I'll be honest—I had a hard time getting into the whole beauty subscription box thing. As much as I love the thought of having a pretty box filled with beauty products land on my doorstep every month, I'm more of the run-to-Sephora-and-burn-my-entire-paycheck-every-week kind of person. But as these little boxes continue to take over the beauty world—and probably most of USPS' inventory—I decided to hop on the train and see what all the hype is about.
Turns out: Subscription boxes filled with makeup and skincare goodies are basically a regularly scheduled dose of joy. The excitement when you get the email that it's on its way! The thrill when it arrives on your doorstep! The childish, Christmas-like happiness of finding out what's in the box! And after that, you have a whole selection of curated beauty products to play with. From clean beauty favorites to seasonal surprises to specialized subscription boxes of whatever your beauty jam is (nail products! Face masks! CBD!), there's a beauty subscription box on this list you'll never regret signing up for.
1. Glossybox
Each Glossybox features five beauty samples from crazy-good brands, like Glamglow, Tarte, and Kat Von D, all wrapped in a millennial pink (and glossy) box, because of course. The real draw, though, is that Glossybox has a major reward system for product reviews—you’ll earn Glossycredit (which can be used to purchase full-size products) for each review you write on the website, which, for anyone who has strong opinions, can be a game changer.
And if you're also a commitment phobe, don't freak—the subscription lets you either pay for a month-to-month subscription for $21, a three-month subscription for $58.50, a six-month for $111, or 12-month for $210.
2. OuiPlease
Now's the time to start your Parisian-inspired life, à la Emily in Paris. While a trip abroad might be a little out of your budget, this box brings France to your doorstep with skincare, accessories, snacks, and other cult items that are all 100 percent French girl-approved.
3. Beauteque Monthly
If getting acquainted with the wide world of K-beauty sounds terrifying, start slow with Beauteque's monthly subscription box (see examples of previous ones here). For just $22, the company will ship you six full-sized skin, makeup, hair, and body products every month.
If you try a brand and love it, you can shop Beauteque's online store and stock up on your favorite products. Established K-beauty lovers will appreciate all of the under-the-radar brands available, like Etude House.
4. Boxwalla
Boxwalla is all about luxury plant-based skincare products. Each box contains 2-3 full-sized products every two months—basically, a great way to try luxury products without overconsumption. For $50 per box, you’ll receive products that are made to help you build your own routine, and the retail value of the products is usually double the subscription cost.
5. FaceTory
Who doesn't love sheet masking? It's basically a moisturizing bag of skincare. If you're a fellow serial mask user, FaceTory is your go-to service if you want a plethora of the best Korean face masks shipped to your door. Each box contains seven masks for just $20/month.
For those wanting to further upgrade their K-beauty routine, you can also get the seasonal Lux PLUS box, which comes with a mix of 10-12 cult-favorite skincare products (a $160 value for $50!). Each set is specially curated for that month's weather to suit your skin’s needs.
6. VellaBox
Is there such a thing as having too many candles? That's a rhetorical question. A candle subscription box is the greatest thing we didn’t know we needed. Each candle is handmade in small batches and made with warming essential oils—you'll want to light them all the time. You can get 1/2/3 candles per month at $10/$20/$30 respectively.
7. Orly
If you’re a nail polish fiend, you need this subscription. Orly, releases new shades every season, and with this Color Pass you'll receive every new collection. At $36 per box you get not just gorgeous new nail polishes, but often a nail tool or skincare item.
8. Love Goodly
Love Goodly isn’t playing around with their stance on cruelty-free products. With brands like Pacifica and Nail & Bine, each box is a conscious choice for iconic and cruelty-free products. The best part: With a range of different subscription options, you can pick and choose the kind that works for you and your budget.
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9. LiveGlam
When you have the right tools for your makeup, it truly elevates your look—but makeup brushes can run expensive. Thankfully, Live Glam offers a solution: a $20/month subscription with which you’ll receive three to eight brushes. The best part? If you don’t like the options for the current month, you can swap those brushes for ones previously offered. Live Glam also has a lip and eyeshadow-specific subscription option if you want more.
10. BudzyBox
This CBD-inspired box is as fun as it sounds. The Black-owned $59 subscription box offers a range of CBD-infused products like teas, masks, and balms—perfect for CBD lovers and newbies alike.
11. Kura Skin
Skincare subscription boxes can be difficult if you have sensitive skin or allergies. That’s what makes Kura Skin so special—they use a quiz to give you a personalized skincare experience, and curate each box specifically for your skin's needs.
12. Lip Monthly
To all of you lip color hoarders out there: Lip Monthly is the subscription box for you. For just $12.95 a month, you can stock up on four to five full-sized lip balms, lipsticks, and lipglosses from brands like Unicorn Snot and ModelCo.
13. Bombay & Cedar
Another vegan and cruelty-free option, this skincare and makeup subscription box is all about the hottest new beauty launches. It focuses on new products and new brands so you get the chance to try out different trending products every month. Starting at $32/month, each box has 5-6 full-size products—a mix of indie and well-known brands.
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14. Macy's Beauty Box
Sample the newest and most popular products from your favorite brands—Clinique, Kiehl's, Becca, and Estée Lauder among them—accompanied by a travel-sized makeup pouch for just $15 a month with Macy's Beauty Box.
15. Cocotique
Get the ultimate round-up of the best haircare, wellness, and skincare products with this Black-owned beauty box subscription. For $25 a month, Cocotique will add five to eight curated gems per month to your self-care arsenal.
16. Clean Beauty Box
Whether you're an avid clean beauty user or looking for a way to clean up your routine, Clean Beauty Box has you covered. For $39.95 every other month, you'll receive a luxurious box of vetted, toxic-free products.
17. Glory Skincare
Glory Skincare is a Black-owned brand founded on the idea that conscious skincare should be available to everybody. The beauty of this subscription box: It's tailored to your skin needs. Start by taking their skincare quiz, and then wait to receive your personalized box of clean beauty products.
18. Fashionsta
For $25 a month, you can test out five to seven full-sized makeup and skincare products. Plus, with every Fashionsta subscription box purchased you'll be contributing to 1736 Family Crisis Center to help Californians through crises like domestic violence and homelessness.
19. Margot Elena
If you’re not totally invested in a monthly beauty box, this seasonal option from Margot Elena is for you. With only four boxes a year, each item is carefully chosen for the season. The $60 price tag might seem like a lot, but with a value of over $200 you’ll get products that won’t go to waste. We're talking hand creams, cosmetics, perfume, candles, and other beautiful items that will make you feel very fancy.
20. Scentbird
Unsure about your next signature scent? Love to switch things up frequently? Scentbird makes it so you never have to commit to a single fragrance ever again. For $14.95 a month you can try out different designer scents of your choice—complete with free refills.
21. Curl Box
Pay your curls some extra attention with the Curl Box subscription box. Natural hair products can be costly, and there's never any guarantee that the products will workf or you. For $20 a month, Curl Box has changed the game by providing subscribers with an array of products, from cult favorites to up-and-coming hair care brands. Run, don't walk to get signed up to this waitlist–it fills up fast.
22. Tribe Beauty Box
Support female and Black-owned businesses by subscribing to the Tribe Beauty Box. For $35 every other month, you'll receive a box filled with makeup and skincare treasures pulled from female-founded brands.
23. Urban Skin Rx
It's time to get your glow on with Urban Skin Rx's curated beauty box. Every season (that's once a quarter), for $40 a pop, the company will ship you a beauty box filled with full-sized, travel-sized, and brand new complexion goods. Here's a fix that every skincare junkie can appreciate.
24. So Susan Color Curate Box
Are you into high-impact color cosmetics that are free of yucky chemicals that do horrible things to your face? Same. And it's what you'll get in So Susan Color Curate Box. this monthly subscription box filled with saturated shades that are 100-percent cruelty-free, vegan and paraben-free. And these aren't just any ole' products. Expect: luxe packaging with a gorgeous pay-off.
The ingredient-conscious among us will appreciate that all of the products curated in these boxes are full of plant extracts, bioferments and natural botanical oil, which are perfect for sensitive skin. You get four, full-sized products for $20.95 a month + free shipping, and they have frequent sales.
25. Petit Vour
Each month, Petit Vour sends out four cruelty-free, non-toxic, and plant-based beauty products in a minimalist, Instagram-worthy box (which is not unimportant).
At $18 per month, Petit Vour is pricier than other boxes, but with top-notch green brands like French Girl Organics and Juice Beauty included, each sampling has an estimated value of $45–$60, which means you’re actually getting a really, really good deal. The monthly subscription can be canceled at any time, but if you sign up for a one-year plan ($180), you’ll save $3 per box. Winner, winner.
26. Medusa Makeup
Clean beauty lovers rejoice! Medusa Makeup is home to one of the leading cruelty-free and vegan makeup subscription boxes. For $17 a month, you can choose between a skincare or makeup box and receive four full-sized products to test.
27. Birchbox
The O.G. subscription box, Birchbox delivers five incredibly good hair, skin, and makeup samples in each box, ranging from cult-favorite brands (like Benefit and Stila), to under-the-radar indie picks (like R+Co and Inika) for $10 per month.
The best part is how easy Birchbox makes it for you to buy full-size versions of your favorite samples: Not only are all the products shoppable online, but you’ll also earn $1 for every $10 you spend through their Loyalty Points program. Plus, you’ll get to select one sample to try each month, starting with your second box.
28. Boxycharm
With a Boxycharm subscription, you’ll not only get four or five full-size beauty products—an estimated $100 value for just $21 per month—but you’ll also join a massive community of “Charmers” who share step-by-step tutorials and product recommendations like the makeup-obsessed family you never had.
And, as you refer friends, review products, and remain an active subscriber, you’ll also receive Loyalty Charms, which add up to major savings and discounts on future boxes and products.
29. Ipsy
The best part about Ipsy—other than the fact that your products arrive in a different free makeup bag every month—is that each box is curated specifically for you, giving you a level of control most other subscription services don't offer.
New subscribers are walked through an in-depth questionnaire to determine which makeup, hair, and skin-care samples will suit them best (past boxes have included Smashbox, Derma E, Too Faced, and Ouai), meaning hair-haters can choose all makeup, while skincare fans can stick with face products. The subscription includes five custom products for $10/month, but signing up for the year cost $100—that's two months free.
30. Beauty Heroes
Beauty Heroes works a bit differently from conventional subscription boxes. Instead of sending a bunch of different products from different lines, they introduce you to the créme de la créme products of a single ultra-clean beauty brand. You’ll get one full-sized product and accompanying “sidekick” smaller samples, all freshly made and delivered straight to your door.
And yes, we know $60 a month is a bit steep, but you’ll get over $90 worth of products and 15% off their Beauty Store. Other perks include early access to new launches and referral rewards.
31. BeautyFix
If you want to experiment with about every skincare offering out there, get your monthly fix with Dermstore’s subscription box service BeautyFix. Chock-full of beauty dynamos, like Oribe, Dermalogica, and PCA Skin, they send you over $100 worth of handpicked products for just $35/month.
Better yet, the subscription will auto-renew every month for $25, no renewal action on your part needed.
32. Grind Pretty
Four times a year, Grind Pretty delivers a subscription box that’s packed to the brim with seasonal delights. The kicker? Every single beauty brand included is woman-owned. With a mix of skincare, hair, makeup (in full and travel sizes), and even some bonus gifts, they equip you with everything your changing skin needs to glow during that quarter.
Plus, each box is only $25 which is a total beauty steal.
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