Birchbox vs. Ipsy – August 2013

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As I got my Ipsy today and my Birchbox only two days ago, I thought I would do a…

BEAUTY BOX SHOWDOWN!!!

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Yes, Ipsy v. Birchbox – If you only have room for one little splurge, which one should you get? Read on and see my August Birchbox Review and my August Ipsy Review for complete details on each box! If you want to pick up Birchbox or Ipsy, these are my referral links and I appreciate it when you use them to get your beauty fix!

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Price: Ipsy is $10 a month. No discounts. Birchbox is $10 month, but you can earn rewards points. And get a free box if you sign up for a year. Right now IpsyPoints are changing and we might get points? Who knows. Winner – Birchbox.

Value to Cost Ratio: Birchbox was pretty low, at 2:1. Ipsy was a whopping 3.8:1! Do I need to say the winner?

Theme: This one’s a draw. Birchbox was finishing school, Ipsy was glamour academy. Yes, it’s back to school time for everyone.

Selection: IpsyMatch seems to be working pretty well. You can rate your Birchbox products, but Birchbox selections seem to only be based on your actual profile (see my hint for getting better products in my Birchbox review!). Winner – Ipsy (but Birchbox has rocked me the last two months!)

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Ability to do entire face: Always Ipsy – You can usually get off one+ looks right out of your Ipsy Bag – and have the bag to carry it in! For this reason I almost always recommend Ipsy to younger women who may not have as many cosmetics, want to try new looks, etc.  Birchbox is really for sampling and Ipsy is for new looks. In my opinion.

The Products: In my entirely subjective opinion, even though I loved every single thing in my Ipsy bag, Birchbox wins this round on the strength of the Mally eyeliner alone. It’s a fabulous formulation and is really really the perfect navy blue eyeliner. Because I’m an older (ok, not that old, but a bit older) woman and looking to buy more of the stuff I love, I appreciate sampling and finding that one special product that I need to buy, and there was one in my Birchbox this month (the Whish gel). But I did get that awesome jojoba charcoal scrub in my Ipsy!

And the August beauty box matchup goes to… BIRCHBOX! Although I loved my Ipsy products, I’m not so sure yet that I’d buy the Pacifica BB Cream (kinda sparkly but I may love it and then I’ll have to place another Pacifica order…) and was disappointed the Noya balm didn’t have any tint in it! (They should’ve sent some Pacifica!) This is pretty much again on the strength of the single eye pencil, despite the lower value Birchbox.

What do you think? Do you agree? What’s your favorite, Birchbox or Ipsy?

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  • Jennifer at Momsgotmail
    09.06.13

    For the last 3 months it was IPSY all the way. August is the first month I HAVE to give to Birchbox. Model Co. Party Proof! IPSY might have had me if they had sent the UD lippie or shipped on time!

  • Amy Wilson
    09.06.13

    I am definitely Team Ipsy right now. I’ve gotten a couple of months of useless items on Birchbox. If my B-box is still bad this month, I’m definitely going to cancel find a new subscription.

    • Brandy
      09.06.13

      Mine was like that at the beginning of the year. Have you tried changing your income level? You should try Blush or New Beauty Test Tube or Sample Society as alternatives (unless you are looking for more natural products!). NBTT is a big more drugstore-y on half the products, but I like that too. Sometimes you just want to be able to buy it at the store. For me I like to look for really WOW products and all of them have delivered for me, my fave wows are from Birchbox but among some real duds. Most of them leave-in conditioners!

      • Amy Wilson
        09.07.13

        I definitely want to try the Beauty Tube after I saw one youtuber receive a full size Tarte blush. My August Birchbox sucked so bad. I got an old lady pink tube of the Party Proof, tanning wipes, peppermint foot wipes, It’s a 10 Leave In Conditioner (would much prefer their Beauty Protector brand), and Dr. Jart BB cream. The only thing I liked was the BB cream.

  • Elisha Barrows
    08.29.13

    I love them both, I subscribe to both, but with me winning a whole year of Birchbox, Im going to go with Birchbox! But Ipsy is awesome as well! I love them both! (:

  • marcey
    08.23.13

    I subscribe to both boxes & although the Ipsy items are often worth more I’ve found more treasures with Birchbox. One of my favorites is the Mirenesse glossy lip pencil.