Birchbox Vs Ipsy Vs Play by Sephora – December 2016

It could just be me, but I feel opposed to Ipsy on principle because of those darned bags every month. How many bags can one accumulate, or gift to others before they end up in the landfills eventually? Plus you’d have to incorporate the cost of labor and materials for the.bags which could’ve been used for products instead.

Ipsy is not for me, I don’t want drug store brands and even though I like that you get full size stuff pretty frequently, I am just rarely impressed by non-blogger bags.

Birchbox is not as cool as it used to be but I still get some nice stuff from them. The brands are good and there’s a good amount of skincare (which is either a positive OR a negative, but for me it’s a positive).

Play has been solid every month since I joined and I have been really happy with them. I hope it stays that way!

I started with Birchbox, but was never that impressed with the contents. Then I went to Ipsy. I cancelled, then went back, then cancelled. I went back one last time and cancelled for good. I saw no point in filling out a profile, if they were simply going to ignore it. Nothing was ever right. I love Play by Sephora. I love that there are brands that I use most often, with some new ones to try tossed in. I don’t, however, care for the fragrance. I wouldn’t be upset if they gave that part up. I received a deluxe sample of Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey in my December box. This has been my favorite for 20+ years and am always super excited when I receive one in a box. This is the perfect size for a small bag or pocket. Play has turned out to be perfect for me.

That cake lotion is wonderful but I can hardly stand the smell. It reminds me of my German great grandmother for some reason and its not pleasant. Not that she wasn’t wonderful, she was but the smell isn’t

I just started subbing to Birchbox in November and Ipsy in December. (I don’t sub to Play because they always include a fragrance item and I am extremely sensitive to fragrances.)

For the most part, I have always been a minimal makeup person and a lazy makeup user, meaning that I am interested, but not always willing to spend extra time and money on it. Now that I’m getting older (no longer in my 20’s) I’ve developed more interest in makeup and skincare (not to mention that I got sucked into this site and now I am addicted, haha).

I have had a lot of fun so far with both subscriptions. I imagine that when I stop having fun or start getting a crazy surplus of items, I will end my subscriptions. But for now, since both Birchbox and Ipsy are only $10 apiece, I feel like the variety/value of each is a pretty good deal, especially for people like me who are not experts with this sort of thing!

Here are my first impressions and preferences so far: To me, Ipsy seems geared toward a younger audience (more fun, adventurous items), while Birchbox seems geared toward a more mature group (more skincare and haircare maintenance options). I like that Ipsy includes a fun little bag every month (even though one was pink and hairy), and I like that Birchbox includes a nice little “cheat sheet” to tell you a little bit more about all the items in your box.

For me, personally, I would rate both of my January boxes 4 out of 5 stars; having used and liked 4 of the 5 items offered.

I think both subs are definitely good for 1) people wanting to explore different beauty brands and options, 2) people who don’t like shopping, 3) people who enjoy getting fun surprises in the mail at a minimal cost, and 4) people who travel a lot who appreciate sample or small items.

Anyway, just my two cents! #coolstorybro 😉

Play!! Play!!Play!! Sephora Play is my favorite. i don’t sub to birchbox. and i must admit that i am feeling a lot better about Ipsy since they began letting us pick an item for our glambag. Both ipsy and sephora have introduced me to some great brands. i love that ipsy offers discounts on full size items (i take full advantage of this). i also love that i can always go into a sephora store to purchase an item or to get another sample (i take full advantage of this as well). both ipsy and sephora offer bonus points. both are worth the ten bucks. but at this point, sephora play is #1 in my book

We just started the boxes in the fall. My favorite is Sephora Play, but my daughter (21) likes ipsy best. Besides the products in the play box, I like that Sephora provides a video unveiling and ability to go into the store and discuss the products. I haven’t done a “play party” yet, but it is on my list (one of the locations is only 10 min from work). I’ve noted that some of the items in the play boxes are not yet offered in my local store, so I can’t get samples there. I also like the 50 bonus points that provide me with extra product in-store. Our initial Birchboxes (Nov/Dec 2016) were beautiful, but not so impressed with Jan/Feb 2017 design. The products don’t seem to match us as well either. However, some are interesting and new to us.

I wish Play wasn’t as varied. I have had major box envy. I haven’t loved my last two boxes, but the fact that the brands are always amazing and I could find something wonderful keeps me going.

I got rid of sephora because I wasn’t please with two of its bags. When I purchase stuff from sephora I usually get free items and these are the free items I get so why am I paying $10 a month for it? I love ipsy I think it’s worth the $$. I also had birch and cancelled them because I kept getting wrinkle creams which I don’t use and mascara which I literally now have about 20 of them. In one box from birch I got 2 mascara and that was it for me.

Funny that I had and eventually cancelled all 3 of these for various reasons, but now I have and like Allure, especially since I got it during the $10 deal so I don’t feel too guilty (since I was spending way more on multiple boxes, started getting repeats, colors or items I don’t use, etc., and general sample overload lol!). Despite all the issues some have had with Allure, I guess I’ve been lucky *knock wood* that I haven’t. Anyway, I still love reading all the reviews and especially the comparisons! Great job! Thank you as always!

I finally canceled Birchbox. Ipsy and Play are definitely worth the ten dollars, but birchbox just was not worth it for me. I got two black eyeliners in one box….

Thanks for doing this!

I like birchbox for the sample selection, and play by sephora for known and easy to find brands. Love seeing these comparisons, keep them coming 🙂

I like Sephora Play the best out of the three. I canceled BirchBox because I felt like they were becoming really stingy with their sample sizes. Ipsy is hit or miss, but I feel like I always get at least $10 of value out of each Glam Bag, and when it’s a hit, it’s great! One thing I don’t love about Ipsy is that sometimes I think they include discontinued items because I can’t find them for sale anywhere. While I haven’t liked everything from Sephora Play, I’ve liked or know I’ll eventually use most of the items and I like that it’s usually easy to find them for purchase once I run out. I also like that they include a Play Pass so you can rack up Beauty Insider points, though I wish they could be redeemed online!

Thank you for doing this, Liz. Looking forward to your January Box reviews for all three. I got hooked on subscription boxes after I discovered your website. Now it’s getting out of hand. I will seek your great counsel on which of the three to keep by February, depending on your reviews. 😉

I’ve been happy with birchbox and not happy with the two Sephora bags I’ve gotten so far. Haven’t tried ipsy since I’m not interested in drug store brands.

I’m so glad you brought this back. It’s nice having Sephora Play! in the mix as well. Thanks!