Hello, Ipsy. Goodbye, Ipsy.

In December, I subscribed to Ipsy. I've received two of their glam bags since and I do not want a third. I'm not sure why they ask people to fill out a survey, if they're going to send you whatever the hell they need to get rid of anyway. A coworker also signed up. She has olive skin, dark, curly hair and uses completely different products than I do and this month we got the exact same bag.

In January's bag, I received five products. I love one, am indifferent about two and I hate the other two.

(I normally use natural light when taking photos but I live in Canada and I work five days a week and so most of the time, that's impossible in the winter).

This Healthy Sexy Hair nourishing soy spray would probably be better if I wasn't allergic to soy. The eye shadow pencil is super shimmery, which I can't stand. The pencil tip is also really tiny and rounded, two traits I'm not looking for in an eye shadow applicator. I'll stick to powder and my Lancome brushes, thank you.

This facial scrub is terribly greasy. If I want a super exfoliator such as this one, I'll stick to raw sugar and lemon with a drop or two of olive oil.

This lip gloss is one of the products I feel indifferent toward. The colour is quite nice but it's super thin and the amount I need to apply in order for it to show makes my lips feel disgusting.

The one product I do love is this argan and rosewater face lotion by Nourish Organics. I'm actually going to be buying more of this.

I figured I'd wait and see what February's bag looked like before calling it quits. On Monday, this arrived.

The lashes are great and I'll try out the facial mask but the rest is not anything I would buy or even try out. Light purple, shimmery eye shadow (with a fuzzy, lip gloss style applicator), hot pink lip gloss and the palest pink nail polish. I feel like this was put together for my fifteen-year-old sister and that's exactly who will score all of the pieces I do not want.

The concept isn't a bad one, though, and I might hook my sister up with a subscription for her sixteenth birthday. ...I hope she doesn't read this.

I think what it comes down to is that I am a product snob and I do appreciate finer make-up than what I have been receiving from these guys. I'm just not the right market.

I'll try to find time to review my January Wantable box, this week. Now that was a hit!

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Pucker Up! (Or: There Is No Excuse For Chapped Lips. None.)

A few weeks ago, as I paced around my cold, half-empty apartment, waiting the movers to return for the second load, I grew increasingly annoyed with the state of my face. My eyes were watery, thanks to the dust I'd disturbed when packing last minute items, such as floor mats, tools and whatever had been under the kitchen sink. My nose was runny and the back of my throat tingled, thanks to a super well-timed cold. What made me start and then roll my eyes, however, was the realization that my lips were burning. They were frigging chapped for the first time in many years and, as my title declares, there is no excuse for this.

In addition to the fact that I think having cracked, sore lips really sucks, I've always prided myself on having incredibly soft lips. Whether you're trying to avoid the former or achieve the latter, this is for you.

1. DO NOT LICK YOUR LIPS. If this is a habit of yours, nervous or otherwise, apply petroleum jelly to your lips until you learn to stop.

2. Exfoliate

You can use a product designed to do this, such as philosophy's kiss me exfoliating lip scrub.

You can run warm water on the bristles of a soft toothbrush and then rub the side of the head on your lips. I've also read that you can use petroleum jelly and a toothbrush but I have not tried this.

Sugar is fantastic for exfoliating. You can add a bit of olive oil to some sugar and apply it to your lips with your fingers or a wash cloth, doing so in circular motions. This also works really well on your skin and I use this method in the shower at least twice a month although I tend to add fresh lemon juice to the mix. You can also add a bit of sugar to some honey and apply in the same fashion.

3. DO NOT LICK YOUR LIPS

4. Condition

Not everyone bothers with conditioning but, as Simon at The Bay's MAC counter in downtown Montreal will tell you, protecting your lips is a good thing but in order to keep your lips moisturized, you need to condition them I recommend MAC lip conditioner or the one Claudalie makes.

5. Protect

You need to protect your lips from the elements. There are a billion types of lip balms out there. Look for ones that contain sunblock and/or, a few times a week, put a thin coat of petroleum jelly on your lips. I actually really like the effect of red lipstick applied on top of a petroleum jelly base for really cold days or to top of a nice, sun-kissed beach look.

6. DO NOT LICK YOUR LIPS

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1st image courtesy of beautyficient.com
3rd image courtesy of beautybanter.com

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