Ipsy vs. Birchbox

Hey, everybody! Alright, so the moment of truth has arrived upon us. Now, this is serious business, here. All of this world peace business and national debt hootenanny can just calm down for a minute. We have real issues to discuss. Like which is better? Birchbox or Ipsy?

In all seriousness, there are a lot of sad, scary things that happen in our world. I get that, and I don't mean to make light of it. But how about we all just take a second and be girly for a minute? Because I have some awesome stuff to show you.

For those of you who don't know, Birchbox and Ipsy are both programs that are each $10/month. Though they're similar, they're totally separate companies. They are subscriptions that you can purchase for a year (at a discounted price) or pay month to month. They send you a package once a month full of high end beauty samples, and some of the products even come full size, which I love. You always get well more than $10 worth of product. For someone like me who is a self admitted cheapskate, it's a great way to test out the really expensive, but really nice, high end products without feeling like you are running a huge risk or that you have to go back to the department store to return expensive product. 

So, both my Birchbox and my Ipsy bag arrived on the same day. Here they are, in all of their pink, girly glory!

Both subscriptions are just $10/month

The first one I opened was my Birchbox. As you can see, lots of goodies came this month!

-Juice Beauty Green Apple Skin Peel for Sensitive Skin (Like mine. Holla!)

-Cookies

-Kerastase Shapmpoo

-Coola Cucumber Facial Sunscreen

-Cargo Water Resistant Blush in Los Cabos

First off, the Juicy Beauty skin peel. I have really sensitive skin, so I was nervous to use a skin care product on my face that I hadn't really heard much about. But I did a little research, and after some awesome reviews, I gave it a go. And I.love.it. It's certified organic, and makes my skin feel so soft! It's kind of pricey (about $40 for a full size jar), but I honestly think it's worth it. I'm planning to buy the full size, and I can tell just from my sample that a little goes a long way, and it'll last a while.

Next, the Hail Merry Macaroons. These tasted like butt. Don't eat them. I tried to make my sister eat one just because I wanted to see her face or watch her spit it out, but she didn't buy it. One bite of one cookie, and the rest hit the trash can. Also, they were more like the consistency of a brownie, not a macaroon.

The shampoo was fine. Nothing super special. I liked it and used it because it came with the package, but I don't know that I'd seek it out to buy more. I'll stick with my Biologe, thankyouverymuch.

This sunscreen smells so great. It's really fresh and feels really light on your skin. It's the perfect size to toss in your purse or keep in your car. I also love that it's formulated for your face. One thing I hate about sunscreen is the oily feeling it gives your skin and this is great. My makeup has sunscreen in it, but for the days I spend by the pool with my kids, I plan on going au natural. This will be awesome for that!

The Cargo blush is AWESOME. It's water resistant, which means it lasts all day and looks great. But it still comes off so easy when you wash your face. I adore Cargo, anyway, and this blush is a new favorite. The sample size is a fairly good size, and even if I used it every single day, I bet it would be a month or so before I even hit pan. It's a matte, coral-ish color, and I'm loving it for summer. It stays matte all day long. Another huge plus. I want more of this, in all three of the colors that Cargo makes it in.

Next is the Ipsy bag!

- Chevron Makeup Bag

- Zoya Nail Polish

- Pacifica Island Vanilla and Tahitian Gardenia Roll-on Perfume

- Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Lotion

- Yaby Concealer

- Mirabella Shimmerati Glimmer Gloss

The makeup bag that all my goodies came in is adorable, and fits in my purse perfectly. It's also awesome for travel. Seriously, you can't ever have too many of these gems.

The Zoya nail polish came in a REALLY cute mint color. I love this nail polish. It came full size, and that alone is an $8 value. I love this nail polish. It dried fairly quickly, but not so quickly that it was getting clumpy before I was finished like some quick-dry nail polishes do. It's also really durable, which is a MUST HAVE for me. Of course, I did two coats, but I did it three days ago, and it still looks perfect. Not a single chip. It's rivaling Essie and Revlon Colorstay for me, and those are my two favorite brands. I'm a big fan of this. I want it in more colors!

This roll-on perfume smells DIVINE. It's got the musky, deep smell of vanilla, but it's still flowery enough to wear every day. I also love roll-on perfumes because I can toss them in my purse and keep them there for whenever I need it. It's full size for a roll-on, and it's actually even bigger than my other roll-on perfumes that are already stashed away in my purse. I love this!

The coconut bronzing lotion is so pretty! I am excited to use this in the summer, when we are out in the sunshine. It smells really fresh, and it's bronzing without being streaky or looking AT ALL like sunless tanner. It's just pretty and smells really fresh.

This concealer is really creamy, and because of the quiz that Ipsy has you take when you sign up, it was my perfect shade. It's a small, sample size. But to give you a general size idea, if I used it every single day, it would probably last me 2-3 weeks. Then again, I don't tend to use a ton of concealer, so it just depends on how much you typically wear. It's definitely enough to know I'm a big fan, though!

This lip gloss is awesome, too. It isn't sticky, and it's a really pretty color. It's a bright, hot pink, but it's really shimmery and sheer, so it doesn't come across as too bright, and you can wear it every day and not look like a Lady of the Night, if you're catching my drift. (Kidding. I actually LOVE dark lipstick. Especially red!!) Plus, as you can see in the pic, the packaging is so cool. It's full size, and ya'll know I love that!

So, there are products from both subscriptions that I really love.

Birchbox: At first sight, the Cargo blush was my favorite, but after using the Juicy Beauty Skin Peel, I realized it's a draw between the two for the favorite spot. I also wish the sizes were just a little bit bigger.

Ipsy Bag: Although it's really hard to decide, I'd have to say my favorite in this bag is the nail polish. But the perfume comes in as a close second!

Both subscriptions were awesome this month, but I felt like Ipsy gave me more bang for my buck, and that's a big deal to me! I'd have to say Ipsy is the winner this month, but I can't wait to see what's in store for next month!! One thing about Birchbox that I love, that Ipsy doesn't offer, is that you can earn points with Birchbox for reviewing the products you receive in your subscription, as well as for purchasing your subscription every month. It makes it so if you do your reviews, about every third month is free. Ipsy does have a points system, but it's only for referring people, and they're harder and less realistic to accumulate.

Let me know what you guys liked, and if you're interested in a subscription to either, the links are below!

For info about an Ipsy subscription, click here: Ipsy
For info about a Birchbox subscription, click here: Birchbox

Also, I'd love to know if a Birchbox or Ipsy giveaway is something ya'll would be interested in, sometime in the future?

Thanks, all!

-L