February 2022 Ipsy Glam Bag Review
Near the end of 2021, it came to my attention that my makeup collection has started to feel stale and needed an upgrade. Over the course of the last 3 years, I started to shop less in major retailers such as Sephora and made the majority of my purchases on K-Beauty websites instead, focusing my hauls around skincare.
While my skin has been loving this, it was getting harder for me to make content from beauty products that were no longer offered by brands. It didn’t help that the idea of using lipstick that may have expired a year ago was off-putting. Enter beauty subscription services – ah yes, these aren’t a new concept to me as I’ve had an ongoing love-hate relationship with makeup subscription services.
Some months, I would get everything I could possibly want in one bag at the low price of $13 USD a month. Then I would have the occasions where I get a bag full of sample-size items of which I know I won’t enjoy or already dislike. The tricky part is deciding whether I continue my subscription or cancel, I end up in a vicious cycle of unsubscribing and resubscribing on a quarterly basis.
Although it’s been years since I’ve resubscribed to a subscription box service, I felt that it was the smartest move to get reintroduced to what’s new in the beauty industry, specifically makeup! While IPSY was one of the first to come to mind, I did subscribe to a few others. I received my February 2022 IPSY Glambag in the mail the day after Valentine’s day, which is fair considering I’m in Canada – but the bag was Valentine-themed so I wish I got it before then to create content around it.
The graphic pink hearts popped against the bright red bag, detailed with a gold zipper and matching heart charm, super cute and I can see myself reusing the glam bag for another occasion. In my February 2022 Ipsy Glam Bag, I received 5 products, two of which were considered full-size products.
Radiant Blush in Make Me Blush
Full-size product with $20 value
The first time I heard about Violet Voss, it was because of their iconic PRO Eyeshadow Palettes. This was back in the day when I was still working at Sephora so… 2017? Yet I’ve never actually gone out of my way to try any of their products and I’m not sure why, as the blush blended smoothly into my bare skin. It didn’t pick up dry patches or fill my fine lines and felt velvety smooth to the touch.
The shade is on the warmer side, falling into the peachy pink category while leaning pinker. It doesn’t have glitter or shimmer in the formula but looks satin on the skin with a touch of radiance to it. The pigmentation was there and with just a swipe I was able to blend out the entire surface of my wrist as a patch test. For $20, I believe you would get a lot of wear out of one pan.
The confusing bit is that I can’t find the blush anywhere on their website while trying to see what their shade range was. I’m hoping this was a tease to a new collection launch and not a product that they’ve discontinued.
Glacial Oceanic Clay Mask
Deluxe Sample valued at $6 for 30mL of product
Full-size value of $23.99 for 120mL
For someone who has combination skin with sebum overproduction around the nose area, one would assume I use clay masks often to help combat this. I don’t. I find clay masks are a hit or miss for me, sometimes they dry out my skin and I end up feeling tight for days. Or it’s the opposite and they pack a ton of unnecessary ingredients that break me out. While I’ve never heard of the brand NENA before, they did seem promising for being a Clean at IPSY partner and having a short ingredient list. Bonus points for being a Canadian brand too.
I liked that it wasn’t scented with artificial ingredients and smelled close to nothing – or what clay would normally smell like. On contact, my skin felt cool to the touch immediately soothing. I noticed that it dried quickly, and you can see it work its magic on my pores around my nose area. While drying, it didn’t feel tight, and my skin wasn’t irritated. Immediately after removal, my cheeks looked clear, and my pores appeared smaller.
The fact that I didn’t break out immediately was a good sign and I genuinely enjoyed this clay mask and would most likely repurchase and add to my regime when I finish the deluxe sample.
- Sweet Pressed Pigment Duo in M.I.A. Mauve & Ice Palace
Deluxe Sample valued at $15 for 2.1g
Now I’m not too sure why this was listed as a sample size considering how it’s sold for $15 on their website listed as a regular eyeshadow duo. I’m also not sure what the flamingos represent but they’re cute, nonetheless. Looking at the eyeshadow in the pan it didn’t impress me with a first impression. The duo is cool-toned with a satin finish and shimmer finish shadow.
They swatched seamlessly on my wrists without a primer but felt chalky when rubbing the pan. I also tested out the full-sized brush I got in my February 2022 Ipsy Glam Bag with this eyeshadow duo and the pigment didn’t pick up well with the brush. The icy pearl shimmer shade works well as a highlighter to make your inner corner pop so I can see myself using this again in the future.
The mauve matte eyeshadow seemed too pink for me and didn’t look that great on my skin tone. I may try to use this as a liner colour but I don’t see myself using this shade often. It’s good to note that the brand is 100% cruelty-free but I most likely would not be getting much use out of this duo.
E222 – Your Right Path
Full-size brush with $10 value
If you’re someone who has hooded eyes or not a lot of real estate on their eyelids, you’ll probably love the size of this brush. Made from synthetic Taklon fibres, the E222 brush is a flat tapered brush that can pinpoint pigment in a specific area. I can’t see myself blending with this brush but it picked up pigment well and I love how it fits perfectly in my inner and outer corners.
The barrel of the brush was lightweight and the brush itself seemed weightless. It’s small enough to take on the go or when I’m travelling and fits my hand perfectly. I also loved the glitters in the brush handle, in the sun it shines beautifully! In terms of quality, for $10 it’s not bad at all, I’ll be getting a good amount of uses out of this brush and can only hope it lasts a few years before I have to chuck it.
Time Pressed Lip Balm
Deluxe Sample valued at $10.7 for 2.3g
Full-size value of $14 for 3g
One can never have enough lip balm is what I think. Enriched with vitamin E, jojoba oil and squalene, I like how minimal the ingredient list for this lip balm is. I love anything mint scented which was the fragrance of this lip balm. It was mild and could have been stronger, unfortunately.
The formula applied smoothly onto the lips and didn’t skip or break from the tube. I get chapped lips often so it’s always nice having another lip balm to pop into my bag. Though my lips didn’t feel immediately hydrated, it made the appearance of fine lines on my lips less noticeable. Their ingredient list was 100% vegan and cruelty-free which I’m happy to rub all over my mouth, but I don’t see myself repurchasing this lip balm outside of IPSY as there was nothing that really stood out to me.
@kwital Ipsy Feb 22 Unboxing ❤️ #ipsy #skincare #beautytok #ipsybag #unboxing #makeup #violetvoss #subscriptionbox @ipsy ♬ Dreamy Vibes – Ocean Bay Jazz
Overall, I had a positive experience with my first IPSY Glam Bag in a while and give it 4/5 stars. With 5 products totalling roughly $61 in value, I can see myself using most of the products in my February 2022 IPSY Glam Bag. I’m excited to see what I’ll be receiving next month while I start exploring new makeup brands I’ve never tried before and will be looking at different subscription boxes!
If you’re new to IPSY, you can click this link here to save on your first Glam Bag. They have different subscription tiers available, I would recommend getting the regular Glam Bag to ease yourself in but if you’re a beauty junkie then check out their Glam Bag Plus!
*This blog post contains referral links on which I may earn commission or points. However, all reviews and opinions are unbiased and remain my own, and the products mentioned are purchased with my own money. Please reach out to me on the contact page if you would like to use my images or collaborate on a post.
