Ipsy Review – November 2017

ByLiz CadmanNov 15, 2017 | 81 comments

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 2017 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.

There are two color variations this month. You'll either receive this blue version, or a yellow version with a bronze accent.

Now, on to the items!

Ouai Hair Oil - 10 ml Value $6.22

This is a hair oil designed to help tame hair, protect it from heat, and give it moisture and shine. I found it to be lightweight, and I love that Ouai products almost double as a hair perfume as well. (If you aren't into fragrances, this won't be for you, though.)

IT Cosmetics CC+ Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream in Light - 4 ml Value $5

Honestly, I'd consider this more of a liquid foundation than a CC cream because of the full-coverage, but that's just semantics - this formula is awesome. (I'm a big IT Cosmetics fan.)

I love the full-coverage, it's super easy to blend into skin, and the added SPF is always nice! (Swatched in lower photo.)

MAKE Lip Gloss in Abalone - 4 ml Value $16.67

This lip gloss checks all the boxes. Good pigment. Good shine. No stickiness! (And the minty flavor is a nice bonus!)

(Swatched in lower photo.)

tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Fiesty – 1.5 g Value $7.77

I love tarte and I love their blush, so this is a stellar subscription box item for me! The formula is ingredient conscious, highly pigmented, and goes on so smoothly. It has a matte finish, and you can easily build color. (Plus there’s no fallout with this powder, and it stays put once it’s applied!)

Here it is swatched with a few swipes above the CC cream and below the lip gloss:

Skyn Berry Lip Fix - 5 ml Value $5.83

This clear lip balm is moisturizing, adds sheen, and has a fruity flavor and tingly finish!

Verdict: This box has a value of about $41.49. I'm really happy with the value, and I like all of my items this month - all great brands!

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, if you sign up in this month, you'll get next month's box as your first box. (Check out our Ipsy Spoilers to see what's coming up next)

Value Breakdown: At $10 for this box, here’s what you are paying approximately per item:

Ouai: $1.50
IT CC Cream: $1.21
MAKE Lip Gloss: $4.02
Tarte Blush: $1.87
Skyn: $1.40
Bag - Not counted toward value

Good to know: Ipsy sends out variations. You may get a completely different bag than me.

What do you think of the November Ipsy Glam Bag? What items did you get in your bag?

Starting at $14.00

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Ipsy

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1814 Ratings | 301 Reviews

IPSY Glam Bag is one of the most popular and affordable subscriptions around, and our readers have selected it as one of the top beauty boxes for the last 5 years running! IPSY Glam Bag connects members with five makeup, skincare, hair care, and other beauty sample... read more.

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Posted in Beauty Subscription Boxes, Cheap Subscription Boxes, Makeup Subscription Boxes, Subscription Box Reviews, Subscription Boxes for Women

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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81 comments

Ellie

I almost felt bad unsubscribing to ipsy. While my bags aren’t the highest value variations, they actually took my input into consideration. I’ve moved on to greener pastures (I hope) but am a little worried since this other sub don’t customize. Ipsy is good for what it is, I just don’t need a dozen makeup bags and piles of little samples

Amy

I received mine on the 18th, and here is what I received:

Teal Bag

MAC Prep + Prime
treStique Eyebrow Pencil
Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo
Lisa Frank Bronzer
Tarte Blush in Idol

Amy

I got a crown brush, Mac Primer, Coulor Pop Lipgloss in a shade that I already have, Same serum as this post and a doucce eye shadow sample

sharalynm

I feel like I get a really low value every month. Maybe it is time to take a break from Ipsy. This month I got:

Oribe dry shampoo (I never use dry shampoo)
CC cream – which I love
A colourpop pressed shadow in “come and get it” – just a tiny “pot” – way too pink for me
The Lavender hand cream – I think the scent is too much
The Manna lip gloss–bad color for me.

Not really much value in this one for me.

Emma

That tiny “pot” is a full sized shadow.

Megan Mcgilbery

I received the gold/yellow bag and it included :

It cosmetics cc cream
Manna kadar finishing powder
LISA Frank bitten bronzer
Colour pop eyeshadow in come and get it
Pride dry shampoo

Oma

I don’t understand why some keep trying to change Ipsy. If you don’t want the Glambag, give it away or cancel. It’s part of their trademark subscription. Ipsy GlamBag. For $10 a month, no tax, this sub has the highest value of any $10-$15 sub period. I’ve subbed to Birchbox $10 + tax, Beauty Box 5 $12, Play by sephora $10 + tax and Allure $15 + tax. With Birchbox, you get a decorative box. BB5, nope. Sephora, drawstring bag. Allure, nope. I’m down to the Ipsy GlamBag and the Allure Beauty Box. Even the allure box doesn’t add up to the value of products I get from Ipsy minus the value of the actual GlamBag. The product value of my October GlamBag was $69.19. If I were to go purchase a small, lined makeup bag, it would cost anywhere from $10-$25. There have been plenty of Glambags I didn’t like, including the November bag, but I just give them away. The ones I keep have a use even if it’s storing products I’m not currently using. You can also sell them online…. Obviously, I’m not new to beauty subs. Instead of trying to change a sub I wasn’t happy with, I took everyone’s advice. I canceled, moved on and tried others until I found ones that do. It’s really that simple.

Kiley Noble

All I can say Amy is CONGRATULATIONS-you won the BEST IPSY BAG LOTTERY for your November bag you received!
In all honesty this is the best one I’ve ever seen, read about or received.

There is such a great variety of items and they’re extremely high-quality.

Hopefully this is an indication of what Ipsy will be sending out in their bags.

I canceled my subscription about a year ago bc the quality and selection I kept getting were so disappointing and Repetitive meaning they would put items in it already been in a couple months prior or had definitely been in similar bags such as played by Sephora, GLOSSYBOX, and a few others.
Thank you for your post!
I have a renewed hope and think I’ll resubscribe for myself and order it for my 17 yo daughter as well!
Thanks again and happy holidays to everyone here on my subscription addiction! XOXO Kiley Portland, Oregon

Charlotte

Hi Oma! Can you sell ipsy’s beauty products? I thought you couldn’t per their terms and conditions along time ago (because it says on most products not for resale also). The reason I ask, is I gave a new ipster wrong info, and said we couldn’t sell, but we could trade! I’m being a lazy person today and not looking at their terms. I would appreciate if someone knew here on MSA, to answer my question! Happy Gobble Gobble Day to you all!

Oma

Hi Charlotte! Sorry if I’m being confusing. That’s nothing new! I’m not really sure if you can or can’t sell or resell any products you receive from Ipsy. If the product states Not For Resale or Not For Retail Sale, then it’s not exactly legal… If it’s a fully packaged, full sized item, I don’t think there’s much anybody could or would do about it. There are plenty of swap groups for subs and some specific to a sub. If you email Ipsycare and ask, they will send you a link for the Ipsy swap group that they and Ipsters trust. The bags themselves are for sale online including eBay. Some do sell their empty Glambags. I’ve even seen them at second hand stores. If it’s the value if my November Glambag that’s throwing you off, that’s just me being weird. I look at each item that I’m getting in my Glambag on ipsy’s website including the weight/size of each item. Then I look up each item; how much it sells for and the size/weight. Then I calculate how much each item is worth and then add them all up. I would normally just say, “it has a value of $69 but I actually had the piece of paper that I did the math on sitting right here and yes, I had calculated it right down to the penny, $69.19 minus the cost of the bag. Yes, I know that’s weird… Lol! Also, when I’m out shopping, I will sometimes look at small makeup bags and most are not lined like ipsy’s are. I carry one in my purse and have compared them. Even at a discount store like Marshall’s, the same size unlined bags are more than $10.00. Happy Turkey Day!

Amy

Stay away from beauty box 5! Omg. Just go to their face book page

Oma

I haven’t bothered with BB5 since last year. I haven’t even looked at their FB yet but I will. I have seen a few things on Mysubscriptionaddiction but I still stear clear. The last thing I remember seeing was something about another shipping delay??? It’s a shame though. That was a pretty decent box at one point. Especially for $12 and the full sized things they used to send. I subbed in June of 2016. After a couple of delays, a missing box that was replaced but I was charged for it? Noooo! That was refunded. Then I ordered some things during their Black Friday sale and most of it did not get here until a couple of days before Christmas, a couple of things didn’t arrive until after. Oddly enough, I ordered a crapload of stuff from wish.com on the same day. That stuff comes from all over the world and it ALL got here before anything I ordered from BB5. I still never got any of the free samples with that last order or my last box either! I know I’m not the only one. I did end up getting the $ back for the box I didn’t get & 2 $5 shipping charges (it was supposed to be free shipping on orders) refunded. That was the deal we made after the BBB got involved. It is kind of a shame… That box was the one my daughter and I would open together. That was the box we always shared. It really WAS a good box… Just bad company, bad management, bad CS. If I remember correctly, they just crawled under the blankets for a few weeks,the boxes were late, no calls answered, no emails answered… Then BOOM! A FB post about boxes being delayed due to a wait on 1 product for the box, sorry, not our fault, can’t help it when our vendors don’t get us your products! 🙂 So sorry! We are packing them now and will be shipping soon! They even posted a pic w/ it that was of a bunch if BB5 boxes laying around someone’s living room… As if! My response was,”I don’t think it’s the vendor, I think it’s you, BB5. I think you’re going under and the reason ‘we are waiting on one product for this box before we can ship it.’, is just an excuse. My personal guess is that A) y’all don’t have the money to ship the boxes or B) you’re buyer couldn’t get the product due to lack of funds or professionalism. Who knows… Tell me your BB5 story.

JuJu

I mostly agree, but just wanted to say, in NY Ipsy does charge tax.

Oma

I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be biotchy… I guess I never considered the fact that some do have to pay taxes on their Ipsy purchases. Canadians pay $20+ I think… Guess it depends on where you live. So far, Ipsy is the only one I haven’t had to pay tax on. The sales tax (including food) where I live, is just under 10%. With all the tax changes across the board… I expect them to go up and am guessing eventually I will have to pay tax on Ipsy as well.

steph

i feel like im the only one that hasn’t gotten their bag….dony help my eta keeps getting pushed back this is the 3rd time first was wed then thur and now monday grrr and the thing that annoys me is that it was shipped on the 8 and now its the 17th also it was stuck chilling out in maryland for a week and im only is pa so its not that far wth last month it came super fast.

judi

the same thing happened to me. i actually emailed ipsy today asking if there may have been some kind of problem because (according to the tracking) my package was recieved by the post office days ago and then never went out for delivery. they just told me that the tracking was incorrect and to keep watching for it. first it was supposed to come on the 13th, then the 15th, then the 17th, now as you can see i still don’t have it lol…hopefully in a couple of days 🙁

stephanie

i finally received mine on the 17th. i emailed ipsy a few days before it got here and told them what was going on their response was there was nothing they could do unless it was past 14 days of shipping. i was just like grrrr. this was my 2nd time getting ipsy. first month came super fast if next month is like this again im done ill take my 10 bucks else where lol.

MinnePuffin

I thought the lip fix was kind of boring when I got the bag and put it by my bed as nighttime chapstick. Then I tried it before bed and now I love it. I use it every night before bed and I wake up with perfect soft lips. It smells nice and you don’t have to use much. I love it for the dry winter weather.

Julie

Ipsy has blown me away in Oct and Nov.
My bag last month had a value of $89 and I’ll use everything.
This month is awesome too.
– Yellow bag
-Mudmasky – nice tiny exfoliating grains in this
– Clark’s botanicals deep moisture mask
– Bang beauty lip gloss in spice
– Touch in sol foundation, I love trying different formulas
– Tarte blush in feisty

I can never have too many masks, love it.

Siren

This was the best Ipsy bag I think I have EVER received, and I have subbed since within a month or two of the beginning! I think it must have had to do with the quiz on the website- the one that was under the profile where you rated 25 or so products. I love everything!

I got the teal bag.
Ouai hair oil
Benefit They’re Real mascara
Skyn Iceland Berry Lip Fix
Jonteblu lip liner pencil in 933 natural beige
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hr blush in Feisty

amr

I love both my bags!

Glam Bag One:
Oribe dry shmpoo
It BB Cream
Rose gold Ofra Shadow
Kensie perfume
Crown Brush

Glam Bag Two:
Touch in Sol foundation
Manna Kadar Powder
Bang Beauty Lipgloss in Spice (Love it)
Tarte Blush in Feisty
Morning Calming Cream (Love)

Blue Bags

I like Bag Two more than Bag One but both were great!

Karen

My blue bag finally arrived today, and I agree with the posters who say it feels kind of cheap. Of course, I could be saying that because I picked up a Vera Neumann Clinique bag at an estate sale today and I LOVE IT. 🙂

Catteyes11

Received my Ispy NovemberBag didn’t like nothing about just 😤😠

Marybel

I was happy with my bag. I got:
– NOMAD COSMETICS
Multi-Perfection Duo Brow Powder
– MUDMASKY®
Facial Detox Purifying Recovery Mask
– COLOURPOP COSMETICS
Pressed Powder Shadow
– MANNA KADAR COSMETICS
Lip Locked Stain in Pinot Noir
– Tarte blush in feisty

I just got mine yesterday and got:
liquid foundation (wrong shade),
morning calming cream,
tarte blush in feisty,
mannakadar beauty hd perfecting powder, and
bang beauty lipgloss (they sent me one of these a couple of months ago).
The last two things are made in China. For the most part I like what’s in the bag but I’m thinking about canceling now because every month I get cheap, Chinese made shadows, blushes and lip glosses and I feel uncomfortable putting them on my face.

Elena

Box twins.

Let'sSwap

So agree with you about Made in China cosmetics!

Joley

This is going to be a really stupid question, and I know people will be rolling their eyes at me, but what is the deal with Made in China cosmetics? Are they made cheaper, or non ethically….? I know a lot of people prefer non China-made, but I have never really known why.

Marion

I haven’t gotten my bag yet. I’m supposed to receive the It Cosmetics CC Cream in my bag as well, & I’ve been pretty sure that it would be too dark for me. I can tell from your photos & swatch that it definitely will be. Bummer.

Mary

I got the CC cream in fair in my bag and it matches me pretty well! I’m superrrrr pale (when I tried the new Fenty foundation, I matched with the second lightest shade, and the lightest shade was intended for albino people).

Jenai

It comes in different shades according to your profile. Liz got ‘light,’ my bag came with ‘fair’ which is paler. I haven’t tried it on my face yet (saving that spf50 for summer!) but from swatching it on my underarm, it was a perfect match.

Dawn

I have a very hard time with matching BB creams and concealers. Although very costly, IT cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye is the perfect match for me. I was SO hoping to get this in my Glambag but since I didn’t, I went into sephora to get a little sample. Grabbed a little sample of GLAMGLOW too! WOW! It’s not a BB cream. There is a difference but it’s not foundation either. It’s kinda in between… Definately use a primer. I tried this by itself and found it to be too much. I don’t like or wear foundation. I tried mixing it with a little GLAMGLOW, which is what I normally do with a bb cream, and it thinned it out perfectly! About 1/2 & 1/2 is what I used. The next day, I thinned it out the same way with a lightweight, untinted moisturizer and it was even better. Now I’m out. Also, I have mixed colors until it’s the right shade. I hope this helps.

Siren

Which Glamglow product did you try? I just purchased 3 new products of theirs during the Rouge sale but two are masks and one is an overnight duo.

Marie

I have loved every bag I received from Ipsy except for this one. The quality of the bag was horrible. It looked like it had been run through a washing machine. Did anyone else experience this? As for the products themselves, they were decent.

Siren

I know some people are really into the bags but honestly I could care less about them (sorry). I’ve always wished they would stop with the bags and give me an extra product or two 😜

JuJu

Yeah, me too. I have a whole collection of bags already that I will most likely never use.
I’d rather have an extra item.

Amber P

I agree – I actually commented to my BFF that this bag felt really cheap.

Liz and I are bag twins! I absolutely loved that Skyn lip fix is REALLY nice and I don’t typically love Tarte products but the blush is a really pretty color (but doesn’t last very long IMO).

It was a great selection of stuff – Ipsy has really been nailing it for me the past few months.

Tamara

The tracking on my bag says it’s “undeliverable as addressed.” I contacted Ipsy about it a couple days ago but haven’t heard back other than the usual “We got your message and will get back to you” reply. Meanwhile, this looked to be an exceptionally disappointing bag for me, so this is just the cherry on the Bummer Sundae.

Missy

Try them on twitter their really quick to respond on there!

Tamara

Thanks for the tip! 🙂

Perezangela801

I received the It cosmetics cc cream as well! If anyone received this did anyone else receive 2 cc creams in the same bag with the same color just duplicates? I’m not complaining but I was just wondering because I did and love this cream but I didn’t see if anyone else received 2 of these as well!

Jenai

If two of your five items were duplicates, write them and they might send you a replacement item as we aren’t supposed to get dupes. If they accidentally threw in an extra as a sixth item, then count yourself lucky. 🙂

Amber

I love ipsy, but lately they have been failing me 🙁 all I want is some dang concealer or bb cream or even some tinted moisturizer would do! But no, for months now I get anything but. Ive emailed and everything and only have those items checked off in my profile so IDK what’s going on but it may be time for me to take a hiatus. This month I got 3 powder items and my skin is dry af lol I got the Lisa Frank bronzer, the tarte blush, and the finishing powder. Other than that I got a they’re real mascara and ouai hair oil. The only win is the tiny hair oil. I just feel my bag was so unbalanced this month. I’m such a lip and concealer girl and don’t mind a few different items to round that out but can’t even my favorites! You’re bag seems so well rounded out Liz how do you do it? Lol

Gaby

You should be more specific on what boxea you check or NOT check in your ipsy beauty preferences. i’ve been doing that and for the past months I have gotten almost exactly what I want

Jenai

I think their algorithm works better when you have a balance of checked and unchecked stuff vs. only one or two items selected. Also I’ve seen some comments to the effect that checking more than three colors under one category can throw it off too.

Amber

*cant even get

Siren

You can email them and ask them to specifically NOT send you certain things (which checking and unchecking the boxes will not guarantee). They will not send you 2 to 3 specific items at your request for 6 months at a time – I think it may only be two items. I got sick of highlighters and black eyeliners, so they banned them for me, for 6 months. Actually they had to ban all eyeliners, not just black ones 😀

Resa

In my yellow bag today I received: IT concealer in medium (yay!), skyn berry lip fix (yay!), ColourPop ultra satin lip in Baracuda (meh – will gift to my mother, too many of similar shade), White Lavender body lotion (yay! Love the formula – very strong lavender scent, holy cow), and lastly is Nomad brow powder in brunetta brillante (haven’t tried yet…looks like sparkly taupe eyeshadow instead of brunette eyebrow powder)

Really enjoying trying some new things this month! I like my stuff! 🙂

Terry

Bag twin!

Sky

We had nothing the same! Well besides the bag! I got a crown brush, Barfly Tini Highlighter stick, colour pop ultra satin lip in Calapyso, naked cosmetics loose eyeshadow in shade Mother Nature, and the most itty bitty sample of the too faced 3in1 primer! I’m so glad I got the crown brush and the eyeshadow, but I would of loved the hair oil and the colour pop shadow! But overall I’m pretty happy!

Amy

Does anyone want to trade the blush (I have that) for the Ouai (I want that)? It’s too much work for me to deal with the swap site. Sorry if I sound lazy!

Amy, I would trade … what is your email?

Amy

EM, that is great! I have the teal bag, too, if you wanted that one. My email has my whole name in it, would you mind giving me yours, if yours doesn’t have your name? If it’s ok, remember to write out at and dot com. If not, I’ll figure something out. Thanks!

I got my best bag ever this month and the items were much more catered to my profile than usual, very happy!

Melissa

Holy cow, what a great bag, Liz!!

I got a Colourpop shadow, Benefit They’re Real mascara, Crown brush, Bang Beauty lipgloss (the only miss for me, glosses look terrible on me), and Josie Maran Argan Oil. Hoping for the yellow bag!

Jenai

I normally dislike lipglosses because they look weird/messy/gloopy on me, but the Allure brides beauty box had a Kaplan MD ‘lip treatment’ gloss in rosewood that is kind of amazing. It looks very natural (and I also rub it into my lips to tamp down the shine a bit,) and even tingles refreshingly when you put it on to let you know it is working.

I liked everything I got this month (even the Manna Kadar lip stain, which I liked a lot more than I thought I would) but I am hoping for an Argan oil in one of my future bags!

Liz Cadman

I know! I hit the jackpot this month! 🙂 Sounds like you got great brands, too!

JuJu

I also received the Tarte blush in “Feisty”. I don’t know, it looks too brown to me, I don’t even see a hint of pink in the pan, and I can’t find any images that would really show what it looks like on someone light-skinned online.

I don’t want to try it because I am undecided if I want to keep it yet, but if someone who is normally “classic ivory” does try it, please let me know if this blush is a good fit.

Emily

On my skin it blends perfectly to a nice peachy shade. I’m super fair and it didn’t look too dark on me, but you should probably go in light-handed. That just saves product in my opinion though.
I’d personally recommend keeping it but it would totally depend on how you feel about orangey/peachy shades.
Definitely not brown though, so no worries about that.

JuJu

Ah, I see, thank you.
Yeah, I am a “winter”, orangey won’t work on me, so this definitely helps.

Jen

https://imgur.com/a/vRrOY

I hope this helps! I’m not the best with photos but I’m incredibly pale and got the feisty color. It comes across a bit like a coral almost. That took a lot of building to get it that pigmented, too.

JuJu

Thanks for going through the trouble!

Julia

This almost seems as if they curated this bag for Liz, because she’s such an influencer.

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Ipsy Review – November 2017

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