Ipsy – March 2018

Disclaimer: This post contains referral links.  I have purchased the product(s) myself. Read the full disclosure here.

After trying a free month of Ipsy Glam Bag subscription in January, I really liked it and decided to keep the subscription going for a while. This is one of the cheapest makeup subscriptions out there, and since I am on a makeup overload, but still want to receive some fun mail, I thought this could be a good match. This is my third box.

Ipsy Glam Bag is a beauty subscription box that sends 5 makeup and skincare samples every month, and sometimes full sized products, too. You will also receive a makeup bag every month. The brands included vary a lot, and there are big variations between boxes. You fill a profile, and they try to match you with products that suit you.

The cost: US $10 + $4.95 shipping to Canada (no shipping charge for the US)

Ships to: Canada, US (except Hawaii and Alaska)

Good to know: You can pause the subscription for 1, 2 or 3 months, or adjust the frequency to receive the bag every other month (they bill you $12 USD every two months for this).

Everything comes packed in a bright pink padded envelope, and all the makeup survived shipping from the US to Canada.

March theme is Create! The bag comes with a card. One side of this month’s card has a motivational text about turning yourself and your world into a work of art.

This is everything that I received in my March bag. Please note that there are many variations, and you may and probably will receive some or all different products.

March Glam Bag

This month’s bag is a black and white canvas bag, with a pink zipper and black nylon lining, and although I don’t think it is waterproof, it is most certainly easy to wipe in case of any spills happening. To tie in with the theme, Ipsy included 2 markers, so you can paint and customize the bag anyways you want to. I know many people liked this month’s bag, but I find the blank faces a bit spooky, and really can’t enjoy the bag, black and white or painted. This will have to be gifted.

Doucce Freematic Eyeshadow in Lola – Full size 1.4g

I was so excited when I saw the color of this eyeshadow. It looked like a perfect plum that is not too dark. When I swatched it I realized it has almost a duochrome effect, with the purple shifting into a muted orange. I was OK with this, but when I applied the eyeshadow to my eyes I didn’t like it much. I find the pigmentation lacking, so much that it looks pink, and the fine glitter in it leads to a lot of fall out. I used my usual primer and brushes, so the problem is definitely this eyeshadow. I am not sure how it swatched so beautifully, but that didn’t translate to the eye application. I actually started loving the duochrome effect, because the one eyeshadow is enough for the full look, but the pigmentation really disappointed me. I am not 100% sure how to value this single eyeshadow, since it comes at 1.4 g as full size on Doucce website, but it comes in a plastic pan with magnets at the bottom, while the sample that I received comes in a metal pan. However, since the size is the same, 1.4 g, I valued it at full price.

Value: $10 USD

Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara – Sample 2 ml

My second sample in March is the Eyeko fibre mascara. This mascara features a curved wand with short to medium length bristles. It comes in a squeeze tube, so you can coat the brush evenly before use. This mascara gives me nice length and volume, but not much curl and lift, so the length is not as noticeable. I definitely recommend using an eyelash curler before this product. The mascara feels lightweight on my lashes, dries fast and although the bristles are on the shorter side, it combs through well and doesn’t clump my lashes together. It catches even the shortest and smallest eyelashes. This would be a great mascara, just lacks that curling and lifting effect. It has added caffeine to wake up the eyes, but I didn’t notice any difference in that regard.

Value: $6.5 USD

Slmissglam Beauty Blush Brush – Full size

I am always happy to have more makeup brushes, especially blush brushes, since blush is the one product that I use almost every day. I received this glittery pink and purple blush brush this month. The brush is soft and fluffy, with bristles of perfect length, and diffuses blush over my cheeks well. I prefer brushes with more bristles (but not denser, this one has the perfect density for applying brush) for applying my blush, but this one will make a good backup. Plus, isn’t it gorgeous? It is very hard to estimate a value for this brush, since Slmissglam only sells makeup brushes in sets. This brush is similar to brushes in this set, so I estimated the value at 1/6 of the price of the set.

Value: $13.33 USD (estimated)

Nip and Fab Glycolic Scrub Fix – Sample 20 ml

This scrub has a thick paste texture with lots of scrubby particles and a grapefruit/citrus scent that is very fresh, and not too strong. This is a light to medium exfoliator that doesn’t feel too harsh on my skin, which is what I expect from facial exfoliants. It works so well, removing ALL the dead skin and really opening my pores, and leaves my skin very soft and smooth. Like most exfoliators, the particles tent to get into my hair a bit, but the product itself is easy to rinse of and doesn’t leave any residue. It doesn’t dry out my skin, but I do have to moisturize afterwards, as I expected. Overall, I love this exfoliator!

Value: 2.65 GBP / $3.71 USD

Ahava Time To Clear Purifying Mud Mask – Sample 20 ml

As I really love masking, I loved to see a mask in my bag, and had to try it immediately. This is a 2 minute mask, so it’s a great quick treatment. The scent is almost undetectable. It comes out light olive gray, has a standard mud mask consistency, but I need a bit more than other masks for each use. It starts drying fast, feels a bit tingly, and it’s a bit easier to wash it off than most masks. I was surprised to see how well it cleared out my pores, but it was a bit drying, so I will use it only on my T-zone from now. There was no redness or irritation, though. Overall, it’s a good mask.
This will not be a very popular opinion, but I am glad I have received this product because it made me read more about the company. There is some controversy about how Ahava harvests the mud and labels its products, and it definitely got me thinking about not supporting the company. I will definitely need to read about it more, but so far I don’t like what I see.

Value: $7 USD

Here is a swatch of the Doucce eyeshadow. As I already mentioned, it swatches quite nicely, but that doesn’t translate well to the eye application. Here I swiped it twice.

My third Ipsy bag was OK, but a bit disappointing. If I am getting a brush, I don’t like getting more than one skincare sample, too, since I subscribed to Ipsy mostly for the makeup. Total value of my bag is $40.54 USD, and the price is$14.95 USD (the bag + shipping to Canada), so although this is a great value for the price, it’s really low for Ipsy bags. I will use everything except the eyeshadow, so the value of useful items for me is $30.54, which is still OK, but not impressive.  I just wish that Ipsy didn’t charge shipping to Canada, or at least if they tried to lower it, since it considerably increases the total price of the bag, making it not as cheap as it seems at first.

You can order Ipsy Glam Bag using this link (all the links in this review are referral links and give me a 250 in points that I can redeem for products). This helps me get more products and boxes for reviews, but if you don’t wish to use my referral, you can google the name.

Ipsy does release some spoilers for the next month, but I don’t find them as useful, since there are so many options and variations, so I will not include them here. However, if you subscribe, you can see what you’ll be getting on the 5th day of the month by logging into your profile.

Good to know: I believe I received 2 or 3 samples this month from the Ipsy quiz, accessible through my profile, that I marked as LIKE, so if you have access to this quiz, it’s a good thing to do. I started tracking what I marked as LIKE and DON’T LIKE, and will update you if they really pay attention to this for my following bags.

Do you have any questions about this subscription? Do you subscribe to any boxes? How do you like this one?