Boxy Lady

This month, November 2012, I will receive FOUR subscription beauty boxes. I’ve never received more than two per month and I will finally and officially be cancelling two of my current subscriptions before December… at least, that’s the plan.

I’ve come to find that my most popular posts are those in which I discuss what I like and dislike about my monthly sample box subscriptions so, here’s another one for you to read! Before I cancel the two boxes that I’ll be cancelling, I figured I’d share a little bit of what I know about all four subscriptions before they are shipped out. Since I hate showing favoritism [insert telling wink here], I’ll present each subscription service in the order of which I signed up for them. First up: Birchbox.

Let us all join together in a communal groan over what has quickly become the worst beauty sample subscription service. At $10 per month, I was excited to sign up for this service back in April of this year. I took my beauty survey to give the folks at Birchbox a better idea of what products I need and would love. The first box I received was for the month of May and I have to admit that my disappointment started pretty early on. Aside from the fact that May’s box was a Gossip Girl theme (which I luh-uh-uh-oved) the goodies inside weren’t exactly what I was expecting.

As the months passed by and I continued to receive my monthly Birchboxes, the samples seemingly got worse and worse. This all came to a head last month when I received their Goop.com partnered box. IT. WAS. WRETCHED. If you haven’t already, please go back and read my review of the the products in the latest box: Birchbox #6 :: October and then take a peek at my post regarding Birchbox’s absolutely disgusting customer service: Bad Bad Birchbox Ops. If you’ve been considering becoming a Birchbox subscriber, this may cause you to rethink that.

As I stated in previous posts, I will be cancelling my Birchbox subscription. I had wanted to cancel before being billed for the November box but I’m a procrastinator and didn’t. I also redeemed the Birchbox credits I had earned for some products off their site and didn’t want to cancel before they were shipped out to me. Now, I MUST remember to cancel before December. (I sincerely doubt the November box will be able to get out the horrible taste left in my mouth from the October box and subsequent customer service debacle.)

Overall comments: $10 a month membership (very affordable), minuscule samples from less than stellar brands. Horrible customer service.

Status: CANCELLING – because they suck.

After signing up for Birchbox, I became a Julep Maven. Being a Julep Maven means have 3 Julep nail polishes shipped to me monthly for $19.99. Now, I’m a huge nail polish fanatic but I wouldn’t have signed up to be a Julep Maven had I not been able to redeem a coupon code to receive my first box for $0.01 (How can you beat a penny, really?) I wasn’t exactly unimpressed with what I received my first month (July 2012), so I maintained my membership for an additional month. 2 boxes for $20 total. Not too shabby but I was ready to cancel. Something inside told me to hang on for one more month, so I did. After receiving and reviewing my 3rd Julep Maven box in September, I vowed to cancel before October’s box. I should’ve read the cancellation terms because the day before I was to be billed, I logged-in on-line and found that I was supposed to call before 5pm.

Luckily, Julep allows members to skip a month if necessary. In fact, you can skip multiple months or have your months box shipped to a friend instead. I really like this about Julep. It came in handy too because I opted to “skip” my October 2012 box and would cancel during regular business hours before Novembers box… yeah, right.

When Julep launched their new and improved site for members, they award their members “Jules”, their version of accrued customer credits that can be used to purchase items off of Julep.com. I had more than enough Jules to cover the cost of my November box so I figured, why not receive one more box since this one is free to me anyway.

In addition to the “skip a month” feature, Julep also allows you to choose to receive a different box than the one you were due to if you prefer to colors in a different box. Much like other subscription services, when you first become a Julep Maven, you take a beauty quiz and you are categorized as a specific type of girl. (IE: “It Girl”, “Boho”, “Classic”, etc.) When I took my survey I was classified as an It Girl; I believe I only opted for the It Girl box my first month. After that, I opted for another box each month. I love that Julep shows you exactly what you are scheduled to receive and allows you to swap for another box if you’d like.

I simply wasn’t impressed enough with the quality of the polishes to continue my subscription and although I enjoyed and will continue to enjoy what I’ve received as a Julep Maven, it’s time to explore other subscription beauty boxes.

Overall Comments: $19.99 per month (there’s always a coupon code available to get your first box for less; just google it). Fantastic customer service.

Status: CANCELLING – time to explore other subscription services. When I was exploring beauty subscription boxes back in May, before signing up for Birchbox, I read up on GlossyBox. I liked the look of it but wasn’t sure if they were shipping to the US at that time. It also carries a higher price tag each month so I passed. In September, I decided to go for it when I found that they do indeed ship to the US for $21 per month. Its more than I would prefer to pay but boy is it worth it! I was so flipping happy with my very first GlossyBox (October) and if the boxes continue to be so damn fabulous, I don’t think I’ll ever cancel.

Like I said, I’ve only received one box so far from GlossyBox but I’m excited to find whats in store for me in the future. Check out what I got in my October box: GlossyBox #1 :: October. I highly recommend signing up if you love having luxe beauty products delivered to your door each month. I originally decided to sign up once I had concluded I would be cancelling my Julep Maven subscription (no additional spending).

Overall Comments: $21 per month. AMAZING products.

Status: Continuing Subscription. (FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER)

Finally, as of today, I am to happy to say that I am officially and Ipster. I have signed up to receive the Ipsy (MyGlam) bag each month. I had been researching this service for several months and never have I seen a bad review of the 4-5 samples they send their subscribers each month. The products are great quality and also a substantial size. (Unlike the evil Birchbox).

Obviously, I haven’t received my Ipsy products yet but my first delivery isn’t too far away. To give you a better idea of what you can expect to receive monthly, goodle Ipsy reviews and see what other Ipsters have been receiving. (Looks pretty sweet).

For the same price monthly as Birchbox, I look forward to receiving much much more.

Overall Comments: $10 per month. Previously known as MyGlam bag.

Status: Brand new Ipster; awaiting first delivery.

This month, I will receive and review all four subscription deliveries. As of December 2012, I will only be a subscriber to GlossyBox and Ipsy and I think that is the right combination for me (and for you!)

I hope you’ll check out my previous reviews of these products boxes and I especially hope that you will check back to see what I get for November and beyond!

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment on how you feel about these services if you are a current member of any or if you’re planning on becoming a member.

Love, GK

PS: a note to my regular readers. I have been lacking hardcore on my Daily Threads posts. Recently, with the cool air we’ve been enjoying in South Florida, I’ve been channeling my inner Amy Pond and rocking some awesome jackets and straight hair (straightening in this humid state any other time of year is just pointless). I’ve been having so much fun in my awesome outfits that I have been blowing off my picture-taking and posting responsibilities. This will change because, frankly, I’d like to brag about and show off my awesome ensembles instead of the office appropriate outfits I was showcasing in previous weeks. -Check back!!!