Ipsy April 2017 Review

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Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription – get five makeup, beauty, skincare, and haircare items in a cute bag for $10 a month! It’s the most popular subscription box and a great way to sample new colors and beauty brands.

TIP: If you like this subscription, check out our list of Birchbox alternatives for similarly priced subscriptions.

This ticket bag is so stinking cute this month!

The theme for April is Sideshow. It pretty much just gives them inspiration for their monthly photography – there’s not really a theme that ties the items together.

There are many bag variations every month for ipsy –  log in to your account to check out how-to videos and tips for your products. They’ve also started emailing out product information and tips from their influencers!

OFRA Cosmetics Format Blush ($12)

This pan comes folded up in a little card inside an envelope. I enjoy getting pan makeup to stick in a palette – it really cuts down on clutter.

Although I like Ofra, I’m a loss for this color blush for my profile! It’s shimmery, too dark for a highlighter (it’s definitely a blush and not a bronzer) and even after experimentation, not a good look for me! Side show… or circus freak?! The only thing I was inspired to do after trying this one out was wipe my face and stick on a sheet mask – the shimmer accentuated my dry skin!

The Balm Manizer in Betty-Lou ($1.44) Even though this product and the brush are similar, this one’s at least supposed to be a bronzer, and the shade is much lighter.

The real downside is that the two products are just too similar – why would they be in the same bag? And the sample size for the Balm products is just so tiny for a face product.

Adesse New York Cupuaçu Butter Lip Balm ($24) I just downright liked this product! It has a sheer pinky glow, a great core of hydrating cupuaçu butter, and although their site says it tastes like ginger mint, I would have sworn up and down it was cotton candy scented.

It’s GMO-free, vegan, cruelty-free and while it’s not an all-natural product or anything like that, I just downright loved this product – which is totally a full size!

Here are the swatches! Ofra Blush in Format, Betty-Lou Manizer, and the Adesso balm.

H20+ Beauty Elements Keep it Fresh Face Cleanser ($10) This cleanser is formulated without parabens, mineral oils, or phthalates and is as gentle as promised – but it’s not a makeup remover! I loved how it hydrated my skin but I needed to use a different facial cleanser to remove my makeup. It also has a great scent!

Glamour Dolls x Lisa Frank Angle Blush Brush ($4.99) Obviously, this is the best Ipsy product of ALL TIME. I’m really bummed I missed out on the Kickstarter, but apparently you can start preordering now. This line is going to be the biggest! Oh yeah, it’s vegan & cruelty-free!

This brush handle is Lisa Frank 80s perfection!

And those cute pink bristles!

I’m going to be honest, even though the retail value of the brush is only $5, I would have been totally happy with just my ipsy bag and that brush! The great lip balm was icing on the cake! I’ll use the cleanser but I’ll have to pass on that blush! Total retail this month for my bag was $52 – although I think the Adesso has a significantly inflated retail price (If I had to guess on my own, it would have been $8, not $24).

What did you get in your Ipsy this month?

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  • Cecily
    04.18.17

    I got a blush from theBalm a couple months ago and it was a tiny sample like that too. I always use it as an eyeshadow instead!

  • Dawn S
    04.17.17

    The “blush” and “bronzer” actually look like they would make a great smokey bronzy eye on your skin tone. I also got the Lisa Frank brush as I requested it by emailing customer service when the spoiler dropped. I could not resist!

  • Danielle
    04.17.17

    The kickstarter was a clusterf*ck and a half. It started running in February and now they still barely have anything designed. I actually cancelled my backing of it because they had nothing to show (colors, prototypes, prints) after the entire campaign was almost over.

    They just kept upping the tiers instead of adding bonuses that most other kickstarters do. Then the whole thing was available for pre-order so we weren’t really getting any benefits. I didn’t feel comfortable giving $100 for a product I could not see so I gave up.

    I got the brush in my Ipsy and it’s so cheap feeling that I’m worried about the quality of the products. When you compare it to Colourpop and other brands with similar price points it doesn’t stack up. Especially since it’s all made in China.

    Maybe I’ll buy some when they actually put out designs for things but as of right now I’d rather stick lisa frank stickers on a custom makeup geek palette and call it a day.

    That’s my two cents anyway.

    • Brandy
      04.17.17

      Oh actually that’s a brilliant idea (the stickers). To me they are all novelty items and just cute and fun. What’s that one that has the wand makeup brushes? I would buy themed makeup from them.

      • Danielle
        04.17.17

        You’re thinking of storybook cosmetics. I was going to buy their eyeshadow sets until I saw that they get their shadows from Morphe. :/ Less concerned about the “scandals” and more concerned that I’ve heard nothing but bad things about the quality of their shadows.

        It’d be ok if they weren’t charging $50 for their palettes but for that much we can get an ABH or another prestige brand.

        I saw that someone on etsy created harry potter house themed shadows that look pretty good. They are the same price but may be better quality. I’m actually noticing a lot of good looking “indie” makeup over there

        Not judging anyone who is into it but for me the gimmick/packaging isn’t worth the price.

        • Brandy
          04.17.17

          Is it these ones? https://www.etsy.com/shop/AWhimsicalWillow?ref=l2-shopheader-name

          $50! that’s nuts. Much better deal to get something like vanishing cabinet and just see what you get.

          I tend to stick to around $5 for gimmicky stuff. I bought a case of rainbow unicorn highlighter for xmas from wet n wild and gave it to all the girls in my family (a LOT). There were many sharp intakes of breath and flappy hands. Mentally I did a fist pump knowing I’d nailed it and once again reigned as best gifter everrrrr.

          I digress!

          • Danielle
            04.17.17

            Yes!

            I agree. If I am paying a lot of money I’d rather go for a prestige brand palette that I know I’ll love (Like the ABH Modern Renaissance one). I’m not cheap but I refuse to shell out $50 on something just because it has certain packaging or a theme. It needs to be quality product or they should reduce the price IMO.

            I am just cranky about it because I’ve noticed that a lot of brands are relying on gimmicks or limited edition or packaging while the quality is going down. That is why I love ipsy and other boxes that have indie brand makeup. You can get some good stuff that way

            Nice! That isn’t too bad. You can get some good stuff for $5

    • Lily
      04.29.17

      I adore the cuteness of the brush, and am so happy I got it, however I was also surprised at the bristles because I love one of their other brushes, and this is so different. They are not horrible but don’t work with loose powder blush at all for me. It works fine for regular blush and especially highlighter; so I’m using it-but mainly because of the pattern. 🙂 It makes me smile.

  • aniedc16
    04.16.17

    If I dont get the Lisa Frank brush Im gonna be so bummed.