Don't get too excited by the title - no, IPSY is not Canadian or advertising pricing in Loonies now, I'm just giving you a Canadian take on ordering from the US subscription service. Sorry. I've been out of the cosmetics and skincare subscription game for a few years now (the last review I could find in my archives is from 2014!) and decided to dip my toes back into the ocean. I spent a week or so looking at the options available and although there are some great sub boxes on offer in this category, there are precious few at a price point that I appreciate. I don't spend a lot of money on cosmetics and skincare, just the basics for me, but I am adventurous, and I miss the surprise of new things to try out. In the end, I settled on the IPSY Glam Bag for a few reasons; I thought past offerings were decent, I liked the fact that your products come in a cute little clutch, it has mostly positive reviews, and it was at a price point that I thought was acceptable for someone like me. I wasn't too crazy about the fact that it ships from the US, but there isn't a whole lot of choice here north of the border. I remembered that I used to get boxes from Julep, but they have since discontinued their sub program, and I completely forgot about Topbox. I guess I should have read my own reviews to refresh my memory! Lesson learned. The IPSY Glam Bag (for those of you like myself who live under a rock) is $12USD per month plus $2.95USD shipping to Canada for a small clutch containing 5 items which could be skincare or cosmetics, and the size could be anywhere from sample to full size. More often than not, you'll find the skincare items sample sized and things like eyeliner full. I was charged in the vicinity of $21CAD for my September Glam Bag, that's the bag and shipping combined. In this instance, although the product value is double, I'm going to say that you get what you pay for. IPSY is a decent enough package for those of us who aren't really serious about these things. If you really love cosmetics and skincare, enjoy having the most up-to-date stuff on your face, or if you're an influencer, you're probably not going to be subscribing to IPSY - and you're probably not reading my little blog anyway, so that's okay. With all of that out of the way, let's get to the products. That is, after all why you're here. Info snippets are taken directly from each company's website. I'm looking forward to trying this serum. It smells amazing! I rubbed a dab into my face, and it does have a soothing and cooling feel. I like it already. Does it do all the other stuff it promises? I don't know yet, but I'm happy to try it. Item #2: BENEFIT COSMETICS The POREfessional Hydrate Primer, 3ml 22ml Full sized version MSRP $32 benefitcosmetics.com Ugh. Another primer. These things are either super abundant or don't sell, because I feel like at least 85% of sub boxes I have received in my lifetime have contained a primer of some sort, and it's usually from Benefit. Don't get me wrong, Benefit is a good company, and I'm sure there are many women who use primer, I just don't understand why it has to be in every package. I don't use primer because I don't wear foundation, but by rubbing a little dab between my fingers I can tell you that I has a light, pleasant scent, it doesn't feel greasy, and it absorbed well. Good thing it's in a tiny little tube and I won't feel bad when I have to throw it away during my yearly expired products sweep. I don't wear blush, but I will say that Daydream is a lovely colour. This seems to be a full sized product sent out, since this exact size is listed on Doucce's website for the price listed. If you actually want to buy this particular colour, you'll have to look elsewhere - it's sold out on their site. Maybe they just sent out all of their inventory to sub box companies... Anyhow, I don't wear blush and asked on my profile that it is sent sparingly, but this colour is nice enough that I'm not angry about it. It's brown enough that it would actually make a nice eyeshadow. Item #4: PIXI BY PETRA Endless Silky Eye Pen in BronzeBeam 1.2g Full sized version MSRP $12 pixibeauty.co.uk We made it to something I'm excited about! I have a real difficulty finding liners that I'm happy with. I've tried so many different brands and styles that it's bordering on crazy. My eyelids shake when I'm trying to apply liner, which makes smoothness and accuracy difficult. This Silky Eye Pen is FANTASTIC! I can tell you it actually did glide on super easy, went where I wanted it to go, didn't smudge all over the place, and I didn't have to fight with it to get an even line. I love it. The colour is gorgeous, too. That picture does it no justice, it is a shimmering bronze that is perfect for Fall. I would absolutely buy more shades from PIXI. Item #5: MAELLE BEAUTY Clearly Brilliant Tinted Lips in Berry, 1.6g 2.94g Full sized version MSRP $9 maellebeauty.com As with the eyeliner, I was happy to see a lip product in my bag. I wasn't over the moon about the colour (it looks mauve-y and reminiscent of standard issue senior citizen colour, no offense to any who may read this), and liked it even less when I tried it on. It looks more like pink lip gloss when applied. It feels like kind of a weird cross between that and expired lipstick. Yuck. It almost smells like that, too. Well, okay Sonja, get over the colour, how is the lipstick? Even worse. I applied it, then took a sip of my coffee (lip marks, another yuck), had a smoke (more lip marks), accepted my grocery delivery (a small one), put it away, and came back to the laptop to finish this post. I did sneak a peek at my lips before I got back to this though. Do you know what I saw? Lips that have barely any colour on them, just that weird, pale outline to let the world know you did make an effort at some point earlier in the day. This lip-whatever is an absolute no in my book. I would have been royally ticked off if I paid full price for this. Lastly, the clutch it all came in. Another disappointment. It's poorly sewn together and the colours (although perfect for Fall) are hideous. This is something I will never take with me out in public. maybe I can keep all of the disappointing beauty products in here and toss the whole thing out in a year. I tried to do a comparison search for pricing but came up short on some of the items sent to me since it seems that they're just not sold in Canada. Also, I think that maybe the algorithm gods at IPSY may have been on vacation for this month, since I received 2 items out of the 5 that I don't use. When you sign up for IPSY, you fill out a (very long) profile of things you want to get and things you don't, and how often. Blushes and serums were definitely on my "send sparingly" list. I wanted to take a snapshot of that on my IPSY page, but I would have had to take the whole bloody quiz again, and I'm just not willing to take the time. You'll just have to take my word for it. I paid about $21 Canadian for this assortment of products, the combined value in US dollars is about $50. On it's face it is worth it, but it's really hard to get excited about a good deal on stuff you just can't bring yourself to like. September's Glam Bag from IPSY is a definite loser in my humble opinion. I'm going to give it another chance, though. No one ever called me a quitter and I never judge based on first impressions. October's bag is already paid for, and I'm hoping it will be a little more exciting. The sneak peek on IPSY's site brings me hope! All opinions expressed in this blog are my own, unbiased after testing the product. The product was fully paid for by myself. The subject of this blog entry has no expectation of a review, favorable or otherwise. Thanks for dropping by! Feel free to follow me on social media by clicking one of the icons to the right.
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AuthorHi! I'm Sonja and I'm glad you're here! I'm happy to share some recipes and gardening tips with you while I let you know about great (or not so great) products, services, and media I encounter. Visit my online shop at MysteriousDragonfyre.com
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