IPSY Extra

IPSY Extra (formerly Glam Bag Plus) delivers 5 full-size beauty products monthly with up to $200 in value. Choose 3 products yourself during the Build Your Box window (1st-3rd) while IPSY curates 2 additional picks based on your Beauty Quiz. Perfect for those who want full-size products without the guesswork.

IPSY Extra (formerly Glam Bag Plus) offers a full-size upgrade to the Original tier, launched to meet demand from members who wanted to skip samples and go straight to full-size products. At $32/month with 3 product choices, it provides more control than most beauty subscriptions.

Pricing

Membership	Price	Handling	Total	Products	Value
IPSY Extra	$32/month	$1.99	$33.99	5 full-size	Up to $200

Optional Add-On:

• Beauty Boost: $15/month for premium full-size product (IPSY-selected)

Included Benefits:

• Choose 3 products monthly
• Add-Ons shopping ($3.50+)
• Members-only shop access
• Quarterly Mega Drop sales
• Option to upgrade to Ultimate

What’s Included Each Month

Each IPSY Extra box contains 5 full-size products spanning multiple beauty categories. You can expect makeup items like lipsticks, mascaras, and palettes, skincare products including serums, moisturizers, and cleansers, hair care such as shampoos, treatments, and styling products, beauty tools like brushes and devices, and fragrance in full-size perfumes. You select 3 of these products yourself during the Build Your Box window (1st-3rd of each month), with the ability to preview options in advance and choose products that match your specific needs. The remaining 2 products are IPSY Picks curated by IPSY editors based on your Beauty Quiz responses, designed to complement your chosen items and introduce you to new discoveries.

How It Works

IPSY Extra’s monthly subscription cycle balances member control with expert curation:

1. Sign Up and Complete Beauty Quiz: Create your IPSY Extra account and complete the comprehensive beauty profile covering skin type (dry, oily, combination, sensitive) and concerns (acne, anti-aging, hyperpigmentation, etc.), skin tone and undertone, hair type and concerns, age range, product preferences (bold vs. neutral makeup, fragrance preferences, willingness to try new brands), and category priorities (skincare vs. makeup balance). This quiz creates your personalization baseline. Update it anytime as preferences evolve.

2. Build Your Box Window Opens (1st-3rd of Each Month): Around the 1st of each month, IPSY opens your Build Your Box window. During this 3-day period, you can browse 20-30 full-size product options across categories, choose 3 products from available selections (typically 4-6 choices per category), preview your “2 IPSY Picks” that editors selected for you based on your quiz, browse and purchase Add-Ons at member pricing ($3.50-30), and add the optional $15 Beauty Boost for a premium item (IPSY-selected, not your choice as of 2024). The selection window shows product details, retail values, brand info, and reviews from other members. If you miss the window, IPSY auto-selects your 3 choices based on preferences, but active selection gives better control.

3. Billing (Last Day of Previous Month): IPSY charges your payment method around the last day of the month before your box ships. For example, your February box is billed approximately January 31st. The charge is $33.99 total ($32 subscription + $1.99 handling). If you added Beauty Boost, expect $48.99 total.

4. Box Assembly and Fulfillment: After billing and the Build Your Box window closes, IPSY assembles your customized box containing your 3 chosen full-size products, 2 IPSY Picks selected by editors, optional Beauty Boost item (if purchased), and product information cards. Boxes typically ship within 7-10 days after billing.

5. Shipping and Tracking: Expect your box to arrive 10-20 days after billing (mid-month). IPSY provides tracking information via email, though shipping times vary by location and demand. Some subscribers report delays exceeding this window, which is a recurring complaint in reviews.

6. Unboxing and Testing: When your Extra box arrives, unpack your 5 full-size products (or 6 with Boost). Unlike Original’s deluxe samples, everything is retail-sized, including full bottles of serum, full-size mascaras, and full palettes. Test products over the coming month to determine what works for you.

7. Rate Your Products: Log into your IPSY account and rate each product 1-5 stars with optional reviews. Ratings directly improve future curation, as low ratings tell IPSY to avoid similar formulas, brands, or categories, while high ratings encourage more of what you love. Specific feedback (such as “too heavily fragranced”) helps personalization. The algorithm learns your preferences more accurately than the initial quiz after 3-6 months of rating.

8. Shop Members-Only Perks: Between boxes, leverage your membership through the IPSY Shop with weekly product drops at 20-70% off retail, Flash Sales with limited-time offers on popular items, and Mega Drop Sales featuring quarterly blowouts (February, May, August, November) with 30-80% discounts on full-size products. Strategic Extra members report that combining the monthly box with Mega Drop sales provides the best overall value.

9. Optional Beauty Boost: Each month, you can add the $15 Beauty Boost option for a premium full-size product. Note that recent changes removed the ability to choose your Boost item, as IPSY now selects it based on your profile, which has frustrated members who valued that control. The Boost ships with your regular box.

10. Manage Subscription: Through your account dashboard, you can update your Beauty Quiz as preferences change, pause your subscription (skip a month), change payment method, upgrade to Ultimate ($60/month, quarterly boxes with 8+ items and 4 choices), downgrade to Original ($14/month, deluxe samples), or cancel subscription (though this has documented difficulties, see FAQs). IPSY Extra offers flexibility to adjust membership as needs change, though customer service limitations affect the experience of managing accounts.

Members-Only Perks

Your IPSY Extra membership unlocks exclusive shopping benefits beyond the monthly box. Add-Ons Shopping is available during the Build Your Box window, offering bonus products starting at $3.50 with free shipping when combined with your subscription. The IPSY Shop features weekly drops and exclusive deals with up to 70% off full-size products at member-only pricing. Quarterly Mega Drop sales occur in February, May, August, and November, delivering 30-80% off full-size beauty products during these limited-time sales events.

Who It’s For

IPSY Extra appeals most strongly to full-size product seekers who find deluxe samples frustrating and want actual usable quantities, including full bottles of serums, full-size mascaras, and complete palettes that last months rather than weeks. Control-focused beauty lovers who want significant input (choosing 3 of 5 products) without doing all the work of researching and selecting everything themselves appreciate this hybrid model between full control and full surprise. Value hunters who appreciate $200+ product retail value for $32/month and actively use most items received will find the math works in their favor.

Product experimenters who enjoy trying new brands and formulas in full sizes before potentially repurchasing favorites use the subscription as an effective discovery tool. Makeup collection builders gradually building comprehensive collections across categories (skincare, makeup, hair care) benefit from monthly full-size additions. Beauty sale shoppers who use the monthly box as a baseline while leveraging Add-Ons, IPSY Shop, and quarterly Mega Drops maximize overall value strategically. The subscription also works well for gift subscription givers seeking generous monthly beauty gifts where full-size products feel more substantial than samples, and for those comfortable with algorithmic personalization who enjoy rating products to improve future selections over time. Those with intermediate beauty knowledge who know their skin type, undertones, and general preferences but still want exposure to new brands and trends find the balance ideal. Flexible preference holders who like variety and do not mind receiving products outside their usual comfort zone occasionally will appreciate that the 2 IPSY Picks ensure some surprise.

This subscription is not well-suited for those on tight budgets, as $33.99/month ($407.88/year with handling) represents a significant discretionary expense. If $32 monthly affects your budget, consider IPSY Original at $14/month instead. Those who prefer testing products in small quantities before full-size commitment will find IPSY Original’s 5 deluxe samples better suited to their approach. Customer service priority seekers should note the email-only support with slow response times (reflected in the 2.8 customer experience rating) frustrates those needing responsive assistance. Those requiring easy cancellation face risk from multiple reports of difficult cancellation processes, charges continuing after cancellation requests, and confusion about cancellation policies.

Premium luxury-only purchasers who exclusively use prestige brands (La Mer, SK-II, Drunk Elephant exclusively) should know that IPSY Extra includes many emerging and mid-tier brands, and may want to consider IPSY Ultimate quarterly for higher-end focus. Impatient shipping expectations will lead to frustration, as delays beyond advertised windows occur frequently. Complete control seekers who need 100% control over every item will not find satisfaction since you only choose 3 of 5 products. Those with sensitive skin and strict restrictions should understand that while you can note concerns in your quiz, IPSY cannot guarantee all products meet strict avoidance requirements for fragrance-free, paraben-free, and similar specifications. Zero-waste advocates should recognize that monthly packaging creates waste and receiving full-size products you may not fully use contradicts minimalism and environmental goals. Brand loyalty extremists who only purchase specific trusted brands and will not try new ones lose the discovery value and should simply buy favorites directly. Finally, those expecting phone support should know IPSY offers none, with all communication being email-only, which delays resolution for urgent issues or complex problems.

The 2.6/5 Trustpilot rating (sharing IPSY parent profile of 6,083 reviews) and A+ BBB rating (though with 435 complaints in 3 years) warrant serious consideration - while many subscribers love the full-size value and product choices, customer service difficulties, cancellation challenges, and shipping inconsistencies create friction affecting overall satisfaction. IPSY Extra works best for beauty enthusiasts comfortable with email-only support who value full-size product discovery and can tolerate potential operational hiccups in exchange for strong per-product value. Starting with a month-to-month subscription rather than prepaying helps mitigate cancellation risks.