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Birchbox Vs Ipsy – September 2015

Liz Cadman
ByLiz CadmanOct 5, 2015 | 15 comments

Birchbox vs Ipsy

Birchbox
3.7 overall rating
657 Ratings | 188 Reviews

The Birchbox vs Ipsy post series compares my Birchbox and Ipsy subscription every month to give you a good idea what you can expect from the two most popular beauty subscription boxes. (And since both boxes are $10 a month, it seems fair to stack them up against each other).

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 September 2015 Review – Customer Favorites Box Items

Birchbox September 2015 (Check out the full Birchbox review)

Number of items: 5

Full-size items: 0

Deluxe size items: 2

Brands featured: Beauty Protector, Liz Earle, Marcelle, Harvey Prince

Categories featured: Skincare (1) Makeup (1) Haircare (2) Perfume (1)

Total Value: $24

ipsy-september-2015-items-2

Ipsy September 2015 (Check out the full Ipsy review)

Number of items: 5

Full-size items: 3

Deluxe size items: 0

Brands featured: NYX, Acure, Temptu, City Color, Pixi

Categories featured: Makeup (4) Skincare (1)

Total Value: $28

Verdict: I think Ipsy was my favorite box this month. It was a good mix of makeup and skincare products for me, and I really like the temptu highlighter and the pixi and NYX mini palettes.

Which box was your favorite this month?

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Birchbox was one of the very first beauty subscription boxes—we’ve been reviewing it since 2012! Each month, subscribers get a new mix of 5 beauty samples, such as makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance items. Birchbox lets you choose whether you’d like a box of items picked just for you (incl... read more.

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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15 comments

Crystal

The problem I have with ipsy is that sometimes its low cost items, so trials are irrelevant
, but then the flip can be said of birch as a negative. and fwiw most of the samples of birchbox, I haven’t found at sephora so I feel that point isn’t as valid. there are a lot of perks outside the boxes for birch. Lots of coupon opportunities. i have gotten tons of eyeliners/eyeshadows and mascaras, which if I recall – there’s no take home sample for any BM stores…
I also use a lot of the left over birchboxes for small gifts, as they are beautifully done.

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shelbi

I am officially over birchbox!! I received one of the worst boxes this month.. small foil packets and hair oil do not justify a $10 box… such a joke.. i’m over it.. You can pick up the same things for free at Sephora or a makeup counter!

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Lori

FYI – I was able to get a full peek of my October Ipsy bag today.

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Jessvii

This month was a tie for me – I liked 2 products and disliked 3 products in each box.

Birchbox:
– Pop Eyeshadow (disliked color for my skin tone)
– English Laundry Eau de Parfum (disliked scent)
– Malin+Goetz Grapefruit Face Cleanser and Face Moisturizer (scent is awesome, but it makes my sensitive skin red)
– Davines Love Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner (it’s ok)
– Juice Beauty Green Apple peel (loved it)

Ipsy:
– NYX Eyeshadow (no staying power)
– First Aid Beauty Repair Cream (meh)
– tre’StiQue Lip Crayon (it’s ok)
– Not Soap Radio Body Lotion (liked it)
– Formula X Nail Color (loved it)

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Kristi

Ipsy was definitely a winner for me this month. I loved the matte lip crayon, the color is beautiful and I also loved the first aid beauty lotion. Definitely will repurchase first aid beauty products again. As far as birchbox the perfume was eh and shampoo/cond doesn’t really wow me.

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barbara

Birchbox definitely won this month for me ! The eye cream, the palette, 3 divine products and the concealer ! It was one of the best box I ever got from Birchbox with nice sample size!
Ipsy was OK but not a win for me : bronze eyeliner, so Fresh so clean mask, Pallette, and a moisturizer…But I love that bag !

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Deborah

Birchbox was mostly a miss for me this month and of the two things I’d actually use, the lipstick arrived damaged. Since they did give me 50 points for the damaged item, I wasn’t too upset overall. Hopefully it was just an off month since I just changed to an annual subscription. Ipsy definitely was the winner this month for me – I’ll use almost all of my Ipsy items and I really liked the bag this month too.

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Mailbox Junkie

I wiped my profile for Ipsy this month and got my best bag ever. I got the same City Chic lipstick and it is amazing
Birchbox has been my steady for so long but lately I feel like unless you select the curated box that the random monthly boxes are slipping a little. Don’t get me wrong I mean Birchbox is still amazing for points system and customer service but….
I am really intrigued to see how Sephora Play will affect the $10 beauty sub box world

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heat7918

I LOVED my September Birchbox! Ipsy was ok / good, but I’m definitely preferring skincare over make-up – and Ipsy is always very make-up heavy. What’s interesting is that when I started sub boxes in February, I thought I wanted more make-up so I signed up for a 1 year sub of Ipsy. Oh well – I like it, but won’t be extending. 🙂

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Lori

Ha ha. I am actaully the opposite. I thought I would like skin care more, but Ipsy has introduced me to stuff I thought I would never need (like a highligher or brow powder) which I now can’t live without. :-p Still love the skin care stuff but the make-up for me has been more fun!

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Cyndi

Ipsy wins for me and usually does. I love the deluxe samples. Great for your purse or travel.
I do have a question and don’t really know where to put it. I get on line on my iPhone so it’s com

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Lori

Ipsy wins for me this month as well. I got pretty good boxes from both is month.

From Ipsy I also got the Temptu (love), Pixi (love), NYX (like) and those were also my faves. In addtion to those items I got Accure facial brightener (like), and tre’StiQue mini matte lip crayon (like).

From Birchbox I got a Harvey Prince perfume (did not like), Amika syle extending spray (okay), Benefit brow gel (love), Dr. Brandt pores no more (okay, it was my sample choice), and POP palette (love).

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Kelly

Ipsy wins for me too. For the first time I actually loved everything included in my Ipsy! I was so close to cancelling but they reeled me back in!

My birchbox was just eh. I got one thing that I liked and got a damaged eye shadow pallet – when I contacted them they were out so I got 50 birchbox points, so really in the end my $10 box got me $10 so I guess I should be ok with it 🙂

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Dea

My Birchbox eyeshadow *palette* arrived in one piece, but my cats threw it on the floor so it’s damaged now and no 50 points… LOL. I love that POP Beauty palette in frosty violets. I’m still using it!