What's In My Bag?

I am a snoop.  I rubberneck at car crashes, if I hear people talking loudly through the shared wall in my apartment I put my ear to it, and I love celebrity gossip.  I try to rein it in so it's appropriate, but I admit - I love "what's in my bag?" posts from anyone and anyone and I felt like I should do one myself.

This is my bag.  It's a customized Eula Messenger from Timbuk2.  Timbuk2 makes bags that you really have to work hard at destroying, and this is just the perfect purse size.  You get to pick your fabric - there's solid colors as well as a few different patterns you can choose from.  This is one of the pattern options, obviously, and the fabric is apparently limited, so it cost a bit more, but the whole bag itself set me back about 85 USD.  That's not too bad for something that will last me a couple of decades.  (I know this because I have one of their larger messenger bags that I got in 2001 that looks brand-spanking new.  It lasted me through about twenty boyfriends, and I expect it's what I'll use to tote my shit during the zombie apocalypse.)




She's roomier than she looks!

 But less about the bag, and more about her delicious innards, yes?


LtR: On the left, that purple thing you can barely see is my OG Kindle (I think it's literally the first edition, though it could be the second) with my journal on top.  The white tube to the right of those is my sample of Age Defying Hand Brightener I got from my Julep box of mystery.  To the right of that is my prescription of pharmacy strength naoproxen sodium (migraine/cramp maintenance - I take it twice daily no matter what).  To the right of that is my change purse.  Why yes, it's made from an old Sailor Moon pillowcase.  Below that are my car keys, which leaves further evidence that I love Sailor Mars way too much.  She's a bit of a role model, what can I say.  That black thing to the left of her is my iPod.  I'm still rocking an 80G last gen model, but that iPod case is also by Timbuk2, and it's also from 2001.  And it's waterproof!  That paiselyish thing is my beloved clutch wallet from Target, much beaten up but I refuse to get rid of it.  Just above that is my EpiPen, as anaphylaxis is not sexy or fun.  And in the middle is my makeup bag, and what I assume you're interested in.  The bag itself is the bag that went out with the debut month of my MyGlam.

And it's surprisingly roomy!  LtR: "Hello Flawless" powder by Benefit in "cute as a bunny" Honey, Red Velvet Cake perfume oil by BodyLuminosity, Baby Lips by Maybelline in Grape Vine, Baby Lips by Maybelline in Peach Kiss, MAC lipstick (lustre) in Marquise d', Revlon Lip Butter in Cotton Candy, Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee, a crystal nail file by Julep, Julep Pout Popper in Arousal, Smashbox Hybrid 2 in 1 Color and Shine Lipgloss in Pink Lily, and Mai Coture blotting papers.  Now, onto swatches and reviews!

I didn't swatch the Hello Flawless - if you want me to, just drop a comment.  This is my go-to powder for everyday use.  I use BB cream to cover up most of my imperfections, then maybe a dollop of concealer afterward if I need to, but I always, always set everything with this powder.  It covers way more than you'd expect a powder to, and as someone with acne prone skin, it doesn't cause me to break out or look like I have acne prone skin.  This is my fourth compact of the stuff, so it's doing something right.  I've yet to find better.

Onto Baby Lips.  This is a lip balm, don't get it twisted.  The color payoff from this is not going to be huge.  But it does have some color, and it will be noticable on your mouth.  It's less waxy than Chapstick and a bit more watery than your usual balm, but I do notice when I don't wear it in a while.  After a few days, my lips get a bit cracked and grumpy and then I remember to do less lipgloss and more Baby Lips.




Grape Vine

 


Peach Kiss

 


Grape Vine on the left, Peach Kiss on the right.

  Next is the Smashbox Hybrid 2 in 1 Color and Shine Lipgloss.  This has some glitter to it, but it's fantastically fine glitter -  which really makes some nice multifaceted depth on the mouth.  It's got one of those fuzzy tip applicators that I love - it lets you blend it in like a wand, but you get the benefits of the squeezy tube.  I don't think you can get this from Sephora or Smashbox directly anymore, but there's loads of them up on eBay and Amazon now for hella cheap - I'm talking I saw some for 3.99 on eBay cheap.



Pink Lily



Fuzzy tiiiip~

 Augh, you see that shimmer?  It friggin' slays me.  I wear this on dates or whenever I want to feel Extra Special pretty.  It's goopy, like most lipglosses are, but it's a lipgloss.  Non goopy ones are confusing.

Now, onto something I'm sure you've heard about already or own a million of, that's how much hype it got.  Revlon Lip Butters.  I think the hype is deserving, if only because it filled a niche that wasn't quite out there.  What if someone wants some hydrating protection on their lips, and color?  Before, I used to wear balm on my lips, then layer on some lipgloss.  Now I don't have to.  I can just wear my lip butter.



Cotton Candy



Creme Brulee



L: Cotton Candy, R: Creme Brulee



 It's a subtle color, don't get me wrong, but it's more noticeable to me than Baby Lips, or any other colored balm I've tried.  I also love the shimmer in it.  These are my two favorites, as I've tried some of the darker ones and don't like them much.  Creme Brulee is a "my lips but better" color, and Cotton Candy is just two steps lighter.

Now, I don't wear a lot of lipstick, but when I do, it's by MAC.  I just like their formulation.  It's the least drying and annoying on my mouth, and their lustre formula is >< that close to being a gloss on its own.  However, and I say this while on my knees and crying to the gods - why must everything be LE?  Why!  We're going to buy it anyway, MAC, you know we will! 



Marquise d'



Like this adorable beauty, from the Wonder Woman collection.  Check that cute ass packaging!  You didn't have to make it LE!  I'd have bought it anyway!  I'd buy two more right now if you still made it, you selfish color overlords!  And no, knowing someone who works there doesn't help, I've tried that.  It's like adorably packaged crack.  Just knowing a guy isn't enough, unless you know someone who makes it.

Next is the Julep Pout Popper.  While unfortunately named (seriously, Julep, fucking stop that), it's a product I've really come to like.  I hate the scent - it reminds me of an elderly person who's just trying way too hard - but it fades quickly enough where I'm not too mad at it.  It does plump a little bit, but my lips are already pretty large, so it's not too noticeable.  I do like that it's thick like a gloss, but smooth on the mouth - you won't get that one random string of gloss between your lips that makes you look like a sludge mosnter.
 


Arousal (no, seriously, Julep, fucking stop it)

 



L: Marquise D', R: Arousal

So, that does it for what's in my bag.  But lastly, I want to give a shoutout to my shoes.  They're the most adorable, comfortable heels I've ever owned, and they're by friggin' Tom's.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a Tom's hater.  I think their flats are adorable.  But I didn't think they'd be able to make cute heels.  I'd like to be the first to admit that I stand corrected.


Fucks to the yes houndstooth!  They're about three inches, super easy to move in, and I've already gotten loads of compliments on them.  They've sold me, and now I've got to hold myself bax when I get paid from getting the glitter wedges, just because the words 'glitter' and 'wedge' go so well together.

Got anything you have questions about?  Want new swatches?  Have questions about my cats?  Want the meaning of life?  Ask.

MyGlam - December Bag

If you're into makeup and beauty, Michelle Phan has got your back.  She's an awesome resource (and quite frankly makes my old ass feel like a slacker).  In addition to her working for Lancome, doing her own tutorials, and being an aspiring filmmaker, she also started up her own sample bag company, MyGlam.  It's pretty similar to Birchbox in execution, if you're familiar with that program.  (With both programs, you go to the company's website, take a quiz about your preferences, and after signup you get a few beauty samples mailed to you every month for ten dollars.)  Birchbox allows you to purchase full size products from their website if you like what you got.  MyGlam doesn't have this (yet - this bag was their first), but they do have a community where you can talk about the produts and the girls who made the company, the "gurus", will talk about looks you can do with them. 

I've done Birchbox in the past, but cancelled when I didn't really get anything I liked.  When I saw that Michelle was doing something similar, I jumped onboard, and I'm glad I did!  They sold out really fast, so I was lucky to get one at all.  So, yes!  Here's pictures of what I got for my first bag!

It came in a really adorable bag.  It was shipped out standard USPS, so it took about the same amount of time to get out to me as Birchbox ever did (which is way too long, but I suspect that has more to do with the postal service being run by constipated gremlins than anything else).



One of the advantages to the MyGlam monthly subscription is that every month you get a little makeup bag.  This thing isn't super huge, but it's big enough where right now in my purse it's holding a pressed powder compact, blotting papers, a roll-on perfume, and five lip products (WHAT I HAVE A PROBLEM SHUT UP YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!). 



The bag even has a derpy mirror!

The products inside didn't come individually tissue wrapped or anything, which I prefer, as it's not a waste of paper.  Those of you who are Birchbox packaging addicts will be disappointed by this, but those of us who like trees or dislike garbage bags will enjoy it.

Same card, front and back.

The first thing I got was Mai Coture Salicylic Acid Blemish Control Blotting Papers.  I suspect this is because on my quiz thing I indicated my skin is a general plague area (which it is).  I've heard some people got blush papers (which is basically a blotting paper with blush and shimmer on it).  Thus far, these are ... blotting papers.  I don't know if the salicylic acid is helping yet, but I'll never kick blotting papers out of bed.  Plus, the package is thin, and I like that they're tear out, not pull out, as they don't explode into my purse this way.

Next was a sample of Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara.  This is a pretty generous sized sample; I've used it three times, and it still has plenty left.  (I'm not going to put down the milligrams, because I'm not a fucking wizard and don't know how many applications per milligram are in a mascara tube.) Tarte says this stuff is supposed to be "lengthening, curling, volumizing and conditioning".  I don't know about all of that, but I do know that it's really nice and not clumpy.  It's noticable, gives me some decent doll-eye, and it's less 'oh hay thick how you doin'' than the Cover Girl Lash Blast I usually use.

Yay, a sample of a thing I already have a lot of!  Which isn't a complaint at all, I am a primer potion slut.  This is Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in original, and if you don't have a bottle of this in any of their colors and wear eyeshadow, go get some.  Now.  It will make your eyeshadow stay on so much longer and look so much prettier throughout the day.  I still come home sometimes from work and think about how pretty my eyes are before I take it off.  It's a decent size sample as well - I think it's the same size that came in the Naked palate.  I am using this with the same glee that I use my others, if not a bit more, because I was running low anyway.

Why yes, that's an Urban Decay eyeshadow.  Why yes, it's fullsize!  I got Sin, which I speculate everyone did, because it's the most gorgeous taupey-pinky color that looks great on everyone.  (I already had one of these too, but I don't even care, I was running low.  Yet again.)  I saw this and literally gaped and squeed and made a general fool of myself in front of my roommates and cats.

This is NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in  Addis Ababa.  This pink is erm.  Bright.  Very not me.  I tried it on to see if this would look good on me, shrieked, and rubbed it off.  But the formula is pretty neato.  It does feel a bit like a lip gloss and goes on with a wand.  It's not sticky, though, and on the mouth, looks a bit like a matte pop of color.  It doesn't settle into the lips the same way lipstick todes.  It's one of those things you just have to try, and I'm sure I will - the full sizes retail for 6.00 USD each.  (Just not in this color.  If this color looks good on you, let me know, I want to shake your hand.)

The NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream is on the right, and the Urban Decay eyeshadow is the pretty bit of shimmer on the left.

Lastly, I got some discount cards, which is pretty awesome.  Mama does like saving money.



Why yes, that is 15.00 off of the new Book of Shadows from UD.  The bottom is 25% off of the Mai Coture blotting papers or blush papers.  I gave the blush paper to my roommate, as she's fair where I'm not, so hopefully she'll get some use out of it.

So, that's what I got in my first Glam Bag.  Did any of you guys get in on this?  Do you guys have any questions?  I'll also take cheesecake recipes, I have some cream cheese in my fridge and nothing to do with it.  I feel like this post was kinda boring since I liked almost everything.