Is GlossyBox Worth It?

GlossyBox is a luxury beauty subscription box that’s on the higher end of the price spectrum at $21 per month (or less, depending on the length of your subscription). But for more money, you not only get the guarantee of exclusively deluxe-size and full-size products (no samples!), but also the absolute best packaging in the business — seriously, it feels like you’re receiving a Christmas present in the mail every single month.

But does the actual value of the products live up to the pretty presentation?

Box #1 Total Value: $49

• Beautiful Nutrition Lemon Rinse Gentle Clarifying Treatment: $1.50 value ($10 for full-size)
• MeMeMe Lip Glide (in Playful Peach): full-size/$12.50 value
• -417 Foot Nourishing Cream: $9 value ($18 for full-size)
• Emite Diamond Heart Base Primer: $12 value ($29 for full-size)
• Royal Apothic Cream Creme to Go: full-size/$14 value

The products in my first month’s box were a little hit-and-miss for me. There were a few I loved and a few that I haven’t touched. My two favorite products were definitely the makeup primer and the scented lotion — these quickly became staples that I still use daily. I also liked the lipstick initially, though it turned out to be a color that was just a liiiittle bit too bright for me, so I haven’t gotten much use out of it. I tried the lemon rinse hair treatment once, but I didn’t really like the smell or texture and it didn’t seem to do much for my hair. The foot cream is good in theory, but it’s not a product I will use very often, so I haven’t even had the chance to try it.

The overall value of this box was pretty standard, though I’ll admit it was a little lower than I was expecting for a $21 box — this is the same average value that I’ve come to expect from my monthly $10 boxes such as Ipsy and Birchbox, so I was hoping this one would be worth a bit more since it’s more than double the price.

Box #2 Total Value: $69

• Benefit Cosmetics The Porefessional Face Primer: $4 value/$31 for full-size
• Etre Belle Cosmetics Golden Skin Roll-On Caviar Eye Gel: $30 value/$45 for full-size
• BioRepublic SkinCare Illuminating Sheet Mask (in Pomegranate Crush): one mask/$5 value
• GlamGlow ThirstyCleanse Daily Hydrating Cleanser: $8 value/$39 for full-size
• Teez Cosmetics Oasis Lipstick (in Heat Wave Ruby): full-size/$22 value according to GlossyBox (limited edition, can’t find on site).

Once again, I was impressed to receive a beautiful box filled with a variety of high-quality products. My favorite products in this box were easily the lipstick and the cleanser — the matte color of the lipstick is absolutely perfect for my fair skin tone, and the texture of the mud cleanser was interesting since it was so different than most other cleansers I’ve tried — but it left my face feeling extremely clean, which I enjoyed. I also loved the face primer, and found that it could be used in conjunction with the primer I received in the previous month’s box because the two products seemed to serve slightly different purposes.

When I used the roll-on eye gel, it felt like it was doing something important, but I don’t typically get under-eye circles, so I couldn’t really tell — I gave the product to my mom though, who loves it! I liked the smell and feel of the face mask, though the texture was a little strange (very slimy), and I would have preferred a liquid mask that I could get more than one use out of.

The value of this box was a little more on par with what I expected from GlossyBox, and I really liked three out of the five products, so I felt much more optimistic about this service after receiving this month’s box.

Box #3 Total Value: $103

• I Love… Cosmetics Super Soft Hand Lotion (in Raspberry & Blackberry): full-size/$6 value
• Vine Vera Resveratrol Merlot Moisture Day Cream: $40 value/$146 for full-size
• Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick (in Chihuahua): full-size/$21 value
• Eyeko Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner: full-size/$20 value
• Luxie Beauty Rose Gold Large Angled Face Brush 504: full-size/$16 value

If I was already kind of crushing on GlossyBox, this last month made me fall head-over-heels. I love, love, loved every single thing I received in this box. I was happy to receive another good-smelling hand lotion, and I liked that GlossyBox switched it up by including a nice makeup brush because I hadn’t received any tools so far. However, the best products by far were the melted lipstick, the waterproof liquid eyeliner, and (my favorite) the moisturizer day cream. All three of these products are not only the best ones I have received out of all of my beauty subscription boxes, but some of my favorite products I have used, ever.

The value of this box totally blew me away as well. Much of this was attributed to the high value of the two sample jars of the *very* expensive day cream — and at first I was a little put out by this. I mean, what’s the point in trying and falling in love with a cream that I can’t afford? However, after I ran out of the samples (which lasted me nearly a month), I thought about buying the full-size jar from Vine Vera for at least a week before I finally gave in and got it. It was difficult to justify spending that much money on a moisturizer, but I literally cannot express the amazing wonders this stuff worked on my skin — it was worth every penny (plus, the jar is huge, so I expect it to last me a good long while).

The Verdict: Is GlossyBox Worth The Money?

In a word: YES. Absolutely yes. There are few subscription boxes I have been more impressed by than GlossyBox, and that’s saying something. Though this box is not personalized like Ipsy and Birchbox, you can count on every single product being high-quality and universally useful. If you want to upgrade from your sample beauty subscription, GlossyBox is without a doubt the luxury box to consider.