Birchbox is a beauty subscription service aimed at busy people who are too busy to spend a lot of time searching for that perfect product. The service finds products that fit your specific needs and sends 5 samples a month, so you can learn more about brands and product types. There are plenty of beauty subscription services out there that can help you find new favorites by sending products every month. If you’re ready to delve deeper into beauty subscriptions and check out more options, here are 4 alternatives for you to try.
Ipsy Glam Bag is the best option for anyone on a budget, and each $12 bag comes with $50 or more of beauty products. The Allure Beauty Box helps you keep up with beauty trends, while Glossy Box gives generous sample sizes wrapped in a beautiful package. Kinder Beauty includes at least 2 full-size products, and all their items are vegan, clean, and not tested on animals.
What are the Best Birchbox Alternatives?
Birchbox is a beauty subscription box that sends products catered to your skin issues and beauty style. If you like glamorous, striking looks, they’ll send you bright products to help you stand out. If you prefer skincare, they’ll stick with moisturizers, serums, and creams.
Birchbox is a $15 box of 5 or 6 sample products, with the occasional full-size product or accessory. Here are some similar subscription boxes you might also like.
Ipsy Glam Bag
Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that offers several subscription plan tiers. Glam Bag is the basic option, and it includes 5 deluxe samples every month.
When you first join Ipsy, you’ll fill out a detailed beauty quiz that will guide the kind of products Ipsy sends to you. Each month, they have a selection of around 80 possible items, and the company will choose the 5 most relevant items for you.
The items they send each month vary from nail polish, brushes, skin creams, masks, cleansers, mini eyeshadow palettes, and more. They keep track of your product history to avoid sending duplicate products, too.
This is one of the most affordable beauty subscription boxes out there, and it’s well worth the $12.
Pros:
- Deluxe sample sizes
- Catered to your beauty profile
- Wide variety of brands
Instead of sending out tiny sample sizes good only for a handful of uses, Ipsy Glam Bag sends out deluxe samples that can last you the whole month, or even longer.
When you sign up for Ipsy, they’ll have you fill out a quiz on your favorite makeup types, your favorite shades of makeup, your biggest skin issues, and more. Every month, there’s a pool of about 80 possible items, and Ipsy will send the 5 items that best fit your preferences.
Ipsy carries plenty of brands, from up-and-coming ones like Tatcha and Item Beauty to established brands like MAC and Anastasia Beverly Hills. You’ll also get a wide range of products, including facial serums, lipsticks, mini eyeshadow palettes, and more.
Cons:
- No user selections
- Only available in the US and Canada
Though this subscription takes your preferences into account and sends products accordingly, you can’t actually choose any items yourself. If you’d like to choose your items yourself, you can try Ipsy Glam Bag Plus, which lets you choose 3 out of 5 items each month.
Glam Bag is only available in the US and Canada, unfortunately.
Allure Beauty Box
This beauty box is curated by the Allure magazine beauty editors, meaning you’re likely to get items on the cutting edge of current beauty trends. You get a mix of samples and full-size products, including at least 3 full-size items. Your first order also comes with a free gift.
This box is $23, increased just last month from the previous $15 price. The price increase came with a few improvements, including more full-size items every month.
Pros:
- 3 or more full-size products
- $100+ value
- Items curated by Allure beauty editors
Each box comes with at least 3 full-size products, so you can enjoy them for months after you get them in your box.
Every box comes out to at least $100 in value, and that’s a great value for a $23 box. It’s like getting a discount on all the products in each box. These boxes tend to include high-end products, and you definitely get your money’s worth.
Each box is curated by Allure beauty editors who are experts on the subject. Since they’re familiar with beauty trends and popular products, they can share new, worthwhile items.
Cons:
- No customization options
- Can’t cancel your subscription online
Allure doesn’t offer customization options, so if your preferences are very different from the curators, you won’t enjoy this box. You can take a look at recent boxes on their website to get an idea of whether or not their products will suit your skin type.
You can’t cancel your Allure subscription online, and instead you have to email the company or call them to confirm your cancellation. This extra step means you need to plan ahead if you do plan to cancel, so you can avoid getting charged for the upcoming month.
Glossy Box
Glossy Box is a subscription service that sends both samples and full-size products. They have very appealing packaging, and it’s the perfect treat for yourself or someone else.
If you sign up on a monthly basis, it’s $21 per box, and it’s $18 if you sign up for a full year. Each box contains 5 or 6 items a month. The 5 items are guaranteed, but they often include an extra item.
Pros:
- Gorgeous packaging
- Monthly themes
- Worth of $60+ per box
Glossy Box gets its name from the gorgeous packaging it comes in, and it really is nice. It makes each box feel like a gift, and it tends to fit the monthly theme.
August’s box was birthday themed, because Glossy Box was founded in August. July’s box was Aloha themed, and it was filled with a Hawaiian facial oil, a volcanic mask, and so on. These themes are a lot of fun, and can spice up your beauty routine.
Glossy Box offers popular beauty brands, and each box contains 2 full-size items and 3 or 4 samples, depending on the box. Each box adds up to at least $60 worth of products.
Cons:
- Random box variations
- Have been known to sell out of their boxes
Glossy Box includes a few box variations each month, but unfortunately users can’t’ request specific items or specific box variations. I think letting users ask for a specific box option would be a great, relatively simple way to improve the service.
Glossy Box has been known to sell out of certain boxes that are in high demand, even for people that are already subscribers. When items sell out, customers will get alternative items instead, which is a shame.
Kinder Beauty
Kinder Beauty box is designed with kindness in mind, and each box is curated by the founders. The boxes only feature products that are clean, vegan, and not tested on animals. Clean beauty means items that are free of harsh ingredients like parabens, mineral oil, and plenty of others.
These boxes include beauty products like makeup and skincare, but you also get the occasional grooming product, like a toothbrush.
Pros:
- Eco-friendly packaging
- All products are clean, cruelty-free and vegan
- 2 or more full-size items
Kinder Beauty recognizes that subscription boxes can generate plenty of waste, so they ship their items in biodegradable, compostable cardboard printed with soy ink. The packaging materials are also recycled, and many of the products they include have sustainable packaging.
Kinder Beauty is designed to prioritize “kindness,” to animals, the planet, and even your skin. The company only sells clean beauty products that are vegan and not tested on animals.
Each box is guaranteed to contain at least 2 full-size products, but they often include more. You can get a lot of use out of the items you get each month, and it’s usually far more than just a month’s worth.
Cons:
- No personalization options
- 2 possible boxes each month, but subscribers receive them randomly
Kinder Beauty doesn’t currently offer personalization options. Instead, they try to keep their items general enough that they’ll be useful to most subscribers.
Each month, Kinder Beauty makes blog posts showing previews of the upcoming boxes, and you can see the various products in each. You can’t choose which box ends up delivered to your home, though, and they don’t let you know which one you’re getting. I wonder why they can’t at least let customers know which box variation to expect.
Where to subscribe: Kinder Beauty
Final Thoughts
The Allure Beauty Box is a great option for trying new products every month, curated by the magazine’s knowledgeable beauty editors. At $23, it’s a bit pricier than Birchbox, but the boxes come with full-size products each month.
Ipsy Glam Bag is the budget pick here, and it offers $50+ worth of beauty samples for only $12, including shipping. This is also the only other subscription service that sends products customized to your needs, which is one of the best features of Birchbox.
