Makeup subscription boxes are a fun and convenient way to try out a wide variety of high-quality cosmetics before committing to a single product. Full-sized foundations, travel-sized mascaras, and sample-sized setting sprays are all available for a monthly price ranging from $7 to $60. Sample cosmetics from Bulgari, MAC, and other high-end brands are available for a small fraction of the full price, so you may try them out without spending a fortune.
Whether you’re into “clean beauty,” always in need of new makeup brushes, or love discovering hidden gems like a perfect lipstick for a date night, there’s a cosmetic subscription box for you. The vast majority of them demand that you fill out a short beauty questionnaire so that they can send you items that are more likely to be of interest and use to you. If you’re looking for a new beauty subscription service in 2023, this article will help you narrow down your options.
Best Makeup Subscription Boxes
BirchBox Monthly Box
PROS
- You can hand select items
- Amazing mix of luxury and indie brands
- Detailed beauty quiz
If you sign up for BirchBox and fill out their Beauty Profile, they will send you a box of personalized beauty samples, including cosmetics, hair care products, and skin care. As the director of the beauty department, April Franzino agrees. She concludes, “Birchbox is the most trustworthy since it offers the largest selection of high-quality sample brands.” Have your own personal wishlist? If you’d rather not have a random assortment of samples and full-sized goods sent to you each month, Birchbox gives you that option.
There are typically two to six products in each monthly box, with sizes ranging from miniature to large. If you like what you test out of your BirchBox samples, you may buy the full-sized versions and earn points toward free subscriptions. There is just one box available, but you may pay for it in three different ways: either the regular $15 per month, or either $84 for six months or $156 for a year in advance.
Beauty Boxes
PROS
- Affordable
Prime members earn special discounts
CONS
- Can’t be customized
It’s great to see that Amazon, the one-stop-shop for everything, now offers its own beauty subscription boxes to choose from. Signing up for services like Allure and FaceTory, as well as smaller, less well-known manufacturers of fake lashes, is simplified.
Makeup subscription boxes are available for purchase, and Prime members may save money on some of them by reading reviews written by other subscribers. The typical price range for a box is $15 – $40. However, you will not be able to personalize your boxes since you will be purchasing items in their pre-packaged form from Amazon.
Walmart Beauty Box
PROS
- Comes with affordable drugstore brands
CONS
- Has more sample sized picks
For about $7 a year, Walmart will send you a seasonal beauty box stocked with samples (and advice) from the most popular drugstore cosmetic companies to get you through the transition between seasons.
Walmart encourages customers to fill out a brief survey about their personal taste, skin care issues, hair type, preferred hair styling methods, and beauty hobbies in order to tailor each box to the individual’s preferences. When you place an order, you won’t be able to see what’s inside your box, but prior customers have found roughly five or six full-sized products from companies like NYX and Neutrogena, among others. Remember that most of them are merely demos and not the full-sized versions of anything.
IPSY Glam Bag
PROS
- Pick best product release schedule.
- Mix of luxury and underground labels
- Depending on the plan, you may customize additional features.
CONS
- Only one day window to select items
Because of Ipsy’s customizable membership, you’ll always have a say in what you get. To customize your Ipsy bag, you take a beauty survey that asks about your skin type, eye color, shade choice, cosmetic experience, and other factors. Products such as pore minimizers and highlighters for the face are included in this category. Better still, you get to choose how often you want to sample new things. In addition, each time you order samples, a new adorable gift bag will be sent as a free bonus.
Ipsy has three subscription options, with monthly prices starting at only $13. In the cheaper plan, you get to choose just one item, while in the more expensive plans, you get to choose three. A quarterly upgrade to your standard bag for $58 includes eight goods that the company says are worth $350, with the opportunity to choose three full-sized items. Within 24 hours, Ipsy will send you an email with giving you the chance to hand-pick the goods.
SEPHORA Makeup Must-Haves Set
PROS
- Featuring the top-selling items at Sephora
- Contains both full- and mini-sized items.
CONS
- Has no customization
Sephora may have discontinued the sale of its Play subscription box, but the store still offers a plethora of well-thought-out cosmetic kits that customers can put to good use. Makeup Must-Haves is one of their newest kits, and it contains some of the store’s most popular items.
Prices for complete sets range from as little as $6 to as much as $60. In addition, Sephora’s Clean Beauty line cosmetics and other formulations with shimmering sheens are available in pre-made gift sets.
FabFitFun
PROS
- Ample Credit Swaps Available
- Customize at least four different things
CONS
- Its expensive
You may also discover useful kitchen gadgets, meal planners, water bottles, and more in these boxes, in addition to moisturizing foundations and moisturizers. Up to eight full-sized seasonal items are sent to your door every four months, and you get to choose at least four of those products and any extras you’d want included. Among the featured brands are Nars and Glossier.
The increased initial cost is somewhat balanced by the flexibility to exchange unwanted items for store credit at any time, unlike with most other subscription boxes. The whole box may be personalized, and you can get your order sooner with the prepaid plan.
DERMSTORE BeautyFIX Subscription
PROS
- Selective curation
- Features High-End Products
CONS
- Has more sample-sized products
Each delivery of Dermstore’s BeautyFIX box includes over $100 worth of premium beauty items, including full-sized and deluxe samples of skincare and hair care products and samples of the brand’s most popular cosmetics. Despite the lack of a specified number of goods on the site, previous BeautyFIX boxes have had five items in total, and some online reviewers have claimed that the contents include more little samples than full-sized products.
Dermstore only sells the highest quality products, hand-picked by a staff of doctors, estheticians, and makeup artists. Particularly well-liked were the Sunday Riley and First Aid Beauty products in one month’s box. A single month’s membership costs $24.95 (with discounts available for longer subscriptions).
LOVE GODLY The Essential Box
PROS
- Select your preferred color and shade occasionally.
- Consists mostly of smaller, independent companies.
CONS
- No beauty quiz
You can trust Love Goodly to provide you with more environmentally friendly solutions when you’re on the lookout for them. The company promises to send four to five full-sized, cruelty-free and vegan items to your home every other month in a specially curated box. (They state that the “vegan” label means the product does not include any animal by-products and was not tested on animals.) You may select from two different subscription tiers: the standard bimonthly box, which costs $34.95, and the VIP tier, which costs $49.95 and includes one to two extra full- or deluxe-sized goods.
While Love Goodly doesn’t provide a beauty questionnaire to determine taste, they do sometimes give customers a personalization survey link where they may choose their favourite cosmetic colour or style. Subscribe to the brand’s newsletter or use the link in your renewal confirmation email. The Love Goodly team enjoys keeping you guessing, although they do sometimes drop a spoiler on social media or in their email just before orders are sent.
Macy's Beauty Box
PROS
- Affordable
- Perfect for those just starting out makeup
CONS
- Full-sized options not available
Based on the monthly topic, beauty experts choose five deluxe beauty samples and a bonus item for you to test (for instance, one theme was “Complexion Perfection”). It’s important to note that the contents of each package are strictly limited to miniatures. There is no way to foresee what will be included in the Beauty Box, although Macy’s often includes high-end and small labels. In addition, you will be given a certificate good for $5 off your next cosmetics purchase.
In addition to receiving the monthly beauty box, subscribers have access to a series of online videos that provide expert styling advice for the products within.
GLOSSY BOX Beauty Box
PROS
- Has seasonal themed makeip boxes
- Subscribers may get merit points.
CONS
- Offers more samples more than full sized items
Each month, the beauty experts at GlossyBox will send you a box containing five surprises. Your beauty profile is used to recommend cutting-edge cosmetics and hair care items from across the globe. The company sells holiday and celebration-themed gift sets, such as a Mother’s Day box and a birthday box. It’s a mystery what will be in each box until it arrives, but you can see the entire roster of cosmetics companies they partner with on their website (hint: Lancome and Tarte, plus many more). When you have your box, you may check GLOSSYBOX for information on the contents and how to use each item.
There are three-month and six-month choices if you’d rather not pay every month. The points you earn may be used toward premium subscription boxes. Participating in product surveys, posting reviews, and referring friends and family to GLOSSYBOX are all simple methods for increasing your point total. That money may be used to buy skincare products from the brand’s sister site, Look Fantastic. Limited-edition boxes are also made available first to subscribers.
GLOSSY BOX Beauty Box
PROS
- Has seasonal themed makeip boxes
- Subscribers may get merit points.
CONS
- Offers more samples more than full sized items
Each month, the beauty experts at GlossyBox will send you a box containing five surprises. Your beauty profile is used to recommend cutting-edge cosmetics and hair care items from across the globe. The company sells holiday and celebration-themed gift sets, such as a Mother’s Day box and a birthday box. It’s a mystery what will be in each box until it arrives, but you can see the entire roster of cosmetics companies they partner with on their website (hint: Lancome and Tarte, plus many more). When you have your box, you may check GLOSSYBOX for information on the contents and how to use each item.
There are three-month and six-month choices if you’d rather not pay every month. The points you earn may be used toward premium subscription boxes. Participating in product surveys, posting reviews, and referring friends and family to GLOSSYBOX are all simple methods for increasing your point total. That money may be used to buy skincare products from the brand’s sister site, Look Fantastic. Limited-edition boxes are also made available first to subscribers.
Factors to Consider About When Buying Makeup Boxes
Customization: If you want a little more say in what you get each month, consider signing up for a beauty box service that offers a customized questionnaire to determine exactly what you want from your membership. Unless otherwise specified, most of the aforementioned recommendations personalize their offers depending on your choices. Some get right down to business, like Ipsy, which lets you choose how often you get various products.
Cycles: Some get right down to business, like Ipsy, which lets you choose how often you get various products. Many subscription beauty boxes include extensive customization options for their service cycles. Bi-weekly plans may be more practical for individuals who wish to ease into conventional beauty box subscriptions, while monthly options are great for those who adore all things beauty. Whether you’re looking for a gift or just want to treat yourself, quarterly boxes are sent with the changing of the seasons to ensure the best possible selections. Single-purchase boxes are similar in that they often have a specific niche.
Shipping and returns: When it comes to shipping and returns, you need someone on the other end to help you out if you’re missing anything or if your package arrives damaged. Although every business is different, we took the mystery out of the return process by outlining it for each subscription box we suggested.
