Birchbox: Snag a Box Of High-End Beauty Samples For Only $10 Per Month (A Fun Splurge!)
So, I recently received yet another box from Birchbox (if you are unsure what I’m talking about – skip below to read more)! In this most recent box, I received the following goodies pictured below…
* Yes to Cucumbers Soothing On the Go Facial Towelettes
* Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle Leave-in Conditioner
* Caudazlie Paris Vinosource
* S.O.S Morning Eye Rescaue
* Mirenesse Glossy Kiss
Plus, I also received a Special Bonus for a one-year subscription to Women’s Health magazine. Even sweeter, I could opt to forgo the subscription and instead get a $9.99 refund check by mail by simply sending in the form along with an order confirmation from my Birchbox subscription – essentially making this month’s box FREE! Awesome!
I know this is not for everyone… but (in my opinion) it has been worth the $10 I pay on a monthly basis. I love looking forward to these boxes ~ it’s definitely the simple things for me!
If you are interested in trying out Birchbox, head over here and enter your email address to request an invite. Note that there is a 4-week wait time for the Women’s Box and 2-week wait time for the Men’s Box (yes, they have a Men’s Birchbox!). Please note that the Men’s Birchbox subscription does cost $20/month.
Did you sign up for Birchbox when I’ve posted about them previously?! If so, I’d love to hear your feedback!
And for all you new Hip2Savers (or anyone who may have missed this post previously)… if you love trying out new beauty products or just want to treat yourself to a special surprise every month, then you may want to check out Birchbox. For $10 a month, Birchbox delivers 4 to 5 hand-picked, deluxe beauty samples from high-end brands. Each month you’ll receive a different mix of beauty products, including makeup, skincare, fragrance, body, and hair products. All samples are generously sized, with enough product to allow you to figure out if they’re right for you.
And Birchbox does customize the boxes (that’s why you fill out your Beauty Profile). Some samples are sent to everyone, other samples are chosen specifically for your skin, beauty needs, and style. Keep in mind that all you pay is your $10 monthly subscription fee; there are no shipping or handling fees for the monthly Birchbox and you can cancel at anytime. So you really are under NO obligation.
Now I know that you are probably thinkin’ there are free sample offers always available on Hip2Save, so why would I pay for samples. Well, if you are a fan of high-end cosmetic products, then you are basically getting to try lots of these products on a regular basis for a fraction of the retail cost. Even sweeter, these are not your typical samples…. most will be deluxe samples and you may even receive full-size products. And I don’t know what it is about getting a cute box packaged up with pink tissue paper, but I love it! 😀 Plus, it makes getting the mail that much more fun!
(This is a pic of the first Birchbox I received!)
Another added perk is the Birchbox Points program, which rewards you for signing up for the monthly samples, shopping on Birchbox.com, referring friends to the program, and sending feedback on your samples. Even sweeter, the points that you earn can be used to purchase full-size products at Birchbox.com!
** Please note that the links in this post are my referral links. If you don’t feel comfortable using them, feel free to go directly to Birchbox.com.
I highly recommend ipsy vs. birchbox. subscription just opened up as well. If they are already full, sign up to be on the waiting list. check their facebook.
I agree–I like Ipsy better. I had both for more than a year, and decided recently to ditch Birchbox and I’m not sorry. Ipsy gives more full-size or deluxe-sized samples and more makeup, plus you get a makeup bag each month. I found Birchbox gave me more small samples (some of which were repeats of
previous months) and more skincare stuff.
I just got my first ipsy shipment for April 2013 and I love every item I received and the shiny pink envelope that it came in is so adorable! I’m definitely keeping this subscription.
i do both birchbox & ipsy and i agree, ipsy does have more makeup items if that is what you’re in the market for. however, through bb i have received a dior mascara, urban decay eyeliner, several nailpolishes from essie & zoya, tarte lip surgence, a few different items from the balm, but i’ve also had some crappy perfume samples too (i’ve been with bb since 2011). ipsy generally sends cosmetics that are more budget friendly, but i have received a pixi primer from them, a buxom lip gloss, moxie lip gloss…. in my opinion, they are both good.
I did bb and ipsy for over a year, and originally liked birchbox but over time grew to be very disappointed with the birchbox and I think ipsy gives you much more for your money! I finally cancelled birchbox, the last box I had was terrible and one of my products was nearly empty. I used to really enjoy them, but have been really happy with ipsy. My husband did the men’s birchbox and he really liked them, it is twice as much but he got MUCH better stuff in his. After awhile we cancelled to save money since he wasn’t using his products as fast as he was getting them.
Oh no, now I want ipsy…. So excited that I can not get the subscription and get a 10.00 check instead!! woohoo!
You should try Ipsy! Also $10 a month…
Ispy is another great one. Only $10 a month and you get awesome full sized makeup!!
The popsugar boxes are really nice as well. More costly, but well worthwhile.
I’ve received birchbox for almost two years, I love the nice surprise in my mailbox once a month. My boyfriend also subscribes to the men’s box, he loves it too. A few of my coworkers subscribe as well, it’s fun to see that each of our boxes are different and compare products. If anyone would like to sign up here’s my link https://www.birchbox.com/?raf=zseq3 . 🙂
I agree with everyone above. I’m subbed to ipsy.
I just looked at Ipsy and they are $10.00 a month but in small writing I seen $4.95 for shipping monthly also. Isn’t Birchbox $10.00 including the shipping? BB is saying I have to wait to sign up? I’m currently signed up with Test Tube w/ New Beauty and I get a few full size things and everything they send me is expensive beauty supplies that I wouldn’t know about them without the Test tube? But Test Tube is $29.99 4 x a year and the shipping is $8.00, so I pay is $38.00. But I only get the test tube 4 x a year.
Like Jess and Meme, I recommend Ipsy over Birchbox.
I signed up for both recently with the January 2013 boxes being my first. Month after month when comparing the two Birchbox has disappointed me. In the April box I received 1 deluxe sample and like 6 sample packets, which as my fellow Hip2Savers know can be requested FREE so why would I pay $10/month for that? Unfortunately I’m locked into a 1-year sub, but after that’s up I will be dropping Birchbox and keeping Ipsy.
Ipsy is the same idea as Birchbox, same $10/month, but the products you receive are much better, IMO. My April bag came with 3 full sized products, and a generous deluxe sample size. Oh, and with Ipsy your items don’t come in a cardboard box, they come in a different cosmetic bag every month.
Thanks for your opinion, I just subscribed to ipsy. 🙂
I love birchbox, but I also subscribe to beauty box 5. I don’t like the waste of the cheap cosmetic bags included with ipsy.
How is Beauty Box 5? I heard about it recently. I was getting ipsy but the last 2 months were bad so thinking about switching. thanks
Aww I love the make up bags. I don’t think they are that cheap… Good quality in my opinion.:)
I like the make up bag that came with my ipsy too. I don’t think it cheap looking either. I can’t wait to get next month’s. You can check out ipsy on FB too. They have an awesome community there. You can also swap the items from your bag that you don’t want on their Swap Forum on ipsy at Facebook.
I love their ipsy bags!!! I use them to put coupons in for different stores during my shopping trip…LOLOL!!!
what are other uses for the ipsy bags? I know I won’t be using them.
I use cosmetic bags to organize things in my purse, especially if I’m going on a short trip or have a carry-on. It’s nice to have everything sorted so it’s easier and not flying around a bag or all mixed up. They’re also useful to organize bathroom items. If it’s big enough, you can put quite a few mail samples in or hair accessories.
does ipsy not give you referral codes?
No. There are no referral codes for ipsy.
i love birchbox!!
Yes, I get Birchbox! Two months in a row now and I’ve been loving it. Definitely worth the $10 a month for a little treat for me!
I love my monthly birchbox!
I love birchbox! I’ve been a member since January and they’ve all been great. Here’s my referral link if anyone’s interested:
https://www.birchbox.com?raf=d5bsd
Does anyone have an ibotta app link that they would like me to sign up under? Please post it
Sign up for Ibotta here: https://ibotta.com/r/QoWGw 🙂
not a fan of birchbox. most of the items were stuff i could get free at the beauty counters in the mall. i tried them for about 5 months and ended my subscription. i only liked about 2 things. one time i got a lot of miss jessie’s products and a really nice eyebrow pencil but other than that it was a total waste of my $10. i will give ipsy a shot since so many recommended it.
I agree. I only liked one or two things that I received (per box) and ended my subscription with Birchbox within 4 months. I even tried to change my profile to receive more useful items and that didn’t work out either. I’m going to check out ipsy as well.
Yes I agree Barb! I ended my subscription too. All items were free through other companies or at makeup counters. Total waste of ten dollars a month. So not happy. Complete waste of money.
Just signed up for ipsy based on all of the positive things said here 🙂
me too! haha
How funny, I did too…seeing what the difference is…
Me too ! I try to find out what everybody saying about Birchbox.
And seeing many positive comment of Ipsy, end up signed up Ipsy !
I like BB but hoave not tried the others. I do wish makeup and some other problems were geared to african-americans and people of color. I got the BB pictured above and totally threw away the mag sub card without thinking about a possible rebate, but such is life
I agree. They don’t offer many products for people of color.
I’m a woman of color and I absolutely love the items I have received through ipsy. I use 90% of the products I’ve received.
Thanks for all of the comments! Based on the reviews, I just signed up for Ipsy! Thanks again for sharing!
I get Birchbox and Ipsy. There are pros and cons to both. Birchbox is great because of the surprise. There’s about 40 different box varieties and it’s always interesting to see what you get. One BIG plus is the review system. For every product you review you get 10 points. 100 points equals $10.00 which means free or almost free products. I’ve been subscribed for 5 months and have been THRILLED for 3 out of 5. The other 2 months, I just didn’t think the sample sizes were big enough, even though I liked the products. I’d love to earn a referral: https://www.birchbox.com?raf=jtm2s
I just signed up for Ipsy and got my first bag this month. It’s cool because every one gets the same thing and 1-2 products are just about guaranteed to be travel or deluxe size. I actually got a full size nail polish blush this month plus a deluxe size eye shadow. Some would say Ipsy isn’t as high quality as Birchbox though and there’s no points system.
I’ve done a lot of considering for both brands, and for now I’m keeping both for different reasons. However, if I had to recommend one to start with, I’d say Birchbox for the surprise factor and the points system.
I think Birchbox has been getting better and better over the last few months! I’ve really loved my boxes. I’ve received full size lip gloss, lip pencils and nail polishes.
If you sign up for a full year (which you can cancel at anytime) you get 110 points. Every 100 points equals $10 to spend on full size products (most with free shipping!).
Here’s my link, if you’re interested: https://www.birchbox.com?raf=qtsvv
I totally ignored the free Women’s Health magazine subscription card without reading the fine print so thank you for bringing the $9.99 rebate to my attention! I’m confused though about what you need to send in…it says complete the card “along with your original Birchbox subscription order confirmation.” Does this mean my membership info? What if I got my subscription as a gift so I have no record of paying for it. Any thoughts? :/
can you login and print out that you have a subscription? that’s what I am going to try to do.
Do you mean just print off a screen shot of your account settings page with the word “active” under your subscription status? Thanks in advance!
I was a birchbox member for about 5 months and cancelled because I was disappointed with the products. It wasn’t worth $10 to get stuff I wasn’t going to use. I ended up with food a couple times and some lip products I’d never use. I even got a liquid eyeliner that dried out instantly. There were some things I enjoyed like benefit’s porefessional and the balm’s mary lou manizer. I liked that you got points for reviewing the products you were send, and was able to get a few full size products for almost free. But overall, i didn’t find it worth the price to keep my subscription. I have been thinking of joining ipsy as I’ve heard great things about them.
I have been wanting to subscribe to a beauty box for awhile, and didn’t think that for 10 bucks this would have enough to sample. Thanks for posting this because I am going to give them a try now.
Ipsy for me too! I have Birchbox & I hope it gets better.
I’ve never ordered a beauty box before until I learned about ipsy. If you “like” their page on FB, you will see that they have several links to their tutorials (You Tube videos) on how to use the items you got on your kit so you are not left wondering what to do now that you got their package. They have members sending in ideas too on how they used the product. I just learned to use my new nail polish that I got this month and add Sharpie dots to make it look so much cuter. I would have never bought this nail polish if I saw it at the store and I put it on (one coat is the best as one member suggested) after seeing one of this month’s You Tube videos and I love it!!! I’m learning to use a lot of their products thru their links and FB page since I’m not very familiar with a lot of the make-up. A few members even showed how they upcycled their super popular pink packaging envelope.