My ipsy Review!

I have an awesome story to tell you! So last night we told the kids we were going to get snow cones and loaded them into my (finally fixed) Tahoe to find one. When we got to our usual spot, there was like, 3,000 people waiting in the line. And I don't know if you've ever waited in line for snow cones, but it lasts forever, thanks to the people who stand there for 10 minutes and ask questions like "What does peach taste like?"

So, in an effort to avoid mutiny from our kids, we decided to make a grocery store dash for some ice cream instead. I ran in by myself and picked up the following items:

- 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's
- 1 Dairy Milk bar
- 1 Bag of Milky Way Bites (my husband is obsessed)
- 1 Bag of Mint Milano cookies (they were on sale!)
- 1 US Weekly

As I loaded up all of my loot on the conveyor belt for the cashier, she started scanning the items and asked "How are you doing?"

"Fine, thanks -- how are you?"

"Good. But not as good as it looks like you're going to be tonight."

I then realized that she thought all of the stuff was for me. I started laughing "Um, I swear this isn't all for me. My kids are with my husband in the car."

"Oh, sure. It just looks like you're having some kind of spa night."

"Nope. Just getting treats for my kids."

She finished bagging my stuff and I ran my card because heaven forbid I ever carry cash. As I gathered up my bags, she handed over the receipt and said "Well, good luck on the breakup you're clearly going through."

When I got out to the car I was laughing so hard. I enjoyed that cashier's moxie and "Girls gotta stick together attitude." but I also liked her suggestions, so a girly spa night, breakup style sounded really good. Luckily, I had received my monthly ipsy bag yesterday afternoon, so I had a bunch of products to try. I put the kids to bed, filled the bath, queued up "Say Yes to the Dress" on my iPad and delved into my Dairy Milk while embracing the true product whore that I am.

Yesterday, when I posted a picture of my ipsy haul on Instagram, (this is what I got except the primer was switched for a nail polish) I got a ton of questions. And, since I love my ipsy subscription, I thought I'd give a little review. I'm not being paid for this. I just really love ipsy and want to spread that love.

So beauty subscription boxes are nothing new. But back in May, I made a list of things that would make non-crappy Mother's Day presents and included ipsy as one and I was totally sold. Before I purchased the subscription, I researched beauty boxes exhaustively. Like more than should be socially acceptable. I wanted a few things: Cheapness, a variety of products, premium sample sizes and beauty-centric stuff. After checking out BirchBox, Beauty Box 5 and a bunch of others, I finally settled on ipsy.

For $10, I get a little makeup bag with five products to try. Some are full-size and some are premium samples, which means they're miniature versions of the full size... not like, the little foil packages. For instance, this month I got a full-size nail polish, plus a pot of bronzer, a travel mascara, the world's most adorable miniature lipstick and a good-sized tube of facial mask.

When I first signed up, I gave some information about my beauty style, like how I love products, am pretty creative when it comes to colors and prefer makeup over hair stuff. ipsy then customized my bag out of 12 possible products for than month. I love that it lets me try brands that I probably wouldn't have tried on my own. This month had stuff from brands like Urban Decay, smashbox, Pixi and Michael Todd. I got the Michael Todd Pumpkin facial and it was amaaaaazing.

Do I think it's worth the $10? Absolutely. Honestly, it's worth the money to get something other than bills in the mail. I also love the little makeup bags that come with -- they're awesome for organizing my vanity and using for travel. However, in talking with one of my IG followers who uses BirchBox, she says it's better for skin and hair, while ipsy seems to be more about the makeup. There are also boxes for organic and vegan beauty too. Aaaaand thus concludes the only time I'll ever use the word "vegan" on my blog.

Anyway, I love my mail order makeup and I totally think it's worth it. Even if I don't love a color I'm sent, I pass them to my daughter who LOVES this mini lipsticks and stuff. And I already plan on buying a tub of that pumpkin facial, so I'm happy that I was introduced to the stuff.

Do you subscribe to a beauty box? I might be thinking about getting another and I'd love to hear more opinions!