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File this under the stuff no one tells you about being a grown-up: Getting mail isn’t fun, it’s just bills and credit card offers and random furniture store flyers. And for that reason, we’ll gladly pay to make the experience a little less dreadful. It’s something oodles of start-ups have banked on with subscription beauty boxes, curated packages of beauty samples and full-size product that arrive on our doorstep like clockwork.
Thankfully, a handful of players have followed suit in the wake of OG power players like Birchbox and created subscription boxes for every budget, personality, and more. There’s even a box for clean beauty devotees and luxury fragrances at a non-luxury price point.
Now, splurging on a subscription for ourselves doesn’t just mean looking forward for the UPS truck every afternoon. They make some of the best holiday gifts that keep on giving, not to mention they’re content fodder for excellent #unboxing videos on Instagram, too. Here, we take a closer look at the top 12 boxes worth your monthly investment.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team, but if you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.
Birchbox x Unbothered For: The Unbothered Woman Our collab with Birchbox features two boxes that celebrate the beauty and strength of Black women. The “It’s Your Crown Kit” includes everything you need to give your hair the love it deserves, and the “Stay Radiant Kit” is H2T glow in a box. Birchbox Birchbox x Refinery29 Unbothered: The It’s Your Crown Hair Kit, $, available at Birchbox
IPSY For: The Beauty Risk-Taker IPSY (founded by OG beauty YouTuber Michelle Phan ) offers three tiers of a customized Glam Bag that includes makeup, skin care, hair, and fragrance products. The lineup in your bag is determined by an extensive quiz. For $12, you can get five deluxe sample sized-products, $25 gets you five full-size items, and a $37 monthly plan gets you both of the lower tiers, valued at $170+.
Scentbird For: The Soul Searching For A Signature Scent We’ve found soul mates in less time than a signature scent. If one of your loved ones is still searching for the one that will bring joy with every deep inhale, embody one’s true spirit, and feel like home no matter what time of year — yes, we’re talking about fragrance here — then why not play matchmaker with a fragrance subscription? Each month, the recipient can choose from more than 450 scents (including options from Glossier, Tom Ford, and Juliette Has a Gun) before receiving a 30-day supply to fall in love (or like) with before trying another option next month. ScentBird 3-Month Gift, $, available at ScentBird
FabFitFun For: The Woman Who’d Rather Pick Her Own Gift With quarterly mailings offering 8-10 full-size products at a savings of 75% and control over what’s inside, FabFitFun may have perfected the subscription box art form. Beauty-centric collections include skin care, hair care, makeup and nail care from brands like Klorane, Dr. Brandt and Deborah Lippmann. Subscribers can select exactly what they want or opt to keep contents a total surprise. Add in an accessory or two (such as scarves, jewelry, or clutches), and you’ve got a substantial gift that feels like you’re being treated to a shopping spree. FabFitFun Seasonal Box, $, available at FabFitFun
Birchbox For: The Beauty Editor-In-Training The OG of subscription boxes is as solid as ever, thanks to a deep bench of editor and fan-favorites for hair, skin, scent, and complexion. After receiving the first installment of a three, six, or 12-month subscription, you’re able to customize the contents of boxes by setting personal preferences and choosing specific deluxe-sized samples from brands like Oribe, Sand & Sky, Stila, and Ouai. Birchbox 3-Month Subscription Gift Card, $, available at Birchbox
Glossybox For: The Makeup Maven If you have a thing for the fancy stuff, Glossybox’s assortment of deluxe and full-size products is for you. Sign up for a commitment-free monthly subscription, or choose from the three, six, or 12-month plans. Glossybox 3-Month Beauty Box Subscription, $, available at Glossybox
BeautyFix By Dermstore For: The Skin-Care Guru If your love for all things retinol, vitamin C, and AHA knows no bounds, Dermstore’s beauty box is going to be the best thing to hit your doorstep. You can either subscribe to the box for $24.95 a month, or buy ’em à la carte for $34.95 each. Dermstore Beauty Fix – October 2020 Kit, $, available at DermStore
The Detox Box For: The Clean Beauty Fiend In the Venn diagram of those who love clean beauty but hate environmental waste, overlap abounds. The folks at The Detox Market know this, so they created a monthly subscription box that showcases the very best in clean beauty, loading mailers with more than $90 in picks from a single brand that you’ll actually use. Full-size products from Tammy Fender, Pai, Odacité, Innersense, Osea, and Skin Owl have been featured in months past. The assortment gives recipients a true taste of what these brands have to offer without any unwanted filler items that eventually find their way to the waste bin. No wonder these editions sell out on the regular. The Detox Market The Detox Box, 3-Month Subscription Gift, $, available at The Detox Market
Boxy Charm For: The Bang For Your Buck Choose from a 3, 6, or 12-month subscription to get 5 full-size beauty products delivered to your door. Items range from makeup and skincare, to beauty tools and cosmetics. Each box has an average value $175 for just $25 a month. Boxy Charm also offers a premium plan (6-7 full-size products) and a luxe plan (8-9 full-ze products) so you can tailor your subscription to your beauty fanatic needs. The Detox Market The Detox Box, 3-Month Subscription Gift, $, available at The Detox Market
Love Goodly For: The Devout Vegan We fully support our vegan friends, but still manage to order the occasional shared appetizer made with a hidden animal fat. Oops. This bimonthly box ensures the same thing doesn’t happen with their holiday gift. Each edition is cruelty-free, vegan, nontoxic, and certified palm oil-free, through and through. It’s not just the brands inside that are socially conscious: Each Love Goodly box purchased supports a like-minded organization, such as L.A.’s Farm Sanctuary , the country’s first shelter for farm animals. Love Goodly Essential Bi-Monthly Subscription Box, $, available at Love Goodly
Macy’s Beauty Box For: The Avid Sampler For just $15 each month, you’ll receive 5 deluxe samples and a sweet pouch to hold them all. This month, Macy’s has partnered with Jo Malone London for an exclusive set valued at over $90.
Allure Beauty Box For: The Beauty Bookworm Avid readers of this beauty bible won’t be disappointed with this subscription. Choose from the 1 or 12-month plan to receive 6 or more expert-approved products in each delivery.
Sephora Play! Box For: VIB Rouges in Recovery When’s the last time you walked into Sephora and bought what you came for — and not a single item more? Let’s see… never? That’s why we’re giving the store’s monthly subscription box to our sisters who are resolving to step down their impulse beauty purchases in 2019. Each month the Play box facilitates that need for new beauty discoveries with five deluxe samples housed in a little makeup pouch. And if they’re compelled to re-up on a full-size purchase? Sephora offers 50 bonus insider points for doing so.
Target Beauty Box For: The Drugstore Beauty Whisperer Did you know Target made beauty subscription boxes? Well, you do now. Each month, the retailer curates a box of samples that sells for $5 to $7. There are also themed boxes like “So Fresh, So Clean” (not sponsored by Outkast, for the record) and “Bloom Into Beauty” for the floral obsessive in your life.
The Tory Burch Foundation Seed Box Best For: The Future Park-Avenue Philanthropist This well-appointed gift isn’t so much a monthly subscription, but a one-shot box that speaks to your entrepreneurial friend’s fine tastes and love of giving back. The limited-edition holiday package is filled with the kinds of things we imagine refined powerhouse Tory Burch using herself: skin-care products made with ingredients grown on a family farm in Arizona; bagless, dissolvable tea; all natural, ethically produced shea butter; handy coconut oil packets — all created by women entrepreneurs and housed in the chicest of packaging. The best part? Every penny of its proceeds go to the Tory Burch Foundation , which empowers women entrepreneurs.
Sunday Riley Subscription Box For: The Cool Girl When Sunday Riley got into the subscription box game, it could have thrown a selection of their beloved skin-care products in a mailer and had a hit on its hands. Instead, the company opted to create something even more lust-worthy: a quarterly subscription box stuffed with some of the most desirable — and useful — gear out there. The current box is cheekily named “The NSFW Box,” and features a never-before-seen Sunday Riley massage candle, Good Genes, Flamingo razor set, rose gold vibrator necklace, among many other goodies. (Plus, they’re also teaming up with PERIOD. , as part of the brand’s new charitable initiative, where 10% of all subscription box sales will be donated to various organizations.)
16/16 SLIDES
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