Last month I got a wild hair up my tush and decided I suddenly wanted to order a beauty box. I already receive FabFitFun and CAUSEBOX on a regular basis, so a beauty box was probably not a necessity. Come to think of it, the other two are not exactly necessities either, but I find the surprise to be a fun break from the more serious aspects of life.
I started with Ipsy and added Allure. A week later, I added Birchbox and Glossy Box. So now I have a problem and you can see just how easily things can spiral out of control. Joking aside, I ordered the four boxes because I thought it would be fun to compare and contrast a few of the top selling beauty boxes so that I may tell others which one seems to be most worthwhile.
The first to arrive was Birchbox with its tasseled sliding drawer box. Inside I found tips on usage as well as five deluxe sample products: Pai – All Day Hydration, Arrow – Nourishing Lip Oil, Oribe – Matte Waves Texture Lotion, Benefit – They’re Real! Mascara, Eyeko London – Brown Liner, and Nature Lab Tokyo – Perfect Shine Clarifying Scalp Scrub. The brow liner works great, but is too dark for me. I would however recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good brow liner. I do like the mascara, but I have other mascaras that do nearly the same thing. I have yet to try the texture lotion and scalp scrub. The lip oil made my lips tingle, which could be due to the peppermint oil. I kind of liked it. I am a fan of the moisturizer by Pai. It made my skin feel soft and hydrated, but I won’t give up my regular lotion for it. This particular box is normally $15, but it cost me $10 plus tax. I received a $5 discount on my first-time order. There are several plans to choose from which range in cost depending on the number of months you would like to commit to. I am a commitment-phobe in everything but relationships, so I chose to do a single month in order to try it out. I am glad I chose one month because I ended up canceling. The box fell short for me. While the presentation was beautiful, the items were not all that exciting and I would not pay $16 on a regular basis for the underwhelming feeling I got when I opened up the drawer compartment. If you are interested in Birchbox, they do have a special running right now. You can get an entire year of boxes for only $94. Now that’s a steal.
The second box I would like to talk about is not actually a box, but a bag. Ipsy, though it was the first to be ordered, was the last to arrive. Each month Ipsy gives you a different makeup bag with five items which could be sample, deluxe, or full-size. You also receive information and tips for using each item. The bag costs $12 plus tax per month at the first level. You can upgrade to the Glam Bag Plus for $25 per month and receive five full-size items in a drawstring bag, or you can take it further and go with Glam Bag Ultimate which will get you twelve products of varying sizes in a deluxe bag for $50 per month. I went with the Glam Bag which for the month of September, was gold on one side and maroon on the other. Thank goodness it was not all gold. I do not think I could have handled that (I mean it genuinely). Inside the Ipsy Glam Bag I found: Sundays – Nail Polish No. 18, HEMPZ – Herbal Lip Balm, DEWYTREE – Clean Lab AC Dew Foam, Tarte – Big Ego Mascara, and Maelle – Pink Diamond Eyeshadow. I love the Hempz lip balm, it’s wonderful. I also love the eyeshadow. It’s gorgeous. I have not yet tried the dew foam, polish, or mascara, but I intend to in the near future. I did decide to cancel Ipsy because again, I was not overly excited about the bag, but Ipsy apparently wants to keep me because they offered me a second bag for free. I have to admit, the second bag drew me back in with two things. I am a Libra, and I like the “You’re Magic” quote with the gold moon and star zip handle on the bag, as well as the pistachio body butter by Pistache Skincare – it smells so tasty! Ipsy may have won me over for one more month, because I am now curious about what November will bring.
Box number three, dun, dun, duh! The Allure Beauty Box. This box has changed slightly since my order last month. The box I bought for September was $15 plus tax and came with a free gift for first-time purchasers, as well as seven beauty products. The box normally comes with five or more products worth $70+. Now the box has changed to $23/month and you receive six or more products valued at $100+. The items come neatly packaged in a white and silver Allure box with red tissue paper. This box was right up my alley. The contents included: Glam Up – Soothing Aloe Texture Refinement Sheet Mask, Elemis – Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm, Waterl<ss – Dry Conditioner, NYX – Pro Contour Brush, La Roche-Posay – Anthelios Light Fluid Sunscreen in SPF 50, Wander Beauty – Unleashed Volume and Curl Mascara, Cleo Noir – Twist Up Eyeliner, and of course, the booklet with information and tips on each product. The freebie, Anastasia Beverly Hills – Moonchild Glow Kit Eyeshadow, was by far my favorite item in the box. The colors are fabulous and make me feel like a beauty queen. My second favorite item was the Waterl<ss dry conditioner. I love that this product is paraben and sulfate free. I find the smell pleasant and I am excited to take it with me on vacation. The rest of the products I have not yet tried, but look forward to testing out in the near future.
Box number four is my favorite. Glossy Box. The theme for September was spa, which set my little heart a twitter. I love, love, love the spa concept. This particular box is regularly $21, but I received a first month discount which brought the price down to $16 plus tax. This box has won out for certain. It arrived in this cute black and white shipping box. When I opened the box there was another box inside that happened to be just as pretty as the shipping box. It was pink with black lettering. Inside the pink box was a ribbon tying everything together. Untying the ribbon, I found a pamphlet which gave me tips and information on each product inside. Below the pamphlet was pink tissue paper stuck in place with a black Glossy Box logo sticker. Each product was laid neatly atop black crinkly paper pieces and let me tell you, this unboxing was one of the most exciting unboxings I have done in over a year. Inside the box I found a: Melusine Paris – Jade Roller, Daily Concepts – Daily Beauty Band, Codex Beauty – Bia Exfoliating Wash, Swell – Ultimate Protect & Renew Serum, Vitamasques – Ruby Sheet Mask, and Banila Co. – Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Cream. I love the pink headband; it is great for holding back your hair while doing facials. The exfoliating wash is gentle and left my face feeling clean and refreshed. I love my new jade roller, it will get plenty of use. I also love the Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Cream, which has royal jelly and yellow flower in it. The scent is light, but it feels wonderful on my face. I have not tried the protect & renew serum or the Vitamasque yet. My only negative toward this box is that it lists Rosen Skincare – Breakout Spot Treatment as an item in the box and not the Swell serum. Honestly, it’s not really a negative. I probably would not have used the spot treatment.
I had a blast checking out each of the chosen boxes. Of the four subscriptions, I am still receiving Ipsy and Glossy Box. My top favorite are the Glossy Box and Allure Beauty Box. I will most likely cancel Ipsy after another month because I do not feel like it’s worth the price in comparison to Glossy. I feel the same about Birchbox, which is why I canceled already. If I were to choose to keep only one, I would go with Glossy Box, hands down. Glossy has the best presentation and the feeling is simply magical when you go to open your monthly box, not to mention, the items feel the most substantial. Allure Beauty Box is not far behind, but I am not happy that they raised their price. That said, I enjoyed getting every one of them and I will probably use most of the products I received.
If you would like to checkout the boxes for yourself, please find their links below:
Receive 20% off your first Glossy Box: https://www.glossybox.com/referrals.list?applyCode=PATRICIA-R1XV
Star Spirit Adventures 