My Addiction to Monthly Subscriptions

I’ve blogged before about how I’ll order anything online to avoid shopping in a brick and mortar store. The latest craze in online ordering convenience is monthly box subscriptions. I’ll admit, I’m hooked, but I’m not so sure I can say all the boxes I get are money well spent.

Never heard of subscription boxes? You’re in for a treat! They’re like subscribing to a magazine—only you get a box of products delivered to your door every month.

My first foray into this began with beloved brand Birchbox. Birchbox is a great way to discover new beauty products for only $10/month. It delivers a variety of makeup/skincare/hair/nail-care samples. Generally the retail value of what you receive is more than the $10 you’ve paid. Birchbox feels more exclusive than other monthly subscriptions, simply because they make you wait 4 weeks to become a member. Now, full disclosure, I’ve since cancelled my Birchbox subscription after subsequent months of lost boxes, late delivery, and lackluster products (I don’t want food in my makeup sampling box!). The first few boxes I received were great, but after finding a new box love, I moved on…

Now, Ipsy on the other hand, has never let me down. Ipsy is a similar service in that for $10/month, you get a beautiful little makeup bag filled with goodies. I’ve done the math, and in some of my deliveries, I’ve received $80 worth of product! Now that is savvy spending :-). Some months haven’t been as great, but there’s always at LEAST $10 of product. See the photo below—can you believe this was only $10?.
And delivered to your door? Convenient and fun to receive! I would highly recommend subscribing to this service if you like makeup and hair products (or give a gift subscription if you know someone who does).

I am a self-confessed makeup junkie, but I’ve also tried other monthly box subscription services. Love with Food was a really fun one to receive – it’s a box filled with gourmet food and has brands that I normally would never have had the opportunity to try. I also like that each box purchased donates a meal to a hungry child. Each month the box is curated with a different theme—so you never receive the same product twice. Though I liked receiving this box, I cancelled after a few months since I found myself snacking on all the goodies in one day—not great for the waistline :-).

Got a pup that deserves a little treat every month? Try Barkbox! Tell them how big your dog is and each month your best canine friend will get a box full of products and presents. Plus 10% goes towards rescue groups.

Looking for a gift for a new mom? You can send your friend a box from Stork Stack or Citrus Lane.

And for the serious mall-avoider, you can subscribe to The List. It’s a bit pricey, and I’ve signed up for only the Starter Bag, but I read some reviews and was intrigued. You give a stylist all your sizes and choose from a variety of photos to help them determine your style. Then, you get a curated box in the mail with typically double the value of what you’ve paid. I can’t wait to receive my first, but I won’t be continuing this one most likely since it’s more than I typically would spend on a monthly subscription service.

A quick Google search can produce a monthly subscription service for any taste or interest. Tell me if you’ve found any that you think are a great value!
-Missy