IPSY and Me

When I was a kid, my mother worked at the corporate offices of a well-known drug store. Her office building had a company store where employees could purchase overstock merchandise at a discount. Occasionally, she would come home with a shoebox overflowing with various eye shadows and liners, mascaras, lipsticks, and nail polishes for my younger sister and me to experiment with. Those times felt like Christmas for the two of us because, as a single parent, our mom couldn't usually afford such a luxury. Even more impactful, with the act of her bringing makeup home for us, we felt like she was honoring our development from little girls into young women.

Since then, I have sampled my fair share of beauty products. From the days of slathering my pre-teen pout with frosted peach gloss, the black-lidded rebellion of my adolescence, and the "less - is - more," youthful practicality of my 20's and 30's to the present, where I am discovering the great value in a highly effective under-eye cream, I have run a veritable gamut of cosmetics.

As a mother to 6, I have had increasingly less time to saunter around a beauty department ferreting out which products would work best for my needs. Changing fashion trends and evolving environmental and humane standards have both influenced the world of cosmetics over my lifetime, to boot. The internet, of course, is a wonderland of shopping opportunities, but in the case of one's face, trying something new isn't always a sure bet. If things go poorly, it can be not only expensive but also wasteful.

A simple, affordable solution to these woes, and a holler back to those early, shoebox-filled memories, has been my monthly subscription to IPSY. For those not in the know, IPSY is a service that begins with a quick quiz about your typical use of beauty products. I answered questions about my skin tone and condition, the products I use most frequently, and which scents I love or hate. IPSY uses this data to determine what items will be delivered each month in their adorably themed, reusable, "Glam Bags."

The basic plan runs $12US/month and includes 5 sample-sized products, 3 that you select yourself from that month's menu, and 2 mystery items tailored to your profile. These items are about 1 - 2 oz, so they are quite a bit larger than what you get at the beauty counter, but also much smaller than what you'd purchase off the shelf. There are options to ramp service up to the Glam Bag Plus (5 full-sized products, 3 selected, 2 mystery) or to go even bigger with the Glam Bag X service, (the same thing as the Plus bag but your items are procured by celebrities and/or industry professionals.) Once you have tried your products, the IPSY website has a reviews feature, where you can give feedback on the products they ship in exchange for points toward free gear in the future. They also have a referral program where you can share your profile link with friends and family, to earn more points toward free merchandise.

This is how I came to join.

My membership began at the basic level as a COVID-19 lockdown splurge. Years ago, a friend of mine sent out a group email from her IPSY profile, inviting friends to join with an offer for a free Glam Bag. At the time, shopping in an actual store was still an option, and I had had some bad experiences with monthly subscriptions that ended up not being worth the cost, so I avoided joining. Once in lockdown, and after receiving my first Pandemic Relief Stimulus Check, I finally bit the bullet to sign up.

Waiting for that initial bag to arrive felt like a lifetime. The entire world had seemed to grind to a halt because of COVID, the US Postal Service included. Once my shipment finally arrived in that cute pink bubble wrap sleeve, I snatched it up and quickly ran to the bathroom to open it in privacy. Inside was a small pot of really rich body lotion, a lip-stain in a complimentary-to-my-red-hair-and-fair-skin shade, a fragrance claiming to be woody and sultry, a black as night liquid eye-liner that admittedly kind of intimidated me, and a shiny gold lip gloss. The bag itself was adorable, a furry pink zippered affair to keep my new pretties safe. After the first few Glam Bags, I found that I loved the products so much, I would use them up quickly, so I upgraded to Glam Bag Plus.

I am currently awaiting my very first Plus-sized bag, it should arrive any day now. I love being able to track deliveries on the IPSY website, but fair warning, IPSY uses basic ground shipping, which seems to take longer than typical mail would (though I imagine COVID - 19 has played a role in this.) IPSY also has intermittent flash sales where you can purchase past monthly bags, or customize your own from the items available, and these shipments seem to come a bit quicker.

One of the unexpected perks of ordering IPSY has been being able to share fun stuff with my own daughters as they begin their exploration of the world of beauty and self-care products. The shimmering sample-sized highlighters, and wee mascaras, brow pencils, and shiny new brushes have been plentiful and priced just low enough, that much like my own mother with her shoeboxes full of wonder, I am honored to throw a couple their way to slay their own little faces with. Extra items also work great for last-minute gifts, Easter baskets, or stocking stuffers.

All in all, I have to say that this subscription has brought me a great deal of joy. The anticipation of surprise products alongside the ones I picked out for myself has been a tiny light amid a very strange and difficult time. I would confidently refer anyone to give IPSY a try themselves. In fact, do us both a favor and use my referral link to give IPSY a go, yourself!

Happy Glam Bagging!!