Saturday, April 27, 2013

My thoughts on.... Birchbox a Four Month and Two Subscriptions Review

So...everyone that reviews boxes does a great job of laying out what they are, how they work, and showing you what is in the box they received that month. Well a few bloggers I started following/stalking to see all the amazing stuff coming in their boxes got me hooked. However I was thinking about it, and before I started buying buying buying I never saw a true breakdown of cost=value over a longer time frame and sometimes to get a TRUE experience I think thats important, every subscription out there has a bad box or two.

So I am going to start My thoughts on.... with Birchbox. Which is one of the MOST popular subscription boxes available for both Men AND Women.


The first month I got my birchbox and I was NOT IMPRESSED. It was a gift, but still  THIS CRAP cost me $10? I honestly don't even know if I remember what came in my first box, it was that bad.

Month Two : Started to show me what birchbox was all about:
Color Club Nailpolish: Mini Nailpolish to me is JUST as useful as a full size, have you ever used an entire nailpolish that wasn't clear? Me either
Twistbands: At this point I had stalked so many birchbox openings that I wanted a twistband despite EVERYONE who gets them complaining... Yes now I get it, and you can make them yourselves for cheap, or order them on etsy but I NEVER would have noticed this without birchbox, so Thank YOU!
Body Wash: This was Meh, after using it I feel Meh, but again I would have never known without getting it
BB Cream: Always good to have some extra samples of this on hand!
and..you can never go wrong with chocolate!



Month Three: was AMAZING
Benetint- for a girl who never wore lipsticks and ALWAYS has chapstick on hand, this is now my ALL TIME FAVORITE product from any subscription box I have tried. I also never would have shelled out $30 for a full size to try this, Ever in my life and Now I own it, and my sample size, AND another sample size. Lol
La Fresh Face Cleaner Wipes: Great thing to have, for someone who is testing out all this new makeup and occasionally looks like a clown while doing so? Of course this was a great addition. Will i buy more of these? if they go on sale, this girl is cheap and honestly all wipes kinda seem to be the same unless they break out my overly sensitive skin.
Whish Shaving Cream- This blueberry scent is overpowering, but my legs felt great after using this. Soft awesome, some people said it clogged the razer, I say they used WAY to much of this stuff, and wasted good shaving cream!
Sere Normat: I don't even remember what this product did, I am working SO hard to get into makeup and looking like a put together young professional but my hair...well messy buns are my signature do..which leaves little need for any hair products besides shampoo and conditioner!
A Nail File: Useful, but its just a nailfile nothing good or bad to say!

It was at THIS point that I said..you know what? I am going to buy another subscription  box (I wanted more benetint and Whish and will explain the VALUE of a second sub soon!)

Month Four: Ahh well a 1 year magazine subscription to Womans Health Mag Valued at $9.99.. That pays for THIS box!
Chocolate Macaroons: Delicious
Beauty Protect and Detangle: This smells great, and as my hair gets longer it gets more knots. So I am all in!
SuperGoop CC Cream: Again a GREAT thing to try, with all the BB and CC cream fads, who wants to spend big $$$ trying them all when you can sample a few and find a great one!
Caudaile Devine Oil: This oil is great, although the packaging is asking for me to spill it all over everything so other than that, As someone who has oily hair, and combination skin i was hesitant about using oils as a moisturizer but it works!
L:A Face: Eye cream.. Urm this eye cream is $160 full size and my baby sister (she is almost 22 years old) has bags like WOAH, and will be getting this sample to try... May as well give the elixir of life to someone who may see a difference! (hopefully she doesn't love it because It will be my fault if she does, and i will have to shell out all $160 for Xmas/Birthdays to keep her in this stuff)


So if the first month was awful, and its $10 a month and If I love it why not just buy it full size? Why get a SECOND subscription? Why keep it after my "gift" ran out? (The first three months was a GIFT from Christmas)

Why do you ask? Because birchbox truly is an opportunity to try out new items, to experience them, and then to purchase them full size, at a GREAT VALUE. This is because of the points System. Birchbox offers you points to purchase products on their site. For every product you get in the month box you receive 10 points. 100 points is $10, so for every box with 5 items (the average from what I can tell) you get $5 to spend in the BB store.

THAT'S AWESOME...but it didn't click for me HOW awesome until I did some math

Birchbox has a stellar rewards program, but its so amazing I want to do a price/cost/whatyouget breakdown to explain it.



The Options Available to you at birchbox.com

Monthly Box $10 (no points for buying the box)
Three Months $30 (30 points)
Six Months $60 (60 points)
One Year $110 (110 points)

OKAY SO lets do the Yearly Cost Breakdown

Buy a Subscription and it costs you $110...so what do you GET for this price?

60 samples, sometimes full size items, and 71 dollars to spend in the BB store on full size items!! (math at bottom of post)

HOW IS THAT NOT A GREAT DEAL! That equates to roughly 50 cents a sample. My Benetint Sample (yeah its my favorite so I am using that one) goes for probably $5 on ebay! I GOT IT FOR TWO QUARTERS! I got an awesome nail polish worth at least a few dollars too, and a HUGE sample of some $160 eye cream! Its worth it!

Yes, sometimes you will get shitty samples, yes you will NOT LIKE Everything. But for $110 I get mail once a month, I get to spend $70 on items I LOVE, and the fun of trying new things!

If you want to subscribe to birchbox using my link (I get points!!!) Sign up HERE



Math Breakdown:
12 boxes with about 5 samples each so about 60 samples
110 BB points for paying for the yearly subscription
60 Samples X 10 points each = 600 Points for reviewing the monthly items from the boxes you received
710 points =$71 to spend in the BB store! (you must spend points in $10 increments)


** Post Contains links that I will receive points towards free boxes if you sign up. However I was not paid or given anything free for this post it is 100% my own thoughts and opinions!



My New Subscription Habit...

I got gifted a birch box from a friend. She created a MONSTER. In the past few months I have tried or am getting on a regular basis the following subscription boxes:



BirchboxEach month, give her a delivery of high-end beauty and lifestyle samples picked just for her $10/month

Ipsy- Each month, subscribers will receive a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products. Members can watch and play along with the stylists with the same products that they are using. All for only $10 a month.

Glossybox-  Glossybox is a bespoke box of 5-6 luxury-sized cosmetic and wellness samples hand-picked by our beauty experts and mailed directly to your door. No matter which subscription plan you choose, from once-a-month to just once, this box is perfect little present from you to you! $21/month

New Beauty Test Tube-

New Beauty Test Tube QVC Version

PopSugar Must Have-  Each month you will receive a POPSUGAR Must Have box delivered directly to your door. With POPSUGAR Must Have, you'll get an exciting monthly box full of fun, full-size products that are hand-selected by our editors. $35 Month 

Julep- A monthly box of nail polish or beauty products (you choose monthly on the 20th which box you want!) For $19.99/month  (if you want to subscribe using my code the invitation code is 9500260)

Little Black Bag- Every month as a VIP you pay $9.99 for a $10 credit to buy anything from the "showroom". Choose one item, and between one and three extras are added to your "bag". Trade and Swap items with other members to get items you love ($$ Cost Varies when you choose the first item)

Stunner of the Month-

Love with Food- Get 8+ new gourmet foods delivered to your door for $10.month 

Goodies Co- Each Month recieve a box of goodies, delivered to your door for $7 month

The Fancy Coco Rocha Box- A fancy box curated by Coco Rocha $39/mo

The Fancy Regular Box- Fancy in full effect. Get your Fancy fix at home with our monthly subscription service featuring a collection of some of the most fancy'd items, curated by the fancy community. Each box includes $80.00+ of products in the categories of your choice. $39/mo

The Fancy Food Box- A fancy box centered around food $39/mo

Out of the Box Sampler- Each month we put together boxes filled to the brim with 17-18 (and sometimes more)different businesses' samples for you to enjoy. The boxes overflow with items like melts, scrubs, bath, body, tarts, candles, gourmet foods, jewelry, coupons, discounts, cards and much more, from some of the best e-tailers on the web (Etsy Mostly) Price Varies Regular $25 Mini $8.50 Bodaciously Bigger Box $65+

Bulu Box-  As the first and only vitamin and supplement sample box, this box includes a well-rounded sampling of vitamins and supplements that help in all areas of health. Each box contains 4 to 5 premium samples plus lifestyle extras from time to time. Every box is a feel good discovery. $10/month also comes in weight loss

Bespoke Post-  Bespoke Post puts together themed boxes with sweet products from cool brands. If you don't like a box, you can skip it free of charge. $45/Mo

Pawalla - You will receive a monthly selection of goodies to pamper your four-legged friend. Visit our online store to order more of your pet’s favorites


I will add more as I try them, and review them as they arrive, and in multiple month cost analysis intervals! 




** This post contains my referral links, I will recieve credit for some of these sites, however I paid for all of my own boxes, and all thoughts and opinions are my 100% my own.

Hello!

Hey Everyone! My Name is Kellie, and I recently started getting subscription boxes! I wanted to share my experiences because I found some AWESOME Blogs about subscription boxes and it just seemed like so much fun!

 I am a born and raised Jersey girl living and working in the south with my amazing boyfriend (who thinks the amount of mail i get is CRAZY), my wonderful cat Nala, and our adorable new puppy Medic. You are sure to see photos of them all eventually!


A few Notes/Thoughts

-I apologize NOW for any and all spelling errors. I have a math brain, not a spelling one.

-I hope everything enjoys these reviews and seeing things from my point of view, I am SORRY if anything I say offends or upsets anyone, but these are my thoughts and feelings, and I am not out to offend, or get any boxes, or brands!


:-)
-Kellie