I have been subscribing to Ipsy for about 3 years now. It is one of my absolute faves! It is only 10 bucks a month and FREE shipping. I receive anywhere from 5-6 beauty items (and some are FULL SIZE!)  Here is my referral link to subscribe to Ipsy. https://www.ipsy.com/new?cid=opensubs&refer=kx5o

My Review of Ipsy March 2018:

• Ipsy Glam Bag  – It is a DIY Glam Bag. It came with a pink and green marker to “unleash creativity”. So you can use the markers to color on the bag.

• Steve Laurant Lip Oil – FULL SIZE RECEIVED – I received the shade Orchid.  Packaging was lovely. It is a high shine gloss, very sheer, no color shows up at all when applied. It felt amazing when 1st applied, not sticky at all, but my lips felt chapped when it wore off. I tried it on 3 different days, spaced apart to see if maybe my lips were just being weird but each time, my lips felt cracked and dry when it wore off.   INGREDIENTS: POLYISOBUTENE, MINERAL OIL, ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE, SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, FRAGRANCE, MAY CONTAIN/PIGMENT RED 7 LAKE, RED 28 LAKE, BLUE 1 LAKE

  Here is the swatch of the Steve Laurant Lip Oil.

• HERMINERALS The Professional Blending Sponge – I really liked this blending sponge. I 1st dampened it with water, then squeezed it between a clean paper towel to remove any excess moisture (same as I do with my Beauty Blender or Real Techniques blending sponge). This is a small blending sponge, has a pointed edge, which is great for under the eyes or around the nose. The flat end was good for all over the face. I applied my It Cosmetics CC Cream with this sponge and it went on flawlessly! My pores looked smaller and texture was just beautiful. It may have worked better than my Beauty Blender or Real Techniques blending sponges. The ONLY thing I didn’t like was since the sponge was so much smaller than my others (like half the size almost), I got such a shoulder workout!  Trying to use it for my whole face was like a morning workout. Whew! I had to take a breather and then broke down and switched to my normal Real Techniques blending sponge to give my arm a break. The HERMINERALS Blending Sponge also seemed to “press” the makeup in more flawlessly than my other sponges or brushes. I would LOVE a larger size please HERMINERALS. I need to find a better way to clean it though. I can usually clean my sponges with face cleanser and I absolutely love using DHC cleansing oil to clean my sponges but none of these worked very well on this particular sponge. But I will definitely keep using this.

• CLARK’S BOTANICALS Retinol Rescue Overnight Cream – This cream says it is hydrating with Vitamin E and retinol. I didn’t use it on my face since I already use prescription Retin-A. But I did try it out on my hand and it felt quite nice. It was very hydrating, not greasy or sticky. Soaked in fast and left a nice satiny finish. It had a thick creamy texture. No real scent that I noticed.  It should be used at night and follow up with a sunscreen during the day.

• EYEKO Lash Alert Mascara –  This mascara is supposed to give “crazy volume and curl”. It is cruelty free and infused with caffeine and biotin. This is the 2nd or third time I have received this mascara in a subscription box. The 1st time I received it, I tried it on and my lashes were a goopy mess. I thought I just received a defective tube or maybe the brush was bad. But it was the same this time. When you 1st take the mascara wand out, it is only half coated with mascara. Ingredients: Aqua (Water, Acrylates / Ethylhexyl Acrylate Copolymer, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Microcrystalline Wax, Copernicia Cerifera Cera (Carnauba) Wax, Stearic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Polyvinyl Alcohol,Triethanolamine, Isobutylene / Sodium Maleate Copolymer, Silica, Phenoxyethanol,Phenyl Trimethicone,Simethicone, Nylon-6, Dipropylene Glycol, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Chlorphenesin, Dimethicone, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Disodium EDTA, Laureth-21,Alcohol, Magnolia Officinalis Bark Extract, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-t-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Allium Sativum (Garlic) Bulb Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Perilla Frutescens Leaf Extract, Perilla Ocymoides Seed Extract, Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract, Arginine, Caffeine, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Angelica Gigas Root Extract, Apigenin, Astragalus Membranaceus Root Extract, Atractyloides Japonica Rhizome Extract, Biotin, Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, Butylene Glycol, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Bark Extract, Cnidium Of cinale Root Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Oleanolic Acid, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Poria Cocos Extract, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Rehmannia Chinensis Root Extract, Iron Oxides (CI 77499), D&C Black No. 2 (CI 77266).

So the instructions clearly say “squeeze me to coat brush.”

This is what the brush looked like after I followed the instructions. The top half of the brush has a  ton of product on it and the bottom has barely anything.

        Unfortunately this mascara did not work for me.

• SKIN & CO ROMA Truffle Therapy Whipped Cleansing Cream – I love the eye cream from this brand so I was excited to try this cleanser. This is a gentle skin cleanser for dry, sensitive skin. Made with truffle extract and almond oil. It is cruelty free, no sulfates, no parabens, no mineral oil, no phthalates. It is supposed to remove waterproof makeup too. I enjoyed the texture, light scent and the ingredients. My skin felt soft afterwards. It didn’t remove all my eye makeup and I felt like I needed to cleanse my face again to remove all my makeup. For me, it might be best for a 2nd cleanse after I have already removed my makeup or for a morning cleanse. This is a brand I enjoy and look forward to trying out more products from them. Ingredients: aqua (water), prunus amygdalus (sweet almond) dulcis oil, glycerin, glyceryl stearate se, cetearyl alcohol, prunus amygdalus (sweet almond, hydrogenated sweet almond oil, hydrogenated sweet almond oil unsaponifiables) dulcis extract, lauryl glucoside, tuber melanosporum extract, malva sylvestris (mallow) leaf extract, ruscus aculeatus (butcher’s broom) root extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract*, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) leaf extract, tocopherol, calendula officinalis flower extract, ascorbyl palmitate, centella asiatica leaf extract, parfum (fragrance), sodium stearoyl glutamate, disodium edta, ethylhexylglycerin, lecithin, phenoxyethanol, citric acid, coumarin.

In the above photos, you can see how this is a very gentle cleanser. I applied some makeup to my hand (lipstick, lipliner, concealer, eyeliner, mascara, lipgloss & brow powder). I applied the cleanser per the instructions and massaged it in for 60 seconds, then wiped with a damp cloth. The concealer, lip liner and lipgloss didn’t come off. Although it doesn’t remove a full face of makeup, this cleanser would still be great for a non-makeup or light makeup user or as I mentioned, for your morning gentle cleanse.

What did you think of this month’s beauty box? Which monthly subscription do you like the best?