June 2012 MyGlam Bag

Today I received my first MyGlam bag in the mail with much enthusiasm. The forums I read have been saying that this is one of the best bags yet from the service. I'm not sure how I feel about that, as this is my first bag from them and only my second overall, and I wasn't nearly as enthused with this as I was with my first GlossyBox. However, this is half the price, so I will try to take that into account.

Inside the pink bubble mailer was a little sparkly golden clutch-style bag, which smells a little like squid and sheds a little but which my roommate found incredibly cute, so I think I will be passing that on to her. She can take just about any item and make it fashionable, a gift I do not understand and clearly do not have.

There were four items in this bag, as listed on the glossy card that came inside the package.

1. PHILOSOPHY take a deep breath oil-free energizing oxygen gel cream moisturizer
Amount: .4 fl. oz. (sample size)
Rating: 2/5
PROS: As it says on the package, this moisturizer is oil-free, which is definitely an attractive feature as I have combination skin that tends more toward oily. It dried pretty quickly and didn't leave my face feeling oily.
CONS: This product doesn't smell that great and felt kind of weird on my skin. It wasn't overall a pleasant experience to use. Furthermore, I am extremely wary of any product or brand which uses pseudoscience statements like "This cream diffuses energizing oxygen to detoxify skin and support cell respiration." Furthermore, reading the ingredient list inspired no confidence that they know anything about how the chemicals used supposedly perform any of the tasks they say this product performs. At $34 for 2 oz., there is absolutely no way I would buy this product even if I had all the money to spare. It's not a bad or harmful product, it's just not particularly good.

2. NYX Round Lipstick
Amount: .14 oz. (full size)
Color: Georgia (medium to light shimmery sheer pink)
Rating: 4/5
PROS: I really liked the color of this lipstick, which was random, so I got lucky there. I love pinks and this one looks pretty nice on me, unlike some of the color possibilities for this batch (like Orange Soda, which would have made me look washed out). This lipstick stayed on a lot longer than I was expecting, and while it didn't smell or taste terribly great (unlike my favorite MAC lip product, which smells and tastes delicious), it didn't taste gross like some lipsticks do. At $4 per tube in a wide range of interesting colors, I will definitely be picking up one or two more of these next time I see them.
CONS: As I said, it's not the most fantastic lipstick in the world and does wear off sooner than I'd like and not smell as great as I'd like, so it's not perfect. Also, this lipstick was melted to one side when I received it like the lipstick in my GlossyBox was :(

3. LIVING PROOF. frizz Nourishing Styling Cream
Amount: 2 fl. oz. (sample size)
Rating: 4/5
PROS: I actually really liked the way my hair looked after I used this. I'm pretty picky about what I'll put in my hair because so so many products make my hair look greasy and oily at the roots or on the crown of my head and then I feel like a slob. This product definitely did not do that, and it actually did give some nice definition to my usually frizzy waves, which I was very surprised and pleased about. It also smells pretty nice, in a vague lotion-y way.
CONS: It's $26 per 4 fl. oz. bottle and I'm just as happy with using argan oil, which I can get a huge bottle of for cheaper. There was a coupon included in the box for a "kit" of the full size of this along with their shampoo and conditioner, which I am considering taking advantage of in the near future if I end up finding myself particularly attached to the waves I get from using this.

4. MARBELLA Permanent Eyeliner Pen
Amount: unknown (one pen, full size)
Rating: 2/5
PROS: I've used felt tip liquid eyeliners in the past and not been pleased with them, but this one was a different story. It went on very smoothly and was very, very easy to use. It also stayed on really well . . . perhaps too well. I had some difficulty removing this product.
CONS: I couldn't find a listing of the ingredients of this product or even a quantity of product inside the pen. The website for this company looks a bit like a rejected home business from 2002. Not terribly confidence-inspiring. Also, at $19 per pen, I don't think I would purchase this unless I found I had a very specific use for it as part of a specific look. I can get Urban Decay liners, which I far prefer, for a dollar cheaper even if I were to buy them full price (which I never do).
EDIT 15 JUNE: Okay, so I was wearing this product while crying and holy cow does it run, and when it got into my eyes it STUNG so bad. Don't think I'll be wearing this again since I can't find an ingredient list.

OVERALL BOX RATING: 3/5
ESTIMATED COST OF CONTENTS: $42.80 (not including bag)

I'm going to stay on with MyGlam for at least next month and see what I think. I found one new product I will definitely buy and use regularly out of this, and I can't say the same for my GlossyBox. The cost of the products in this was also nearly equal to the cost of the products in the May GlossyBox. However, I overall enjoyed the products in the GlossyBox more.