Are you a beauty junkie, or simply want to try out tons of different products in a super easy and affordable way? Well if you know anything about shopping, finding products that work for you and are also affordable isn’t an easy task. Luckily, I am going to give you the 411 on the pro’s and con’s of the best beauty subscription boxes out there.
1. Birchbox
Birchbox is a beauty and skincare monthly subscription box that is delivered to your door for only $10 a month. You have the option to pay monthly or for a whole year. In the box you receive 4 to 5 deluxe/travel size samples with brands ranging from Clinique, Benefit, Origins, NailsInc, Sigma, Smashbox, and Ojon. It’s a great way to try out a ton of new products from brands you love and brands you have never encountered before for an affordable price. All you need to do is pay and fill out a profile with your preferences, skin color, eye color, hair type, etc. and you’re ready to go!
I tried Birchbox for the first time in 2013 and bought a full-year subscription (which I wouldn’t recommend). I was super excited because I had never tried a subscription box service before and had often dreamed of the day that these would actually exist. The first few boxes were very exciting but as time went on I grew disappointed. The sample sizes were not that impressive; they were most definitely not all deluxe or travel size (a lot of the time you would receive the foil packets you could get at a makeup counter for free). Also when you did get actual samples, they were often very small. For perfume samples they would give you those little tiny spray sticks and for certain skin care items the bottle would be so small you would barely get even one use out of them. Furthermore, in your profile, you are able to select your skin tone, preferences for certain types of products, and hair type. However, Birchbox often ignores this and gives you products that you can’t always use. One time I got this great concealer, but it was in the shade dark, and having very fair skin, it really didn’t work. In addition, sometimes they will give you a ton of hair products, even though you ranked makeup number 1. The whole point of the profile is so that the products you get can be somewhat catered to your needs, but Birchbox doesn’t always follow through with this. Finally, Birchbox gave me a lot more brands I didn’t know rather than brands I did, which wasn’t very reassuring. Of course I love discovering new brands, but sometimes I like familiarity (receiving brands I trust and already love).
Since I tried Birchbox, the brand has greatly improved their variety of brands, and have started to give customers bigger sized samples. However, I would be cautious, and if you do decide to give Birchbox a try, I would highly recommend paying monthly, so you can cancel your subscription anytime (because you could grow tired of it).
2. Ipsy
Ipsy, previously known as MyGlam when it started, is a beauty and skincare monthly subscription service that was created by the famous youtuber Michelle Phan. This subscription is very similar to Birchbox but there are some differences. The box is $10 a month and all your products are stored in a cute little makeup bag. You can pay monthly or for a whole year. In the bag you receive 4 to 5 deluxe/travel size samples with brands ranging from NYX, to Urban Decay, to Smashbox, to Benefit. Unlike Birchbox, Ipsy does not have a profile option where you can fill out your preferences and things about yourself. The products you receive are 5 products picked out of a collection of 12 for the month, so most people will be getting the same thing.
I tried Ipsy right after I finished my Birchbox subscription and purchased a whole year. I was a lot more excited for Ipsy because the products seemed like they would be bigger sizes and there would be better quality brands, and I was definitely right, most of the time. The thing that attracted me most to Ipsy was the community. A lot of youtube beauty guru’s would partner with Ipsy and create a makeup look out of the products found in the bag for the month. It was definitely a great way for someone just getting into makeup to learn how to use all different types of products. Sadly, in the last year and a half, Ipsy stopped making those videos which was one of the reasons I did not renew my subscription. Also, a lot of the time the makeup bags were poor quality, but they were not as important to me as the makeup. Despite those few things, I would still highly recommend Ipsy. I loved the brands I received and most of the products were a pretty good size.
3. Glossybox
One of the two most expensive boxes mentioned, Glossybox is a beauty and skincare monthly subscription box that costs $21 per month. There are three different subscriptions available: a 6 month plan that costs you $21 a month, a monthly plan that costs $21, and a yearly plan that costs $18.50 per month. In this box you receive 5 travel to full size beauty/skincare products with companies ranging from Essie, Rusk, Ouidad, Too Faced, Jouer, Pop beauty, Fresh, Cargo Cosmetics and more. Most boxes are the same for everyone each month, but Glossybox does allow you to create a profile so they can customize some of the products you receive.
I haven’t had the chance to try Glossybox, but I have heard so many good things about it and it is definitely going to be the next subscription box service that I try. A lot of people like Glossybox because they almost always send you brands you know, and the product size and quality is always amazing. Other companies tend to send subscribers not well known brands which often leads to disappoint. Moreover, Glossybox almost always gives you deluxe/travel size samples and sometimes even gives you a full size. The box is well worth the money, and the best part about the box is that it is really cute and durable so you can repurpose it if you want.
4. Boxycharm
The second most expensive box, BoxyCharm, is a beauty and skincare subscription box service that costs $21 a month. Similar to Glossybox in price and subscription offerings, Boxycharm lets you select a monthly plan at $21, a 3 month plan at $19.66 a month, a 6 month plan at $19.66 a month, and a whole year plan at $19.25 a month. In this box, you get 4 to 5 full sized items with brands ranging from Cargo Cosmetics, Tarte Cosmetics, Oscar Blandi, Mirabella, ncla and more. Unlike Birchbox and Glossybox, you cannot create a profile for yourself on BoxyCharm and therefore everyone will get around the same products every month.
I haven’t tried BoxyCharm before but it receives a lot of press on youtube and other forms of social media for offering good sized products. However, the one thing that can be frustrating about BoxyCharm is that a majority of the products you receive in your box will be from brands you don’t know. I do love trying new brands, but I prefer familiarity. Out of the two boxes for $21, BoxyCharm is the best value because all the products are full size and are usually from expensive brands.
5. Target Beauty Box
This newer beautybox is offered by everyone’s favorite superstore Target! The boxes range from $5-$10 so the are definitely the most affordable out of the 6 and a new one comes out every month. It offers 5-7 travel/full size drugstore brand beauty products and the products are usually all really great. All the boxes are the same, and you will know what you are getting ahead of time. Unlike the other services, the Target beauty box is not a subscription box, you buy it every month when it is released and you are not guaranteed to get it. They sell out super fast so I haven’t been able to get my hands on one yet, but they are always a great value and I have heard great things about them. If you interested, you can search on Google to see what past boxes have provided but some of the brands they usually have are Maybelline, L’oreal, Covergirl, TreSemme, Olay, and Herbal Essences. Although all the products are drugstore brands, you have to keep in mind that a lot of high end haircare and some skincare brands are sold at target, so if you are lucky you might get a box with a trial size of a high end product (hello Frederic Fekkai).
If you find you are struggling to get one (like me lol) then follow some of the popular youtube beauty gurus on twitter. They will usually tweet when the boxes go on sale. I would recommend following Tracy and Stefanie @eleventhgorgeous but there are many others you can follow too.
6. ScentBird
Scentbird is one of the newer subscription service brands and it exclusively offers perfume samples. It is $14.95 per month and every month you get to choose a month’s supply of a designer fragrance out of the brands they offer on their website. In your first box, you receive a applicator spray bottle the allows you to change the scent easily every month and one perfume sample which is comparable to the size of a rollerball perfume. This is a great subscription service for all you perfume lovers, or people who just want to find their signature scent. Some designer fragrances can cost you up to $75 so this is definitely a good way to figure out what you like and what scents smell good on you. Since this is new service, I haven’t yet tried it, but there are many reviews of it on youtube by beauty guru’s like Elle Fowler and eleventhgorgeous.
All the beauty subscription boxes (except target) list past boxes on their website’s if you want to check them out.
Moreover, in this article I only talked about beauty and skincare subscription services, but if you are interested in food and clothing ones, I would suggest checking out naturebox.com (healthy snacks) and letote.com (clothing).
Happy boxing!