Facebook PixelIpsy Review #2 – December 2018 | MSA
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Ipsy Review #2 – December 2018

Ipsy package

Ipsy
4 overall rating
1811 Ratings | 298 Reviews

Ipsy is a monthly beauty and makeup subscription box. Each month you get full-size or deluxe-sized products, plus a cute makeup bag.

This is one of Liz’s top recommendations if you are looking for a beauty box - the value and sample sizes are amazing. (Check out our 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!)

Ipsy package contents

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).

ipsy contents

About Ipsy

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: the US and Canada

Delivered via: USPS

Visit the Ipsy Swap Page to swap for any of the items you see in this review!

Ipsy December 2018 Review #2

My bag this month features a hair, nail, and makeup products. Let’s see what I got!

ipsy info card front

ipsy info card back

A little card is included with some info about products available in the Ipsy shop. This month's theme is "Be merry. Be bright. Be bold. Be you."

ipsy sequined bag

Each month, Ipsy subscribers get a makeup bag in addition to their 5 items.

ipsy bag inside

This month, subscribers will receive this gold sequined bag with a pebbled faux leather back, hot pink lining, gold zipper, and tassel pull. Super cute!

ipsy hair cream front ipsy hair cream back ipsy hair cream open

R+CO High Dive Moisture + Shine Creme - 15ml Value $2.96 (Buy full-size 147ml for $29)

This is a nice, lightweight smoothing cream with a bright, clean scent. It does contain silicones (which I try to avoid) but I've found that they help tremendously for the times I want to wear my hair straight. It works as a leave-in or as a blow dry cream.

ipsy mascara box front ipsy mascara box back Ipsy mascara ipsy mascara wand

IT COSMETICS Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara in Black - 5ml Value $13.33 (Buy full-size 9ml for $24)

I'm impressed with this mascara formula! It's super black and gives my lashes length and definition without clumping or flaking. The wand is big and has short, flexible bristles to help coat every lash without getting it all over my lids.

ipsy lip gloss ipsy lip gloss open

BEAUTY CROP Lip Brulee in Rhubarb Custard, 4ml - FULL SIZE! Retail Value $12.95

Woop for a non-matte formula! I love this berry-red shade and the thin, easy to apply formula. It goes on like a thin gloss, has lots of shine, and leaves a beautiful stain as it wears. Here's my tip to avoid bleeding: apply a coat, blot, then apply another thin coat for shine. I can't believe how long the color lasts!

Ipsy nail polish box front Ipsy nail polish box back Ipsy nail polish Ipsy nail polish swatch

TRUST FUND BEAUTY Nail Polish in Zero Carbs, 15ml - FULL SIZE! Retail Value $15

Subscribers could have received 1 of 2 shades of this 10-free nail polish. I received the cool-toned, purple-gray shade Zero Carbs and Liz received I Kaled It (check out her review!). Both shades are pretty but I think I'll get more wear out of this one, so I'm happy. Two coats give me opaque coverage and a glossy finish. Like Liz said, it does take some time to dry, but a quick-dry topcoat helps.

ipsy brush ipsy brush detail

F.A.R.A.H BRUSHES Tapered Blending Brush 35E - Estimated Value $10

This must be a special edition of this brush because the one on their site doesn't have this beautiful shiny gold finish. The synthetic bristles are long and fluffy which makes this perfect for blending and diffusing powder or cream shadows. I like to use it clean (aka, without any color on it) to help make my transitions seamless between colors.

ipsy lip tint front ipsy lip tint back ipsy lip tint open

DR.LIPP Moisturising Colour Tint in Sweet Potato - 5ml Value $5.50 (Buy 8ml for $8.80)

This lip tint is made from only 4 natural ingredients: medical grade lanolin, edible plant pigments (this particular shade gets its color from sweet potatoes), distarch phosphate (a pigment disperser), and glyceryl caprylate (natural preservative). That means that even if you chronically lick your lips, you won't be ingesting anything dangerous. I think this is more like a glossy balm than a tint since it applies super sheer.

Ipsy swatches

Here are swatches of The Beauty Crop Lip Brylee and the Dr. Lipp Lip Tint.

ipsy look with products ipsy look with products 2

Here I've used the shadow brush to apply a shimmery green shade to my whole lid. It does a beautiful job of evenly blending the shadow. For my lips, I used a nude liner to line my lips then filled them in with the Lip Brulee. I LOVE the shade but had some issues with bleeding. I'm pretty sure it's because I used one thick layer instead of blotting and using thin layers. After several hours, the stain that was left looked fresh and bright like I'd just applied it.

This month, all Ipsy subscribers received a bonus item which is why there are 6 items instead of 5 this month!

Verdict: This Ipsy Glam Bag has a value of $59.74 which is amazing for $10! Besides the fantastic bag this month, I loved all of my products! This may be the best Ipsy Glam Bag I have received thus far. This is one of the best, inexpensive beauty subscriptions if you want to try new items and play with new colors.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Possibly! As of publication, there was no Ipsy waitlist. Check here to see what month you’ll get first.

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

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

  • R+CO Hair Creme - $0.50
  • IT COSMETICS Mascara - $2.23
  • BEAUTY CROP Lip Gloss - $2.17
  • TRUST FUND BEAUTY Polish - $2.51
  • F.A.R.A.H. Brush - $1.67
  • DR. LIPP Lip Tint - $0.92
  • Makeup bag - n/a

Check out all of our 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!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

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

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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.

Tiffany Waldorf
Tiffany Waldorf
Tiffany found out about subscription boxes from a friend who followed MSA. The curiosity started with mystery beauty boxes and grew into an addiction from there. Beauty, clothes, home...she loves the sight of a subscription box in the mail.

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25 comments

Jean

This is the first time I’ve seen a “bag twin” especially with Ipsy. I have to say Ipsy knocks it out of the park every month for me. (Hope I didn’t just jinx myself)! The lip Brûlée will be too bright for me straight out of the tube. I never have a problem dabbing bright lip products down with tissue, until I find the right hint of color. Love Dr. Lipp products and thrilled when I get nail polish.

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Melissa

What she received this month is the best Ipsy bag overall that I have ever seen, at least for me. I would be all over all of this. I already know and love the mascara, the lip colors are me, etc. plus I love the December bag! Wish I hadn’t canceled, but I’m in product overload. 😬

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SHT

My bag was awful this month. Two skincare items, mascara, two brushes, and a red lipstick. The only think I am looking forward to is the bag itself.

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Abby

I got that gloss, too, and I love it! Adding a lip primer around my lips really helped with the bleeding, but I really like your blotting suggestion and will definitely try that next time.

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Tiffany Waldorf

Thanks, Abby! Any recommendations for a lip primer? I need to try that trick!

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Lauren

I just got an email that Ipsy Glam Bag Plus is no longer sending bags. I do find this disappointing as that is really what sets them aside from Boxycharm. That, and their pretty great skin care.

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Joy

I got the same email. I liked the bag. I got the impression they are putting more money into the products we receive. Im all for that if its exciting. I wasnt impressed with the “It” pallet. I expect more from Ipsy. It feels like they are still trying to figure it out.

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amyr

Well there goes my decision to cancel Glam Bag Plus. Done!

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ames

I got that email too, and I will say I was disheartened. The first bag was one of the best things we’ve gotten!

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Bella01

I thought they were going to link both accounts together? I’ve been waiting for Ipsy to link them so I can get the Ipsy bag too. But they haven’t mentioned anything about that. Do we need to sign up for a Ipsy if we want the 10.00 Ipsy bag? I don’t have a problem with that if they would just let us know. The past couple months I’ve been missing out of the Ipsy bags because I thought it would link by now 😞 any ideas?

Beccah

WHAT???!!!!!!

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tammy g

well, I guess I won’t be getting mine till after Christmas,, said it was leaving on the 9th and it ‘s still sitting there….don’t know why..oh well..

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Debbie

I got my December bag on January 2

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MzBev

I’m still waiting for my Plus bag, from them. No movement since last Wednesday. Still has today as the delivery date but mail has already come. Now on DHL’s site it just has “en route”. wth. No idea where it is now.

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Kay

Same for me, it just lists the current time and “en route” and has been for 5 days now. Oh well. I suppose I will get it eventually. There’s a lot of mail out there right now clogging the shipping lines. Still says it will be delivered today, but it has not even reached the post office yet.

Bella01

Mine too. This is the first time it’s in limbo like this. I thought it was only me. But I guess a lot of us having this issue. But I do see in my mailbox what looks like it’s from Ipsy. Im waiting on the mailman. He’s a little upset with me and my shopping.

tammy g

how long have you been a member of ipsy, reason i’m asking is I have not yet got the invite to the plus bag yet…how long do you have to wait?…. thanks

Sara

Mine had no movement for four days, mine supposedly shipped on the 10th, supposed to get it on the 20th, but we’ll see. The super late shipping now is discouraging.

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Cat

The lip color really suits you!

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Tiffany Waldorf

Thanks, Cat!

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Rosette

Hey Liz,

I don’t understand the link. If I see the December bag with the possible December item selections, does that mean I’ll get December??

When I get to checkout, it doesn’t tell me whether I’ll get it or not. Some people who subscribed last week were told they would be getting the January bag.

I’ve emailed Ipsy 3 times & each time they don’t answer the sole question I ask them: “Can I still get the December bag?”
Instead they’ll tell me to subscribe because theyvsee im not subscribed yet…

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Amy lynn

Hey. I signed up and was told January in confirmation email, but i have a December bag that was shipped. I signed up in December.

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SquirrelyGirl

You will get January. With Ipsy, it’s always the following month that is your start month.

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Heather

I think with Ipsy you always get the next month’s bag. So if you sign up in December, you’ll get January. But there is SO much variation in Ipsy, that doesn’t really matter. Your bag is usually going to be different from everyone else’s bag who you see anyway, no matter when you sign up.

Their CS is absolutely terrible. They are incapable of answering questions that don’t have pre-scripted copy-and-paste responses.

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