Another month of some exciting new products in my favorite beauty box subscriptions. I am really excited to see the value for this month in each, and see if there are any significant changes.
Birchbox - $10 a month, rewards system is AWESOME. 10 points per product review, 100 points = 10 bucks. This month I received six products, and therefore got six dollars of credit to use in the shop. The shop is extensive and amazing - spending money there is no problem for me.
When Travelmate Sheet Mask: Value: $7.00. I am a huge fan of sheet masks, and typically get mine from Asia where they are common and cheap, as the American ones can be dicey in quality. I am looking forward to trying this.
Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner in Hansa: Value: About $6.00. I have a black liner from this brand that I really enjoy, and olive green is an excellent color on my green eyes.
Essentiel Elements Body Lotion in Rosemary: Value: around $3.56. I will use this, and enjoy the nontraditional scent very much, even though I hate firm bottles like this due to how hard it is to get the product out.
It's a 10 Miracle Leave In Conditioner Plus Keratin: Value: $18.99. I have heard so much hype about this product via youtube and other beauty people. Although I don't typically heat style my hair, but I do have a curling want I want to get more adept at using, and I did not have a heat protector until receiving this.
Vasanti All Star 2-In-1 Face & Eye Primer: $8.00. I don't always use face primer, and have a ton of face primer samples to go through, so I really hope this works as effectively as an eye primer. I need eye primer daily to keep my shadow from creasing, and always have much less of it in my stash..
Overall: 5/5 products will be tried out and hopefully loved. Definitely a win - normally there is a product that is a reject.
Birchbox: $10 spent. Overall value: $43.50
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Glossybox: $21.00 per month, mostly super deluxe sized or full sized products. Very reliably awesome. They give you ten points per review, just like Birchbox, but it takes 1000 points to redeem for a free box. Which means overall, it takes 20 months (there are normally five products per month) to redeem a new box. Almost two years. Super lame.
Vichy Purete Thermale 3-in1 Step Cleanser: Value:$2.91. Two months ago I had no cleansers. Now I have about five. Luckily this is small enough it can go in my travel bag.
Skin&Co Truffle Therapy Serum: Value: $13.60. I have tried this serum before through a beauty subscription and enjoyed it - it isn't often to get the chance to use something so luxurious.
Kueshi Revitalizing Face Toner: Value: full size is $13.30. I am actually very low on toner and while it isn't a must in my skincare routine, I like having it around to spritz on after I cleanse my face. Plus, the ingredients list on this seems great and very natural.
Lollipops Eye Pencil in Goodbye Moon: Value: Full size at $17.70. I haven't needed to buy black eyeliner in ages thanks to these boxes. I have about 7 in different shades and shimmer levels of black and I love it. I will happily add this one to the mix.
Teeez Trendy Cosmetics Beautiful Flat Brush Stuff: Value: Full size at $23.50. I have been trying to revamp my brush collection and I love that I get so many great quality brushes in these boxes. All of my favorites have been gifts with purchase or beauty box brushes, leaving me free to focus on spending the little money I have on nice face brushes.
Overall: 5/5 products to be kept and used. No reject products. A few full sized, and some luxury thrown in. Awesome brands.
Glossybox: $21 spent. Value: $71 (rounded to nearest ten cents)
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Ipsy: $10 a month, super reliable about providing good brands and makeup items, even if the brands aren't always super luxe. Comes in a makeup bag that is sometimes ugly and useless, sometimes wonderfully shaped and pretty. I do not count the bag as having any value in the box as it is impossible to calculate. Also provides 10 points per review, takes a super long time to gain enough to redeem for free product.
This bag looks like it is spacious. I strongly prefer when the zipper is on the top and not on the side.
J.Cat Fantabulous Gel Liner: Value: $3.99. This is in a navy color. I am not keeping this. I do use gel liner on occasion, but I barely use the ones I have. Better to keep this one new and untouched for someone who would love it. Plus, blue doesn't do a ton to compliment my coloring, and I have a navy pencil liner for the random instances I feel like using one.
Manna Kadar Sheer Glo Shimmer Lotion: Value: approximately $7.25. I really like highlighters like this for mixing with my foundation. During the winter on cloudy days, my skin needs help looking alive. This very much resembles the Nars Orgasm Highlighter in color, a rose gold.
Nourish Organic Eye Cream: Value: around $10.00. Eye cream is another thing I tend not to have around in excess, mostly because out of any facial care product it takes the longest to use up. I like that I can have this as a travel product/spare.
Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow in Ethereal: Value: around $3.00. This is a gorgeous highlight shade. Unlike some other Pacifica shadows I've received, this is smooth and pigmented and the shimmer is very refined. Keeping it even though I have a dozen shades similar to it.
Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush: Value: $6.00. I don't have many liner brushes, and this was obviously meant to go with the gel liner. I appreciate when Ipsy does that, makes sure it provides the tool needed to use a product. I normally prefer my liner brushes to be firmer, but I will definitely test this out.
Overall: 4/5 products to keep, though the other was not the fault of the product, just my overstock of gel liner products. Mostly makeup, which is why I like this bag compared to the other two, which tend to focus more on skincare.
Ipsy: $10 spent. Value: $30.25 (rounded to nearest ten cents)
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Round Up:
Value Per dollar:
Birchbox: $4.35 in product for every dollar spent. (Compared to $2.34 last month)
*If you consider the $5 in credit as money off, it changes to $8.70 for every dollar spent compared to $5.85 last month*
Glossybox: $3.38 in product for every dollar spent (Compared to $4.57 last month)
Ipsy: $3.03 in product for every dollar spent. (Compared to $3.13 last month)
Ipsy: $3.03 in product for every dollar spent. (Compared to $3.13 last month)
*Removing the value of the product I won't use changes the value to $2.63 for every dollar spent.*
The best products were in the Glossybox, which is pretty typical as it is a more high end box, followed by Ipsy and then Birchbox this time. That said, I don't think any box is a dud at all. The best value is Birchbox by ar this month, regularly and with the credit, by a full dollar which was surprising. As the Birchbox value per dollar shot up, the Glossybox fell, and Ipsy was almost the exact same as last month in value.
This is a really interesting venture so far. I think once I get 6 of these I am going to make a compilation post where I compare the three over time. 6 months is when I would be looking at cutting out one or all.
