Happy Saturday! I am back with round two of my battle of the beauty subscriptions now that I finally received my Birchbox in the mail! Unfortunately the post office held onto my box without delivering it for almost a week. Luckily it arrived safe and sound, and I am so excited to share this comparison post with you! Last month I reviewed both Ipsy and Birchbox for the first time, and Birchbox won the first round (all details HERE). Let me share with you what I got for April for each of these $10 subscription programs. Which one do you think will win this matchup?!
First up is Ipsy! This month’s theme was Pretty in Pink, and came in a cute white and pink cosmetics bag. My bag had a few small stains on it, so I emailed the company and they are going to send me a replacement. I’m definitely happy about that great customer service! I really do like this cosmetics bag, and I think this will be going in my school bag since it won’t take up a lot of room and can hold some lip balm, hand lotion, etc.
Now onto the products in my Ipsy Glam Bag! Last month I got five products, but this month I got four. I’ll describe everything in detail for you from left to right!
- Be a Bombshell Blush in Sweet Cheeks – $16.00 – This blush is a beautiful and very pigmented pink! I think it will work well with many skin tones, but it does pack a lot of color so a little bit will do the trick. The packaging is adorable, but feels a bit flimsy. I am definitely excited to use this for a more polished look!
- Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Nourishing Styling Treatment – $4.44 – At first I was excited to try what is marked a “healthy” hair treatment, and is even called soy renewal. However, after reviewing the ingredients on this product it seems to be full of chemicals, and has hardly any soy extract at all. I am definitely going to give it a try, and see if it manages my frizzy hair, but I wish it was actually as healthy as the packaging makes it sound!
- Sation Nail Lacquer in Love At First Byte – $5.00 – I was thrilled to find a full size nail polish in my Ipsy bag! I’ve never tried Sation polishes before, so I can’t wait to use this gorgeous peach color. It does appear to be a sheer finish, but I won’t know for sure until I try it. Let me know if you’d like to see a review of this polish on my blog!
- Mica Shimmer Powder in Earth – $11.96 – This is the only product in my bag that I don’t plan on using this month. While this is a gorgeous and shimmery eyeshadow, it is just not for me. I don’t wear eyeshadow very often, and the glitter in this is just too much for me. If you love eye makeup this would be perfect for you, though!
TOTAL RETAIL VALUE: $37.40
OVERALL OPINION: I am definitely loving this month over last month! I plan on using everything but the Mica Shimmer Powder, and I love having full size products. I do wish that the Healthy Sexy Hair lived up to its name, but that’s not really an Ipsy problem. This month’s cosmetics pouch is quite cute as well!
RATING (1-5, 1 BEING WORST & 5 BEING BEST): 4
Now onto my April Birchbox! This month they teamed up with Women’s Health for the theme of Tiny Tweaks, Big Results. I had a feeling when I saw this cute packaging that there would be lots of good things inside. I cannot wait to share the contents!
Look at all of these goodies! I will get right into describing all of the contents from left to right.
- One-Year Subscription to Women’s Health Magazine – $9.99 – This card was hiding at the bottom of my box, but I almost fell on the floor when I read it closely. Not only does this give me a one-year subscription to Women’s Health, but there is also an option to decline the subscription and get a $9.99 refund. That’s right — if I don’t want the magazine I can send this card in and get back $9.99! That is the price of my entire box! I haven’t decided if I want the magazine or the money yet, but this is an amazing value right off the bat!
- Atelier Cologne in Ambre Nue – $2.80 – I love perfume samples, so even though they are not high in value, I like getting one in my monthly box! I like to change up my perfume, so samples are the perfect way to do that. This will be used up for sure!
- Lierac Paris Concentré Mésolift Serum – $10 – I am excited to try this serum that is supposed to help hydrate skin, shrink pores, and fight off wrinkles. I just finished using a deluxe sample of another skin serum, so I’m happy to replace it with this one in my skin care routine! These serum samples last for weeks, and allow me to use luxury products that I would never be able to afford otherwise.
- Number 4 Blow Dry Lotion – $10.67 – While I don’t blow dry my hair that often, this lotion is supposed to protect my hair from the heat and make sure it is smooth. I haven’t tried this yet, but it smells amazing and it looks like I can get a lot of use out of this sample. I will have to give this a try!
- Ruby Wing Color Changing Nail Polish in Peony – $4.67 – I love that I have another nail polish! This time it is a mini size, but still a great value. I’ve never tried color changing nail polish before, but I cannot wait to use this one! I love the pink color. I think this will be great for summer!
- Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-On – $10.99 – This month I got this product as a Birchbox Find! As someone who has trouble getting up in the morning, and has very puffy eyes, this product is amazing! I already gave it a try and I am loving it so far. It feels amazing and is made for someone who has sensitive skin like me. As an added bonus, Birchbox added in a coupon for $1 off any Simple product. I love coupons and I will definitely use this one!
TOTAL RETAIL VALUE: $49.12 + $1 Simple coupon
OVERALL OPINION: I could not be more thrilled with this month’s Birchbox. Not only is the value just under $50 for a box I paid $10 for, but I love all of the products and will make sure to use them all. Even though it arrived a bit late this month, I am so happy to have this Birchbox! Plus, I love that this website has a fabulous rewards system. For each product you review you get 10 points! Every 100 points is $10 to spend in their shop.
RATING: 5
There you have it! My winner for the month of April is Birchbox! Not only was the retail value for my Birchbox significantly higher than Ipsy, but I enjoy the Birchbox products more. Ipsy is definitely more focused on makeup, while Birchbox has a focus on skincare. Since I don’t wear too much makeup, Birchbox is more tailored to my lifestyle. I am going to give both of these subscriptions one more battle round, and if I am not impressed with Ipsy I will cancel. At this time, Birchbox is an amazing value! You can join Ipsy HERE and Birchbox HERE.
Let me know what you think of these subscription programs in the comments!
You got a way better BB than I did this month! Mine was worth about $28 and not great samples. That’s the thing about BB… It totally depends on what number you get. If you got what I got, I’m sure Ipsy would have won… At least Ipsy is consistent. Some months my BB blows me outta the water and other months it’s the absolute worst. And uh oh, I think I tossed the sub card! Damnit!
I did see some Birchbox unboxings on YouTube, and I agree — not all boxes are created equal! It all comes down to how you fill out your online profile to ensure you get products you’ll love. This is only my second month with both programs, but I was rather disappointed with Ipsy last month. We’ll see what round three brings!
Sation is supposed to be FABULOUS polish. Have seen SO many reviews on http://oflifeandlacquer.com so excited to see your review too 😀
~Don’t forget to enjoy this day~
One will be up soon!
I love Birchbox! I have Ipsy also but am on the fence as to cancel or not. I have never got a bad box from Birchbox. I’m not a big makeup person so Birchbox is more my speed. Ipsy it seems has cheap makeup in my opinion. The blush from April’s bag is made in China. Most cosmetics are made either in the US or Europe so I wasn’t thrilled about that. I’ve never heard of the makeup brands that Ipsy has. I usually end up liking and keeping the hair/skin/body/nailpolish items in my ipsy bag but end up getting rid of the makeup. And almost the whole bag is makeup. So is it worth it to just keep 1-2 items out of the bag? Not sure.