fivezero's Ipsy Glam Bag, July 2017, Over Easy

Ipsy — July 2017 Glam Bag “Over Easy”

2017-07-282017-07-28 fivezero8 Comments

My Ipsy bag arrived a bit late this month (I got it on the 19th, when I usually get it around the 15th), and now I’m also a bit late with my post!

Ipsy have done collaborations before, and this month they’ve done a really fun one with Sanrio! Yes, this month’s bag theme is called “Over Easy” because gudetama is on the Glam Bag (referral link).

For those who don’t know, gudetama is a Sanrio character who is a lazy, ennui-filled egg yolk. It’s a bit random, and it’s freakin’ adorable. Holika Holika, the popular Korean beauty brand, came out with a gudetama collection a while back (I have some of it!) and I think it’s nifty to see Western brands jumping on the lazy, eggy bandwagon. It does appear that some Ipsters were not thrilled with having a “bizarre” cartoon egg on their Glam Bag, and the ensuing moanfest was dubbed “gudeDRAMA!” by a popular subscription box site. Bwah!

Ipsy July 2017 Glam Bag: “Over Easy”

Image: ipsy.com

Anyway, eggs aside, I decided against requesting anything this month, since there was nothing that really excited me in their spoiler selection, though most things seemed nice to have.

I ended up receiving a nice selection of items that I’m more than happy to try out! I also got an item that I redeemed 750 Ipsy Points for (thanks to those who signed up via my referral link—mwah!). Also, I’ve started tracking Ipsy’s reward options, if you’ve got Ipsy points racked up and want to see what’s been on offer.

What I Redeemed Points For

Paula’s Choice Blush It On Contour Palette (limited edition, full size; US$36)

What I Received

Beau Gâchis Illuminator Brush (full size; US$9.95)
Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet (10 mL; 40 mL full size US$39/CA$48)
OFRA Godet Eyeshadow Refill in Gold Rush/Victory (2 g size; US$10)
Seraphine Botanicals Healthy Glow Rose-Gold Blush in Lychee + Gold (3 g full size US$14)
tarte Rainforest of the Sea Deep Dive Cleansing Gel (7.5 mL sample; 150 mL for US$25/CA$30)
Ipsy makeup bag

Glam Bag Cost

$10 + $4.99 (shipping to Canada) = US$14.99

Total Bag Value

$9.95 + $9.75 + $10 + $14 + $1.25 = US$44.95

That piddly little tarte cleanser sample really brought my bag’s value down this month! Bah!!! But honestly, I’d rather get a cleanser I’ll use than an insanely marked up eye cream that I won’t (£110? Really?).

fivezero’s Ipsy July 2017 Glam Bag: “Over Easy”

Image: ipsy.com

Ipsy Coupon Codes

Beau Gâchis: 30% off any purchase with code beautifulipster30 (through 08/31/2017; US & CA only)
OFRA: 30% off any purchase with code IPSY30 (through 08/31/2017)
tarte: 20% off any purchase with code IPSYJUL (07-21-2017 through 08/21/2017, exclusions apply)

There are no codes on offer for Caudalie or Seraphine Botanicals, so here are two other good ones:

AHAVA: 30% off any purchase with code IPSY30 (through 08/31/2017; US & CA only)
Ciaté: 30% off any purchase with code IPSTER (through 08/31/2017; US & CA only)

Here are some more detailed product shots:

fivezero's IPSY Glam Bag "Sideshow" April 2017

Ipsy — April 2017 Glam Bag “Sideshow”

2017-04-172017-07-04 fivezero9 Comments

My Ipsy bag arrived on Thursday, and I’m quite happy with it this month because—drumroll, maestro!—I got another nail polish! It’s actually a duo, so I kind of got two in one.

Ipsy April 2017 Glam Bag: “Sideshow”
Image: ipsy.com

What I Received

Elizabeth Mott Shimmer Shadow in Show Me Your Glow (0.7 g sample; 10 g full size US$25)
Hanalei Aloe Soothing Gel (10 g travel size; 100 g full size; US$30)
Meg Twin Nail Polish in Lovey Dovey (10 mL full size; US$10)
OFRA Blush in Rendezvous (4 g full size refill pan; US$12, $15 with compact)
TonyMoly LIPTONE Lipcare Stick in Rose Blossom (3.5 mL full size; US$10, US$6.19 at Cosmetic Love)
Ipsy makeup bag

fivezero’s Ipsy April 2017 Glam Bag: “Sideshow”
Image: ipsy.com

Ipsy Coupon Codes

Elizabeth Mott: 50% off any purchase with code GLOW50 (through 05/31/2017)
Hanalei: 30% off any purchase with code ALOE30 (through 05/31/2017)
Meg: 30% off any purchase with code IPSY30 (through 05/31/2017; US only)
OFRA: 30% off any purchase with code Ipsy30 (through 05/31/2017; US & CA only)
TonyMoly (US): 20% off + a free gift with any $45+ purchase with code IPSYTM (through 05/31/2017; US only)

Here are some more detailed product shots:

Ipsy fivezero's Glam Bag "Carpe P.M." December 2016

Ipsy — December 2016 Glam Bag “Carpe P.M.”

2016-12-142017-07-04 fivezero9 Comments

I was going to moan about yet another nail polish-less Ipsy Glam Bag (referral link), but it turns out that there weren’t even any nail polishes distributed by Ipsy this month!

A few of things I did notice that Ipsy have recently changed:

They updated the Profile Quiz, so retake it if you’re a subscriber! They’ve added some more detail.
You can’t seem to review individual items in your Glam Bag, anymore—just the bag as a whole. I hope this isn’t really the case, as I’m not sure how they will be able to tailor your the Glam Bags as well. (How else will I complain about getting endless black eyeliners and haircare products?!) They giveth with the Profile Quiz, and taketh away with the product ratings…
You have four months to finish reviewing items from previous Glam Bags.

Ipsy Glam Bag, December 2016, Carpe P.M. — Image: ipsy.com

This month’s bag is pretty decent, nevertheless! I did get an email from Ipsy last month asking me to choose one of the items I would receive, which was cool. The options given were:

Ciaté Liquid Velvet Matte Lipstick in Pin Up
City Color Be Matte Blush Trio
Hanalei Lip Treatment
NYX Prismatic Shadow in Bedroom Eyes
NYX Prismatic Shadow in Jaded
OUAI Wave Spray
tarte Deluxe Maracuja Oil

Ipsy, December 2016, Carpe P.M., Choose Your Own Glam Bag Pick — Choose Your Own Glam Bag Pick (Ipsy December 2016). Just one hug & kiss.
Image: Email from ipsy.com

I almost picked the tarte Maracuja Oil, as I’ve been wanting to try it for a while, now, but in the end I’m a sucker for nail and lip stuff, so I went with the Ciaté lipstick.

Turns out I received the Ciaté lipstick, plus the tarte Maracuja Oil, plus the Hanalei Lip Treatment. Score!

What I Received

Ciaté Liquid Velvet Matte Lip Slick in Pin Up (2 mL mini; 6.5 mL full size US$19)
Hanalei Lip Treatment (5 mL mini; 15 mL full size US$20)
OFRA Eyeshadow/Highlighter in Bliss (4 g full size pan; pan in compact US$15)
Royal & Langnickel MODA Angle Shader Brush (full size, comes in a six-brush set USD$19.99)
tarte Maracuja Oil (7 mL deluxe sample; 15 mL travel size US$15/CA$19, 50 mL full size US$48/CA$60)
Ipsy makeup bag

fivezero's Ipsy Glam Bag, December 2016, Carpe P.M. — fivezero’s Ipsy Glam Bag, December 2016, Carpe P.M.
Image: ipsy.com

Ipsy Coupon Codes

Ciaté: 30% off any purchase with code IPSTER (through 01/31/2017, US only)
Hanalei: 30% off any purchase with code LIPTREATMENT30 (through 01/31/2017, US only)
OFRA: 30% off any purchase with code IPSY30 (through 01/31/2017)
Royal & Langnickel: 20% off any purchase with code ipsy20 (through 01/31/2017, US only)
tarte: 20% off any purchase with code IPSYDEC (through 01/10/2017)

Here are some more detailed product shots:

Ipsy — July 2016 Glam Bag “Hot Summer Nights”

2016-07-212017-07-05 fivezero5 Comments

My July Ipsy (referral link) bag arrived on Tuesday, so it’s a bit late this month. I suspect it has to do with the Canada Post negotiations that have been prompting every online shop to which I’m subscribed to send a constant stream of emails about how they plan on dealing with a possible postal service shutdown.

This month’s bag contained some decent items that I can definitely use—lots of makeup! yay!—but it was also a little bit disappointing due to none of the brands being new to me (and come on, still no new nail polish?!), and many of them being brands I’ve still only ever heard of via Ipsy.

Ipsy Glam Bag, June 2016, Rebel Rebel — Image: ipsy.com

What I Received

theBalm Meet Matt(e) Eyeshadow (from Trimony Palette) in Matt Kumar (0.5 g; full size US$42 for 21.6 g palette of 9 (2.4 g) shades)
Cake Beauty Delectable Ultra Nourishing Hand Cream in Lemon & Cream (2 oz travel size; full size 4 oz for US/CA$12)
Luxie Beauty Small Angle Eye Brush in Rose Gold (full size for US$10 / CA$13.05)
OFRA Lip Liner in Maya (full size 0.04 oz for US$13)
trèStiQue Mini Highlight Stick in Maldives Luminescent (0.04 oz deluxe size / full size 0.21 oz USD$19)
Ipsy makeup bag

Ipsy Coupon Codes

theBalm: 20% off any purchase with code IPSY20 (through 7/31, US only)
Cake Beauty: 25% off any $50 purchase with code IPSYLEMON (through 8/31, US & Canada only)
Luxie Beauty: 30% off any purchase with code IPSYANGLE (through 8/31)
OFRA: 30% off any purchase with code IPSY30 (through 8/31)

Here are some more detailed product shots:

Ipsy — April 2016 Glam Bag “The Dreamers”

2016-04-272017-07-05 fivezero4 Comments

I canceled my Ipsy (referral link) subscription back in July 2015, partly due to the bags getting a bit mediocre and partly because the Canadian dollar had dropped and I didn’t feel the US$14.95 bag—that’s including the $4.95 Canadian shipping fee—was worth it any longer.

However, I recently checked out a couple recent Ipsy bags (like Jordan Leigh’s) and the bug bit me again! I’d also unsubscribed from Topbox so I felt I had a little more room for another box. In addition, the Canadian dollar has since bounced back to nearly 80¢! It’s a conspiracy!

So, I subscribed back to Ipsy and almost immediately received my April bag, which came filled with a surprisingly nice variety of items.

What I Received

L.A.B.² (Live and Breathe Beauty) Just Blending In Brush (full size / USD$6.99)
OFRA Eyeshadow Refill in Bohemian (0.07 oz full size / USD$12)
Probelle Nail Lacquer in In or Out (15 mL full size / USD$6 )
SKIN&CO Roma Truffle Therapy Serum (5 mL mini / 30 mL full size USD$70)
tarte LipSurgence™ Lip Crème in Wonder (1.5g mini / 3g full size CAD$29)
Ipsy makeup bag

Ipsy Coupon Codes

Ofra: 40% off any purchase with code IPSYOFRA
Probelle: 30% off any $20+ purchase with code IPSY30
SKIN&CO Roma: 15% off any Truffle Therapy products with code TRUF2IPSY
tarte: 20% off any purchase with code IPSYAPR

There were a couple other products I would have preferred, like any other nail polish since Ipsy had already sent me a Probelle polish, and all the other brands were ones I’d never tried before! Other Ipsters received polishes from Pretty Woman, SOPHi, or Adesse NY, which I’d have liked to try. There was also a nail appliqué product from Incoco—I’m not into those, but it’s nice that there seem to be more nail products available via Ipsy! Some skincare and makeup products from REN, TULA, and Trust Fund Beauty would have been fun to try, as well.

Overall, though, I am pretty pleased with what I got and am really looking forward to trying everything, especially the tarte Lip Crème and the OFRA eyeshadow pan, which I hope will fit into a MAC palette.

Here are some more detailed shots:

Topbox (Canada) — July 2015

2015-07-172015-11-14 fivezero13 Comments

My second Topbox arrived yesterday, and I had high hopes because I’ve recently cancelled my Ipsy subscription, and I don’t want to be left with no subscription boxes at all, haha!

Luckily, it turned out to be a pretty decent box, and leaves me looking forward to future boxes. One great thing about the Canada-based Topbox is that it only costs CA$12, so after Ontario tax, it comes to CA$13.56. Since the Canadian dollar has been falling against the US dollar, Ipsy and Birchbox now cost now costs Canadians over CA$19! [2015-08-05: I was corrected by Natalie in the comments! Birchbox Canada charges in CAD, not USD, so it ends up costing CAD$14.95 per month. Thank you so much, Natalie!] Granted, you get 4 deluxe samples with Topbox instead of 5 with Birchbox and Ipsy.

What I Received

BareMinerals Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara (1.5 mL sample) [MSRP CA$23 for 10 mL]
Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 (three 10 mL sample tubes in 3 shades) [MSRP CA$23.99 for 50 mL]
OFRA Universal Eyebrow Pencil (1.13 g, full-sized) [MSRP US$13 for 1.13 g]
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (14 mL, full-sized) [MSRP CA$9.95]
Topbox patterned cylindrical cardboard container
Missha coupon for a GWP if I spend $14.99 on Missha at Topbox.ca