IPSY Glam Bag Plus is a $28 per month subscription box from IPSY. Every month you’ll receive five full-sized beauty products. The box will have a retail value of at least $120. (This box was voted as one of the best makeup subscription boxes and best beauty subscription boxes by MSA readers!)
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes).
First Impressions
As always, my goodies arrived in the pink IPSY bubble mailer and a drawstring back. The January design is a pastel tie-dye with a smiley.
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Also included was an info card, though individual items inside this month were not featured.
Now, on to the items!
POLAAR Eternal Snow Youthful Promise Cream, 50 mL - Retail Value $57
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I honestly adore a product with a great scent, but this one might be taking it overboard. The white floral fragrance is strong enough to almost justify this as more of a scented body cream than something I would use on my face. That aside, this cream has a nice medium weight and absorbs really well. Ingredient-wise, there was some goodness inside (glycerine, vitamin E, extracts from a fancy daisy) but there wasn't a ton on the list that I like to see in my skincare. Again, I do love the scent a lot. So this is likely going to be used as a fancy hand cream.
KOA LIFE Mist Me Rejuvenation Toner, 30 mL - Retail Value $34.95
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Toner time! I love mists and toners very much because I find them super versatile. Sure, for me they truly shine in the summer as a hot-day pick me up, but they are useful for more than just the occasional mist. Lately, I have been cutting my thicker masks with them (mixing in a small bowl and applying with a brush) for a result that applies much smoother and extends the life of my masks in terms of sheer product usage. This is another useful tip if you have clay masks that tend to dry out really fast. Adding a gentle toner can extend that dry time. This one feels like it has a pretty high retail cost for the size of the (small) bottle. Another thing that I actually found kind of annoying was the ingredient list on the brand site:
Key Ingredients: Witch Hazel Leaf Extract, KOA Proprietary Herbal Beauty Blend/Complex, and Goji Berry.
I mean, the ingredients are on the box. Why make them mysterious on the website? For those wondering, here is the actual ingredient list:
Water, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Extract, KOA Proprietary Herbal Beauty Blend/Complex: (Lyciun Barbarum (Goji Berry) Fruit, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice Root), Glycerin, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Nater, Ethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate
It's a solid (though not super unique) toner formula with goodies like witch hazel and licorice root. Still, I am someone who values transparency in ingredients and I didn't like how these felt "hidden" on the site. Just spell it out.
HUXLEY Secret of Sahara Mask Oil Extract Set, 3 masks - Retail Value $27
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Moving on to a set of 3 sheet masks that I really liked! I have tried this brand before and in addition to being super soothing to my skin, they are also fun to use. You see the two compartments? You break the lower oil pocket by rolling it into the mask compartment. This combines the serums into a super-serum filled with skin-loving things like prickly pear oil, Japanese Goldthread extract, vitamin E, and more. These fit well and left my skin feeling great! A word of warning: I did have some dripping into my eye and it BURNED. Keep this far away from your peepers.
GIRLACTIK Metallic Eye Sparkle in 'Chic', 10 g - Retail Value $20
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My first Girlactik product was what felt like lifetimes ago in a Macy's delivery and it has been love ever since. They do sheer sparkle really, really well, and if I am going sparkling, I prefer something subtle. This eye cream packs the shimmer without the weight or metallic finish of some products. This particular shade feels like it could double as a highlighter, but on the lid, it adds just the right amount of twinkling power while still being soft enough for daytime wear. It is also blendable and never dried down to an uncomfortable flaky crust like some others out there. Two thumbs up from me on this one.
DANESSA MYRICKS BEAUTY Vision Flush in 'Bread-N-Butter', 6 mL - Retail Value $20
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I am a cream blush collector at this point, so I can be pretty picky with formulas. I really wanted to love this one, but the dry down felt super harsh. It has that slippy liquidy sort of texture rather than a cream or gel, and I found it drying on my lips. It worked better on my cheeks but I didn't find it to be long-lasting when compared to my Glossier Cloudpaint or the cream blushes from Rare Beauty that I love so much. It is actually a shame because the color here is great! I also found the packaging a little messy because the product collects around the neck of the tube over time.
Verdict
I thought I liked this month's IPSY Glam Bag Plus a lot more until I got to this part of the review. And I think there were only two products this month that I really loved out of the 5. Those two would be the mask set and the eye shimmer. The rest was just ok. I usually like enough in here to justify the subscription cost, and while the two good items are still worth about $47, I am hoping next month is a bit more of a wow in terms of overall items that I enjoy. The total value here is still $159 which is good for the cost, but this month fell a little flat for me.
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? You'll start with January as your first month. As of publication, there was no IPSY waitlist!
Cost Breakdown: This box costs $28, meaning the cost breakdown is as follows:
- Polaar Cream $10.04
- Koa Life Toner $6.16
- Huxley Mask Set $4.75
- Girlactik Eye Sparkle $3.52
- Danessa Myrick Beauty Flush $3.52
Alternatively, each of the 5 items has an average cost of $5.60.
What do you think of the January IPSY Glam Bag Plus? Which items did you get?
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