IPSY Review: Beauty Box Subscriptions

IPSY is a beauty subscription service designed to bring a selection of personalized beauty products directly to your doorstep, simplifying the process of finding your new favorites. You play a crucial role in shaping the contents of your bag, whether it's by sharing your preferences in the Beauty Quiz or adding extra products to your shipments. This makes IPSY one of the most individualized beauty subscriptions available. Founded with a clear mission, IPSY aims to inspire individuals worldwide to express their distinct beauty.

Makeup and skincare for tons of brands

IPSY specializes in makeup and skincare items, though you can find hair products, makeup brushes, and body products as well. You can expect to find luxury brands as well as fan favorites inside your IPSY boxes. Some of the names that might excite you include Drunk Elephant, Tatcha, Charlotte Tilbury, MAC, Tarte, Rare Beauty, Laneige, Dr. Jart, Glow Recipe, Anastasia, and more.

What can you expect?

There are a few different boxes to choose from at IPSY, but one of the recent packages included the following items:

• Kosas Revealer Concealer
• Dazzle Me! Get a Grip! Makeup Setting Spray
• Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream
• Karma Beauty Replenishing Truffle Leave-In Conditioner
• Ofra Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Blissful
• Goldfaden MD Plant Profusion Night Cream

Boxes valued from $70 to $350

There are three different boxes that you can get through IPSY, and one of them will sound familiar from another one of our reviews: BoxyCharm. Since that box is owned by IPSY, you're subscribing through the same parent company. But if you want to branch out from BoxyCharm, you can pick out the Glam Bag or the Icon Box depending on what you're hoping to get. The Glam Box is the most "basic" box. This option offers you deluxe-size beauty samples with a total box worth up to $70 plus a cute makeup bag. BoxyCharm comes in as the mid-tier subscription with five personalized items in each box with a value of up to $200. Finally, the Icon Box is top tier with quarterly payments. This is a members-only upgrade (so you can only get it if you're already getting a Glam Bag or a BoxyCharm. The Icon Box includes 8 full-size products with a value of up to $350 per box. You get this every three months instead of your normal box or bag.

Monthly and quarterly pricing

Despite having three different boxes, IPSY keeps the pricing simple. The Glam Bag and the BoxyCharm box are both billed on a monthly schedule that you can cancel at any time. The Glam Bag costs just $14 per month, while BoxyCharm (as we discuss in its own separate review) costs $30 per month. Finally, the Icon Box is the only different one. This is billed $60 per quarter and it comes in as a replacement for one of your other boxes at the time that you're billed. So, you do already need to be paying a monthly subscription, but it will feel like one of your months you get charged $60 instead of your regular fee.

Up to 80% off at the IPSY store

IPSY offers direct access to an online store where you can purchase extras to supplement your subscription boxes. Subscribing to any IPSY box gives you the advantage of exclusive shopping events, providing round-the-clock access to the online store (which is only accessible by subscribers) and allowing you to enjoy discounts of up to 80% off retail prices.

Solid reputation across the board

IPSY has an impressive reputation with an "A+" rating from the Better Business Bureau. On top of that, the company has solid reviews overall from customers with a 4.3 average on one third-party review site. With thousands of reviews across the board, IPSY is both a popular and often-used beauty box subscription. Customers love the cute packaging, the quality of the items, and the options to choose between different subscription boxes depending on what they're looking for.

Top pick for variety and quality

With an equally impressive brand lineup as our other top pick (incidentally one of IPSY's boxes) and delivering great value, IPSY distinguishes itself by offering 3 different makeup and skincare boxes with options for upgrades as well. IPSY has garnered a strong approval rating from both satisfied customers and the Better Business Bureau. Although the monthly cost is relatively higher at $14 to $60, the flexibility to cancel anytime coupled with the substantial value received during the subscription period make it a worthwhile choice. With these considerations and the fact that IPSY owns BoxyCharm, our other favorite, IPSY earns 5 stars and the top spot in our review.

On the IPSY website