Ipsy August 2017 Review

Many Ipsy reviews tabulate the cost of the bag, which I think is a tricky practice. It is hard to pin down the exact value of something because 1.) markups 2.) subjectivity. If you are not going to use something then it really has no value to you, does it?

Before I go into any more detail, the items I received in my August 2017 bag were:
1.) Crown Medium Contour Brush, $7.00
2.) The Balm Eyeshadow Single Sample, 0.6 g, $2.92 (using the unit price of the Bon Voyage 2 palette)
3.) (2) Secret Key Face Masks, $2.00
4.) Makeup Forever Excessive Lash Sample $7.14
5.) Naked Cosmetics Translucent HD Finishing Powder (full size) $15.00

Total (approximate price) $33.00

Overall, I think this is a really solid bag. I will use all the products. Finding the market value of all these items is a bit harder. If I go price per gram of the original cost of the item, of course it will be a lot higher than if I do price per gram of the discounted price. However, I believe that "discounts" are more true to an objective value of a price, if that makes more sense. So, to make a long story short, any "value" I calculate will be approximate. I've reposted the approximate value of each item in purple next to the item.

Let's get into a breakdown of the products and bag, with pictures:

The bag has an ombre purple pink design, with a gold colored tassel. The front of the bag reads "Good Vibes Only" with Vibes in a gold glitter print. It's a pretty bag, with a message that - like most platitudes- is functionally useless.

I quite like face masks, but I am not sure about the tea tree one. Tea Tree is quite strong, and definitely not as gentle as people think it is.

Notice I have tons of the translucent powder on my thumb, due to the messiness of that product. This is Kuwakaribisha, from the Balm Voyage vol 2 palette. In the palette, this is actually a highlighter, but can also be used as an eyeshadow. Below I have swatched both this- on the left- and the Mary Loumanizer, on the right, for comparison.

Both are very similar, but  Kuwakaribisha has a thicker consistency and definitely feels more like an eyeshadow.  Perhaps  Kuwakaribisha is a tad more yellow-toned. I tried to use it today with the other products from this bag, but I did not have much luck. More on that in a bit.

Naked is one of those brands that is very strange to me. When I first opened the container, half of the sifter had sunk into the container and I had to pry it out. The powder itself has a strange, plastic-smell. It does create a smooth finish on the skin. 

*However, I would apply this after all other products, including blush and highlight. When I tried to apply highlighter OVER this product, thinking I would have a smooth base, I was so so wrong. Nothing would stick to my skin. 

This is a fine mascara. Nice for precision and control. We'll see how it lasts throughout the day.

Finally, the contour brush on the right. I've placed it next to my largest brush, for reference. I used the medium brush to apply the translucent powder and it did a good job. I definitely think Crown makes durable, quality brushes and I will continue to use this brush.

Overall, I am off and on with Ipsy. I resubscribed after unsubscribing from Sephora Play. I just think Ipsy is a lot of fun compared to other services