If you’re not familiar Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription service: for $10/mo you get a small makeup bag filled with a mix of about 5 products, mostly samples but often 1 or 2 full-sized options.
My first Ipsy box! I first signed up on May 15th and was put on the “waitlist” (see below). I was billed and notified I was off the waitlist on June 1st. My Ipsy box shipped on June 1oth, and I received it June 15th. It came in a fun fluorescent pink bubble envelope.
Here’s what I got:
Altchek MD DePuff Eye Pads, 2 treatments ($4) Love these! Went on cool, peeled off smoothly without any tugging, and they really did make my eyes look “fresher.”
Smashbox under foundation primer, 0.25oz ($9) Very silky and does help smooth things out (a little). I’m not one for extra steps like this in my makeup routine but I’ll have fun using up this little bottle.
Liptitude Lip Stain, full size ($6) They are not messing around when they say “stain.” There is no adjusting or smudging, it “stains” where ever you put it so apply carefully! They market it as a solution for annoying “hair stuck in lip gloss” situations because it dries dry (non-sticky). It also manages to come off/leave a lip print on glasses and straws and stuff, however, and it does need regular touch-ups throughout the day. As for the color it’s a little too dark for me but the nail polish-style bottle is super cute.
Aurora Intensively Precise eye liner in Blackberry, full size ($12) Beautiful, wonderful eyeliner. Makes really intense, sharp lines with good color. I prefer softer eyeliners personally, but I’ll see if I can’t find a way to work this in somehow.
treStique Mini Shadow Crayon in Marimoto Pink Pearl, ($11) I like this! A nice neutral shade with a pretty, pearlized sheen. Goes on super soft and is easy to blend with fingers.
Makeup bag: The embossed Ipsy print and bright contrasting zipper are cute, and it’s a nice size. I tend to like things a little funkier and more girly (and I’ve seen past Ipsy bags I like better), but this is a useful little bag.
Total value: $32 (+bag) Overall really happy with my first Ipsy bag! Lots of fun stuff, brands I haven’t used before, and two out of five things were full size. Everything seems high-quality and it was a good mix of product types. I’m happy!
If you decide to give Ipsy a try use this link and give me a few referral points while you’re at it. Thanks so much for reading! :)
Notes about Ipsy:
– Everyone gets the same makeup bag (a different design every month), but while products are basically the same for everyone there are variations in exact types and makeup shades (for example I saw another review for this same June bag where the Altchek product was a face scrub instead of eye pads, and she got a different Liptitude shade).
– You do fill out a very basic style profile (skin tone, hair color) but there are no additional personalization options — you get what you get, random lipstick colors and all.
– Be warned: Ipsy has an automatic “Waitlist” that everyone goes on when they first sign up, followed by offers to “skip the waitlist” if you share on Facebook and Twitter and successfully refer your friends to also sign up. This strikes me as a ridiculous (and annoying) marketing ploy, i.e. “We’re so swamped you’re going to have to wait! But please bring as many friends as you can, so they can also wait! Then we’ll let you in, but not your friends yet! Unless they also can bring more friends!”
My advice: just wait it out. I signed up and was put on the waitlist on May 15th, and was notified on June 1st that I would be getting a June Glam Bag. There are some crazy waiting stories out there but it sounds like a majority of people get off the wait list automatically after a couple of weeks/at the beginning of the next month after they sign up.
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