Alright, so I’m firing off a quick post before I jet off to America for Christmas. Hopefully when I get back, I’ll have a few more packages to review. MBA recently announced a beauty bag subscription, and I’ve generally not hated their products, so I gave it a whirl because I do miss having a beauty bag and they have a super wide variety of products on their site.

So the products were packaged in a black organza bag. They included a brow gel, a lip paint, a lip gloss, a loose eyeshadow, and a pressed eyeshadow, for a combined value of 27 USD. It also came with a 15% off any purchase code.

I actually already had Ballroom Blitz as a clamshell sample. It is glitter-heavy. Like, this is so much glitter. If you want so much silver glitter, good news, you’ve got it. It comes off as a metallic silver, but there is the risk of fallout.

I actually really liked Romeo. I was expecting to make harumphy noises since I find I’m often skeptical of pressed red eyeshadow. I’m still not a fan of the little individual pod it comes in, and I plan on moving it to a new home soon. I found the shadow to be a bit soft- swiping the brush over it to get enough product for the swatch released a lot of red dust onto my countertop. It’s a lovely metallic red, though- not like anything I have in my pressed collection.

The Sugar Babies Twinkling Lip Glaze in Silver was… ehhhh. This is 100% personal bias, but it managed to hit every check box on things I don’t like in a lip gloss. It’s sheer with silver glitter. It’s really heavily scented. It’s sticky, to the point where my hair got all stuck in it while I was walking to the window to get a selfie, so I can’t imagine it in actual wind. It’s got the clicky brush applicator, which I’m not a fan of. If those are all things you don’t mind or like in a lip gloss, this is the lip gloss for you. I’m probably not going to use it, though. The other colours look a lot more interesting to me, as well.

Frozen Plum, however, I did like. I’ve long been a fan of the MBA Lip Paints, and Frozen Plum is a really pretty colour. It’s not quite as gray or dark as it looks on the website swatch, unfortunately, but it’s a perfectly serviceable medium orchid. It lasts a good while and fades evenly. I’ve got no complaints.

As for the Brow Fix, it is a clear brow gel. I’ve never really been able to tell much about what makes a good or bad clear brow gel, since all the ones I’ve ever used have seemed totally identical in their inability to really tame my grandpa brows. If you’re looking for a clear brow gel, though, this certainly is one. It’s also got opaque packaging so you don’t have to confront how gross clear brow gel looks once you’ve used it once or twice.

This first month on the whole felt a bit incoherent- the warmth of the red and the cool tones of the lipstick didn’t really match up that well for me. None of the colours seemed to really be going by any sort of theme. Still, I’m staying subbed for three months, since it’s not too bad on the value front and they’re still working things out. Plus I know I’ll at least get my money’s worth out of this bag. I do use Ballroom Blitz semi-regularly whenever I need a glitterbomb, and the brow gel is definitely getting used. The only thing I’m for sure not using is the lip gloss, but even that will probably find a home with someone.

As a side note, I kind of hope they include more unconventional lip colours in future bags. That was one of the main draws for me to the company in the first place. Hint, hint, everyone please send me blue lipstick.