May 2015 Ipsy Unbagging!

Howdy Ladies!

Running late again posting my May Ipsy Glam Bag, but as the saying goes, better late than never, right?

If you'd like to learn more about Ipsy, you can see my April unbagging post where I wrote out a pretty detailed explanation, by clicking HERE!

If you'd like to go right to Ipsy and subscribe to get your own monthly Glam Bag, just click HERE!

Let's get to it, shall we? This month's theme was "Hey Jetsetter". The bag itself, is a cute canvas style bag and I believe it was made by the same company that recently made a line of limited edition makeup bags for Sephora. They sold for $24 each and had different sayings and screen prints of makeup items on them.

They were all sold out the last time I was on the site. but you never know... a bag that was as popular as this series seemed to be, might just show up again... so it couldn't hurt to stop by Sephora and check it out!

This was the first item that I saw because it was outside of the makeup bag. Why? Well, because it's a full sized can of this Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo! I've received sample sizes of hair sprays and other similar products in previous Ipsy bags, but this was a real treat!

It's a nice product and it does what it's supposed to, but for a brand that retails for about $25 a can, I expected this to be THE best dry shampoo in the world! Don't get me wrong I'm glad that I got a chance to try it, but I think I'll just stick to my Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo. It costs (at the least) $20 less and it really does an amazing job!

Next, I pulled out this Luxie Beauty Tapered Blending Brush! I'm always happy to receive makeup brushes in my Ipsy bags and lately, they've been doing a nice job of including some type of brush in 3/4ths of each month's lineup of available products that are sent out.

That doesn't mean that you'll definitely get one of them in your bag, but even if you don't get a particular item that you wanted in any given month's bag, you can always go to Ipsy and purchase it for a decent discount over retail, or in some cases if you've accumulated enough points, you can get it that way. I've also noticed that I've received certain popular items later on, in a following month's bag.

I've never had a brush of any kind from this brand before and I couldn't find the retail price for it online, but it's a nice brush with what appears to be synthetic bristles that are soft and so far, they haven't done any shedding. I do wish that it was a little more domed in shape, but as blending brushes go, it works just fine and it's washed up nicely.

The item that everyone received in the May bag, was this (I'd say half-sized) Urban Decay Glide On Lip Liner Pencil in Ozone (invisible/clear) and 2 little sample pots of their new Revolution High-Color Lip Gloss. The 2 shades that everyone received were "Failbait" - a very pretty hot pink and "Bittersweet" - a surprisingly pigmented, but not over the top purple shade, that seems to look pretty nice on most every skin tone.

I honestly haven't had a chance to try any of these products yet, but I've seen several unbaggings where fellow Ipsy subscribers have been very happy with both the Lip Pencil and the Lip Gloss. The full size lip pencil retails for $20 and comes in 17 shades. The full size lip gloss retails for $22 & comes in 14 shades.

My favorite (by a landslide) product in this month's bag, was this bellapierre Gel Eyeliner Pencil in Ebony! LOVE this liner! I am a liquid and gel liner gal from way back and this one is just gorgeous! It's full size and it retails for between $11 and $13.

It goes on so smoothly, with no tugging or pulling and it stays put ALL day! I totally forgot to swatch this for you, but I assure you that it's a nice, opaque black and it doesn't irritate my very sensitive eyes one bit! This is a definite repurchase for me!

This final item (now that I think about it) was a tie for my favorite items from this month's bag. The Organic Pharmacy Double Rose Rejuvenating Face Cream is from a brand that I trust. (Read about them HERE) It retails for $88 for 50ml. This sample is 10ml.

With the skin issues that I have as a symptom of my Lupus, I have to be VERY careful about what I put on my face. If I use a product that is irritating or toxic to me in any way, I don't even want to tell you how bad it can get. Even the most pigmented liquid, cream or powder makeup will not cover the ugly, angry rash and/or welts that will show up almost immediately. Um... let's just say that it ain't purty!

This is a lovely, mild, seriously moisturizing face cream that has a light, natural scent and doesn't leave my face feeling greasy or in any way irritated. Here's the site's description:

"For all skin types. A light but nourishing cream with purifying Rose and nourishing Rose Hip blended with Ginger, Gotu Kola and Marigold to promote cell regeneration, reduce broken capillaries and make the skin glow."

So... that's what I received in my May Ipsy Glam Bag. Hopefully, I'll get the June unbagging posted long before the month of June is over. LOL

Live Well,

Mary


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Saying Goodbye To Google Reader

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Howdy!

Since I'm seeing headlines and post titles like "Google Killing Google Reader" and "Google Reader Alternatives" all over the place, I'm sure that most of you are now aware that Google will be "retiring" it's popular RSS reader, as of July of this year. (2013) That means that GR users will have to find a new place to subscribe to and organize our various guilty reading pleasures. There are plenty of other options out there, but I was unfamiliar with many of them and had no idea which direction I was going to take once Google Reader was gone, so I started looking into it further.

If you're a more hands off blogger when it comes to "techy things" and/or you're not familiar with readers or RSS feed subscriptions, click HERE for a cute little video, called "RSS in Plain English" that describes in basic terms what it's all about. Keep in mind that the video was made shortly after readers became available on the web and way before Google decided to retire GR.

During the course of my research, I noticed that several bloggers have been asking their current RSS subscribers to re-subscribe or re-follow them on Bloglovin'. Now, both of my blogs are available through Bloglovin' and I currently follow several blogs there myself, but it's a pretty basic service and doesn't really have all of the tools that I'm used to for organizing and managing my subscriptions.

I also realised that it's possible that not all of the good folks who subscribe to my blogs, have (or want to sign up for) a Bloglovin' account. Of course, if you have a Bloglovin' account and you wish to follow me there, I'd be honored.

Well, I continued my research and I've found a reader that I'm happy with. I've switched over to Feedly.com  So, why did I choose **Feedly?

1) It's the closest thing that I've found, both in layout and in function, to GR.

2) When you sign up, (which is free, btw) Feedly gives you the option to automatically import all of your files from your GR account. I don't think it took more than a minute to import all of my subscriptions and I'll still be able to access them on GR, if I change my mind. (At least until GR ends in July)

3) They've recently added a feature called the "Feedly Mini" that places a small semi-transparent icon in the bottom right corner of your browser, that allows you to share a post, recipe, article, etc. from a website or blog to Facebook, Twitter, Buffer, G+ or even email it to a friend... all with just a couple of clicks of your mouse. You can choose (in your preferences) to enable it, or not.

4) Feedly.com has been around since 2008 and it's growing and gaining tons of new users every day, so I feel pretty confident that they're not going anywhere, any time soon.

5) Feedly is "Cloud Based" and is available for iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox and Safari, so it's both mobile and desktop friendly.

If you'd like to check Feedly out for yourself, just click HERE.

I also found a pretty extensive list of available readers and a brief review of each, from a fellow named Jared at HostDime blog. You can go check his post out by clicking HERE.

If you're currently a GR user, which reader/subscription option are you planning to use to replace it?

**This is not an endorsement for Feedly.com and I have not been compensated in any way for mentioning them in my post. The opinions expressed are my own and are meant only to inform readers about my personal preferences/choice.

If you currently subscribe to either of my blogs through GR, I'd be honored to have you continue that subscription through another source. Both of my blogs will continue to be available through other RSS readers and through email, Bloglovin' and any/all of the other "follow" options in my sidebar or in the social media bar at the top of the page. (Go Ahead Take A Bite is the only blog that currently has a social media bar. I'm working on one for Spilled On The Kitchen Table at the moment)