November 2013: Ipsy Bag and (vs.) Birchbox

November 14: Ipsy Bag arrived (Tracking email received November 12)
November 13: Birchbox arrived (Tracking email received November 7)

Winner: Ipsy Bag

Birchbox featured their "favorite charitable beauty brands" and a portion of the proceed goes toward No Kid Hungry.  While I appreciate the introduction to these charitable brands, I would appreciate just good products... more.  Personally including a chocolate bar, no matter how yummy, in a beauty box is a undesirable.  Left wondering if they forgot to pack something... 

Ipsy is all about "Glam It Up" and the products are great for making a strong impression.  The gem colored eyeliner (Starlooks) and champagne colored Nailtini polish and Caitlyn eyeshadow.  The bag over all is also a shiny gold that I can possibly use as a clutch.

Comparison of similar products: Nailtini polish in champaign (ipsy) and Color Club polish in Top Shelf (Birchbox).

Now the products in the box & bag...
Birchbox (Included Chocolate Again v.v)
Chella Highlighter Pencil (Ivory Lace): I liked this back in June when I received it in my ipsy bag.  Since eyeliners can last 4 years, I do not need the replacement.  ($18)

Color Club Nail Lacquer (Top Shelf): Beautiful gold nail polish for the holiday.  It's from their Cocktail Hour Collection and needs two coats. The bottle is rather small ($8)
TOCCA Creama de Mano in Cleopatra: Started out smelling wonderful but then gets too cucumber-y.  Not as thick as some hand cream, but great absorption with slight oily after-feel.  ($8 for 2 oz, this container is 1oz)
Vasanti Cosmetics BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator: A brightening up cleanser is great for me and the upcoming winter weather.  ($34 for 120ml, this is a 20ml)
Chuao Chocopod Bar (honeycomb): Ignoring that it is a chocolate piece in a beauty box (waste of quantity).  This is like a high-end Crunch bar.  But I would rather spend my money on the Nestle Crunch bar.  Even C doesn't like it and he's currently inhaling CVS gummy bears.
Total is $36.91 for $10.  So-So value; after last month's $60+ this kind of disappoints.

Ipsy Glam Bag (Feeling the glam)
em michelle phan pillow plush cushiony lip balm (Strawberry): As Michelle Phan affiliated service, it is no surprise that ipsy would feature her new brand.  This is a good way for me to test out her new brand without making the commitment myself.  So happy about that. ($15)
Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon (Hot Damn): While the texture is nice, I am moving toward more natural colored lipstick and have gotten so many red colors from ipsy.  So I'll be giving this away ($14)
Nailtini Straight Up Nail Lacquer (Champagne): My wedding color!  Honestly the color looked more bronze in the bottle, but it is subtly beautiful on my finger.  See?!? ($13)
Cailyn Built-in Sponge Tip Mineral Eye Shadow (Champagne): So another product in champagne... does Ipsy know that its my wedding color?  Of course I had to blend the two together.  That's why one of my nails looks like it has eyeshadow on it. ($15)
Pixi Beauty Bronzer: Soon I will have the full Pixi collection without ever having bought any at Target myself.  It's quickly becoming a ipsy staple. ($18, but comes with a kabuki brush)
Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil (Amethyst): I have the em michelle phan water liner in purple, so this has less value to me. ($14)
Total is $89 for $10.  Great value; this month was a great improvement over last month.  This will definitely help me Glam It Up this holiday season.