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Ipsy Review – May 2014

Liz Cadman
ByLiz CadmanMay 15, 2014 | 48 comments

Ipsy Review - May 2014 Review

Ipsy is a monthly beauty and makeup subscription box. Each month you get full size or deluxe-sized products, plus a cute makeup bag. I think it’s one of the best value beauty subscriptions and a great way to build out your makeup collection on the cheap!

(FYI - Just like Birchbox, Ipsy sends out many different variations of their bag each month - so my review is just one of the bag variations you might receive!)

Ipsy Review - May 2014 Items

The Subscription Box: Ipsy

The Cost: $10 a month (free shipping)

The Products: Full size and samples of makeup and beauty products. (Plus a makeup bag!)

Ships to: US and Canada

Check out all of my Ipsy reviews and the Beauty Subscription Box Directory!

Ipsy Review - May 2014 Hang Ten

Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask - 60 ml Value $4.80

Hang Ten Classic Sport SPF 50 - 1 oz Value $3

First, I just love the bright and summery packaging of these items! And I was thrilled to find out that the Hang Ten sunscreen line is made by Coola, and uses organic ingredients (and is free of parabens, synthetic fragrances, etc). I will definitely buy more of this sunscreen for the summer!

Ipsy Review - May 2014 Pacifica

Revlon Colorburst Matte Lip Balm (No. 205) - FULL SIZE! Value $9

Pacifica Natural Beauty Eye Shadow Duo 2 - Value $5?

I love the Pacifica brand so I had high hopes for this eye shadow, but unfortunately I didn't find it to be very pigmented at all. It took multiple applications just to get a subtle color, so I don't think I'll be switching over to Pacifica eye shadow any time soon.

Ipsy Review - May 2014 Avene

Eau Thermale Avene - 50 ml Value $9

I love water mists for the summer, so this item is another win for me!

Verdict: I paid $10 for this bag and received about $31 worth of beauty items. I'm happy with the value, and I think I'll use everything except maybe the Revlon lip balm, and the Pacifica eye shadow (sadly). I also really like the bag itself this month - the print is cute, I like the canvas material, and it doesn't smell like chemicals!

What did you get in your Ipsy bag this month?

Liz Cadman
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!

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48 comments

Erica

Ipsy is by far my favorite subscription. I don’t think there is a better value out there. I’ve been a subscriber since November 2012 and I’ve only received a couple bags that I didn’t like.

I loved this month’s bag. It was heavy on skincare which was new for me from ipsy but it was a great change from makeup.

I received the Hang Ten sunscreen, Pacifica eyeshadow, derma e microdermabrasion, Hey Honey mask and Purlisse moisturizer.

Even though the pacifica shadow won’t be used since it has next to no pigmentation and I won’t use the Hey Honey mask since it sounds messy I’m still happy with my bag.

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Lynnea

I would check out Boxycharm. They have much better products- all are FULL SIZE. This month, so far, they are having tarte cheek tint in blushing bride and tarina tarantino highlighter.

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Cindy G

Thought this was a really awesome bag this month! Loved the makeup bag and most of the stuff in it. I got the hair mask, eyeshadow, sunscreen, lip pencil and samples of body wash. I will be using everything in it. Ipsy never disappoints!

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LizM

I love my Ipsy this month! I got the Pacifica eye shadow, Purlisse moisturizer, Hey Honey Mask, Avene Spring Water, Jersey Shore sunscreen. I’m so glad that Ipsy gave my sunscreen because it’s already crazy hot here in LA, so love to try new sunscreens. The bag is so cute. I love Ipsy and can’t want to go to their Beauty convention in a couple of weeks!

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Bonnie

Mine was similar to yours. I received the other sunscreen, which has white pigmentation and a Calvin Klein perfume instead of the lip color.

I was disappointed with the eyeshadow and “meh” with the sunscreen. I do love the bag this month. I liked everything else. I did hear some were using the shadow as a highlighter. I think the glitter is kind of chunky for that though. Although the purple is not overly pigmented I don’t hate it.

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Nicolle

Ironically, the first month after I unsubscribe the bag is cute and looks like a decent material. I hated their bags that smelled like plastic and chemicals! It was one of the reasons i unsubscribed.

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Sue

I was all set to subscribe to IPSY this month. I am very new to all of the Boxes/BAGS. Yes, I am a newbie. When I did subscribe, I was put on the waitlist, which would have been fine BUT to get off the wait list you had to refer a friend. I have nothing at all against that, BUT one should not have to refer a friend to get the bag. And the MAY bag looks awesome. So I am disappointed.

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Frances

If you subscribe to their YouTube videos & allow to post to your Facebook, it will take you off the waiting list! I was upset about the wait list too… but I found another way around it! 🙂
Best of luck!

Blessedmommi

Hi Sue,
You can actually skip the waitlist right now without referring a friend. They said it’s a special they have. All you have to do is like their Facebook page and their YouTube channels. sign into your ipsy account and click on “skip the waitlist” then follow the instructions and that’s it

Victoria

For those on the wait list concerned about everything being posted to Facebook…You can change the setting from ‘Public” to “Only Me” when you sign up….then no one sees the posts but you. That’s what I did and I have never even seen anything from Ipsy posted on my page.

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Sneaky Burrito

I just have a fake Facebook page. All I use it for is to enter contests. I don’t even have a real Facebook account! I’m sure it’s full of Ipsy stuff but I never bother to go look at it.

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Sneaky Burrito

Got mine this afternoon. Glad that my Nailtini is NOT Frappe. (It is Champagne, though, so it may still be too light for me, but I’ll give it a try or see what I can do with layers.)

But, I got the Hang Ten sunscreen and it’s got all these organic chemicals in it (and I use “organic” in the chemistry sense, meaning synthetic molecules with lots of carbon atoms…). I got a horrible rash from some Neutrogena sunscreen with some similar-sounding chemicals in it. I’ll have to double check to make sure the ingredients list isn’t the same. Otherwise I might swap.

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Betsy

This was my first ipsy bag, and I love it! I got the items pictured above, except my Pacifica duo is a bronze / pink combo, and instead of the Revlon balm I received the Too Faced bronzer. I love Too Faced and have wanted to try the Chocolate Soleil bronzer forever, so that’s a total win for me!

I also signed up for Glossybox. The April box was my first, and honestly, this ipsy bag was every bit as nice. Add in all the late delivery drama and I might not stay with GB for long.

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Katie

This is my first ipsy and I love the bag – it’s adorable. I kinda wish I’d gotten the Revlon – I’ve been wanting to try those, but overall I’m happy – I’ll keep going for a few more months. I just started up BirchBox again – and this month Ipsy was the winner, though maybe just because of the bag… 🙂

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Kerry

I was very happy with my Ipsy bag this month. First, the bag is so much better – not smelly and so very cute. I received the sunscreen, neutral eyeshadow (had to put on a couple of layers), the honey exfoliating peel off face mask, the pur-lisse moisturizer and a microdermabrasion scrub by derma e. The scrub smells so good and felt great after using it. It may be something I purchase again. I’m using the pur-lisse today. It was a very light moisturizer, which I liked. Overall, a win bag from Ipsy. eyeshadow wasn’t that great, but I think I’ll try to use it.

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michelle

I had to quit this awhile back. I though I never would because I love that they give you bags. but it got to be the things they picked for me I couldn’t use, it was a shame because there were always items I would have loved to receive ….oh well it’s such a great value if you can use what they send. the water in this bag……hmmm I don’t know about that but at least you can use it! If the lipstick worked for me I would have been happy with this box.

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Kate

Eh… not terribly upset that I didn’t get it this month. Hopefully my other boxes keep me entertained!

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Pilar

Wow! Those are some nice items.

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Kim

my bag this month had a total value of $42.60 so I’m pretty happy about that, however I tried on some of the hang ten sunscreen and it smells like i bathed with a bottle of rum…not like a fruity pina colada rum drink…straight up alcohol. Very disappointing. I had the same gripe with my pacifica duo…I got the other duo and I’m honestly so sick of neutral eyeshadows from my last three ipsy bags so I took all eyeshadow off my quiz. I did use the lighter shade as an eyebrow highlight and i’m thinking the light shade would make a good highlighter….i was happier with my last two bags though.

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Misha

You should really consider using the Revlon color balm, I bought a darker pink on a whim and I get the most random compliments on it. Plus it’s long lasting and highly pigmented. I sadly did not receive one in my ipsy bag this month. I did receive the lighter version of the pacifica eye shadow (A brand I love too) and am happy with the bronze side but like you said the pink has very little actual color

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Tina

I agree about the color balm. For me, it irritated my lips (I think it has peppermint oil in it, which always bothers me), but I gave it to my mother after one use and it looks great on her. If the peppermint oil issue doesn’t irritate your lips, it’s really great looking on. I almost wanted to take it back when I visited her this past weekend while she was wearing it. It’s at least worth a try!

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Sara

I’ve been really enjoying Ipsy. My bag should arrive today, but I’m supposed to get the Too Faced bronzer. I have fair skin and I’m worried (based on the picture in my Glam room) it might be too dark, but if it doesn’t work for me I have a friend who will love to get it. The thing about Ipsy is that $10 is an easy splurge and the samples are always deluxe plus there’s usually one full size.
Regarding the Pacifica. . .I haven’t tried their eyeshadow but I did buy the eye liner (gel liner in the pot) and it was beyond terrible. Very streaky and unmanageable. I love their BB cream though. Maybe the eyeshadow will work better applied damp.

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Kate

I got the bronzer too and I am also very fair skinned so I’m scared if I use it I will look way too dark.

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Kim

from what I know about too faced it will be a buildable bronze so you can start it very light although it seems dark in the photo. Hope it works out for you! I would have loved to get that in my bag!

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Tamara

This is my first Ipsy month I’m not crazy about–there seemed to be a lot of great products available this month, but I feel like I got all the loser ones. Half are going to be swapped, and the ones I’m keeping are functional if not exciting (sunscreen, yawn). But I do LOVE the canvas makeup bag!!! Such a great bag. And that alone, plus knowing how high value my past months have been, make the $10 worth it even if I’m a little disappointed.

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Paige

I got the sunscreen, the same eyeshadow as you, a fluff brush (very happy to get a brush in the bag!) the pur-lisse moisturizer (I have dry skin so awesome – also, the value on it is incredible), and the nailtini nail polish. This bag was a huge win for me and with the pur-lisse being a .5 oz sample compared to a the full size at 1.7oz for $55 I grand totaled my bag at around $40 value! Also, I love the canvas material in the ipsy bag this month.

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Lyn

I got the exact same bag as Paige and the only win for me is the brush. 🙁 the sunscreen is not even remotely natural in any sense of the word. I don’t wear white and purple eyeshadow so meh. The Polish is a blah color the pur Lise would be nice but some reviews say it causes break outs so don’t want to risk it. I would have loved the revlon lip, water mist and derma e scrub other received. This was my first month and a huge bust. Hopefully next one will be better.

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Elizabeth

I think the canvas bag this month was my absolute favorite. Also this month’s items were also a step up. This month was a total win.

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Jessica

This was my first Ipsy bag and I was thrilled with the contents! I know they normally send makeup items, but I’ve been looking for good skincare items with summer coming up so this was a win :).

I also received the Hang 10 sunscreen, the Eau Thermale Avene and the Pacifica eyeshadow. My other two items were a Balanced Guru “No Frizz” Balancing Oil (which smells AMAZING) and Boo-Boo Cover-up. I actually tried out the cover up this morning and love it! It’s non-comedogenic and has tea tree oil!

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Alyssa

I’ve been on a wait list for awhile. I’m not sure I will ever get off unless I post a bunch of stuff to Facebook and social media which I don’t want to be forced into. Does anyone know how long the wait list usually takes? Looks like a great subscription!

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kristin

I skipped the wait list by posting it to my Facebook wall and you can immediately delete that post if you choose. It was well worth doing that for me as I have gotten some nice stuff.

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Jen

This month was my first bag, and I believe I joined the wait list in February. I did not post any links on social media, link to my FB account, anything like that. So hopefully you won’t have to wait more than three months!

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Name *Paige

I only had to post to facebook once to get out of the waiting list immediately – after that, the only reason to post is if you want the ipsy points. And I’m not sure, but usually you can change the settings on the post to ‘Custom’ and pick ‘Only Me’ so it won’t show up on your friends news feeds or even be visible on your wall to them.

Beth

After being on the wait list for 2 months, I got an email yesterday that let me skip without having someone join. It said it was for a limited time. All I had to do was post the link on my Facebook (you have the privacy option of not having it show up on your page), like their Facebook page, and subscribe to their YouTube channels. I immediately got an email saying that I would receive the June bag. Log into your account and click the option that says “hop off the wait list” and follow the instructions.

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Leilana Taylor

I absolutely love ipsy! They send the best value for the price IMO, and have a really good variety in each bag. I received the Pacifica eyeshadow, a different type of sunscreen, the deep conditioner, and honey peel-off mask, and a nice-sized jar of a micro-dermabrasion scrub. Really loved the selection, and all the brands were new to me, with the exception of Pacifica, however, I didn’t know Pacifica made makeup, so all items were new discoveries to me!

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Lorna

Hi Liz, I like to look at the value of what I get in my Ipsy bags too. Just thought I’d let you know that the eva-nyc Therapy Session Hair Mask 60mL is listed on their site for $12.00. Love your blog!

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Heather

I got almost the same bag…I got a Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume sample instead of the Revlon balm. Wish I had gotten that balm instead!! Overall I kind of thought this was too much skincare type stuff this month. Still pretty happy with it though.

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Erin

I am getting a bunch of skin products. Wondering how I can tweak my profile to get something like the lip balm?

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