Ipsy Review - December

Ipsy time!  

I’m a little late getting this review to you, but oh well….I love getting this bag in the mail!  I’ve always said, I think this is the best bag out there, especially for such a low price.  If you are looking to start a beauty subscription, I would definitely try Ipsy first.

The theme of this month’s bag is “Thinking of You,” which is pretty lame in my opinion. There's nothing in the bag that really leans towards the them, except maybe the little pink plastic heart on the bag itself?  D for creative effort this month Ipsy!

So here it is…the December Ipsy bag!  

1)     NYX Butter Lip Balm in “Parfait” – .14 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I have one of these already that I personally purchased and I don’t really love it.  I need really 

moisturizing lip products due to my thyroid problem (makes my lips super dry) so this just 

doesn’t work for me.  The color is so not me either.

Full Size: $4.00 My Value: $4.00

2)    Bumble & Bumble Blow Dry Cream – .5 oz.

It still baffles me that the singer Marc Anthony has a hair care line.  That being said, I really 

like this! Argan oil is the new thing and to have a hairspray with that in it sounds exciting. 

It’s the perfect size for travel too!

Full Size: $30.00 for 5 oz. My Value: $3.00

3)    Cailyn Just Mineral Eye Polish in “Orchid” – .09 oz. (FULL SIZE)

This is a really gorgeous color and right up my alley.  I can’t wait to try it out!

Full Size: $15.00 My Value: $15.00

4)  Nourish Organic Renewing Eye Cream – .5 oz. 
Meh.  I am not one to really use eye creams, though I should. Maybe I will start with this one?  I am going to guess though it may be a little too pricey for me. This product isn’t available until January, so I am totally guessing on the price based on their other products. 
Full Size: $22.00 1.7 oz. My Value: $6.47

5)  Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara – .1 oz. 
Ahhh!  I am really excited about this one.  This is one of those mascaras that I’ve heard a lot about and always wanted to try….but I wasn’t about to pay full price to test it out.  This right here totally made this month’s bag worth it. 
Full Size: $24.00 for .24 oz My Value: $10.00

Final Cost: $10.00

Final Value: $38.47

I really liked this months bag, except for the lip balm. I already knew I didn’t like that product (it’s not really that “new”) and the color was terrible.  I know I will be getting use out of all of the other items as well.  I am especially excited about the mascara, it made the whole bag for me!

What are your thoughts?

If you’d like to give it a try you can sign up here!

(As always, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these things in hopes that other people will get to have the same fun that I do!  I am not compensated in any way.)

Week 18

Sorry, no real pic this week. It was just too crazy busy!

What's Going on in There?

Baby is the size of a sweet potato (5.5 inches and 7 ounces) and is quite active.  Hiccupping, sucking, swallowing, yawning, kicking and punching are all starting to happen this week (though not that I can feel).

Maternity Clothes? 
Oh yeah. I love them.  I know I can probably fit into some of my regular tops and dresses still, but maternity stuff is just so much more comfortable!

Weight? 
Up about 5 pounds now

Stretch Marks? 
Nope

Movement? 
Still feeling baby roll every once in a while.  I think I may be feeling some kicks too, but they aren’t very strong so I’m just not sure.  It’s like someone is tapping me from the inside.  Who knows though, it could just be gas!

Food Cravings? 
Nothing really this week.  I’m pretty much over chocolate milk now and I haven’t even really had any tomato soup. On the other end of that spectrum, I’m still not into sweets at all.  I used to love cookies and cake and whatnot, but now I don’t want any.  I can still enjoy a nice bowl of ice cream though!

Anything Making you Queasy or Sick? 

Thankfully no

What I Miss? 
Gorgonzola cheese.  I had my favorite salad at Buca Di Beppo with my brother this week and had to ask for the cheese on the side so only he could eat it.  Man, that was hard!

Nausea/Vomiting?  
Not at all

Symptoms? 
Weird, but nothing really! I feel practically normal, which I find so odd.  I’ve had to remind myself (and others) multiple times this week that there is a 5.5 inch person growing inside of me! Another thing that happened this week is I had my first moment of not opening a door wide enough for both me and my belly.  I ran into the stall in the bathroom on Monday haha.

Labor Signs? 
No.

Gender? 
Hopefully next week we will announce!

Belly Button In or Out?
It’s still in, but it is definitely stretching out.  You can see my belly button cavern through some of my shirts (my mom informed me of this on Wednesday night.

Wedding Rings On or Off? 
On and hoping they stay that way!

Sleep?
Sleeping pretty well this week.  Last Friday I came home from work and my holiday party and passed out around 8:30 or 9.  Poor C stayed up for several more hours cleaning the house. He is awesome.

What I'm Looking Forward To? 

Our gender/anatomy ultrasound next Tuesday!  I can’t wait to see our little marshmallow and really have a good look at all their body parts! Also, getting to talk to our doctor in a few weeks and ask her about being induced a week early based on C’s travel schedule.  She’s already mentioned she’d be ok with it, but now we have his actual schedule and we found out he has a bye week (meaning a full week off, no travel, no practice, no nothing) starting exactly a week before baby is due.  It would be AMAZING if she would induce then so we’d get an uninterrupted week alone together with our new little one!

Week 17

 

What's Going on in There?

Baby is the size of an onion or my outstretched hand (5.1 inches and 5.9 ounces) and is starting to gain a little fat to become a little chubster. Cartilage is starting to turn into bone and sweat glands are developing….hopefully baby won’t have as many as daddy! Also, baby is starting to yawn, how adorable is that??

Maternity Clothes? 
Pretty much all the time.  It’s just so much more comfortable!  I finally found a pair of dress pants from Kohl’s that doesn’t give me what I like to call “fluffy camel toe.”  I declared the day that they arrived in the mail “the best day ever” because the search had been so rough haha.  Now, I need to order some more in different colors!

Weight? 
I think I’m going to go with up 3.5 pounds.

Stretch Marks? 
No thank you

Movement? 
I have not been feeling any flutters that most people speak of, but almost every night I can feel baby roll.  My stomach gets really tight (sometimes it’s a little painful) and I can tell right where baby is because there is a hard lump.  I always have C touch that spot on my belly and it’s so amazing to see how excited he gets!  Last night we could really feel around a head or a bum haha. Soooo cool!

Food Cravings? 
Definitely tomato soup. Chocolate milk hasn’t been as strong a craving, but I am still drinking it almost daily.  I’ve been really loving veggies right now, C makes me platefuls as snacks often.  The only problem is ranch is really gross to me now, so it’s harder to find something to dip them in. Any suggestions?

Anything Making you Queasy or Sick? 

Nope!

What I Miss? 
Being super hungry and liking food

Nausea/Vomiting?  
Nope!

Symptoms? 
Same as last week, exhaustion and round ligament pain (holy ouch). 

Labor Signs? 
No.

Gender? 
We will be announcing soon!

Belly Button In or Out?
Definitely still in

Wedding Rings On or Off? 
On and hoping they stay that way!

Sleep?
It has pretty pretty meh this week.  I’ve woken up several times and I just lay there and can’t go back to sleep. It’s so frustrating!

 What I'm Looking Forward To? 

Christmas!  I bought the cutest little shirt for Christmas that mentions the bump, I can’t wait to have a reason to wear it.

Lip Factory Review - November

It’s time for a Lip Factory review!

Lip Factory is a monthly beauty box that is $22 a month (S&H included) and comes with 5-7 products each time.  The box aims to give you a “full face” of makeup, but its main focus is on…lips of course!  

Before I start the review though, I do want to let you know that I cancelled this box.  Since we are saving for a little person now, I decided to pare down my beauty boxes.  I cancelled this one just in time too, I guess they have a lot of issues in November and as a company decided to close down.  I guess if they receive more funding, they may continue, but as of now they are done for. 

So here it is….the November Lip Factory box!  

           1)     Supercute Lip Gloss in “Love” – .4 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I wish this color were just a bit darker or rosier, I might be able to use it.  Watermelon pink is just not my color though!

Full Size: $14.00 My Value: $14.00

           2)    Ulta Matte Lip Crayon in “Hazy Pink”–.09 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Well this is something I find very interesting.  This is the first time I’ve seen a product from a big box store in a beauty box like this. I have a few of these from Clinique that I really like, so I was curious as to how this would compare.  Unfortunately, it felt pretty dry which was a bummer to me.  The color was just a little too bright too.

Full Size: $4.00 My Value: $4.00

          3)    J.Cat Twist & Kiss Hydrating Lip Balm “Love Kiss” – .14 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Well if I didn’t like the last two colors, I clear won’t like this!  This is was too bright for me. It doesn’t seem much different from the Ulta brand, except for the name and color. Two of basically the same product? Boring.

Full Size: $4.99 My Value: $4.99

           4)    Bellapierre Lipstick in Couture – .123 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Finally a lip product that’s not so bright!  Oh wait, this is on the other end of the 

spectrum. Way too dark! Ugh. I had hope because of the color shown on the outside 

of the box, but the actually lipstick color won’t work for me. I’m not the goth type.

Full Size: $19.99 My Value: $19.99

5)  Mirabella Velvet Lip Pencil in “Red Velvet” – .081 oz. (FULL SIZE)

A bright red lip product! My favorite! Not.

Full Size: $23.00 My Value: $23.00

Final Cost: $22.00

Final Value: $65.98

As you can tell from above, I was not thrilled with this box at all.  I am really glad I made the decision to cancel it, even though they did end up shutting down production.  This box may be great for others, but 5 lipsticks in colors I really don’t like is definitely not worth it to me!

What do you think?

(Also, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these fun things! I have not been compensated for this review.)

Week 16

What's Going on in There?

Baby is the size of a dill pickle (4.5 inches and 3.5 ounces) and is starting to recognize sounds and voices. Hair, toenail and tastebud growth is also happening!

Maternity Clothes? 
Um yeah totally.  I can still wear some of my regular tops and dresses, but bottoms have been maternity all the way!  Soooo much more comfortable.   I have been searching for the perfect dress pants though and I am really having a tough time with that.

Weight? 
As of my doctor’s appointment on Monday, I was only up 2 pounds.  I think that number may have grown this week though. Wah wah.

Stretch Marks? 
Please no. I have been only putting cocoa butter lotion on a few days a week, I really need to get better at it.  I was never one to wear lotion before, it’s tough to get into that habit.

Movement? 
I think I may have felt something small last week (two teeny tiny bubbles popping) but nothing really this week. Hopefully soon!

Food Cravings? 
Nothing any different than before, just chocolate milk and tomato soup (but not together). I am still waiting for the point where food actually sounds really good to me.  I’m still struggling on wanting to eat anything at all, nothing ever sounds good.

Anything Making you Queasy or Sick? 

Not really thankfully.  The only weird thing is I sometimes gag when I brush my teeth!

What I Miss? 
Gorgonzola cheese, Redd’s apple ale and sleeping through the night without having to get up to pee!

Nausea/Vomiting?  
Nothing of the sort.  Not once during pregnancy so far….yay!

Symptoms? 
I’d say I am still pretty darn exhausted (though not as bad in the beginning, but still not normal). Also, I am feeling the round ligament pain people speak of, it hurts really bad if I move too quickly.  Also, if I stand up too fast (or stand for a long time) I get really light headed. 

Labor Signs? 
No.

Gender? 
We know, but we aren’t ready to announce yet since we just announced baby!

Belly Button In or Out?
Let's hope it stays in for a while. :)

Wedding Rings On or Off? 
On for now, have noticed a tiny bit of swelling on some days, but not too bad.

Sleep?
I wish I was able to take naps, but my work schedule just doesn’t allow it.  I am usually asleep by 9 or 10 each night, but I wish it were earlier!  Good news is I have gone 2 nights without having to get up to pee!  You guys have no clue how amazing that feels!

 What I'm Looking Forward To? 

Our gender and anatomy ultrasound in a few weeks! We bought an at home fetal Doppler which is such a fantastic purchase.  I look forward to going home every night and listening to our little marshmallows heart beat!