As you know I love a good subscription box or bag, hell I like any mail that isn’t demanding payment from me. For me BirchBox and Ipsy allow me to explore the beauty market place and try new things before I hunk down a chunk of cash for the full-sized product. How often do you get to try before you buy? Not that often, especially when it comes to men……. I kid, I kid. BirchBox and Ipsy have essentially the same concept, they send you a box/bag full of deluxe sized samples or sometimes full-sized products to try in the comfort of your own bathroom. I don’t know bout you but that is where I try mine out, my mirror lives in the bathroom, so ya know I gotta go where the mirror is. Cause it sure as hell isn’t jumping off the wall and coming to me.
All humor aside. While riding the 7:15 am #4B into work, I became irritated by how entitled and ungrateful BirchBox and Ipsy subscribers are. Each month Ipsy opens the “glam room” it allows subscribers to see what is coming in their bag that month. BirchBox does the same thing, you can unlock your box after it ships to see its contents before it arrives at your door. I like, love this concept, 1. I get to see what’s coming and I get super excited and start stalking my packages online. 2. I hate surprises and I like knowing what will be arriving. This concept is a great thing and it is also a horrible ugly thing.
Why is it ugly? Girls are all over the internet bitchin about what is or isn’t in their boxes. First lets look into “Ipsy Gate.” It seems that with Ipsy every month subscribers complain about the quality of the product or the type of item they receive. February’s bag included a mini POP Plumping Lip Gloss, it came in two colors and it had a smell. We are not talking about the normal lip gloss smell, but apparently a very bad smell and some said it burned their lips. Facebook was full of the following posts:”I complained to Ipsy and now I am getting a full-sized Pop gloss to replace my stinky one.” Some women even double dipped by contacting both Pop Beauty and Ipsy ending up with 2 free full-sized glosses. Everyone likes free things, however when free is involved everyone should be honest.
People complained that May’s bag had too much skin care and very little makeup. Apparently Ipsy is supposed to be all makeup all the time. All makeup and no skin care, makes for terrible skin. I happened to love May’s Fresh Picks bag and enjoyed sampling new skin care products. Hey that shit isn’t cheap and if I can try it before I buy it, that’s a bonus. If the skin care complaints were boggling your mind things got even better, soon there were rumblings of broken Pacifica Eye shadow. Before you knew it everyone was complaining about receiving a broken shadow. I got the shadow and mine arrived in one solid piece. Just as before, Ipsy kindly sent out a replacement shadow. Its my understanding that you can apparently put the shadow back together again. Sort of like humpty dumpty. I’ve never done it, so I am not sure how it works.
Now lets look at “The BirchBox Scandal!” Woohooo everybody loves a good scandal! Hell I know I like the sound of the world scandal, that’s why I am using it. Every dang month, girls be bitchin “BirchBox you suck, you didn’t send me anything I wanted! I can’t use any of this! I’m canceling on you! Well, I would cancel but I like the points system, cause I can get free stuff in the BirchBox shop. Yea, I can, I just stay for the points.” <—– People actually say these things on BirchBox’s social media sites. I just laugh at them and usually make some snarky comment. You know because I am kind of snarky. Anyways it gets old really quick. I am not always happy with the Big "BB" yet I keep my unhappiness to myself and I don’t publicly blast them on their social media sites.
Well there was this one time where I did complain on the BirchBox Facebook page. But it was legit, they sent chocolate in my box and I am allergic to chocolate so I couldn't use anything in the box. But I complained in a nice way and through social media they prompted me to call in. So I did, their awesome customer service rep took care of me and hooked me up with a new chocolate free box. Concerns like the fore mentioned are legitimate concerns and should be brought to the company's attention.
Every month a new "Ipsy gate" and "BB Scandal" unfold in my social media feeds. One can literally pop themselves a bowl of popcorn, pour a glass of wine, sit back and read the drama. It's highly entertaining! I love how grown women throw hissy fits over receiving the wrong shade of makeup, tanning oil, hair products, and so on and so on. I am starting to believe that women think that the BirchBox and Ipsy warehouses are like Santa's workshop. You know a workshop filled with magical elves that can read our minds and that every girl in the world has her own personal elf that picks out amazing products just for her. Lady, its time to get real. There isn't a magic workshop and no one is pulling products just for you. It's a random system and they do their best to match products to what you put in your beauty profile. YOU signed yourself up for a sampling service and if you didn't properly read the fine print, then that's your own damn problem. There is no guarantee that you are going to get exactly want you want every month. No where in the fine print does it say "You will only get makeup in your glam bag." Nope I checked the site, it says you will get 5 beauty products in your bag. Same goes for BirchBox, you will get 4 to 6 deluxe sized samples each month and it does not mention that you will “only get makeup”. If you don't like a product, don't bitch about it, give it away or trade it away to someone who will love it.
You are not driving the beauty box bus here, you are just a passenger, and you should be grateful.
Why should you be grateful?
Its easy, you can afford a $10.00 box/bag each and every month, while someone out there can't. Stop and think about the following before you bitch about Ipsy and BirchBox: Think about the woman who is standing with her children at the grocery store cash register searching for just 10 more dollars so she doesn't have to ask the cashier to take something back. For her that is embarrassing and it breaks her heart knowing that her children will have a little less food on their plates. Think about the woman who walks miles to work, because she doesn't have $10.00 for gas. Think about the woman who searches the ground for spare change, because all she needs is another $10.00 to pick up her child's medication from the pharmacy. Think about them, think about their lives and you will see that your petty complaint is just another over-entitled first world problem.
Have Bear Will Travel 