January Ipsy Bag — 19 Reasons

The Ipsy Bag for January has arrived! Instead of making a video showing the items that came in the bag I decided to try the products and include a review of the products as well.

The bag: This isn’t a bag that could be described as eye-catching. The best bag was the December bag, the black with red interior. This bag is blue and in a lighter blue (lets say sky blue) there are silhouettes of what appear to be cleansers, nail polish, lotions, and lipsticks. The bag is the same size as the others. The build quality is pleasingly sturdy and is a constant that can be found with Ipsy.

Proactiv+ Mark Fading Pads: Four of these pads came in the bag, which isn’t enough to see any real results. Naturally, the instructions indicate that if you use this with the rest of the Proactiv system you will see the best results. The only complaint with these, besides not having enough to see if they’re worth buying, is that they stink. No. Stink doesn’t accurately capture what my nose experienced. These pads STANK. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is but it’s not something I’m willing to slide across my skin nightly.

Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Pencil: This item arrived in the color penny, aptly named. The pencil is copper colored with an ample amount of glitter. The pigmentation of the shadow stick is awesome and the color is incredibly easily to blend. The amount of glitter is the only downside, but overall a great pencil.

Malin+Goetz Mojito Lip Balm: According to the packaging this lip balm is a daily protection, soothing treatment with fatty acid absorption technology. I’m sure that’s all great and amazing, however, I was only able to wear this 2 or 3 times. This “balm” is incredibly sticky. Maybe I just used to much when I applied it. I’ll keep it around and give It another try somewhere later down the line. There is no color to this product, which is fine.

Briogeo Deep Conditioning Mask: I really want to try this product! I’m hesitant to try this because I’m not sure if its geared towards natural ethnic hair. The last few week my hair has been incredibly dry and I’m currently struggling with keeping it moisturized in these frigid temperatures. [Side Bar: I feel as though the phrase “frigid temperatures” should never pass through my mouth when describing the weather in my area. I live in Texas there should be nothing frigid about these temperatures.] Anyway, at the current time I cant afford to try something new on my hair in its current state. I will keep y’all posted if and when I try it.

Faith Aromatherapy Sugar Scrub: Aromatherapy? I don’t know about that, maybe its because of my war with allergies. Anti-aging? Can’t really speak on that either. The area I used it on (my hands) were super soft after use. It’s a good product.

I was underwhelmed with this months bag, still haven’t figured out what the 19 reasons are. I think the overall concept was great, new year cleansing and refreshing the skin. I am excited to see what the bag for February looks like! Until next time, take care.

USE IT UP ’14

If I added up the amount of money I spent on make-up in 2013 I would definitely want to kick my own ass. I’ve acquired quite a collection. Now, its time to actually use it. As far as purchasing new make-up, I’m not doing too much of that in 2014. The things I will purchase I have no intention on paying full price for. Well MAC has 3 things coming out this year that I want but that’s it… I promise… hopefully. Ulta always has great sales especially with Maybelline buy 1 get on half off. Right up my little frugal alley. I had initially said that the first 6 months of 2014 I’m not buying ANYTHING, unless it was to replenish, but my plan was foiled when Bare Minerals dropped me a little line about being on QVC. :: face palm:: I couldn’t help but get one of the kits. So there went that. Anyway, I figure it would be fun to create little monthly challenges, for example for one week I’m only allowed to use one particular palette or one lip color. Doing things like that will give me an opportunity to use what I have and rediscover palettes that may have gotten pushed aside. Until next time, take care.

All in a Days Work.

I’ll be the first to admit that when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease I was terrible with taking my medicine. The first three months or so I was great, never missed a dose. As time went on a missed dose here and there turned into me not taking it at all. After my initial hospital stay I didn’t really have any symptoms of Crohn’s, so naturally I wasn’t driven to take my medicine. There was the occasional what I like to call blips or slight flare. Things remained that way up until about the summer of 2012. Around August 2012 symptoms started appearing, nothing too crucial. It was in the winter when the pain (something akin to machetes being tossed around my intestines) or cramps started. I then started taking my medicine periodically.

Fast forward to early summer 2013, I experienced the WORST flare I’ve ever had to date with my Cohn’s disease. I’ll spare yall the gross details but just know that every symptom associated with Crohn’s Disease was on ten. I lost around 17lbs in about a week and a half. Making the journey from my living room to my bed required all the strength in the world. I made a few trips to the E.R. but there wasn’t really anything they could do. I made an appointment with my G.I. doctor immediately, mainly to get refills on my medicine. After a ‘I’m so disappointed in you’ speech from doctor regarding my lack of visits he explains my blood work looked terrible. Obviously. Since then I have really good about taking my medicine. I’m not perfect, I miss a dose every once and a while but never two in a row. With out this hand full of pharmaceuticals I have to consume on a daily I would be extremely ill and in a hell of a lot of pain. Until next time Take care.