Ipsy Review - August

Ipsy time!

This is one of my favorite times of the month….I love getting this bag in the mail! For the cost, $10 including shipping , it is such a great deal. If you are looking to start a beauty subscription, I would try Ipsy first. You can’t really beat that! Getting makeup in the mail is just so fun!

The theme of this month’s bag is “Prep School.” The bag definitely fits this theme, it definitely feels preppy with the hounds tooth. The items though are pretty general and could fall under any theme.  I guess though, they’d be items you’d wear to school!

So here it is…the August Ipsy bag!  

           1)     Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco – .07 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            I am totally guessing on everything about this product.  I can’t seem to find it on sale 

            ANYWHERE. Even the link Ipsy gives you takes you to a coupon for the brand and not the 

            actual product.  Judging by the fact that you are only supposed to use a few drops of this, I 

            am saying that it is full size. Totally guessing on the price, but it seems in line with other 

            products by this brand.  As for the actual product, can you really get away with using only a 

            few drops?! This smells nice, but hair oils aren’t really my thing.  My head makes too much 

            of its own oils already thank you very much!

Full Size: $8.00 My Value: $8.00

           2)    Doll 10 HydraGel Cream Blush in “Flirt” – .11 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            I am again completely guessing on this because this isn’t a product the brand even sells as far 

            as I can see! What’s with this Ipsy?  Are we getting products that the brand tried out but 

            decided against selling for whatever reason?  Or are they so new there is no info about them 

            at all? For the price, I just looked at the other blush and highlighter compacts they sold and 

            took the average price. If I liked cream blushes, I think this would be a good color.  The 

            problem with cream though is I am afraid I will look like a clown in the end. I am no good at 

            blending this stuff!  Also, $30 for blush is ridiculous.  Heck, I’d pay maybe $10 MAX for 

            blush! All of products from this brand seem to be way overpriced.

Full Size: $30.00 My Value: $30.00

            3)    bella pierre Lipstick in P.I.N.K.  – 3.5 g. (FULL SIZE)

            Although this color is not as bright as I usually receive, it is still too much for me. It’s a 

            fairly dark mauve pink color. Also, this lipstick smells really good. Or weird.  I’m not sure 

            which. It smells like Nesquick cocoa powder to me, chocolatey.  Which is a good smell, but 

            quite odd for a lipstick!

Full Size: $20.00 My Value: $20.00

4)  Lather Ultra Mild Face Wash – 1 oz.

I love trying out new fash cleaners, so this is right up my alley.  It’s the perfect size to take while traveling, so I will be waiting to try it out. It does smell pretty soapy, but I can’t say I dislike that.

Full Size: $18.00 for 6 oz. My Value: $3.00

       5)  Lord & Berry Lip Liner in “Nude” – .14 oz. – (FULL SIZE)

I’m sorry, but this color should not be named nude.  I’d go with maybe berry?  It’s quite dark. It’s almost brown with a hint of pink.  That being said, I don’t use lip liner at all, so this is not for me. I am assuming this is a full size pencil, though it is a bit shorter than most pencils I’ve seen.

Full Size: $18.00 My Value: $18.00

Final Cost: $10.00

Final Value: $79.00

Man, this month really missed the mark for me.  The overall value is great, but the only thing I can really see myself using is the face wash. Boring! I’ve seen a lot of friends lately jumping ship on this subscription…I wonder if it is time for me to do the same? Hopefully they step it up soon!

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.)

Pretty Little Beauty Swap Link Up!

Well its time to show off what you got in this round of the Pretty Little Beauty Swap!

My partner this time was Tabitha from A Hundred Tiny Wishes.  It was a lot of fun getting to know her because we are a lot alike I think!  She's also married, almost the same age as me and has a little guy of her own....though he's a few years older than Noah :)

She seriously spoiled me!  I sent her an email thanking her for everything and she said "Being a mom is hard work and now that lil man is older, returning to work must have been one of the hardest things to do. You deserve to be spoiled every once in awhile. Especially since when lil ones are little, all your time and energy goes to make them happy and make life that much easier."  How amazingly sweet is that?!?  Her email made me tear up.  Being a mom IS hard and going back to work three weeks ago was really rough.  It's nice to have someone recognize that!

First off....please excuse my photos. They are terrible and I know it.  We've had guests in our home for 9 weeks now (it was supposed to only be two....) so I can't take photos where I would have liked too and I had a crying baby needed my attention at the time too!

I loved all the goodies she sent.  First, she was even kind enough to think of Noah.  This little toy lights up and makes music and he LOVES it!  He stares at it in wonder every time I play the music.  So cute. He's starting to reach out and grab things, so this little gift is perfect timing.

She also sent an awesome shadow palette from Maybelline.  I couldn't even wait to get a photo of this all pretty and new before I just had to use it.  I have used it several times this week and its great!

Other goodies she sent include: tiny perfumes (not pictured....but my fav!), a face mask (love these too!), a kabuki brush, several lip glosses, a shadow quad, a shadow pen and make up removing wipes (a must for a new mommy)!

This shadow palette is seriously awesome though!!

Your turn!  What awesome beauty products did you get in this round of the swap?!?

An InLinkz Link-up

Currently

Hmmm….when was the last time I did one of these?  Must have been months and months ago!

I thought I’d give you a quick update as to what is going on in my life these days :)

C

Well its playoff time again Arena Football League! C’s team won their first game this past weekend and now they are off to play their game for round 2 on Saturday! His team will be up against the San Jose Sabercats who are pretty much the best team in the league this year.  It will be a fight to the finish for a win, but hopefully they can pull it off and make it to the Arena Bowl for the 4^th year in a row!

Noah

I still need to give you guys soooooo many updates on this little guy!  He just turned 3 months old last week and I can hardly believe it.  He is drooling like a mad man and learning to grab things these days. I’m shocked at how quickly his little life has gone for me.  As I am back to work full time, I cherish spending my evenings cuddling with him. Weekends are the best because we get so much time together!

Books 

Oh man, I have read several books since this last update! 

First off, for book club I read (but didn’t post on) Wild by CherylStrayed.  I didn’t think I was going to like this book, but I actually really did. I thought there was no way I could relate to an outdoorsy, hiking related book, but I dug right in. It was well written and kept me interested the whole time.

I also read Twisted Sisters by my favorite author Jen Lancaster.  This was one of her novels, which I don’t seem to like as much. This one was really weird….body swapping was involved.  Totally not believable in any sense.  I much prefer her memoirs!

Finally, while I was on maternity leave, when Noah was itty bitty, I would use his morning nap times to soak in the tub and read.  He would sleep away in his rock & play just outside the bathroom door in our room so I could listen for him and I would get swept away into a book.   For my baths, I choose to read some mind numbing teen chick lit.  Ok I say it like it’s a bad thing….but I totally loved these books!  I read the Fame Game series by Lauren Conrad, which includes the books The Fame Game, Infamous and Starstruck.  The books are from the point of view of a few girls that were chosen to be on a reality TV show (I’m sure based on Lauren’s own experience) and how they deal with the fame and life as a reality star.  Super easy reads and a lot of fun.  If you are into cheesy things like that, I’d highly suggest them.  They are actually a continuance of her first series L.A. Candy which I would suggest as well!

TV

Holy cow, it’s really hard to keep up with TV shows when you have a little one! I can't tell you how many times we've put a show on and then ended up playing or just plain staring at Noah and then totally missing what is going on in our show! Thankfully, it’s summer break for majority of the shows we watch, so we aren’t too far behind at the moment.  Two new shows we are watching though are Zoo and Bachelor in Paradise.  

Zoo really sucked us in during the first episode.  The premise of the series is just so unlike anything out there!  As we go along it has gotten a bit contrived, but we still enjoy watching it.  This does seem like a series though that definitely has an end date.  You can only do so many episodes trying to find out why something is happening (such as animals attacking humans…).  Eventually you have to find the answer.  Watching the characters try season after season to figure it out would probably get a bit old!

Bachelor in Paradise….what can I really say?  This show is just hilarious.  C loves watching it with me and thank goodness, because it comes on both Sunday AND Monday nights! It’s a reality love show that consists of cast offs from previous Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons that are put on an island to try and find love.  There is a game show element though and these guys and gals do some pretty nasty things to each other to stick around on the show.  The cheesiness and drama factor is HIGH on this one you guys!

That's all I've got time for right now, but that's just a snip-it of what is going on in my life!

Any new TV shows I should add to our list?  What about awesome books you suggest?  I have less time for both of these things now, but I still want to watch and read the best! 

Noah's First month

Ok you guys.  I have become a TERRIBLE blogger.  I just don't have any time these days :(  I started back to work full time 3 weeks ago (oh man was that rough...) and my evenings are spent with my little family. They are much more important to me than blogging. I know I still need to finish his birth story, I really want to get it in writing, but I thought I'd at least share a bunch of photos from his first month of life until I get that done!

Meeting October our cat just moments after coming home!

Loving his daddy already

3 days old and holding his head up....

His first blood prick...I had a harder time than he did I think!

Actin all cool in his football blanket while watching his first football game daddy was playing in

Some more daddy love.  This picture melts my heart!

Right before his tongue tie procedure (hopefully I can explain more another time)....be strong little man!

My little family :)

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His face just cracks me up....we called those his old man wrinkles!

First bath....not loving it as you can see!

Right before daddy left on his first road trip

Practicing wearing his headphones for football games!

Ready for our first Rattlers game!

A football family :)

I love my little man!!