I wanted to do a comparison between the three and put to rest once and for all which is the best.

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(There is an updated version of this post HERE)

This month I splurged on the 3 most popular beauty boxes in the UK – Glossybox, Birchbox and Love Me Beauty. I wanted to do a comparison between the three and put to rest once and for all which is the best. This is a prettttyyy long post so you might want to grab a cup of tea and a biscuit!

So here we go….

These all cost £10 plus P&P, so price wise they are all on level footing. Other things I’ll be taking into consideration are contents, accuracy to my personal profile, packaging, speedy delivery, value for money, offers and range of subscription services.

Love Me Beauty

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Love Me Beauty works slightly differently to the other two in that there is no surprise element. At the start of each month there is a menu of 3 boxes and you pick the one you like the most. Personally I really like to be surprised and think this is half the fun of beauty boxes, so this concept is less appealing to me.

I picked Menu 2 and received the following:

Oriflame The One Eye Liner Stylo in Black – I picked this box option purely for this product. However, as I wanted this I had to forgo the more useable shades in the lip liner and eye shadow. Whether it was worth it or not still remains unclear. I would say though the pigment is really strong and I like the nib, so I’m pretty sure this will get some use!

Marsk Mineral Eye Shadow in Foiled Again – This shade is a little too sparkly for me, although it will probably be fun for a big party night. There were some more subtle colour options in the alternative boxes.

A La Carte Smudge Proof Eyebrow – I thought this was a terrible product! Firstly, they only offered one shade, so for a lot of people this colour will be way off.  Secondly, it bleeds which is useless.  Not impressed!

Mirabelle Lip Luster Liner in Charming– Like the eye shadow this was offered in different shades. I got the reddest colour available which again isn’t really my shade preference.  This won’t get much use.

I think my biggest disappointment with Love Me Beauty was the packaging. It doesn’t even compare with Glossybox whose boxes are just amazing! There isn’t even a box; it’s just the packaging material it is delivered in. They try and sell it as being sustainable and 100% recyclable but I think it just offers poorer value for money.  Besides I tend recycle my beautiful Glossybox boxes so I actually think they are just as good for the environment!!

Contents – 6       Accuracy to my profile – N/A        Packaging – 1        Launch time & delivery –  8            Value for Money – 5         Offers – 0                               Subscription service – 8       Menu Choices – 8         TOTAL – 36/70

Birchbox

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I was super happy with this month’s Away We Go themed box from Birchbox. It celebrated everything to do with summer holidays by offering 5 travel size products. I thought the clear plastic toiletries bag which housed all the contents was an amazing and useful addition. It will be perfect for popping your toiletries in when flying with hand luggage.

Another thing I liked is in the initial sign up questionnaire you are able to opt out of certain products such as perfume samples. I thought this was great as I hate receiving these in my beauty boxes!

In my box I received the following 5 products and a lifestyle item:

Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect – I had just run out of leave in conditioner so I was initially very happy to see this. However, I wouldn’t choose to use this product normally. The smell reminded me of glue (!) and it didn’t feel particularly conditioning on my hair. Definitely not a star product.

x2 Super Goop Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream – Love this! I was worried about this being too dark but actually it blended brilliantly on my skin. I would definitely buy this product full sized.

Whish Three Wishes Lavender Body Butter – I was happy to receive this as Which Beauty Box UK named it her product of the month in July and I have to say it smells absolutely gorgeous!

Sarah McNamara Beauty New York Miracle Skin Transformer Hydroactive Mircoderm – Yet another product I liked. The exfoliating granules are not too irritating on the skin but gritty enough to know they’re definitely working.

Wild About Beauty Multi Purpose Tint – This shade is quiet dark so will work best with a tan but it has a nice dewy look.

The Proposal by Tasmin Perry – The month’s lifestyle item was the first chapter of this book which is a good amount to establish if you’d like to carry on reading and buy it.

Contents –   9        Accuracy to my profile –      8           Packaging – 6        Launch time & delivery –    7          Value for Money –     8        Offers – 8                           Subscription service – 6             TOTAL –  52/70

Glossybox

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Glossybox has a slight advantage in that this is my fourth box and I have already discovered some fabulous products through them. This box celebrates their 3rd birthday and so has some stella contents!

I received the following 6 items:

Figs & Rouge Hand Cream – To be honest this is the last thing I need another one of but it smells like sherbet (yummy!) so it still gets a thumbs up!

Kryolan Highlighter in Cashmere– I really like this as it give the perfect, dewy finish. It is subtle but very, very pretty.  A superstar product!

Yves Rocher Nail Polish in Rose – I don’t really use nail polish as I’m a gel convert but this is a very pretty colour nonetheless (although smallest bottle ever!).

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer – I’m really looking forward to trying this as I’m big fan of anything that’ll keep my frazzled hair in order!  A good brand too.

Pep Cosmeceuticals SkinPep Hydra Sun Defence SPF30 Day Cream – This will definitely end up in my summer holiday travel bag as SPF for the face is essential. However, I was a little disappointed I got this rather than the full sized cleansing milk which lots of other people got in their boxes.

Lalique L’mour perfume – I think perfume samples in beauty boxes are a real cop out and I don’t like to get them EVER! (FYI with Birchbox you can opt out of getting these samples completely).

One minor complaint is I wish Glossyboxes came out earlier in the month, rather than halfway through. When I did my initial 3 month subscription I was left caught out as I thought I was signing up to July through to September. However, despite signing up at the beginning of July I was actually subscribed to June to August. I didn’t really mind but I did think it was a bit counter intuitive to receive a June box in July. I was also left a little bit disappointed by a customer service issue when I initially signed up but thankfully all has been ok since.

Contents –   7        Accuracy to my profile –      7           Packaging – 10         Launch time & delivery –      5         Value for Money –     7        Offers – 8                                Subscription service – 8                   Total   – 52/70

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I apologise for the super long post but I wanted to provide you sufficient product reviews as well as a fair analysis of my logic and reasoning behind why I chose the winner.  After all this is important stuff girlies!!

So my beauty box winner is…. BIRCHBOX & GLOSSYBOX!  I cannot believe there was a tie! So they’re on level pegging but for very different reasons.

They both offer enticing offers and freebies to persuade you to sign up and really nice, varied contents in their boxes.  Glossybox wins on packaging, whereas Birchbox wins on their personalised profile.  Glossybox launches their boxes too late in the month, while Birchbox doesn’t offer a 3 month subscription service (only 1, 6 or 12 months).  Personally I think 6 months is a little bit too much to pay out for all in one go.  I’d really like to know your thoughts below on which you think the is best beauty box subscription service and why!

(There is an updated version of this post HERE)

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