Review: Ipsy Glam Bag Decemeber 2013 'Celebration'

I am so excited about my new Ipsy bag. This is a really good beauty box and I am soooo sad I missed the November one. This is my 1st beauty box subscription and the 1st one I got as well.

The package looks very festive in a hot pink shiny plastic cover. Inside there was a note from Ipsy and a lovely black purse that can very useful in stashing travel makeup. I wont be using it as a regular purse though as it looks like a makeup bag.

Look at that bright pink!!!

There were 5 full size products inside and I was so happy to get this for $10 plus shipping!!! Such a joy for my makeup-loving heart!

 The one I loved best was this J Cat Beauty Big Lip Pencil in shade Red Rose. This is a chubby lip pencil that Ipsy says can be used as a lipstick and lip liner. I feel that I would be using it more for lip color than lip lining. I will post a detailed review later but I just swatched it around 4hours back and went for some washing & cooking and it is still there! I have not used a makeup remover but I used dish-washing liquid, hand soap and it just faded very slightly but retains the full color. Very impressed and if it performs as well on my lips, I have a winner in my Red Lippy category cos this is a very bright and beautiful Xmas Red shade.

The other product I am excited about is the Be A Bombshell The One Stick in shade SunSet. This looks like something I would buy as I like blushes in stick form better than the powder or creamy pan version; I find it easier to apply and blend. I like the shade as well as it looks like a color that would suit my warm skin tones better. So keeping my fingers crossed.

The ones I am okay about are the Nicka K New York Nail Color in Classic Taupe and Ardell Natural Lashes. I like a good nail polish and I love the design & packaging but the color is a bit bland for me; I would have so preferred the Red Apple one as it looks gorgeous. This one could be a nice office wear though. Also I am not much of a false eyelash person as I am very nervous around makeup over my eyes. But I may give this a try soon though.

The one I am least excited about is the POP Beauty Bright Up Your Life Eye Shadow Trio in Naturally Bare. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the brand or the product per Se as I have never used it but I have so many nude eye shadows that I am overstocked in that dept. I would have preferred some nice jewel tones for the festive season like some good cranberry shades but then I can understand why they would wanna play safe with colors that suits the most the best. Cant complain for just $10, but still Meh!!!

Overall I am very excited about the January Edition :) I will be posting some reviews and some new hauls soon so watch out!

Review and Swatches: Avon Anew Retroactive Eye Repair Serum

Avon is a company for which I have very mixed feelings. I like some of their products, some are Meh, and then there are some that make you think, 'What the heck were you thinking?".
Overall, considering I have to go and find a consultant and then get it from them after a waiting period, I am not sure about the attractiveness of the brand.

Anyways this is not a brand review; I am very careful when it comes to skin care product review cos things are so different for me and you. I would prefer to review products I absolutely hate rather than something I love cos with hate you get reasons that may be much more common than for a 'loved' product.

Avon Anew Retroactive Repair Serum - INR 500 approx[Discontinued]

And as you may have guessed this is a hate! I don't want to waste time retelling my hard journey with this product for last many months, so adding the reasons below; I have normal-oily skin and I am in my early thirties:

• This does nothing, no brightening, no De-puffing, no moisturizing - absolutely no effect on my eyes.
• On application it gives a slightly soothing feel but after a min, it just sits there like I have put some heavy paste on my eyes and that is something none wants I am sure. It takes around 3-4 min and some massaging in for this to be absorbed into skin and I want my eye products to seep in faster

Notice the weird shimmer in the liquid?

•  On the rare occasion that it got into my eye, it hurt like hell for a long time. I cant understand why anyone would make an eye product that hurts it so much. I don't have any allergies or very sensitive skin, so cant even imagine how it will affect a person with sensitive skin.

• This has a weird shimmer in it that doesn't show up on skin. Wonder what that is!

Note:
I noticed so many positive reviews in Avon website and was wondering if mine may be an isolated case when I noticed that the bottle looks different and there is some Chinese wording on it, so it may be that the product formulation may have been different in the ones that we got in India.