The hype over ‘beauty boxes’

Nowadays, you don’t have to go out to a retailer to get your beauty fix. With companies like Ipsy and Birchbox, customized beauty products can be delivered straight to your doorstep.

Ipsy and Birchbox both charge $10 a month for their subscription. Birchbox even has a subscription for men—BirchboxMan, (also $10 a month), and BirchboxMan Plus, which charges $20 for a monthly subscription. Ipsy gives you five beauty samples in a styled makeup bag, while Birchbox’s five products come in—like the name suggests—a small box.

Both Ipsy and Birchbox are completely customizable. After subscribing, customers create their beauty profile. Products delivered to you can be tailored to your skin tone, skin type, hair and eye color, beauty expertise, and favorite brands and products.

But are these boxes worth the money? A Magazine talked to three students who’ve tested the companies out.

Madeline Karaffa, a sophomore fashion merchandising major, heard of Ipsy through her friend.

“Sometimes I consider Birchbox, but with Ipsy I love every bag I get,” Karaffa says. “I am never disappointed.”

Karaffa says she loves getting new products to try, and even wishes that the subscription came more than once a month.

However, Samantha Kavander, senior nutrition major, just recently cancelled her Ipsy subscription.

“It was no longer worth the money if I did not enjoy a majority of my products,” Kavander says. “There was a random variety of products—one month I got three highlighters, which is just unnecessary.”

Her previous bags contained items Kavander didn’t really need.

“I would usually only use one or two of the items out of each bag,” Kavander says. “That’s mostly why I canceled the subscription.”

A declining quality in bags may be an issue with these companies.

Freshman zoology major, Tayla Rooney, used to subscribe to Birchbox.

“I considered Ipsy for the cute bag it comes with, but I chose Birchbox because I heard about it through friends who had it,” Rooney says.

Like Kavander, Rooney canceled her subscription. She too had issues with the contents of her later bags.

“I started getting really cheap items that would be broken before I even got them,” Rooney says. “The first bag was a lot better than the subsequent ones.”

Of course, not all of the products delivered to you will be a perfect fit. In beauty, creating the perfect look is a lot of trial and error. At the subscription price, you’re paying only $2 for samples that would otherwise cost more in stores.

If you’d like to subscribe to Ipsy or Birchbox, head on over to the websites and start completing your beauty profile.