Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Why I Resubscribed To Ipsy and How It’s Changed
Want to try an Ipsy subscription? Click here to learn more about it via the Ipsy website!
When Ipsy first arrived on the market years ago, I was among the first to sign up for the makeup subscription program. To have a monthly bag full of makeup show up in my mailbox for a minimal fee was very exciting to me as I’ve loved makeup since I can remember.
When I quit my full-time job in 2018 to explore a new career path, I cancelled my Ipsy subscription as I had to cut many unnecessary expenses. I slowly started cutting out all unnecessary expenses, such as massages, facials, hair, clothing shopping and more. Please keep in mind as you read this: I know that some people will never be able to afford these “extras” in life, and fully understand it’s a privilege to be able to.
Ipsy bag in August 2023
As much as I looked forward to the simple self-care joys that Ipsy and the other unnecessary things brought to my life, I had to let these things go. When you switch from a dual income house to a single income house, there will always be changes that you have to make.
There are a lot of things you have to sacrifice when you are trying to start your own business (maybe you read Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling and always wanted to try sales as a career path) or some other new career path that makes your heart sing. If it were all FUN and EASY, then everyone would quit their jobs to do it. It was not a fun decision to make and it’s not been easy, but I am enjoying my life now more than ever.
I enjoyed my August 2023 ipsy bag
Now, it’s over 5 years later, and I am still doing my own thing as a full-time content creator (due to my loving and supportive husband, both of our savvy financial brains and utilizing our house renovation skills as an unplanned side hustle), but I am finally starting to earn my own income. It’s still not much, but I am loving what I’m doing and it gets better every year! With that income, I have been able to reintroduce some things back into my life, and I started with my Ipsy subscription. Read on to learn more about why I resubscribed to Ipsy.
Enjoy what you do in life
After dealing with Hurricane Ian damage to our home still at almost one-year post storm, I needed a tiny bit of joy to be added back into my life. Playing with all the makeup that came in my past monthly Ipsy bags gave my brain a much-needed creative break. Seeing the shiny pink shipping bag in my mailbox was a light in my life when I was struggling with some personal issues, like when dealing with a leader at work that was erratic in his leadership style, and whether or not I should quit my job in pursuit of some life dreams. Makeup has always brought me joy.
I call this a Pumpkin Pie Spice makeup look
When I was a little girl, I played with makeup for hours. My mom liked makeup, but I don’t remember watching her apply it. She tells me my love of makeup just came from me. It wasn’t really inspired by anyone. I was born a creative and I see makeup as being part of my paint palette and my face is my canvas. I was not allowed to wear makeup after my parents divorced and I moved into a new household with new rules.
I can’t wait for Ipsy to start sending me hair products too, as I love tryin new hair products like I did in my fun 15 second video below:
That no makeup rule lasted until I was in high school, and even then, I was taken to a Clinique counter and was allowed to get a light pink, almost see through, lipstick. It was not much, but it was something. Until I got that lipstick, I got my fill of playing with makeup when visiting my mom on the weekends. My mom may have chosen to not be in my life full-time when she left, but she always allowed me to be myself. Going to her house became my beauty creative playground where I got to kind of be who I was born to be.
ipsy match was right: the F.A.R.A.H eyeshadow palette looked great with my hair color
Thankfully, I was allowed to display some of my creativity in my primary home. I was allowed to style my hair for hours, paint, draw, bake, cook, sew, make jewelry, make hair bows and more. I know that my creative talents helped my heart, mind and soul when I was growing up and dealing with a lot of heartaches, and it’s helped me tremendously as an adult.
One thing that many adults think you don’t need once you get to a certain age is a creative outlet. While I’ve done the therapy and medicine route when dealing with hard life events, I think my creative talents used in my creative work have helped me better than any doctor. When life gets busy or you mature into your later years, you spend a lot of time not reading, not doing your hair, not cooking, not applying makeup, etc. and abandon your creative talents and things that bring you small joys.
I enjoyed trying the thread beauty brand as I never had heard of it before ipsy
If this sounds like you, it may be time to add some of those small joys back into your life. If you love makeup like me, try an Ipsy subscription. Over the years, Ipsy has created a little community that I weirdly missed being a part of. When I talk about Ipsy, sometimes people I had no idea liked makeup as much as me, start conversations with me. Any conversation I can have about makeup, to me, is a great one to have.
I subscribed to the pay-per-month option Ipsy subscription (Get your own Ipsy subscription by clicking here) which is currently $13 (plus tax and $1.99 handling). When I first signed up years ago, it was around $10. So, the new price seems to have adjusted to account for time and rising costs. I paid for the annual subscription then, and I have the option to do this again (the current annual subscription in $143 a year plus tax), but I’m keeping the monthly payment option for now.
My ipsy September 2023 favorites
My first month was August 2023 and it came the day we left our home for yet another potential hurricane, Hurricane Idalia. Side note: While we love living on Sanibel Island in Florida, we will be moving. The evacuating of our home two years in a row, with the first hurricane almost totally destroying Sanibel, and the second only turning into a tropical storm for Sanibel, we are tired of dealing with storm related evacuations. They get expensive! I threw my first Ipsy bag into my purse as we headed to the east coast of Florida for a few days.
While at the hotel, I played with my August 2023 bag and quickly remembered why I loved this monthly little light in my life! The F.A.R.A.H. eyeshadow palette in Sunkissed Bronze (deluxe sample) and the thread lipstick pencil (full size) reminded me of pumpkin spice and comforted me as I applied them awaiting Idalia’s results. The lip pencil was long lasting and a great neutral tone.
I received 5 items, as they said I would, two full sized items and three deluxe samples. You still have the option to pre-select some of the items they will send you every month, and some are mysteries until they give you an early look at what you’ll get in your bag or a “spoiler”. When signing up for Ipsy (you can use my referral link and we can both earn free items: https://www.ipsy.com/ebzp7t5i) , you still will fill out a quiz before completing your sign up so they can send you items that are more in line with what you may like.
The amethyst color of the Kokie liner was beautiful and easy to apply
September 2023 did not disappoint either. It reminded me a fun punk rock style, and I’ll be able to incorporate that into my beauty creative portfolio soon! The Kokie Professional gel-ink dual ended eyeliner (full size) had a pretty amethyst purple and black liner that I easily layered. The Beauty For Real liquid eyeshadow in North Star (full size) was a sheer, shimmering purple and applied beautifully. It lasted all day without creasing too! I am enjoying seeing more cruelty free brands in the bags, the same cute Ipsy bag that the makeup comes in, and being able to review products for points that earn you free items.
The Kokie eyeliner matched my faux hair feathers
When I ended my first round of Ipsy subscriptions, they did not have Boxycharm or Icon Box. These are more expensive than the basic Ipsy subscription, but contain all full-sized products and are a nice upgrade if you want to try more products. I kind of like my $13 Ipsy bag more because there are some products that I am glad I did not get full size of. The Lavido body lotion was an extreme patchouli scent and I did not enjoy that. I’ll gift it to someone that likes that scent. Not all things are “winners”, but it’s still a good experience.
I am loving purple for fall 2023
Another thing I don’t remember Ipsy having prior to 2018 was a market/shop where you could buy other products at a big discount. They may have, I just don’t remember. I enjoyed seeing some brands like Natasha Denona in the market and snagged one of her palettes for $25 (vs. the $69 retail cost everywhere else online). While I will not buy extra makeup every month (that defeats the $13-ish month budget “extras” cost I agreed to with myself, lol!), your Ipsy membership is a good way to score discounts on products you may have your eye on at Sephora like me.
Overall, I am completely enjoying my subscription so far and will keep it going for a while. I like being introduced to brands that I may not ever have heard of before my ipsy subscription. I like it’s flexibility and I like being able to gift a subscription. I also really liked the thread brand and liked seeing it being available at Target. You can cancel your subscription at any time with no fees. I liked this because like anything in life, if you don’t like it, you can quit.
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Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.