Ipsy Review – January 2017
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!
This is one of my top recommendations if you are looking for a beauty box – the value and sample sizes are amazing. (Check out my list of the Top Beauty Boxes for 2016 and our reviews of Cheap Subscription Boxes for more recommendations!)
(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!)
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
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
Delivered via: USPS
Check out all of my Ipsy reviews and the Beauty Subscription Box List!
Visit the Ipsy Swap Page to swap for any of the items you see in this review!
Each month, ipsy subscribers get a makeup bag in addition to their 5 items. This bag has a silver/blue outer fabric, with a silver/grey fabric peeking through! (And a silver zipper to match!)
Now, onto the items!
IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Illumination Anti-Aging Concealer in Tan – 1.5 ml Value $4.50
YES! IT Cosmetics is my favorite concealer of all time, and as soon as I saw their new Illumination version of the concealer – I needed to try it!
If you have dark circles like I do, this is the BEST concealer I’ve found for full coverage. It goes on a little tacky to the touch, but it’s still easy to blend out, and it stays put. I recommend setting it with a powder, and then you are good to go!
I can’t tell a big difference in illumination between this concealer and their regular concealer, but that’s fine by me – both are fab!
(Swatched in lower photo.)
Naked Cosmetics Mica Pigment in Desert Sunset #02 – FULL SIZE! Value $15
This loose powder eyeshadow has amazing pigment and shimmer! It’s a pink-hued metallic that catches the light beautifully. Here it is swatched above the concealer:
Rimmel London Lip Conditioning Balm by Kate Moss – FULL SIZE! Value $5.50
This is a perfect lip balm for me. It’s super moisturizing, doesn’t add too much shine, and it has a subtle, sweet flavor, too. (And cute packaging never hurts!)
Beaute Basics Contouring Brush – Value $8.95
This brush is angled for contouring and it works to blend out your contour lines, too. (And the indents where your fingers go are a nice design touch!)
clariSEA Instant Glow Lavender Powder Exfoliant – 1 oz Value $3.60
This is such a useful product! It’s an all-natural powder that you can add your cleanser to turn it into an exfoliant! The particles are fine enough for everyday use, and I love the lavender scent, too!
Verdict: This box has a value of about $37.60. That’s great for a $10 subscription box (And that’s not counting the value of the makeup bag!) The value is actually on low side for Ipsy bags (some of my past bags have had values of $60+), but this is actually one of my favorite bags ever since every product seems perfect for me.
What do you think of the January Ipsy Glam Bag? What items did you get in your bag? (Do you love the IT Cosmetics concealer as much as I do?)
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Written by Liz Cadman
I’m still using the textured bag! I came to see if you got the Ghost Oil and your opinions on it but your style profile gave you something completely different from me.
I was curious if you have a post on how you shoot your products. The detail and background really stood out. Great post!
I got,
ModelCo Blush in Peach Bellini.
NOTE Fragrances, Pink Peony Eau De Parfum
Smash box Cosmetics BB Cream
Rimmel London Lip Conditioning Balm
& Manna Kadar Fantasy 3 in 1 Eyeshadow
I received an awesome bag this month. I haven’t seen any bag twins though.
* Sallys Masks
*SLMissGlam Blending Brush
*IT Waterproof Concealer
*Smashbox BB Cream
*Rimmel Kate Moss Lip Balm
4 piece BeBella Skincare Set that I got with my points.
I love everything. The IT concealer is amazing. I have the regular one as well. It is the best concealer out of all of them IMO. The Kate Moss Balm is really nice. It is light weight and not sticky. It is so easy to apply.
I love my bag, I received:
Briogeo Rosarco Blow Dry Perfection Heat Protectant Crème
Trust Fund Beauty Lip Gloss in Method to the Madness
The Vintage Cosmetic Company
Rose Gold Tweezers
Jelly Pong Pong
Coffee + Coconut Lip Scrub
IT Cosmetics
Bye Bye Under Eye Illumination Anti-Aging Concealer
This month was my first bag and I’m so pleased! I got:
Beaute Basics Contour Bush
The Balm Bahama Mama Bronzer
Temptu BASE Smooth & Matte Primer
Naked Cosmetics Loose Eyeshadow in Desert Sunset #2
Pur-Lisse Blue Lotus Seed Mud Mask + Exfoliant
I can’t wait to use everything! There’s nothing I’m disappointed in but I would’ve liked to receive the IT Cosmetics concealer or that Smashbox BB cream but for $10 a month I can’t complain.
I received:
Sally’s Box: Loverecipe AcaiBerry Mask & Loverecipe Aloe Mask – $3
SLMissGlam: Blend Beauty Brush L34 (this is an ipsy exclusive!) – ~$13
ModelCo: BLUSH Cheek Powder in Peach Bellini (3.5 g) – $11
Rimmel London: Lip Conditioning Balm by Kate Moss (FULL size) – $5.49
Manna Kadar Cosmetics: Fantasy 3-in-1 Eyeshadow (travel size – .1 oz) – ~$10
Altogether over $40 value, for $10! I love ipsy.
Of these products, my favorites are the masks, the blending brush and the lip balm. Even when I get things that aren’t my favorite, I can trade them with my sister, who is also a subscriber! =)
I’ve been an Ipsy member for over 1 1/2 years and they’ve been really killing it lately. I do think it takes time for them to figure out what you really want so I redo the questionnaire every so often depending on what I recieve. I really like my bag this month:
Trust Fund Beauty Lip Gloss $18.00
Real Chemistry Luminous 3 Minute Peel $8.95
Temptu Base Smooth & Matte Primer $7.25
Pacifica Blushious $12.00
IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Illumination $ 12.50
Total: $58.70
I got:
Naked Cosmetics Mica Pigment in Desert Sunset #02 $15.00
Jelly Pong Pong
Coffee & Coconut Lip Scrub: $19.00
Full sized
Trust Fund
BeautyLip Gloss in Blame Game – IPSY Limited Edition Design $22.00
Pretty Woman: Nail Polish in I Can’t Deal $7.99
Vintage Company Rose Gold Tweezers: $10.00
$73.99
For my 1st bag that is amazing!
What do you have your profile set to? What is the age you have entered?? I want what you got!!!
LOL, I can’t wait for next month. I have everything checked except blush and tinted moisturizer. I didn’t check reds for nail polish or lipstick. Or any blush colors. No neutrals in eyeshadow. Dk brown, amber, tan/olive.
The lip products made it worth it and no matter what I like getting brushes
Smashbox
Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35 $39 30 ml
got sample size of 7. 1 ml
Jelly Pong Pong
Coffee & Coconut Lip Scrub: $19
Full sized
Trust Fund
BeautyLip Gloss in Method To The Madness – IPSY Limited Edition Design $22.00
ROSARCO
Blow Dry Perfection Heat Protectant Crème $24.00 for 118 ml
got sample size of 22 ml
was suppose to be
Crown Brush C405 Contour Blush Brush Price: $7
got Beaute Basics Contouring Brush
not on the Beaute Basics website but most brushes are around $2-8
nice site, I like seeing what others got,
According to my account on Ipsy, I’m supposed to be getting the Crown C405 contour brush but instead, I got the Beaute Basics brush shown above. I’m really curious where Liz got the $8.95 value on it since on the Beaute Basics website, almost all their brushes are priced around $2.
Same on the brush for me, definitely a lower end brand then noted -_- ….I don’t mind a lower end product as long as you don’t claim it to be better than it is.
You may want to contact them. I did and they responded that they would send out the right brush. I also don’t mind more drug store type brands of brushes (have tons of Elf that I love) as long as they don’t use them for substitutes of better things. If they tell me I’m getting a Crown brush, then that’s what they should send. Otherwise, I’m pretty pleased with my bag 🙂
Under the details of the Crown brush it says:
•FYI: ipsters received this brush with Beaute Basics printed on the handle. Don’t worry—Crown Brush and Beaute Basics are sister companies, and this brush is exactly the same as the brush Crown Brush offers on their site.
I received:
Dead Sea mud wash off mask ($9.99)
Pacifica Blushious Coconut & Rose Cheek Color in Wild Rose ($12)
Trust Fund Beauty Lipgloss in Method to the Madness ($22)
Pretty Woman Nail Polish in I’m Not A Ballerina ($7.99)
Smashbox BB Cream ($9)
Total of $60.98
Not a fan of light pink nail polish, but everything else seems worth a try, and certainly great for $10. Ipsy blows away Birchbox month after month. Birchbox obviously pays NO attention to the profile of subscribers.
I would LOVE that polish
My second bag and I’m still very happy! I received:
*Ciate Geology Top Coat
*Pacifica Blushious in Wild Rose
*Trust Fund Beauty Lip Gloss in Method to the Madness
*Smashbox BB cream
*Jelly Pong Pong lip scrub
Not much of a blush person, but that means I don’t have too many and not keen on nude lips, but might be nice as a top off for shine. Super jazzed about the lip scrub and top coat!
wow that’s a like a perfect box for me too. I got more dry shampoo eyeliner and worst of all perfume sample from birchbox. Not impressed. I’m switching to ipsy!
We’re bag twins! I got the same items!!
So very disappointed in my box, cancelled right away. Cannot even use my accumulated points for freebies as there never are any available. So many of you received items that I would love to have and no matter how many times I change preferences I still get the worst of the picks. Annoying.
-Manna Kadar Paradise blush (hard to open and then the pan wasnt affixed properly.)
-Smashbox Photoready BBCream (it was in medium which I am, bu’t this was too dark for me)
-It Cosmetics concealer (way too thick for my undereyes and illuminating? Not for undereyes sorry.)
-Temptu matter primer (for dry to normal skin? No bueno)
– MP mintpear serum (great ingredients, but it felt weird on my skin. did not sink in.)
Gotta agree. Bad box. I cancelled a couple months ago.
If you decide to try again, make sure you reviewed all your items. It took 6 months of reviewing to finally start getting more make up and less skin care, and now I like most of my bag and can use all of it! I’ve even stopped getting sheet masks now since they’ve updated the test. You can email them 3 items you never want to receive (such as concealer, mascara, bronzer) and also choose one item from the spoilers if you wish. I remember being so angry when I first got ipsy because I got mostly skin and hair products and so many things I wasn’t even going to use. Now I absolutely LOVE ipsy, and it is my only sub I’m keeping after 2 years.
Honestly I’ve had ipsy for 2 years, changed my profile I can’t even tell you how many times, left countless reviews & still…. Crap! I have found samples sitting around from over a year ago because it’s literally the same stuff…. Eyeliner, blush, lotion, and a single shadow….. I also notice that samples I got last month, people are receiving this month (like the CoconutCoffee lip scrub). Idk. Done with ipsy. Get so much more worth out of my Boxycharm!
I got:
Ciate Gelology Top Coat ($17)
Naked Cosmetics Eyeshadow ($15)
Mannakadar blush ($19)
Note Fragrance in Peony 5ml (approx $6)
The Balm Bahama Mama Bronzer .58g (Approx $1.60)
My bag has a value of about $58! This is amazing, and it’s all things I’ll use.
I haven’t seen my bag posted here yet…
* Manna Kadar Paradise blush
* H20+ Beauty Ultra Hydrating Cream
* Trust Fund Beauty lip gloss
* Naked Cosmetics mica pigment in Desert Sunset #2
* Ciate Gelology Top Coat
I’m most excited about the Trust Fund lip gloss, but I’m really happy with the whole bag. I’m intrigued by the Kate Moss lip conditioner in Liz’s bag — I have loved every Rimmel product I’ve tried. I might have to look for that at Target….
I received the following:
Sally’s Box: Loverecipe AcaiBerry Mask & Loverecipe Aloe Mask ($3)
Pretty Woman: Nail Polish in I Can’t Deal ($7.99)
Coloured Raine Cosmetics: Matte Lip Paint in Mars ($17)
ModelCo: BLUSH Cheek Powder in Peach Bellini ($9)
Smashbox Cosmetics: Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35 ($9)
Total: $46
I was really pleased with the blush and BB Cream (I love anything Smashbox and I wear their liquid foundation everyday and this served as a great primer). The sheet masks are okay…not something I’m necessarily stoked to see in my bag. The matte lip paint is a horrible color on me but it’s full sized and my sister didn’t mind it. And I hate grey nail polish so not too happy with that. This is my first ipsy bag and I feel pretty meh about it so far.
Lol this is a great example of different strokes for different folks. I had almost the same bag (eye brush instead of the Smashbox) and I loved it. The lipstick is a full sized of a brand I like and colors love, I wish they had given me the grey polish instead of the pink I received, I love sheet masks, and I love the brush I got. The only think I didn’t like was the blush, which is way too orange for me.
I didn’t much like the bag for January, but I have been getting ipsy for a year now and let me say, my daughter and I count the days down, until it’s time for the next bag!! We love ipsy it saves me so much $$$ from having to shop at Ulta and other pricy places! We love u ipsy and all u have to offer!!
I love my bag !!!
– Crown brush
– Pur liss mask
– The balm bronzer
– Naked eye shadow (like liz)
– Ciate top coat
What a bag, I love everything in it and will use everything !
My last month bag was not so good, but this month it’s awesome !!
Ipsy is really one of the best subscription !
Yay! Isn’t that eye shadow just gorgeous? 🙂
It is !! I’m wearing it right now, I love the metallic effect, so pretty ! This shade is gorgeous !!!
That would have been my HG bag this month.
Wow!! You got an awesome bag! My bag totally sucks…not looking forward to it at all. I’ve been with ipsy going on 2 years and these past few months have just been disappointing. I’ll give them one more month and if there’s no change then I will cancel and try another box!
I requested the IT concealer and I can’t wait for my bag to be delivered today. Everything else will be a bonus!!
How did you request a certain item?
I don’t know if this is accurate but I saw a comment that said you could email them and request a certain one of the spoilers items and they would do their best to see that you got it. I also saw a comment that said you could email them once and request to not receive any three specific types of items (like Blush, highlighter, bronzer, dry shampoo, nail polish, etc.). Again, not 100% sure this is accurate but if you’re consistently receiving specific items that you don’t like, it’s worth a shot. I’ve found that the more I review bag items, the better my bags are suited for me.
I don’t know about that. I emailed them repeatedly about hating nail polish but I’ve gotten 4 bottles in the last 12 months. I haven’t gotten any lately so hopefully they got the message.
I received the Pacifica blush (not my shade), the glam blending brush — which is also Ipsy branded (meh), the Trust Fund Method to the Madness lip gloss (I was excited to try since I like the brand — it registers as sheer on me), the Pretty Woman polish in Can’t Deal (gray creme, not for me) & the Jelly Pong Pong lip scrub (which thrills me and makes up for the blush, brush and polish). I am so pleased to have two products I like in the bag so I am very happy. The lip scrub alone is almost twice the price of the bag!
I received this EXACT bag, same colors and everything!
This is a really nice box even with one item being a drugstore brand.
You and I got very similar bags!
I also got:
*loose eyeshadow (beautiful)
*Lip Balm (adorable packaging, and lip balms are always welcome!)
*ClariSea exfoliant
I was happy with those similarities, except I HATE lavender. I’ve used the product without the lavender, and its okay (nothing impressive), but I just really hate the scent of this one.
I also got: Smashbox BB Cream & Pacifica Blush (very dark color, too dark for me).
My bag was alright. Nothing too bad to gripe about, but not amazing.
I really wish I was getting the contour brush
I’m getting
Slmiss brush, trust fund mini lipgloss, sheet masks set, bridogero heat protectant, Pacifica blush.
Wanted the ciate. Oh well.
I’m supposed to get:
Pretty Woman nail polish: $10
Trust Fund Beauty lipgloss: $22
Vintage Company Rose Gold Tweezers: $10
Smashbox Photoready BBCream: $9
Jelly Pong Pong Coffee & Coconut Lip Scrub: $19…
Total value: $68!
I think this is an insanely great value for the $10 cost of the bag. Plus, I think I’ll actually use all of the items!
I’ve been wearing a Pretty Woman nail polish all week, and while the color was nice (it was a matte baby blue), it chipped horribly! 🙁 I’ll still wear it again though (ha! I’m odd… polish that chips easily never deters me from wearing it again). I hope you have better luck than I did with the polish!
I got the light pink “Not a Ballerina”, applied one coat over a base coat 3 days ago and it is starting to chip today. That’s pretty average for me. I’ve found Ciate to last twice as long. I would use a top coat next time, but I’m passing this sweet color to my niece since I have more grown up looking baby pinks that are so similar.
Aren’t these different items than the ones in the reveal post?
They are diff. I was looking forward to a review of the trust fund beauty liquid lipstick and the mintpear serum. I actually signed up again because of those two items…
I received one of the Trust Fund Beauty lip glosses in my bag, but I’m not sure what the color’s name was. I got the mauve looking one. I actually really liked it! It was a lot more sheer and glossy than I thought it would be.
That’s what I thought too. I remember seeing the manakadar blush….
I got the Manna Kadar blush in my bag this month. It’s the 3rd one in that exact same shade in 2 months for me. It’s okay though, because I really do like the color, so they all will definitely get used.
Do you have as much trouble opening the blush container as I do? This is the second MannKadar blush I’ve received and they are both almost impossible to actually open.
Gosh, I don’t remember… I only tried to open one of them last month to swatch it, but I think I had more trouble taking the plastic seal off more than anything… that was most likely because I was trying really hard to not chip my nail polish in the process.
OMG, it was impossible to open! I’m glad I’m not the only one who had trouble.
How did you manage to open the container? It’s February and I still can’t get it open and neither can my boyfriend. Please help 🙁
Yes, it’s different, though Liz did say in the reveal post that the bag shown was “one of [her] ipsy subscriptions.”
Mine was so crummy compared to this…
That looks like a great bag, lots of items and only $10. Can’t wait to get mine. I’m sure it will be different items, but Ipsy hasn’t disappointed me yet.
Totally agree!
I received the Bye Bye Under Eye, the Ciate Gel Top Coat (full size), The Pur-Lisse Blue Lotus Seed Mud Mask (trial size), Manna Kadar pearlized blush in Paradise (full size) and the Trust Fund Beauty Lipgasm Lip gloss in Method to the Madness (full size). I figured the value of the Glam Bag to be $68.90, not including the bag itself. For me, this is one of the best Glam Bags ever! I know that I will use everything!
Bag twins!
I wish I would have gotten the lip balm and IT Cosmetics concealer, but most of my bag seems like it will be good (should arrive tomorrow). I just wish I wasn’t getting the Manna Kadar eyeshadow again! It would have been nice if they at least sent different shades to the many boxes sending it out. It’s a nice eyeshadow, but no one needs this much of one shade in such a short period of time!
It’s supposed to be a 3-in-1 eyeshadow…eyeshadow, blush, or highlighter. It makes a great highlighter for inner corners or brow, but for me, it’s way to shimmery to use as a blush.
I so wish those were the items i were getting