Dive Brief:
- Online beauty company Ipsy has tapped makeup artist and beauty brand founder Patrick Starrr to curate its May Icon Box, per a company press release.
- Five of the eight brands for May were hand-selected by Starrr, while three were chosen by members from an assortment personalized by Ipsy using proprietary AI technology. Products included in the box come from Starrr’s own brand, One/Size, along with others like Fenty Skin, Benefit Cosmetics and Kosas.
- The Icon Box, an upgrade offered quarterly to the company’s Glam Bag and BoxyCharm by Ipsy subscribers, offers eight products with a value of up to $350 for a cost of $60. Past Icon Box curators have included Khloé Kardashian, Alicia Keys, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Vanessa Hudgens, Pat McGrath and Gwen Stefani.
Dive Insight:
Starrr champions inclusivity in beauty and his Ipsy Icon Box aims to showcase that, according to the company.
"I'm advocating for myself and the unseen and unheard," Starrr said in a statement. "It's about being able to define yourself on your own terms."
Starrr said the brands included in his box also aim to celebrate individuality and inclusivity.
"Patrick's spectacular creativity and commitment to individuality made him the obvious choice as our new Icon Box curator," Ipsy Chief Merchandising Officer Kristy Westrup said in a statement. "Patrick is beloved by the Ipsy community and his outlook on beauty perfectly aligns with our brand mission to inspire everyone to embrace their unique beauty."
Ipsy has worked to navigate the changing landscape of subscription boxes over the past couple of years. Ipsy and BoxyCharm early last year announced they would consolidate under one brand in response to the pandemic, which altered shopping habits, wreaked havoc on supply chains and made customer acquisition more difficult.
In 2022, Ipsy’s parent company raised $96 million in funding to accelerate its expansion. And in 2021, Ipsy launched a personal care brand dubbed Refreshments.
In recent years, the subscription box category has experienced a number of setbacks. Nordstrom’s Trunk Club shuttered in 2022. Birchbox faced a number of issues under former owner FemTec Health, including at one point a disabled website and outstanding vendor debts; the beauty company’s website relaunched under new ownership in September and began fulfilling orders again. And Stitch Fix has experienced C-suite changes, layoffs and falling sales and profits.
