Ipsy Glam Bag Ultimate Review – October 2019

I finally received my Ultimate after shipping delays. I am not mad about the content. Not impressed though. I ordered the plus and ultimate and there was a free mascara in the Ultimate. My only real issue is that my Colored Raine eyeshadow was in crumbles. It was so bad I thought maybe it was a loose eyeshadow. I had to look it up. I reached out to Ipsy.

Thank you Debbie for pointing out the packaging for the Coloured Raine eyeshadow.

Specifically made by Ipsy for Coloured Raine”. I reached out to Coloured Raine and asked if we received Ipsy products disguised as Coloured Raine, and these were their responses:

“We have partnered with Ipsy on a program where they reverse manufacture our products to offer in their subscriber monthly subscriptions. These products are not made by Coloured Raine which is made in the United States.”

“They are not Coloured Raine made products. They are specifically made by Ipsy for their monthly subscription in partner with Coloured Raine.”

“To further elaborate, Coloured Raine does not own the formula for the products made by Ipsy. So no we do not own the products. Just our name.”

WOW!

After reading Debbie’s comment here regarding the Coloured Raine shadow, I reached out to CR for comment. They responded in 3 different emails as follows:

“We have partnered with Ipsy on a program where they reverse manufacture our products to offer in their subscriber monthly subscriptions. These products are not made by Coloured Raine which is made in the United States.”

“They are not Coloured Raine made products. They are specifically made by Ipsy for their monthly subscription in partner with Coloured Raine.”

“To further elaborate, Coloured Raine does not own the formula for the products made by Ipsy. So no we do not own the products. Just our name.”

Wonder how many other counterfeit products Ipsy has given us?

Is there a phone number to contact them I didn’t get my Farmacy and can’t find any contact info on their website.

The Huda Beauty palette is amazing and I’d love to try that eyeliner and mascara. The Coloured Rain eyeshadow looks like a lighter version of my favorite “one and done” eyeshadow, Nars Himalia.

I actually got a second glambag plus instead of my ultimate box. It had 5 products plus the bonus item, and none of the things were what was listed on my ultimate reveal or the thing I selected. And 2 of the items were things I received in my legit glambag plus. I emailed ipsycare.

I was so fn disappointed in Ipsy. $50 and my box cam tore up and the lid was open they never taped it shut. I had products missing. Not sure what because the pamphlet showed what I should have got. But so did others and they didn’t get those products. There were no prices on the pamphlet at all which is sketchy. So I looked up prices. My box only had a $212 value. Which is not the $250 plus promised. The best things I got were the add ons. And the Farmacy makeup remover and the Huda Palette which is the 3rd time I have got the same palette from Ipsy. The other stuff was all sample sizes. Yes I got 2 full size products and that was it. I have now cancel Ipsy. I sent them a long email and pictures. Of course 6 days and I have not received a email back. I have signed the petition for a refund because we were all ripped off. I had been with Ipsy for 4 years and I am done. The $25 box had way better products then the $50 joke box.

Is choice going to be on the 24th every month?

The Biroace & Ipsy site show the serum without niacinamide. The label has a different ingredient list. I’m very disappointed because If they’d made it known they were sending something I couldn’t use I’d have canceled.

I checked the ingredients when they released spoilers to see if it was a product I could use.

Thank you for an honest review. It seemed to me that you went into your review giving every product a fair chance. Good job!

So glad that I was not tempted to try Ultimate. I already own the Farmacy balm and it has been depleted with use, so I was glad to pick up my next jar for a great price as an Add On with my Plus bag.

From now on, I’m waiting for spoilers. If the subscription boxes choose to not be upfront and proud of their curations, then I’m going to have to skip. I cannot afford to keep spending money like this to receive things that I would absolutely never buy.

Well i think Megan did a awesome job reviewing! I agree with alot of things that she said about the Ultimate bag, i dont think to many people are happy with the Ultimate bag for October, i know i am not to happy, more disgusted than anything! Keep up the good work Megan and Liz!😊

I didn’t get the 3.4 oz Farmacy with white cap. I got 3.2 oz with silver cap. I bought mine as add on. I messaged Ipsy last night with a picture but they have not got back to me.

$7 eyeshadow single, $8 eyeliner, two $1.99 sheet masks, a lip gloss – these are all the kinds of things that have been included with the regular $12 Glam Bag. That the reviewer got all of these things as full size items in an “Ultimate” box is bewildering. There were a couple really great items in the box but I think I’d rather have the Glam Bag Plus and Glam Bag separate again so it’s very obvious that all 5 of the GBP products are full size and then the GB products are clearly samples or a bonus full size. If 3 out of 8 of the full size items in the GBU are only GB quality then I’d be better off getting the GB.

But we’ll see how this goes next month and if the collab is more Chinese made ipsy factory crud.

Has Huda Beauty always been made in China? I’ve never paid a lot of attention, TBH, but recently as I’ve been reading more and more comments here, I’ve started to try to pay attention to where products are made and manufactured. The pic above for the Huda pallet says “Made In PRC”…is that the norm?

Very disappointed in the quality of this box for the $50 price tag. I put my November box on hold and will wait for Dec spoilers before I decide to cancel. My Boxy Luxe had a much better selection and value.

My own ultimate box didn’t come with an info card, so all I had to go off of was the prices I found on the internet. Not sales, MSRP. The only thing I had to guess on was the Boop eyeliner, so I added it up once at $8, and then I gave it a generous $20. Both times, my box fell short of Ipsy’s promised size AND value. I really hope November is better. It is the deciding factor whether I continue my Ipsy subscription or not. I hope Ipsy gets back on track.

I was especially disappointed by my GBU. The only item that interested me in the least was the Farmacy cleansing balm which I’ve tried before and like. The rest of the box felt as though it were put together for someone with an entirely different profile and included several items I just do not use (two primers, for example). I didn’t even swatch the eyeshadows because the colors are too warm. Did, however, try the blush palette and was surprised that the colors weren’t half bad and had a decent payoff on my pale, almost blue, skin. Nothing exciting but wearable. The rest was pretty much just trash, IMO, and aside from the cleansing balm and blush nearly all of it went in the donation bin for a local shelter. I cancelled the sub the same day the box arrived. Also, as an FYI, the Colored Raine eyeshadow arrived smashed and the (very stinky) fragrance sample had leaked a bit.

The items I received were garbage. I didn’t even get the farmacy item. I cancelled my ipsy subscription. The value wasn’t there and the items were poor quality.

My Ultimate basically boiled down to 4 full sized products and the rest were the same sized sample and deluxe sizes I get in my regular Ipsy bag normally. So yeah, I am exceptionally disappointed in my box this month and if next month isn’t better on the product sizes, I may just cancel out all three tiers. I’m not into being lied to or mislead.

Coloured Raine is pretty well known for an indie brand. They are a black woman-owned brand, especially known for their great eyeshadow. Glad you liked their shadow, Megan! I hope a bigger audience learns about them through ipsy.

From what I’ve seen, I’m not super thrilled about how next month’s Ultimate is shaping up, either. I’d skip or cancel, but since my Ultimate included two products I’d opted out of (blush & sheet masks), and I refused to accept the offer of a measly 800 points, Ipsy offered to comp me November’s bag.

So far, spoilers include the Oribe scalp scrub that was a $12 add-on recently, a Trèstique bronzer stick (that appeared very orange on the Insta live hostess who applied it to her face), & a Juice Beauty wrinkle cream.

I am also ticked off that the Makeup Geek highlighter that was included in October’s Ultimate — which very few people actually received — is now going to be in November’s Glam Bag Plus!

We’re box twins. I was a little underwhelmed but still it was so much better than my plus. I hated it. I’m pausing both for a couple of months .I think it’ll take a while to get it together. I’ll be back though.

First, I congratulate you on writing your review which must have been super stressful considering all of the high emotions and viewpoints vehemently posting their viewpoint both pro and con IPSY. How do you write a review on a box that doesn’t offend someone given the controversy? So thanks for even posting a review.

As for my personal option on my box. Everything but the Farmacy and Huda went straight into the trash.

I have had three eye surgeries in the last 6 months and their is no way I am using a non brand item on my face. Wet and wild would be fine. It doesn’t have to be luxury, it does have to be trustworthy.

I blog (about cats, self improvement and making money online) and have published 17 books. As a result of my experience , within 5 minutes I can analyze a website and be able to tell a lot about a company or brand. Why do I add this info? A $62 dollar serum? Um, no. Biorace is not a “brand.” I can see the traffic, how long the site has been up etc.

Legit brands DO NOT use Shopify. Private labeling a product and making it seem like a brand to support a box value is not okay.

Why is that important? We have to be able to trust a label. If you have doubts about a brand, how do you know what is really in the bottle? Do you really want that near your eyes?

Recently walmart and GNC had to pull private label supplements from their shelves for containing ground up houseplants and no vitamins. Your skin is your biggest organ. Think about that.

I donate what I don’t use to a bartered women’s shelter. I won’t give them something I can’t trust. Just because you are poor or having a hard time doesn’t mean we should care for you any less. So the Farmacy went to me- yay! The Huda and makeup brushes went to the shelter (were they are a treasure) and the rest straight into the landfill. Too much wasted for 50$.

Test tube, which MSA just released spoilers on is not glamorous but they always have real products, every last one. And real indie products as well. Check them out. I have been able to use or donate every item, every time.

Beautyfix drives me nuts with the tiny sizes but always real products as well. I can use or donate every item. MSA reviews them too.

Allure. Not always great boxes but affordable and always real products which means use or donate.

Boxycharm. For $25 and now 35$ I am happy with two real brands that are actually full size, (not an eye pencil counted as full price) and an item or two to donate. Occasionally I do have to trash something from boxy but way less than Ipsy.

So I am letting Ipsy know how I feel with my cash. I cancelled all three levels of glam bag and upgraded to boxy premium.

And all you people complaining about the plethora of Ipsy bags you own, donate them to women’s shelters where sometimes they have to leave their homes with nothing more than they are wearing and it is a treasure to get a new cosmetic bag.

I also fill them with lotion samples, shampoo, chapstick samples (Bite is the only balm on these lips) and toothpaste/toothbrush. When I see a homeless woman I give them one. I have at least four in my car right now. People who live in the elements, appreciate those samples.

Thanks again for the review and noting which items were brands you have never heard of or sold in a single site only. In the end it’s buyer beware like everything else. I think this review did a good job not being a downer for people who enjoyed their bag and not selling out the people who were less than thrilled, which is all readers can ask.

I was very disappointed as well. I understand the concept of trying new brands and things but the absolute failure on Ipsy’s part to use our profiles to give us new things we actually CAN try was appalling. And while not every item can be high end luxury, Real Her is not exactly new or trying new things is it? I am receiving November for free so we will see but spoilers are not that thrilling either. I will likely cancel ultimate and drop back down to plus after my 3 months and I signed up for boxy premium will see what they have but they do not have the best track record either.

The full-sized items should all the full-sized items from the Plus, not full-sized from the regular. I think that’s my biggest issue with this.

The Boop eyeshadow palette is better than the blush palette, but both were disappointing. Probably one of the most underwhelming Ipsy bags in a long time.