We’re thrilled to have our bloggy friend, Lisa from Fantabulously Frugal with us today. Make sure you leave a comment below or visit Lisa to share some of the love with her.
Over the past year or so I have become a huge fan of subscription boxes and beauty sample sites. Both subscription boxes and beauty sample sites allow you to test out new items without committing to paying full price for a bottle or tube of something that you’ll only use once and then promptly forget about when it isn’t as wonderful as you’d imagined. (I can’t be the only person this happens to, right??)
It seems there are new sites popping up all the time. My favorites are the beauty sample sites, but you’ll also find subscription boxes filled with food, men’s grooming products, pet toys and food, art projects for kids, and so many other things.
Since I’ve made it my personal mission to try out as many of these boxes as possible, I thought I’d share just a couple of my favorites with you today.
Birchbox will always be Queen in my eyes. Birchbox is the site that really opened my eyes to the beauty sample phenomenon. A subscription to Birchbox costs $10 per month, and for that you will receive 4-5 deluxe samples of beauty products. Birchbox has done some really neat collaborations in the past, including a Gossip Girl-themed box and their July box was curated by the editors of Glamour Magazine. Like every single subscription box or beauty sample site, Birchbox can be a little hit or miss but I chalk that up to there only being a limited number of samples in the world. It stands to reason that some months will have better months than others. While I wouldn’t say I’ve ever had a bad Birchbox month, I have had a really great ones! This month I received a full-size Jane Iredale lipstick! This alone has a value of $20, so I definitely got my money’s worth!
Sample Society from BeautyBar.com has only been around for a few months, but they’ve sent out some incredible boxes! A subscription costs $15 per month and will include 5 deluxe beauty samples. So far I’ve received brands such as Fekkai, Dermalogica, Oscar Blandi, Boscia, and Murad in my Sample Society boxes. They have very consistently sent out very good boxes, and the only downside to Sample Society is that it’s a little pricier than some of the other beauty sites.
If food is more your thing, Foodzie is definitely the subscription box for you. Foodzie costs $29.95 per month, for which you will receive a large selection of full-size food products. Generally the products will have a theme. For instance, one month I received a box full of products made in Brooklyn and another month I received a box full of Portland-made items. Foodzie has introduced me to some of my new favorite food products!
Finally, the site I’m most looking forward to trying is called For the Makers. For the Makers is different from any of the other subscription boxes I’ve seen because instead of sending products for you to try, they send stylish craft projects for you to put together. A monthly subscription costs $29 and you will receive all of the materials and instructions you’ll need to put together 4 projects. The July box came with everything needed to make a necklace, earrings, bracelet, and a camera strap.
Have you jumped on the subscription/ sample trend? If so, which site is your favorite?
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Lisa Koivu is the founder of FantabulouslyFrugal.com, where you’ll find daily retail shopping bargains. Be sure to check out her enormous list of subscription boxes and beauty sample sites that she has spent too much time compiling.
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Want to know which subscription boxes are my faves? Check out my guest post at @Savingmoneyll http://t.co/VAmHTvSt