After writing "The Scoop On Lip Monthly" I thought I could do a more in depth review on Ipsy as a whole. I've been with Ipsy for just over a year, and I think I've gotten to know the company fairly well.
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| Photo Credit: www.ipsy.com |
As you may already know, Ipsy
is a subscription service that sends 4-5 deluxe or full size samples to
your door for only $10 every month (just over $15 if you live in
Canada).
The bags are curated by Michelle Phan and customized a bit based on a quiz you take when you sign up and can take anytime after.
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| Photos directly from www.ipsy.com |
The samples range from makeup, to skincare, to
brushes, and even nail polish! So every month you get a set of products
to try and enjoy. It's important to remember that while the bags are
customized, it's only to a point and you can never fully opt out of any
particular product. So some months may be kind of a flop for you, but if
you have your quiz filled out just right and you review products, more
often than not you will receive bags you love.
Let's talk about Ipsypoints. Every month is an opportunity to earn Ipsy
points. The most you can currently earn in a month is about 90 (if
there are 5 products in the bag, if there are 4 than you can earn 75).
You earn points by sharing and following the instructions on the popups
you get twice a month, and reviewing items. The only other way to earn
points is to refer people (giving you 250 points). Every Ipster gets 100
points to start off with, when you reach 500 or 1000, you can get an
item. The 500 point items are a new addition and seem to be smaller and
usually samples, where as the 1000 point items are usually full size
and/or worth more. For instance I just redeemed a 1000 point item set:
Samples of Bellapierre lip and cheek stain and the illuminating bronzer.
Accumulating points can take a while, so be patient. Even if you have
1000 points wait until there is something you want. Also note that
points expire 1 year from when you earn them, and that ipsy
uses your oldest points first when you make a redemption. For example, I
had 1005 points this month. I redeemed 1000, so instead of my points
expiring next month like they would have, my 5 points wont expire until
next August. Nice right?
The community is something else I love about Ipsy.
On their website they have created a space for Ipsters to reach out to
each other via message boards and talk about products and reviews.
Though you cannot private message anyone, it does provide a safer place
to talk to people without giving out personal information or anything
weird/creepy going on. Not only does the community exist on thier
website, but there Facebook page is another place to see this in action
and ask Ipsy questions (something you can't otherwise do without contacting Ipsycare).
Something to note about the Ipsy
community is that though it is not possible to private message anyone,
people do give out emails in order to swap items with fellow ipsters.
This DOES involve giving out your name and mailing address to a complete
stranger. Now I'm not saying these things don't work out and can't be
totally harmless, but Ipsy is not responsible
for anything you do with your glam bags after receiving them. So if you
don't receive an item or something bad happens because you gave a
stranger your address--not Ipsy's fault. They
wont even replace any products that you traded for. Basically be careful
about that. Personally I choose not to give my address to anyone and
stick with what I've got.
I've talked to Ipsycare a lot. Now normally you
would think "uh oh" but it's usually for small things like when I
couldn't get the site to let me change my profile picture (they fixed it
right away). That's not to say there have never been bigger problems.
For instance, once they had a site glitch and charged the card I signed
up with (my mom's before I got mine) for an Ipsyme item and I freaked
out and had to run to the bank so they didn't overdraw the account since
they had other stuff going through, but Ipsy
quickly took the card out of the system and fixed it so that when I
renewed it would charge my card instead. This literally happened within a
day.
There are other times when I've just talked to Ipsycare to
suggest items for future bags or to show them how much they have
impacted people's lives. At one point I even emailed them to let them
know that they really made a difference in my life (it sounds silly but
they have) and since my renewal date was coming up, they extended it for
an extra two months so I would have more time to do so. I seriously did
not expect that and I started crying. As it turns out, it saved my butt
because my car got a flat and I came to find out I had to replace ALL
of my tires. Had I renewed Ipsy that month, I wouldn't have been able to fix the tires.
Other than customer service, they are awesome at keeping in
touch and interacting with their subscribers. They are constantly
posting new things for us to do like challenges or questions for us to
answer. It's actually really fun to see how much they interact and reply
to our comments!
Along the same lines as social media, sneak peeks are
released the first week of every month. This could be awesome or
horrible, depends on how you look at it. For me it's both: I like to
figure out whats in them for the fun of it...BUT I am also never
surprised about what is in the bag...Literally I have ALWAYS looked at
the spoilers, but then I'm like: "well, I already know what I COULD get,
so I might as well just take a peek at my glam room" ARG!! This month
it is my personal goal not to peek...but I've sort of already broken
that by looking at the first one via email.
Lastly, I just want to say that if you ARE thinking about subscribing to ipsy,
they are a great company. I really enjoy this service and I recommend
it to ANYONE who is just starting out using makeup, or already has a
huge passion for it, or even just likes to try new things every once in a
while. Just please Please PLEASE read the FAQ's before you sign up. For
heaven's sake, you are giving out personal information to someone. Know
what you are paying for and don't ask ridiculous questions on the
message boards. The FAQs probably could answer that for you. I will even
link them for you right here.
Also please use my referral link below and score me some points. I would be very very very grateful!
xoxo
Courtney
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