The December Ipsy reveals is up!
Here is what I will be getting in one of my Ipsy subscriptions:
I'm really excited to try the Pacifica lipstick! What are you getting from Ipsy this month? Any good samples?
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.
63 comments
venefica
ok this is one of the best bags i ever got.
I received a mechanical black eyeliner which i love. (i hate sharpening pencils) $14.00
Tarte smooth operator finishing powder $14.00
pacifica power of love lipstick $9.99 (yuck!)
lather honey moisture mask $10.00
Skinn sugar lip scrub $10.50
happy camper here.
ReplyHappy
I lipstick fell out onto the floor when I opened it. The lip liner (from Taiwan) was melted & has no way to roll it up so its a one use product. I also got a cheap body cream, a very runny exfoliant & a concealer brush. None of these items are on my quiz and so far out of 2 bags I’ve gotten one item on my quiz that was usable. Needles to say I have cancled my subscription. They taunt you with posts of great name brand products so you give them free marketing and get nothing but junk. When you say something they pretty much blame it on you and say “switch up your quiz”. Why switch it when I’ve received 1 item from 2 bags usable from my quiz picks. Please Sephora hurry up with play! I beg you. Sub boxes are just giving junk anymore.
ReplyLaura B.
My Pacifica lippie smells ” off” too. BUT- I’ve had some ” all natural, no preservative” cosmetics before that just amelled bad. I don’t know if this is a ruined product or just Pacifica’s own take on what Organic should be??
ReplyDee
I think we had ruined product as others said how great it smells and with the ingredients being great smelling ones I was disappointed.
ReplyRagan
Every Pacifica product I’ve had smells good. My money is on Ipsy sending out a bad, old, or expired batch. This is one reason I quit Ipsy and don’t really regret it.
Dee
Did anyone else get a very bad smelling pacifica lipstick. It was dry and smelled so bad, like expired product. Not moisturizing and good smelling like the others have said. It is frustrating as with being in Canada it is $20 for the bag, and my contents wasn’t very good. I did love the perfume I got, but was loving the full size pacifica but had to wipe it off my lips it was like expired or something.
ReplyLaura B.
I called Pacifica just now. They said this was supposed to smell minty or slightly herbal. I said mine smells like a candle that’s been in an attic for a generation.
Since this product is MADE IN CHINA ( and I got the bad BAB mascara last winter from Ipsy), I have asked them to check into my lipstick’s production lot: D1S. Color Nudie Red.
There may be a common denominator at work in the lot number. Chinese production is the pits and this is probably going to cause me to drop IPSY all together. Two bad items from China are two too many.
ReplyMel
I received the same color (nudie red) / lot # (D1S) and it smells really bad. I just sent Ipsy an email about this. How disheartening, this was a gift and I cannot give it. Hopefully Ipsy will make this right.
Dee
Mine is at home, but I am curious with my code too. Defiantly old. I emailed Ipsy and they told me to chose another product instead and they will send it to me. So I guess they received more then one complaint. Problem is, the options weren’t good. I like the full size lipstick 🙁 I think I am cancelling as I mentioned it is $20 CAD for me, and it isn’t worth it when items are old and not replaceable with exact product.
Adriana Leal
Mine was rancid, too. I had to wash my face and throw the lipstick away. Just emailed Ipsy about it. Hope they can make it up to us and maybe mail us a good one 🙂
ReplyName *
Yes, and I wrote to tell ipsy it was rancid the day I got it. Sadly, I got 2 identical bags too on both my accounts. 🙁
ReplyKristi
Dee I thought the same thing. I thought the color was odd as well. It made my lips look dry and cakey. I love this brand but this was just not good.
ReplyLaura B.
I’m not always right by any means, and neither is Ipsy’s curation, but since I changed my profile, I’ve gotten super duper bags that contain products I use quite often.
want is a mixture of good skin care and pretty makeup that’s not made in China ( not always possible, I know).***I also know what I don’t want: hair or nail products and facial cleanser that is a soapy cleanser with a pH above 6.5.
What I did with Ipsy that made a difference ( thus far, and fingers crossed) were sweeping changes to my profile. I made sure my skin tone was at the lightest because I am light skin toned, but I moved it up to ” fair” to try to keep from getting dark RED lip colors. To try to get a change from dreaded black eyeliner and boring brown eye shadow, I selected blonde hair and blue eyes. Usually they send darker colors to people with darker eyes and hair.
I checked the styles ” formal, classic, and natural” on the page with the styles of makeup just to add flexibility.
I chose the Ipsy stylist who is in the third photo . Her name is Christen. She has porcelain skin, dark classically styled shoulder length hair like mine. Light skin like mine. Her look is natural with a touch of glamour, like me. The others are boho and avant garde looking, IMO. Not that they aren’t gorgeous, just not my personal overall style..
I chose Very comfortable with makeup and Very Adventurous with products in those two categories that pretty much go together. I think you have to be adventurous to enjoy mystery products from a variety of brands.
Speaking of ” brands”, in that section of all the brands listed, I specifically omitted several nail polish- only brands because I don’t WANT nail polish and hair care- heavy brands ( Kerastase, which IS top quality hair care) because I don’t want shampoo, dry or otherwise or conditioners. IF it’s a brand sold at a drugstore or low end dept. store counter, I skipped it. Not to be elitist, but because I definitely can buy that myself. 🙂
If you are unfamiliar with US brand name ( well, mostly US), I selected Bobbi Brown, Benefit, Urban Decay ( with reservations due to their animal testing in China now), Josie Maran, Lancome, MAC ( not gonna show up unless a high end box scores with the co. but it does stand for high end cosmetics) ;
Make Up For Ever ( MUFE is the common abbreviation, it is makeup artist quality ( again, not usually seen in sub boxes), theBalm, which I may need to D/C as I am getting a LOT of it, Tarte, Too Faced, and Fresh ( again, high end line not seen in any sub box except maybe one small lip balm product in 3 years.)
Next page- type of products you love the most ( and that you want to receive)- This is highly individualized, but I chose foundation, powder,concealer,primer, blush and bronzer ( wish they were separate!!!), eye shadow, lip stick, lip gloss, and brushes.
On the skincare/ haircare page, I selected Moisturizer, Treatment, Masks and exfoliaters ( again, wish Masks was separate as exfoliation is something I have done professionally), Body lotions, Bath and shower products. I am leery of facial Cleansers but I have it checked because I think I will LOVE this month’s Klorane floral water cleanser which is probably a micellar cleanser.
I checked that I do my shopping at only Sephora; Macy’s and other dept. stores; brand websites; and online shopping. ALL of these are true for me, personally These are the higher priced shopping options and hopefully will keep the Pixi and NYX at bay ( no disrespect meant to those who love these little fun brands, :)).
My skin concerns are relatively few: *Redness ( which is almost always due to sensitive skin- I use a lot of Korean skin care which is extremely mild and balanced and I get temporary blushing cheeks from just the gentle pressure of applying it). * Dryness ( without good, consistent skin care), and to draw attention to my age group selected, *Aging. We can’t list them in order of importance or I would have, with Aging actually far down on my list and my life.
Hair page- I totally left it blank because I have NO hair concerns and use the products I choose from my stylist.
Lastly, and this is probably the ” BIGGIE” which has given me 4 stellar bags in a row now ( !!!) , I changed my age group to mid 50’s. I did say that I was experienced with makeup and adventurous which is mostly true for what I want to try in a little sub bag ( because black mascara and eyeliner are the two most boring makeup products in the WORLD).
I tried to give Ipsy all the help I could and I DO review ALL my products EVERY MONTH, and have as long as they have offered this, and I did mildly complain about getting tweezers last month because ANY beautynista worth her salt has Tweezerman tweezers or the Anastasia of Beverly Hills deluxe eyebrow kits with tweezers. 🙂
I am NOT special, but after the Be A Bombshell masara fiasco which could have blinded some of us ( I got the tainted lot too), I have tried to find ways to be pro-active with my reviews and my Profile Selections. My last Profile overhaul was 5 months ago, and my products since then have been things I would buy online or in a store in full sizes for full retail. 🙂
I hope this helps you. Remember that the best treatment for acne is gentle, gentle skin care with products not exceeding a pH of 6.5. Get litmus strips from Amazon and test them. It’s very easy, the color will change and you can see what the pH is. I and many others do this with both cleansers and toners, as they can be harmful to ALL skin types if pH is too high.
ReplyMissy
HUGE thank you for the information. I so appreciate it and I am very grateful you took the time to explain this. I am new to this and learning so I will take all the help I can get. Good idea on the strips I will order these today as my daughter does have acne and see a Peds Dermatologist, but all the products they prescribe are drying so we do try to find items that give her some relief But I never thought of the PH. I cannot thank you enough. All the best.
Missy
ReplyMissy
Hi All,
I wanted to share my first experience with IPSY. First off this was a XMAS gift for my 14 YOD as a way to build up her makeup collection & brushes- as many of you had suggested. I was extremely excited to give a gift that keeps on giving, so I signed her up and completed the profile based on her needs / likes. So the very first bag is on its way and I am VERY disappointed to say the least. 1. I had specified no tools (brushes are separate) and they give her tweezers. 2. I had specified no nail polish and they gave her red nail polish. 3. I had specified no treatments and they included a Cell Stimulating treatment with Chlorella for growth. Now I ask you this what 14 year old would need this? I do not understand the point of completing the profile when IPSY does not even read it or take it into consideration. I have written to IPSY and they have not responded yet. I will update you if I hear back from them, but for now I am not impressed at all and as far as I can tell this bag is not worth $10 because only 2 out of 5 items might be useable by her, but the rest are a complete waste. My only hope is the Pacifica lipstick is a decent color but these are sold at Target for $8.99 and you can at least chose your own color. Any advise or other subscription service recommendations. Now I am scrambling to try to find another XMAS gift for her.
Thanks,
M
ReplyKristi
Missy, Ive seen a box called the beautycon bff box and it looks like a great box geared towards teen aged girls. Here is the link if you are interested. http://beautycon.com/bff
ReplyKristin
Note it takes months of reviewing products so it gets more to your specific preferences so be patient. Be sure when u review u mention u don’t like specific products.
ReplyMissy
Thank you – I really wish I would have known this before I started. But all good lessons learned and hopefully my posts can help others 🙂 You all are great!
Missy
UPDATE – I did email IPSY and asked them to make it right. Below is the response:
“We’re truly sorry for the disappointment. Although the beauty profile is important in helping us optimize the monthly bags, it’s designed to indicate your favorite types of items, not to opt you out of items that you don’t want. ipsy is a mix of customization and discovery, so while we take the beauty profile into account, we can’t promise we’ll match it perfectly every time. The more you review the products you receive, the better customization results can be. We’re definitely listening and always looking to improve, so we appreciate you sharing your honest opinion with us.”
Basically I learned a good lesson. IPSY does not take into consideration the profile when selecting products and seems more concerned with generating a high number of product reviews. I have taken other members advise and cancelled my subscription. I have signed up for Birchbox and am looking at some others. Thank you all for your kind words and helpful tips.
Cheers
Replynelliebelle1197
Just FYI, profiles don’t give you choice on what you get with Birchbox, either. Beauty Army, which is not a great sub, lets you pick your items, but that one is not worth it.
Patricia
The profile doesn’t let you specify what you don’t want to get (i.e. No tools), it only lets you pick items you love. They’re still going to send you items that you didn’t pick. I WISH they would come up with a way that you could say no to certain items even if it’s just to skip it for a little bit. The reviews are how they’re supposed to determine the items you don’t want. But you might still get items that you’ve given bad reviews to for a while. I’ve had Ipsy for 6 months and I didn’t get nail polish for the first five months and I got eye products every month, some months I got two products. I review all my products every month and this is the first month where I’m finally getting a nail polish. I LOVE nail polishes and only wear make up about two or three times a year so I don’t need that many eye products, just the basics.
ReplyMissy
Thank you for the reply and helpful tips.
Suzanne
Hi Missy!
I also have a 14 year old daughter. I have not signed her up for her own sub yet because every beauty sub includes items that I think are more fitting for an adult. What I do it is pick out from the subs I get the items that I think would work for her and then pass them along. kind of like curating her own beauty box out of the items I compile from the subs I get. The other thing I do is list on the swap site the items that neither of us want and then swap for more useful items. This has worked very well! I am sorry they did not consider your profile when they chose your items. I recently canceled my ipsy sub because I think Birchbox is a waaaay better value for the money (just my opinion). I hope you can figure something out for her.
ReplyMissy
Thank you for the kind words and suggestion. Which site do you use to swap – all this is new to me 🙂 Also I took your advise and ordered Birch Box. They had a really nice offer and I could see what was coming. Thank you again one mom to another.
Laura B.
I really do like my bag coming this month. I’m getting:
1) Tarte’ Amazonian Clay Smooth Operator finishing powder.
2) Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer
3) Pacifica Power Of Love Natural Lipstick
4) Peter Lamas Spa Sensuals Intensive Repair Hand Cream
5) Klorane Floral Water Makeup Remover with Soothing Cornflower
To me, this is a very good blend of winter skin care items and color items. I think everything will be useful.
No perfume, NO hair stuff that I never use, no body or facial scrub that I can’t use due to my sensitive skin. That alone makes the bag a WIN!!
Replyvenefica
i dunno if i should resubscribe to ipsy again. I have received some pretty cool stuff but for the most part its garbage.
im torn
Replymimi
I’m getting the Power of Love lipstick, the Formula X nail polish in Revved Up, Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eyeliner, Caudalie Vinosource SOS Thirst Quenching Serum, and Peter Lamas Spa Sensuals Intensive Repair Hand Cream. All looks interesting.
ReplyTamara
Caudalie Vinosource SOS Thirst Quenching Serum?? Nice! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Caudalie in Ipsy before.
ReplyCathy Spicer
I LOVE the surprise of boxes, but ALWAYS get sucked into the sneak peeks. LOL
I’m getting:
~Be a Bombshell Eyeliner – Wild Child [Bold Black] (I love a good eyeliner, but think they should be banned by subscription boxes. I can never use one up without having at least 12 waiting in the wings! LOL, thankfully they make great RAKs for my friends)
~Pacifica Lip Stick (can’t wait to see what shade I receive, at least there will be SOME surprise)
~Lather Honey Moisture Mask (I love pampering myself with face masks. With winter in MN, this will be perfect!)
~Tarte cosmetics amazonian clay finishing powder (Wahoo! My first Tarte product and it’s something I can actually use!)
~Skinn Cosmetics Sugar Lips Polishing Scrub (This looks so SWEET. 😉 A pink, sugar scrub? I’m in!)
I’m not that excited about the bag, but that’s another easy RAK. If the lip color works with my skin tone, this is a big WIN!
ReplyKayla
1 Model Co Lip Liner
2 Pacifica Lip Stick
3 Lather Honey Moisture Mask
4 Elizabeth Mott Eyeshadow Primer
5 Ricky Care Blender
I have been wanting to try a blending sponge for a while now but just couldn’t bring myself to take it off the shelf and into my cart.
Last night I was actually reading articles on how to apply lip liner and thought to myself that I should pick some up on Sat.
So excited for this bag!
ReplyKristi
Love both of my bags!
First bag
1. Peony cosmetics shadow trio
2. Aveeno Daily moisturizing lotion
3. Pacifica Power of Love Natural Lipstick
4. Crown Brush Concealer Brush
5. Marc Anthony hair care
Second Bag
1. Caudalie vinosource quenching serum
2. Tarte cosmetics amazonian clay finishing powder
3. Pacifica power of love natural lipstick
4. Lather honey moisture mask
5. Elizabeth Mott thank me later shadow primer
ReplyKasey
My bag:
Pacifica Power of Love – really excited to try this!
IT Cosmetics mascara – YES! It honestly doesn’t occur to be to throw out my old mascara so I depend on subscriptions to keep me hygienic.
Be a Bombshell mechanical eye liner – Great in theory. I have 13 other eye liners from subscriptions this year though so this is going into the “Adopt a family” cosmetics bag I put together for the family my office adopts to support at Christmas.
Costume National So Nude perfume – Perfume? I’m scared of liquids in glass bottles during winter. Feel like mine always arrive shattered even though I have it delivered to my office to keep it safe from the elements.
Marc Anthony hair care conditioner – SCORE! Love this.
ReplyKayla
Perfume usually contains alcohol which will prevent it from freezing so you should be fine 😉
ReplyAnna
Great, now I regret cancelling 🙁 This bag looks awesome! I wish they didn’t have the waiting list; I don’t do social media at all. Mmmhh, maybe it’s worth it to go through the process again.
Replynursermk
I told them I quit all that social media stuff 5 years ago and was peeved about being held on the waitlist and the allowed me to subscribe right away. It was a few months ago but you could try it and see?
ReplyLori
Their website states that if you cancel and resubcribe you skip the waitlist.
ReplyAnna
That’s great to know, thank you Laura and Lori 🙂 This is one of the reasons I love this website, people here are super nice and always helpful whenever somebody posts a question. And Liz is beyond adorable 🙂
Laura
You don’t have to have the facebook post be public – mine are just to me.
ReplyEllen M
I’m getting:
Julie C Nail Polish in PIN UP GIRL
ModelCo Lip Enhancer Lip Liner
Pacifica Natural Lipstick in NUDIE RED
Lather Honey Moisture Mask
Jersey Shore Cosmetics Vanilla Bean Lip & Hand Polish
LOVE the bag this month!
ReplyEllen M
Julie G*
ReplyBarbara
I’m getting :
– Beau Gâchis® ParisConcealer Brush(YEAH !!)
– Klorane make-up remover (will definitely use it)
– Tarte finish Powder (YAEH !!!)
– Pacifia lipstick (so exited to try that lipstick !)
– Marc Anthony Hair Care Coconut Oil & Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment (love getting hair product !)
– The red bag is Awesome !
Ipsy made it again ! What a nice subscription ! Love it !
ReplyTamara
Pacifica Power of Love lippie (are we all getting one of these?)
Peony eye shadow trio (pretty colors. We’ll see about the formula.)
Elizabeth Mott eye shadow primer (always happy to try a shadow primer)
RickyCare Classic 3D blender (Beauty Blender knockoff. I’ve never heard of any attempt to copy the BB being successful, so I’m not hopeful.)
Marc Anthony deep conditioner (Eh. Could be good.)
I’ve been meaning to cancel Ipsy for months and months but I can’t seem to bring myself to do it. What’s wrong with me???
ReplyCatherine
Take your quiz again, if you have many times then change your age. If you like what the older people are getting add five or ten years, if you lik younger and hipper decrease five years. I’d definitely do the quiz again though…I love my bag.
ReplySun
I second this, and what worked even better for me was doing the reviews. I kept redoing my quiz and it didn’t seem to help, but after 6 months I started getting bags I loved. I stopped changing my quiz. I do believe it helped a little when I narrowed down my style preferences on the quiz, but it just took the time to give enough reviews for ipsy to know what I love and what I don’t like.
Jennifer
Is Ipsy stepping it up, or do they normally have a better bag for the holidays? I chose Birchbox over Ipsy and never looked back. I guess the cute red pouch made me look at this post, and I’m a bit surprised by what everyone is expecting!
ReplyJen
Yes, I think they have stepped it up. I usually am pretty impressed with what I get. In my opinion, its worth the $10 gamble every month. Its easy to spend that going out the lunch, and getting this gem is way more fun than a lunch!
ReplyAnna Marie
And it Ipsy doesn’t go to your waist!
Lori
I am getting:
-The deep red Pacifica Power of love lipstick
-Formula X nail polish in revved up (I was actually looking for a gold or rose gold polish)
-ModelCo lip enhancer liner
-Marc Anthony coconut oil and Shea butter deep conditioning treatment
-RickyCare 3d blender
This is my last Ipsy bag since I signed up for a year or Birchbox and Glossybox and it ended on a pretty good note since I am looking forward to 4 of my 5 items and love the bag.
Replyangie
Have they changed how you get to peek? I’m signed in to both my Facebook and Twitter accounts, but it wants me to sign in through their website to peek. Not cool.
ReplyJen
I think you always have to sign into their website to peek. Not sure how else you could see it than on their website while in your account.
Replyangie
Not sign in to ipsy website, sign in to Facebook or Twitter through their website. When I click share on twitter, for example, it’s giving me a twitter log in to sign in and give them access to my account. I’ve never had to do that before.
Melisa
This is what I’ll be getting
Pacifica
Power Of Love Natural Lipstick
tarte cosmetics
smooth operator™ Amazonian clay finishing powder
Be A Bombshell Cosmetics
Mechanical Eye Liner
Skinn Cosmetics
Sugar Lips Polishing Scrub – For Dry & Lined Lips
LATHER
honey moisture mask with propolis extract
The only thing I don’t want to try is the black eye liner. I never wear any.
ReplyJennifer
Couldn’t resist peeking, I’m getting:
1. Pacifica power of love lipstick
2. Acure stem stimulating face mask
3. Tarte Amazonian clay finishing powder
4. Julie G nail color pin up girl
5. Caudalie thirst quenching serum.
Dodged the mascara which I am drowning in, happy with the bag this month.
ReplyAmanda
I got the same as Liz, except for:
Thank Me Later eyeshadow primer (instead of brush)
False eyelashes (instead of Jersey Shore polish)
I am really thinking about cancelling Ipsy – It was great the first few months, now I rarely use anything!
ReplyChrissy Disibio
OMG I love mine! I estimated a $58.50 value on mine!!! I got Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer (Elizabeth Mott), Marc Anthony Coconut Oil & Shea Butter Conditioner, the Pacifica lipstick, Peony Shadow Trio in my favorite brown tones, and some awesome Sugar Lip Scrub by Skinn! :):) I can’t wait!!! Best bag I have had yet!
Replysylvia
I got the best bag ever
BeFine
Exfoliating Cleanser (with Brown Sugar),
Clark’s Botanicals
Deep Moisture Mask
Beau Gâchis® Paris
Concealer Brush ,
FORMULA X
Nail Polish in Revved Up ,
Pacifica
Power Of Love Natural Lipstick
Reply
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