Have you looked into a monthly subscription service before? There are a lot out there! When I started into looking them, I was most interested in the beauty subscription services (of course) and spent some time comparing Birchbox and ipsy. In the end, I went with ipsy. A lot of the beauty gurus that I follow on YouTube are ipsy stylists so I saw the products pop on their channels. I also went with ipsy because I’ve been following Michelle Phan’s career and I wanted to support her service. She is the ultimate inspiration for dreamers!
If you’re unfamiliar with ipsy, it’s a beauty subscription service. Every month you pay $10 and you receive a bag filled with different beauty products. There’s usually a mixture of sample and full sizes, but either way it’s a nice way to try out products before paying full price for them. When you sign up you fill out a quiz, which is used to curate what products you receive in your bag. You can also retake this quiz in the future if you’d like. Once you try out the products you have the opportunity to rate them and your ratings can also play a role in what’s chosen for your bag in the future. Along with the products, ipsy/the brands provides you with coupon codes so that you can save money on the brand if you’re interested in buying more. Every month there’s a theme and September’s was Classic Beauty.
This month I received:
1. Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple. This product really surprised me because it’s incredibly pigmented. I’m a fan of red lip colors, so I loved the color. However, another thing that surprised me is that this felt very dry and was matte. I didn’t like the feel of it once I put it on, so I took it off shortly after. I probably won’t use this again.
2. NYX Single Eye Shadow in Morocco. I have a couple of NYX products that I absolutely love. Their Jumbo Eye Pencils are fantastic, they have great glitter products and I love the two lip glosses that I have. I also have an eye shadow palette, which is okay. The colors are somewhat sheer. I do like them, but it’s not a palette that I reach for often. To be fair, I haven’t used this eyeshadow in a look yet, but when I swatched it, it was a little on the sheer side. It’s a gorgeous color, though, and I will use it.
3. It’s So Big Volumizing Mascara by Elizabeth Mott. I like this mascara. It does exactly what it says it will do and doesn’t smudge throughout the day. I’ll use up the sample but I doubt I will buy the product because I have a tried and true mascara that I absolutely love that is from the drugstore, so it’s cheap. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong this. It’s great, actually. I’m just loyal to my favorite mascara.
4. Starlooks Obsidian Kohl Eye Pencil. I have used this quite a bit since I received it. It’s not good for the lower lash line because it smudges like crazy throughout the day, but I like it for the top.
5. butter LONDON Nail Laquer in La Moss. I was so excited to get this sample in the Glam Bag. I have wanted to try this brand for quite some time. I only had to use two coats and it lasted longer than most nail polishes that I have tried. This is a gorgeous shade. I have used this quite a bit since it arrived, too.
Have you looked into subscription services before? If so, which ones?
