May Lip Monthly Bag

June 02, 2016

Starting this month, I'm going to have an exciting new feature on the blog - I'll be going through the products included in each Lip Monthly bag and swatching them! Lip Monthly is a subscription service that sends four to five full size products every month. This month there were three lip products and an extra face mask, so keep reading for my initial thoughts and how to save 55% on your first bag!

So Susan Jello Shot Rosy Lip & Cheek Gel ($24.95) | The first piece in this month's bag is a stain for lips and cheeks. It looks like a shocking orange in the tube, but once you apply it to the skin it becomes a sheer bright pinky coral color - it looks perfect for summer. It feels quite creamy and gel-like at the same time, and it leaves a super long-lasting stain, so it really is perfect for hot summer days when you don't want your makeup to melt off. This is a vegan product and has no mineral oil, parabens, phthalates, or gluten.

Manna Kadar Liplocked Priming Gloss Stain in 'Lucky' ($24) | As soon as I took this out of the bag I knew it was for me. It's a nice creamy gloss, but it's one of those super pigmented glosses that are almost like a lipstick. It feels nice and hydrating on the lips and doesn't feel sticky. I think the "priming" aspect really does what it says - the gloss lasts quite a while, and my lips definitely seem more smoothed out. The color is what I fell in love with first though - it's that perfect neutral pink.

Dirty Little Secret Lipstick in 'Guilty Pleasure' ($10) | When I first opened this product I'll admit I was a little afraid - I typically never stray from my neutrals. This bright plummy pink will be perfect for when I want to step out of my comfort zone - I love cool-toned colors on my skin, so this one is sure to be flattering. It's a nice creamy formulation with more of a satin finish. It lasts a reasonable amount of time on the lips, and it fades evenly.

Jor'el Parker Fango Mud Therapy Mask ($10) | The last product included in the bag wasn't a lip product, but a face mask! You all know I love a good face mask. This one is a mud mask, but it's really intriguing because it also contains sweet almond oil and avocado oil. It purifies and exfoliates the skin with volcanic ash minerals, but those oils help keep the skin from drying out. It says it's for both the face and body, so I'm excited to try and use it on my shoulders next as I've been getting a few breakouts there.

L to R: Hangover, Lucky, Guilty Pleasure

Altogether the products in this month's bag are worth $68.95, which is incredibly impressive considering a Lip Monthly subscription costs $12.95 per month. You can also save money by choosing the 4-month or 1-year plan. I'm so excited to get to try products from brands I haven't really heard about, and I love that they only send full-sized products. I used to be subscribed to Birchbox, but after a while I found myself drowning in samples I never used because for some reason I just don't reach for sample sizes. Since these are all full sizes I know I'll actually reach for them and discover new favorites.

If you want to sign up for Lip Monthly, you can use the code KELSEY55 to get 55% off your first bag!

Have you tried Lip Monthly? What's your favorite beauty subscription service?

*These products were kindly sent to me by Lip Monthly, but all opinions are my own. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

May Favorites

May 31, 2016

May was a pretty good month for me, beauty-wise. I put myself on a spending ban at the beginning of the month and it really made me evaluate my collection and figure out what products I really loved. I ended up picking up a few things the other day since it was the end of the month, and I think I'm going to try and stick to that cycle, trying to rein in my beauty buys and save them for the end of each month. Everything in this month's favorites is something new I bought either at the end of April or beginning of May, so hopefully the monthly spending bans will have me using more of my collection and falling back in love with older products.

I only had one skincare favorite this month - the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. I figured since I loved everything else I had tried from the brand, I should pick up another cult favorite. I've been using it just about every night, and it's improved my skin immensely. I love its relaxing scent, and it's so lightweight, making it perfect for this terribly muggy weather we've been having.

Whenever I've worn eyeshadow this month I've reached for the MAC Cool Neutrals Palette (review). They're such flattering shades and all pair together really well. I'm usually in a rush in the morning so I'll just do a wash of one eyeshadow, and the third and fourth shades in the middle row and the third shade in the bottom row have been perfect for that. Another eye favorite is the Colourpop Creme Gel Liner in Brew-Haha. I picked this up in my Colourpop Haul at the beginning of the month, and it's definitely been the standout product for me. It's so pigmented and creamy, so it's really easy to blend and smudge out when you first put it on. But once it sets, it stays put all day - even in the waterline. The shade is the perfect deep brown for everyday.

This warmer weather is really getting me into brown-toned blushes (and also bronzers). I picked up the Clinique Cheek Pop in Nude Pop because I was in love with the formula but didn't have a shade neutral enough for my tastes. Nude Pop is the perfect peachy brown color that warms up and adds depth to the skin - I've been sweeping it on pretty much every time I wear blush. With this slightly more sun-kissed skin look, I need a good helping of highlighter. The Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish 003 in Nude (review) hasn't left my cheekbones all month. This is worth every bit of hype in my opinion, and it's one of the most beautiful highlighters I've ever used. I love layering the powder pigment on top of the cream highlight stick for an intense holographic sheen.

My last favorite of the month has been the Glossier Rose Balm Dotcom. The Balm Dotcom is my favorite lipbalm ever, and I basically carry a tube with me wherever I go. The rose one has a very subtle pink tint, but it's the scent I've been obsessed with. It smells like real roses, with the slightest hint of sugary sweetness in there too. I picked up their other two new scents (cherry and mint), but the rose one has definitely been my favorite of the three.

What were your favorites this month?

The (Super) Sheer Red Lip

May 28, 2016

As the weather heats up, I love swapping out my usual matte lip for something lighter and more sheer. Recently while digging through my collection I realized I've got four different sheer red shades I've been reaching for quite a lot. They range from the super cheap to super luxe, and they all give you that "I just ate a cherry popsicle" look.

The one to trigger your nostalgia | I had a major moment with the Lip Smackers Dr. Pepper Lip Balm when I was little. In fact I seem to have a faint memory of taking a bite out of the tube (I had to be about four or five years old, I swear). When I heard Lip Smackers was going out of business I grabbed one of these for old time's sake, and it actually became one of my favorites. They seem to have not gone out of business, which is great because I'm going to need to buy at least five more sticks. I'm allergic to lots of lip balms (especially from the drugstore - I'm looking at you EOS), but this isn't an issue at all. It gives the sheerest tint of red to the lips, and it smells just like Dr. Pepper. No wonder I might have taken a bite out of this when I was little.

The affordable one | I've spoken about my love for the Revlon Balm Stains before, and the shade Adore has just been so perfect. It's a deeper red with a hint of brown, and it also has some gold shimmer. Because it's so sheer, it just adds a subtle flush of color, and the shimmer only enhances the lips and doesn't appear metallic. These have the nicest formula too - they're moisturizing, balmy, and minty.

The ultra-nourishing one | You probably saw me freaking out when Glossier released new flavors/shades of their Balm Dotcom. I immediately ordered the set of three the second they came out because I will be a Glossier fangirl till I die. I've been loving the Cherry Balm Dotcom - it's still got that perfect Balm Dotcom formula that I adore, but it's got the nicest red tint and smells just like cherry candy. Can we also talk about that packaging, too? I'm obsessed.

The luxe one | Of course "the luxe one" is a YSL product. I had forgotten about my love of the Volupte Tints-In-Oil until my sister passed the shade Cherry My Cherie (5) onto me. This goes on almost clear, but the pigment develops into a more pigmented shade as time goes on. And when the glossy oil wears off, you're still left with the stain. It's a really nice product for every day. The Cherry shade is more of a pinky red than the rest of these products mentioned, but it just makes it that much prettier for spring and summer.

What are your favorite sheer lip shades?