In a lovely turn of events about the time I finished writing up my thoughts on the Boxy Charm Premium Box for June, my IPSY Glam Bag Plus arrived. As I mentioned in the Boxycharm unboxing, I am evaluating both subscriptions and trying to figure out if I need both.

The IPSY Glam Bag Plus subscription is $28. With taxes it comes to $30.73. However this month there was a message sent out from IPSY…

we will be adding a $1.99 handling fee to monthly Glam Bag and Glam Bag Plus shipments, starting with July shipments. We will also update the quarterly Glam Bag X price to $58 with an added $1.99 handling fee, starting with August shipments. – IPSY e-mail sent to subscribers June 9th, 2022

The Glam Bag X (Quarterly subscription was $55 ($60.36 with tax) in case you were wondering. Boxycharm added the same $1.99 S&H to their Pop Up shop items as well so I was sort of expecting something like that and to be fair the extra cost doesn’t bother me that much. Slipping the raised Glam Bag X fees in there at the same time is a little sneaky, but I am guessing they thought if they did the extra fee now and then in two months raised the price of Glam Bag X people would have been even more upset. So I can see the logic.

what bothers me most are the items in this month’s Glam Bag. Now i d want to be clear. The items themselves I actually really like and am happy to have. What bothers me is that all but one have been in Boxycharm. It is what prompted me to seriously consider if I needed both memberships. So let’s look at the items shall we?

There are five items in the Glam Bag Plus, two that they choose and then three that are selected from a group of options. The first item they chose for me was the Saturday Skin Rub a Dub peeling gel. It is a good product and I have used it before. I will happily use it again. I believe it was a Boxycharm item three months ago.

The second item that IPSY chose for me is the Ciate London Dewy Skin Primer. I received this in of of my boxy’s a few months back. I’ve been testing it off and on and am actually on the fence as to whether or not I like it. It is dewy look. If you are going for that look then it is fabulous. For me it might be a bit too dewy. But that will be decided later.

Now we get to the items that I chose. The first is a Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette . It is the Ayana palette and different from the palette that I received in Boxy this month. I love the formula of the shadows and I love the shades. And to be honest I have no problem with the same types and brands being in each box as long as the items are different. In this case, it is a different range of shadows so I am happy with it.

The second item I chose was the Vike Makeup Melt. I also received this in a previous Boxy. This link will take you to my full review if you are interested actually. I enjoyed the product and am happy to have another bottle as my first is about half empty. It works well and is quick and easy to use. It was also the only item in that categories choice selection that I wanted.

And now we come to the final item I chose and this one I have not actually seen in a Boxycharm Box. (It is however for sale in the Boxy pop up store) The other items in this selection category I did see there so I decided to choose the Lovita Never lost Necklace. It is a little gold charm imprinted with a compass design. The Charm is of good quality but the chain feels a little bit cheap. I’ll probably end up putting it on a different chain. I am actually quite pleased with the charm though and might choose the jewelry options more in the future.

To be fair i am pleased with all of my items and I look forward to using them, with the possible exception of the primer. The issue I have is simply one of repetition. If I am going to get exactly the same items from each subscription, why keep both subscriptions? Especially when the items in the bag or box are often for sale in either IPSY add ons or Boxy pop up. Would it not be better to pick one subscription and then just use the money that I saved by not having the subscription to pick up the extra items i might want from the store of the subscription I keep? Or to try out a completely different subscription service?

Thee is also the possibility of skipping months. Perhaps I might try skipping the months between the Glam Bag X months and only getting the quarterly bags. That too is a possibility. This month could also have been a fluke and next month completely different products might appear. I generally start evaluating my subscription list in November/December. I think I will probably keep both subscriptions until then, but monitor the items as well as which of their shops I actually use. This month I did pick up a few items from IPSY’s add ons where I did not from Boxy. It is going to be an interesting situation to monitor. For now though, I do like the items I have received and I look forward to using the,. There are no surprises which is a bit disappointing, but they are good products.

If anyone else is going through this sort of decision, I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can drop them in the comments or simply send me a message. For me it is watch and wait, but I suspect things will change in the new year.

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