Ipsy Bag - April 2014! Pics, Swatches, Mini Reviews & Value Breakdown

Hello, Beautiful!

This is my April 2014 Ipsy bag! Check out below to see what I received, a little about each product and my thoughts, as well as a break-down of the value of this month's bag!

Ipsy is just $10 a month! Each month you'll receive 4 to 6 deluxe or even full-sized products. If you want to sign-up for your own Ipsy bag, CLICK HERE (it's my referral link - you don't have to use my referral link; it only gives me points that I can save up to redeem for prizes in the future).

April 2014 Ipsy Bag

Shipment Quick Stats:

• Value of this month's Ipsy Bag: $52.78 (value is approximate & does not include value of actual bag)
• Total # of Items Received: 5
• # of FULL SIZED items: 2
• # of makeup items: 3
• # of nail items: 0
• # of hair care items: 1
• # of skin care items: 1
• # of body care items: 0
• # of fragrance items: 0

Now I'll talk about each product...

Cailyn Cosmetics - Tinted Lip Balm
Shade: Apple Pink

• MY THOUGHTS: I've tried Cailyn Cosmetics in the past and have enjoyed their products, and I've seen their Tinted Lip Balm popping up in other Ipsy bags over the past few months (maybe even seen them in Birchbox) so I thought it was only a matter of time before it showed up in one of mine. I definitely love lip balms, especially tinted lip balms, but I'll be honest and say I hate the packaging on this. Sure, you could remove the brush that's in the top but it's still a bulky lip balm to throw in your purse or to store in my makeup drawers. Well maybe bulky isn't the right word -- more like odd shaped. The shade I received, Apple Pink, looked like it would be a great nudey pink shade - but on my lips it just looked terrible. It looked very dry and matte, nothing that I look for in a lip balm. I wouldn't even call this tinted - this is a very pigmented lip balm and I'd even call it a lipstick. I also didn't find it to be all that moisturizing. Maybe this shade is bad or maybe I got a bad one, but I wasn't a fan of the formula or shade on me. It's not a product I would go out and buy more shades of, nor would I recommend.
• FULL SIZE: 0.14 oz @ $19.00
• SIZE I RECEIVED: Full Size
• VALUE: $19.00

City Color - Shadow & Highlight Mousse
Shade: White Gold

• MY THOUGHTS: I wanted to love this, because City Color Cosmetics are affordable and this shade - which looks more gold than white - is pretty. However, the formula wasn't great. Although it does feels creamy, once you try to use it it doesn't blend out well and applies a bit uneven/patchy. It almost becomes a bit stiff. Once it sets, however, it is hard to remove so that is a plus. It's something you could definitely work with but I don't know how much it would be worth the hassle. I also feel like this is going to dry out really quickly, so I'm going to keep the inner lid/stopper to help prolong its life.
• FULL SIZE: 0.092 oz/2.6 g @ $2.99
• SIZE I RECEIVED: Full Size
• VALUE: $2.99

Urban Decay - 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil
Shade: Black Velvet

 

• MY THOUGHTS: I love Urban Decay's original 24/7 Glide-On Pencils, but I have yet to try one of their "velvet" versions - which I believe only come in this one Black Velvet shade (at least at this time). Even though this is not a full sized pencil, it practically is and I'll get a lot of use from it. It certainly isn't the most intense black - instead it's more of a smoky, sultry black shade. I like it a lot!
• FULL SIZE: 0.04 oz @ $20.00
• SIZE I RECEIVED: 0.03 oz/0.8 g
• VALUE: $15.04

Dr. Brandt - Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant

• MY THOUGHTS: I actually already received this same sample (same size) in a different subscription service in the past. I can't remember if I ever got around to using it, but I know I will use this. I love exfoliators, and Dr. Brandt is a good brand for my skin.
• FULL SIZE: 2 oz @ $78.00
• SIZE I RECEIVED: 0.25 oz/7.5 g
• VALUE: $9.75

Big Sexy Hair - Root Pump Volumizing Spray Mousse

• MY THOUGHTS: I already own this product (same size too) and I enjoy it. I don't use it often because it can sometimes make my hair feel sticky, yet the Big Sexy Hair line is one of the only lines that actually works to volumize my hair. This will get used, as soon as I'm out of my other one.
• FULL SIZE: 1.6 oz @ $6.00 --- this isn't a "full size" but you can buy this size at Ulta
• SIZE I RECEIVED: 1.6 oz/50 ml
• VALUE: $6.00

The actual bag everything comes in...
my thoughts:

• This month's bag was a purple/navy blue with a gray design on it, saying "Beauty Rocks!" and Ipsy. A take on a record player... the bag is even more square, as if the bag is the record player. I think it's a just an okay bag; I like it better than last month's bag but it's certainly not my favorite bag to date. 

My Thoughts On Entire Bag...

• FULL SIZE/DELUXE SIZE: This bag contained 2 full sized items and three deluxe sized items.
• VALUE: The value was approximately $52.78
• USAGE: The item I'll use the most is probably the Urban Decay eyeliner. I can always use a black eyeliner and I like that it's a bit more sultry look on the eyes; it's also a great size sample (as it is almost full size). I'll also use the Big Sexy Hair Root Pump as soon as I'm finished with my other can that I currently have. The Dr. Bradnt Microdermabrasion will be used for sure, as I always can use an exfoliator. I highly doubt I'll use the Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm; the packaging isn't my favorite but I could get over that if I had liked the formula or the color but I unfortantely did not. The City Color White Gold mousse isn't something I will likely use, as I have other products (similar in color too) that are easier to use. But I do think it's pretty and I wish it had worked out a bit better for me.
• FINAL THOUGHTS: I don't think I will ever be able to complain about an Ipsy bag because they always give you a really great value for just $10 a month, and you almost always get at least one full sized product - usually more (there were 2, almost 3, full sized products in this months bag for me). Although this hasn't been my favorite Ipsy bag, I still got three products I will absolutely get great use out of!

Let me know what you think...

What are your thoughts on this month's Ipsy bag? Did you receive an Ipsy bag this month? If so, what did you get in your bag? Discuss in the comments below.

Angelo David VOL Spray (volume spray) - pics, swatches, review

Hello, Beautiful!

As someone with very fine, thin hair, I need all the volumizing products I can get my hands on. In fact, I think that's my number one hair care product I always tend to try from any line. I recently got to try the Angelo David VOL Spray - which was called Premier Volume Spray, but has since been re-packaged/re-named to VOL Spray (my bottle still has the original name on it). As far as I know, they are the same formula just a new name. Check out my full review below, including all the product info, after the pics!

Angelo David VOL Spray
(formerly known as Premier Volume Spray)

 

Angelo David VOL Spray Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $18.50 (4 fl oz full size). Available exclusively at the Angelo David website and at Angelo David Salons. $1.00 from every product sold will go to www.lupus.org 

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses

The Angelo David VOL Spray is a transformative volumizer that adds incredible fullness and volume to hair without creating stiffness. It has a flexible-conditioning formula, combining silk and wheat proteins, panthenol and avocado, for extra strength and hydration. Evening primrose enhances shine, while sun protectors keep color vibrant. For your fullest-looking hair ever!

To Use: Mist evenly onto freshly shampooed, towel-dried hair. Then lift sections and spray each one from roots to midshaft. Style as desired. Use on dry or second-day hair. For extra volume, "set" with your blow dryer, directing air flow all around.

As I mentioned at the top of this post, my hair needs volume... badly. I have tried so many volumizing products over the years, and I have a really hard time finding ones to work with my hair. A lot of times volumizing products won't work for me all that great, but seem to work wonders in my friends hair. I guess my hair just really hates volume.

This product comes in a bottle with a spray top, that sprays out easily and evenly. It has a light scent, but I can't really describe it well. I guess it's a fresh salon scent, if that makes any sense. The price point is on target for most salon-products, but I don't mind paying $18.50 if it's going to work wonders. Not sure if I would buy this at $18.50 just based on my results - but would be worth the try if I could get a sale.

This product, if you follow the directions of spraying sections from root to midshaft, then styling with a blow dryer, will work to give your hair volume. It's not going to make your hair look like you teased it, but there will be volume there that wasn't before. It will be a nice non-sticky finish too, which sometimes can be the problem with volumizing products.

I spray this maybe 2 to 4 times per section - each section about 2 to 3 inches, maybe. Then I just comb through and if I have the time, I'll blow dry section by section - but usually I just use the blow dryer to get my hair dry and not worry about doing it section by section. I get the best results when I do blow dry each section - but I still get nice results just applying heat to it.

However, it's important you use enough -- lifting and spraying each section - or you're not going to get results. If i'm in a rush sometimes I will just spray the top of my head with a volumizing spray and then quickly blow dry my hair, not even blowing it out with a brush. With some volumizing sprays I can still get some lift, but didn't really get that with this product with just spraying the top of my head just a few times (I think I use about 3 to 4 sprays when I did try it a few times that way). For the best results you really do need to follow directions and spray each section 2 to 4 times (depending on the length of your hair), then blow dry.You don't necessarily need to blow dry section by section, but applying heat on your hair is key I think in "activating" this product to full potential.

I have really hard to volumize hair, so for a volumizing product to work at all means it's probably going to work for a lot of other people too. Just make sure, if you do purchase this, that you follow directions to get great results - otherwise you may not see any results. Now that I've tried this product from Angelo David, I'm curious to try more from his line - such as the Foaming Sea Silk Styler and the VOL Shampoo & VOL Conditioner.

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this volumizing spray? Have you tried this or is this on your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below.

Samy Fat Hair "0" Calories hair care line 6 styling products plus the shampoo & conditioner - pics, swatches, reviews

Hello, Beautiful!

Volumizing hair products are on the top of my list, always. I have long, fine, thin hair that wants to avoid volume at all costs - so I go through a lot of trial and error when it comes to volumizing hair products. I recently tried pretty much the entire line of Samy Fat Hair "0" Calories products - including the shampoo & conditioner and six styling products. They are affordable - and guess what? I'm loving most of them! In this post I'll share with you my review and product info on all the products I have from the Samy Fat Hair line. Check them out after each set of pics!

Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie
Thickening Creme

 

Samy Fat Hair Thickening Creme Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $6.97 to $8.99 depending where you shop (5.25 oz full size). Available on the Samy Fat Hair website, at Walmart, at Ulta, at Drugstore.com, and everywhere else Samy Fat Hair products are sold. Click here to find a retailer.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses!

Lightweight, non-greasy formula creates thicker looking hair. This ultra lightweight thickening creme adds incredible fullness, volume and body, while adding texture and shine to your style. Samy's exclusive Thickening Complex - a blend of natural proteins and extracts - nourishes each hair strand. The result is thicker, stronger, luxurious and healthier looking hair.

To use: Dispense a small amount into palms and rub together. Work evenly through towel dried hair from root to ends. For maximum thickness and fullness, blow dry hair and style as usual. Great for adding fullness and volume to dry hair also!

This is my absolute FAVORITE product from the entire Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie line of products, and what I wanted to start this review post with. I can honestly say if you will only try one product from this post, then this is the product to try.

It smells good, has a nice creamy texture, and easily works into your hair. I get great results when I blow dry, but I can also feel and notice a difference even when I let my hair air dry. Often times this is the only product I need to use in my hair to add thickness/volume.

I feel like this is a dupe for the Living Proof Full Thickening Creme (which I also own). They act almost identically, and I get pretty much the same outcome. Only difference is the Living Proof Full Thickening Creme is $26 for only 3.7 oz, where as the Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie Thickening Creme is around $7 for 5.25 oz! Actually, come to think of it, a lot of the products from the Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie line could be dupes for the Living Proof products!

Like I said already, if you only try one product from this post this would be the one to go for. It consistently works, and you don't need to use a lot either. It does say you can use it on dry hair too, but I never tried that yet. Really love this product and would recommend!

Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie
Amplifying Hair Spray

 

Samy Fat Hair Amplifying Hair Spray Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $11.99 to $12.99 depending where you shop (10 oz full size). Available on the Samy Fat Hair website, at Walmart, at Ulta, at Drugstore.com, and everywhere else Samy Fat Hair products are sold. Click here to find a retailer.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses

Maximum hold hair spray for extra volume, fullness and shine. Amplifying mist is a versatile design tool that adds extra volume, fullness and shine to any style. This unique formula keeps your style all day and brushes through for easy re-styling. leaves hair soft and touchable. Samy's exclusive Thickening Complex adds strength, body and texture without residue, buildup, stickiness or flaking.

Other than the Thickening Creme, the Amplifying Hair Spray is my next favorite - and a very close second favorite to the Thickening Creme. This hair spray does an amazing job at pumping up the volume. If you go to my Instagram page, I posted a pic of me with my hair curled and this was the ONLY product I used that day to style my hair for volume. Actually, I'll insert the pic below in case you don't have an Instagram account (and if you do, I'd love if you followed me on Instagram).

I had put in some hair oil on my ends while my hair was still wet, and then air dried for the majority of it, used a blow dryer for the rest, curled my hair and then used this hair spray to volumize it up -- and wow did it! I know it's not super lion's mane volume, but for me - this is really good volume, especially considering there was NO TEASING involved. I just sprayed and used my fingers to lightly tossle it and break up the curls a bit and that was the result. I pinned back one side of my hair or you may have seen even more volume.

This hair spray also help my curls nicely. It doesn't smell bad either. Overall, I was really happy with this hair spray. It's their most expensive product in the line (I think) at around $12 to $13 depending where you shop, but I think it's well worth the price if I get the results - not to mention I've spent more on hair spray that didn't do much at all! I'd recommend this hair spray.

Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie

Amplifying Mousse

 

Samy Fat Hair Amplifying Mousse Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $6.97 to $8.99 depending where you shop (7 oz  full size). Available on the Samy Fat Hair website, at Walmart, at Ulta, at Drugstore.com, and everywhere else Samy Fat Hair products are sold. Click here to find a retailer.

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Kisses

This ultra lightweight amplifying mousse adds incredible volume and body, leaving hair visibly thicker, fuller, stronger and shinier. Samy's exclusive thickening complex - a blend of natural proteins and extracts - nourishes each hair strand. The result: thicker, fuller, luxurious looking hair that holds your style all day long. Contains no wax or residue to weigh hair down.

To use: Shake well before each use. Hold can upside down and dispense a small amount into the palms and work evenly through towel dried hair from root to ends. For maximum thickness and fullness, blow dry hair and style as usual.

So I just gave two amazing, 5 out of 5 Kisses, happy reviews on the Thickening Creme and Amplifying Hair Spray and then this mousse gets a 2.5 out of 5? I have to say this is probably the only product from the line I really didn't care for and wouldn't purchase again. That certainly doesn't mean this won't work for you, so keep in mind this is just my opinion and my review on the way the product worked with my hair.

Let's start with the positives about this product....

The price is good for the size - you get 7 ounces of mousse for around $7 depending where you shop. The mousse itself is pretty nice. It comes out at first a bit runny/liquid-y (even if you shake it well), but quickly transforms into a fluffy, dense foamy mousse that doesn't do that "melt" in your hand all quickly. It does go into the hair nicely too, with no issues on blending it in.

So why only 2.5 out of 5 Kisses then? Well this didn't work for my hair because even as I was letting my hair air dry, it felt stiff and sticky. I thought maybe after I blow dried it would be better but unfortunately it only made things worse or at least speed up the process to dry time to see the results. While yes, it did in fact add volume in my hair, it also made my hair feel sticky and a bit stiff. It was hard to run my fingers through my hair - almost impossible without getting a tangle - and it just didn't move nicely because of the slight stiffness.

I thought maybe I had used too much (even though I used the normal amount I would with any other mousse) and the next time I tested it out I used way less. While this time my hair wasn't as stiff, it still had that sticky feeling. The sticky feeling is similar to those powder volumizing hair products, that can leave that sticky weird feeling in your hair. This felt so much like that. So the next time around I used even less... which was hardly any product at all, and this time it did nothing for volumizing my hair but did improve with the stiffness but with it doing nothing for my hair it just wasn't worth using. An extra step I didn't want to deal with and have to worry if my hair would be stiff or sticky feeling.

I personally wouldn't recommend this to anyone with a hair type like mine, just based on my experience with this -- because I feel like there are better mousses out there, and definitely better products from the Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie line. This may still work for you though, so if you want to try it for yourself then by all means go for it. I'd love to hear that it worked for you!

Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie

Thickening Serum

 

Samy Fat Hair Thickening Serum Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $6.97 to $8.99 depending where you shop (1.75 oz full size). Available on the Samy Fat Hair website, at Walmart, at Ulta, at Drugstore.com, and everywhere else Samy Fat Hair products are sold. Click here to find a retailer.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses

This ultra lightweight thickening serum leaves hair visibly thicker, fuller, stronger and shinier. Samy's exclusive Thickening Complex - a blend of natural extracts and proteins - penetrates each hair strand resulting in thicker, fuller, stronger hair that holds your style all day long.

To use: Dispense a small amount into palms and work evenly through towel dried hair from root to ends. For maximum thickness and fullness, blow dry hair and style as usual.

This is a good product; although I haven't really used it a bunch because I honestly forget about it on my shelf. It's similar to the Thickening Creme, except a serum version and I feel like it does a good job at adding thickness to my hair. I still prefer the Thickening Creme to the Thickening Serum, but I do think it's a nice lighter option if you don't have good results with the Thickening Creme.

Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie
Thickening Spray

 

Samy Fat Hair Thickening Spray Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $6.97 to $8.99 depending where you shop (6 oz full size). Available on the Samy Fat Hair website, at Walmart, at Ulta, at Drugstore.com, and everywhere else Samy Fat Hair products are sold. Click here to find a retailer.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Kisses

Lightweight formula thickens hair without adding weight. This ultra lightweight thickening spray transforms fine, limp hair into thicker, fuller, stronger hair. Specifically formulated not to weigh hair down. Samy's exclusive Thickening Complex - a blend of natural proteins and extracts - nourishes each hair strand. The result is thicker, stronger, luxurious and healthier looking hair.

To use: Spray generously through damp hair. Style as desired, then blow out or let air dry. Can be used on dry hair with the same great results!

This was just okay for me. It didn't do anything too amazing for thickening or volumzing my hair but it wasn't completely useless either. You do need to spray generously through damp hair to use this, so you'll use more product to get a similar result to the Thickening Creme, where as the Thickening Creme only needs a small amount to work. For me, it's a good extra booster step but not a one-and-go product for my hair like the Thickening Creme can be.

However, I do feel it works better on dry hair! In fact, way better - at least on me. If you do pick this one up try it on damp hair first, but then try it with dry hair too and see if you like the results any better.

Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie

Root Lifter Spray

 

Samy Fat Hair Root Lifter Spray Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $6.97 to $8.99 depending where you shop (6 oz full size). Available on the Samy Fat Hair website, at Walmart, at Ulta, at Drugstore.com, and everywhere else Samy Fat Hair products are sold. Click here to find a retailer.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses

Transforms fine hair into thicker, fuller looking hair. This lightweight root lifting spray instantly builds body and fullness where fine limp hair needs it the most. Precision nozzle targets spray at the roots for extra lift, thickness and volume.

To use: Spray onto damp hair, concentrating on roots. Blow dry and style as usual. For great body and lift, blow dry hair upside down. For best results, follow with Samy Fat Hair Amplifying Hair Spray.

Similar to the Thickening Spray, I feel like this is an extra booster step in my volumizing routine. I use this before using the Amplifying Hair Spray sometimes and I do think it helps. It does a good job on its own as well - but I think you get the most bang for your buck if you follow up with the Amplifying Hair Spray.

Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie
Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner

 

 

Samy Fat Hair Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $6.97 to $8.99 each, depending where you shop (10 oz full size). Available on the Samy Fat Hair website - click here for Shampoo - click here for Conditioner, at Walmart, at Ulta, at Drugstore.com, and everywhere else Samy Fat Hair products are sold. Click here to find a retailer.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Kisses

Thickening Shampoo:
100% vegan, lightweight formula transforms fine, limp hair into thicker, fuller looking hair. This revolutionary sulfate free, 100% vegan, thickening shampoo is the first step toward thicker, fuller, stronger hair. Samy's exclusive Thickening Complex - a blend of natural extracts and proteins - nourishes each hair strand, increasing the strand's diameter and expanding the hair shaft. The result: thicker, fuller, stronger, healthier looking hair.

Thickening Conditioner:
This ultra lightweight thickening conditioner transforms fine, limp hair into thicker, fuller, stronger hair. Specifically formulated not to weigh hair down. Samy's exclusive Thickening Complex - a blend of natural extracts and proteins - nourishes each hair strand, increasing the strand's diameter and expanding the hair shaft. The result: thicker, fuller, stronger, healthier looking hair.

Review of Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner:
I am one who is very skeptical of volumizing shampoo and conditioners... I don't think they really do much other than weigh hair down less so your hair seems like it has more volume to it. In the past I've tried some volumizing shampoo and conditioners that I felt did nothing, and a select few that actually did seem to help. The Samy Fat Hair "O" Calorie Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner did an okay job at adding some volume in my hair without overly drying it. However, I don't think it's the best I've used and I do think in order for the volume to really last you'll need to use a volumizing styling product.

I'm really more in love with the styling products from the Samy Fat Hair "O" Calorie line than I am with the shampoo and conditioner. I have used the styling products after using the Samy Fat Hair Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner, and then also after using other shampoo and conditioners (non-volumizing), and I didn't notice that much of a difference in the volume turn out of my hair. I think it may help, but certainly not something that would give you va-va-voom on its own.

I do think it's worth trying out because in my research I did see some really great reviews on this shampoo and conditioner, so I think it will depend on your actual hair type to see if you get results from using this duo. But again, I do recommend following up with the Samy Fat Hair "O" Calorie styling products for the absolute best possible volumizing, va-va-voom outcome.

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of the Samy Fat Hair "0" Calorie line of hair products? Have you tried any of them and if so, what are your thoughts? If you haven't tried these yet are they something you've added to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below.