Thinking of You: December Ipsy

For those of you who don't know, ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription box. For Canadians, it's about $15 a month; $10 for the subscription, $5 for shipping. With the exchange, I end up paying around $20 a month. I really like ipsy, I think they send great bags and I usually love what they send, but I have been thinking about cancelling my subscription- it's not really worth $20 to me, I feel I get a lot of the same products just different brands and after almost two years, I'm just feeling meh about it. Don't get me wrong, I still like ipsy...and I was happy with the bag they sent me: 

Nourish Organic Renewing Eye Cream Avocado and Argan - The products from this company are natural, organic, gluten-free and most products are vegan free...all good things. The product claims to make your skin brighter, smoother and younger looking...I haven't seen any changes, but I also haven't been using it that long. So, we'll see. This is an eye cream, but I used it on my entire face because is for normal to dry skin. I'm not crazy about the smell, but it did feel good on my super dry skin. This product will be available in January, so I did like the fact that ipsy members got a 'sneak peak' of a new product before anyone else.

Retail value: Unknown...product not for sale yet.
ipsy value: Unknown

Tarte Deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara- Another mascara...yawn. This product claims to lengthen, curl, volumize and condition lashes. No idea if this is true, I didn't bother to open or try this product. Mascara is mascara to me and I don't even wear (or need) mascara on a regular basis. This is a vegan product and I do like the Tarte brand...just not interested in mascara.

Retail value: $24 for .24oz

ipsy value: $10 for .10 oz

Cailyn Cosmetics Just Mineral Eye Polish in Orchid- I'm a fan of Cailyn Cosmetics and I was actually excited about this product. I had never tried an eye polish before, so this is a brand new product for me. The colour is really pretty too. It's subtle and something I can wear often. I like the applicator too, it's an easy to use/apply product. As per Cailyn's website, this product can be used with other Cailyn products and turn it into, for example, eyeliner, nail polish or a lip product. I love things that are versatile! 

Retail value: $15 for unknow size (not listed on their website)

ipsy value $15 (???) for .09 oz

NYC Butter Lip Balm in Parfait- This colour is a little too pink for me (of the available colours for ipsy members, probably the best one for me too), but I do like that it leave my lips feeling hydrated- super important for our cold Canadian Winters- and smooth.

Retail value: $4 for .14 oz

ipsy value: $4 for .14 oz

Coolway Boost Repair Treatment- This product claims to repair damage from chemicals and heat, add moisture to your hair, shiny and eliminate frizz. I haven't tried this product yet, so I don't know if it works. It says to apply a generous amount (2-3 teaspoons depending on hair lenght) and I have fairly long hair, so I'll need to use a lot of this product, like the entire sample in one shot. I'm not sure if one time use will be enough for me to see if this product works.

Retail value: $29.95 for 8 oz

ipsy value: $3.75 for 1 oz

Total retail value: $72.95 (not including the eye cream)

Total ipsy value: $32.75 (not including the eye cream)

The only product I'm excited about is the eye polish. Overall, I think this was a decent bag and they sent a lot of great products. I've been subscribing for 2 years and I'm getting a lot of the same products...I've been feeling underwhelmed with ipsy recently (if you are a new subscriber, the products are great). I have been thinking about cancelling ipsy the past few months and I have decided to cancel.

Something I like about ipsy is that you can get ipsy points to earn bonus items- usually 500 or 1000 ipsy points. The 500 ipsy point items get sold out super quickly (like within an hour of me receiving the email) and I have yet to hit 1000 ipsy points. Last month I had over 900 points-so close!- but points expire after a year and in lost over 400 points in less than a month. I realized I will never reach the 1000 point mark- which I was holding out for before canceling my subscription.

Final, final, final ipsy verdict? Great company and product. I really enjoyed my experience for the most part and love the majority of the bags sent to me. ipsy is a great starter subscription, but because they send a lot of the same products- but from different brands- it starts to feel like you get the same products over and over. Even though I am cancelling my subscription, I do highly recommend ipsy!