GLOSSYBOX vs. IPSY vs. Birchbox vs. BoxyCharm: Which Wins the Beauty Subscription Box Showdown?

• Best for Trends: GLOSSYBOX

Perfect for: People who like experimenting with new beauty products as much as they swear by the classics. 

How It Works: If you're looking to treat-yo-self, look no further than Glossybox. Each month, GLOSSYBOX sends five deluxe-sized, beauty products in its signature pink packaging around the world. The boxes tend to be themed: March’s box focused on eye products, while January boasted products centered around sleep and feeling refreshed.

Sample Brands: Glossybox has an extensive brand glossary to scroll through with stands-outs like Vince Camuto, Tom Ford, Pureology, Lancôme, and Benefit.

The Cost: Subscribe to a one-month plan for $21 per month, or commit to a cost-saving plan: a three-month plan for $59; a six-month plan for $111; or a 12-month plan for $210.

Pros: The deluxe and full-size samples are a major pro for getting more product at a stellar price. If you don't happen to be in the U.S. don't fret! Glossybox has locations in more than 10 countries and ships worldwide.

On top of the monthly boxes, there are often limited-edition bundles you can buy as one-offs to gift to friends and family, or to treat yourself. Glossies (GLOSSYBOX members) get priority access to these extra-special, limited-edition offers. 

Cons: The box is always a complete surprise, but there isn't a review option to state why you did or didn't like the products your recieved, so there's no way for them to know and improve your next box.

Money Saving Tip: If you like online shopping, don't forget to sign up at Extrabux！(What is Extrabux) , then you can enjoy up to 8% cashback on your purchase from Extrabux! Sign-Up Bonus: Free to join it & get $20 welcome bonus! Student Benefits: As long as you are a student at school, you can get a free whole year long VIP Card worth $199.

• Best Value: IPSY

Perfect for: Fans of Michelle Phan, and anyone who want to personalize their orders. 

How It Works: Before getting your first order, you take a questionnaire on everything from your eye, hair, and skin color to your favorite brands and personal style. From there Ipsy will pull both full-size and sample-size products according to your taste, with the occasional new beauty product or brand that you may unexpectedly fall in love with.

Sample Brands: You can go to the site and view a list of more than 70 retail partners with standout brands such as Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder, Smashbox, Morphe, Too Faced Cosmetics, Murad, and MAC.

The Cost: You can subscribe to this box for $12 monthly or $132 yearly (averaging $11 per box). Shipping is free. Both subscription types renew automatically, but you can cancel anytime without penalties or hidden fees.

Pros: Ipsy is known to mix up-and-coming brands with well-established ones, so you can continue to enjoy reliable favorites while finding new staples. Subscribers say that customization is one of this service's strengths, adjusting products according to users feedback and preferences.

Plus, Ipsy Glam Bag subscribers can upgrade to Ipsy Glam Bag Plus or Ipsy Glam Bag X to receive full-size items.

Cons: From month to month, you need to make sure you're updating your beauty profile preferences (and you should be precise) and write reviews about past products, otherwise you may receive products far from your interests which is a bit of a chore.

• Best Overall: Birchbox

Perfect for: People who want to forget about their three-page to-do list and play around with beauty samples instead. 

How It Works: Birchbox is a monthly subscription box catered to your unique needs. When you first sign up, you'll fill out a beauty survey to let them know your top priorities for samples. You can let them know what categories you like most. They offer fragrances, skincare, hair care, makeup, and bath and body items.

Sample Brands: Birchbox has a catalog of well over 100 brands with big names like NARS, Tweezerman, Gucci, GLAMGLOW, Kiehl's, Oribe, Tata Harper, Benefit, Dr. Jart+, and Shiseido.

The Cost: There are three subscription plans to choose from: monthly for $15, a six-month subscription for $14 per month, or a yearly subscription priced at $13 per month. Boxes are shipped by the 10th of each month.

Pros: Subscribers receive 4-6 deluxe samples in every box based on their preferences, a mix of both high-end and indie brands, reading material on each product, different subscription plans, the option to add more products to your order.

Cons: Samples are not full-size. And when everything is sample sizes, it can sometimes be difficult to truly see results from a product. Birchbox does occasionally send the same sample more than once. If you didn't like it the first time, it's annoying to get the same lackluster product again. 

• Most Customizable: BoxyCharm

Perfect for: Deal hunters who want to experiment with well-known and indie beauty brands. 

How It Works: BoxyCharm is a monthly subscription box. The Base subscription comes with 5 full-size products each month, with a minimum worth of $125. There's also a Premium option that comes with 6-7 products instead.

BoxyCharm does ask you to fill out a survey, but they don't really customize boxes. Instead, they let you choose 1 item (for Base and Premium subscriptions) or 3 items (for BoxyLuxe) for each box.

Sample Brands: You can expect to receive products from Elemis, Tatcha, Becca, Fresh, Elemis, Tarte, Dr. Brandt, Glamglow, Farmacy, and more. Luxe boasts tools as well, like the PMD Clean Smart Facial Cleansing Device and high-end brands including Nars and Sunday Riley. 

The Cost: $25 for a month-to-month subscribers, but longer plans let you save money ($23.33 a month for a three-month plan; $23 a month for a six-month plan; and $22.92 a month for a yearlong plan).

If you want more products each month, you can try Premium for $10 more per month, and you'll get 6-7 products. There's also an optional quarterly upgrade called Luxe, which includes 8 or more lifestyle and beauty products.

Pros: BoxyCharm only includes full-size items, so you're getting a lot of product in each box. BoxyCharm doesn't personalize boxes for you, but you do get to choose at least one item for your box each month. With the Luxe subscription, you can choose up to 3 of your products. 

Cons: When you sign up for BoxyCharm, expect to spend some time on a waitlist. They need to make sure they have enough inventory for all subscribers, so it might take them a month or two to start charging you and sending boxes. BoxyCharm mostly contains makeup products.

Extrabux.com cooperates with many merchants, such as: Walmart (Up to 4% cashback), Sephora（4% -5% cash back), Moosejaw (5% -6% cash back), LOOKFANTASTIC (Up to 10% cash back), Sam's Club (Up to 15% cashback), Norton(Up to 20% cashback), Microsoft (Up to 7% cash back) and so on. You can save on buying daily necessities, fashion, beauty, electronic products, broadband installation, mobile communication, air tickets, hotels and other aspects of life! 

Extrabux is an international cashback shopping site, offering up to 30% cashback from 10,000+ Stores!

LOOKFANTASTIC, SkinStore, SkinCareRx, Feelunique, Cult Beauty, Sephora, Belk, Estee Lauder, Lancome, La Mer, Kiehl's, Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, Adore Beauty, Sol de Janeiro, Hourglass, Lancer, Shiseido, FOREO, Macy's, etc.

Join to get $20 welcome bonus now! (How does Welcome Bonus work?)