What is it: Every month Ipsy sends out a cute makeup bag of samples and full size items. You can review your bag for points that you can trade in for reward items. The rewards change often and the range between 300 points and 1000 points. You can get around 95 points every month.
If you want to subscribe you can subscribe HERE and skip the waitlist. That is my referral link so I do get points to spend but I’m not an affiliate I don’t make any money or anything it’s just the same link any subscriber would get.
You can choose one item in your bag every month which I really like. I will say the quality of the actual bag every month isn’t as consistent or as good as they have been in years past.
Well this month really sucked bad for me with Ipsy.
The pastel bag is super cute but really cheap feeling.
Well this brush can’t be purchased. I have never heard of this brand but nothing they have nor the quality of this brush seems like it is par with the prices they are charging. It is cute and soft and I will use it but it isn’t $20.
I have no idea the value because I have no idea the size of the full size. Also I was excited for this love the concept of tequila and the the packaging is cute. But woah so unimpressive on I have so many beautiful highlighters I won’t be keeping this. Swatched Below.
This is another one with no way to find out the full size cost and now I also think something a little sketchy is going on because these both feel a bit like not realy brands more like very indie at their infancy of creation and upon looking at one of the instagrams they were in a give away together and like hmmm little strange that these too tiny indie brands know each other and some how both show up in an ipsy bag together. Also this bronzer is orange as hell.
Couldn’t even give a full ml huh. I just don’t care for shape tape or concealer in general. I have rated shape tape and Tarte low in the past so it isn’t great that they keep sending them to me.
So my goal was 400 products and $3,500 in value and succeed with 450 and $3,930.84!!
Final Results
Compared to 2020
I did better in every category which is amazing. That is really what I wanted. I feel like so much stuff comes into my life and it feels like I am never using enough to get ahead let alone catch up. I know more then 394 new things have come into my life. I really want to focusing on reducing category totals overall so that will be part of this years goals.
Final Totals By Category:
Things that stand out to me:
Well I decluttered exactly double as much as I decluttered last year for whatever that information is worth.
Dear god I need to spend less on candles.
Skincare is so like my most consistent category and all prices and percentages are so close every year, I don’t know what that says about me either.
Also I really love a bougie lip balm and I need to cool it with that. I justify it because I actually finish them and really enjoy it the whole time but I have enough I have 42 lip balms/scrubs/lip masks etc and that is insane. I would need to use up 3 to 4 a month to use them up in a year and I use up like 1 a month. I have nearly a 4 yr supply that is crazy person status.
And Now for Some Pie Charts
Skincare still about a third that is apparently just where I sit which is fine with me. Lip and Perfume are tied for last place last year they were second to last and last place respectively. Declutter moved up to second place and it is nice to have four categories that broke double digits.
Most value out of my Skincare, Home Scents, and Perfume use. Last year makeup had made it into the top 3 but I got the same value out of it so that’s good. I wish it was more though.
I don’t really have any interesting insights other then I need to stop buying candles for awhile.
So 2022 Goals, I really really want to focus on maintaing and reducing my collection overall. I am really maxing out space and it is not great for me. I plan on doing a declutter of my makeup (slowly) over the next twoish months so that will move alot out. But I will be keeping track of the category totals of my collection month to month. To see how I am doing and be more conscious of what I am bringing in.
Also I want to stretch myself to $4000 goal this year. I don’t think I am going to make an exact monthly item goal I want to be using about 100 items a quarter or the same 400 items a year.
I just can’t believe the year is over I feel like it was some how so long and so short all at the same time. I am going to do a separate wrap up/2022 goals post so this is just the December empties.
Skincare (8)
Youth to the People Kale + Green Tea Spinach Vitamins Superfood Cleanser this was totally generic and I have no feelings.
Repurchase: No
Feel 4D Hyaluronic Acid Under Eye Cream this was fine it was hydrating but didn’t do anything special or crazy.
Repurchase: No
Tarte Mermaid Skin Hyaluronic H20 Serum I did not like this it was very very runny and water like so it felt like I was just moving it around and mostly absorbing into my hands. Not good.
Repurchase: No
Kypris Antioxidant Dew Quench & Glow Serum well I used this for a long time you really “get” your money’s worth in that sense but I don’t know that this was worth $90 dollars of essentially slightly plumping glowy moisture.
Repurchase: No
Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Night I never liked this it was sticky and hard to blend into my skin and I just didn’t like it.
Repurchase: No
Estee Lauder Perfectionist Pro Rapid Brightening Treatment I used this for so long so I guess in that sense you get your $110 worth but I don’t feel like it did anything for my skin I really didn’t see any effects.
Repurchase: No
Sand & Sky Australian Pink Clay Pore Refining Mask this was good it helped my pores when I used it, to clearn them out and make them feel and look a little smaller temporarily. It is also very very drying and tightening.
Repurchase: Maybe
YSL Pure Shots Night Reboot Serum also hated this it was really oily and just kinda hard to apply and didn’t feel great on my skin.
Repurchase: No
Random (2)
Pacifica Cherry Kiss Hydrating Lipstick Wipes I love these for taking off liquid lipsticks they make it easy and mess free and they taste great I love cherries.
Repurchase: Yes
Sure Unscented Invisible Solid Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant this was fine I guess I bought it at the dollar tree in an emergency and used it.
Repurchase: No
Home Scents (5)
VS Fresh & Clean Candle I don’t feel like this candle had much of a scent at all but the glass was really really pretty and the glow was really nice through the pink frosted glass
Repurchase: No
Swan Creek Candle Co. Drizzle Melt in Vanilla Pound Cake this is my favorite brand of wax melts and I am almost out. This was really sweet and bakery like which I love.
Repurchase: Yes
Natural Pure Honest Candle in Narnia this was fine it was very cold weather Christmas tree vibes not my typical scent but nice around the holidays.
Repurchase: No
Ulta Beauty Pixar Toy Story Candle (Milk & Cookies) this smelled so good I love milk and cookie kinda scented candles. And I love Disney. This was so so good. But I am on a huge candle ban right now I have more then I can use up in a reasonable time span and my candle storage is at max capacity so I can’t buy another one of these.
Repurchase: I want to but I can’t
Homeworx Hot Cider Donut this had a good scent throw but it was really donut forward very little of the apple of cider. It also burned kinda quick for how large of a candle it is.
Repurchase: Yes but only on sale
Lip (1)
Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in Mint Rush this is like one of my all time favorite lip balms I love how minty it is I love how smooth it is. It is so soft and feels so nice on my lips I love it. I love how luxe the packaging is it is a heavy plastic that screws shut and looks like metal. I HATE the price it is $24 dollars which is insane.
Repurchase: Yes
Lotion (1)
Bath and Body Works Body Cream in Gingerbread Latte I hated this I hate how some of the Bath & body Works creams will turn yellow and chunky I know is is because of the vanilla scent oils and not because it has gone bad (it smelled an preformed fine) I just find it gross. I really am more trying to use up their stuff and not really buy much anymore I just don’t think the quality is worth the price. Every now and again there are scents or products that I think are really stand out and good but on the whole not so much.
Repurchase: No
Bodycare (1)
L’Occitane Amande Supple Skin Oil this was just a body oil it was fine nothing overly exciting but it felt nice and it absorbed well.
Repurchase: No
Declutter (8)
Ulta Beauty Harry Potter Gryffindor Tinted Lip Balm am I saving this for display yes did I hate this product also yes. I don’t want a super red super pigmented tinted balm it just slips and slides all over and gets on everything either it needs to be super sheer or it needs to be untinted.
Wet n Wild Megalast Liquid Lip Color in Cherry on Top this was a pretty color but it was flakey and dry and crusty and I have better I don’t need this I have so many lipsticks and I am back on trying to retry the ones I have and get rid of ones I don’t like or need.
Violet Voss Essentials Eye Shadow Palette this is just boring and the formula isn’t that special so I can let this go I don’t have any amazing memories of using it and I was reorganizing and it can just go.
Carol’s Daughter Almond Milk Leave-in Conditioner this product is great but the scent I just can’t stand it is two floral too heavy and bitter all at the same time and it lingers in my hair for a very long time so this is sad it is a good detangler refresher leave in it is a great product it is just the scent for me.
Physician’s Formula #InstaReady Contour Trio in Bronze Trio I just don’t ever use this anymore. It was fine when I used it I used to use all the stripes separately with a brush and it is fine but it isn’t worth the effort and it can go.
YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Oil-in-Stick Hydrating Lipstick Balm I have two of these in the same shade and this is really not my kind of product so despite it being YSL I can’t justify having two slippy slidy lipstick balm products.
KVD Super Brow in Scarlet I never really liked this it is hard to remove it is not a pure red or a scarlet it is very orange and it is really waxy and hard to apply.
Sophia + Mabelle Hydrating Hybrid 2 in 1 Lipstick Balm in Topless I don’t like the formula or color of this lipstick balm I don’t like how slidy it is and the color is very dead on me.
Well this month was all bonus because I had hit my goal in Nov which worked out since this was my second lowest item count of the year but it was my fourth highest in product value.
