I love Ipsy. I've mentioned trying to quit it before - I cancelled Sephora Play! & Birchbox & Benevolent Beauty & so many others, but there's something about Ipsy that keeps drawing me back. I love the new quiz, the wide variety of beauty & skincare products, and the way it seems to truly be getting smarter about my preferences (yay algorithms? Machine learning?). Here are my Ipsy bags from the past three months!
In my November bag (such a design) I received:
- Lasting Smiles Lip Balm in Vanilla (full-size)
- Luxie Rose Gold Duo Fiber Travel Brush (full-size)
- Absolute New York Matte Lipstick in Dark Red (full-size)
- the Balm Mad Lash Mascara
- Laqa & Co. B'Lighter in Peacher's Daughter
The first three items come out to about $24, so without breaking down the cost of the samples I've already more than doubled what I spent on the bag! I passed down the lipstick - I already have so many reds - but kept & am using everything else. The brush has the silkiest bristles & I use the lip balm every day.
The December bag was fuzzy & fun. I received:
- Mica Beauty Angle Eyeshadow Brush (RV $22.95, full-size) - Silky soft. I love receiving good quality brushes in my Ipsy bags because I never like forking over the money for them!
- Marc Anthony Argan Oil Conditioning Treatment (RV $2.99, full-size) - I haven't tried this yet, but god knows my poor bleach-damaged hair can use all the help it can get.
- Benefit POREfessional Primer (RV $4.13) - I just don't get Benefit samples. They're so teeny tiny I can barely get a decent use out of any of them. I've received a few POREfessional samples over the years, and while I don't think it's bad, it isn't my favorite primer and I can't imagine paying full price, ever.
- NYX Prismatic Shadow in Bedroom Eyes (RV $5.99, full-size) - I really wanted to like this eyeshadow. Nyx is my favorite drugstore brand, and it swatches beautifully (see below - that's one swipe!) and I love the metallic bronze shade. However, on my eyes the metallic aspect blended out immediately so it just looked like any ordinary brown shadow & within a few hours it had creased even with eyeshadow primer.
- Ciaté London Liquid Velvet in Pin Up (RV $5.79) - LOVE. Super love. The nude-berry shade is perfect, the formula is perfect, the pigment is perfect, the applicator is perfect. I would never have considered Ciaté beyond nail polish, but this liquid lip is so much better than I would've imagined. Definitely worth the $19 full-size price.
December's bag retails for $41.85 - more than 4x the $10 a month subscription price!!
December's liquid lip & eyeshadow swatches.
I got my January Ipsy in the mail today & oh my gosh it is so good! I'm thinking it's my favorite Ipsy GlamBag ever. As a side note, I redeemed rewards points for the Lime Crime Velvetine in "Mercury", a metallic lavender. I expected a sample, but received the full-size $20 product! Also, Ipsy has great customer service - they proactively emailed people that Lime Crime shades had been swapped during shipping, apologized for their mistake, and reimbursed everyone's points (with an extra 75 added). However, I'm feeling #blessed because I was reimbursed & still received the shade I requested.
For the rest of my bag, I received:
- Loverecipe Sheet Masks in Aloe & Acai Berry (RV $1.50 each, received 2) - I love sheet masks & this is my first time to get them in an Ipsy bag. They're low value, but Ipsy sent out two!
- Manna Kadar Paradise Pearlized Blush (RV $19, full-size) - I love Manna Kadar. This blush shade is a little intimidating for me considering it's hot pink and pretty pigmented, but I don't have anything like it in my collection.
- Pretty Woman Nail Polish in I Can't Deal (RV $7.99, full-size) - I'm a sucker for neutral nails. Can't get enough.
- Trust Fund Beauty Lip Gloss in Blame Game (RV $18, full-size) - I don't love lip gloss, but I do love Trust Fund Beauty so I'll give this a whirl. As far as lip glosses go, I prefer this darker brown-berry shade to something pale & shimmery!
- Naked Cosmetics Pigment in Desert Sunset #02 (RV $14.99, full-size) - I don't like loose pigments as a general rule, but the pigment on this powder is incredible. It's such a beautiful rose gold/champagne & I cannot wait to use it as an eyeshadow and highlighter. Ipsy also suggested mixing it with lip balm for a funky rose gold lip, & if I'm feeling extra bold I may give that a try!
Total Retail Value (excluding the Velvetine): $62.98!!!
From top to bottom: Trust Fund Beauty Lipgloss, Manna Kadar Paradise Blush, Naked Cosmetics Pigment, Lime Crime Velvetine
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