The Battle of the Beauty Boxes: Birchbox vs. Ipsy GlamBag!

Happy Tuesday! Today I will finally be concluding my analysis of which beauty box I think is worth the $10/month and gives it's subscribers the most for their subscription. Before I get started into the blog, I am sure there are more than a handful of readers that want the clear cut answer. And here is mine...

The winner (in my opinion) of the battle of the beauty boxes issssss:

IPSY GLAM BAG!

If you never got around to the review of Birchbox and want to see what I got in my Birchbox last month, please click HERE! If you want to see what Ipsy Glam Bag is all about, I'm going to say you should definitely continue the read :)

Now let's see why Ipsy Glam Bag won the battle :) Here are my top 5 reasons why I would choose an Ipsy subscription over a Birchbox one:

Reason #1 FULL SIZE PRODUCTS

Birchbox gives small samples. Of course there are the occasional full size bottles, but with Ipsy, you are almost always given a full size product. Let's be honest, if you want to buy a product, you need to be able to use it for a few weeks to decide whether it's right for you. A full size bottle comes in pretty handy, and for $10/month, this is a no brainer!

Reason #2 YOU GET A MAKEUP BAG WITH EVERY SHIPMENT

Though I do love that my Birchbox comes with my products all wrapped up in tissue paper and very pretty, I much rather have a cute makeup bag with all my products inside of it. It is much more practical since I can use the makeup bags :)

Reason #3 COLORS OF PRODUCTS ARE BETTER CUSTOMIZED TO MY SKIN TONES

Do not get me wrong. Birchbox customizes their products as well, but I have found that every single product in my Ipsy Glam Bag was perfectly fit to my skin tone, eye color and hair texture. It is as though I personally hand picked the products to try out!

Reason #4 GLAM BAG PRODUCTS ARE HAND PICKED BY SOME OF MY FAVORITE YOUTUBE GURUS!

There's just something exciting knowing that some of my favorite youtubers are picking the products that are mailed out to me :)

Reason #5 IPSY IS MORE MAKEUP/HAIR ORIENTED

In my first impressions post about Birchbox, I received a face mask, a tiny perfume tester I would receive for free at the mall and 3 sample tea bags. That post was written for a reason: first impressions. That box, whether indicative of a usual monthly Birchbox or not, did not live up to my first Ipsy glam bag experience. I think this is the perfect time to transition into what I received in my Ipsy glam bag this month: June 2013!

MY IPSY GLAM BAG JUNE 2013

The swatches above from top to bottom:

Chella Highlighter pencil in Ivory Lace
Starlooks Lip Liner in Tickle me Pink
Cailyn Gel Liner in Purple
NYX blush in Rose Petal
J.Cat Body Glitter is not pictured

xoxo,
GirlontheGo

More info about Ipsy Glam Bag: http://www.ipsy.com

Eye Pencil vs Liquid Eye Liner vs Gel Eye liner ♡

Have you ever gone to the store to pick up your usual eye tool to line your eyes, and wondered 1) why there are so many brands making the exact same product 2) what all the rave is between eye pencil, liquid liner and gel liner? Well, hopefully today's blog will help you out a little bit!

Side by side comparison
From left to right we have:
Maybelline Line stylist, Revlon Gel Liner, Maybelline
Master duo liquid liner.

Over the years, I have definitely tried my share of all three of these eye products. Let's start off with the evergreen eye pencil. Now I've found that the biggest difference between drug store brands and the more expensive brands is a) the richness of the color b) whether it rubs off easily (especially on your waterline) c) how smoothly it glides. That is not to say that a drug store brand will NOT provide these qualities, nor will an expensive brand unconditionally provide these qualities. It just takes a little bit of testing. I have found that Covergirl easily rubs off the eye, most especially the waterline. I have also found their colors to not be as intense. I have found myself reapplying this eye pencil about 3 times throughout the day. The plus of this liner is that it does easily glide onto the eye and easily comes off with a wash with a cleanser. There are two eye pencils I would particularly recommend. One is a drug store knock off, and it is the Maybelline Line Stylist. This eye pencil is retractable. It gives you a nice edge to easily line your eyes and create a sultry cat flick. The color is very rich, and the black color is absolutely gorgeous. The CG eye pencil pales in comparison. That being said, the Maybelline liner hardly pales at all, in that it takes a good scrub to get this thing off! I would highly recommend getting a MAC makeup remover, or prepare for a scrub off. The next recommendation is Stila's eye pencil. These go on ever so smoothly and will last all day! If you ask me, it is worth the splurge, but Maybelline does a pretty darn good job if you don't quite see yourself splurging on eye pencil!

On the left is Maybelline New York Line Stylist.
On the right is Maybelline Master Duo Liquid Liner
The top and bottom right images show how rotating
the liquid liner wand can give a thinner or thicker line.

Now let's move on to liquid eye liners. I have always been a fan of liquid liners, personally. I think they are ridiculously quick to put on, since you add a couple strokes, a quick cat flick and go about your day. They stay on until you wash them off and since it is liquid, you don't have to reapply to get the depth of color you want, making it that much quicker! My absolute favorite liquid eyeliner that I have recently started to use is the Maybelline Master Duo. It has the perfect liquid liner wand which can be flipped from side to side, with one side being thick and the other thin. This lets you control the line you want to draw. My only main complaint about this product is that it gets all over your eyelashes (well at least mine!). On a bright note, I don't really need mascara since this liner coats my eyelashes already. Keep in mind, this liner dries rather shiny, giving it a permanently "wet" appearance. That may not tickle of the fancy of some people, but going over it with eye shadow instantly gives it a matte look. Also, make sure to give this product a good shake before use though, or you will get a big hot watery mess :/ But other than that, LOVE this product!!! A tutorial on how to create the perfect winged eye liner using this product will be coming up soon :)

Now let's talk about gel liner! I am pretty new to the gel liner product, and I have found that I absolutely love it, IF I have the time that day. Gel liner takes me a lot longer than eye pencil and liquid liner combined to apply. Since I have to keep re-dipping the brush and reapplying the gel liner in small strokes to get the right shape and consistency, I have found that it takes me a while to get my desired look. The plus side to gel liner? It stays on all day long, doesn't budge, and can look absolutely stunning if you put in the time and effort. I have been loving the Revlon Gel Liner. It comes with a little brush that is stowed away in the screwable cap itself, so it is very small and sleek to take with you on trips. The gel liner itself is a very rich color and goes on very smoothly.

I hope this was a helpful post for you. If this helped you in any way and you'd like to read more on beauty and fashion tips, please subscribe! Have a lovely week!!

xoxo,
GirlontheGo