Ipsy Review – April 2017

ByLiz CadmanApr 10, 2017 | 88 comments

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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!)

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(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).

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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!

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Each month, ipsy subscribers get a makeup bag in addition to their 5 items. I know this isn't everyone's favorite design, but I am loving this bag!

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It's made of a faux vinyl/leather material, with a slightly fuzzy lining, and a zipper closure:

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Now, onto the items!

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Glamour Dolls x Lisa Frank Angle Blush Brush - Value $5

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YES!! This is the highlight of my Ipsy bag this month! What a childhood flashback. Lisa Frank all the things!

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This brush has a rainbow unicorn handle, with soft, pink-tipped brush bristles

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Now I need an entire Lisa Frank makeup brush collection! (And I'm definitely intrigued by this Trapper Keeper palette!)

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Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner in Black - FULL SIZE! Value $7

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This eyeliner is a great basic liquid liner.

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The slim tip allows you to control how thick of a line you want, and the marker application goes on smoothly, too. It's pretty smudge proof, too. (Swatched in lower photo.)

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Ciaté London Mini Bamboo Bronzer in Palm Island - 2.2 g Value $6.16

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I've sampled Ciate makeup before, and their pressed powders have such a silky finish! This bronzer has great pigment and a matte finish. Here it swatched beneath the eyeliner:

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H20+ Beauty Elements Keep it Fresh Face Cleanser - 2 oz Value $10

This cleanser has a fresh, water lily scent, and it didn't strip my skin of oils. It didn't do a great job of removing makeup, but was perfect post-makeup wipes!

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Luseta Beauty Volume Reviving Dry Shampoo in Potpourri - 50 ml Value $3.20

This dry shampoo goes on clear and added no weight or texture to my hair. It's great if you are looking for a barely there dry shampoo, but the scent was a bit too fragrant for me.

Verdict: This box has a value of about $31. That's on the lower end for Ipsy, but still great in general for a $10 beauty subscription box. While some of the items were nice to have but not super exciting (eyeliner, bronzer), the bag and the Lisa Frank brush cover the flash I needed from this bag!

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

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Ipsy

4 overall rating

1813 Ratings | 300 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!

Read More By Liz Cadman >

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88 comments

Diane Barry

I’m curious what people do with their glambags. I’m trying to figure out ways to repurpose. I’ve put my electronic cords in one, used another for my travel toiletries, dog poop bag holder, dog treat holder, pen holder, hair tie holder, any other suggestions?

Edie

I love everyone’s ideas – I never thought of dog treats – thank you – will attach to leash or an I.D./badge holder around my neck. I think they’re terrific in lieu of a small gift bag – no extra trip to the dollar store or wrapping needed.

I also like a separate bag for travel – not the makeup (that’s in another one), but the cotton balls, q-tips, nail clip and file, band aids, a tube of antibiotic ointment and hydrocortisone, a few days worth of vitamins and meds. Hmm, might need another one… 🙂

Nine

U can also use them to put Christmas gifts in

Christy

I use mine to decorate! I cut some of them (mainly the Sephora play bags) and put them in collage frames to decorate my vanity wall! I use a lot of the ipsy bags as gift bags or I store bath bombs in them.

Julia

There are so many options! You can use them to sort or store:
– small makeup samples
– first aid kit
– tampons / hygiene products
– craft supplies
– nails and spare hardware
– USBs and small electronics
– earrings or rings when traveling

Basically, if I have something small I sometimes misplace, I try to put it in a bag! 🙂

Kristin Puckett

I use the bags as so one for eyes, lips, other! But recently during spring cleaning I have found more bags then I need for makeup storage
Markers, pens/pencils, tacos like office supplies?! Just saying hopefully helped! They are multi purpose and so cute!

Maureen

I’m currently using the larger pink bag from March, I think, to keep reusable grocery bags in my purse. They fit perfectly when folded and it matches my purse lining. I keep foil samples in another, and one filled with perfume samples.

Kathryn

I haven’t received my bag yet and I am getting very disappointed. It shipped the beginning of last week and seems to be stuck in Georgia. The tracking isn’t even updating. I’m very upset about this because I love ipsy and wanna use my new stuff……..

Faith

So, I just started getting Ipsy a few months ago for my 13yr old. Cute so far. Then I added a 2nd sub with a completely different profile. This was the first month for 2 subs. I received 2 of the exact same products, EM eyeliner, Marula oil hair serum. 1 bag had Adesse lip butter, Peek eye shadow and Lisa Frank brush. The other, Besame Mucho shea lip butter, Ofra blush and Show me your glow shadow/highlighter. 13 yr old got the Lisa Frank brush. Was hoping for 2 completely different bags, but, I will keep the 2 subs for a few more months and see what happens. I think its kind of a crap shoot what comes in the bag, except for when you request an item, and they confirm they will send it.

Kaitlynn Marie

I’m looking forward to this one, but it says it was delivered and it’s definitely not. Between my sisters and I we get three Ipsy’s to the same address and none of us have gotten ours yet. Better than Sephora which hasn’t even shipped, but I wanted this bag! I also redeemed points and wanted that item too. If it’s not in today’s mail I’ll be emailing support.

Sara

I got my bag today, RV is about $36, which is good, but I never get as high of value bags as Liz does. I got:

Lisa Frank brush
Ofra Peach Blush
Touch in Sol No Poreblem primer
Skin & CO Truffle Therapy Face Toner
TonyMoly Liptone Lip Care Stick

The brush handle really bothers me for some reason lol. I didn’t notice in the review it has a flat bottom, but in person it really bugs me. It’s very cute though, love the print. The blush looks like a very pretty color and I’m excited about getting toner and primer in a bag.

trisha

My primer is expired very disappointed in Ipsy, also bag was really late this month.

annie

Same bag except I got the blush in the color Rendezvous, which is far too dark for me.
I also must be one of the few who did NOT want the Lisa Frank brush (but my 13 year old will gladly take off my hands) It is rather a cheap type of brush. Wish I got a Luxie brush instead. Those are great and I love them.
Not going to use the primer.
Only cared for the toner and the lip balm.
2/5 products were liked. To me, this month was a bust.

Bethany

I actually got the Luxie brush and would totally trade for the Lisa Frank brush if your girl hasn’t claimed it! I have sooo many in the shape of this Luxie brush, I was a bit annoyed. I hated my entire bag tbh!

Abbie

I had the worst bag I’ve ever gotten this month. I got ofra blush and ciate London bronzer (neither of which I use and I specifically say on my survey I don’t want). I also got the ity bity tube of aloe which frankly wouldn’t even cover my shoulder was burnt. I do like my eye shadow and lip balm but with all of these products and a rather ugly bag I was super disappointed.

Bethany

This was probably my worst, too. Not a single product even brought a smile to my face. I feel a completely wasted $10. Lately I really debate quitting but would miss the mail.. :/

You can send them an email for a product(s) you absolutely hate and don’t want. I constantly kept bad reviewing no to bronzer and black eyeliner (I seriously have a handful of all types of black liner I won’t use in my entire lifetime! Ugh!) They FINALLY noticed once and emailed me to stop the liner.. but I kept getting bronzer. So I emailed them and now I have notes in my profile to not get them.. cause I swear their reviewing system doesn’t really read our reviews or make our bags any better. Like can I get any other color than brown for shadows? Or do those not exist in ipsy land? It’s aggravating me..

Chris

Has anyone else not been able to review their products this month?

Abbie

I haven’t yet either, but I know in the past that it has sometimes taken me a bit to get the option to. Be patient and usually by the 20th you can review them.

Siren

I never care about the bag itself. I received:

Ofra Rendezvous Blush
Elizabeth Mott Show Me Your Glow
Adesse Butter Lip Balm
Colorpop Creme Gel Liner in Swerve
Theorie Marula Oil Transforming Hair Serum

Shelly

I am not impressed with my very first bag. Nothing I would use and it’s as if I didn’t fill out a questionnaire. I waited over 5 months for what? I don’t know.

Marge

The label for my bag was created on 4/07, but as of this evening (4/12), it still hasn’t shipped!! I’m so sad cause I’ve been looking forward to it for so long 🙁 Does anyone else have that problem?

Sara

Same for me, I got my bag today!

Marina

Mine too, sometimes they just take forever though 🙁
(and that’s more than just ipsy)
I usually wait a week and if nothing happens a pester cs for something lol, no one should wait a week after getting tracking w/ out an update…

Julia

Blea. I am so sad over this month’s bag. I didn’t get anything I was the slightest bit interested in. I got: yet another hair oil, the eyeshadow/highlighter, (ENOUGH with the hair oil and HIGHLIGHTERS already), the blush brush which is cute but I have a zillion brushes and this one kind of looks like it’s for a 12 year old, and nail polish in a color everyone is sending out and I already have three of. The bag is cute but it’s neon orange and I would never use it.

I would have loved to have gotten Mist Pear Vitamin C Serum or the *Colorpop gel pencil in burgundy.

Marina

You can email them to opt out of 3 things (max) if you want, that can weed out some of what you are sick of and give it a better chance 😉
I have only been w/ them 2 months now but so far my bags are a good medium of stuff I am excited, or meh about. Luckily I have someone who LOVES bland colors lol

Kris

This is my first IPSY box and I am in love! I love the ticket bag, my zipper works fine.

*Lisa Frank brush ( I was the most excited about this)
*Mist Pear Vitamin C Serum
*Colorpop gel pencil (mine is the copper color and it’s awesome!)
*the Base LB cream
*naked cosmetics in heavy metal (it matches the eyeliner pencil!!!)

This box was def worth $10!

Rachelle

Exactly what I got!! I’m not crazy about the eye shadow and I was surprised the brush had unicorns on it, but I am excited for the pencil, serum and base. Just got it today so can’t wait to try!!

Dena

This bag is just awesome. I ❤️ ❤️ it!
I got the
— Lisa frank brush..love it!
— Adesse butter balm, great size!
— H2O cleanser. Nice size also!
–OFRA blush- a little dark, but definitely will use it.
— Color pop– nice product, but BLACK. This was my disappointment. It’s color pop, I was hoping for a great color. Not basic every day black. Bummer.

Without question my April bag has been my fav. Even the actual bag is a fav.

Brittany

The zipper on my bag broke the first time I tried to open it!

Katie

If you actually liked the bag and want a new one, email customer service and let them know. I’ve had 2 defective bags (in different months over the 2 years I’ve had ipsy) and have been sent 2 new ones to replace them. They didn’t reply to my message but about a week after I contacted them a new one shows up in the mail. They have great customer service.

Janet

I love the cute TICKET bag–it’s my favorite item! Overall value was about $45 & it’s a 3/2 split positive/negative.

Positive:
+PEEK eyeshadow: I know a lot of ipsters complain about getting too much brown/neutral eyeshadow, but I love it. I can never have enough! This formula is great, too. Soft & blendable and with lots of pigment.
+Skin & Co Roma truffle toner: It’s stuff like this that keeps me subscribed every month. A skin product by a lesser-known independent/import beauty company, and the sample is big enough that I can give it a real try before pulling the trigger to purchase full-size. Win all around.
+EM Cosmetics illustrative eyeliner brush tip: Black eyeliner is another product I know ipsters complain they get too much of, but I love it. I use it every day, so it’s nice to know I’ll basically never have to purchase eyeliner. This one doesn’t knock my socks off but the tip really is nice and fine.

Negative:
-Ciate London bronzer in Palm Island: It’s a great formula, it’s just the exact same color as my skin, which makes it hard to use for its intended purpose.
-The Base by Laura Bingle tinted moisturizer: Even though this is in the “negative” category, the same principle applies to this that applies to the Skin & Co Roma sample I got this month: I like that I got it because it’s a sample from lesser known independent/import beauty company. This sample is much smaller than the Skin & Co one, though–only large enough for two uses–but that’s really for the best because I hate the product. It makes my skin so shiny I could land planes with it. That’s the point of samples, though. You try it and if you hate it, no loss.

For $10 a month, ipsy does its job phenomenally. No complaints here!

Monique

There’s two more rewards items available.

Milissa Cheves

Still on the waitlist!

Brenda Green

Brenda Green …hoping to start getting my on my gift bag soon ..

Michelle

I will be swapping that bag, not cute to me at all. Also the Ofra and the other little thing, can’t remember. Think I am about done with Ipsy. Same boring little items month after month that just get lost in all my other makeup.

Julia

I really like the bag – it’s so whimsical and cute! I love imaginative designs.

This month, I received:
* EM Cosmetics Illustrative Eyeliner Brush Tip
* Glamour Dolls x Lisa Frank Angle Blush Brush
* The White Company Seychelles Hand & Nail Cream
* Meg Twin Nail Polish in Lovey Dovey
* Hikari Cosmetics Cream Pigment Eyeshadow in Honey Dew

The eyeliner seems like a good quality liquid brush liner, but I wish I’d gotten Colourpop in a fun color. I’m so bored by black liner at this point. 🙁

I love the brush – it’s super cute and it feels really soft. I assumed it would be low quality since it’s a nostalgia item and decorative, but it seems to be decent.

Hand cream is a little boring, but it’s actually something I don’t get often. The scent is bergamot, amber, and vanilla, and I think it smells nice and seasonal.

I always love nail polish and a duo is a nice bonus. The colors are good but I think the blue-grey and tan are less interesting for spring. I’m super excited for color and sunny weather, though, so that’s preference – a lot of people would dislike a pastel blue I’m sure.

Cream eyeshadow isn’t the most interesting (powder is best on my oily lids) but I like the color. It’s not a brown, black, or bronze, so I’m happy.

I was disappointed when I saw my box preview, but it’s pretty decent. I wish I’d gotten the TonyMoly though – guess I’ll remember to request my choice in the future. 🙂

Carol

The zipper on my bag was broken. It was unzipped when I received it and could not close. It did have a funny vinyl smell so I dont think I would have used it anyway.

I love my bag this month!!!! I’ve been consistently reviewing my items and that seems to have helped a lot!!! My daughter also subs so we in house swap lol I received Colourpop in Swerve (yay!!!), the Lisa Frank brush (which I did the Kickstarter for $100 to be sure I receive everything for my girls, they love Lisa Frank!), mintpear, ofra, and a lip. Didn’t love the lip but it’s ok. I’ve been subbing for awhile but really only starting reviewing the last few months. Now my bag each month is almost perfect!

Gloria

Giving up on ipsy for awhile subscribed for alittle over a year, changed my profile a few times but received too many of the same items 🤔

Nicole

Have you reviewed your products? They seem to pay more attention to reviews than to you changing your profile. My most recent bags have been great for me, and I review every item every month.

Siren

I’ve had Ipsy for 5+ years. Doesn’t matter if you review every month. They never get it right for me. I can’t even get them to reply to emails :/ I completely disagree with their supposed great customer service. I’ve changed answers to my questions, different things. had them block things I don’t like, I get those things anyway, etc. I have boxes full of black liquid liners, hot pink lipsticks, stuff I attempted to stop receiving.

I finally did get an answer about the Lisa Frank brush after I didn’t receive it, which I was super mad about. They said that I hadn’t requested it, I had requested a hair serum, which was in my bag. Whaaaa..? So I don’t know what that is all about, and did not make me happier at all. Could I possibly have requested hair serum over a Lisa Frank brush? If so, I must have done it in my sleep :0 I requested that brush twice at least in efforts for a reply and zilch.

However… I did just purchase TWO of their Ipsy offers this week, which seem like they are way better versions of the Ipsy bag – I never care about the bag itself anyway. I’m very excited about those being on the way!

After seeing this review, I trotted right over to the Glamour Dolls site to see all this Lisa Frank stuff and about died with pleasure! All of it will be mine!

Laura

Love Ipsy – I need to get a second sub.

Lauren

I thought I had cancelled on time, but I got my notification today that my bag is coming. I am actually fine with that because I love the ticket bag. It is adorable and different. They say I am getting the Lisa Frank brush, the elements cleanser, tony moly lip, eye liner and the base by Laura Bingle. They were very nice in the cancellation letter and said I can resub anytime etc. No waitlist. That made me happy too. I like Ipsy but I was getting too many bags and needed to cut something out. Once BirchBox finishes in a couple more months I will cut them off and maybe resub.

Heather

I got my shipping notification a few days ago, and it said my bag will not arrive until 4/19! Is it normal for shipping to take 12 days with Ipsy?? I’m in SoCal. This is my first delivery from Ipsy so I’m not sure what exactly to expect, but that seems crazy.

amanda

I am new to Ipsy and so far I have to say shipping is ridiculous and looks like they need some organization in the warehouse. I saw my bank deducted only $10 on April 9th (but paid for one for my daughter), but just received an email today telling me the bag will ship the 13th. Who knows how long it will take for me to actually receive it? On top of that, I made 2 accounts on the same day–1 for me and 1 for my daughter and we both did the 3 steps to get off the waitlist, which is total nonsense, because you are waitlisted regardless–and she has not received any emails or shipping notifications, nor have i been charged for her bag!! this makes no sense they were both ordered 1 minute after each other!! Frustrated.

Elizabeth

Umm no. Im in so cal and i get mine each month before the the date on the email sometimes i have gotten it before the email even. So dont worry about it too much just track it.

Sara

I still haven’t even got a ship notification. 😞

Velli

Mine is still saying it hasn’t been delivered

Jessicups

They use a lesser known shipment company, and yes it takes longer then some, BUT its free so 😀

abbiecadabee

There was a kickstarter for the whole Lisa Frank line that ended last week. There were 3 palettes, a unicorn nail polish set, and another brush or 2.

Rosemary

Damn! I wish I had known about that. My life always needs more unicorns.

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Ipsy Review – April 2017

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