June Ipsy Bag

Getting back into doing monthly updates for Ipsy. I've really enjoyed the past couple of bags!

Theme: On the Wild Side

Starlooks Lip Liner in Bare ($12) 2.4g FULL

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Golden ($6) 3.5g/0.12oz FULL

Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil ($18) 1.4g FULL

J.cat Sparkling Cream Palette in Volta ($4.49) 3g/0.1oz FULL

J.cat EL505 Eyelashes with Glue ($3.99)

Total Value: $44.48

They recently started focusing more on delivering personalized bags. The other items this month were a gel liner from Cailyn Cosmetics and dry shampoo from Freeman Beauty. I think the gel liner looked pretty interesting but I wouldn't swap it for the Chella highlighter. Also, the type of NYX blush varied between bags (it was either cream, mosaic, or powder). Overall, lots of options this month so each bag is a little different.

Starlooks Lip Liner in Bare (Top)
NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Golden (Bottom)

Both products were really creamy. The lip liner was a brown pinky-plum. It's quite pigmented. The blush is a sheer peachy with fine gold shimmer. The two products seem to go together quite well.

Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil (Right)

When I first swatched it, it reminded me a lot of Tarte EmphasEYES Inner Rim Brightener. I compared to two. While they are in the same family, the Tarte liner is a little warmer and has a little more pink in it. I'm not sure if you can use the Chella pencil on the waterline but it would be pretty nifty if I can.

J.cat Sparkling Cream in Volta

This is probably the most impractical item I've ever received from Ipsy (this includes the Miss Beauty Nail Bling in last year's May Bag). For one, J.cat's website advises caution when applying to the eye area which means this isn't meant to be a glitter eyeshadow. Also, I don't know when I'll ever get a chance to use it. Plus, the texture is very slippery. Still, the glitters are actually really pretty.  

From left to right: chunky gold/multicolor glitter, fine teal & black glitter, fine olivey-gold & black glitter, fine black & silver/multicolor, and fine purply-grey & silver glitter.

J.cat EL505 Eyelashes and Lash Glue

These lashes look really pretty and feel soft & light. The lash glue has an interesting applicator (like a little spatula!) that I think will work quite well. It's also a dark glue which is a plus for covering up application mistakes. 

There you have it! This month's Ipsy bag. Since the products are full-size and are types of products I wanted to try, I really liked this one. I feel like Ipsy has been getting a hang of things and been on the ball lately. Even with an impractical product like the glitter palette, it's still fun and I got my money's worth in this bag. 

Also, I've actually been using some of the products from my Ipsy bags so lots of mini reviews coming!

Sephora's Pantone Color IQ

On Monday, I got a chance to try the Color IQ system at Sephora. Working together with Pantone, Sephora now has a incredible tool to aid in one of makeup's most frustrating chores: getting the correct color match for foundation. According to Sephora:

SEPHORA, the leading beauty specialty retailer, and Pantone LLC, the global color authority, unveil SEPHORA + PANTONE COLOR IQ, the most advanced foundation matching tool available in North American beauty retail.   Powered by Pantone and based off the color matching technology developed by X-Rite, the SEPHORA + PANTONE COLOR IQ system is the first and only beauty device to scan the surface of the skin and assign an official Pantone skintone number, to find your scientifically precise foundation shade amongst our 1,000 foundations, brands and formulas.

“SEPHORA + PANTONE COLOR IQ POWERED BY PANTONE is an incredible tool that delivers a real benefit to our clients,” says Margarita Arriagada, SVP of Merchandising at Sephora. “We see this as the first application of this patented Sephora exclusive technology, and are excited to expand its capabilities for other uses in the color world.”

The SEPHORA+ PANTONE COLOR IQ is a hand held tool based off the Pantone X-Rite Spectrocolorimeter used in the design world.  As the first of its kind in cosmetics retail, the device works by taking an image of your skin, analyzing and assigning you an official Pantone skintone number.  With that number, Sephora beauty experts referenceSEPHORA’s Universal SkintoneGuide(via iPad) which holds over 1,000 foundation skus to determine what products are a precise match for your skintone. 

“SEPHORA + PANTONE COLOR IQ eliminates many of the variables that can affect shade selection, including pigment challenges, skin texture and undertones which can often distort the clients match,” added SEPHORA PRO Gilbert Soliz. “As an artist, I know the right foundation is essential to a great makeup look so this is an amazing resource to have for my consultations.  It allows me to pull the best matches across all our brand offerings for my clients personalized consultation.”

It's only available at the 5 Times Square location in NYC and the Powell Street location in San Francisco. Sephora has plans to roll out the system to other locations. Enough recap, onto my experience!