BoxyCharm vs Ipsy March 2015

By: Unknown on 3:34 PM

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Hi Everyone,

Okay I know this isn’t a fair fight but I wanted to do a Boxycharm vs Ipsy so you could see the difference between a lower price subscription and a little bit higher price subscription. Boxycharm is $21 a month and Ipsy is $10. They both ship around the 10^th day of the month. This is also my first month with Boxycharm. I’ve been with Ipsy for over a year and a half now. I was also subscribed to Birchbox and Glossybox for about 5-6 months each, but I wasn’t completely in love with either because they focus a little bit more on skincare than I personally care for.

Both subscriptions give “sneak peeks” of about 3 products that will be in the box. They also send out an email that gives your tracking code. They also both use the same shipping service, DHL (which will eventually give the package to USPS for final delivery). Boxycharm gives a little more information than Ipsy. In particular they mention that the website often doesn’t update in-between locations, especially when it transfers from DHL to USPS. I like how they explain that because I often got annoyed with my Ipsy’s tracking, and they never told me about it like Boxycharm.

BOXYCHARM

Previse – Nutrify Skin Tonic

$48 (Full Size)

Again I can’t really use skin care products but I like how this can also be used as a base before makeup. I think it will be good for that because it is a stickier texture when first applied so I think it will be great for holding makeup. Also this item alone is over twice the amount I paid for the box. I also love how it's free of parabens, silicones, and petroleum which are horrible for your skin especially if you are acne prone like me.

Tarte – LipSurgence Lip Tint in Charmed

$24 (Full Size)

I’ve wanted to try a Tarte product that’s not their mascara. So a lip tint is the perfect thing to try in my opinion. I like the light pink color that everyone was sent because it's dark enough to not look weird with my pale skin but light enough to be the perfect spring color.

Oscar Blandi - Hair Lift Thickening and Strengthening Mousse

$11 (Travel Size)

There was a possibility of getting one of two different Oscar Blandi hair products, I got the Mousse. The other was a dry shampoo. Although I kind of wish I had gotten the dry shampoo because it's a unique application (not a spray), I think this Mousse will be perfect for my curly hair, I love using mousse's with thick curly hair.

Ofra – Eyeliner in Black

$13 (Full Size)

I love my Ofra universal eyebrow pencil; as such I’m excited to try the eyeliner by them. I wish it had been an automatic pencil, just because I prefer those a little better. However this has such a thin tip I think it will be great for getting into the waterline.

LVX – Nail Lacquer in Deco

$16 (Full Size)

This product had the possibility of coming in three different shades: Deco, Mynt, or Lemondrop. I’ve heard of the brand before but never tried it. LVX is a high-end brand as you can probably guess with the price. It’s is also 5-free and cruelty-free. I'm glad that I got Deco, although Mynt would have been nice too. I'm just glad I didn't get Lemondrop because yellow is not a good color for me. I'm excited to test this out, especially since it seems fairly opaque. 

IPSY

The Bag:

I love this bag it is so cute and perfect for spring. I can definitely see myself using this for my travel makeup bag, and I think I might even use it in the summer for taking small things to the beach that way they don't get dirty.

Mary Kay – At Play Eye Crayon in Teal Me More

$10

My aunt sells Mary Kay so if I end up liking this I know who to go to. I don’t wear a lot of colored shadow looks, because of my job and I like a neutral eye with a bright lip. However, I’m willing to give this a try! It’s a pretty light aqua/turquoise color.

Coolway Glow Oil Treatment (Glow Finishing Oil)

$2.99 – 10ml (Full size is 100ml and costs $29.95)

I’m not sure how much of a difference I’ll see since it is such a small sample size but I’m kind of excited to try it out. However, since it is so small and I have such thick hair I will probably only get a couple uses out of this at most.

NYX Cosmetics Butter Lipstick in HUNK

$6.00

This product had the possibility of coming in three different shades: Hunk, Little Susie, or Pops. I already own Little Susie. I had gotten the Little Susie one on clearance because my local Meijer was transitioning to different/new products from NYX. I like this formula; to be honest I’m a huge fan of the butter lip products from NYX (especially the glosses). I love this shade it’s a cool-toned purple that comes off a little more magenta on my lips personally.

Laneige – BB Cushion

? (Full size is .5oz for 1 shade and costs $34)

Honestly this is kind of pointless to me and something I could probably get as a free sample. I can’t really put a cost on it because it is such a small sample and it’s a trio of colors instead of just once. Size wise it’s about $14.28 but the fact that two of the shades will never get use lowers the price in my opinion.

SKYN Iceland – Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels

$7.5 – 2 Pairs (Full size is 8 Pairs for $30)

Honestly I don’t use eye gels; I personally just don’t have the time in the mornings before work. I tend to try and get as much sleep as possible and so I rush to get ready. I still have ones that I probably got a year ago from Ipsy. I might pass these on to someone who will use them.

Overall:

The Ipsy Subscription is worth about 4x as much as I paid for it, if I give the physical bag an estimated cost of $5 and the Laneige sample the worth based on weight. Boxycharm is worth about 5x more than what I paid for it. Even though Boxycharm isn’t supposed to be more personalized like Ipsy (i.e. products you’d want to see in your box), I think it did 10x better with items that are suited to my tastes. I also like how they give you the prices of the products.

I’m excited to try everything in my Boxycharm, and to be honest I can see all of them being used constantly. For Ipsy however I think the only thing I will use fairly often is the NYX lipstick because I know I love the formula and I like the shade a lot. I might get some use out of the Mary Kay eye crayon but I honestly tend to use a neutral look more often so a color isn’t the best for me. However, the bag is beyond adorable and I will definitely be using it for my travel bag for makeup!

Is it worth the extra $11 to get the Boxycharm? In my opinion yes, it was a slam dunk for me. However, if you’re trying to be budget friendly and $21 is just too much to spend each month but you do want to join a beauty subscription service, I would definitely recommend Ipsy. For $10 you normally get at least one full-sized product plus an adorable bag (did I mention how much I love this months?). For me however, it just isn’t what I want right now, and I’d much rather end my subscription with them and give my full attention to Boxycharm.