Hey guys! Thank you for coming back to LoveLifeBeauty. I realized that some of you may be wanting to subscribe or check out some subscription boxes so I decided to write about beauty subscription boxes that offers sample/deluxe size products I’ve tried and let you guys know what I think, what I like or don’t like, my experience getting them and if I recommend them at all.
I will be talking about 3 subscription boxes for now since I haven’t subscribed to all of the subscription boxes out there but eventually I will slowly give them a try. I will start with Birchbox, Ipsy, then lastly Play! by Sephora. If you guys have any feedback, feel free to comment or reach me through the contact page. So lets get started!
(Sorry for the picture quality, I didn’t have the best phone camera at the time. This was my first ever box, June 2016)
The first subscription box I ever subscribed to was Birchbox in June 2016. What convinced me to sign up was I got a free gift (Pixi by Petra eyeshadow palette which is full-size!) with my first box and that got me pretty excited! Normally, Birchbox hooks you up with an amazing deal for your first box and that makes it very tempting to subscribe, and I did.
What is Birchbox?
It’s a $10/month subscription box (they offer free shipping but taxes may apply depending on where you reside) where you get sample size or some deluxe size items in your box. You have the option to participate in Sample Choice, which allows you to choose one of the samples in your next box as well as the ability to add full-size products into your boxes.
They also offer this box on a 3, 6, or 12 month basis which you’ll pay for your full subscription up-front.
As of 12/18/18, they are offering amazing discounts if you decided to get billed for a 3, 6 or 12 month subscription. They are also offering a free gift with subscriptions using the codes they provide (as shown below), click here if you’re interested.
My experience:
Since it was my first box and I was just getting into makeup, getting sample sized items to me wasn’t a big deal. I think it was pretty great since I didn’t put as much makeup due to the fact I was also struggling with acne at that time. There were products in the box that I was definitely in love with but there were also some that I thought “eh, I don’t know…”. I think what really got me upset and decided to cancel it was how they were featuring the items you were suppose to get in their website, but I understand the reason they do that is because you are able to purchase them there as well. Since I was getting two types of subscriptions during 2016, I always found myself comparing them to each other. Personally speaking, I think Birchboxwas ok, it wasn’t the type of subscription box I was looking for. The products they give aren’t very satisfying. Sample sizes are way to small so you barely get a couple of uses out of it. I know that they offer sample sized products for you to try before you decide to commit but when I say small, I really meant it because with the size they provide its impossible to figure out if its actually working or not. I didn’t like the fact that they claim to give deluxe sized items when the majority of them seemed almost the same size as the samples. When it came to skincare items however, it was another story. It was really hard for me to decide if I wanted the product because I was only able to use it two times or a week at most if I got lucky and used it sparingly. Some makeup samples were ok as well but they aren’t as satisfying as I would have wanted them to be. I do however like the boxes that the products came in, which were very artistic and even reusable.
(Again I apologize for the photo quality but these are my July & August 2016 boxes)
Another reason I decided to cancel was because they removed the point system for reviewing the samples you got. I really think its cool when subscription boxes give you points for reviewing the products you’ve tried and letting you redeem them for other products.
Lastly, I am pretty happy I cancelled because they had bad service. After cancelling my subscription I wanted to use my remaining points to order some individual items before abandoned their site altogether. First of all, the products took a very long time to get to me. When I finally received the package, it felt really light for what I had ordered and to my surprise the box was completely empty. I was shocked that they would even send a package that didn’t have items inside. How do you mess up that badly? It was ridiculous! Customer service was ok but it definitely took a while to sort out and I just didn’t like the overall experience. So ever since then, I had decided to do my business else where.
Final Verdict:
Do I recommend it?
Not really. I think this box is great for young teens or some people just getting into makeup who aren’t as picky as I am. If I have a daughter in the future, I would probably get her this box just because it’s cheap and she can somewhat have a startup makeup collection. But then again there are other subscription boxes that range within the same price point and have better service than this. However, if you’re the type of person who just wants samples, are not as crazy about makeup as I am and you don’t mind the customer service experience then maybe this box is the one for you. If you guys are interested in trying them out, use this link to subscribe.
(Another terrible picture but this was my first Ipsy bag; July 2016)
What is Ipsy?
It’s another $10/ month subscription that comes with different cute bags every month! (For me they charge tax so its $10.89 but it might be different from where you are from. Another amazing thing about them is that shipping is FREE!). They give you sample/deluxe sized items but sometimes there will be some items that are in full-size, which I think is pretty darn amazing!
If you like to save money, I recommend getting their annual subscription in which they bill you $110 for a 11- month subscription and the 12th month is on them. So you get the last bag for FREE! Isn’t that amazing!! I think it’s a great deal, and to be honest I should be taking my own advice since I’m still for some reason on the monthly plan. Click here if your interested.
My Experience:
Ipsy was the 2nd subscription box I subscribe to and the first bag I got was their July 2016 one. I think this was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. I do understand that I was only getting sample sized items but most of their samples would last me a while, and they would sometimes include full size items. Another reason I love Ipsy is because when they “sneak peak/ show you” what you got, they actually show how the items look in their own original size, plus you’re getting a cute themed makeup bag every month! It was super irresistible because you basically get a new makeup bag for free since most of the items in the bag are worth more than the retail value, plus it’s always amazing when you get some full size items (such as brushes, face masks, an eyeshadow palette, & some lip products). I did stop my Ipsy subscription in Dec 2016 which was that was a bad decision since I missed a couple of cute bags, especially March 2017! Since your girl here just couldn’t resist, I had to resubscribe for the June 2017 bag. Even now I still get it every month!! Personally I think that the bags are getting better. There are times when I get items I specifically said I didn’t want, which does bother me a bit, but if you think about the value and the overall experience it’s not a big deal, especially if you get products you’ve been wanting to try out.
Final Verdict:
Do I recommend it?
I am obsessed. This subscription is by far my favorite. I did have to cancel it at one point because of personal reasons, but out of the 3 sample/deluxe sized subscription boxes I got I couldn’t stay away. I had to resubscribe and even now I am still an Ipsy subscriber! I personally love Ipsy, and if I were to choose all over again this is the one subscription I would never cancel. Not only is the monthly bag an amazing add-on, but the products I’ve gotten just keep getting better! There are times you get a full size product and for how much we pay, its definitely a steal! In addition, I feel like the sample/deluxe sizes are much better than what I had gotten from Birchbox and even Play! By Sephora. Overall, I definitely recommend this subscription! If you guys are interested in trying them out, use this link to subscribe.
(Unfortunately during the time I had this sub, I didn’t bother taking pictures so this is a screenshot of what my products may have been if I was still subscribed)
What is Play! By Sephora?
It’s another $10/ month subscription box that comes with different cute collectable makeup bags every month & free shipping. They give you sample/deluxe sized items (makeup, skincare and hair care), plus a beauty bonus (so basically you get 6 items each month instead of 5). In addition, you also get to access exclusive how-to’s and tutorials about how to use the products in your box, a PLAY! BOOK with tips, tricks, and how-to’s about each sample and lastly a PLAY! PASS that you can redeem in store and online for 50 bonus Beauty Insider points with a full-size purchase.
As of right now they are only doing a monthly subscription plan so if you guys are interested to try them out click here.
My Experience:
Play! By Sephora was the 3rd subscription box I subscribed to and the first box I got was their March 2017 one. My experience getting their subscription box was a pain and I would have wanted to keep it but I got tired of dealing with the problems that the subscription box had caused me. The first time I had gotten the box, I was missing half of the products that I was supposed to get (3 out of the 6 items), but customer service was great and they had willingly sent me a new box to compensate for their mistake. However, in the months that followed I was continuously missing items or not receiving the boxes at all. I believe only one out of the 8 months I was subscribe to them (from March to October 2017) did I actually receive the box in perfect shape, meaning no missing or damaged items.
Final Verdict:
Do I recommend it?
I would because of the perks that the subscription offers, however if you were ever to deal with the same problem I had, I would say no. Out of the 3 subscription services I had used this would be my 2nd most liked because of the products offered & the size they came in. If I’m being honest I would’t recommend taking the risk, but if you’re willing to move past that then you might actually like this box. I really wanted to like this subscription because trust me, the items I got were pretty luxurious to me & I love shopping at Sephora so being able to try the trial size before purchasing the full size is a definite plus to me! You may experience this box hassle free, and I even know people who have gotten this box with little to no issues at all so if you’re still interested in trying them out, use this link to subscribe.
I really hope that I helped you guys decide on which subscription box to start with. Feel free to leave some comments, I would love to hear your thoughts! If you know other subscription boxes I should try out, I would love to hear them as well and add them to my future list!
Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to get updates on new posts! Also please make sure to check out my Instagram @lovelifebeauty.blog (I am mostly active there at the moment, it would mean the world to me if you guys give it a follow!) and please check out my Youtube channel as well, make sure to subscribe & click the notification bell to get updated when a new video is up!
(Credits toMy Subscription Addictionfor one of the images used in this blog article.)