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w w w. s p i r i t o f w o m e n . c o m FA L L 2 014 S P I R I T O F W O M E N
SHUTTERSTOCK
ers pick their own products but will tailor
selections to your profile preferences.
Beauty subscription programs run
the gamut from products designed
to tame a wild mane of curly hair
(curlBOX; www.curlbox.com) to
offerings that tout being eco-friendly
(Goodebox, www.goodebox.com).
Target has even gotten into the act;
sample boxes are offered periodically,
but at just $5, they sell out quickly.
HANDPICKED BY PROS
Signing up may feel like a splurge, but
beauty subscriptions can be a good
value. Thousands of beauty products
hit the market each year, and sampling
programs give you access to some
of the best because they've been
screened by experts.
Many subscription sites also sell
full-size versions of the brands they
send out in their monthly boxes, which
comes in handy if you fall in love with
a sample product.
•
D
o you love stocking up
on sample-size bottles
of makeup and moistur-
izers and trying fun new
brands of lip gloss and
nail polish? Then you're likely to love
beauty product subscription programs,
which sprang up a few years ago and
have surged in popularity.
HOW IT WORKS
Beauty box services let you sign up to
have a cute little box of personal care
goodies—everything from eyeliner to
cleansing cream—delivered to your
doorstep each month. Most send five
or six samples for a fee of $10 to
$20 monthly. What you get depends
on the company you choose, but it
will probably be a mix of established
brands and up and comers.
Typically, you'll start by filling out a
beauty profile that includes questions
about skin tone, hair color and favorite
scents. Most services don't let subscrib-
By Mary Ellen Kuhn
Here's a peek at some of the most popular
beauty subscriptions:
n
Birchbox (www.birchbox.com)
Founded by two stylish Harvard Business
School graduates, Birchbox got the beauty box
party started four years ago, and it's still going
strong. For $10 a month, Birchboxes include
four or fve beauty product samples as well as a
non-beauty extra like mints or tea. There's even
a version for men.
n
Sample Society (www.beautybar.com)
Membership, which includes a kit packed with
samples of fve high-end brands, costs $15 a
month. You'll also get a beautybar.com gift card
that can be redeemed when purchasing full-
size products, plus a mini-magazine flled with
beauty tips from the editors of Allure magazine.
n
BeautyArmy (https://beautyarmy.com)
BeautyArmy is diferent from other programs
because it allows you to get involved in select-
ing samples. Each month, subscribers have a
fve-day window to choose up to six samples
from an assortment of nine recommended
products. The monthly fee is $12.
Inside the box
BEAUTY AND
THE BOX
Subscription services
that really deliver
Most ser vices will tailor selections to your preferences.