Icon Box is a beauty box from Ipsy and it replaces the previous Glam Bag X and BoxyCharm Luxe. It’s a quarterly upgrade and comes with 8 full-sized products worth up to $350. Members get to choose three of their items from a few different options and this upgrade replaces your usual monthly bag for an additional cost. This season, the box was curated by Chrissy Teigen and John Legend! I received a luxurious moisturizer for my face, a treatment for the area under my eyes, and a finishing spray for my hair. Check out what I received below!
DryBar Final Call Control Mist in Blanc ($29) I have to start by saying that I have a very sensitive scalp so I avoid hair products with fragrance, and this one has a strong scent called Blanc that has notes of coconut, amber, and vanilla. It’s a beautiful scent and I wouldn’t mind having a perfume that smells like this actually. Anyways, you spray this on dry hair after styling to control frizz (not a problem for my fine hair anyways) and static (which is a problem, but again, fragrance). I sprayed just a bit on the ends of one side of my hair and it didn’t do much for me but my hair smelled good for a long time afterwards. I have a daughter who loves Drybar and I know she will be excited to have this on her hands.
Femmue Brilliant Cleansing Gel ($32) I liked this gel cleanser, which is scented with lavender and jasmine extracts rather than perfume, but I prefer a creamy cleanser for my dry skin. I applied this to wet skin and it created a light foam and removed all of my face makeup. It has a base of blueberry fruit extract instead of water and some of the other ingredients include glycerin, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and aloe. It smells really lovely.
Kat Burki Collagen Gel ($160) Well this is a pricey treatment! It’s supposed to lift, firm, and plump the face with ingredients such as marine collagen, silk amino acids, reishi extract, hyaluronic acid, and plant stem cells. I also noticed plant extracts, aloe, glycerin, and rosehip oils listed too. It can be applied morning and night to the face and neck. It’s a milky gel that has a light, natural herbal scent and is not greasy at all. I look forward to using it for an extended amount of time to see if it helps.
MZ Skin by Dr. Maryam Zamani Calming Moisturiser ($205) While I am not the sort to pay $205 for a moisturizer, I must say I was excited to get this in my subscription box! I prefer my skincare to be fragrance-free and luckily this one has no added scent and didn’t smell like anything at all. It’s a rich cream that soaked in quickly without leaving my skin greasy. It’s supposed to soothe sensitive skin while the added prebiotics are supposed to help boost the skin barrier. Some of the ingredients include glycerin, jojoba esters, cica, and sunflower seed oil. It can be used day and night.
JLo Beauty Beso Balm Ultra-Hydrating Lip Mask ($19) I’m not sure why I forgot to take a picture of this lip balm but it looks like light pink petroleum jelly and feels pretty close to it too (although that’s NOT in the ingredients, it’s just for comparison purposes). Also, I want to mention that the JLO site says this is 1.5 ounces, while Amazon and Ipsy say 8ml (0.27 ounces), and literally every site I checked had this size for $19. Of course, other beauty brands had twice as much product for the same price, so this is either worth $19 or $3.42. I was surprised to find it was in a plastic container, which doesn’t exactly feel upscale, but then it’s easy to tote in a bag.
The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum ($25) I am loving this under-eye serum! I can’t tell if it’s doing anything but it sure feels good and I can see myself using it twice a day. It truly feels like a serum, it’s not oily but it’s a thin watery gel and my skin soaked it up quickly. There’s no perfume added and it doesn’t smell like anything. It’s supposed to fight under-eye bags and reduce those dark circles and has a blend of four peptides plus glycerin and caffeine extract. What a treat!
Il Makiage Color Boss Master Eyeshadow Palette in Treat Yo’ Self ($61) I like the eyeshadows from Il Makiage. They have a unique texture that goes on creamy with no fallout and then dries to a powder and lasts all day. I think it could blend a little better but it’s a brand I reach for regularly. The only thing I can say is that I hope they expand their color offerings, because I have two 4-pan palettes that I’ve received from Ipsy in the past year or so and they are very similar to this eight-pan palette, with some of the exact same shades (I compared the color names on the back of the palettes). This is a good mix of shimmers and mattes but I only wear a couple of the shades, since orange, rust, and burgundy shades are not my colors. Also, I can’t help thinking this palette would be better sent in the fall but then again the next Ipsy ICON box won’t come out until November so I guess it’s better sent sooner rather than later.
Here’s the Il Makiage Treat Yo’ Self palette swatches, and they go on like buttah. Shopaholic (fifth one down) is my favorite shade.
Danessa Myricks Beauty Linework in Onyx ($18) I have to start by saying that I don’t wear liquid liner so keep that in mind, although I did try it out for review purposes. It’s a black demi-matte liner with a paintbrush tip and you have to give it a shake before applying. It went on fine, it didn’t go into my crease when I blinked, and it lasted all day. It bleeds a bit and resists smudging with a liner brush but my main problem with liquid liner is that I don’t have a steady hand or the patience to apply it perfectly, so I like gels or soft pencils that I can smudge away and call it a smoky eye if anyone asks.
Here’s the swatch of the Danessa Myricks Linework in Onyx. You can see that it smudges itself somewhat.
These two items were not part of the Ipsy Icon Box lineup but they were extras sent to reviewers and they are from brands created by the August Icon Box curators, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend! Cravings by Chrissy Teigen The Perfect Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix ($11, buy 3 for $33) looks like it has huge chunks of chocolate and you only have to add eggs and butter to the mix and bake them up for a sweet, warm treat. I haven’t tried them yet because it’s in the 100’s+ here in Austin but they won’t expire for a while so I can bake them when it gets cooler. I also received Loved01 Exfoliating Cleanser ($18), which comes from John Legend’s affordably priced, pretty natural skincare line that was created especially for melanin-rich skin but that should work for just about everybody. They are formulated without parabens, sulfates, petrolatum, synthetic fragrances, or artificial colors and are vegan and cruelty-free. You can order online or pick it up at CVS. This scrub can be used on the face and body, gave a gentle exfoliation, and was easy to rinse off, and it has no scent. I would be thrilled to receive any of the LOVED01 products in future boxes!
I thought my Ipsy Icon Box for August had a good assortment of products and I’m pretty happy with what I received! I like Il Makiage’s eyeshadows, so I don’t mind receiving that in a box, although I wish the colors were different from the others I have received in the past. I was also happy with the Femmue Cleanser, MZ moisturizer, and Kat Burki serum, these were all fragrance-free skincare items, yay! The Ordinary eye serum is my favorite item from the box, I’ve been using it twice a day since I received my box. The JLO lip balm is a good everyday sort of item, while the Danessa Myricks liquid eyeliner will be passed along to one of my daughters. The Drybar frizz control spray is another product that will be gifted because it’s perfume for hair, and not something I can wear anyways but the scent was pretty wonderful. The value for my box was around $549, not including the bonus items shown at the end. That’s pretty amazing!
Below is the insert that was in the box!
Think of it as your all-access pass to the most-coveted brands, hottest launches, and need-to-try products in beauty. Available as a quarterly upgrade for Ipsy and BOXYCHARM members, the Icon Box includes 8 full-size products (worth up to $350) specially curated by beauty’s biggest tastemakers and celebs. You’ll get to choose three products from a personalized assortment, while the remaining five are guaranteed to be Power Picks or superstar products and brands—which, BTW, includes dibs on exclusive product drops you won’t find anywhere else. Icon Box replaces your regular shipment four times a year (February, May, August, and November).
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