Beauty Box REVIEW: ipsy December 'Brave Soul' Bag

Yes, I am fully aware that we're way into the first week of January 2015 (still can't believe it's already 2015!) and before you raised an eyebrow on why am I sharing ipsy December bag, please allow me to redeem myself. December was a crazy busy month so I never did had the chance to do this post but on the plus side, I had substantial amount of time to test and use each product in my December ipsy bag.

ipsy December 'Brave Soul' Bag

Crown Brush
Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush (Full size) On sale for $6.99; Normal retail price: $17.50

My thoughts:

I had very low expectation for this brush as my experience with dual ended brushes have never been good so I was pleasantly surprise to discover this brush to be pretty decent. It is not the softest brush but it blends and smudge well. Will I pay for this? No, but I don't mind using it because it gets the job done.

Beauty Without Cruelty
A.H.A. 3% Facial Cleanser (Sample size 2 fl. oz) Value: ? website is down

Ingredient list from ipsy:

purified water, aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice*, sodium c14-16 olefin sulfonate, ocoamidopropyl betaine, sodium lauryl glucosides, hydroxypropyl sulfonate, lavandula hybrida (lavandin) oil*. pelargonium roseum (geranium rose) oil, citrus sinensis (sweet orange) oil*, cananga odorata (ylang ylang) oil*, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) extract*, calendula officinalis (calendula) extract*, nthemis nobilis (chamomile) extract*, lonicera fragrantissima (honeysuckle) extract*, cucumis sativus (cucumber) extract*, panthenol, allantoin, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, glycerine, glycolic acid, malic acid, citric acid, tocopherol, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate 

My thoughts:

This cleanser gave me super clear skin on my first try and I love the citrusy scent. My skin looked like it was glowing and it made me extremely happy. 3 days later I used it for the second time and again, fabulous results. A week later I used it for the third time and it turned out this cleanser is my skin's Achilles heel. My skin broke out in little red spots in between my brows, nose and on my right cheek. It took more than a week for my skin to calm down and I'm still waiting for the spots to fully fade away. Maybe this is meant to be used once a year? 

Pixi by Petra
Fairy Dust (Sample size 0.6g/0.02oz) Value: ? Full size: £18.00 

Ingredient list from ipsy:
mica, talc, zinc stearate, hydrophobic silicon dioxide. [+/- mica, red iron oxide, black iron oxide, titanium dioxide, yellow iron oxide]

My thoughts:

I received 'Brightening Bare', a pretty shimmery nude champagne shade. I fell in love with the shade when I swatched it and fell completely out of love as soon as I attempted to apply it. Why I used the word attempted? Well, this product is a mess. I failed when I tried applying it with the applicator and then I failed again when I used a brush to pick up the product. It was super messy and I ended with the product on my nose, cheeks and sink, basically everywhere but my eye lids. Fail.

Maybe I'll try it as a highlighter next.

NYX Cosmetics
Butter Lip Balm (Full size) value: $4.00

Ingredient list from ipsy:
mineral oil / paraffinum liquidum/ huile minérale, ceresin, polybutene, octyldodecanol, synthetic wax,hydrogenated polyisobutene, silica, petrolatum, pentaerythrityltetraisostearate, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, helianthus annuus (sunflower ) seed oil, stearoxymethicone / dimethicone copolymer, euphorbiacerifera (candelilla) wax / candelilla cera / cire de candelilla, beeswax /cera alba / cire d’abeille, phenoxyethanol, tocopheryl acetate, bisabolol, fragrance/ parfum, citral, linalool, limonene. may contain / peut contenir (+/-): mica, titaniumdioxide (ci 77891), iron oxides (ci 77491, 77492, 77499), red 6 (ci 15850), red7 lake (ci 15850), red 28 lake (ci 45410), yellow 6 lake (ci 15985), yellow 5lake (ci 19140).

My thoughts:
Coloured lip balms can be very tricky as some tends to dry and chap my lips instead of moisturizing it. Yes, I am staring at you Maybelline Baby Lips. NYX products has never failed me so far and this was no different. I received the shade 'Red Velvet', a very pretty soft red. This feels like butter, very moisturizing and it fades into a nice stain on my lips. The pigmentation is good for a lip balm and it lasts a long time too. I only have to reapply every 3-4 hours. Take note that this has a slight fruity flavour which I personally don't mind but some of you might dislike it.

tarte
deluxe lights, camera, lashes™ 4-in-1 mascara (Sample size 3mL/0.10oz) value: CAD10.00, Full size: CAD24.00

Ingredient list from ipsy:
water/aqua/eau, oryza sativa (rice) bran wax, cyclopentasiloxane, hydrogenated stearyl olive esters, stearic acid, cera carnauba/copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax/cire de carnauba, alcohol denat., triethanolamine, candelilla cera/euphorbia cerifera (candelilla) wax/cire de candelilla, acacia senegal gum, panthenol, vp/va copolymer, phenoxyethanol, polyvinyl alcohol, aminomethylpropanediol, chlorphenesin, iron oxides (ci 77499)

My thoughts:

I've purchased this mascara before and definitely one of my favourite. It doesn't give as much volume as I like but it's lengthening and the brush separates and fans out my lashes beautifully. It also holds the curls decently well and there is no sign of flaking at the end of the day. Very happy to receive this.

My thoughts:
What can I say? The bag is not the best quality, it looks and feels cheap but hey, it's mostly black with a splash of deep pink so I am using it to store cotton buds and hair pins. Definitely way better than the sparkly November bag which I happily threw away. Only very limited sparkles are allowed in the House of Platt.

Verdict:
I am much happier with this bag and it felt like ipsy took heed of my quiz. It did give me the feeling that it was catered to my needs so definitely a plus point. Can't wait to see what January bag looks like!

Do you subscribe to ipsy? If yes then are you happy with your December bag?