Ipsy Science: AKA How on Earth did you get that bag, girlfriend?!

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Updating my account since anything after the 1st is not considered for that month's bag.


My picks:

  • Classic
  • Sultry
  • Formal
  • Worldly


My picks:

  • Promise
  • Kandi
  • Heart

My Pick:

  • Very Comfortable

My Pick:

  • Very Adventurous


My Picks:

  • Bare Escentuals
  • Benefit
  • Bobbi Brown
  • Urban Decay
  • MAC
  • Make Up For Ever
  • theBalm
  • Philosophy
  • Stila
  • NYX
  • Smashbox
  • Tarte
  • Buxom
  • Butter London
  • LORAC
  • Too Faced
  • Carol's Daughter
  • Essie

My Picks:

  • Foundation
  • Powder
  • Blush & Bronzer
  • Eye Shadow
  • Eye Liner
  • Mascara
  • Lipstick
  • Lip Gloss
  • Brushes
  • Tools

My Picks:

  • Cleanser
  • Moisturizer
  • Nail Colors
  • Body Lotion
  • Bath & Shower Gels

My Picks:

  • All of it

My Pick:

  • Light

My Picks:

  • All

My Pick:

  • Brown

My Pick:

  • Black

My Pick:

  • Needs Volume
 
This is my theory on Ipsymatch (and profile matching in general):

Each selection to every question is assigned a number value.  Each bag combination is also assigned a number value.  Your get the bag that your total (or average) matches.  So even if you scored low for skin tone (say if the light colored blush combinations were a low value), you could score high for selecting a certain Stylist and raise your total (or average).  Same thing with 'loving', you get another value added to your total.  So basically, your selection for one question may place you out of the range for your 'perfect' bag based on the value assigned to that specific selection.  Obviously there is no way we could get it how we want everytime since we dont know all the bag combinations, but since they may be using an average or rounding our 'scores' we probably would never get a perfect bag everytime anyway.  That is all totally just my opinion, but I just don't see how else they could do it electronically.

 
Originally Posted by Lolo22 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

This is my theory on Ipsymatch (and profile matching in general):

Each selection to every question is assigned a number value.  Each bag combination is also assigned a number value.  Your get the bag that your total (or average) matches.  So even if you scored low for skin tone (say if the light colored blush combinations were a low value), you could score high for selecting a certain Stylist and raise your total (or average).  Same thing with 'loving', you get another value added to your total.  So basically, your selection for one question may place you out of the range for your 'perfect' bag based on the value assigned to that specific selection.  Obviously there is no way we could get it how we want everytime since we dont know all the bag combinations, but since they may be using an average or rounding our 'scores' we probably would never get a perfect bag everytime anyway.  That is all totally just my opinion, but I just don't see how else they could do it electronically.
My question would then be what they do if one bag is overwhelming popular even going by the profiles. Say 42% of the profiles all scored highest for bag #3. How do they decide who takes precedence to get that bag and who will get their 2nd or 3rd choice (depending on how popular that bag is). I also wonder if they prepare the bags and then run the matching service or if they run the matching service and try to prepare more bags for the most popular choices until they run out of enough products to make up that bag. Did that make sense? Anyway, I could see the matching system using a point thing like this. This is why I think it would be soooo very wonderful if they would not just approach matching with positive numbers but also matching with negatives. Like, if this is in fact the way it works, then maybe we select things we don't like and it takes away a point from a bag which includes a negative product. A bit hard to explain. If you have ever seen the subscription videos by this one girl who rates her boxes by a system, it would help you understand. She is a makeup artist and here is what she does. If she wants to keep something for herself, she gives it 2 points. If she will give it away or keep it for use with clients, she gives it 1 point. If she hates it to the point of throwing it away or if it is a tiny foil packet, she takes away 1 point. If Ipsy is only approaching it in a positive manner, then I could see people ending up with products they really do not want. Take the PSSTTTTT shampoo for example. I know some people wanted it but a lot of people did not. So if there was a way to tell Ipsy to put a lower priority on hair products then maybe that bag would not be picked for you. I myself would probably put a low priority on hair products. Not only do I get a lot of hair products in subs which I won't use, but I look at the flip side that it takes up space which could have been with a product I would have preferred. Sure, it might not be my #1 favorite product that I lost out on due to getting the hair product, but if I got a so so product instead of one I really disliked, it would help me like the overall bag much more. True, there is no real way to get perfect bags since the subs approach things as a surprise and we can never set up our profiles to anticipate every possible product or bag variation. Nevertheless, I think if they added this 'products I don't like dimension' and maybe let us rank them, our bags might start to be truly more personalized. Ok, enough babbling for now. I'll post my info when my bags come.

 
Originally Posted by Heather Hicks /img/forum/go_quote.gif

My question would then be what they do if one bag is overwhelming popular even going by the profiles. Say 42% of the profiles all scored highest for bag #3. How do they decide who takes precedence to get that bag and who will get their 2nd or 3rd choice (depending on how popular that bag is). I also wonder if they prepare the bags and then run the matching service or if they run the matching service and try to prepare more bags for the most popular choices until they run out of enough products to make up that bag. Did that make sense? Anyway, I could see the matching system using a point thing like this. This is why I think it would be soooo very wonderful if they would not just approach matching with positive numbers but also matching with negatives. Like, if this is in fact the way it works, then maybe we select things we don't like and it takes away a point from a bag which includes a negative product. A bit hard to explain. If you have ever seen the subscription videos by this one girl who rates her boxes by a system, it would help you understand. She is a makeup artist and here is what she does. If she wants to keep something for herself, she gives it 2 points. If she will give it away or keep it for use with clients, she gives it 1 point. If she hates it to the point of throwing it away or if it is a tiny foil packet, she takes away 1 point. If Ipsy is only approaching it in a positive manner, then I could see people ending up with products they really do not want. Take the PSSTTTTT shampoo for example. I know some people wanted it but a lot of people did not. So if there was a way to tell Ipsy to put a lower priority on hair products then maybe that bag would not be picked for you. I myself would probably put a low priority on hair products. Not only do I get a lot of hair products in subs which I won't use, but I look at the flip side that it takes up space which could have been with a product I would have preferred. Sure, it might not be my #1 favorite product that I lost out on due to getting the hair product, but if I got a so so product instead of one I really disliked, it would help me like the overall bag much more. True, there is no real way to get perfect bags since the subs approach things as a surprise and we can never set up our profiles to anticipate every possible product or bag variation. Nevertheless, I think if they added this 'products I don't like dimension' and maybe let us rank them, our bags might start to be truly more personalized. Ok, enough babbling for now. I'll post my info when my bags come.
Makes total sense, and those are really good questions we will probably never know the answers to haha!  I noticed the Ipsymatch explanation page says this (not sure if this was there before, page says it was edited on 6/25):

PLEASE NOTE! All changes must be made BEFORE the 1st of the month to be reflected in that month's Glam Bag. We send all orders to the warehouse and begin preparing bags to ship on the 1st of the month. As well, while we strive to accommodate all of your preferences, we cannot guarantee that every single product will be a perfect fit, as we optimize to give you the bag with the most items that we think you will love.

That really makes me think the matching system they use is based on averages and that they are not trying to make sure we love all 5 items.  I do think it would be nice if their system was sophisticated enough that we could rank our likes and dislikes, but that could still rule out a potentially great bag (say if our shade preference for a lippie was only in a bag combination with a hair product we didnt want).  I think the other hard part is that most of us would still want to try a product we wouldn't normally like, if it was cool enough or from a brand we were interested in.  Maybe as Ipsymatch evolves they will give us more clues on how to get better matches for ourselves
wink.gif
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Originally Posted by Lolo22 /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Makes total sense, and those are really good questions we will probably never know the answers to haha!  I noticed the Ipsymatch explanation page says this (not sure if this was there before, page says it was edited on 6/25):

PLEASE NOTE! All changes must be made BEFORE the 1st of the month to be reflected in that month's Glam Bag. We send all orders to the warehouse and begin preparing bags to ship on the 1st of the month. As well, while we strive to accommodate all of your preferences, we cannot guarantee that every single product will be a perfect fit, as we optimize to give you the bag with the most items that we think you will love.

That really makes me think the matching system they use is based on averages and that they are not trying to make sure we love all 5 items.  I do think it would be nice if their system was sophisticated enough that we could rank our likes and dislikes, but that could still rule out a potentially great bag (say if our shade preference for a lippie was only in a bag combination with a hair product we didnt want).  I think the other hard part is that most of us would still want to try a product we wouldn't normally like, if it was cool enough or from a brand we were interested in.  Maybe as Ipsymatch evolves they will give us more clues on how to get better matches for ourselves
wink.gif
.
True. There is no way to ever get it perfect all the time and I think most people recognize this. But, this doesn't stop the frustration of seeing someone else get the perfect bag for you, especially if most of it is like yours except you got 1 or 2 products you hate when they got those 1 or 2 you really wanted. I also know what you mean about sometimes wanting something you wouldn't normally want just because of the brand or hype over it. If Ipsy could do some sort of ranking (both negative and positive) it would probably come closest to the best match. Say for example you like getting eyeshadow ok but not if you get eyeshadow instead of a lip product. That's a lot more useful information than just clicking off on both of them which makes it look like you enjoy both equally. Oh well, if they are making a sincere effort, that is enough for me right now. I just hope they won't give up improving the system as we go along. Just because you can never reach perfection doesn't mean you shouldn't try and get as close as possible. I do appreciate them putting out the clear notice that you are wasting your time obsessing over your quiz and redoing it multiple times after the 1st. But then, we wouldn't know anyone who would do that sort of thing, now would we? 
rolleyes.gif


 
There's a lot of good theories here.  I just wish my colors would match better... the products are fantastic.  Not sure what I'm doing wrong there. 

 
Based on my profile, my July bag should contain: -Pop lip crayon in coral -coola tinted -eyeshadow palette (only because it looks like everyone is getting it. I do not have eyeshadow selected as an interest) -beach spray -face scrub I will update this post when I get the bag to see how close it came. Anyone else have any predictions for July?

 
Based on my profile, my July bag should contain: -Pop lip crayon in coral -coola tinted -eyeshadow palette (only because it looks like everyone is getting it. I do not have eyeshadow selected as an interest) -beach spray -face scrub I will update this post when I get the bag to see how close it came. Anyone else have any predictions for July?
I received my Ipsy bag today and I got exactly what I predicted. I think I had more success with Ipsy match this month because I changed my "adventure" level to "not very adventurous". Basically, I like what I like so send me what I like! :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
 
I switched from very adventurous to not very adventurous too after the whole eyelash thing last month. And i'm getting the salt air perfume this month. My styles were simple and natural. I kinda wondered if those with very adventurous selected with blushes/bronzer checked got benetint in their bags.

 
My bag this month actually makes sense with my profile, dunno if it was a fluke or not.

I got the humidity spray and I have frizz as a concern, microdermabrasion scrub with large pores and blemishes checked, and they sent me the coola without a tint with fair skin checked.

 
Ok, so my bag ended up being this one:

 ​
Personal style: Classic, Sultry, Formal, Worldly

Stylist: Promise, Kandee, Heart

Comfort level: Very comfortable

Adventurous level: Very adventurous

Brands I love: Bare Escentuals, Benefit, Bobbi Brown, Urban Decay, MAC, Make Up For Ever, theBalm, Philosophy, Stila, NYX, Smashbox, Tarte, Buxom, Butter London, LORAC, Too Faced, Carol's Daughter, Essie

Types of makeup I love most: Foundation, Powder, Blush & Bronzer, Eye Shadow, Eye Liner, Mascara, Lipstick, Lip Gloss, Brushes, Tools

Types of skin/hair/nailcare products I love most: Cleanser, Moisturizer, Nail Colors, Body Lotion, Bath & Shower Gels

Shopping: all companies listed

Skin tone: light

Skin concerns: all

Eye color: Brown

Hair color: Black

Hair type: Needs volume

 
Anyone want to chime in specifically on if/how skin tone affected colors sent?

I notice that when I had Light chosen I received cooler colors (last month I received Volta and lip pencil in Bare) and when I changed to Fair I started receiving warm colors (Coral Crush).

 
Anyone want to chime in specifically on if/how skin tone affected colors sent? I notice that when I had Light chosen I received cooler colors (last month I received Volta and lip pencil in Bare) and when I changed to Fair I started receiving warm colors (Coral Crush).
I have my profile set to light and also received Volta /bare last month and coral crush this month. BUT, we got the Pop Beauty spoiler before the first and I "liked" a bunch of looks containing coral/orange/peach lips in hopes of getting the coral crush.
 
I'm wondering something... most of the people I've seen get the Derma-E scrub have been "older" (at least late 20s, which to Ipsy's teen-heavy subscriber base, is PRACTICALLY ANCIENT, apparently).  I'm 30, had my real age listed on my profile, and got the scrub.  (I have since traded it for the perfume)

Did any teens/early 20s ladies get the scrub?  My theory could be completely off... but in the meantime, I took 10 years off my age in the Style Quiz... just in case!  (I did the same thing with Birchbox several months ago and have gotten MUCH better boxes since!)

 
Originally Posted by magicalmom /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I'm wondering something... most of the people I've seen get the Derma-E scrub have been "older" (at least late 20s, which to Ipsy's teen-heavy subscriber base, is PRACTICALLY ANCIENT, apparently).  I'm 30, had my real age listed on my profile, and got the scrub.  (I have since traded it for the perfume)

Did any teens/early 20s ladies get the scrub?  My theory could be completely off... but in the meantime, I took 10 years off my age in the Style Quiz... just in case!  (I did the same thing with Birchbox several months ago and have gotten MUCH better boxes since!)
I'm 39 and didn't get the scrub (which is kind of a shame because I wanted it!). I have two subs and both list my real age. I got Benetint and Nailtini.

 
Originally Posted by sldb /img/forum/go_quote.gif


I'm 39 and didn't get the scrub (which is kind of a shame because I wanted it!). I have two subs and both list my real age. I got Benetint and Nailtini.
I'm in the lowest age category and I'm SUPPOSED to get the scrub... I'll let you know if I ever do, seems like my bag got lost in the mail or something, it got shipped the 11th and hasn't moved since the 16th... blah!

 
Originally Posted by fadingsuns3ts /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Quote: Originally Posted by sldb /img/forum/go_quote.gif


I'm 39 and didn't get the scrub (which is kind of a shame because I wanted it!). I have two subs and both list my real age. I got Benetint and Nailtini.
I'm in the lowest age category and I'm SUPPOSED to get the scrub... I'll let you know if I ever do, seems like my bag got lost in the mail or something, it got shipped the 11th and hasn't moved since the 16th... blah!

Oh no, I hope your bag arrives soon! That is crazy!  (and quick question for my theory on a certain age range getting the scrub... Have you updated your quiz, where they now ask for your birthday instead of an age range?)
 
Sorry I haven't bothered to post my bags this month. I was kind of depressed about my husband not hearing about his job interview week before last. Then, around Wednesday or Thursday of last week, my older cat Sallee started acting odd. It was subtle at first. Just a bit withdrawn. By the weekend, it became obvious that she was sick. I called the vet as soon as they opened Monday morning. We took her to the vet who said she had water in her lungs. They drained it off and said she was resting quite well. We thought we'd be able to pick her up today. But around 8 am, they called to say she had just passed away. They thought she was sleeping peacefully when they got to work, but then they couldn't wake her up, and they found her pulse was extremely weak. They couldn't revive her. She had a huge growth in her chest, so they suspect it was cancer. She was at least 13 years old. I adopted her in 2002 and they estimated her age at 2 years. My mom always thought she was older than that--5 to 7--which would put her around 16 to 18. I guess that's a long life for a cat, but I was expecting to have her for another 10 years. It really was a shock. Neither myself nor my husband is taking it very well. I can't even think of makeup right now. To make it worse, I have a Birchbox coming in Sallee's name. I also started balling in Kmart tonight when I walked by the Sally Hansen nail polish. (I went there to pick up a new gown as I had buried Sallee at my mom's house in the gown I was wearing at night). Anyway, sorry to blab so much, and I know I am WAY off topic, but talking/writing about it seems to help stop me from pacing the floor and crying. But, I don't know how much I will be reading or posting on here for a while, on any link. I just miss my baby girl (the first pet that was all my own, before my husband came along) and she lived in the house with me. I really do love her! I'll miss you guys too. I'm sure I'll be back sometime. Maybe even sooner than I'm thinking about as I will probably need a diversion.

 

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