I love Birchbox. I've been a subscriber since December 2011 and wish I had found it sooner. The little kid in me loves opening up mail/presents that I buy for myself and Birchbox makes it fun because I never know exactly what I'm going to get. I get mine in two month increments since I live outside the U.S. and pick up my mail every two months and with multiple subs that makes for some fun box openings! My Gramps always says, "Time for presents again!" and we all have fun opening them up and oohing and aahing over all sorts of things, even mundane things, he loves getting the razors, snacks and foot products (along with a foot rub/pedicure/toenail cutting from me
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[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> and Gram loves the luxury anti-aging creams and makeup, we both have enough mascara to last us a long time. Little cousins get nail polishes, lip balms and snack foods or whatever they end up coveting, and I've given aunts mascaras and eyeliners too, along with creams and potions and cleansers. I started with one sub, got another for a friend (who has since backed out but I kept the sub and use the stuff for giveaways to family and friends, there is always someone who appreciates the little goodies), got a third for Teen Vogue and thought I'd drop it but kept it and then another for Glamour. So $40 a month on Birchboxes. Some months are better than others, but I ALWAYS get my money's worth and have fun while I'm at it. I like anticipating, sharing beauty tips with other subscribers, hoping I get a certain box (which the multiple boxes helps with, I have yet to receive double boxes but now I will that I've said it, ha ha), watching the BB videos, seeing what people are excited for and learning about new products, giving feedback and getting points to spend along with generous coupon codes and free shipping, the list goes on and on. Everything here where I live is expensive, even just buying a decent razor, so the value for me is even more. To buy eyeshadow at the local "beauty store" is about $15 for a who knows how old, covered with dust Covergirl baby blue shadow quad. Otherwise, you can get made in China eyeliners that are the type that tug and pull, ouch. So being able to have lots of great samples and full size products to share with friends here is a lot of fun for me, they really appreciate it and I love putting the gift boxes together. They've been hits at baby showers (gotta pamper the mom!), wedding showers and just because gifts. Teenage girls love them and are able to experiment with makeup and nail polish with them, it's a great hobby that I have, matching up people with fun, personalized gift sets.
The value, for me, is one of my favorite parts. I got 4 DDF cleansers that just about added up to a full sized one, which is $38 and I love it. I've gotten a $36 blush that I would have purchased for myself, so for $4 more I got 3 more boxes of samples/other items AND another 4 items in the box with the blush. Plus points to use towards full sized purchases. I just combined the 20% off code with $80 in points and got a full sized Clarisonic for about $60, otherwise that purchase would have been a scary $195. I end up really liking some of the small tubes of luxe creams and it makes me feel pampered to use them. I got a Clark's Botanicals mud mask that looks like it's in a pretty small tub but that I've used for four masks and there is still plenty left, it's a clay mask and it's pricey but I've got to use it for the price of my subscription. I got a really cool, retro red with white polka dots headband, a Beauty Blender, a few of my holy grail eyeliners in different colors, lots of BB creams, fun nail polishes, Tarte lipsurgences, the list keeps growing. Even if/when I get packet/sachet type samples, I use them up and like trying new things with them. I feel appreciative when I get full sized items but I don't expect the world for $10, I don't feel entitled, I feel pleasantly surprised when I get full sized or what I would consider to be my favorite items. I personally don't like tanning products, but it's not the end of the world if one of my samples is a tanning product, Birchbox isn't psychic! And guess what? My aunt loves tanning stuff. Problem solved. First world problems, right? I'm actually shocked at how much they send out, especially considering shipping prices. I can't do much better buying things on Ebay (which could definitely be sketchy, besides, buyer beware) because shipping is a real concern, it would cost $3-4 for shipping alone on a little box of stuff like that, maybe more. I know they get a bulk shipping deal, but still, it works out well for me. No sales tax, a fun group of women to talk to about new products, the experience of opening little boxes of fun beauty products, I'll be a Birchbox subscriber for a long time, I'm sure. It just makes sense for me.
