[Beauty] Ipsy Glam Bag

If you're interested in your own Ipsy Glam Bag, you can sign up here. Please note that by using this link, I'll get referral credit which could result in an extra item in my next bag. Just sayin.

I think we're all aware there are a ton of subscription beauty services out there. I was, at one point, a Birchbox subscriber, but after a year I didn't feel I was getting my money's worth. I got a few repeats and more than a few product types that I wasn't interested in (acne serums, exfoliating scrubs). I got a number of really random items that I thought were essentially fluff items - things thrown in that were of no value that appeared to be added solely to reach the proper item number - you know, "friendship bracelets", stickers, postcards. And the final straw was when I started getting more and more samples in those little packets or cards that you can get for free at makeup counters. Come on. I'm paying you $10 a month to send me 3 samples I could get for free, a friendship bracelet I'll never wear, and one legitimate product sample bottle? I know some gals have had great success with Birchbox - I just wasn't one of them.

So I was leery about trying Ipsy's Glam Bag. For the same $10, you get "a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products" - that's straight outta their About page. After seeing some of my favorite YouTube beauty vloggers open their bags, I thought I'd give it a try. Honestly, I was drawn by the "deluxe samples" and "full-sized" products. July was my first month and this is what I got:

BH Cosmetics California Collection Eye Shadow Sample

Ok. So I was really excited about this one when I saw that it was going into the July Glam Bag. (Side note - when you subscribe to the bag, at the middle of the month you can go to the website and see which items are in that month's bag. You can also which of those items your bag will contain. For July, there were 10 items and each bag had 5, decided upon by your preferences in your quiz when you sign up). Anyway. I was excited. I just got my first BH cosmetics palette and so far I really like it - the colors wear pretty well. However, these colors are all a little crazy - that gold is GOLD. And Hollywood is actually a really deep, dark, sparkly purple. Not sure I'll get much wear out of it. Plus, BH Cosmetics are generally pretty affordable, so I was surprised to see that these shadows were on the smaller side. I thought they would be full size since the full size isn't overly expensive.

Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Coral Crush

Guys, Coral Crush is the bright one in the middle. I have no idea what in the world I answered in my quiz that would make Ipsy think that Coral Crush was the best color choice for me. Now, granted, I have yet to try it. So I don't have any feedback on this brand or product - but I'm a little scared of the color. Most of my lipsticks fall in the color family of the other two. However, I'm willing to try this one, and I'm loving the fact that it's a full size lip crayon!

Coola Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented

I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm excited to - I've been looking for a facial sunscreen that works well with my makeup. I'm guessing everyone got this plain, unscented one, or the tinted one, as that was another of the options for this month's bag. Frankly, I'm glad I didn't get the tinted one, since my skin is so pale a lot of times tinted stuff that's not made for fair skin looks ridiculous on me. The only downside of this is that the sample size on this one is pretty tiny.

Nailtini Straight Up Nail Lacquer in Mai Tai

I'm super psyched about this one. I love the color (even though I have similar colors...but that's my issue because I'm a polish addict rather than an issue with Ipsy, haha) and I'm stoked to try it. Plus, this is a full size polish!!

Sexy Hair Weather Proof Humidity Resistant Spray

Finally, I got this Sexy Hair Humidity Spray. I haven't tried it yet, but can I just say Ipsy got it so right with this one??? I live in Atlanta, where the humidity runs about 800% on the daily during the summer (and the other 3 seasons sometimes). Also, I am an avid fan of a few of the products by Sexy Hair - namely this stuff. Not joking. It is the jam. Plus, this spray was a great size - obviously not full size but definitely a deluxe sample. If this stuff works, it'll be going in my travel toiletry bag for sure while I go grab myself a full size version and I'll still get a lot of use out of it.

So that's it for this month's grab bag. What products didn't I get? The tinted version of the sunscreen, Sexy Hair's Soy Renewal Beach spray, Benefit's Benetint, Demeter Salt Air perfume roll on, and Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub.

Out of all the options, I'd say Ipsy definitely did great. I have no interest in a microdermabrasion scrub (I'm finicky about my skin routine; very rarely does it change). I also mentioned why tinted stuff is usually bad. I don't use beach sprays often - maybe 10 times a summer - so that wouldn't have been my preference. I'm kind of indifferent to the perfume, and while everyone on the Ipsy site was pining for the Benetint, I love eye products way more than lip and check products, so I wasn't all that bummed that I didn't get it.

The only thing I wasn't loving this month was the size of a few of the products. However, I did get 2 full size products and one definitely large sample, plus the bag they came in was cute and will be useful, so I can't complain. I'll update with what I thought of the products as I use them, and am looking forward to see what next month has in store!

If you're interested in your own Ipsy Glam Bag, you can sign up here.