I am an adult who offers to treat himself. I think people should always have smaller dishes. A monthly beauty box subscription ensures that once a month you’ll receive a little box of joy right to your door. Whether that fun focuses on sample sizes, full-size products, makeup, skin care, or bath and body products largely depends on the service you choose. But I’ve been trying the most popular services for several months and these are the best I’ve found. (Note that we’re still waiting for Ipsy and BoxyCharm shipments to arrive, so stay tuned for our thoughts on those and more popular services in a future update.)
Be sure to check out our related guides above Best subscription boxes for kids, Best snack boxAnd Subscribe to Best Meal Kits for more recommendations.
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Is the beauty box worth it?
STRINGED: Beauty boxes are a great way to discover new products, and they often offer great value compared to buying each item separately. You can’t put a price on the dopamine rush of receiving a gift in the mail every month. (Or maybe you literally can, but I still think it’s priceless.) Products that don’t work for you make good gifts or donations.
TIRED: Some cosmetic containers contain lots of small environmentally unfriendly plastic bottles and tubes, which can be bulky and difficult to recycle. You may end up with some products that aren’t suitable for your hair or skin type, or that simply don’t work. Most beauty boxes don’t allow for any customization—what you get is truly a surprise.
I contacted the popular services and asked to try the box for at least a month but ideally three months. I compared the value of the included items to the price of the box itself. I also take note of the overall variety and the likelihood that the average person can use them – consider specialty products versus those that are suitable for most people. And yes, I did apply all of these pretty little potions to my actual face, hair, and skin. Please do not ask me about the condition of my bathroom countertops at this difficult time.
Note that some brands offer disposable boxes available for purchase outside of a subscription. I do not test these or consider them part of the criteria of this guide.
