Ipsy vs. Birchbox: August 2017


Both Birchbox and Ipsy are $10/month subscription boxes that send out personalized beauty, hair, and skincare products. Keep reading to see what I received in my boxes this month! 😃 

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Ipsy


Gavee Gold: Heart of Gold Elixir | Full-Size $175

First off, the packaging of this product is absolutely beautiful! A lot of times, sample size items don’t really have much for packaging so I love that this brand made such an effort even on sample version of their products! I will definitely be saving it to use during travel in the future. 

Crown Brush: SS035 Medium Face Contour Brush | Full-Size $6.99

I’ve already got a ton of contouring brushes that I enjoy so this brush was a little redundant for me. Although I enjoyed using it, it doesn’t stand out amongst my sea of other contouring brushes 😛 Just an average product for me! 

Winky Lux: Peeper Perfect Concealer in Medium | Full-Size $14 Josie Maran Cosmetics: Vibrancy Argan Oil Foundation Fluid | Full-Size $40.92

I was really excited to receive these two face products in my ipsy bag! Unfortunately, they were both a little off for me shade-wise, but nothing a little bit of bronzer can’t fix! 

Pacifica: Coconut Blush Duo | Full-Size $12 Each

I was so excited to try this little blush duo because you really can’t go wrong with blushes in subscription boxes! This duo includes “Beaming” a terra-cotta shade and “Tenderheart”, a soft mauve. The formula of these blushes didn’t really blow me away (they had a little too much fallout for my taste) but they are still very pretty and I’ll definitely get a lot of use out of them!

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Birchbox

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Cartier: La Panthere Eau de Parfum | Full-Size $70-$110

If there's one thing I hate getting in subscription boxes, it's perfumes! I've already selected on my Birchbox profile that I prefer not to receive perfumes so I'm not too thrilled about this sample.

Glamglow: Thirstymud Hydrating Treatment | Full-Size $69

I’ve wanted to try Glamglow products for quite some time so I was super excited to try this product! Glamglow is one of those brands whose products are so expensive that I wouldn’t want to purchase a full-size version unless I’d already tried the product ahead of time - making it perfect for subscription boxes! 

IPKN: Moist & Firm Beaty Balm | Full-Size $45

I was pleasantly surprised by this BB Cream! I find that a lot of times, BB Cream/sunscreen combinations don’t actually provide that much coverage but this IPKN BB Cream offers enough coverage that I don’t feel like I need to add anything on top of it! 

Manna Kadar Cosmetics: Lip Locked in Sienna | Full-Size $24

This lip product claims to be a primer, lip stain, and gloss all in one! I’m not quite sure how that works, but I love the nude color of this product. I’m not big on glosses so I’ve been applying this product and then dabbing off the shine and have found that this leaves a nice stained matte finish, which I’m pretty happy with! 

Number 4: Super Comb Prep & Protect | Full-Size $32

This product from Number 4 is a leave in conditioning spray that is meant to safeguard color and protect hair from heat damage. I receive so, so, so many hair products in subscription boxes that I’m kind of over hair products in general - there are just too many!

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This months’ clear winner was Ipsy! Although the products from Birchbox were from higher end brands and would have been more expensive full-price, I don’t think that a product’s price point is necessarily an accurate representation of its quality as there are a lot of reasonably priced products out there that are just as great quality-wise! While I liked products from both Birchbox and Ipsy this month, I am actively using all five products I received in this month’s Ipsy bag (vs. the three I’m using from the Birchbox bag) which I think tells you a lot about how much I’ve been enjoying them! 

What did you think of your beauty subscriptions this month? Are there any other subscription boxes out there you think I should try? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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