Ipsy has a new points system for earning free shit (plus: swatches of Zoya Giovanna)

Disclosure: This post contains referral links.

Zoya Giovanna, from my Glam Bag this month
(see more below).

Birchbox has had a system for a long time now where you could earn points a variety of ways, the easiest of which was to rate the products you got in your box. Those points can be used toward purchasing things from their shop. It was really the only thing I liked about Birchbox. I kept getting annoyed by the crap in my boxes, but I also earned enough to get a few free full-size products from the store.

I like the Ipsy Glam Bags much better Birchbox, since I prefer the larger sizes and the fact that there is more makeup than skin care. I got so many moisturizers from Birchbox. So many. I AM MOIST ENOUGH OK? (Though Ipsy's customer service could use some definite upgrading.)

Anyway, blah blah. My point is that Ipsy now has a points-earning system in place too. You earn 250 points for a referral, and 10 points for each review. Since you get 5 items per bag, you can earn 50 points per bag. When you collect 1000 points, you can redeem it for a free gift. Right now there are three to choose from: a Benefit mascara mini, some of those stupid hair ties, and the NYX Bronze Smokey Look kit. Obviously it's going to take a while to get to 1000 point at 50 point intervals, and it's not as good as Birchbox's deal, but hey, it's better than nothing.