By Stacey Politi, chief marketing officer at IPSY

Blind boxes are truly having a moment, but their resurgence isn’t just about novelty or nostalgia. It reflects something much more notable in retail: consumers are increasingly looking for experiences, not just transactions.

Today’s shoppers want discovery, community and participation in something that feels bigger than a purchase. Blind boxes tap directly into that shift. The anticipation, the reveal and the sharing of what’s inside transform a simple purchase into something interactive and social.

But when you look closely at the brands that succeed with this format, the real driver isn’t mystery alone, but trust.

While blind boxes certainly aren’t new, their resurgence across categories has been remarkable. At IPSY, Mystery Bags have been part of the member experience for years. For us, they’ve never been a gimmick. They’re a format our community consistently loves and one we will continue to offer. Even so, we’ve seen the momentum accelerate. Our recent Mystery Bag drops have outpaced sell-through rates from the past two years, with our February 2026 drop reaching 30% sell-through in just days.

The reveal itself becomes content. It’s inherently shareable and participatory. Consumers aren’t just buying products. They’re joining a moment of discovery. And lucky for us, that dynamic fits particularly well within the beauty category.

Discovery is at the core of IPSY’s DNA. Our purpose is to help our members discover new beauty they’ll love at a price that allows them to explore and experiment within their budget. Because of that, the mystery bag format feels incredibly natural within our membership experience. Beauty enthusiasts are constantly searching for “the one” when it comes to skincare, haircare and makeup. They are curious and open to experimentation, but they also want confidence that what they’re trying has the potential to work for them.

Mystery Bags remove the stress of endless decision-making and replace it with the joy of discovery and the opportunity to sample something new. Most importantly, that discovery isn’t random. Every product included has already been selected and vetted by our own merchandising and beauty teams, who live and breathe this category. Our job is to do the hard work of curation so our members can focus on what they love most about beauty: discovering their next favorite product.

One of the things that truly differentiates IPSY’s Mystery Bags is that the experience isn’t just about what’s inside. Every drop includes an exclusive bag designed specifically for that collection. Our teams develop these bags 12-months in advance, and they often become collectibles within our community. For many members, the bag itself is part of the excitement. It’s a physical reminder of the experience and one more way IPSY turns discovery into something fun, shareable and uniquely ours.

Building Trust to Ensure Surprise-and-Delight Success

As blind boxes have grown in popularity, consumers have also become more discerning. They can tell the difference between thoughtful curation and a simple grab bag. The brands that succeed in this space understand that surprise alone isn’t enough. The experience has to deliver real value.

At IPSY, that means putting significant work behind every Mystery Bag we create. Surprise assortments must still deliver on the purchase promise, which requires a far more data-informed and intentional approach than people might expect.

Trust is built through expertise and rigorous curation. We apply info from every monthly IPSY experience to how we build our Mystery Bags. We analyze product reviews, study unboxing reactions and listen closely to member feedback across our IPSY Shop, marketplace and broader community.

We also learn from our creator network. IPSY works with more than 1,000 hand-vetted beauty creators whose authentic unboxings and product reviews give us real-time insight into what resonates most with beauty consumers. These insights directly inform our overarching strategies, while our merchandising team tests more than 8,000 beauty products every year and works closely with brand partners to build out Mystery Bag themes and assortments up to a year in advance.

Consumers may love the excitement of discovery and the community around unboxings, but they also want confidence that what they’re receiving is worth their money. Surprise may create the initial excitement, but consistent value is what keeps people coming back.

Brands that treat mystery as a short-term sales spike to unload products may see temporary results, but long-term engagement comes from building trust with consumers over time with truly valuable products inside. When surprise is backed by thoughtful curation, authentic community and real value, it becomes more than a trend. It becomes an experience consumers want to return to again and again.

Stacey Politi is the chief marketing officer at IPSY, where she leads brand, performance, CRM and creative for one of the world’s largest beauty subscription platforms. She brings over 20 years of experience across companies including Sony, NBCUniversal, Lionsgate’s Starz, Yahoo and Skechers and is known for building culturally relevant, high-growth brands that drive both impact and scale.