

The name of this product is deceiving.  When I think of a "tinted lip balm," I think of something with a hint of color. This does not give just a hint of color. This lip balm is bad A!  It applies easily with the brush they include in the lid, a little bit goes a long way, and the color is opaque, bright red gorgeousness!  It lasts a long time, and it also stains my lips, which in my opinion, is a good thing.

I feel pretty foolish for purchasing the Urban Decay lipstick last month because now I have the red lipstick sample from UD, the full size red lipstick from UD, and now this full size bright red beauty! This is a matte, blue-based red, while the Urban Decay one has a bit of a shine to it and is pink based. I'll definitely be using this, and probably more often than the Urban Decay lipstick, just because I feel like it's a bit more casual looking. 

• Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil. Full size. $18 if you buy it from Chella's site.

So many people have said good things about this pencil.  At first I was worried it might be too yellow for my skin, but after trying it out, I have fallen in love! I use it underneath each eyebrow as a highlight, which makes my eyebrow line look cleaner, especially if I haven't trimmed or plucked my eyebrows in a bit.  I also use it underneath my eyes as a concealer.  Having it be a tad yellow is really good for that area since underneath my eyes tends to be bluish/purple.

• NYX Eyeshadow in Hollywood. Full size. $4.50 if you buy it on NYX's site.

This isn't very exciting to me. I was hoping for a more exciting color, for sure.  But, white is probably a good "classic" color.  Truth is, I have too many colors of eyeshadow in pale highlighting shades like this one.  This one will be going to my sister, Emilee, assuming she wants it...

• Elizabeth Mott It's so B!G Mascara. Deluxe sample size. Full size is $19.99 if you by it from Elizabeth Mott's site. Estimated value: $7.99.

Wahoo, another mascara sample! Today, I just barely opened the Pixi mascara sample from last month, so this one will be unopened for a while. I am going to use it eventually, and it won't go bad while it's still sealed.

• Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in Obsidian. Full size. $12 if you buy it from Starlook's site.

I love black eyeliner! I have several to use up right now (Mary Kay eyeliner in black, MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved, Milani Liquid Eye Pencil in Graphite, and Cailyn Linefix Gel Eyeliner in Iron), so I won't be opening this for a while. But, just like mascara, I will eventually use it, and it will be just fine as long as it stays sealed.

If the texture and longevity of this eyeliner is similar to the Starlooks lip pencil I received a few months ago then, I'm sure I will love it.

Breakin' it down:
Cailyn lip balm: $19
Chella highlighter: $18
NYX eyeshadow: $4.50
Elizabeth Mott mascara: $7.99
Starlooks Kohl pencil: $12

Total bag value: $61.49 - that makes this bag the most valuable I have received to date!  Nice!

Interested in joining Ipsy?  I'd love it if you used my referral link! http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-hh1dhitczm8r4e9

Photos From Elise's Wedding

I'd only been moved away for 1 1/2 months when I came back for Elise's wedding.  Honestly, it didn't feel how I thought it would feel.

It felt like I was coming home.

Moving away has made me realize all the things about Utah that I love, and that I've taken for granted.

Road construction is not one of those things.

I stayed at Sierra's house, and it was perfect.  I was super close to the location of the wedding, I was near my best friend so I could see her every day I was there, and I was near enough to visit some family members while I was there.


Elise's wedding was beautiful.

Flying With Lily

If you're thinking about flying with a child under 2 years old, without any helpers, just say no.

Honestly, it wasn't really that bad.  But it wasn't really that great either.

Lily did not have a break down. She was actually quite good!  So what was the problem?  This jerk sitting across the isle from me.  I think he was trying to be helpful, but he was annoying.  I'll get back to him in a second.

I had one connection on the way out to Utah. There are no direct flights from Raleigh to Salt Lake City, but even if there were, I'm not sure 5 hours straight on an airplane would be a good idea with a small child.  Anyhow, the first flight was Raleigh to Phoenix. That was about 4 hours.  The flight was not full, so I put Lily in her own seat even though I did not pay for one.  I figured, if there were empty seats, I was going to get one.  So Lily was in the middle seat, and I was in the isle.  There was a guy wearing headphones in the window seat.

On an airplane, if you're wearing headphones that means "Don't talk to me." and I'm happy with that.  That's why I chose this particular spot.

Lily wasn't so comfortable.  She kept looking at him, and since he didn't look back at her, smile at her or talk to her, she was afraid of him and would not sit in that center seat.  No big deal though, I used it for our carry on for easy access to snacks and toys.

We had tons of snacks.  Sometimes Lily threw the snacks on the ground. I didn't really care.  Besides, how do you expect me to pick up goldfish crackers, while holding a child on my lap? Old grumpy across the isle from me took it upon himself to point out the crackers that Lily had thrown on the floor.  As if I cared.  When I didn't pick up those crackers, he decided to pick them up himself.  Whatever.

2 hours into the flight, Lily started getting really wiggly.  She wanted to run around. She's 15 months, of course she wants to run around! I couldn't let her do that though, so she was a little fussy.  She decided she was really entertained by the tray table. She liked to put it up and down over and over again.  I was happy with whatever made her happy.

The guy next to me was like, "That's bothering the person in front of you." I told him, "Oh, thanks for letting me know."  But inside I was upset.  Take away what seems like the only activity that's keeping my baby happy and then what will we have?  A meltdown.  I quickly thought of a way to distract her...  I got out some applesauce that comes in the on-the-go packs, and sat her in the middle seat to eat it.  She decided to empty the entire pack onto her blanket and the man sitting in the window seat.

I lost it.  I cried for the rest of the flight.

I wanted to run into the bathroom and stay there by myself, but, you can't really do that without anyone to hold your child.

At the end of the flight, when the attendants were picking up trash,old grumpy pointed out to them the crackers that he or I hadn't picked up.  The flight attendants were all, "It's not a big deal, we have a vacuum."

HAH!  Old grumpy.

The short version: Mentally and physically exhausted, uncontrollably crying with 3.5 hours left to fly. Never again.

I have photos from when a camera momentarily entertained Lily, but they're on Lance's tablet. I'll add them when I can.

The flight from Phoenix to Salt Lake was better. It's 1.5 hours, and Lily had a window seat to herself on another half-empty plane.  She stayed in the seat this time, and was content playing with toys.  It was a better flight, and there weren't any old grumpys near me.

Zoo Day (But Not Really)

I'm tired.  I don't have a good reason to be tired, but I am tired.  I went to bed at 2am last night, and woke up today at 1pm.

I think I remember hearing Lily jabbering earlier, but she must have fallen back asleep because she was out when I got up.

I neglect my child!  I'm such a horrible parent.

We've done some fun stuff over the past few weeks, but right now I'm just going to talk about our failed zoo attempt.

We tried to visit the zoo, but that failed.  Apparently it's huge and you need at least four hours to tour it.  We went on a Saturday and left the house at about 1 in the afternoon.  The zoo is a 2-hour drive away.  We stopped at the Waffle House for some good eats (seriously... peach waffles with a peach glaze, sweet grits, bacon, eggs... yum!), and asked our server about the zoo.  She said it was really big and she usually only tours one section of it, and that takes about three hours.  It was about 3 in the afternoon by this time, and I work on Saturdays at 7pm.  So basically, we didn't have enough time to see the zoo then drive home for two hours.

Now, before you say, "Oh, that stinks that you have to work on Saturdays," don't.  I like my job, and I like my employers, and working on Saturday is my choice. I used to work on Sundays, but in an effort to not work on Sundays, I've moved to Saturdays.

Can you tell I'm sick of people giving me crap about working on Saturday?

Anyway, back to the zoo day... Instead of visiting the zoo we visited the crappiest, smallest mall in the world.  I was, however, able to purchase Lily a cute dress to wear to my sister's wedding, along with a shirt for me to wear.  So it wasn't a total waste of a day.