What is Ipsy?
Ipsy offers different variations of beauty bag subscriptions that are customized for each subscriber. This Ipsy subscription review explains how Ipsy works, how it compares to other brands and what customers are saying about the Glam Bags to help you decide if Ipsy is right for you. Get ready for glitz and glam.
Overview of Ipsy
Ipsy was founded in 2011 by Michelle Phan, Marcelo Camberos and Jaconetti Goldfarb to inspire and help people express their individual beauty. Ipsy is a particularly popular beauty subscription box because Ipsy can be customized to suit one’s skin tone and well-being, is a long-lasting brand and is popular with various beauty vloggers.
Michelle Phan was one of the first Youtube beauty vloggers and has over 8 million Youtube subscribers herself. Ipsy herself had 3 million subscribers in 2017. Ipsy currently has over 800,000 Twitter followers and over 2 million Instagram followers. So much for influence!
Ipsy sends out luxurious beauty samples every month, which are compiled based on the answers to a beauty quiz. Ipsy asks you the following questions:
- Your skin color, eye color and hair color
- How comfortable you feel wearing make-up and which beauty brands you prefer
- How often you like to receive each beauty product and how often you like to receive each skin, hair and nail care product
- Which shades of eyeshadow, eyeliner, lip color and nail polish you prefer and how often you would like to receive them
- Which fragrances you prefer
- Where you usually buy beauty products
- What concerns you have about your skin and how you would describe your hair problems
Ipsy Beauty Profile

Ipsy offers a wide range of beauty products depending on your answers to the quiz. Subscribers receive mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, eyebrow products, lipstick, liquid lipstick, lip gloss, lip plumper, lip liner, primer, foundation, tinted moisturizer, concealer, powder, blush, highlighter, bronzer, contour, brushes, tools and much more.
As an Ipsy subscriber, you can get cleansers, cleansing oils, moisturizers, sheet masks, wash-off masks, scrubs, serums, facial oils, toners, mists, eye treatments, nail polish, hand cream, body scrubs, self-tanners, lip balms, acne treatments, perfumes, hair styling products and hair treatment products.
Given the hundreds of products Ipsy offers, it may seem overwhelming to approach the subscription. The beauty quiz takes away the pondering and time spent thinking about products so you can focus on self-care.
Beauty Products: Shades
In this Ipsy subscription report, we give you an idea of which shades are named as preferences in the beauty quiz:
- Eyeshadow: Neutrals, smoky shades, blues, greens, plum shades and adventurous shades
- Eyeliner: Black, brown, plum, gold/bronze and more adventurous colors
- Lip liner and gloss: reds, berries, neutral and adventurous shades
- Nail polish: reds, berries, neutrals, dark colors, pastels and more adventurous colors
- Blush: pink, peach, mauve, neutral and adventurous shades
The great thing about the Beauty Quiz is that you can choose your color preference for each product. Take eyeliner, for example. If you love classic black and want to get the most samples in that shade, you can indicate that you wear it ‘often’.
But what if you want to step out of your comfort zone every now and then and try a colored liner? For this category, there is the option to select ‘sometimes’. The same goes for all other beauty products and the shades they come in.
Fragrance Notes
When you go through the beauty quiz, you will come to the section with the delicious fragrances. You have the opportunity to choose which fragrances you like from five categories:
- Fresh: fragrances such as lemongrass, aquatic, bergamot and citrus fruits
- Spicy: fragrances such as nutmeg, clove, saffron and cinnamon
- Floral: fragrances such as violet, rose, gardenia and jasmine
- Earthy & woody: fragrances such as amber, sandalwood, cedar and patchouli
- Gourmand: scents such as honey, caramel, vanilla and cocoa
These categories are really helpful as most perfume names are not very descriptive in terms of their fragrance notes. For example, what does Midnight Summer even mean? Instead of spraying yourself endlessly with perfume samples in the perfume store (which all end up smelling the same anyway), Ipsy does the work for you.
Problem-Focused Products
subscription. In the hair section, you can choose from a range of problems with your mane, such as frizz, split ends and lack of volume. The same goes for the skin category, where Parts of the beauty quiz target any problems you might have with your appearance, which gets to the heart of the functional aspect of the Ipsy determines whether you should get products for acne, wrinkles, scars and the like.
Once the quiz is complete, you have created your beauty profile! You can update your answers in the quiz at any time. Now that you have an idea of how the products are selected, we will look at the pros and cons of the brand in this Ipsy subscription review:
Pros
- Ipsy Glam Bag offers products from many different brands and not just one or a few selected brands
- Ipsy Glam Bags offer a wide range of beauty products and not just fragrances or make-up
- Ipsy Glam Bags contain a new make-up bag every month containing the products
Disadvantages
- You can’t choose the exact samples you want
- Ipsy’s cancellation procedures are very difficult to understand
- It is very difficult to contact customer service as there is no way to contact them by phone or email.
How Does Ipsy Work?
The Ipsy Box subscription includes an Ipsy Glam Bag. Signing up for an Ipsy Glam Bag subscription can be complicated if you’re not familiar with the subscription box process, so let’s walk through the sign-up process.
Ipsy subscriptions
When you sign up for Ipsy, you’ll start by filling out your Beauty Quiz. Your Ipsy Glam Bag, Ipsy Glam Bag Plus or Ipsy Glam Bag Premium will then be delivered to you. Normally you will receive your order the following month (patience is a virtue), but sometimes Ipsy can send you a Glam Bag earlier, depending on when you ordered.
Ipsy Glam Bag Review
Ipsy Glam Bag, the original subscription, includes five sample-sized products each month. The estimated retail value of the products offered in the Ipsy Glam Bag is over $50, while the subscription itself only costs $12/month. The products come in a bag that you can store them in. The bags are really pretty and it’s always handy to have extra bags on hand.
Ipsy Glam Bag Plus is a good choice if you are looking for full-size products rather than the trial sizes offered in the original subscription. With the Ipsy Glam Bag Plus subscription, you receive five full-size products in a new cosmetic bag every month. Ipsy Glam Bag Ultimate is for true beauty lovers and collectors of beautiful things: Subscribers receive 12 full-size products in their monthly cosmetic bag.

Each month, subscribers can also opt for a Mystery Bag if they want to be surprised by their products at a discounted price. Read on for detailed customer feedback on the Ipsy Glam Bags.
How Much is Ipsy?
Die Preise vonIpsy unterscheiden sich je nach der von Ihnen gewählten Option. Ipsy Glam Bags kosten $12/Monat. Ipsy Glam Bag Plus kostet $25/Monat. Ipsy Glam Bag Ultimate, die Premium-Option, die derzeit von Ipsy angeboten wird, kostet 50 $/Monat.
Ipsy Subscription Review: What Customers Think
For a true evaluation of the Ipsy subscription, we need to look at what customers have to say. Women who have left Ipsy reviews speak highly of Ipsy and the Glam Bag subscription. Ipsy reviews usually emphasize the high quality of the products and brands available in Ipsy Glam Bags. Many customers appreciated that the Ipsy Glam Bag subscriptions were more affordable than other beauty box subscriptions.
The main criticism in the average Ipsy subscription review seemed to be that the Glam Bags seemed to contain fewer hair products or fragrances for some customers, which could be an issue with the options offered in the Beauty Quiz. Some customers had issues with shipping, and many had trouble reaching customer service.
Overall, customers praised the wide selection of products and the variety of products they received in their Ipsy reviews. Customers also commented positively on the high quality of Ipsy products and how exciting it is to keep trying new brands that arrive at their door.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Ipsy Competitors
Ipsy is not the only subscription beauty box on the market, there are many other options. Here are the competing brands we found in this Ipsy subscription review:
- Scentbird: Scentbird is a beauty subscription box specifically focused on fragrance. New subscriptions currently cost $11.25/month, although they normally cost $14.95/month. In comparison between Ipsy and Scentbird, Ipsy offers more versatility in terms of products offered. On the other hand, Scentbird is slightly cheaper.
- BirchBox: For $15/month, BirchBox will send you a box of luxury products for makeup, hair, and skincare. Like Ipsy, BirchBox is put together for you based on a beauty profile.
- TopBox: Another beauty subscription, TopBox, costs only $15/month but offers only four samples and few customization options.
- BoxyCharm: BoxyCharm offers full-size beauty products, not trial sizes, for $25/month. BoxyCharm is not customizable and usually sends the same products to all subscribers.
- FabFitFun Box: Unlike most subscription boxes, the FabFitFun Box is only delivered four times a year. It also costs $49.95/month, but offers a wide range of different products, not just beauty products.
Is Ipsy Worth It?
When it comes to this Ipsy subscription review, it’s clear that whether or not Ipsy is worth the price depends on what you personally want. If you’re looking for a wide range of beauty products, Ipsy Glam Bags might be a subscription you should try. Ipsy is at the lower end of the price range for beauty subscriptions, and customer reviews about Ipsy’s product offerings are overwhelmingly positive.
And if you’re eager to see what’s next, there’s a way to satisfy your excitement: Each month, Ipsy will send you a list of 20-25 products that could be included in your Glam Bag . These Ipsy spoilers turn the whole thing into a fun guessing game and give you a hint of what to expect.
Ipsy Promotions & Discounts
An Ipsy subscription test found that Ipsy offers a points program that gives you more bang for your buck. You earn points by referring friends to Ipsy, following Ipsy authors on social media, reviewing every product in your monthly Glam Bag, and reviewing your entire monthly Glam Bag. These points can be redeemed for free Ipsy products. So if you’re into social media, this is a great way to save.
Where to Buy Ipsy
At this point in the Ipsy subscription review, you can sign up via the Ipsy website if you want to receive your Glam Bag as soon as possible.
FAQ
When does Ipsy ship?
Glam Bags are dispatched in the middle of each month and usually arrive within 10 working days of dispatch. However, shipments are sent in batches that vary each month, so shipments may arrive in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th week of each month.
Wait times in Alaska and Hawaii may be slightly longer, and wait times in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands may be significantly longer.
Tracking codes are emailed around the middle of the month and are also available when you log in to the Ipsy website.
Glam Bags containing products with shipping restrictions, such as aerosol sprays, may also experience shipping delays.
Cancel your Ipsy subscription
Mistakes happen, and Ipsy understands that. Follow these steps to unsubscribe from Ipsy:
- Sign in to your Ipsy account
- Under Edit settings, click on Membership
- Go to Manage membership
- Click on Help with canceling my membership
- Select Continue unsubscribing
You will receive an email with a link to confirm your cancellation. You must be logged in to your Ipsy account to click on the link or your cancellation will not be processed. You must cancel your membership before 12pm Pacific Time on the last day of the current month or you will be charged for the next month.
Shipping terms
Ipsy currently ships Glam Bags to the United States and Canada, including APO, DPO and FPO boxes.
In the United States, shipping is either via FedEx and the US Postal Service or DHL.
In Canada, Glam Bags are shipped via Landmark Global.
Shipping is free to the United States and $2.95 to Canada.
Right of return
Returns and exchanges are notpossible with Glam Bags. Fortunately, if you have chosen the standard Glam Bag, you only have one or two samples that you will not use.
If one or more items are missing or damaged, you can replace them within 45 days of the shipping date. If one or more items are missing or damaged, you can contact Ipsy via the Ipsy website.
Contact Ipsy
Ipsy can be contacted via the help form on the website or via Twitter: