Birchbox vs Ipsy – April 2014

ByLiz CadmanApr 17, 2014 | 26 comments

Birchbox vs Ipsy

This is the fourth post in the Birchbox vs Ipsy series!

FYI – I pay for both of these subscriptions, and as a regular customer I get one of many variations available each month. So while one month alone might not be enough info to make a decision, looking at the results over several months should give you a good picture of what to expect with each box.

Birchbox Review - April 2014 Items

Birchbox April 2014 (Check out the full Birchbox review)

Number of items: 6

Full size items: 0

Deluxe size items: 2

Brands featured: Color Club, Sumita, No. 4 Haircare, Harvey Prince, Kind Bars

Categories featured: Haircare (2), Food (1), Nail Polish (1), Perfume (1) Makeup (1)

Total Value: $20

Ipsy Review - April 2014 Items

Ipsy April 2014 (Check out the full Ipsy review)

Number of items: 5

Full size items: 2

Deluxe size items: 3

Brands featured: Cover FX, Cailyn, St. Tropez, Elizabeth Mott, Urban Decay

Categories featured: Makeup (3) Skincare (2)

Total Value: $75

Verdict: For me, Ipsy was the clear winner this month. Normally Ipsy wins in product size, and Birchbox wins in brands, but this month Ipsy had both! I'm going to use every item in my Ipsy bag this month, which definitely makes it a better value than my Birchbox.

Which subscription was your favorite this month? Any new product discoveries you recommend?

[yop_poll id="13"]

Posted in Birchbox vs Ipsy

Liz Cadman

Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

Read More By Liz Cadman >

Join the Conversation

Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email

26 comments

Jennifer

You sucked me in! I couldn’t resist signing up for this box. Too bad I JUST upgrade my Birchbox to annual! I guess I’ll just have the best of both worlds for a while!

Krista

I just signed up for BB so I haven’t received it yet. I’m very happy w my Ipsy this month though! I joined in Feb and didn’t like my Feb and march bags. I got different things than you but loved everything!

I will probably cancel my BB. I’m not sure why I even subscribed. That $10 price got me!

I’ve heard nothing but negative things about BB on sites like this and Facebook. I was actually going to cancel it before I even got my first box! I decided to wait until I receive my first box though.

Kristina

I think people usually complain about BB because they are expecting full size or deluxe products. But they clearly say that their boxes contain sample size, but you do occasionally get a deluxe sample.
They both have good months and bad months.

Hannah

I love Birchbox, it’s my favorite of my subs by far. There’s great variation, higher end brands, and every month you get $5 to spend in the shop if you review all your items.

Jess

I had both for about 6 months each and I felt there really wasn’t a different between the two overall. It was fun getting two boxes, but I was getting really tired of only getting one thing I would use (if I was lucky) so I cancelled both and switched to Lip Factory (I think it’s around $22.) Waaaaay worth the switch- full size items with a higher value than both Ipsy and BB combined. Plus more make up.

Tracie

My ipsy sucked this month… I don’t care much for the bb this month either but I love that I get five dollars back so in all reality I only pay $5 dollars a month and get $5 to spend on something else it is always a win to me on that point of view…

Krista

How do you get $5 back? From reviewing the items? I just signed up for BB

Jess

Yeah, review the items and you get points. If you review 5 items it equals $5 in birchbox bucks, but you can’t spend til you get $10. Review them right away because if you forget you can’t go back and review for points after probably a month. I made that mistake when I first started. Also, you can skip the written review and still get points- just answer the questions.

Darcy

Birchbox hands down for me this month. Will use all the products I received- glad for the No. 4 products. Not so much for the Ipsy- which was OK for me as far as what I will actually use vs what I will pass along to my 16 year old niece.

Keri

I subscribed to both and was always so disappointed in my Birchbox that I recently canceled. Although, for awhile Ipsy kept sending me silver eye liner… How many full sized silver eye liners can one person go through?! I always have more fun with my Ipsy, though, so I’m keeping my subscription!

Emmy

I canceled Ispy after I got my bag this month. I am tired of being really excited to get my bag and finding that I either got horrible colors or the wrong items (based on my quiz). It’s a great service, but they need to work Ipsy Match. I just got too many bags where I looked at it and realized I wouldn’t use anything in it due to the item or the colors. I don’t subscribe to Birchbox, but this month’s box looked useful.

Kristi

My Ipsy and BB were both different than yours (a couple same items in each, but other things that I liked better than what you received). I think this month goes to BB for me because I love the davines hair treatment in BB over the Big Sexy Hair root pump in Ipsy. I have very thick hair, I don’t need anything that pumps up the volume!

Heather

I think my BB won for me this month, though I wasn’t horribly unimpressed with my Ipsy. In BB I got a super microscopic sample of Supergoop CC cream, a KIND bar that was yummy, a Cynthia Rowley eyeliner (that I liked a ton better than the UD velvet 24/7 I got in Ipsy), Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant sample that I can’t use, and Klorane dry shampoo I’ve been excited to try. In my Ipsy, I got the Elizabeth Mott eyeshadow in a pretty champagne color, an eyeshadow brush, the UD eyeliner, a bright pink lipliner I won’t use, and a Dr. Brandt microdermabrasion sample I can’t use. I’ll still keep both. 🙂

Mary Beth

Ipsy won for you, and for me. How do I know for sure? I put every BB item on my swaps (except for the kind bar which looks yummy.) Ipsy, I only listed one item. I’ve decided to cancel BB. Even when I do find a products I like it usually ends up being too expensive to actually purchase a full version. With ipsy, the items I like are more affordable if I want to continuer getting them. Lastly, I like the bags, it’s kind of corny, but the bag counts as an item to me and I’m usually pleased with it.

I will keep buying the BB LE boxes though. They do great curation on those.

LizM

I LOVE the bags too. I use them for lots of things and like that they’re all different. Makes using them for organizing that much easier. It does count for me because you don’t have to give every subscriber a bag. That and the price, IPSY will be one subscription I would be unlikely to quit.

Melanie

I got awful colors for my ipsy bag with the Caitlin and lollitint products. BB wins for me!

kiwimango

I have to say that BB won for me this month. I truly was happy with all I got.

Ipsy let me down. I got none of the things I was hoping to get (Rainbow Honey, lollitint, St Tropez.)

I will still keep both though! Ipsy is still my makeup splurge and BB is my skincare/points juggernaut.

Rebekah

I’ve subscribed to BirchBox for almost a year and I was initially very impressed but every month I find myself less and less excited by it. No matter how I change my preferences I get a box very unsuited to me, and I’m constantly considering canceling. I’ve only recently gotten my second Ipsy glambag.. I was very unimpressed with my first in Feb (felt very cheap, young, and pink) and so unsubscribed but saw others receive their March glambag so resubscribed for April and every item was a complete hit for me. Very tempted to unsub from Birchbox and try another box while I see how Ipsy plays out for me.

Pilar

Every time you do this I have picked Ipsy, because months after months they have been way better than Birchbox.

Judy

I agree with your Ipsy choice. Unfortunately the Ipsy I got was not as good as yours and so for me comparing the two would have been a tossup with neither winning. I wish Ipsy would just send one box of goodies. I get excited when I see yours and then when mine comes I am totally disappointed. It’s never the same as yours and I feel cheated out of some great products to try. The ones I get are never ones I will use or want to try. I’m rethinking this whole Ipsy thing. Will give it one more month.

LizM

Have you tried retaking the beauty quiz? Maybe you’ll get something different?

Judy

One of your other readers comments said that it didn’t make a difference for her since they still set things she didn’t want. I went to the Ipsy but can’t find where to do to retake the beauty quiz. I would try it if I could find it.

Sneaky Burrito

Also rate/review the products. I find this has really helped my Ipsy stuff get better (I just got my 4th Ipsy bag).

My boxes rarely match Liz’s; I’ve learned to bite the bullet and subscribe, see what I get for a month or two, then make the decision.

LizM

Not even close- IPSY! It’s pretty embarrassing what BB has sent me this month. The tiny (that you need a magnifying glass) sample of the apple bush. I mean, seriously BB?

LOVE IPSY…BB, you’re on my “should I break up with you,” list.

Kimberly

Ipsy won for me, though they did send me fake eyelashes, which are a waste on me. I love that they do more full size items and more deluxe size items.

Birchbox sends me some fun stuff, but overall the value isn’t there and they often send me items I wouldn’t use or wouldn’t buy again. I am also thinking about “breaking up” with it.

LizM

The only reason I don’t is because I like their points/rewards system. If IPSY had a better way to get points fast, then I would probably quit BB.

Our reviewers research, test, and recommend the best subscriptions and products independently; click to learn more about our editorial guidelines. We may receive commissions on purchases made through links on our site.

Birchbox vs Ipsy – April 2014

Advertise With MSA

Information

Company