Three Months of Ipsy

I like makeup, I like subscription boxes, so of course I tried Ipsy.

Quick background on me: I love makeup and subscriptions, but started my journey in project panning a couple years ago. Project panning is when you focus on specific products; using them up instead of buying more. So, I don’t usually do subscription boxes anymore.

But I’ve been on Ipsy’s mailing list for ages and got an offer of two boxes for the price of one. So I figured I’d try it out! I ended up staying subscribed for two months after the promotional month (where I just got two bags in one package, instead of two months for the price of one).

The first month’s bags were both really cute.

I got The Balm’s Will Powder in Worth the Wait, Beau Gâchis highlighter brush, 2 Glam Up sheet masks (moisturizing avacado and nourishing acai berry), IT Cosmetics’s Confidence in a Cream, and Maëlle Beauty Dawn to Dust eyeshadow in Sunkissed in the December bag. The extra bag had Briogeo Farewell Frizz leave-in conditioner, Benefit’s Gimme Brow, Phase Zero’s pressed eyeshadow in Mush-A-Boom, OFRA’s Blush in Charm, and Smashbox’s Studio Skin Foundation.

Both of those bags were cute—the actual December bag was teddy inspired. The extra bag had constellations on it; it’s my new favorite bag.

The January bag was a clear plastic bag with “January” written all over it.

In it was Belle en Argent nail polish in Bore Someone Else, Dito’s eyeshadow in Charon, Firma Beauty’s blending brush, Kinship’s naked papaya face cleanser, and Uoma’s mascara. I also opted to add in a product, Foxybae’s hair mask. While I abhorred the look of the bag, I really enjoyed what was inside of it. All of these items were easy to incorporate into my routine, which I love.

February’s bag was a letter-styled bag, which was crazy adorable.

This bag was regrettably the most basic, though. It had Araceli’s Liquid Black Liner, Balance Me’s Wonder Eye Cream, Céla’s Skin Polish, Innisfree’s Clay Mask, and YC’s Loose Setting Powder. While it’s basic, they’re all things that I will use (and I have been using).

Overall, the bags were rad. Ipsy lets its subscribers choose one of the items they will receive in their bag—you get an email telling you it’s time to choose, and you get a pool of items to choose from. Less than a week later you get to see the contents of your bag, and about a week after that your bag is heading to you! I really appreciated that I could see what was coming (so if I ran out of something that was coming, I wouldn’t buy more). Ipsy also lets you pause your subscription or choose to get bags every other month. As I’m trying this stuff out, I set my subscription to every other month, and I will likely pause my next bag.

Here’s where the panning comes in.

I want to see, three months from now, how much of the items that I received I have left. I’ve already used a couple items all the way up: the leave-in conditioner, sheet masks, and face cleanser are all gone. I’m almost out of the confidence in a cream, and I use the brushes weekly. I’m glad that the item’s I’ve received are useable and that I’ve been able to work on incorporating them into my project panning.

So here’s the deal: in May, I’ll recount what I’ve used and how I feel. That’s when I’ll decide on whether or not I’ll continue my subscription. I have enjoyed what I’ve used so far, and I’m excited to see how the rest of it pans out!