Ipsy Glam Bag Ultimate May 2020 Review

Make the first comment!
Hello Subscription independently researches and reviews the best subscriptions and products. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.
Go to commentsNotification

Ipsy Glam Bag Ultimate is a super-upgraded version of Ipsy’s monthly glam bag! The Glam Bag Ultimate is $50 per month, and will have 12 products: 8 full-size and 4 deluxe samples, plus a makeup bag every month. Ipsy promises a value of $250+ each month. Here’s what you can expect:

  • No identical products if you subscribe to more than one Glam Bag.

  • Each and every bag will have 8 full size and 4 deluxe samples worth at least $250—no exceptions.

  • High-quality products from a mix of beloved and emerging brands, along with Ipster cult favorites, so you can continue to explore and discover new go-to’s.

  • One large, super stylish makeup bag to stash all of your new goods.

See our Ipsy Glam Bag Ultimate explainer for all the details on how this subscription works!

My items were cushioned with egg crate foam. The bag was on top and folded flat.

Everything arrived in perfect condition! Some items were protected with bubble wrap.

I received a brochure from Ipsy. The theme for May is Get That GLOW!

Sometimes my products listed, but this time I received tips on how to get that summer glow through the magic of highlighter. You can find info on all of your Ipsy products, including ingredients, under your account on the Ipsy website or app.

The back of the card listed the next Choice Day (5/21). That is the day when every subscriber can choose a product for their next bag! It also mentioned details about add-ons. You can order up to 8 additional items for your box and each item is either $3, $12, or $18.

Some of the items came in their own boxes.

Here’s everything in our box this month!

Ipsy Ultimate Glambag All of the bags sent this month look beautiful, and this one reminds me of a sunset! I like the discreet Ipsy logo

There is a peach tassel zipper pull, so adorable! The bag is about 5.5″ tall, 8″ long, and 3″ wide. It is made of pleather and the top is magenta and it blends into the mustard yellow color on the bottom.

The zipper is silver and the inside is lined with yellow plastic fabric and there are silver geometric shapes on the fabric. There is also a small pocket on the inside. So pretty Ipsy!

Sunday Riley C.E.O. C+E Micro-Dissolve Cleansing Oil (Full size, $38) Cleansing oils are a must for me and I use them as a first step in my nightly routine to remove facial makeup and sunscreen. I applied it to dry skin, rubbed it around, and then wet my fingers and rubbed it some more. I don’t think it turned very milky but it did turn from oily to not oily, and rinsed easily away without feeling like there was any residue. I followed with a traditional cleanser to remove every trace of makeup and I didn’t use this on my eyes, although instructions say that you can.

Dermedicine Advanced Skincare Weightless Face Moisturizer SPF 25 (Full size, $43.95) I love sunscreen and use it every day so I chose this as my Sample Choice! Ipsy mentioned that it is made with zinc oxide, which is a physical sunblock and is reef safe, but this is also made with octinoxate, a chemical sunscreen, and is not reef safe. It’s ok for everyday use though.

I was surprised to see that this had fragrance listed, as it wasn’t listed on the Ipsy site or the brand’s website, so that is the only downfall for me (I wanted one that was free of perfume). Of course, there’s nothing that says I have to wear this on my face, so it’s still a win! I did try it on my face and it worked well for my dry skin, but the scent lingered and is not to my liking. A little goes a long way and it didn’t leave a white cast.

Way Of Will Hand And Body Lotion in Sweet Orange + Elemi (Sample size, $3.50) Sweet orange and elemi essential oils give this lotion its scent. It also has sweet almond oil and shea butter, plus a dose of niacinamide. The biggest problem with this product is the bottle it came in – it is solid plastic without any give (you can’t squeeze it) and the lotion is too thick to come out on its own. I had to use a Q-tip to get some out of the bottle and even then I felt like it wasn’t worth the frustration. The lotion worked well and smelled faintly of the orange oil.

St. Tropica Beach Goddess Hot Oil Hair Mask (Full size, $15) You won’t find this packaging on the brand’s website, but basically they took their 3-pack of hair masks and put them into one tube. Follow the directions closely (it involves a mug and a microwave) and know that this is supposed to be enough for three uses. Coconut oil, biotin, and bhringraj are the first three ingredients along with green tea, coconut butter, and a few others. It smells like toasted coconut and I use this on the weekend because it weighs down my fine hair but it makes it feel good too.

PureHeals Pore Clear Black Charcoal Peel-Off Mask (Full size, $25.89) I will start by saying that I don’t use this type of product – it is designed to pull oil out of skin and I have dry skin and need all the oil I can get. However, my daughter currently worries about her pore size so this will go to her right away. It has charcoal powder, which is supposed to help get oil and impurities from the pores and the brand suggests using it where needed, so on the T-zone instead of the entire face. I placed some on the back of my hand and it looks, feels, and smells like black glue!

Etat Libre D’Orange She Was An Anomally Eau De Parfum (Deluxe Sample, $7.30) I have tried lots of samples from this brand, I’ve even bought a sampler kit of theirs in the past so I was excited to try this new-to-me fragrance. It’s a unisex floral woody musk that has notes of iris, sandalwood, and musk and it has a powdery finish to my nose. I think this is a warm scent and smells like a cozy hug from a fluffy sweater so I will tuck it away until the weather cools down in my part of the country. Projection and longevity are both on the short side.

Sundays Nail Polish in No. 06 (Full size, $18) I haven’t tried this brand before but I like that it’s vegan, cruelty-free, and 10-free, which means it’s missing 10 ingredients considered toxic such as TPHP, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, xylene, ethyl tosylamide, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, parabens, and tert-butyl hydroperoxide.

No. 6 is described as a buttery nude with soft lilac undertones and I think this will be a great polish color to get me through spring and summer.

Inn Beauty Project Glaze #1 Lip Oil in Candy Apple (Full size, $15) I am torn between keeping this for myself and giving it to my daughter. It’s definitely a “youthful” product and brand but then again, there’s no age limit on fun!

The applicator is supposed to be shaped like a fingertip to make it easy to apply. It has a sweet flavor, like candy apples or apple bubblegum, and it gives just a hint of color. It isn’t oily and it isn’t sticky, it’s just right. I am loving this! Swatched below.

Sugar Rush by Tarte Sugar Coat Velvet Liquid Lipstick in Cupcake (Full size, $15) Sugar Rush is the “younger sister” brand to Tarte cosmetics, with cute boxes and lower prices.

This was called a velvet liquid and I can see why – it feels good on my lips! This wasn’t a drying matte, it felt closer to a classic creamy lipstick. It doesn’t dry down completely either. The color was a good basic for my lips. Swatched below.

Skone Cosmetics Insanely Intense Tattooed Waterproof Eyeliner Mini (Deluxe sample, $14) is a travel-sized version of the original. Although I’m not a fan of liquid liner, this one was easy to work with.

I liked the tip and it made it easy for me to apply, yet it wasn’t super dark or thick. It also dried quickly and didn’t smear. It stayed in place all day long. I liked it! Swatched below.

From top: the candy apple lip gloss, Skone eyeliner, and Tarte lipstick.

Smashbox Cosmetics Cover Shot Eye Palette in Ablaze (Full size, $29 MSRP, now $23) I soooo wanted the Laura Geller palette but this is pretty darn nice too!

When you move the palette around, the picture changes, so cool!

You can see the colors listed on the bottom of the palette. Ingredients were listed on the bottom of the box.

Here’s what Sephora has to say about these shades:

Ablaze (hot, desert-inspired shades): With shades in rich red clay and hot terra cotta, this palette captures the warmth of the desert in a range of sun-drenched shades—these dimensional pigments are perfect for adding depth and contouring.

Apply one of the top two base shadows all over the lids, then mix and match your colors. I thought they blended well and I liked that there were mattes and shimmers included.

From top: Relaxed, matte (and barely visible); Moccasin, shimmer; Siesta, shimmer; Nirvana, shimmer; Delirious, shimmer; Torch, shimmer; Throwback, matte; and Dark Horse, matte.

Huda Beauty 3D Highlighter Palette in Pink Sands (Full size, $45) Ooh, a full-sized Huda highlighter palette? This costs almost the same as the subscription price of this box!

I think these colors will work with my pale skin tone.

There was even a tip on the inside cover about where to place each color.

Capri is a shimmery base that kind of makes the rest of the colors stick to your face. It has shea butter and you put it where you plan on using one of the other three powders afterwards. The only problem I have with it is I think the cream has turned or is about to turn rancid, it has an off scent that I don’t usually encounter with shea butter, but we all know what bad nuts smell like, right? The other three powders are fine.

Here they are swatched. From top: Capri, Santorini, Azores, and Ibiza. They look fabulous too, and they worked really well, and I was able to apply and blend to my liking. When I went to rub the swatch off of my arm, the colors blended together and the result was magical, kind of like Edward Cullen in the sun. My daughter said she didn’t care about the smell and stated these colors and finish are everything.

Ipsy Ultimate is a great way to increase your product collection and I have received at least one full-sized palette every month! Ipsy sends a good assortment of products, and this month I received skincare, perfume, hair care, makeup, and nail polish. The May bag itself is one of my all-time favorites, I love the color and ombre effect. I have two daughters so I am always happy to share with them the stuff that sometimes doesn’t work for me, like the charcoal mask. The value for the bag this month, using current selling prices from various websites, is around $263.64, not including the bag itself!

What do you think of the Ipsy Glambag Ultimate? Tell me your thoughts! 

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *