Monthly beauty boxes have some of the best deals on beauty products, especially if you choose one aligned with your interests. These two are both curated by beauty experts, and you can count on finding new products in each box. They’re also at the same price point under $25 per box. Allure Beauty Box is curated by editors from Allure magazine, and it includes trendy and luxury beauty products each month. GlossyBox is a themed box with fun, eye-catching packaging each month.
Allure Beauty Box is ideal for people who want to try expensive luxury products for less money. The main downside is that you can’t control what comes in each box, and it’s all chosen ahead of time by the Allure editors. GlossyBox is a great way to discover new brands you may not have heard of, but the boxes are mostly full of samples.
How Do They Work
Allure Beauty Box
The Allure Beauty Box is a monthly box with 6 or more beauty products per box. It’s curated by the editors of Allure magazine, who use their expertise to choose favorite items to share with subscribers. All subscribers get the same box, so there’s no way to personalize it according to your interests.
The December 2020 box includes a winter mask designed to hydrate dry skin brought on by cold weather, a retinol serum, a full-size eyeshadow palette, and more. The editors explain what they love about each item in blog posts, and in the little booklets that come with the boxes.
Every box includes at least $100 worth of products, and they meet this requirement easily. Their last box of 2020 came with over $165 worth of beauty products for new subscribers. New subscribers always get a free gift or two after signing up.
At least 3 items per box are full-size, and it’s great to see so many large product sizes from a box that only costs $23. The other items in the box will be deluxe samples. Allure doesn’t count sheet masks or accessories like brushes as full-size items. I think that’s a great policy to make sure all boxes are exciting for subscribers, because those items aren’t worth as much as most beauty products.
GlossyBox
GlossyBox is a monthly subscription for beauty products. In each box, you get 5 products chosen by the beauty experts at GlossyBox. Now and then, the boxes might include a bonus product.
When you sign up for this service, they ask you to fill out a beauty survey. GlossyBox doesn’t offer much customization, though. Each box is curated from a total of 6-10 possible products, and they’ll choose the ones for your box depending on availability. They’ll also take your preferences into consideration, if there’s anything that suits your skin or hair type. The survey is mostly about giving them information on what brands and products customers are interested in.
There’s a theme each month, ranging from Happy Birthday to Love. They chose the products each month to reflect the themes, which is a fun way to make sure you get a variety of items. Their summer Aloha box had a coconut oil face mask and a Hawaiian face oil, for example. The February boxes tend to include lots of pink packaging, for Valentine’s Day. GlossyBox is named for its vibrant, fun packaging each month. The designs match the month’s theme.
There are some minor variations between boxes, but there’s often a hero item that will appear in every subscriber’s box. For example, this November they included an eyeshadow palette full of glitters and metallic shades in every Makeup & Magic-themed box.
Pros/Cons
Allure Beauty Box
Pros:
- Curated by beauty editors
- 3+ full-size products in each box
- Never receive the same item more than once
The contents of each box are chosen by the editors at Allure. These expert selections usually reflect trends and show high-end products that have favorable reviews. Sometimes, you’ll get the chance to try a buzzy new item through this box, and that’s always exciting.
Each box comes with at least 3 full-size items, and the rest are deluxe samples. It’s exciting to see such a selection from a box that costs a little less than one full-size product.
Allure will make sure you don’t receive the same item more than once for as long as you subscribe. They keep track of items you’ve received previously, so you don’t get stuck with duplicates.
Cons:
- Products may not fit your needs
- May include “mass brands” along with high-end ones
Since these boxes aren’t customized, there will inevitably be some products that won’t wow you, or fit your needs. Take a look at previous boxes on the Allure website before you subscribe, to see if you like the kind of products they tend to include. If you like most of them, you can try gifting the products that don’t quite work for you.
Allure focuses on luxury brands, but you might end up with some readily available brands like Cerave. These are usually bonus items, but sometimes they’re among the main box items. It’s a little disappointing to get these products in a box you might expect to show you higher-end beauty options.
GlossyBox
Pros:
- $60+ per box
- Clever packaging
- Themed boxes each month
Each GlossyBox has at least $60 worth of products inside. That’s great for a $21 box, and you can expect some exciting products in these boxes like eyeshadow palettes, cleansers, mini lipsticks, and more.
GlossyBox is known for their clever packaging, with unique designs almost every month. Every box feels like a present, and in fact these boxes make great gifts. Some months come with a plain pink packaging, but the rest have elaborate designs that reflect the monthly theme.
GlossyBox has themed boxes most months, including both more abstract ones and concrete ones. These themes provide a focus for the kind of products each month. The November box was Makeup & Magic themed, so all the products had some kind of glitz or gold involved.
Cons:
- Very little customization
- Sample heavy
- Some items have a lower value
GlossyBox does ask users to fill out a beauty survey, but the results don’t have much influence on your box. This box is a better choice for people who enjoy the element of surprise, or getting products that fit in well with a specific theme.
GlossyBox always has at least one full-size item, but the rest are usually deluxe samples. Some people don’t like having a lot of samples around, so be aware before you sign up for this subscription service.
Some of the items in GlossyBox have a low value, and might not be as exciting as other products. For example, they include a lot of beauty accessories like hair brushes or wraps, as well as sheet masks.
How Much Do They Cost?
These boxes are at roughly the same price point, but the GlossyBox is cheaper by a few dollars. However, the Allure box is worth about $40 more on average.
Allure Beauty Box
On a monthly basis, this service costs $23 per box. Until October 2020, it was $15 a month, but along with the price increase is an increased guaranteed value and more full-size products each month.
If you sign up for 3 months at a time, you can save $4 off the normal cost for the same period of time. For a year-long subscription, you’ll save $26 off the usual cost. Both of these longer subscriptions also come with a free bundle box.
GlossyBox
GlossyBox is $21 per box, if you have a monthly subscription. With this subscription, you can cancel whenever you want.
If you want to save some money, you can always sign up for a longer subscription. There’s a 3 month subscription that saves you $4.50 total, which isn’t a huge amount of savings. It might be good as a gift, though. With the 6 month subscription, you save $15.
The year-long subscription saves you $42, bringing the cost of each box down to $17.50. This choice is the best deal available, but you need to pay $210 up front.
What Kind of Products Do You Get?
Both of these boxes showcase a wide range of product types and brands. GlossyBox tends to include more beauty tools and accessories than other boxes.
Allure Beauty Box
Each Allure box is curated by the magazine’s editors, so you get a selection of exciting, trendy products each month. There’s a pretty even distribution between makeup and skincare, and some hair products.
Allure boxes are curated by the editors, so there’s a nice variety of brands and product types. Most of their selections are from high-end brands like La Roche-Posay, Verso, Tarte, Huda Beauty, and more. They also highlight lesser-known brands like Saturday Skin.
These boxes sometimes highlight “mass brands,” the kind of brands you can find at big box stores and pharmacies. These are brands like Aveeno and Cerave, and they’re mostly included as bonus items in boxes that are already full of high-end products.
GlossyBox
GlossyBox offers a range of different kinds of brands in each box. They pride themselves on curating a wide selection, helped by their team of 150 scouts who find new brands and products. Because of that, you can find a lot of international brands through this subscription box.
These boxes include makeup, skincare, hair products, and beauty accessories. Some of their favorite brands are Polaar, Kat Von D, and Freeman. GlossyBox has its own beauty line, but it doesn’t show up in every box.
If you like receiving hair ties, jade rollers, and other beauty tools, this is the box for you. Those items come up in GlossyBoxes more often than other beauty subscriptions.
Final Thoughts
GlossyBox and Allure Beauty Box are at roughly the same price point, but Allure offers much better value for the price.
Allure is $23, and each box is worth $100 or more. Every box comes with three or more full-size products, so you can really build out your beauty collection with this subscription. All items are selected by the Allure editors, so you can expect trendy items chosen by experts. This is the best option for people who are really passionate about beauty and want to get a lot of useful products.
GlossyBox is $21, with a worth of $60 or more, and usually contains a full-size product or two. The other items will be deluxe samples. GlossyBox has more appeal as a novelty box, with the monthly themes and international brands that might be new to you.
