Subscriber Survey: What Box Do You Recommend for Newbies?

I started with BB and loved it at first so I’m sure someone just starting out would like it. If you want a $10 box it’s fine. But you can get a lot more for $25 Beautyfix. I’ve recently branched out to the lifestyle boxes and have BOS, FFF, and Pop sugar. FFF is great if you want a quarterly box. I’m enjoying Pop sugar too but those boxes are a bit more money.

I would highly recommend ipsy/play by Sephora/or Allure. I luv all three for different reasons but really these are all great beauty Box subscriptions. Ipsy and play by Sephora are around $11 with taxes and allure is like $16. I have two others I subscribe to but they are a little more expensive but in my opinion what you get in them well worth it. I have Julep, which is full sized products and they have really great products not just nail polishes. The other is Liplove by so Susan cosmetics again full sized items and vegan. Both run around $25 ish and I’ve been subscribed to Julep for a year and still love it. Just switched to Liplove after cancelling my lip monthly and birchbox. Received two shipments and I can’t say enough good things about it.

I’ve tried more than 35 different boxes in 2.5 years and my faves are Allure for beauty and Popsugar for lifestyle.

Ipsy and/or Boxycharm

Thanks for this post! I’m thinking of subscribing for the first time, but I’m not sure what box I want, but I’ve got a list going from things I’ve seen on cratejoy. Nothing that’s really been mentioned here though…..

Play! by Sephora or even Ipsy if you are watching your wallet. But if you are not money conscious then FabFitFun!

My aunt bought a year’s subscription to StitchFix; this was my first experience with a sub box. I enjoyed trying items I would never think to touch in a store. Honestly though, after maybe 2 Boxes, I could see the redundancy despite my efforts in working with my bi-monthly stylist. I canceled before I received a box in 2017.
If you want to try StitchFix, spend time organizing your preferences and such to maximize your SF experience. However, I personally know that i can get more than twice the amount of clothes, wayyyy higher quality names, and certainty in my style preference by shopping on eBay via consignment stores from swanky metro areas. I’m a sucker for NWOT (new without tags) clothing. I scored an amazing Gucci dress this month for $13.20 shipped.

I was put on the PLAY! By Sephora waitlist around Christmas this year; this was my first attempt at a makeup subscription box. LOVED my first few boxes. Play! will ALWAYS be a monthly sin for me.

I learned of MSA (this site) after subscribing to Play! Now I’m in here everyday checkin reviews and spoilers. Since I found this amazing forum of awesome beauty recs and advice, I have gone thru a couple of Target boxes, Walmart box, even the Target Baby box (I don’t have children). Any chance you get to purchase the Target or Walmart boxes, DO IT. There are always things you need on hand!

By March, I was starting to get all sorts of awesome recs for boxes with FullSize items. I finally bit the bullet and subscribed to BoxyCharm. I have only received one box, but I must say that I was very much thrilled with the contents. That OFRA highlighter? EVERYTHING!!! I almost chose Glossy, and I’m so grateful I did not, as it seems that Glossy has been slacking in their variety since around December per the awesome readers of MSA. BEAUTYfix is the one I am not a subscriber for, yet I can’t quit obsessing over their news and spoilers. I’m sure I’ll pull the trigger on that one soon.

I have the BULU, house cleaning box; but I haven’t received a physically box yet. I’m hoping to be content with the products as others have shown via reviews.

I have also been dabbling with getting Ipsy. The spoilers are too good not to continue to obsess over. I can see myself getting this Subscription sometime before Summer.

If I were only allowed to buy one box consistently and just be surprised, I would have to choose Play! Sephora…. Can’t go wrong there. It makes you feel pretty walking back from the mailbox. <But Forreal it does!

I'm dying to try BEAUTYFix and Ipsy if anyone has any further advice to make me pull the trigger; or any advice to wait for promotions in the future….

For reference, I am 30 years old with dry/combo skin. I don't wear makeup as much as I should, but I'm totally obsessed with skincare. It's our largest organ and should be treated with the utmost respect.

GET ON THE SEPHORA WAITING LIST!
Sign up for Alerts to Walmart and Target boxes

And don't forget to give as many reviews you have time for; without true consumer feedback, I would never buy anything probably. Thank you Liz for this amazing site and community we have here.

I would recommend Play! by Sephora. It sends on-trend items that can be found in the store and you also get bonus points to use in the store. 🙂

For something more expensive, I’d suggest POPSUGAR and FabFitFun. Both have a little bit of everything in them and they are two of my favorites. 🙂

My gateway box was actually BarkBox! It was the first subscription box I’d ever heard of that made sense, since I love spoiling my dog and she’ll eat any treat and play with any toy. I got into trying out other subscription boxes for myself because of how fun it was to see new things in the mail (I tried NatureBox, Kawaii Box, Play, and am currently on ipsy and love it) but I don’t know if I would’ve pulled the trigger if I didn’t make my dog try it out first. 😛

BoxyCharm and Ipsy are my favorites for makeup w/ some other beauty products mixed in, and FabFitFun is my favorite lifestyle box.

1) Ipsy for younger girls learning to experiment with makeup and skin care

2) Sephora Play for someone who wants to try high quality skin care and makeup on a budget

3) Medusas Makeup for the bold and brave and Gothic who like likes bright and bold colors for makeup mixed with darker colors for someone with a darker side who wants to build a collection of great loose pigments and glitters.

4) Vanishing Cabinet by Notoriously Morbid, if you can off the wait list, for those with a darker side and loves unusual color eye pigments and sparklies and liquid matte lipsticks. Brings out my Goth side but also has beautiful colors for the office.

5) Look Fantastic to experiment with products from Europe rather than the US.

These are all under $20 a month.

I would say Play (because of the educational material) and FabFitFun!

Julep! Julep! Julep! I love the quality and effectiveness of everything I’ve tried. Nail polish of course, but also their makeup, body and skincare! It’s also really fun to customize your box every month and be able to add additional products at a discounted price. I wasn’t even planning on continuing after my 6 months was up (I mean who really needs THAT much nail polish or even beauty products for that manner) but I just couldn’t give it up. $16.66 a month with the 6 month plan makes it the best deal ever.

The smaller $10 subs are a waste of time and money for me. I’d rather spend a little more for beauty Fix or Test Tube and get higher end products.
Goddess provisions never disappoints and Brick Loot is cool to have on hand for kids who love Legos.

Birchbox and PopSugar were my gateway boxes. Through all their ups and downs, I’m still a PopSugar loyalist. If I was forced to choose just one sub to keep (heaven forbid), it would still be PS.

I think it depends on the person who you are suggesting to!

YA book reader? UpperCase!
Beauty? Ipsy!
Lifestyle? PopSugar of FFF!
Bath and body? Ticklish Giraffe or Fortune Cookie Soap!
Geeky? Fandom of the Month!

So many different boxes means that you can suggest one that they will love based on preference!

I started with allure beauty box and Fabfitfun. I would currently recommend Fabfitfun and Sephora…

PopSugar. PopSugar. PopSugar.

I always have people asking me, and I think it does depend on the person. I just had a friend get Box Of Style as her first ever sub, because she wanted luxe and trendy items at a discount.
But, Popsugar is usually the one I recommend, since it’s got a little of everything. I actually think the ‘beauty sample’ type boxes aren’t that thrilling and were not a good first box for me.

I’m with most of y’all !! I think I started with BirchBox and FabFitFun. Orange Glad and Love With Food for food boxes. Mighty Fix was a fun one for a while too.

Well for beauty, I would recommend Ipsy. That’s where I started and in the $10 range they are overall the best as far as customer service if you have any issues. They also have started to send out sample lists to allow us to choose a product monthly and you can email them to opt out of a product you don’t want, such as hand lotions for example, for 6 months. I don’t think any other sub offers both of those features included in the $10. They also have the biggest samples in that price range. And the bags are awesome.

I would also recommend Sephora Play. It’s actually my favorite to unbox. And I love getting to sample high end brands every month for $10.

The post is tagged popsugar, but popsugar wasn’t one of the recommended ones.

It used to be a given that BB/Ipsy would be someone’s gateway sub, but these days people are coming from different directions. Food boxes, home boxes and gamer/geek boxes seem really popular lately, so I’m not sure if the traditional advice would still apply.

I agree w/ all of your suggestions Liz, but would add mystery boxes!
That’s what I did for awhile when first getting my toes wet in the sub world(had julep, and glossy only then – have since tried like 10 other boxes! I think I’m a sub hopper, 6 or 3 months and switch!).
It’s also great for me now as I am trying not to spend much – saving for a trip (that seems like a dream, it’s study abroad to NZ!!! <3)
Especially good if you're one to only sub for 3+ months, which is always my tip to people as you save more this way!

In terms of beauty boxes, I would recommend Ipsy or Boxycharm as a gateway box.

Or a limited edition box from any of the beauty or lifestyle box brands just so they can seek if they like receiving a box in the mail with random beauty products in it.

I’d go with fabfitfun and lovewithfood so you get the beauty/fashion and the snacks which who doesn’t like getting treats in the mail??!?