Review: October Lip Monthly bag

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hi guys! Today I have a review of a subscription bag I just decided to try out for a few months. Lip Monthly sends you a variety of lip products each month, plus one other beauty product. It costs $10 per month, but you can get a discount if you buy multiple months in advance. Here's my referral link if you'd like to try it out!

The one downside to this service compared to other ones I've tried is that it isn't customizable, so they don't take your skin tone or other preferences into account. It's still a fairly new service though, so this might change in the future.

The theme for October's bag was "the nude lip". Alongside a lipstick, they included multiple lip care products, as well as an eyeliner to use for a smoky eye look. Unfortunately the star of the bag didn't really suit me, as you'll see!

1. Starlooks Lip Sugar

This product didn't come with an ingredients list, but it smells and tastes like brown sugar, so I'm assuming that's the main ingredient. It works pretty much as advertised to exfoliate your lips and doesn't feel overly rough. A little goes a long way. Will definitely use again.

2. Noyah Classic Lip Balm

(Yes, it's spelled Noya on the tube but Noyah everywhere else.) This is a very simple, all-natural lip balm that feels really great and moisturizing. It contains only coconut oil, beeswax, olive oil, and stevia for sweetening. It's also kosher, if you're into that. That said, I do think the balms are a bit overpriced ($4) so I'm glad I got this one for less. (Although I have mountains of homemade lip balm here, so I never need to buy lip balm again.)

3. J.cat Fantabulous Lipstick in Honeycrisp

Here is the promised nude lipstick of the bag. I confess, I always thought "nude" lipstick matched the color of your lips, but this one is actually more like flesh-colored (for me anyway). I can see how this could look good with a really bold eye look. Unfortunately, this particular shade is much more yellow than my skintone, so it ended up looking really weird on me.

(Sorry, indoor pic.)

I wasn't too impressed with the formula either--it wasn't very opaque. Definitely won't be wearing this one.

Bottom to top: J.cat Honeycrisp, Look deVine Pinot Noir, L.A. Girl Blue Metallic

4. Look deVine lip shimmer in Pinot Noir

As you can tell from the above swatch, this product adds just a slight tint and shimmer to your lips. I tried photographing it over a lipstick, but you really couldn't see it. I would mainly use this as a lip balm, because it has a ton of natural oils and feels great. It also has a rather strong grape scent. Additionally, it contains resveratrol, which is found in grapes and is supposedly good for you, but there isn't any clear proof of its benefits in humans.

5. L.A. Girl Eyeliner in Blue Metallic

This is the one non-lip product in the bag. It's a standard pencil eyeliner. As you know, I'm not a big fan of eyeliner, but I tried it on and it seemed to work decently. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good photo of it.



OK, so I was happy with 3/5 of my first Lip Monthly bag, and that's decent for a subscription service. I have three more prepaid bags coming, so I'll let you know how they are!

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Review: October Ipsy Glam Bag

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Happy Friday everyone! We've had some super crazy weather here lately--intense wind and rain for two straight days. I guess winter really is coming. :-/

Here are my thoughts on the Ipsy bag I got this month! Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that costs $10 per month. Each bag is somewhat personalized to your preferences. If you'd like to sign up, please use my referral link!

1. Figs & Rouge Hand Cream in Rose Berry

Always happy to try new hand creams since it's starting to get cold here! This cream has a very watery texture, so it absorbs quickly. Normally I don't like watery creams, but this one does actually feel like it's doing something. My hands feel smoother afterward. I wasn't a huge fan of the scent though (surprisingly, since I love almost all scents). This one had a weird kind of savory quality to it, kind of like goat cheese or something? I don't know. But on this website they have a variety of other scents that sound nice, and the creams aren't too expensive!

2. Skyn Iceland Glacial Cleansing Cloths

These are disposable face wipes that also contain a variety of plant extracts and oils that are supposed to be good for your skin. You don't have to use any water with them or rinse off afterwards. They foam up, but surprisingly don't leave any noticeable residue behind. I did feel clean after using them, although I didn't try them with makeup on. The big downside to any product like this is that they seem awfully wasteful to me.

3. ECRU New York Acacia Protein BB Cream for Hair

Oh joy, another hair product. As I'm sure you've heard me whine before, I have ultrafine hair, so most leave-in products make it feel grimy and heavy. This particular cream is supposed to improve texture, volume, moisture and shine. "Perfect for all hair types." Yeah, we'll see.

So the tube didn't specify whether to put the product on the entire length of your hair, but I went for it. Go big or go home. This cream is water-based, so it didn't leave behind as much residue as I was expecting. It did weigh down my roots though. In terms of benefits, I saw marginal improvement in texture/smoothness, but as soon as I went outside in the wind, my hair frizzed up like a sheepdog again (as you can see in the pic below). So, overall, not impressed.

4. City Color Be Matte Lipstick in Cappuccino

(Sorry for the indoor pics--again, crazy weather!)

OK, this lipstick has some downsides but I can't help liking it. It has the feel and smell of a crayon, as in Crayola. (I guess that's not a downside if you have some crayon-related nostalgia.) It doesn't spread very smoothly at all. BUT it has great pigmentation and I really love the color! I don't care if it smells like a crayon, I'm going to wear this one. (Swatch on top in pic below.)

5. Jesse's Girl Mineralized Baked Shadow Powder in Graphite Frost

(Swatch on bottom in above pic.) This eyeshadow is meh, just OK. I'm not a huge fan of the color, as I normally go for more natural-looking eyeshadows. Pigmentation is mediocre.

Here's me doing my best "smoky eye" with Graphite Frost in the crease and a little below my lower lid. The lipstick is NYX Ceto, one of my favorite nude shades. (And check out that frizzy hair!)

Welp, another month, another Ipsy bag. I haven't gotten a nail polish from Ipsy in a long time, but I know other people are getting them! Grrr!

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Review: NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

So one interesting thing I've noticed since I started getting into nail polish is that I've gradually become more interested in other kinds of makeup too. I used to only wear makeup (other than foundation etc.) on special occasions. Then I started expanding my eyeshadow collection and learning how you're actually supposed to apply it (I'm still working on that one!). Now I'm starting to experiment more with lip color. It took me a long time to feel comfortable wearing colors other than nude!

So all that is to introduce the fact that I recently bought a set of five NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams for 50% off from Ipsy. Matte lip products (or highly pigmented lipstick of any kind) are pretty far out of my comfort zone, and these looked really pretty, so I went for it.

The five I got are all on the lighter end of the color spectrum. Since the formula on all was the same, I'll describe it here. As the name suggests, these products have a creamy consistency--more liquid than a lipstick (they apply with a doe-foot applicator) but more solid than a lip gloss. They are nicely pigmented and don't feel too dry, although they don't feel moisturizing like their site claims.

The lip creams do tend to settle into the lines on your lips. I'm not sure if they'd still do this over a lip primer, as I don't own one (shocking!!). As for durability, I'd give them an average rating. You can lick your lips or take a drink without really fading the color, but they also wipe off pretty easily and don't leave any sort of stain behind. So be prepared to reapply if you're planning to wear one of these for a long time.

OK, on to the colors!

From left to right (the descriptions come from the NYX website):

• Sydney: soft lavender
• Istanbul: clean pink
• Milan: mid-tone blue-toned pink
• Antwerp: mid-tone yellow-toned pink
• Stockholm: mid-tone beige pink

While these are all pretty, I think Stockholm was my surprise favorite. At first glance I thought it would look too brown, but it doesn't stand out as much as I expected and actually makes for a nice alternative to nude. I really like Istanbul too. I think Sydney is the only one I wouldn't really wear--it's so pale, and I'm already pale enough! It would look great on someone with darker skin.


The NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams are available at the NYX website for $6 each!

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.