Today's post is going to be another post about subscription services! If you are unfamiliar with what a beauty subscription service is, it is a program that you pay for monthly (sometimes yearly), and a box of sample, deluxe, and sometimes full sized products show up at your doorstep in a box! In this monthly series I compare the two cheapest (that I know of) boxes on the US market. Birchbox and Ipsy. They both cost $10 a month and you get a box delivered to you with 4-6 products. Some months are definitely better than other months, but that is the fun of subscribing to one of these services!
I forgot to mention in last months post, that Ipsy also sends a makeup bag with each months box. So all of the products you get are inside a cute makeup bag that you can use for so many different things, so that can add value to choosing Ipsy over Birchbox. Okay, lets get started!
Birchbox: What was in mine?
1. Vasanti Cosmetics - BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Reguvenator
Full Size Value - $34 for 4.23 oz
Sample Size - 20g
Verdict - I love getting skin care samples, my skin isn't too sensitive, but I still like to look up reviews to make sure that it hasn't caused any negative reaction to a large amount of people. This has great reviews, saying that anybody with larger pores (hello, me) needs this product in their life. It isn't like your normal exfoliator with big micro-beads in it like a scrub, they are very minuscule but I'm really excited to try this! Also, impressed by this sample size for Birchbox, will definitely use!
2. Egyptian Magic - All-Purpose Skin Cream
Full Size Value - $26 for 2oz
Sample Size - 0.25 oz
Verdict - This is like a petroleum jelly consistency, and says that it is an all purpose cream used for many different things. It only contains 6 ingredients, all natural so that makes me feel more comfortable trying it! The reviews are great, some love it as an eye cream, lip balm, to help with dry skin, and other uses all over! I am excited to try this out, maybe as a lip balm. I'm going to look a little further into reviews on this to find the best way to use this. Bot a terrible sample size, enough to determine whether I like it or not!
3. Cynthia Rowley Beauty - Silver Eyeliner
Full Size Value - $16 for 0.04 oz (normal eyeliner size)
Sample Size - .03 oz
Verdict - I don't really know when I will use a silver eyeliner, but boy is this one amazing! It is so pigmented and literally looks like I'm painting silver paint when I do a swatch of it. Like I said, I don't really know when I will use this, but its a great product and a great sample size.
4. Joie - Perfume
Full Size Value - $98 for 3.4 oz ... yeah.
Sample Size - It doesn't have an actual ounce value on the packaging, but its tiny ;) Just a little vial of perfume that you would normally get from a beauty counter.
Verdict - I'm not a fan of this smell, its really light and fresh, but just not for me. I won't be getting use out of this product, but that is sometimes what happens with subscription services!
5. Davines - Shampoo, Conditioner, and All-Purpose Treatment
Full Size Value - $24-$28 for each product
Sample Size - The shampoo is a great size 2.5 oz, the conditioner and treatment are in foil packets (ugh) each .13oz
Verdict - I will probably get use out of the shampoo, but probably will skip on the conditioner and treatment only because I don't like using foil packets. Just my preference though!
Ipsy : What was in mine?
The products from Ipsy come in a makeup bag every month, and this month Rebecca Minkoff teamed up with Ipsy to design the bag! I am in love, it is so summery and cute! I will be keeping this one, some months I have to toss the bags or else I would have 50+ makeup bags just laying around the house!
1. Nyx - Butter Gloss in "Eclair"
Full Size Value - $4.99
Sample Size - FULL SIZE
Verdict - This was the first item I saw when I opened my box and I was soooo happy. Nyx butter glosses are my hands down favorite lip product, over my mac lip glosses, and any other high end lip glosses! They smell amazing, go on like butter (hence the name) and have pretty great lasting power for the price. I have so many colors, but surprisingly not this one, score for me!
2. DERMAdoctor - DD cream
Full Size Value - $38 for 1.3 oz
Sample Size - .3 oz
Verdict - This has an average review of 3.8 out of 5 on Sephora. A lot of people say that it is an okay product, not amazing, but not a bust. The sample size is a little small for Ipsy, but still large enough for me to get a few uses out of it. It is a "self-adjusting" color so we will see how it works, but I'm not disappointed with this sample!
3. Nicka K - Shimmer Eyeliner in Green
Full Size Value - $4.99
Sample Size - FULL SIZE
Verdict - I love wearing green eyeliner on the bottom lash line with my brown eyes, it makes them pop and brings out the brown (if that is even possible). This is a liquid eyeliner, and I've never tried green on the top lash line but the color is so gorgeous, a really pretty emerald green when swatched and you can barely see the shimmer so I will be trying this one out! Excited!
4. Marc Anthony - Dream Waves Beach Spray
Full Size Value - $8.99 for 4.2oz
Sample Size - 1.52 oz
Verdict - The sample size is definitely a deluxe sample, enough for me to get multiple uses. It smells just like coconuts, which is one of my favorite smells! Definitely the correct smell for "beach waves" I will be trying this out soon, happy about this sample!
5. Be a Bombshell Cosmetics - Mascara
Full Size Value - $15
Sample Size - FULL SIZE
Verdict - I love getting mascaras in my sample boxes, and this one definitely looks like one I will like! It has a really strong smell, which kind of turned me off but the company released a statement about this saying that their products are as natural as they can be and most companies cover up the chemicals with fragrance, and they choose not to. So I know it is safe to use, and I will definitely be putting it to the test! It is a very standard mascara brush, looking forward to trying this!
Overall Verdict?
For June 2014, Ipsy definitely won. I was impressed with some of the samples in Birchbox, but out of 5 products in my Ipsy bag, 3 of them were full size. The value was definitely higher for Ipsy and the bag was adorable as well! What was in your birchbox or ipsy this month? Post a picture to instagram and caption #glitterwithgraceblog, I would love to see what you got!!
Want to see more birchbox vs. ipsy posts?
- May 2014
As always, thanks for reading!
Jaimie
Sample Size - 20g
Verdict - I love getting skin care samples, my skin isn't too sensitive, but I still like to look up reviews to make sure that it hasn't caused any negative reaction to a large amount of people. This has great reviews, saying that anybody with larger pores (hello, me) needs this product in their life. It isn't like your normal exfoliator with big micro-beads in it like a scrub, they are very minuscule but I'm really excited to try this! Also, impressed by this sample size for Birchbox, will definitely use!
2. Egyptian Magic - All-Purpose Skin Cream
Full Size Value - $26 for 2oz
Sample Size - 0.25 oz
Verdict - This is like a petroleum jelly consistency, and says that it is an all purpose cream used for many different things. It only contains 6 ingredients, all natural so that makes me feel more comfortable trying it! The reviews are great, some love it as an eye cream, lip balm, to help with dry skin, and other uses all over! I am excited to try this out, maybe as a lip balm. I'm going to look a little further into reviews on this to find the best way to use this. Bot a terrible sample size, enough to determine whether I like it or not!
3. Cynthia Rowley Beauty - Silver Eyeliner
Full Size Value - $16 for 0.04 oz (normal eyeliner size)
Sample Size - .03 oz
Verdict - I don't really know when I will use a silver eyeliner, but boy is this one amazing! It is so pigmented and literally looks like I'm painting silver paint when I do a swatch of it. Like I said, I don't really know when I will use this, but its a great product and a great sample size.
4. Joie - Perfume
Full Size Value - $98 for 3.4 oz ... yeah.
Sample Size - It doesn't have an actual ounce value on the packaging, but its tiny ;) Just a little vial of perfume that you would normally get from a beauty counter.
Verdict - I'm not a fan of this smell, its really light and fresh, but just not for me. I won't be getting use out of this product, but that is sometimes what happens with subscription services!
5. Davines - Shampoo, Conditioner, and All-Purpose Treatment
Full Size Value - $24-$28 for each product
Sample Size - The shampoo is a great size 2.5 oz, the conditioner and treatment are in foil packets (ugh) each .13oz
Verdict - I will probably get use out of the shampoo, but probably will skip on the conditioner and treatment only because I don't like using foil packets. Just my preference though!
Ipsy : What was in mine?
1. Nyx - Butter Gloss in "Eclair"
Full Size Value - $4.99
Sample Size - FULL SIZE
Verdict - This was the first item I saw when I opened my box and I was soooo happy. Nyx butter glosses are my hands down favorite lip product, over my mac lip glosses, and any other high end lip glosses! They smell amazing, go on like butter (hence the name) and have pretty great lasting power for the price. I have so many colors, but surprisingly not this one, score for me!
2. DERMAdoctor - DD cream
Full Size Value - $38 for 1.3 oz
Sample Size - .3 oz
Verdict - This has an average review of 3.8 out of 5 on Sephora. A lot of people say that it is an okay product, not amazing, but not a bust. The sample size is a little small for Ipsy, but still large enough for me to get a few uses out of it. It is a "self-adjusting" color so we will see how it works, but I'm not disappointed with this sample!
3. Nicka K - Shimmer Eyeliner in Green
Full Size Value - $4.99
Sample Size - FULL SIZE
Verdict - I love wearing green eyeliner on the bottom lash line with my brown eyes, it makes them pop and brings out the brown (if that is even possible). This is a liquid eyeliner, and I've never tried green on the top lash line but the color is so gorgeous, a really pretty emerald green when swatched and you can barely see the shimmer so I will be trying this one out! Excited!
4. Marc Anthony - Dream Waves Beach Spray
Full Size Value - $8.99 for 4.2oz
Sample Size - 1.52 oz
Verdict - The sample size is definitely a deluxe sample, enough for me to get multiple uses. It smells just like coconuts, which is one of my favorite smells! Definitely the correct smell for "beach waves" I will be trying this out soon, happy about this sample!
5. Be a Bombshell Cosmetics - Mascara
Full Size Value - $15
Sample Size - FULL SIZE
Verdict - I love getting mascaras in my sample boxes, and this one definitely looks like one I will like! It has a really strong smell, which kind of turned me off but the company released a statement about this saying that their products are as natural as they can be and most companies cover up the chemicals with fragrance, and they choose not to. So I know it is safe to use, and I will definitely be putting it to the test! It is a very standard mascara brush, looking forward to trying this!
Overall Verdict?
For June 2014, Ipsy definitely won. I was impressed with some of the samples in Birchbox, but out of 5 products in my Ipsy bag, 3 of them were full size. The value was definitely higher for Ipsy and the bag was adorable as well! What was in your birchbox or ipsy this month? Post a picture to instagram and caption #glitterwithgraceblog, I would love to see what you got!!
Want to see more birchbox vs. ipsy posts?
- May 2014
As always, thanks for reading!
Jaimie
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