IPSY Glam Bag Plus Review – October 2020

ByMegan K.Oct 24, 2020 | 46 comments

IPSY Glam Bag Plus is a $25 a month subscription box from IPSY. Every month you’ll receive 5 full-sized beauty products. The box will have a retail value of at least $120. (This box was voted as a best makeup subscription box and a best beauty subscription box by MSA readers!)

FYI, COVID-19 Update: Keep up-to-date on Ipsy shipping delays right here.

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

About IPSY Glam Bag Plus

The Subscription Box: IPSY Glam Bag Plus

The Cost: $25 a month (free US shipping)

The Products: Full-size makeup and beauty products every month.

Ships to: The US for free

Our IPSY Glam Bag Plus October 2020 Review

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Here is our info card for the month. No specific item list this time.

My drawstring bag arrived with a golden illustration on one side and some shimmering gold text on the back.

Now, on to the items!

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LOVE+CRAFT+BEAUTY Warm Rituals Eyeshadow Palette - Retail Value $35.00

IPSY chose this item for me!

The color story of this palette is really lovely, and it feels very different than a lot of others I have in my collection. It is an assortment of 3 shimmering shades and 3 mattes. The shimmers outperform the mattes (just look at them!!) but the mattes were still super smooth and wonderful for building up natural shadows. The star of this palette for me was 'Pyrite' for sure. It is such a gorgeous green and it brings out the green in my mostly brown eyes beautifully.

Top to bottom: Pyrois, Faunus, Pyrrah. Agnt, Toraja, and Pyrite.

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This is just 'Pyrite' on my lower lid with a little bit of 'Pyrrah" above it up to my brow. It's a very easy and simple look that I really like. My lip color is featured a little further down!

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Double Duty Beauty Shape Tape Setting Powder in Translucent, 12 g - Retail Value $34.00

IPSY chose this item for me!

This was another instant win. I really like this powder! I have been really focusing on my skincare routine and aside from some mask related spots, it's looking pretty good! I really only need some powder like this to soften out a little of my natural redness and this stuff does the job fine! (of course, I also use a highlighter too!) I love the way this loose powder is contained under a mesh net to keep me from spilling it everywhere. It feels like literally nothing on my face but makes a huge difference in how my complexion looks.

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HAUS Laboratories Le Riot Lip Gloss in 'Chaser', 5 mL – Retail Value $18.00

This was my choice item, though I picked the shade 'Screamer' and received 'Chaser' instead.

Here is the gloss I mentioned in my photos! I love this stuff. Sure, I chose a different color. But I am pleased to report that I think this one is pretty enough to keep! It is a super shiny and sheer burnt red-brown shade that is just a little vampy but wonderful for fall. I love it on my lips solo but it would totally add some drama to your favorite cream lipstick. You can see that it does show when you have pressed your lips together (you can see a line on my upper lip in those pictures) but it doesn't really bother me in person. I also was wearing a pretty thin coating in those shots and with a little extra this isn't an issue at all. The texture is a little heavy but soft and slick rather than sticky. It also doesn't really have a scent. I would happily add a few more of these to my collection.

Love this so much.

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DR.LIPP Lip Tint 3 Pack in Sweet Potato, Red Radish, and Elderberry, – Retail Value $23.00

This was my choice item!

Most days I am not wearing eyeshadow or bold gloss, but I always have something on my lips and I prefer a little tint to enhance my smile. This trio has sheer red, pink, and berry shades to choose from. The formula itself is very nourishing though it does have lanolin inside, so if you avoid that, beware. Lanolin comes from sheep's wool and it is one of the only things that keeps my lips from cracking during the winter. Out of the three shades, I think the berry is my favorite, closely followed by the red. The pink shade doesn't really look like anything on my lips.

Top to bottom: Red Radish, Sweet Potato, and Elderberry.

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Thrive Causemetics Brilliant Eye Brightener in 'Aurora', 1.4 g – Retail Value $24.00

This was my choice item!

My last item is a very pretty shimmering stick that can be used to enhance and brighten the area around my eye as well as a highlighter. I like creamy formulas like this right under my brow (I have one that sits lower than the other so it gets more sparkle to make it look a little more arched!) and also on the inner corners of my eyes to brighten them up. This stick is so smooth and blends like a dream, and the soft shade would be universally flattering on anyone.

Pretty and shimmering.

Verdict: I absolutely loved my IPSY Glam Bag Plus this month! The ability to choose 3 items is really a game-changer and pretty much guarantees a good bag. I loved everything inside this month. Really! Even the two items IPSY selected were winners. I also love that I kind of have a whole holiday look from this bag between the powder, shadows, shimmering stick, and gorgeous gloss. That is a win! My total value lands at $134 for the bunch which is stellar for a $25 bag.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? You'll likely start with October as your first month. As of publication, there was no IPSY waitlist!

Value Breakdown: This box costs $25.00, meaning you are paying approximately the following per item:

Lovecraft Beauty Palette $6.53
Tarte Powder $6.34
HAUS Laboratories Gloss $3.36
DR. LIPP Trio $4.29
Thrive Causemetics Stick $4.48

Alternatively, each of the 5 items has an average cost of $5.00.

Check out all of our IPSY Glam Bag Plus reviews and our favorite beauty and makeup subscriptions!

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

What do you think of the October IPSY Glam Bag Plus? Which items did you get?

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Ipsy Glam Bag Plus

4.3 overall rating

242 Ratings | 28 Reviews

Ipsy Glam Bag Plus no longer exsits but has been merged into BoxyCharm!

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Posted in Beauty Subscription Boxes, Makeup Subscription Boxes, Subscription Box Reviews, Subscription Boxes for Women

Megan K.

I love natural/vegan beauty products, Korean skincare, unique jewelry, and weird candies from far away places. When I am not waiting for my next exciting box you can find me painting or taking photographs of interesting people. I never leave home without pug hair somewhere on my shirt and a bold lipstick on my smile.

Read More By Megan K. >

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46 comments

Nikkim

Well I know I’m getting the trestique mascara in November’s bag. I just logged in the website and it asked me to rate November’s bag and then when I closed out of it, that trestique mascara popped up to rate :/

Tiffany A

I had the Same thing happen to me this morning! I saw the V.V. eye shadow palette and Yensa bronzer/brush duo. There were other items I would’ve enjoyed more but it could’ve been worse…now I’m hoping for a decent choice opportunity tomorrow

Blue

For the Ipsy choices I got the Dr. Brandt dermabrasion (ranked rarely because I don’t want this type of product) and the Love + Craft + Beauty palette but in the other colors than the post here.

For my 1st choice I could choose between the Haus lip gloss, Mischo Beauty nail duo, Yensa primer, or TheBalm palette.

For my 2nd choice I could choose between Laura Makeup Labs eyeshadow palette, Violet Voss lipgloss in adore, Violet Voss lipgloss in Dream, or Violet Voss lipgloss in (I can’t read the name my screenshot I snapped for customer service is blurry.)

For my 3rd choice I could choose between Half Caked lip duo, Amaceli Beauty eyeliner, Trestique brow pencil, or Thrive Causemetics brilliant eye brightener.

I was horribly disappointed that out of 12 items in my 3 choices 5 were lipglosses, 3 were types of pencils, and I was offered yet another eyeshadow palette. I received two last month just from my Ipsy GBP alone. Not to mention not wanting the Dr. Brandts.

I ended up choosing the Haus lipgloss, the Laura Makeup Labs eyeshadow palette, and the Half Caked lip duo. While I do enjoy all the products I received except for the dermabrasion cream I am very disappointed that my choices were so limited and that I wasn’t offered some of the higher priced items that I really wanted to try.

Let’s be real, most of us subscribed to boxes/bags because we want to try out brands we can normally never afford. In the past 2 months I’ve had 4 eyeliners, 6 big eyeshadow palettes, several eyeshadow trios or smaller palettes, half a dozen glosses, and a random mix of other things. I do like most of the products I’ve received from Ipsy and it’s been hit or miss with Allure. Those are the only two boxes I sub to and at first both were great. For some reason choice doesn’t go well for me. The first month of choice I got a foundation that was more for someone with a bronze type skin tone when I’m a fair/light but it said light on it. Then this months was a horrible selection where I had three lip glosses from the same brand in one choice selection. Ipsy and Allure need to up their game.

Lynn

I didn’t receive any of the same items. My items are okay though the least exciting since we began getting three choices. My only complaint is the pink shipping bag is not protecting the items inside. Since they quit using the boxes my item packaging has been extremely damaged every month. Luckily, the items themselves have not leaked, but this month the black cloth bag even had a large tear in it. I wish they would return to the shipping boxes. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

GREYGRRL

The soft packaging was definitely inadequate especially with my add-ons! My package opened up mid shipping and a couple of items got lost. They’re replacing them…but still the boxes were nicer.

Alice

Yes. All of my package items have been damaged. I’m not pleased about that. Ipsy should return to boxed delivery for Plus. The drawstring bags are cheaply made. Not a fan.

Lipgloss Diva

I would be fine with the bags but they are not big enough to do anything with them.

Rose

Squeee!

Mimosa

Hi Rose,
Time to give it a rest, please.

Sandra

I really don’t get this weirdness. I find the reviews here tend to lean positive – after all, they’re getting free stuff and don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them – but I come to this site for the box reveals and for the comments, which are EXTREMELY helpful. If someone doesn’t like what they’re seeing here, no one is forcing them to come to the site. It isn’t like someone’s holding a gun to their head. Enough, already.

Jacki

Ipsy really messed up this month and I didn’t get any choices. My bag finally shipped, but I don’t want anything they’re sending

Alice

I chose completely different items, as did Ipsy for me. I love everything. This new process works great. I love the control over the majority of items. My Plus had a value over $300. That’s a super deal.

Megan K.

That does sound amazing! What did you get? I still haven’t figured out exactly how the suggested items work. It seems like everyone gets something different. Maybe our beauty profiles?

Alice

I received the Nomad Berlin palettem Dr. Brandt PoreDermabrasion, Mischo nail duo, Filorga eye cream, and Ciate’ Watermelon primer! It was a really good month.

Renee

This has been my best bag and so far the new process is working for me. I hot the tarte powder and love it. It’s my favorite item. Great review!

Mel

October was my first Plus bag and I loved it! I received the Dr. Brandt Poredermabrasion (which I have tried before and like), a gorgeous NOMAD Berlin eye shadow palette, a duo nail polish set, a duo lip product and a nice eye cream. I added on 2 Sunday Riley products at insanely low prices too… I didn’t like the Nov. choices so I did skip next month

Pink5

I didn’t get the Haus gloss I selected. Or any Haus gloss at all. I’m wondering if they under-bought and just decided to not send any to everyone who requested one.

When I contacted customer service they said they were out and will be sending a different lip product at some point in the future.

The Lovecraft Beauty palette I received has different colors (blue/purple/black) but is very nice.

Charlotte

“they said they were out and will be sending a different lip product at some point in the future”

That’s shameful. I know that getting Ipsy to issue refunds is like pulling teeth, but you should at least make sure they give you points. Bad enough to shrug that they’re out of the product you specifically picked, but to not even tell you what they’re going to replace it with and when? I would be PISSED.

Wow, that doesn’t seem like a fair trade!

I got a note two days before my bag arrived, and it took a while to get, that one of my add-one wasn’t available and they’d refund the item. I didn’t expect them to figure that out so late after shipping, but I’m glad they did as I hate contacting their CD. Sadly it was the add-on I was most excited to try 🤷‍♀️ So yes, it seems like there might be some inventory accuracy issues all around.

Pink5

The replacement item is another liquid lip color that apparently was offered to others.

They seem to be running out of things more often than they used to.

Wendy

I think this is the first time I’ve ever been bag twins with a reviewer. And I’ve been reading this site for way too long.

Megan K.

#bagtwins! We must have a similar beauty profile. The whole matchmaking this is honestly a mystery for even me!

Meg

Mine was very similar! I have the same 2 ipsy picks, but I chose the half caked lip duo, and 2 more shadow palettes. $182 retail value. I added on the Hanhoo blemish patches and thought I was getting a pouch of 36, but they sent me the whole box! It was like 12 packs! Probably the best month I’ve had with ipsy in the 3 years I’ve subscribed.

Yolanda

Omg dude lol they sent u a whole box of the Hanhoo? This must be why they ran out lol if u read the regular glam bag feed, u’ll see that a lot of people didn’t receive their add on. Not just you, they must have sent the whole box to other people too! lol but hey… good for you! That’s AWESOME 😂😂😂.

Marion

Ipsy picked for me the Tarte powder (which I was hoping to get from spoilers) & the Seraphine Botanicals palette, which I had already purchased via Ipsy Shopper. When I emailed IpsyCare to complain about the issue, the first two people (bots?) did not understand the issue at all, & gave me random, canned answers that were not relevant. I had to email a third time before finally getting a resolution of 1200 points.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with my bag, & I feel like the 1200 points is fair compensation for receiving a duplicate item, but feeling like I’m doing battle with customer service leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

You didn’t receive a duplicate item, it was never in your bags. Would you also complain if you received something you purchased through one of ipsy’s affiliate links?

Victoria

She complains about everything so yes, yes she would.

Randie

I always thought the the duplicate item thing only applied to items in your bag, not to items you might have purchased through Shopper or other sales.

Dea

Yes, they can’t really keep up with every item in the Shopper, especially since so many of them are bundled.

sparker

I just get the regular glam bag and don’t usually have bag jealousy, but that Haus lip gloss and the Pyrite eyeshadow are definitely giving me envy! Both look great on you, too!

Megan K.

Thank you! The shadow is one of those colors that just makes a statement on its own. If only I had somewhere to go to show it off. 😂

Kristina

I did get the Tarte, Thrive, and Love+Craft. I am usually happy with my Ipsy boxes. No repeats either.

Dea

Ipsy also chose the Tarte powder for me, and I love it! My favorite item this month. What a great discovery! I agree that the mesh interface thingy is genius. The design of the compact is great too.

Somehow it works for me very well. I sympathize with those who don’t like their bags, but the ipsy computer has given me great choices consistently and the items they select for me have been terrific and a great match. Be consistent in reviewing your items, ladies! Here’s to a great November!

One last thing: twice already, an item that they spoiled as an add on was one of the items they chose for me. Interesting.

Megan K.

I will say that I review EVERY SINGLE item i get from all three of my tier levels of this subscription. And I do think it has to help. My bags have been better since I started being consistent with it.

And yes to that powder! It will 100% be a re-buy for me.

I got the dr lipp tints as well, but none of mine had any color payoff on my lips. Maybe I got a bad batch? My bag had none of the other options the review featured as Ipsy picks or choices. It was a disappointing enough selection for me to pause Plus for next month.

Elise

I had to squish them around before the color showed up, I think it was just the clear oils that came out first. Try it to see if it helps 🙂

Sarah

That’s good to know, thank you. I, too, had no color payoff, so I was wondering.

CarrieL

That palette is lovely. That green! 😍

Kim

Am I crazy? I didn’t receive EVEN ONE of the products listed above. I wonder…did they send me the right bag?? Anyone else have this happen to them? Please let me know!!!

Amber)-(

Another thing you can try if you don’t like the things that you have to choose from is just letting them pick your whole bag. I did that last month and got a cleanser that was one of the spoilers, but wasn’t one of the things I had to choose from on choice day.

Rachel

I didn’t get a single item from Megan’s bag either. I get her point, but my loser of a bag disproves her statement that choice guarantees a good bag. 😭 I got the seraphine palette and brandt microdermabrasion as ipsy choices, then I chose the nail polish set, boring and cheap face cream, and half baked lip duo. These were my best choices! For the most part, I love the updated choice system, but October was a major fail for me.

Kelly

I didn’t even get my bag. The DHL tracking says they gave it to the post office. But the post office says they are awaiting the package. I emailed Ipsy care and they said they won’t do anything until November. They will probably just give me a refund, which makes me sad. This was the first time in months I really liked the bag design.

Rachel

Thanks for the tip! Hoping I don’t even need it, but great to know.

Dea

Jessi is right. If you really hate all the choices you see, then close the browser window and go away for a couple of hours. Come back later and see what changed. Nothing to lose if you really don’t like what you see, right?

Jessi88

If you wait to choose, some of the items change during the course of the day. Though, this is a gamble. I liked the options for my first choice item, but not the other two and the item I wanted was no longer an option later. I wish they let you confirm each choice separately.

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IPSY Glam Bag Plus Review – October 2020

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