Reporters try a monthly makeup subscription treatment

May 23, 2018 — by Ava Hooman and Esha Lakhotia

Reporters try makeup subscription service Ipsy.

Buying makeup can get expensive. Just a concealer, mascara and eyeshadow can cost upwards of $100. Luckily, there is a solution to this craving for new products: Ipsy.

Ipsy, a makeup subscription company, provides its subscribers with five monthly makeup samples and a makeup bag for $10 each month. The products in the company’s signature metallic pink package include skincare items, perfumes, nail products and makeup.

Ipsy was founded in 2011 by Michelle Phan, Marcelo Camberos and Jennifer Jaconetti Goldfarb. Phan, a beauty YouTuber, knew the dynamics of the makeup industry and used that to capitalize on consumer greed with the help of her two partners, who specialize in that area of marketing. Because the makeup market relies on the constant release of new products to maintain customer interest and profits, Phan, Camberos and Goldfarb created a business that fed into this mass consumerism.

New products are being released constantly and at increasingly high prices. Companies also tell consumers that their products expire within a few months and that they need to always stay with new trends by buying all new releases.

Ipsy’s goal is to provide customers with makeup without the chaos of constantly trying to find good products. With an array of different samples, customers get to try new products for only ten dollars a month when in reality the individual products would add up to much more.

When we heard about this service a few months ago from YouTube videos, we could not wait to try it out for ourselves. After signing up for the monthly deal of receiving one makeup kit for 10 dollars each month, we took a test to see what our style of makeup and skincare was. The process included 15 multiple choice questions, and when we finished, we were sure that they would send us the right products.

The first package we received included a sample of the Too Faced’s “Better Than Sex” mascara, a foundation sample from Laura Mercier, a contour palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills, Shawn Mendes’ “Signature Perfume” and an eyeshadow sample pot from Benefit Cosmetics.

Needless to say, we were highly satisfied with our products. The subscription gave us the freedom of trying new products for a cheap price. We both are not heavy users of makeup but find the products we received useful for parties and events. We also tried to follow YouTube makeup tutorials with these new products and found them to be useful in achieving some of the looks.

The second box included a small size of Benefit’s “Roller Lash” mascara, a glittery gold eyeshadow pot from Nomad cosmetics, a brown eyeliner, a hair oil and a red lipstick.

We really liked the Roller Lash mascara and decided to buy the full size one after using the sample. The product showed immediate growth in our lashes when we applied it.

But after the second month, we decided to terminate our subscription since we are not heavy users of makeup and already got the basics from these samples.

Overall, we highly recommend the products we received for the first month and this service is really useful to both makeup addicts and beginners.

 
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