Well, well, well, I’m back again with an Ipsy review!
I had kind of resigned myself to stop doing these, as I haven’t been that dedicated to anything beauty. However, after a long think about it with myself, I think it’s incredibly valuable (at least to me and my mental health) to write one thing that brings me joy every once and a while.
Spending all my time trying to craft evergreen content that benefits my blog and my niche and everyone else… it can get really exhausting and I’ve been experiencing a pretty significant period of burn out since probably January. Work has been hard (for all the reasons I’ve written about and others!); blogging has been hard; doing anything other than sitting on the couch and scrolling through Twitter has been hard, honestly.
But part of getting myself out of that slump has required some creativity and motivating myself with something other than building a career (which is overwhelming and exhausting). For me, that means writing about beauty. Even if it doesn’t fit my niche! That’s fine! It’s ok to do things just because they are fun. Not everything has to be about growth and making money. I think this is the issue with blogging for me right now, that the onus is so much on “what’s going to make me grow and make me money” instead of on doing something you enjoy that other people enjoy.
Anyway, thoughts of blogging aside, I’m excited to start doing Ipsy reviews again. You can read my past Ipsy reviews here. If you want to try Ipsy, you can sign up using my referral link here.
1. Beau Cachis Concealer Brush, $11.95
I love a good brush, as I’ve said a few times, but I’m not sure I’ll ever use a concealer brush enough to make it worth it. This is a nice one: nice soft bristles, good handle. I use it to spread my concealer a bit before blending with my Real Techniques sponge, but that’s about it. A nice brush, worth $11.95—not bad! I like it, but I’ll probably not use it too much.
2. Betty Boop x Ipsy Blink & Wink Mascara, $7
Ipsy has restructured recently: it’s now $13 for a regular Glam Bag, you pick one item per month, and they do monthly add-ons. They’ve also started doing their own collabs, which is fine, but these collabs have dominated glam bags for the past few months. The Tetris palette was in my second Ipsy Glam Bag Plus, and I hated it. I don’t mind this Betty Boop mascara—it’s a good formula, but this is the 4th mascara I’ve received in as many months. GOOD GOD! Stop sending me mascara.
The worst part is I think they use these collabs to boost the value of the bags beyond what they should be. This mascara isn’t for sale in full size or at all, so there is no way for me to know how much its worth. The new Ipsy Glam Bags have a guaranteed value, but I’m not sure how they actually calculate that. This mascara is only 5ml; on average, a sample mascara that size would never be valued over $10. Considering this isn’t from a prestige brand, just Ipsy, I’d put it at $7, being totally generous.
But like I said, it’s not a bad mascara; I would just prefer to get known brands from my Ipsy bag.
3. It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50+, $7.50
This tube is about 1/2 the size of the travel size, which retails for $15; so, I’ve decided to value it at $7.50 ish.
I really like It Cosmetics; I use their powder. I knew I’d probably like this CC+ cream and I do. The color is slightly off for me, but I fully plan to repurchase a full tube once I’m done using it (I use my way-too-light Colourpop Concealer to make it lighter) and I’ll get a better color match then.
It’s really lovely! It has SPF 50 so if you struggle with daily sunscreen (YOU SHOULD BE USING IT!!!) this is a great option. It’s fully coverage, but lighter, and sets really well with the It Cosmetics powder that I love.
4. Soo Ae Panda Eye Brightening Mask, $4 each
I really like these masks! The brand Soo Ae is sold at some Wal-marts, Walgreens, CVS, and the like, but mainly is available from k-beauty websites online. That being said, they are really nice. I like that they are half-size, which means they don’t go over your mouth. They’re cute and they seem to genuinely work. I received 2 in my bag; I originally thought it was 3 (I can’t count), so I was disappointed to pull out the second mask and realize… oh, it’s the only one left. These are something I was definitely repurchase if I ever encountered them in the real world.
5. First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads, $4
I love these! They are an AHA pad, which helps with texture and acne. If you struggle with either of those things, adding an AHA to your routine is key. However, I try to avoid things that come on disposable pads; I prefer to use a reusable pad (or spritz it onto my face without using anything). That being said: they are really good. I actually noticed significant changes to my skin within 3-4 days of using these once a day (at night, as AHA can make your skin sensitive to the sun). God, they’re good! A pack of 28 pads costs $16, however, and the larger pack costs $30+. So for a full month, you’re looking at $16 minimum. That’s quite a bit!
I am valuing these around $4, as 28 pads costs $16. There are about 8-10 pads in this sample pack.
Bonus: Betty Boop x Ipsy Be Cheeky Powder Blush in All Dolled Up, $6
I added this as an add-on because I quite liked the color; online, it looked like a peachy, autumnal color. However, in person, it’s basically bubblegum pink. A perfectly fine blush color, but I have a million of those! I was disappointed to say the least. However, I do quite like the formula; it’s slightly shimmier. It reminds me of Milani blush actually, so I priced this similarly. Again, to reiterate what I said early, I’m naturally suspicious of these Ipsy collections, but I do like both products I received from them, so really, who’s the fool here? It’s me.
Final Thoughts
Final value of around $36.45.
Oof! That’s pretty low. Actually, I think that’s one of the lowest valued bags I’ve ever gotten. Part of that might be that I’m not going to let Ipsy get away with valuing their own products super high; again, ipsy isn’t a well-known make up or beauty brand (besides being a subscription service), they are not a prestige brand, and you can’t buy the two ipsy exclusive products anywhere at all. They aren’t made with another brand. It’s just Ipsy!
I also don’t love that the October bag is Betty Boop’s face; Betty Boop has a slightly problematic history and in general, I just don’t like her, so color me not impressed when we could have had, like, pumpkin anything to better effect.
I realize these all seem like nitpicks, but it’s something to consider when you’re picking a beauty subscription! I did like nearly everything I received, even if I had reservations about it. So while $36 is a very low value, I did like everything, so I can’t complain.
Again, you can read my past Ipsy reviews here. If you want to try Ipsy, you can sign up using my referral link here.
