Ipsy Glam Bag Plus-March Edition

Ipsy Glam Bag Plus has been a huge sleeper hit. Compared to Boxycharm, in my opinion they have almost all high end items every month as opposed to Boxy’s 1 or 2. I’ll show you what I mean.

F.A.R.A.H. Brushes 5 Piece Eye Perfection Set

Decent brushes. They’re synthetic bristles which I prefer, nice handles. This retails for 50$.

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Purlisse Blue Lotus Balancing Moisturizer

Really nice moisturizer-it’s light, not greasy, the scent isn’t overwhelming. Definitely glad to have it. 45$.

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Huda Beauty Mauve Obsessions Palette

I had the Ruby Obsessions and hated it, so I’m hoping this one is better. I’m hoping it was just the red? This is pretty-I love the shades, right up my alley. 27$.

•••

Benefit Dandelion Shy Beam Liquid Highlighter

This is awful. Easily one of the worst products I’ve ever seen. It’s marketed as a matte highlight. How is a matte highlight evens thing? It can’t be. It’s thick and looks more like concealer. It’s a hard pass for me too. 26$

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Pixi By Petra LashLift 188

I havent seen anything like this-there’s a wand in a wand-one for volume and one for smaller lashes, like bottom lid etc. I’ll try it, my lashes suck and no mascara has helped, but what have I got to lose. This retails for 18$.

And there you have it. The value of this month’s Ipsy Glam Bag Plus is 166$ which is damn great for 25$. 3 products I know I’ll use, 1 I might, and 1 that is going into a drawer until I give it away, figure out another use, or donate it. Hope you enjoyed!

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

I’m Back! With March BoxyLuxe, Too

Hey guys-I know, I know, I dipped out on you for a minute. No reason, nothing happened, just life. But I’m back and so is BoxyLuxe-here’s the March review!

First things first, it’s the Becca Ultimate Lipstick Love in the shade Scarlet.

I’m actually super impressed-the packaging is really nice, it’s heavy and feels luxurious (this is a theme that repeats throughout this month-beautiful packaging). I love the shade as well, this true red is totally my jam.

The formula is creamy, the pigmentation is awesome-just a beautiful lipstick. Retails for 24$.

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CoverFX Perfector Face Palette

Unfortunately, I was one of the ones who received the Medium/Dark palette instead of the Fair one. I can make this work though.

It’s dark, there’s no way around that, and I can’t use it for what it’s meant for. I can, however, use it for contour, eyeshadow, and highlighter. It’s SUPER pigmented and really beautiful so it’s not going to waste-CoverFX is such a good brand. I guess Boxy sent the wrong one to a few people. They gave me 4500 charms, and I’m ok with that because I’ve gotten some great shit from the charm shop. This palette retails for 45$.

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Iconic London Eyebrow Cushion

This is SO good. Again with the beautiful packaging as well. I’ve never used a cushion product for brows so it could go either way-I’m used to my powder-this is crazy pigmented, I barely touched it and holy crap. Retails for 40$.

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Morphe 15 Shade Artistry Palette in Brunch Babe

Sigh. Morphe Morphe Morphe. BoxyLuxe advertises as luxury brands in the box, and I don’t know about you, but I do not consider Morphe luxury by a long ass shot. That said, it’s not a bad palette. It’s nothing I don’t own already, but whatever. I will say that with rebranding they upped the packaging game considerably. See? Packaging again. This retails for 16$.

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Boxycharm Train Case and Lilly Faux Mink Gala Lashes

I feel like every BoxyLuxe is going to have some sort of makeup bag. This one is actually pretty nice-an iridescent gold/pink, and it’s deep, you can fit a lot in it for traveling. I don’t mind it at all. Retails for 20$.

Then the Lilly Lashes which I’m thrilled about, I’ve been wanting to try Lilly forever but man, 30$ for lashes is a price I just can’t pay.

These are GORG though. Retail for 24.99$.

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IT Cosmetics Confidence In A Cream and Wander Lift Off Mask

I needed more moisturizer-I’m literally scraping the dregs of the Juice Beauty moisturizer we got in September-I LOVED it, so I’m bummed. However the IT moisturizer is pretty promising. It’s nice and thick, not greasy, light scent..a lot of people love it, so-I did start using it a few nights ago and I really like it. 48$.

The Wander Beauty peel off mask is just that, a peel off mask. It’s a pearly pink, it’s not aggressive where I feel like I’m pulling off 2 layers of skin, so that’s a plus. Boxy loves Wander Beauty-I feel like more often than not there’s a Wander product in the box. Maybe let up though. I’m Wandered out. This mask is 34$.

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Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in O’Donna and Modern Love

MODA Brushes Powder and Soft Glow Kit

2 brushes from MODA-we’ve gotten their brushes before and I really like them, they’re well made, soft-there’s a powder brush and a tapered highlight brush (I never seem to use tapered highlight brushes) and retail is 29.99$.

2 little nail polishes-both neutral tones, ones just a brownish taupe, the other has some shimmer to it. I mean, they’re fine. I used the shimmery one, it’s a nail polish, what’s there to say. Retails for 20$.

•••

That’s it-the March BoxyLuxe. Overall I’m pretty happy with it, I think it’s one of the best ones we’ve gotten. The total value is 301.98$ which is excellent for a 50$ box. I mean, come AWN, right?

If you want to subscribe, Boxycharm is 21$ a month for 4-5 full size makeup and skin care items. BoxyLuxe is every three months: June, September, December, and March and is 49.99$. Here’s a referral link:

https://www.boxycharm.com/refer/Allis-ITTBAOGB

I don’t get anything except maybe some charms-every so often they run promos where if you use my referral link we both get a product. It’s totes worth it.

Talk soon, Lovelies

Allie

January Ipsy Glam Bag Plus

Guys-I’m REALLY digging this Glam Bag Plus, maybe even more than…Boxycharm. Yes I said it-I never thought the day would come. Here’s why.

Hey Honey Good Morning Honey Silk Facial Serum 45$

This is such a nice serum-it’s lightweight with not much of a fragrance that I could tell (I have a cold, so..). A little goes along way though, so just be aware of that. It dries down nicely, feels like it sinks right into the skin. A win.

Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion $40

This confuses me a little-the box says Acne Control, but the actual product doesn’t. Anyway-this is an oil-free daily moisturizer, it’s got Retinol, hyaluronic acid, and arnica in it. It’s got an ever so slight coconut scent, which I like. Win.

Vasanti Matte Crush Lipstick Pencil in Berry First Kiss $23

Love. I love this. Surprisingly creamy and pigmented, I wasn’t sure what to expect because I’m not a huge fan of lipstick pencils-I’m a huge fan of this one. Win.

Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave-In Conditioning Spray $20

Finally, a full size Briogeo product. It was like a unicorn, never saw one and wasn’t sure if I would.

Here’s the comparison between this and the Boxy size:

I’ve heard good things about this stuff but I haven’t tried it-I will be today though. So watch this space.

Eyeko Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner $22

Love the tip on this-it’s linger and pointier than the others I have:

This is a waterproof formula and peptide based which is supposed to help your lashes grow but I’m not holding my breath on that. Just give me a nice fine line and I’m happy.

I was in a rush and sort of haphazardly drew it on my hand but you get the gist. Win.

Violet Voss Mini HG Shadow Palette $18

Such a cute mini of the Violet Voss Holy Grail palette! I’m passing this on since I own the big one, so I’m not going to swatch it-but it’s got all of the best shades from the original-if I didn’t have the bigger one, I’d be thrilled with this.

VV has an amazing formula-and there’s a great mix of lattes and shimmers in this palette. Win.

So I’m sure you can tell why this Glam Bag Plus was so great-every item is pretty damn awesome, and all fairly high end. Also, a value of 168$?!? Yes please.

The Glam Bag Plus is 25$ every month, and sooooo much better than the plain Ipsy in my opinion.

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

Super Amazing Foundation Alert…

My best friend, Maggie, had been telling me for a few weeks that I needed to try CYO Lifeproof Foundation:

So I thought, sure, why not-it’s only 7$, so if I don’t love it, it’s 7$. I ordered it off of Walgreens.com-I believe Walgreens is the only place you can buy it and unfortunately not all Walgreens carry it. I had mine delivered to the Walgreens down the street from my house, shipping was free that way.

This foundation though. It’s beautiful-it’s light/medium coverage, and is so lightweight it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing makeup. The finish is GORG-it looks like your skin but better. You don’t end up looking cakey or even like you’re wearing makeup. It’s airbrushed finish galore.

It’s my absolute favorite every day holy grail ride or die Foundation-The Ordinary now sits in second place.

I’m in shade 101 which is the lightest-the shades on the Internet aren’t totally accurate to how the foundation looks in person, so my advice would be to go with your gut when you look at the range. It was easy for me, 9/10 times in the lightest or second lightest in a shade range, so I just picked the lightest they had, and it was a perfect match.

Like I said-it’s 7$ (I got it for 5.99$ when I ordered online) so it’s not going to break the bank, and believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

January Boxycharm Review

In one word: Underwhelming.

I’m actually, for the first time in 2 years, highly disappointed. Here’s why.

tarte Limited Edition Rainforest of the Sea Highlighting Palette Vol 3

It’s all shimmers-except for one less than stellar matte:

I didn’t bother swatching them all because 1) they’re all super similar and 2) a shimmer is a shimmer.

I received a tarte palette very similar to this a little over a year ago, and I didn’t like that one either. tarte in general isn’t really my jam-I love the shape tape and the Park Ave Princess Contour palette but never met a tarte eyeshadow I liked. This retails for 36$.

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BrioGeo Dont Despair, Repair! Leave In Hair Mask

Since I literally got the exact same product from Boxy in October and even still have some left, there’s not much to say about this. It’s nice but I didn’t need more. 16$.

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Tatcha Dewy Skin Face Mask

This is good-Tatcha is a great brand and these masks aren’t cheap. 12$ for one-so they better be good. So the total value is 24$.

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Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Pencil

It’s a brown eyeliner. There’s not a whole ton to say-it’s somewhat pigmented but hard to tell how it’s going to work in the waterline. Can I always use a decent eyeliner? Sure. Is this one? Who knows. Retails for 10$.

Finally, Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Havana Nights

At least Ofra lippies are a tried and true good formula. I’d have liked to try Bite Beauty, but it was not to be. I do like the scent (vanilla/cupcake-y) the doe foot applicator-

and the shade:

So this isn’t a total disaster. The Ofra retails for 20$.

The total value of this month’s box is 106$, still great for a 21$ box. It wasn’t their best month-the last time they sent me duplicate items, they sent me a 6th item which was a Jonteblu pencil-horrible. Hopefully that’s not my 6th item again.

Better luck next month, right? 🤷🏼‍♀️

To subscribe to Boxycharm for 21$ a month-

https://www.boxycharm.com/refer/Allis-ITTBAOGB

Or at checkout, use code:

Allis-ITTBAOGB

Talk soon Lovelies

Allie

Profusion Palettes-Sale Haul

All of a sudden, Profusion Cosmetics is like, everywhere. Super affordable, great quality-win, win. I didn’t realize that I’ve owned a Profusion contour palette for like, 6 months-not sure what THAT says about me. 😂

I have the Peach Mixed Metals palette, which is really nice, so knowing that the brand isn’t shit imagine my glee when I stopped into Walgreens on Friday and saw Profusion 9 pan palettes for 2.50$. Two Fifty!! They also had a 35 pan for 10$, which of course came home with me as well. It’s the Profusion Ultra Cool palette:

I only swatched a few-the greens and blues really appealed to me:

For the 9 pan palettes they had Basic, Bold, and Metals. Here’s Basic:

Bold:

Metals:

I went a little bananas-I bought 9 palettes. 😬 But 2.50$!! I sent some to friends and my daughter, I literally couldn’t stop myself. 2.50$.

So I basically got all 4 of the above palettes for less the original cost of the Ultra Cool which was 20$ before the sale. I love a bargain, y’all.

I ordered the CYO Lifeproof foundation I’ve been hearing a ton about as well, it’ll be in today. It’s 7$ at Walgreens (it was 5.99$ when I ordered it online) and if it’s any good I’ll let you guys know.

I’d check your local Walgreens for these palettes if you’re interested. I found them in the Christmas clearance aisle.

Talk soon Lovelies!

Allie

Some New YouTube Channels For 2019

Happy New Year!

My new years resolution is to find some smaller YouTube channels that I can show some love to. I’m not sure about you all, but the mega-influencers (for the most part) have been boring me. They’re predictable, not super trustworthy when opinions are bought and paid for, and I just feel like many of them forgot where they came from.

I’ve found a few that I really enjoy, and my New Years Gift to y’all is to hopefully share some new, great YouTube finds. They aren’t about the drama, they aren’t too big for their britches-just a bunch of fun, down to earth women who love makeup.

First:

MesiJesiBeauty

Jesi has about 180k subscribers-she’s cute. Super personable, likable.

You can find her at MesiJesiBeauty on the Tube.

****

Next up is JuicyJas:

Jas has almost 500k subs, so she’s a little bigger, but she’s super down to earth, and always reminds you to grab a snack. She’s JuicyJas on the tube-check her out. She’s good.

****

Another one I’ve been enjoying is Shae from ThatGirlShaeXO.

At about 350k subs, she’s known for her live swatching of shadows and lipsticks-and she’s dedicated AF because she will swatch entire collections, and that can be A LOT.

****

Next up, Amanda from Makeup Just For Fun-

She’s a big Colourpop fan, so you’ll see a lot of the brand, but she does others as well. She’s at 25k subs-and you can find her at Makeup.Just.For.Fun on YouTube.

****

Now we have Jen from Beauty Riot X:

I love Jen because she’s no nonsense, no BS. She tells it like she sees it, and speaks like you would with your girlfriends about makeup. She’s at 2500K subs, which is a crime that she’s that underrated. Refreshing. Check her out. Beauty Riot X.

****

Last but never least, Nichole Fischer.

Nichole focuses mostly on Boxycharm reviews with the occasional Ipsy thrown in. I like her because she goes a little more in depth with the products-she’s cute. She’s obviously Nichole Fischer on YouTube.

I love these channels because they’re all such a refreshing change from the huge channels with millions and millions of subs-they work hard, and haven’t lost their passion for what they do. They’re all super enjoyable to watch, never have a drop of drama, and are all so relatable.

Let me know what you think!

Talk soon, Lovelies

Allie

Best And Worst Makeup Of 2018…The Worst

I hate to say “worst” because that sounds so harsh, but it is what it is. Some of these were real disappointments, and some I expected not a whole lot from so wasn’t surprised.

First on my naughty list is Huda Beauty Ruby Obsessions palette.

Disappointing. It blends like shit, it’s nowhere near as pigmented as you’d expect it to be, and 2 of the shadows got this weird, hard texture to them after I used them a few times. Like, I feel like I have to scrape a layer off now. It’s a 27$ palette-come on, Huda. Maybe the other colors aren’t so bad, but I’m not willing to spend 27$ to find out. I’ve got Blood Sugar, which is miles better. Huda Obsessions

This one isn’t on the list for the reasons you might think. Laura Lee had a no-good, horrible, very bad year as we know (brought on herself) and the shitty products Laura Lee Los Angeles released didnt help. Like the Laura Lee Los Angeles Party Animal palette.

The first problem with this is it’s complete unwearability. There’s no transition or crease shade, just BAM colors, and it’s not something you can get a complete look from. Never mind the kind of look you CAN get. The main downfall is the quality-they’re dry, powdery, patchy, and just BAD. At one point I’d considered buying her Nudie Patootie palette, and I was really looking forward to seeing the quality of her shadows. I had high hopes, to be honest. I’m glad I didn’t buy NP because these are HORRIBLE. Apparently she calls them “pressed pigments”-whatever. Retails for 19$. Laura Lee Party Animal palette

This next one is another Boxycharm product-the pür x Boxycharm palette:

Ugh. First-fallout city. I don’t mind some fallout, that doesn’t make or break a palette for me generally. But this one is BAD. The top row of shades are all so similar, what’s the point? The bright blue and hot pink don’t make sense, it doesn’t blend for shit, it’s just not good at all. pür and Boxy had given us Soirée Diaries a while back and that one was amazing-but this is a big pile of nope. Dry, powdery, patchy nope. They want 36$ for this disaster too. Nope. pür x Boxycharm eyeshadow palette

Leaving the palettes behind, I give you Jonteblu-Boxycharm loves sticking them in boxes to fill up space or whatever the excuse may be- and these wooden eye and lip pencils aren’t only cheap, but painful. They lack pigment so badly that you’ll hurt your eyes or lips trying to get payoff. Literally hurt yourself. Waxy garbage. They charge 5$ each but I wouldn’t pay .50¢.

I don’t even know why I still have these-I’ve thrown the others away. Maybe they have other products that are useable, I have no idea, and not going to bother checking. Jonteblu eyeliner

This one is unfortunate as well, and the issue is more packaging than the actual product-but if the packaging literally interferes with the product, what can you do?

The Pretty Vulgar Ink Gel Eyeliner. The pot it’s in is deep-you can’t see how far you need to dip your brush, you can’t tell how much product you’re getting on your brush..it just doesn’t work. The liner itself isn’t bad-it’s pigmented and works just fine-it’s just not worth the hassle the packaging gives you. I mean, the jar is pretty-just not functional. It’ll run you 24$ if you’re so inclined..Pretty Vulgar Ink Gel

Last on the list is another Boxycharm item-I feel like the implication is that Boxy sends a lot of shit, they really don’t-I’ve enjoyed way more products from them than I didn’t. I’m just less likely to spend $ on something I’m on the fence about, but Boxy sends 5 items a month I didn’t pick. Anyway, back to the bad. The Bang Beauty Chocolate Gel Eyeliner.

This looks like poop when you swatch it, which is a bad start. It’s SO dry, that it barely moves in the pot. It’s literally solid. Supposedly you can add water to it and it works well on your brows but I’m just not that into it. It’s going in the trash. Just so bad. And 22$. No. Bang Beauty Chocolate Gel Liner

That’s pretty much it! The Good was great, the bad was BAD, and there was a ton in between. It was a pretty good year for makeup, and I’m looking forward to 2019.

Happy New Year, guys-I wish you all love, light, health, and happiness.

Allie

Best and Worst Makeup Of 2018: The Best

I know I’ve been MIA-not really, I mean, I’m here, I’m just not here. I’ll do better, I swear. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday-it was a great one here.

I’m going to list my best and not so best makeup of 2018-I’m not going to bother with categories because it’s not that deep 😉. This post will be the best, tomorrow? You’ll see my worst. Here we go:

Best Eyeshadow Palettes

First, I have to say the Colourpop Good Sport palette.

This, in my opinion, is one of Colourpop’s best releases so far. The formula is insanely good, the shimmers are blinding (that green? WHAT?) and there are a million looks you can get out of this. I was initially drawn to that green shimmer, but when i tried the mattes and other shades i was blown away. If you get ANY Colourpop palette? Let it be Good Sport. It’s usually 16$, but on sale for 12.80$. Worth every penny. Colourpop Good Sport

Next up is Jeffree Star Cosmetics Blood Sugar palette:

Probably one of the best palettes of all time. Not only is the packaging sick, the formula of these shadows is literally amazing. At 54$ it’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for and it is DOPE. Jeffree Star killed it with this-the reds and purples are so intensely vibrant and the versatility is just…it’s good. I hear a rumor that he’s releasing a Blood Sugar 2 in March and I promise I’ll be all over that. It’s also almost always sold out-but if you can? Do. Jeffree Star Blood Sugar

This little lady came home just a month or so ago, I’d be wanting her for weeks, and finally caved. Dose of Colors x Desi x Katy Friendcation palette.

The mattes in this palette are some of the best I’ve ever used in my life. The shimmers are just stunning-I would recommend a glitter glue, however, because they’ll lose their shim after a little while-but if you use glitter glue, you’re good. You can do smokey eye looks like no one’s business with this, some BAM glam, or every day. I don’t know if this is Dose’s usual formula, but the quality is sickening. She’s not cheap at 55$, but if you buy her at Ulta, you can use coupons or points which is what I did-I think I paid 30$. Dose Of Colors Friendcation palette

Last but never least is a Boxycharm item-the Alamar Cosmetics Reina del Caribe Vol 1 palette. This first release from makeup artist/Boxycharm Employee Gaby Trujillo was an impressive effort-with blinding shimmers, pigmented highly blendable mattes, and high versatility-

I absolutely love this palette-Alamar just released Vol 2, which is gorgeous, and about to be mine as well. This palette is a more affordable 28$, but could have easily sold for 40$. Check it out- Alamar Cosmetics

One foundation that I really enjoyed this year was Colourpop No Filter Foundation. It gave buildable, lasting Medium to Full coverage, didn’t feel super “masky”, and just really worked out for me along with the No Filter Setting Powder. The setting powder mattified and set without drying, baked like a dream, and didn’t amplify fine lines around my eyes.

You can find them here for 12$ (foundation) and 9$ (setting powder) Colourpop No Filter Complexion

My last best is the Fenty Beauty Diamond Bomb in How Many Carats highlighter/all over shimmery goodness.

First of all-the packaging is GORG. It’s luxurious, expensive feeling, heavy. The actual product isn’t blinding highlighter, more of a topper for highlight to add that extra jujj, inner corner highlight, or wear it alone for a subtle but rich shimmer-no chunky glitter at all. It’s just beautiful-

It’s another not-cheap product at 38$, but it will last you. You’re not going to go thru it quick fast. Buy it here: Fenty Diamond Veil

Tomorrow I’ll let you know what my worst of the year was. Betcha can’t wait 😉

Talk soon, Lovelies

Allie

One Last Laura Lee Antic for 2018

Laura Lee just can’t stop being a tool, and 2018 wouldn’t end properly if she didn’t provide us with one more gaffe.

There’s a YouTuber named Joey Graceffa-he does vlogs and gaming content, and has a ton of subscribers. He had a Christmas party for a bunch of his YouTube friends-Gabbie Hana, Trisha Paytas, Kandee Johnson were there, as well as Laura Lee and Manny MUA.

They had a “white elephant” gift thing-where everyone bringsca gift and draws numbers, and when your number comes up you can “steal” a gift that someone got. There was a Balenciaga sweatshirt, some kind of backpack-and Trisha Paytas-

Brought the hot gift of the night that everyone wanted-an IPad Pro. As luck would have it, our fair Laura Lee drew the last number and claimed the iPad Pro for her very own.

Cool, right?

Then 6 hours later, on Instagram:

Laura is giving away an…gasp…iPad Pro. No mention of winning it-which like, might not be necessary if she wasn’t on video winning it in front of a whole roomful of people. I suspect this was a hastily thrown together giveaway once she realized she didn’t have to spend her coin on her own. I’m sure times are tough after losing all those subs and contracts. 🙄

And there you go. Laura Lee is just not winning.

Talk soon, Lovelies

Allie