Ipsy Subscription Review

What is Ipsy?

Ipsy offers different variations of beauty bag subscriptions that are customized for each subscriber. This Ipsy subscription review explains how Ipsy works, how it compares to other brands and what customers say about the Glam Bags to help you decide if Ipsy is right for you. Get ready for glitz and glam.

Overview of Ipsy

Ipsy was founded in 2011 by Michelle Phan, Marcelo Camberos and Jaconetti Goldfarb to inspire and help people express their individual beauty. Ipsy is a particularly popular beauty subscription box because it can be customized based on skin tone and convenience, is a long-lasting brand, and is popular with various beauty vloggers.

Michelle Phan was one of the first Youtube beauty vloggers and has over 8 million Youtube subscribers herself. Ipsy herself had 3 million subscribers in 2017. Ipsy currently has over 800,000 Twitter followers and over 2 million Instagram followers. So much for influence!

Ipsy¹ sends out luxurious beauty samples every month, which are compiled based on the answers to a beauty quiz. Ipsy asks the following questions:

Your skin color, eye color and hair color
How comfortable you feel wearing make-up and which beauty brands you prefer
How often you like to receive each beauty product and how often you like to receive each skin, hair and nail care product
Which shades of eyeshadow, eyeliner, lip color and nail polish you prefer and how often you would like to receive them
Which fragrances you prefer
Where you usually buy beauty products
What concerns you have about your skin and how you would describe your hair problems

Ipsy Beauty Profile

Ipsy offers a wide range of beauty products depending on your answers to the quiz. Subscribers receive mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, eyebrow products, lipstick, liquid lipstick, lip gloss, lip plumper, lip liner, primer, foundation, tinted moisturizer, concealer, powder, blush, highlighter, bronzer, contour, brushes, tools and much more.

As an Ipsy subscriber, you can get cleanser, cleansing oil, moisturizer, sheet masks, wash-off masks, scrubs, serum, facial oil, toner, mist, eye treatments, nail polish, hand cream, body scrub, self-tanner, lip balm, acne treatment, perfume, hair styling products and hair care products.

With the hundreds of products Ipsy offers, it may seem overwhelming to approach subscribing. The beauty quiz takes away the pondering and time spent thinking about products so you can focus on self-care.

Beauty Products: Shades

In this Ipsy subscription report, we give you an idea of which shades are named as preferences in the beauty quiz:

Eyeshadow: Neutrals, smoky shades, blues, greens, plums and more adventurous shades
Eyeliner: Black, brown, plum, gold/bronze and more adventurous colors
Lip liner and gloss: red, berry, neutral and more adventurous shades
Nail polish: reds, berries, neutrals, dark shades, pastels and more adventurous colors
Blush: pink, peach, mauve, neutral and adventurous shades
The great thing about the Beauty Quiz is that you can choose your favorite shades for each product. Take eyeliner for example. If you love classic black and want to get the most samples in that shade, you can indicate that you wear it “often”.

But what if you want to step out of your comfort zone every now and then and try a colored liner? For this category, there is the option to select “sometimes”. The same goes for all other beauty products and the shades they come in.

Fragrance Notes

When you go through the beauty quiz, you will come to the section with the delicious fragrances. You have the opportunity to choose which fragrances you like from five categories:

Fresh: scents such as lemongrass, aquatic, bergamot and citrus fruits
Spicy: fragrances such as nutmeg, clove, saffron and cinnamon
Floral: fragrances such as violet, rose, gardenia and jasmine
Earthy & woody: fragrances such as amber, sandalwood, cedarwood and patchouli
Gourmand: scents such as honey, caramel, vanilla and cocoa

These categories are really helpful as most perfume names are not very descriptive in terms of their fragrance notes. For example, what does Midnight Summer even mean? Instead of spraying yourself endlessly with perfume samples in the perfume store (which all end up smelling the same anyway), Ipsy does the work for you.

Problem-Focused Products

Parts of the beauty quiz target any problems you might have with your appearance, which gets to the heart of the functional aspect of the subscription. In the hair section, you can choose from a range of problems with your mane, such as frizz, split ends and lack of volume. The same goes for the skin category, where Ipsy sends you products for acne, wrinkles, scars and the like.

Once the quiz is finished, you will have created your beauty profile! You can update your answers to the quiz at any time. Now that you’ve got an idea of how the products are selected, we’ll take a closer look at the pros and cons of the brand in this Ipsy subscription review:

Pros

Ipsy Glam Bag offers products from many different brands and not just one or a few selected brands
Ipsy Glam Bags offer a wide range of beauty products and not just fragrances or make-up
Ipsy Glam Bags contain a new make-up bag every month containing the products

Disadvantages

You can’t choose the exact samples you want
Ipsy’s cancellation procedures are very difficult to understand
It is very difficult to contact customer service as there is no way to contact them by phone or email.

How Does Ipsy Work?

The Ipsy Box subscription includes an Ipsy Glam Bag. Signing up for an Ipsy Glam Bag subscription can be complicated if you’re not familiar with the subscription box process, so let’s go through the sign-up process.

Ipsy Subscriptions

When you sign up for Ipsy, you first fill out your beauty quiz. Your Ipsy Glam Bag, Ipsy Glam Bag Plus or Ipsy Glam Bag Premium will then be delivered. Normally you will receive your order the following month (patience is a virtue), but sometimes Ipsy can send you a Glam Bag earlier, depending on when you ordered.

Ipsy Glam Bag Review

Ipsy Glam Bag, the original subscription, includes five trial-sized products each month. The estimated retail value of the products offered in the Ipsy Glam Bag is over $50, while the subscription itself only costs $12/month. The products come in a bag that you can store them in. The bags are really pretty and it’s always handy to have extra bags on hand.

Ipsy Glam Bag Plus is a good choice if you are looking for full-size products rather than the sample sizes offered in the original subscription. With the Ipsy Glam Bag Plus subscription, you receive five full-size products in a new cosmetic bag every month. Ipsy Glam Bag Ultimate is for true beauty lovers and collectors of beautiful things: subscribers receive 12 full-size products in their monthly cosmetic bag.

Each month, subscribers can also opt for a mystery bag if they want to be surprised by their products at a discounted price. Read on for detailed customer feedback on the Ipsy Glam Bags.

How much does Ipsy cost?

Prices for Ipsy vary depending on the option you choose. Ipsy Glam Bags cost $12/month. Ipsy Glam Bag Plus costs $25/month. Ipsy Glam Bag Ultimate, the most expensive option currently offered by Ipsy, costs $50/month.

Ipsy Subscription Review: What Customers Think

For a true evaluation of the Ipsy subscription, we need to look at what customers have to say. Women who have left Ipsy reviews speak highly of Ipsy and the Glam Bag subscription. Ipsy reviews usually emphasize the high quality of the products and brands available in Ipsy Glam Bags. Many customers appreciated that the Ipsy Glam Bag subscriptions were more affordable than other beauty box subscriptions.

The main criticism in the average Ipsy subscription review seemed to be that the Glam Bags seemed to contain fewer hair products or fragrances for some customers, which could be an issue with the options offered in the Beauty Quiz. Some customers had issues with shipping, and many had trouble reaching customer service.

Overall, customers praised the wide selection of products and the variety of products they received in their Ipsy reviews. Customers also commented positively on the high quality of Ipsy products and how exciting it is to keep trying new brands that arrive at their door.

Ipsy Competitors

Ipsy is not the only subscription beauty box on the market, there are many other options. Here are the competing brands we found in this Ipsy subscription review:

Scentbird: Scentbird is a beauty subscription box specifically focused on fragrance. New subscriptions currently cost $11.25/month, although they normally cost $14.95/month. In comparison between Ipsy and Scentbird, Ipsy offers greater versatility in terms of products offered. On the other hand, Scentbird is slightly cheaper.
BirchBox: For $15/month, BirchBox will send you a box of luxury products for makeup, hair, and skincare. Like Ipsy, BirchBox is put together for you based on a beauty profile.
TopBox: Another beauty subscription box, TopBox costs only $15/month, but offers only four samples and few customization options.
BoxyCharm: BoxyCharm offers full-size beauty products, not trial sizes, for $25/month. BoxyCharm is not customizable and usually sends the same products to all subscribers.
FabFitFun Box: Unlike most subscription boxes, the FabFitFun Box is only delivered four times a year. It also costs $49.95/month, but offers a wide range of different products, not just beauty products.

Is Ipsy Worth It?

In this Ipsy subscription review, it becomes clear that whether or not Ipsy is worth the price depends on what you personally want. If you’re looking for a wide range of beauty products, Ipsy Glam Bags might be a subscription you should try. Ipsy is at the lower end of the price range for beauty subscriptions, and customer reviews about Ipsy’s product offerings are overwhelmingly positive.

And if you’re eager to see what’s next, there’s a way to satisfy your excitement: Each month, Ipsy will send you a list of 20-25 products that could be included in your Glam Bag. These Ipsy spoilers turn the whole thing into a fun guessing game and give you a hint of what to expect.

Ipsy Promotions & Discounts

An Ipsy subscription review noted that Ipsy offers a points program that gives you more bang for your buck. You earn points when you refer friends to Ipsy, follow Ipsy authors on social media, review each product in your monthly Glam Bag, and review your entire monthly Glam Bag. These points can be redeemed for free Ipsy products. So if you’re into social media, this is a great way to save.

Where to Buy Ipsy

At this point in the Ipsy subscription report, you can sign up via the Ipsy website if you want to receive your Glam Bag as soon as possible.

FAQ

When does Ipsy ship?
Glam Bags are shipped in the middle of each month and usually arrive within 10 business days of shipment. However, shipments are sent in batches that vary each month, so shipments may arrive in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th week of each month.

Wait times in Alaska and Hawaii may be slightly longer, and wait times in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands may be significantly longer.

Tracking codes are emailed around the middle of the month and are also available when you log in to the Ipsy website.

Glam Bags containing products with shipping restrictions, such as aerosol sprays, may also experience shipping delays.

Cancel your Ipsy subscription
Mistakes happen, and Ipsy understands that. Follow these steps to unsubscribe from Ipsy:

Sign in to your Ipsy account
Under Edit settings, click on Membership
Go to Manage membership
Click on Help with canceling my membership
Select Continue unsubscribing

You will receive an email with a link to confirm your cancellation. You must be logged in to your Ipsy account to click on the link or your cancellation will not be processed. You must cancel your membership before 12pm Pacific Time on the last day of the current month or you will be charged for the next month.

Shipping Terms
Ipsy currently ships Glam Bags to the United States and Canada, including APO, DPO and FPO boxes.

In the United States, shipping is either via FedEx and the US Postal Service or DHL.

In Canada, Glam Bags are shipped via Landmark Global.

Shipping to the United States is free, shipping to Canada is $2.95.

Return policy
Returns and exchanges are not possible with Glam Bags. Fortunately, if you chose the standard Glam Bag, you only have one or two samples that you will not use.

If one or more items are missing or damaged, you can replace them within 45 days of the shipping date. If one or more items are missing or damaged, you can contact Ipsy via the Ipsy website.