IPSY: Overview & Sept. Glambag

IPSY, what comes to mind when hearing that word? If you are unfamiliar with beauty boxes, you have no clue what I am referring to. Make-up, high end brands, and monthly subscriptions all come to my mind when hearing ipsy. Ipsy is a beauty subscription service, like Birchbox. To view more information on beauty boxes check out this earlier post. The title of the previous post is Updated Beauty Box Experience: Birchbox or IPSY. At the time, I was subscribed to both Birchbox and IPSY but my payment method defaulted one month and Birchbox cancelled my subscription on the spot. Also, during this time my favorite was Birchbox, until that happened. I never bothered to resubscribe because the boxes had been getting lousy. I continued receiving Ipsy's glam bag (what the co. refers to the bag), and I am so glad I did because...

THIS MONTH'S BAG INCLUDES A BUTTER LONDON NAIL POLISH. I almost fell on the floor when I opened the bag. How awesome is it that for only 10 dollars, Ipsy gives you high end beauty products AND a cute make-up bag? 

Below are some of the past glam bags I have received:

BELOW IS THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF IPSY'S GLAM BAG

The first product is CAILYN tinted lip balm. Next, NYX eyeshadow. Followed by: butter london nail polish, It's so BIG mascara, and an eyeliner by Star Looks.

As you can see, the eyeshadow is a neutral copper color; which is perfect for Fall. The butter LONDON nail polish is also a darker fall color. I haven't tried the mascara or eyeliner yet so if you would like a review on those or any of the other products, comment below.

To subscribe to IPSY and receive your own glam bag, click here

Beauty Box hype

Are Beauty subscription services really worth the hype?

I wish I could say I know from experience but I just discovered they even existed last month. I subscribed to Birch Box, as it was the very first one I heard about. I then discovered IPSY/ My Glam Bag and today I found Beauty Box 5 and Kara's Way. When researching these boxes, I found some reviews saying they are worth it, some more than others, and some other reviews saying they removed their subscription from disappointment.

The first benefit I want to talk about is variety. Every box is supposed to be different; which is a great way to try out different products that you normally wouldn't pick up. I read that some boxes even contain high end brands. However, the sizes of the products in these beauty subscription services are usually not full size. I read a few reviews saying they have received some full size products but most of the time they are trial or travel size. That is one factor that might throw some people off.

They might think, why would I pay for sample size products?

Well, the answer is value. What brand are the products you receive? How much of each do you receive? How does the size you received compare to the full size?

Another benefit of these beauty boxes is you can cancel the subscription at any time because it is monthly.But, you can purchase subscriptions for a few months at a time, quarterly, or yearly.

One downfall is that some of these boxes can be a bit pricey if you get one every month. In fact, the subscription price for a year of Kara's Way is $100.00.

The benefit to Kara's Way is they are all natural products. So, if that is something that attracts you, I would say Kara's Way is for you. These products are never tested on animals and are toxic free. Kara's Way is the most expensive one at $15.00/ month. Keep in mind that you pay more for natural products anyway. Personally, I think it makes sense it is the most expensive.

Click here to sign up for Kara’s Way.

Birch Box is known for the brands: Smashbox, Stila, Benefit, Philosophy, and NYX just to name a few.  I saw in the reviews each month the box is themed different.

You can access all the brands offered by Birch Box by clicking here.

One negative thing I will say is there is a waitlist for Birch Box. I "joined" at least 3 weeks ago and still haven't received the e-mail invitation to access the subscription.

Has this happened to anyone else? Well, the reason is the “average wait time” for an invite is 4 weeks. WHAT? They better be glad I am excited to subscribe or I would cancel just because of anticipation.

Birch Box is only $10.00/month.

Click here to sign up for Birch Box.

IPSY/ My Glam Bag is known for the make up bags the products come in. Although that isn't the main focus, but that is what makes it different in my eyes.  IPSY bags are also known for their value. I read many reviews that shed light in a positive way towards IPSY but did mention it being geared towards a younger crowd.

I am on the “wait list” for IPSY also.

IPSY Bags are $10.00/ month.

Click here to sign up for IPSY bags.

Beauty Box 5 seems like a good way to try out different products from brands that you normally wouldn't try. I saw some reviews that seemed very satisfied and even mentioned some boxes including full size products.

Beauty Box 5 is $12.00/ month.

Click here to sign up for Beauty Box 5

It is also hard to trust people's reviews online because I know some are affiliated with the companies and don't have to pay for the boxes. I really want to try all of these subscription services but that would be entirely too much money. So, I thought a review on reviews would be handy to normal people like me who can't afford each service and compare them side by side.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that you can usually refer to the subscription service’s website and purchase full size products of the ones you received. I think that is really nifty because then you’re not wasting money on large quantities of products you don’t even prefer.

I hope this helped some of y'all.

XOXO,

SweetSouthernBeauty