Beauty Box: Battle of the Boxes

I think my love of Birchbox is pretty obvious if you’ve read some of my earlier posts. How could you not love a monthly box of beauty samples for just $10? However, lately Birchbox has been letting me down a bit. The sample sizes are often ridiculously small and I hate that I rarely get any actual makeup products, instead mostly getting cleansers and lotions. It’s hard to complain too much when my recent box came with a full-size Essie nail polish, but I still felt bummed out about the overall items recieved. So I decided to check out what other beauty box subscriptions are out there.

After doing some googling several services, I decided to check out unboxing videos on YouTube so I could see what people were actually receiving in their boxes. Many of the subscriptions seemed similar to Birchbox, but there was one that stood out. Relatively new to the States, Glossybox seemed to have a huge following of people in Europe. After watching several unboxing videos, I was amazed at the sample sizes these girls received and eager to check it out. I signed up, waited a few weeks, and then it finally came. I was super impressed with what arrived. I received a full size lipstick, a full size BB cream, a large sample size rose-water, and a large sample size of shampoo and conditioner. I liked the variety of items and I loved that they weren’t just one time use samples. If you are getting tired with your current subscription, I highly recommend checking out Glossybox.

Birchbox Pros:

• Just $10/month for about 5 samples.
• They have a great loyalty points program that allows you to earn points to save money on future purchases.
• You can buy all the beauty items directly from the site.
• Their online presence is awesome. Great blogs, fun twitter/instagram accounts, and several how-to videos.
• They do fun box collaborations with  Teen Vogue, Goop, and Gossip Girl.

Birchbox Cons:

• The samples have seemed to have gone downhill a bit.
• Not enough variety in their samples. I rarely get makeup and always get perfume samples.
• It can be frustrating that not everyone gets the same things in their box. Especially when you seem someone else has got a much better box than you.

Glossybox Pros:

• The samples are often full-size or at least deluxe sample size.
• Everyone gets the same box, give or take one or two items, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out.
• There’s a nice variety to the samples, so you don’t always feel like you’re getting the same stuff.
• The packaging is gorgeous. The boxes are really nice and well made.

Glossybox Cons:

• $21/month (however the sample sizes make it worth that)
• There online presence leaves something to be desired. Though they do hold a weekly Twitter chat.
• There points problem kind of sucks in comparison to Birchbox. It’s hard to obtain points and you can only use them for a free box.
• You can’t buy items from the site.