When it came time to choose between Ipsy and other beauty subscription boxes like Birchbox, the major deciding factor was the promise of monthly Ipsy Glam Bags. Regardless of which subscription box you choose, you’re going to end up with clutter — why not choose to adorn your home with cute clutter, right? (Wrong.)
But two years and 24 Glam Bags later, the honeymoon phase is well over. If you’re looking for a new home for your Ipsy Glam Bags, here are the best ways to repurpose them.
1. Organize Your Purse
I can’t go anywhere without a big ol’ purse and a bunch of smaller bags inside of it. (What, just me?) Everything in my purse needs a home — my makeup, my tampons, my snacks, etc.
Go dump your purse — seriously, as in right this second — and see what you’ve got in there. You’d be surprised at the random junk that could be much more attractively stored in a Glam Bag or three.
2. Prepare for an Emergency
What’s one thing you wish you had with you at all times in case of emergency? Makeup? Bandaids? Floss? Something more serious than any of the things I’ve listed? Get several of whatever that must-have item may be, put it in several of your Glam Bags, and put them everywhere — your car, your desk at work, your boyfriend’s house, everywhere. That way no matter where you are, you’ll always look good (and/or have clean teeth).
3. Give Them Away
Some of Ipsy’s Glam Bags are tres chic…and others are a little more Lisa Frank. Set aside the bags you don’t like and save them for birthdays and holidays. If you’ve got nieces, young cousins, sisters-in-law with bad taste…cue the Oprah gif.
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You could even make the Glam Bag gift a little more interesting by putting in some nail polish, some glittery eyeshadow Ipsy stuck you with, some candy…you get the idea.
4. Organize Your Junk Drawer
Those Target receipts you just can’t make yourself throw out? Stick ‘em in an Ipsy Glam Bag, throw it back in the junk drawer, and call it a day. The random sticks of gum and bobby pins in your junk drawer? Another Glam Bag bites the dust.
5. Glam Up Your Car
My car is always filled with trash. I would say “no shame,” but there is shame. Lots of it. I floss in my car. I blow my nose in there. Granola bar wrappers get strewn occasionally. A little Glam Bag can go a long way. Keep one in your glove box or your center console and stick your trash in there to throw away when you get home.
6. Glam Up Your Cube
On that same note, you should keep a couple of Ipsy bags at work. Instead of throwing all your pens and paper clips in your drawer to be lost forever, give them their own little Glam Bag so you’ll always know exactly where they are.
Hey, college students — this applies to you too. Your pencils and ponytail holders need a glam little home too.
7. Travel With Them
You can never have too many bags when you travel, right? Instead of just tossing your makeup brushes and lipsticks in a giant rando bag, keep them together (and safe) by giving them their own little Glam Bags. They’ll thank you later.
8. Protect Your Sunglasses
The worst feeling in the entire world is taking out your favorite pair of sunglasses from your purse and finding new little scratches all over the lense. Sunglasses + Glam Bag = Problem solved.
9. Take it Out on the Town
If you’re going out and you don’t feel like hauling a big purse around, Glam Bags are the perfect accessory. Just throw in some cash and some lipstick, and you’re good to go!
If you’re really crafty, you could sew a chain onto the Glam Bag and make it into a cross-body bag.
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