Subscription OVERLOAD!

Hi everyone!!

I'm a newbie to makeup talk and have recently stumbled upon the world of subscriptions and samplings!! Birchbox, Sample Society, Beauty Army, Luxe Box there are soo many to choose from!!  I would deff like to subscribe to at least one of them, but I honestly have no idea which one to chose! I'll give you a little info about myself, and hopefully you lovley ladies can suggest what you think would be best.  I'm young (early 20's) and brand new to makeup. I dont wear much, but i've got the basics down and I'm wanting to learn more. not soo much into the skincare stuff, but i'll tolerate it. mainly looking for makeup and nail stuff. Thank you in advance /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Well, there are a LOT out there, so I'll just share my experiences and hopefully they'll be helpful.

I'm not much into skin care either, and some boxes seem to really emphasize this. Birchbox is good because your box is tailored to your interests, and you can leave feedback of the items in your boxes and get points back to use on future boxes or full size products. I have a year subscription for $110 ($9/month). I usually get at least 5 items that I can review, and each item review gives you a dollar to spend in the shop or on a future box. This means my Birchboxes realistically end up being $4! What a steal! If nothing else, go for Birchbox.

My other addiction is Popsugar. These are sort of pricey ($35/month) but there are some decent coupon codes out there. They've been going somewhat downhill lately but I love them for the mix of items they present. I've gotten books, movie tickets, double-walled mugs, nail polish, snacks. Lots of fun stuff. You get a LOT every month for the $35 price tag ($30 if you use coupon codes).

Not sure if you're interested in food boxes, but Goodie.co and Love With Food both offer inexpensive monthly food boxes for snacking. These are similar to Birchbox in that they allow you to offer feedback which earns you points to spend on full sized items if you're so inclined.

In terms of building makeup and nail polish collections, check out Ipsy and Julep. Ipsy is only $10 a month and has a good mix of items, mostly makeup focused and a lot of them are full sized. Plus you get a cute makeup bag every month! This link shows past glam bags: http://www.ipsy.com/theglambag

Julep is $20 a month, but you get to pick which box you get out of a few each month. This takes the surprise element out of it for me unfortunately, but if you're looking to build your collection this is a good place to start. Julep also always allows you to skip a month without too much hassle which is nice. They also include accessories in some of their boxes which is awesome if you want pedicure cream, nail files, etc.

Hopefully this was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you Kara for such a detailed response!  This really helps me out a lot! and I had no idea there were food boxes! I will deff check those out as well.

If you are looking for mostly makeup, go for Ipsy ($10) or Starlooks Starbox ($15). They are both almost always makeup centered and have great customer service. Both ship middle of the month

If you are looking for food, then Goodies.co ($7) is the one for you. It is inexpensive and they send a lot of stuff. Great customer service and ships at the end of the month.

If you are looking for nail goodies then go with Julep ($19.99) or SquareHue ($21). Both do polishes and/or nail related items. Good customer service and both ship near the beginning of the month.

If you are picky and want to manually choose your own, go with Beauty Army ($12). You get to choose each month. These are slow to ship but I have never had a problem with an order.

If you want a balanced mixture of stuff do Sample Society ($15). They tend to give out one scent, one makeup item, one hair item, one skin care item, etc. Amazing customer service, they ship the first week of the month.

If you want freebies that you have to work for then sign up for Influenster and BzzAgent. You have to qualify for these and they are shipped out periodically.

Others:

Birchbox ($10)has ok stuff but I have been frequently disappointed personally. They do have a points system in place that most others lack so that is nice.

PopSugar ($35) is popular but not my cup of tea. It's much more expensive and there seem to be a lot of customer service issues.

Glossybox ($21) usually has great products but their customer service is a nightmare.

Cravebox ($10-15) is subjective although most people have been disappointed lately. They have themed boxes so that has to be chosen individually.

The Look Bag ($12.95) has had a slew of problems and I can't recommend this one at all.

Little Black Bag ($49.95)  is popular but you have to do online trading to get the bag you want. It is more expensive but you end up with purses, jewelry, etc.

The boxes I look forward to the most personally are Ipsy, Starbox, Goodies and Squarehue.

Thank you so much Dalylah!!  I had no idea about all of this subscription services!! I'm leaning towards Ipsy and Birchbox right now.

Originally Posted by missnaya /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Thank you so much Dalylah!!  I had no idea about all of this subscription services!! I'm leaning towards Ipsy and Birchbox right now.

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Great, sounds like nice starters. Can't wait to hear what you think!

Originally Posted by missnaya /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Thank you so much Dalylah!!  I had no idea about all of this subscription services!! I'm leaning towards Ipsy and Birchbox right now.

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Both are really good choices for you.

I bet you eventually wind up with each of them! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> These subs are addicting.

Fyi, Birchbox has a wait list. It usually takes about 4 weeks until you can sign up. 

So maybe get on the waiting list for BB, and meanwhile sign up for Ipsy?

Then you can always drop Ipsy when BB becomes available.

Originally Posted by LisaLeah /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Both are really good choices for you.

I bet you eventually wind up with each of them! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> These subs are addicting.

Fyi, Birchbox has a wait list. It usually takes about 4 weeks until you can sign up. 

So maybe get on the waiting list for BB, and meanwhile sign up for Ipsy?

Then you can always drop Ipsy when BB becomes available.

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Wow a waiting list? Thanks for the heads up! So after I sign up how long do you think it'd take to get my first box? and I actually think I might try both for a few months, and then if I'm not happy with both, I'll just drop one. They sound addicting and I havent even signed up for any yet! I had no idea these things existed and now I'm hooked! googling and reading reviews about all of them!!

I am going to agree with a couple of others and say that Ipsy is probably a great choice for you (it's affordable, you get a lot of makeup and nails, and a little skincare/etc, a cute makeup bag). A lot of the products are full sized, and they tend to be "fun" products like lipglosses, eyeliners, eyeshadows, and fun nail polish colors.

Birchbox is hit or miss...I just went back to then because I love the points system, but I was dissatisfied often with the sample sizes and lack of variety that I personally got. However, it really is a great starting point for subs, and I did sometimes get amazing things, like full sized stila eyeliners...but I also got things like foil packets of shampoo and self tanners.

And finally, Starlooks is all makeup and it's great! It is all their brand, though...but the brand is very nice and high quality and is a great way to get new makeup colors and products to play with.

Have fun! These boxes are really addictive...most of us have been through most of the list by now, LOL. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Originally Posted by missnaya /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Wow a waiting list? Thanks for the heads up! So after I sign up how long do you think it'd take to get my first box? and I actually think I might try both for a few months, and then if I'm not happy with both, I'll just drop one. They sound addicting and I havent even signed up for any yet! I had no idea these things existed and now I'm hooked! googling and reading reviews about all of them!!

Click to expand...

You should be on the waiting list for around 4 weeks. Then they will email you to let you know when a spot opens. When it does you sign up for the sub and your first box will ship around the 10th of the month.

So if you join the wait list now, my guess is your first box will be in Feb.

For Ipsy you can still get Jan's box!