ipsy has a rating of 1.5 stars from 800 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about ipsy most frequently mention customer service, glam bag, and credit card problems. ipsy ranks 100th among Subscription Shopping sites.
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Will ipsy contact us if our payment does not go through? I checked last night and on ipsy it said that I would be billed 7/2. So today I go to update my billing under the impression that I'd be billed tomorrow and everything would be all good. But the it shows an updated next billing date of 8/1. So now I'm wondering if I will get July's bag at all. Have they attempted to bill me a day earlier and my payment was declined? Will they try and bill again tomorrow? I have received no email stating any of this. Someone please help!
Date of experience: July 1, 2016
I noticed that I didn't recognize the brand names of any of the products. As I suspected, all the make-up is made in China. I cancelled right away. I will not put anything in or on my body from there if I can help it. No wonder it's inexpensive. Ipsy probably gets those samples for almost nothing. Crooks.
Date of experience: March 22, 2020
I loved Ipsy when I first got it a year ago, but as they gain popularity and grow in size it's gets worse and worse. They no longer pay any attention to my beauty preferences. I find myself receiving the same products every month. I would not recommend Ipsy if you are looking to try fun new products.
Date of experience: July 12, 2020
The glam bag was always on time and very cute. Both my daughter and I were able to share the items and try out various things. She was able to discover foundation, lotion, and lip glosses that she really liked. I found a killer eye liner I love. It has been a fun way to let her experiment with products at much reduced costs, do something fun together, and find products we might not otherwise try at the full size-full price option. I think THIS is really where ipsy shines. We did monthly for 4 months and now do every other month (purely do to budgeting reasons, not because we were unhappy with the products). I would and HAVE recommending IPSY to other moms of teens for this very reason. It's a great value with walmart prices for sample items of name brands products (one sample lotion lasted over a month and we will definitely buy the full size!)
Date of experience: September 19, 2018
I placed an order before reading further and finding out that they cannot guarantee cruelty free items. I tried to cancel within the 5 minutes I opened the account, and received confirmation from a service agent. Months later I am still paying for this subscription and no one in customer service will help me. I guess I will have to just cancel my credit card at this point? I would not recommend this to anyone, and judging by the other reviews, I see I'm not alone.
Date of experience: August 1, 2023
The products are not any brand ever heard of, the quiz they ask you to take does no good, I have gotten several bags and it's always small stuff, cheaply made, and of the same things each time. It's a rip off! Do not fall for it!
Date of experience: July 13, 2016
I was really skeptical about this beforehand but decided to try it anyways. And I am SO glad that I did! They send the most amazing products, everything is A+ quality, no junk!
Love it so much that I even upgraded my membership. Very highly recommend ladies.
Products used:
Membership program
Date of experience: September 20, 2021
After receiving tons of mini samples of various types of skincare cancelling becomes impossible
There is absolutely no phone number anywhere in this business
Not one human to speak to.
And nothing gets canceled
You keep getting charged over and over.
Good luck trying to stop it.
Date of experience: November 8, 2020
For my first glam bag from Ipsy Mexico I received products I specifically mentioned not wanting (chose the very rarely option on the quiz). 3 out of the 5 or 6 products received were from categories I "rarely" wanted to receive. Super disappointed in my first glam bag as I really wanted to explore makeup product use and selection and as such expected more makeup products. Customer service is unresponsive too so I just went ahead and canceled. Why risk getting another month with bad products? No thanks
Products used:
None, they were not what i wanted
Date of experience: July 2, 2023
My name is Mona Stevens and have been a member for almost a year, so has my daughter. You advertise that we will receive different stuff every month and as of now that hasn't happened. I have at least 10 eye liners! I am so sick of getting the same stuff! Would like to see some nice make-up brushes or some facial base.or eye-shadow. If this doesn't happen you are going to lose 2 customer and all my friends that are member will stop because they are sick of it also. Take this to heart. I will also get a hold of the better business bureau, because you are not providing what you say you do. E-mail me back ASAP!
Date of experience: March 15, 2016
This company is ridiculous with constantly wanting reviews to be posted on Facebook and other social media! I hate Facebook and do not want to be kept out of my Ipsy account because I don't want to review them and share it on Facebook! I also love how they tell you that you're on a "waiting list" but they'll push your order through if you review them and share it once again on Facebook. The products they've sent me so far have been great but I cannot stand being forced to review things and share them! It's like my account is being held hostage! I will probably cancel after this subscription is up. Birchbox is much better!
Date of experience: April 8, 2016
This was fun for a couple of months but got to be too much and I didn't need anymore face cream or masks. So I canceled. Or so I thought. Kept getting charged. The site makes it extremely difficult to drill down and figure out where to go to completely cancel. I just took them off PayPal as a payment source so hopefully that fixes it for food now.
Date of experience: September 2, 2021
I loved Ipsy at first. The products are great but customer service is non-existent and frustrating. Their products used to come in a box and now they use bubble packaging. All of my items came crushed last time and some were intended as gifts. They replaced two of the items and they too arrived smashed. Who wants expensive products coming in smashed packaging? Their terms and conditions seem to allow this. Good luck dealing with their help bot- what a joke!
Tip for consumers:
Expect your items to come damaged. My last three orders came smashed.
Products used:
Cosmetics
Date of experience: December 15, 2021
I have had Ipsy for over a year. Its gotten better with every bag. I pretty much like everything I get. At least 95% of the time. I do the reviews every month so I continue to get items I like. Only thing kinda going down hill are the points and selection of the items for redeeming points seem to run out way to fast now but other than that (that's why I have 4 out of 5 stars)... Its not that bad. I don't mind some stiff being small. I do get one or two full sized products each month. You get discounts on brands each month, they offer lots of giveaways each month... I don't plan to cancel any time soon. I have dealt with their customer service and I didn't have any issues. They answered all my questions and replaced my missing glam bag when it got lost in the mail. No questions asked. I'm still pretty happy with Ipsy and will continue to be a customer.
Date of experience: January 29, 2017
Since the end of last year ipsy has gone steadily downhill. My monthly packages are either never past the tracking number or lost. You never get decent help and then they send you leftovers which are so wrong for your profile. I would say if you are thinking of subscribing with ipsy run the other way. You are better off going to walmart.
Tip for consumers:
Ipsy take a your mobey quick but customer service is horrible
Products used:
None
Date of experience: June 10, 2023
I thought it'd be so fun to be sent samples of products every month. It was so appealing and advertised so well. But this service is honestly not worth it! The amount of times I've had to email customer service about the items I'm missing alone isn't worth it enough to re-purchase another month. Every month I'm missing add-ons or things that Ipsy themselves picked for me. I doubt customer service even notifies the warehouse that they don't bother to check all the items before sending them out. And by the time they get back to you or bother sending a replacement, the item is out of stock anyway. I'd rather take my service elsewhere or even pay full price to ACTUALLY receive the items I bought. Do yourself a favor and save yourself the headache and take your money elsewhere.
Tip for consumers:
Assume its like playing roulette. Don't bother purchasing add-ons and don't expect your shipment to come reliably or even on time. Always contact customer service when they mess up the order.
Products used:
Cosmetics
Date of experience: January 14, 2021
What a hassle! Never again. I ordered an Ipsy bag for myself and my grand daughter. She has moved and I don't care for the products. But I can't seem to cancel. Even after I thought I cancelled I received an email that read accept a free bag or confirm your cancellation. But there was no link to cancel. So I replied that for God's sake cancel me already! We will see. I stopped payment thru Paypal but they are linked for one of the accounts to my bank. Oye, what a pain in the neck.
Date of experience: June 21, 2019
Ipsy is quite deceiving. They ask you questions about what brands you love, making it look like those will be the brands taken into consideration when your product comes. The brands I received were low quality ones I'd never heard of. Then when you try to cancel, they lead you through a series of deceptive pages that put the link to click to keep the subscription/pause it a lot more prominently than the one to cancel,which is way down at the bottom of the page in smaller print. It's pushy and dishonest marketing from the start. Make sure to cancel it on your paypal or with your card issuer, too, so they don't keep charging you. The monthly fee isn't worth it for the low budget items you receive. Note: if you're outside the USA, shipments seem to take forever. I'm in Canada, and the shipments take weeks to get to me.
Products used:
I didn't use any of the cosmetics. I didn't recognize any of the brand names and they were cheap looking items i didn't want to risk putting on my face.
Date of experience: April 13, 2023
I love this company. Some complain that some items they get aren't through their beauty profile, but if you play with your beauty profile every month and also do the questionnaire about improving your glam bag products, I feel it does improve what you get. Every month my ipsy glam bag keeps getting better for me. Plus also this subscription is cheap, so if you are a beginner at make-up or you can't afford a lot of make-up, then this would be a good company to go with
Date of experience: December 30, 2018
We never order anything from this company and they keep sending bags and making unauthorized withdrawals from my checking. Our bank is good at giving us the necessary credit but its a pain in the but to constantly deal with this crap.
Date of experience: December 22, 2015
They duplicated a bill for October glam bag and it was impossible to get to get it resolved. Instead that Bot gave me a lecture on taking my time in selecting the product. It was THEIR fault not mine. They duplicated the bill. They provided info stating they do not have live person customer service and to use Bot which is absolutely useless. Also stated they cannot give refunds, etc. Needless. They are fine when you are ordering their product but heaven forbid you have to resolve a problem. The phone numbers provided by Google are not in service.
Tip for consumers:
everything was OK unless you have a problem. Mine was with a duplicate billing. Never resolved because they do not have live customer service. It is awful. Only contact is thru their automated Boc which tells you to check back in a few days to be connected with an agent. Which by the way, never happens. You get the same message over and over. The customer care is that goofy Bot.
Products used:
mascara night cream primer eye shadow blush face mask eyeliner
Date of experience: October 16, 2021
I have 2 Charges showing on my credit card bill but have never received any packages. I have made an attempt to contact them and waiting for a response.Be aware before joining.
Reviews are not all good.Not off to a good start.
Date of experience: April 9, 2016
This is just a review of the CS--I haven't gotten a bag yet (though my friends love theirs!). I was put on the "waiting list" but once I emailed them about it they removed me from the waiting list and activated the account. I got a response in just minutes. Great customer service!
Date of experience: January 25, 2016
By completing my required profile on the site when signing up, I thought that Ipsy would tailor my samples as they said they would. For instance, the color pink is not in my color wheel. I specified that in this arduous profile when signing up. All I received was PINK whenever I got Polish or lipstick. So, I imagine they just throw whatever into your bag, but the profile questionnaire is supposed to make you feel like you are being considered when you are first singing up. And the bags--no. Way too juvenile aesthetically for me. I gave them to a friend and I think her 4 year old uses them as crayon bags. I received a total of 4 Ipsy bags. Oct through Jan then cancelled. Just wasnt impressed enough with the tiny samples of useable products to continue. I never received a deluxe sample of anything. I can go to my beauty counter here and receive free samples that are of use.
Date of experience: May 14, 2016
I started with an ipsy subscription thinking it would be a great way to try out some different brands/colors from what I have been wearing. When you first start, ipsy asks you to fill out a questionnaire so they know which types of products you are interested in and supposedly send you only those items. I filled mine out that I was interested in lip color, eye color and nail colors, that I was NOT interested in creams, lotions, shadow brushes etc. I've had the subscription for nearly 8 months and it seems that all I ever get are creams, lotions and shadow brushes. The smallest sample sizes possible. Save your $10 each month to go towards something you can try from your local drug store!
Date of experience: February 8, 2016
ipsy co-founder Michelle Phan has captivated countless viewers around the world through her beauty video tutorials on YouTube. She envisioned a vibrant community where women could be inspired to express their unique beauty, and ipsy is that community!
“ipsy” comes from the Latin word ipse, meaning “sense of self.” By celebrating beauty of all forms in the world, ipsy provides a platform for anyone to express both their inner and outer radiance. With videos from ipsy's well-loved YouTube stylists, including co-founder Michelle Phan, as well as from a devoted and engaged user community, ipsy is changing the way women learn about and experience beauty looks.
When you become a member, you can learn new beauty tricks, participate along with your favorite ipsy stylists in monthly looks, and connect with other ipsters who inspire you.