The Daily: May 17th, 2022

I know I missed yesterday’s daily post and I apologize. I was just exhausted. This weekend was as horrible as expected. On May 6th, my younger brother died unexpectedly. He sat down, leaned back closed his eyes and was gone. While we will need to wait fifteen weeks to hear back for a final diagnosis, preliminary thoughts lean towards either aneurism or stroke. Regardless it was quick and hopefully painless.

While the shock threw me (and everyone else into a tailspin, the world is on a little more stable footing now. This past weekend was the memorial service which made everything real. As horrid as it was, it did provide a bit of closure which was especially important as the death came out of the blue. While grief will clearly take a long time to settle, A return to a more normal course is helping me to regain my footing. I planned to start back to normal yesterday and I made a good start.

But then I decided a destressing face mask would be a perfect break as my walk was overly sweaty due to high humidity and then I closed my eyes and was out. Luckily it was a gel like hydrating mask that could be worn overnight if you wanted and not a clay based one. I was out for several hours. While most of the mask ended up on the pillow, I did get quite the hydration out of it, as well as a much needed nap.

So today we slide back into our regularly scheduled routine. There was a walk today. It is always interesting in the spring. The humidity rises even though it isn’t all that hot and I feel like my pores have opened up and are having a good clear out. I have to splash water to rinse off the salty sweat, but at this time of year the walking always makes my skin feel really good once the sweat is rinsed away. It is as though it has purged toxins that I didn’t know it was holding on to. Of course that also results in a spate of clogged pores. It is as seasonal as my allergies. I’ll need to put some pore clearing masks on my to do list to keep things clear, but otherwise it is a good feeling.

Food has been hit or miss. Last week I nibbled but didn’t eat much, then I went home and ate a lot, more because people seemed to feel the need to feed me more than because I was hungry. It was actually a relief to have one of my Smoothie Box Shakes for lunch today. (I went with the orange one). There were a lot of heavy sauces over the weekend. They were delicious, but very heavy. More than anything it is a relief to get back to my own food.

I think I am going to try to sneak in a second walk this evening after the heat of the day breaks. I’m pretty sure half of the calories I am burning off right now are Cream of Mushroom Soup based.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Lorac Light Source 3-in-1 Illuminating Primer

Foundation: Bite Beauty Changemaker Foundation

Bronzer: Buxom Staycation Vibes Bronzer

Blush: Benefit Gold Rush Blush

Powder: Kim Chi Beauty Puff Puff Pass Set and Bake powder

Eyeshadow: Tresluce La Flor De Mexico Shadow Palette

Mascara: Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara

Lips: Elf Sheer Slick in Black Cherry

When I was packing my travel bag this past week I realized there are several primers I haven’t full tested. I think several came in at the same time and I got distracted. Today I skipped the pre makeup base of Embryolisse because I wanted to treat this as a first use primer and this primer has some skin care benefits I believe. I’ll have to double check that as I dive deeper into it. I love Lorac lipsticks and eyeshadow formulas but I don’t think I’ve ever tried any of their face products so this was fun. I know I tried this when it first came in, but I don’t remember it. There is very much a skincare like scent to the primer. It glides on well and this far it is working well. I chose not to add a highlighter because of this primer. It is a bit on the glow-y side, but it isn’t overly wet looking. The wet look just makes me feel like I look greasy. I liked the way this primer turned out today.

Today I reached for the Bite Beauty foundation because I just heard the news that the brand is going under. For years they were my go to for lip products. Their agave lip mask was hands down my favorite for years. Then in 2019 they decided to reformulate everything so the brand was vegan. They released their new formula in early 2020 and as we all know 2020 didn’t go as anyone planned so it was poor timing for a release. The thing is that their new formula wasn’t that great, at least with the lip products. I’ve had excellent vegan lip products but this just wasn’t an excellent formula. So they are closing and pretty much everything on their site is 50% off. Including this foundation. this is the formula still on sale and now that I have the hang of the formula I really like it. It is one of those foundations you need to use a makeup sponge for and go lightly with instead of applying with a brush. Once I figured out how to apply it correctly I fell in love with the formula. It is very lightweight and feels and looks natural. I was really looking forward to summer wear actually. while I usually use BB creams and tinted moisturizers in the summer this was light enough I thought it would work for summer wear and I was thrilled for a summer foundation. I’ll still use it, but apparently this will be it’s one summer of use.

The Buxom Bronzer and Benefit Blush are also summer faves and it feels like i am starting to naturally shift to my summer wear makeup. I will be shifting things around in the makeup drawers this weekend so the summer wear products are nearer to hand. This bronzer and blush will make steady appearances all summer.

The Kim Chi powder is one I am really liking. Part of it is the powder puff. I think that I am going to try the puff with other powders to see if the puff application is the main reason I like it so much or if it is the powder formula. So that will be fun to play around with for a bit.

This was the first use of the Tresluce palette and the colors are really nice. They are a bit more pigmented than I expected and they didn’t blend as well as I would like today. I used all matte shades today. I’m going to see if I can get the blending to work a little bit better, but the shadow formula was nice to apply. I did have to tap off the brush as it was a bit on the powdery side, but there wasn’t any fall out during application. Over all it was a good first use.

I then finished up with two of my favorites, The Stila mascara and the elf sheer slick. I am almost out of the Elf sheer slick actually. It is a nice light formula that is a summer staple. When I replace the Black Cherry i am going to look for one that is more neutral for a natural look day.

So that was me today. I’m getting back to normal. I’m sure there will be a bit of rockiness ahead, but today was pretty stable sailing. I am sliding back into my routine and tonight, there will be a second walk, followed by bean burgers. (I make my own patties rather than purchasing them). There will be no cream of mushroom soup in sight.

Testing the Avant Hydra Replenish Lip Balm

I will be one hundred percent honest. I did not want to like the Avant Hydra Replenish Lip balm. I know, you should never go into a product with a set opinion. But to be honest my desire to not like this product was due to the price.

Avant is always a pricy brand. I am always surprised by how much their products cost. I’ve received several products from the brand in subscription boxes over the years. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don’t, but I almost always feel that they are overpriced. When this lip balm came in I was expecting it to be expensive, but the cost of it was stunning.

The Avant Hydra Replenish Lip Balm for “For satin-smooth, hydrated lips, this soothing balm aim to leave lips irresistibly soft, youthful and nourished.” retails for $77. That’s right, it is a $77 lip balm.

Inside this lip balm is Hyaluronic Acid and Cupuacu Butter…

Hyaluronic Acid aims to penetrate deeply into the lips to hydrate and instantly help improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth.
Cupuacu is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B3, fatty and amino acids. Being from the cocoa family, Cupuacu aims to improve the tone and texture of your lips whilst protecting them against damage caused by free radicals.
Avant

So there are more skincare beneficial items than in you $1.99 tube of lip balm. But is is worth $77? Truthfully, No. I am never going to be able to say any lip balm is worth $77. Because it just isn’t. I know it is odd to say that but something about charging $77 for a lip balm offends me somewhere deep in my soul. I can justify the cost of a lot of things, but not a lip balm.

However I will say that this is a really good lip balm. It is smoothing, it is hydrating and it is just an all round good lip balm. It glides on smoothly and absorbs well, leaving soft healthy lips behind. while my lips are prone to drying out and the occasional cracking, I don’t have severe problems with my lips. If I regularly apply any lip balm I am good.

If you routinely have issues with your lips drying out then maybe you might find the cost justified. It is a good product that works well. If it were in the $30 range it would actually become a staple in my lip care routine. I love the slight almond/vanilla scent and I love the way it applies and makes my lips feel.

I also know that while I have a single lip balm in my house I will not be able to convince myself to purchase this at full price. It is fabulous, but not $77 fabulous. So I will use up every last drop and enjoy this lip balm while I can. I just know I will never purchase the Avant Hydra Replenish Lip Balm on my own.

Using the Mitchell and Peach English Leaf Body Oil

This Mitchell and Peach English Leaf Body Oil came to me via a Boxy Charm. To be honest I had never heard of Mitchell and Peach, however it is the season for body oils. At least in my opinion. In the winter I go for heavier creams which my dry winter skin soaks in.

As the temperatures rise, I tend to prefer body oils. For me it feels like they absorb much more rabidly and hydrate really well. I prefer to use them right after my shower when the heat from the shower has opened my pores. I basically towel off and then apply instead of body lotion.

This year the warmer weather snuck up on me. I was prepared for it, then we got snow and I had to hustle back into my winter clothes. Then just as I thought temps were again on the rise, we had another cold snap. So I am late stocking up on my warmer weather products as it seemed that every time I thought about it, the cold would return.

I am pretty sure it won’t be coming back until October at this point.

Having never heard of Mitchell and Peach (or this product) I looked them up. Accoding to the brand this body oil…

The newest addition to the Mitchell and Peach collection, this expertly blended body oil was inspired by the lush, verdant countryside of the Foxbury Farm estate in Kent, England.
The nourishing formulation, containing natural oils and Vitamin E, is delicately scented with a ‘green floral’ fragrance possessing both cut-leaf freshness and intriguing depth.
Mitchell and Peach

While I have never been to Foxbury Farm and to be honest my visits to Britain haven’t been to Kent either, I can say that this Body Oil has a very green scent to it. I know, it isn’t helpful when I describe scents as colors. Sometimes the wires just get crossed.

It has a fresh scent to the oil that is like the first scent of a green leaf emerging from a tree. If you sniff the branch where the tree is starting to bud out, before it gets the particular scent of the plant type and is still just new growth, that is more or less the scent of the oil.

It is a light scent that is refreshing after a hot shower, the scent feels a bit cooling actually as it reminds me of an early spring morning which is generally cooler than my shower. Applying it produces a delightful mental fission, at least in me anyway.

I love that there is vitamin E in the oil as it is a great softening agent for the skin and my skin really enjoyed it. Thus far this has been a great addition to the body care line up.

However, while I adore the glass bottle, I don’t really like the lid. It is not the easiest to twist off with damp hands (it also has condensation from the humid air of the bath and is wet itself) and post application it is harder to get into place with my then oily hands.

Normally this isn’t too big of an issue, I can set the bottle to the side, wash and dry my hands and then put the cap back on. The issue is that it is an open top under the cap. There is no regulator and I do not have the largest bathroom in the world. I have almost knocked this over a couple of times. And it really world be a shame to waste it.

I also don’t like the open top for dispensing the product. It is better now that I have used a bit and the bottle isn’t full. It is easier to control the pour when then bottle isn’t completely full. The open top means that you really have to watch how you pour it into your hand as it is very easy to use too much. Too much of a body oil makes you feel greasy. Applying a smaller amount that the skin can absorb easily makes the skin soft and hydrated.

Over all, I really did like this Body oil and will continue to use it until it is gone. Would I purchase it on my own? Yes actually I would. I would however replace the cap with one that would let me control the dispensing of the product a little bit better. I a actually fairly certain I have a cap from another bottle that would fit. I will be trying it out as a replacement later. Beyond that one minor detail, this Mitchell and Peach English Leaf Body Oil is a great product and it makes me want to further investigate the Mitchell and Peach Brand.

Nailing it with OPI Natural Nail Strengthener

I just wanted to take a moment and talk to you about one of my peek gardening season BFFS. During the spring my nails get pretty beat up. There is weeding out what grew in the garden over the winter, there is digging and planting for spring and summer, there is weeding after planting, and weeding when the invasive vines think that you added all those lovely soil amendments for their benefits and oh yeah, more weeding.

even with gloves my nails get chipped and break with routine frequency.

One of the products I use constantly at this time of year is the OPI Natural Nail Strengthener. It applies like polish and actually looks like a shiny top coat so if you are running around it looks like you have clear polish on. After a day and a half it will start to peel off, all of the goodness absorbed into the nails. At this time of year I just take it off and apply another coat. I will keep doing this repeatedly through out the heavy gardening months.

While it won’t prevent breakage, we do have far too many rocks and far too dense a soil for that, what it does do is it keeps most of those breaks from going down deep. I may get a few chips along the nail tips, but my hails won’t break down to the quick. For me, that is the best result I could have and why each year I pick up a new bottle. It is a quick and easy way to look after your nails when you know you are going to abuse them.

Get $5 Off Your First Purchase when you join the Sally Beauty Rewards Program!

First Use Clove and Hallow Cloud Cleanser

Clove and Hallow sent their brand new Cloud Powder Cleanser for me to try out and review. While I will give a more full some review after I’ve used to for a full thirty days, I wanted to go ahead and give my first impressions. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Clove and Hallow they are a clean beauty brand as well as vegan and cruelty free. Their products are sustainably made in the United states as well.

And I know packaging isn’t everything (although some packaging is clearly better for the world than others so I suppose I should say beauty isn’t everything, maybe…) but I love the look of this packaging. Simply put it is glass and looks like a spice shaker. And truthfully once the cleanser is all used up and the jar rinsed out, this glass bottle will have a second life in my spice drawer. I’m sure eventually it will make it’s way into the recycling, but it will be well reused here.

But before that day comes, there is a product to use and review. Let’s took a look at what Clove and Hallow have to say about their new Cloud Powder Cleanser.

Who doesn’t want skin as soft and bouncy as a cloud? Packed with soothing colloidal oatmeal, vitamin B5, and mango extract, Cloud Powder is a water-activated cleansing powder that gently washes away makeup, sweat, and impurities. Even the most sensitive skin will feel deeply cleansed, but still nourished and soft to the touch. CLOVE + HALLOW cares: Cloud Powder Cleanser is packaged in a glass jar which can be reused or infinitely recycled. Its cap is made with recyclable plastic.
Clove and Hallow

See it isn’t just me planning to reuse the bottle. It was designed that way. Aren’t they fabulous? I really like the thought of a powder cleanser. I used the Amore Pacific cleanser which comes in powdered form and beyond how the cleanser performed (which was lovely by the way) I really enjoyed the powder format. It let me control how much water I added to the mix. In the mornings I could add a little more water and just do a quick clean rinse, but in the evening add less water for a thicker product which made me feel like I was truly taking off the last of my makeup.

So I am down for a good powder formula. I also like the fact that it doesn’t run the risk of leaking during travel. I do love a good pump cleanser, but you can’t really travel with them. I had an unexpected travel moment this weekend and this cleanser was fantastic. The glass bottle was sturdy and traveled with no issue and as it is a powder there was no leakage.

bubbles stay as it applies and then rinses off clean

The cleanser dispenses into the hand through the shaker top. I did notice I have a tendency to shake out more product than I needed. I think because it is shaped like a spice jar (or at least my spice jars) I tend to give it a couple of vigorous shakes. One shake is all you need and you have enough product. After a few days I remembered that and I was fine.

There is a light scent to it that is almost vanilla-y but not quite. I had to look on the label and I think the almost but not quite vanilla is from the Mango. It is that borderline vanilla scent/taste that some mangos get. I personally really like it. It is a very light scent though and disappears almost instantly. And trying to get closer and sniff just gets cleanser up your nose. I do not recommend that.

For a first use (or first weekend use actually) I really enjoyed this cleanser. It was gentle on abraded skin (it was a very emotional weekend leaving my skin extra sensitive) and it gave my skin a great clean. I am looking forward to using this Cloud Powder Cleaner from Clove and Hallow for the next month (and beyond) and seeing how it performs over time. As a first use though it gets a thumbs up on smooth clean skin, a second for a light, pleasant but quickly dissipating scent and at least one more for sustainable and reusable packaging. I know, that is more thumbs than I have, but I am really enjoying the Clove and Hallow Cloud Powder Cleanser. Hopefully the love will last the month. See you in thirty days…

The Daily: May 12th, 2022

I know, this week, these posts have been off. If you read them, thank you. If you skipped them I completely understand. While grief doesn’t disappear overnight, life does go on and next week when things are settled and the official bits have been taken care of, I will push closer to normality. In fact i will need normality to return as a way to help me process. Thank you very much for your understanding this week.

Tomorrow morning I head home for the Memorial service and the family. There will be no posts until I return on Monday. I wish all of you a great weekend.

The Travel Makeup Bag for May 2022

While not a review, I thought it might be of interest to you to see what I am putting in my travel makeup bag and why. During my daily makeup posts I tend to rotate through makeup, but when I travel I tend to pick reliable products that can fit into a small makeup bag, especially when it is a weekend trip. While this isn’t exactly a fun getaway, it is travel. The only thing I left out of the makeup bag is mascara. The reason is that this trip is for a memorial service and there will be many tears shed. At the moment I have yet to pick up a waterproof mascara so I am leaving my mascara behind and will either pick up a waterproof mascara at the drug store or go without.

When traveling I generally find it a good idea to stick to products that don’t spill and I try to reduce the possible breakage component by sticking to cream products so they feature heavily in this bag.

This time I am starting with the Kristopher Buckle Triplicity Foundation stick. It has traveled with me for quite some time. It is my old reliable. I’m still not certain of the status of the company. I know that the main website shut down after massive sales and now it is available at walmart. It is a fantastic foundation, I just don’t know if it will be replaced once it runs out. I may actually scoop up one more for travel purposes because it is really hard to beat this stick formula. Plus I don’t have to worry about foundation bottles breaking. But if the company has gone under I won’t stock up, I’ll just work on finding a new travel fave.

The primer I am taking with me is the Tatcha Silk canvas Primer. It is a fantastic pore filling primer that locks in my makeup for as long as I end up wearing it. As I have no idea how long I will be in makeup this weekend I thought it would be a good product to choose.

The trestique bronzer shouldn’t surprise anyone. It is quick and easy to use and one of my favorite cream formulas. The Illamasqua Colour Veil Gel blusher also shouldn’t surprise anyone as it is rapidly moving to the top of my favorite products list.

I didn’t bother with a highlighter, but you may notice a tiny round pot with a gold lid and a pink bow on it. I know, it looks like an eye cream, however it is actually a sample size of the Ciate London Extraordinary powder. It came in an IPSY bag a while back and to be honest, I have refilled it a couple of times. For a weekend it is all the powder I need. I will be adding the powder puff from the Kim Chi Powder to my makeup bag to use with it.

For eyeshadow I am taking The Balm and The Beautiful Palette from The Balm. It is the one I’ve been playing with recently. I really like the formulas and the ease of application and it is a compact size that fits in the bag. So since it was already out, I went ahead and added it to the makeup bag. I will have the full review of the palette up next week, I simply didn’t get a chance to finish it this week.

I added a Marcelle eyebrow pencil because I like it and it has a spoolie on the end so I don’t have to worry about adding secondary brow products (like a brush) into the bag. And then we have the lips.

I’ll be honest, i don’t think I have ever traveled with just one lip product in my life. To this bag I added my favorite MAC neutral in Bated Breath. I also added a Trestique lip crayon in case I wanted a slightly darker product. I added the Yensa Lip oil in case I felt like shine, or only a glossy lip with no lipstick and I chose an assortment of lip pencils. Some match the lip products others stand alone. For this bag I chose, UOMA, Persona Cosmetics, Bodyography, Huda Beauty and Real Her. I figure they are all relatively neutral and all have slightly different formulas. I plan to choose whichever one appeals at the right moment. And more than anything I like having a variety of lip products to choose from. Oddly enough in out of control situations it can sometimes make me feel like I am in control by making a decisive decision as to what lip product to wear. As it is a weekend where I can control nothing and can only deal with whatever happens, having that one tiny bit of control, really does help me mentally balance. Even if having seven lip products in the bag does seem a little extra.

Sometimes it isn’t abut what you actually wear.

And so that my darlings, is the makeup bag I will be traveling with this weekend and why I chose the products included.

https://www.kusshi.com/collections/sale/products/copy-of-makeup-bag-organizer-grey-leather

Travel Skincare for May 2022

When traveling I often take a break from my regular skincare and use it as a time to try out some of my samples, especially if they are smaller ones that can be used up during the time I am traveling. This weekend I will be traveling home. Some of the products I will be taking with me for this weekend are full size. In fact there are two full sixed items.

The first full size going with me is the Sunday Riley 5 Star Eye Cream. The tube is small enough that it won’t cause issues when traveling and when I looked I didn’t have any sample sized eye creams that I could use up in the duration of a weekend, so since this is already opened and in use, I decided to take it with me.

The second full sized item I am taking with me is the Clove And Hallow Cloud Powder. This is not only a new to me product it is a new to the market product. Clove and Hallow sent this new release product to me to try out and review. So I will be taking it with me. It is a powder cleanser that you add water to so I think it will be nice to actually travel with it. I actually tried it out this morning and really liked it. My first use review will be up early next week, but thus far it has made a really good impression.

I wanted to include a makeup remover and while I will be rolling up my Makeup eraser and putting it with my makeup bag, I will also be taking my travel sized Elemis Cleansing Balm. It is a great Cleansing Balm and it is also the only travel sized cleansing balm I have at the moment

Elemis is also represented in my Soothing Apricot toner. It just came in a subscription box and I have been wanting to use it, however it is also travel size, which none of my other toners are at this point. So it jumped to the front of the travel line and is in my skincare bag this weekend.

For my day time moisturizer I will be trying out the Tiny tube of Augustine Bader The Rich Cream. To be honest. even using it only for day time use over the weekend I am not sure if it will last the entire weekend so I added the Verso Hydrating cream to the mix as back up in case the moisturizer runs out.

For night cream I have added a tube of the One Kind Dream Cream. I had two tubes of this tried them out and thought it was okay but probably not something I would repurchase. Then I got another sample sized tube in a different box. Rather than let it linger in the bottom of the drawer, I am going to just take it with me. It is a decent night time moisturizer, just not my favorite. And in truth I think I might have used it at the wrong time of year. I tried it out just as the weather was really cooling down this past fall and I think it just didn’t provide enough moisture for night time use. I think that as it is warming up, it might be a better time to try it again and see if weather was a factor. So into the skincare bag it goes.

And finally I have the deluxe sample of the elta MD Skincare Uv Sheer Broad Spectrum Sunscreen. I know I need sunscreen, this one is travel sized and I have never tried the brand before. As I know my mother always has extra sunscreen floating around the house, if it really turns out not to work for me, I know there will be plenty of back up handy. Which makes it the perfect time to test.

And that is the skincare I will be traveling with this weekend. Some of it I am certain will end up being used up while I am home and others might last a few days after my return. I like the compact nature of the items I chose and the fact that some of them are completely new to me. It will be interesting to see how they perform.

The Daily: May 11th, 2022

Good Afternoon my darlings. I hope your week is going well. For me, today has been much calmer. Most of the necessary phone calls were taken care of and anyone who was calling in called in. While I appreciate every one of them, it is both physically and mentally draining to deal with.

I’m sure I’ll appreciate it more once I’ve had a little distance.

There is something about grief that just makes every action, every conversation feel like you are wading through waist deep mud. It just drains the energy right out of you. Later when the dust settles and you can think more clearly, you appreciate everything anyone has done for you and you replay the conversations that people had when they called and think about all of the help they were. Or at least that is how it was for me when my dad died. I expect it will be much the same now.

Later I will feel waves of love for everyone.

Right now it is just about getting through.

I don’t know if it is the same for everyone. Even with differences I suspect there is some element of that for most people, so if you are consoling anyone with a loss, especially a sudden one, know that you are appreciated even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time.

Unboxing the IPSY Glam Bag X for May 2022

It is May and May is an IPSY Glam Bag X month. The Glam Bag X is a Quarterly upgrade. For the Glam Bag X months the cost is $55 . In these bags there are eight products, three of which you get to choose from a set list. This month was interesting for me. In their choice items they generally feature a makeup bag. As I remember when the makeup bag came as a standard part of IPSY instead of a choice item I generally don’t choose it. This month I actually chose the bag as one of my items. It is listed as retailing for $18.

There are two reasons that I chose this bag from the items offered. The first is that there were no other items in this selection category that I actually wanted. I can’t remember what those options were, and I actually need to start writing them down each month as part of my evaluation of the subscription process, but I do know that none of the other items appealed to me.

The bag, while I am not really a florals sort of person, did sort of appeal to me. I think it is more the shape rather than the print. I like the under bag storage area for makeup brushes and I really like the clam shell shape with the flat bottom. It means I can stash a small palette flat if I wanted to which is sometimes nice. The bag itself is nice and something I will get use out of. I still wish it had been more of a choice rather than the only option I was interested in for that category.

Since I started with the choice Items, I’ll go ahead and continue with them. My next choice item was the Sunday Riley Pink Drink Firming Resurfacing Essence (retail $48). To be honest I have no idea what else was in this category because I was going to choose this regardless.

I really enjoy having an essence in my skin care routine and in general I like Sunday Riley Products. The ones that aren’t targeted for my skin type clearly don’t work for me but the items that are targeted for my skin type I really love. From everything I have read about this, it seems like I am the target so I have high hopes for this product and can’t wait to try it out.

The third item I chose was the Let Me Glow Illuminating Serum from Keys Soulcare (retail $26 ). I have the mask from the Keys Soulcare line that is going to be put through its paces starting next week. It was going to have its first use post this Friday with Face Mask Friday but I am having to postpone until next week). And I am interested in seeing how the brand performs. I know it had a lot of hype when it came out and the glass containers are lovely and feel very luxe. My skin loves niacinamides. I can’t wait to see how it performs.

And now we get to the items that IPSY chose for me. The first up is the Dew of the Gods Claydate Healing Face Mask (retail $42). You know I love a good clay mask. It is also spot on for my profile. So IPSY knows that I love a good clay mask. I can’t remember if I’ve tried any products from Dew of the Gods. I think they had something in Boxycharm a while back. I don’t think it ended up in my box thought. I do know it is listed as a clean brand so that makes me very happy to give it a try. I have noticed though that most of my masks are now in the hydrating category.

I think I used up most of the masks that fell into the detoxifying category. They tend to be the ones I reach for first. Soon I am going to need to do a mask inventory and see what I have. I might need to do a sample sized round up to clear out some of the smaller tubes and then find out what I am missing. But that is for later. For now I am pleased with this mask in my Glam Bag X. I like it when IPSY remembers my profile.

The next item made me smile slightly because it makes me feel like the universe is listening to me when I’m not paying attention. This product is the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Wild Oat Hydrating Toner (retail $24). Recently I said that I was pleased to get a toner in a subscription box because it isn’t a category that is often stocked and that I end up picking up on my own. Now it seems that it is stocked. For the first time in a long time I have more than one toner. I’m used to having extras of other categories (I have eye creams galore at this point) but almost never extra toners. Now I do. I like First Aid Beauty and look forward to trying out the Oat based toner. As most of my toners tend to be witch hazel based it should be interesting.

And now we move into makeup items. The first of these is the Sunset to Sunrise Eyeshadow Palette from Iconic London (retail $62). I really like the colors in this palette. They are very spring moving into summer wear and look light and fresh. I have tried a lot of Iconic products but never their eyeshadows. I am very much looking forward to trying this out. There are 20 pans and it looks like it will be fun to play around with.

One of the things I love about subscriptions is that I get to try out brands I have never heard of and products that I might not buy on my own. This month there is a product called Lip Treat by TYS Beauty (retail $30). From the description it sounds like it is a nourishing lip plumper. It has peppermint and ginger extract in it as well as vitamins B and E.

Which I can’t lie makes it sound like it is committing a crime. But also like it will be hydrating to the lips. So maybe it breaks into your lips and hydrated, like a burglar who does your laundry and refills your ice trays. I do like lip plumpers even if I am not always a fan of lip glosses so it will be interesting to see where this falls during use. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. But it is a brand I have never heard of and I look forward to trying them out as well.

Finally we have a brand that I know well and a product I have used several times in the past. It is the Wander Beauty Glow Ahead Illuminating Face Oil (retail $42). I have used many tubes of this and am always happy to have another one. And this is actually it’s time to shine. In the summer time I tend to go more with tinted moisturizers than actual foundations and I also layer fewer products on top. Putting a drop or two of this on my skin , letting it absorb for a minute and then moving on to the tinted moisturizer, gives a great subtle glow to the skin and a little extra moisture for the days when you are going to be spending time in the sun. It is a great product and I am thrilled to see it.

As far as Glam Bags go, this was a pretty good one for me. The selection categories weren’t that great but I did end up with things I like. I’m always going to be a little salty that the bag counts as an item. But it is a nice bag and it is one that I will happily use. It irks me more that there was nothing else in that category that I was interested in than it does counting the bag as an item though. Even with the slimmed down choices, I really did end up with some great products. As I will use them all, I consider the value worth it, but for those looking for monetary value, let me do some quick math.

The bag was $55 and the value of the products inside comes to $292. For me, that was a decent value for the money. It is even better since I will use all of the products inside. This month there were some old favorites and familiar names. There were also some new to me products I am looking forward to trying out. It did lean more heavily towards the skincare, but I really don’t mind that. There was enough makeup to keep me from feeling overwhelmed so yeah, I am over all happy with this month’s Glam Bag X from IPSY.