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The Story of See New Skincare with Founder Bryn

Megan K.
ByMegan K.Jul 16, 2021 | 15 comments

When See New Skincare burst onto the subscription box scene in 2018, it quickly became known for showcasing performance-driven, vegan, and cruelty-free brands.

Inside its chic packaging, subscribers receive with an assortment of products from a singular line that work in a routine, allowing skincare fans to really get to know brands with a single delivery. My Subscription Addiction recently spoke with founder Bryn Gabriel to learn more about how the cult favorite box came to be.

A Beginning Rooted in Curiosity and Instinct

See New Skincare started with a gut feeling.

"We thought of the idea [for See New Skincare] in college and just fell in love with it, but then kind of stopped talking about it. Then we actually moved to Thailand for six months. [My partner Austin Trefts] had an internship there and just wasn't super into it. And we couldn't stop thinking about See New," Bryn recently told us.

"We were still in college when we started See New and we dropped out to do this and we are so happy that we did. It's been the coolest thing, but we really just didn't know a lot and we didn't really understand."

Realizing they had a lot to learn about skincare, Bryn and Austin quickly started visiting factories and soaking up all the knowledge they could to bring their idea for See New to life.

They shared a deep interest in holistic and natural products, and they were fully invested in the ritual of good skincare and mindful self-care. They soon realized what the market was missing: A skincare box that offered subscribers the chance to explore a brand via its full-size products.

When See New decided to include 4-6 full-size formulas from the same brand in each shipment, it was something that appealed to both the naturally curious and skincare-obsessed. Subscribers and brands loved it.

A Mindful and Personal Product Selection Process

Since Bryn and Austin were already particular about the types of products they used themselves, they created a thorough vetting process for the formulas that would end up in See New.

Inside this box, you'll find offerings that are vegan, cruelty-free, and organized into a complete routine that spotlights the best the brand has to offer.

"We have a very strategic interview process with our brands and we completely go through the list of their ingredients which I think that we've done a really good job of. You can really tell a lot by just, you know, talking to someone and seeing what their core values are and just making sure that we can see the traceability and where ingredients are coming from, that's kind of the biggest thing. Just being transparent."

See New also keeps their broad audience in mind while selecting brands and products and places an emphasis on the formulas being appropriate for all skin types. And Bryn and Austin test-drive every single one before it ends up on your doorstep.

A True Small Business

When you sign up for a See New subscription, it would be easy to imagine a large-scale operation, if only for the totally polished experience of opening one of their boxes and their stunning website, but the reality is that See New is run by a small and very close team.

In addition to being a founder, Austin is also the shipping manager, and he packages and hand ships the boxes himself. "I'm in Seattle. Austin's in Denver. So he does all the shipping. He packages all of it, which is awesome," Bryan explained. "I'll go out there for little boxing parties."

Bryn has a background in marketing and moonlights as a photographer. Her expertly compositions can be seen across the entire See New site. And the beautiful handwritten notes packaged inside each box? Those are all lovingly written by Austin's mom.

"Our moms help so much with everything. It's unbelievable," Bryn added.

Looking to the Future

What's next for See New? Well, for starters, a new shop on the site filled with hand-curated lifestyle, wellness, and beauty items.

"We're launching a store. All of our subscribers will get 20% off in the store for all products. It's going to be very lifestyle and wellness curated. So we're really excited," Bryn explained.

Want more See New? Check out their newly launched blog here.

 

About See New Skincare Box

The Cost: $47/box bi-monthly OR quarterly. Sign up here.

The Products: Full-size green, cruelty-free, and sustainably sourced beauty and skincare products.

Ships to: The U.S. for free 

Check out our See New reviews & details to learn more!

Starting at $47.00
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See New is bi-monthly skincare subscription focused on highlighting both new brands and cult favorites. Each box features 4-5 full-size products from a single brand allowing for an immersive experience.

See New offers two beauty subscription boxes: The Skincare Box (4-5 items for whole b... read more.
Megan K.
Megan K.
I love natural/vegan beauty products, Korean skincare, unique jewelry, and weird candies from far away places. When I am not waiting for my next exciting box you can find me painting or taking photographs of interesting people. I never leave home without pug hair somewhere on my shirt and a bold lipstick on my smile.

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15 comments

Taren

one of my fav boxes to date. fyi they are having a 50% off sale right now on past boxes

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Mountaineer95

I’m dropping New Beauty Test Tube so maybe this can replace it? I’ve been getting the Clean Beauty box and it’s a similar concept but with two products from the same brand each box, and I’ve enjoyed that. Man, I really don’t need more products (says pretty much everybody here lol), but I’m a sucker for good skincare. I think I’ll do it. As for the handwritten notes, just even thinking about having to write so many made my severe-carpal-tunnel hands hurt!

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SquirrelyGirl

Hey Megan! Just FYI it is listed as $44 a box up there, but it’s $47 now.

Totally worth every dollar. This is my favorite beauty sub. Hands down.

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Megan K.

Eeep! Thank you! I thought I caught all of those. Fixed!

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Taren

I subbed to several of their boxes. Only stopped because I have so much of everything. Great quality! One thing to note is that of all of the boxes I got from them, I never once got six items in a box, so they should really not advertise that.
The sites’ new configuration does not offer you the option to buy past boxes at a discount, which, I wish they would. It was wonderful to have that as an option.
I have to second the commentators who mentioned the shredded black paper bits getting dust all over the products, that was a bit annoying to clean up each time.

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Sabrina

Fantastic box subscription! We just don’t like the black paper stuffing, it makes the products seem a little bit messy somehow.

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Deborah

My absolute favorite subscription! Quite shocking to know only 2 people are behind it! Good for them. The quality is quite nice, subscribe while they are still small

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Maria

Love this subscription. Customer service is wonderful. Products are great. My only pet peeve is the black paper stuffing. It leaves a fine dust on products.

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Svetlana7e

I have been sub this box for two years now and love it. The only thing, they should not advertise 4-6 product , it always have been four products. The hand written notice is nice but I can leave without it. I just feel bad that someone spending time writing it and I just read it and throw it away.

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Snow

I think the hand written note is a nice touch! I love the effort that goes into this subscription. You can feel the excitement in this box versus something from a huge conglomerate like fff, Boxycharm or ipsy.

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SquirrelyGirl

Hey ya! It’s not always 4.
Next month is 5
Rain Organica was 5
Scentuals 5
Kahina was 5
Sonage was 5
Cln & Drty was 5 etc

But, I don’t remember ever getting a box with 6 (but I also started a few bi monthly boxes after they started their boxes, so maybe the initial box was 6?

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Mellissa

I’ll be excited to see these reviewed. I’m currently half way through Beauty Heroes and am not loving the subscription.

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Tammy R.

I think you’d love the See New box. I’m a subscriber and I really appreciate that they make it possible for more people to have access to high-quality skincare products at affordable prices. It always made me a bit uncomfortable whenever I saw that access to clean formulas were accessible only to some, and not others.

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Sarah Pettit

love See New! enjoyed this snippet into the brand

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Erika

Wow! Such an amazing story behind this brand, I haven’t tried see new but this is so cool to read!

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