IPSY Glam Bag Review September 2023

IPSY is a monthly beauty and makeup subscription box. For $13 per month, you get five full-size or deluxe-sized products, plus a cute makeup bag.

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This is one of our top recommendations if you are looking for a subscription box - the value and sample sizes are amazing. (FYI – Ipsy sends out many different variations of their bag each month – so my review is just one of the bag variations you might receive!)

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First Impressions

Your IPSY Glam bag will come in the brand's standard pale pink bubble wrap mailer. When you open it up, you can always expect to find a makeup bag storing your new beauty products and an info sheet with additional details.

This month's bag was a fun squiggly multi-colored number with a colorful tassel zipper pull.

The Breakdown – What’s Inside My  September 2023 Ipsy Glam Bag

Beauty For Real Liquid Eyeshadow in North Star, 4 mL - Retail Value $24

This shimmering soft pink eyeshadow is a lot of fun. It packs a sparkly punch, and on it’s own it goes on pretty opaque. Since this is a liquid eyeshadow, my preferred way to apply it is by placing it on my finger and then dabbing it onto the center of my kids. I find this gives a more diffused look that is still quite pretty and I’m less likely to deal with creasing.

Innisfree Pore Clearing Clay Mask, 20 mL - Estimated Value $3.20 (buy the 100 mL version for $16)

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Innisfree is a K-Beauty brand that has become much more mainstream ever since it became available at Sephora! This clay mask is a powerhouse for clearing up oily t-zones and large pores. It’s made with volcanic clusters that help absorb excess sebum and it also has lactic acid to exfoliate dead skin. This is too strong of a mask for me to use anywhere other than my t-zone on rare occasions, but I think those with oily skin will find a lot more use with it.

Memoire Archives Work From Home Fragrance, 10 mL - Estimated Value $6 (this perfume is only available in a set, so I based the price off of what the brand’s other perfumes sell for).

I work from home in my new job, and I actually loved this fragrance. It has notes of coffee, caramel, tobacco, and biscotti, and I love how it smells both cozy and sophisticated. The wear on this wasn’t super impressive and it faded after a few hours, but I am tempted to buy the larger size regardless just because I so enjoy the smell.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 16-Hour Foundation in 14N Ivory, 5 mL - Estimated Value $4 (buy the 50 mL version for $40

I used to be a huge Tarte fan and would look forward to their “build your own bundle” deals they would typically have twice a year. I haven’t used many products from them lately. I give IPSY credit for trying to send the right shade match for me, but even the 14N ivory shade (for fair skin with a balance of warm and cool undertones) is a bit too pale for me- I am in the “porcelain” range when getting foundation products from Tarte, occasionally the “fair” shade when it has rosy undertones.

While this sample isn’t for me, I have used this foundation before and can say it’s a high-coverage formula that used to be a favorite of mine when I was in college and dealt with worse acne and rosacea flares than I do now.

WingMe Cosmetics Tweezers - Retail Value $14

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Honestly, I can never have enough tweezers- that's why this actually was my choice item this month! I can never keep track of where I place them and can never find them when I actually need them. These tweezers are solid with a good grip- I have already put it to work removing pimple patches!

Value – Was This Box Worth It?

The Cost: $13

Value Breakdown:

• Beauty For Real: $24 → $6.09
• Innisfree: $3.20 → $0.81
• Memoire Archives: $6 → $1.52
• Tarte: $4 → $1.01
• WingMe: $14 → $3.55

Value Breakdown: This month everything in my Glam Bag added up to $51.20. Alternatively, it breaks down to paying $2.60 per item, not including the actual bag.

Key Takeaways

This month was a mixed bag for me from Ipsy, but I still have positive overall feelings towards it. While the foundation wasn’t my exact shade, I’m harder to color match than most and genuinely hope more foundation and concealer samples appear in the future. The perfume and the tweezers were the stars for me- tweezers may not be exciting, but I love when I can put something to use immediately. The perfume smells so good, I’m tempted to purchase it outright (maybe IPSY will have the full size available as an add-on in the future). At $13, this is a tough subscription to beat- especially when every month you get to choose one of the items they send.

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Other Things You Should Know

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, but sign up now to get the October bag!

Am I able to customize my bag? Yes, towards the end of each month you are given the ability to choose one product to be included in next month's Glam Bag!

What do you think of my September 2023 Ipsy Glam Bag?