Beauty Box Wars - Glossybox Versus Birchbox

I used to get up to 5 beauty boxes every month a couple of years ago, but a combination of wanting to save some money, already having a huge stash of products, boxes containing the same old brands and in some cases exactly the same products and just general crappy products being included in boxes made me put a stop to all my subscriptions.  I was recently tempted back when Glossybox did a limited edition Sunday Riley box and offered £5 off and early access to subscribers.  I really wanted the Sunday Riley box, so I decided to re-subscribe. I found a couple of discount codes online and managed to get £4 off the subscription price, so all in all it cost just under £9.25 (or £4.25 if you take into account the £5 discount off the Sunday Riley box).   

After ordering Glossybox I was interested to see if beauty boxes had upped their game since I last received one.  When I received an offer from Birchbox  which was to receive a free box with the September box, as one of the products on  offer was one that I had on my wishlist I decided to re-subscribe to Birchbox as well.  The monthly subscription cost is £12.95 for this one.  Since I will be getting 3 beauty boxes this month I thought I would compare them and see which was the best one and let you know if I will be continuing with my subscription.

First of all I received the Glossybox and I have to say that delivery was superfast.  Here's what the box contained:

1. Beauty Pro Detoxifying bubbling cleansing mask (worth £4.95).  I haven't heard of this brand before, but I like sheet masks and this one suits my skin type so I will definitely use it.
2. Grow Gorgeous Scalp Detox exfoliating pre-wash treatment (50ml worth approx. £7.36).  I have wanted to try out this brand for ages and this product is definitely suitable for me.
3. Karl Lagerfeld + Model Co Lip Liner in the shade rosewood (full size product worth £21).  This is a lovely dusky pink colour, but I don't use lip liners so I won't use this product.
4. Bang Beauty Milk Chocolate Brow Cream (another full size product worth $22 which is about £17). This is another brand that I haven't heard of before.  I prefer brow pencils to creams and this isn't quite the right shade for me, but I like that it comes with a small brush to apply the product.
5. Daily Concepts Your Facial Mini Scrubber (worth $5 which is approx. £3.82).  This is a mini face cloth which I will no doubt get around to using.
6. Wet Ones antibacterial hand wipes (worth £1).  This is why I gave up beauty boxes, because they are filled with stuff like this.  I have no doubt that I will definitely use these wipes, but as far as I am concerned they have no place in a beauty box.

The overall value of the box is approx. £55, but I won't be using the two full size products, so I am not overly impressed by this box and will be cancelling my subscription.  That being said, it was worth subscribing to get early access to the limited edition box, which I can't wait to arrive.

I received the September Birchbox and here is what it contained:

1. Benefit Galifornia Blush (1.6g worth approx. £8.16). This blush has been on my wishlist for ages and is the main reason that I bought this box.  I was given the choice between 2 Benefit blushes, the other one being Gold Rush.
2. whatsinitforme...? shower scrub (50ml worth approx. £1.75). This is a totally new brand to me and I can't wait to try it out.  This product contains walnet shell, sweet almond oil and orange and jasmine flower and it looks like this brand is exclusive to Birchbox.
3. No4 Smoothing Balm (30ml worth approx. £4.90). This product looks perfect for my curly hair as it smooths frizzy , unruly hair.
4. Marcelle City 24H Anti-Pollution Day & Night Moisturizing Emulsion (7ml worth approx.£4.02). This is another brand that I have never used, but this is the type of product that I can make use of so it's all ok.
5. BLAQ Mask (15ml worth approx. £3.50). I haven't heard of this brand before either, but it helps to draw out toxins and blackheads so I am onboard with that.

So overall this is not a great value box, only being worth £22.33.  I was happy about receiving the Galifornia box and the other products were ok and I will get use out of them, but nothing else stands out for me.

Finally, I received a mystery box from Birchbox which turned out to be this years June box.  First of all I love the tin it came in which is so pretty.  It contained the following products:

1. Polaar Velvety Sun Fluid SPF 30 (20ml worth approx. £2.50). I received products from this brand before in previous boxes.  I use SPF daily so this product will get used.
2. No4 Smoothing Balm (30ml worth approx. £4.90). This is a duplicate of the product that was in the September box.
3. GlamGlow Supercleanse (15g worth approx. £2.40).  I like this brand so I was pleased to receive this product.
4. Ella Eden London compact eyeshadow in the shade Faith (full size product worth £12.99).  This is another brand that I have never heard of, but the shade is a lovely warm bronze colour which looks very wearable.
5. Arrow Boost Colour Enhancing Lip Balm (full size product worth £11).  I have very dry lips so go through lots of lip balm and I like the idea of a colour enhancing balm, which gives a little colour to the lips.
6. Finally I received some tea samples from Whittard of Chelsea.  I don't drink tea so will pass these on to someone who does.

Overall, this was another ok box, but nothing to get excited about really.  I appreciate the GlamGlow product and I will get use out of the others but it just didn't wow me.  This was better value than the previous Birchbox as it was worth approx. £33.79.

Overall, I liked the September Birchbox the best purely because of the Benefit blush, but the Glossybox has the best value.  None of them were good enough or interesting enough to make me continue on with the subscription.  It made me remember why I stopped with beauty boxes in the first place.  I used to be so excited to receive them in the post right at the beginning, but towards the end they just seemed to disappoint me and I realised that I could spend the money on individual products that I really wanted.  I will do another beauty box comparison soon, so if you have any suggestions for other beauty boxes to try out then please let me know.

Leigh

I bought these boxes with my own money