2024 is here! So I’ve received and started using the products in my first IPSY of the year. One of my resolutions this year was to save some more money and stop ordering so many products – which means, unfortunately, this month’s box is a little light and … a little sad.
But I still want to talk about the things I got. So let’s start!
The first item IPSY chose for me is the Doctor’s Scrub by Goldfaden MD. It’s a brand I’ve heard of but I’m pretty sure I haven’t tried anything from them yet. The business’ foot in the door, so to speak, is that they’re pioneered/inspired/named for Dr. Goldfaden, a dermatologist. They say he tries to strike the perfect balance between medical knowledge and the wonders of nature.
What that really means, by the way, is medical knowledge mixed with good marketing. But I think it’s great because there are a lot of us who don’t go to the dermatologist and we want to use good products too.
The Doctor’s Scrub is a line on the site. I think all the items are called “The Doctor’s” etc and they might as well be calling it “Daddy’s Scrub” because that’s the vibe this naming system gives off.
[Just to clarify, this is not a critique ;)]
This product, according to their website, is designed to mimic professional microdermabrasion treatments you’d get at a dermatologist’s office, and cites ruby crystals as one of the notable ingredients. They don’t exactly state how the ruby crystals are better than any other exfoliant – maybe they’re smoother? It is definitely the least abrasive/irritating microdermabrasion I’ve used.
The packaging definitely gives doctor’s office but the formula is actually very nice. It has a creamy base and incredibly fine exfoliant, which must be why it’s recommended for daily use. Their site actually claims that for best results I’d use it daily. I know for my skin [and my purse] daily use would be too much. I’ll probably use it twice a week to every other day, depending on the year.
The pricing varies by size and there are three sizes, which I think is great. The smallest size is 1.7 oz and retails for $38. The medium is just over double that, at 3.5 oz, and costs $78. If you do the math there, you’ll notice you’re not getting a discount for purchasing a larger size. The largest size, basically a tub of this stuff, is 6.7 oz, and runs $144. With this one you are getting a tiny discount of about a dollar per ounce; these size options are great but there’s no incentive to buy them. I’d be hard pressed to continually purchase these at these rates, but I’d absolutely buy another bottle or two if it comes up again in mega drop shop or the next few boxes.
The next item I received is the Signature Luxe Palette from Ofra. I’m a little disappointed, because I’ve received this already and didn’t like it much. I don’t have a thing for Ofra; they aren’t terrible, but I just don’t feel drawn to the brand or the products I’ve tried. And to have this as a main box product, wastes a space.
But I will go back over the product, since I did use it today and had a good experience.
This palette has 5 pans of product; three are shimmers, two are mattes. Right off the bat, I’d rather have three mattes and two shimmers. It’s deep brown to tan and then the middle shade is a beautiful white silver. It isn’t a very buttery formula, but it does show up. Today I used my Danessa Myrick as a base and applied the deep brown from this palette in the outside corner, and the silver on the inside corner, and it completed the look exactly how I wanted it to.
The pans are deep set into the packaging, and while it doesn’t look as good it does actually limit fallout from escaping the pan it’s in, so I appreciate that if it’s on purpose.
Their products are very dry, and I’ve noticed this consistently. The mattes, the shimmers, both are dusty. No buttery feeling at all. Maybe there’s nothing objectively wrong with that but they feel so hard to build on the brush, they all tap off, etc. The colors are pretty though. I just wish I didn’t receive this after already throwing the other one out last year.
It retails for $32, which is a lot for 5 pans of product. Similar 6-pans from Juvia’s place are $8-10 and deliver buttery smooth, soft, all day pigment with even brighter shimmers and even more pigment in the mattes. So I just don’t see the need for this.
I hope they’ll stop giving me Ofra products.
Those are the two that IPSY chose for me! And now we can talk about the ones that I picked out for myself:
Volition Beauty is a brand I have tried once before, I remember I had one of their moisturizers and I said it smells like oranges. I did end up decluttering it, just because I had run out of space, and I wasn’t reaching for the last half of it. But I did receive another product of theirs, the Chocolate Macadamia Hydrating Mask. I’ve used it a few times. First off, it has a weird texture when applying that it sticks to itself more, and this makes it a little hard to get an even application over my whole face unless I wanted to use a lot of product. Like, if you want to spread it around but you’re only using a little, it’s like trying to frost a cake with jello from a cup. It just sticks and boings. But with enough jello you could maybe do it. Another thing, it does dry down, which is a little different from cream masks I’m used to. You know on homemade chocolate pudding the top dries and you get that film?
Apparently I’m very hungry.
Anyway, it’s like that, but the whole mask. It doesn’t stay damp so there’s no point in leaving it on and I don’t get the sense that it keeps working the longer you leave it. I always wash it off earlier than I’d like. I much prefer the Thirstymud by Glamglow in these two comparisons.
I will continue using it though, since it does leave my skin feeling conditioned and smooth, and it smells delicious, like a chocolate bar, or hot chocolate.
This mask is 35ml and retails for $47, which is a weird price but, if I recall correctly, does also match the prices for their moisturizers. Also, I definitely wouldn’t pay that much for it, although there are options all over the web on Poshmark and Ebay for much lower pricing, $11-$13 and lower.
Next item I chose for my box is from Sweet Chef. I’ve seen this brand before and tried their sheet masks. They definitely stand out in their marketing, since their lines aren’t really sorted by skincare concern but by ingredient – namely, vegetables and fruits. I think it’s a little bit of a gag, but still cute.
The product is called the Celery + Hyaluronic Acid Serum Shot. It’s been a while since I tried out a new serum, since I’m so faithful to my Fat Water.
It’s in a really cute package, but it’s very small. Maybe I’m spoiled from my Byroe Essence and my Fat Water from Fenty, which are both over 100ml, but this seems so tiny, I’m going to use it up in a month.
Now I like serums to be very slippery. If you’ve used the Olehenriksen Truth Serum, or the Alo Radiance Serum, you’ll understand what I mean – like the difference between water and oil. I like serums to glide and stay sticky a little and then almost meld with my moisturizer after they’re half absorbed – but I also like that very slippery serums go a long way. Apply a little and you can still slide them all over. Also I don’t know if it’s just me but they’re more cooling, am I wrong?
Anyway this serum actually has a similar slipperiness to the Fat Water, which typically isn’t my preference, but I do like how it feels and the dropper pulls a lot of product too which is always nice.
It doesn’t have a strong fragrance, but does feel good on my skin and doesn’t clash at all with other products I wear. When I apply, I usually do one dropper full and wait for a moment for it to sink in.
Something strange though – Sweet Chef no longer has a website. If you follow the link from Glow Recipe’s site (Glow Recipe is a parent/sister brand) it takes you to a 404 page. They used to have a site where you could shop, but now you just see four t-shirts and no information at all. Weird. There’s nothing I can find online about them shutting down or going out of business, so I wonder what’s up
I also checked Amazon’s website, and it looks like it’s not available there either, but they do have other products that are also popular.
Did you know it was owned by/affiliated with Glow Recipe?
Next! I’ve been waiting to get a product like this for literal years! This is the Pinklipps Cosmetics Contour Stick in the shade Latte. Finally, I have a contour stick that makes sense as an actual contour stick. It’s a cool toned cream product in a cute package. The formula is a little less buttery than my LYS bronzer stick – that thing just melts right off the base – so it does take a minute to warm up, but it never gets so melted that I can just dot it on, which is an adjustment but not completely unwelcome.
It’s so important to properly cool down the tone of a contour shade. unlike bronzers, which are meant to bring warmth to the face, contour sticks are meant to help build shadow and make part of the face less noticeable. This contour stick is obviously still a brown shade, but it’s much cooler than bronzer sticks. wThe two other available shades on their site are also properly cool in tone, and it looks like a good selection for different skin tones.
I’ve been doing a line just below my cheekbone and a few dots on the outside of my forehead. I don’t really do my nose, but after I tap that out with my brush, I add another tap on my nose with anything left, I like my nose to be a little dim but not a whole other color.
It’s a new brand to me. Their site is cute and matches the packaging of this item, that soft Barbie pink. The models are mostly women of color, and it appears to be a brand that focuses on inclusivity.
The grammatical errors in the “About Us” page were sooo tough go get through but I got through it.
Anyway, excellent product: actually does what it’s designed for, not a bronzer stick pretending to be a contour stick. Just really well done. I was beginning to think they just didn’t make real contour products and I’d never find one.
This contour stick retails for $14 – I will absolutely buy it again at that price, maybe even the deeper shade for the summer when I’m tanner. Very glad I picked it!
And that’s it for my January IPSY Box! I went small and simple this month – I’m going to try to reign in my add-ons and orders this year, like I tried to do last year. I still want to try lots of new things and experiment, because it still brings me a lot of joy. I just know my spending isn’t as controlled as it could be.
I hope you enjoyed my first post of 2024! Next month’s IPSY is an ICON box, and I’m already looking forward to that. The spoilers look great.