Birchbox vs Glossybox...

Hey there, today I'm going to put beauty box against beauty box to see which one will come out on top!! Birchbox and Glossybox are two monthly beauty subscription boxes both of which cost £10 plus P+P, both boxes send out 4-5 surprise beauty products each month, most of which will be samples however sometimes you get a full sized product thrown in there too definitely making them worth your while. So let's get to it and find the winning box out of Birchbox vs Glossybox!!! 

Now each of the boxes have their own perks and benefits, with Birchbox each time you review one of the samples you receive they reward you with 5 points. Then, each 100 points is equal to £10.00 which can be redeemed in their online shop (the perfect way to top up your makeup stash ;)). Whereas with Glossybox with each review you earn between 20 and 40 "glossy dots" which add up to a free box when you have reached 1000 points.
Personally I prefer the way that Birchbox's reward system works, I don't know why but for me I need to have something physical to see it as a reward, so receiving a free box just isn't as gratifying when I receive a box every month already. Plus I find that normally I just can't justify spending £30-£40 on one makeup item and when I use my Birchbox points I'm basically getting it for free and thats my kind of price lol.

Okay so lets start with Birchbox, this month Birchbox has teamed up with Habitat to create a colourful fun looking box (which I am most definitely going to find a use for let me know if you would like me to show you different ways to re-use the boxes) full of tips, tricks and colour swatches.

I love the various tip cards that you get inside the Birchbox, it's always something different (usually about beauty) and this time keeping in mind the team up with Habitat it also has a couple of tips for the home and a 20% off discount code. To be honest I was't particularly enamoured with the whole Habitat theme (not including the box itself of course) after all the only reason I subscribe to Birchbox is to be able to try out beauty products. That being said they didn't count the code as one of the samples so it was forgivable lol. You also get the usual card detailing each product in your box and exactly how to use them, which is particularly helpful with some of the smaller samples as they don't usually have instructions on the packaging/bottle.


So lets just dive right on in and see what is inside shall we?

1. A Perfect Heritage by Penny Vincenzi (RRP £7.99) 2. Catherine Malandrino - Style de Paris (RRP £50.00)

*RRP is for full sized products

 Again being that this is a beauty subscription box finding a book in my box did not exactly fill me with joy, people are so different when it comes to the things and the amount that they read and although I read a heck of a lot this particular book is not something I would have chosen for myself. I haven't gotten round to reading it yet and to be honest I seriously doubt that I will simply because if I'm going to read a book I like to firstly choose for myself and secondly I prefer to read using my iPad  as its just more convenient for me. I do however like the little note book (heres the plan) as its the perfect size to throw in my bottomless pit of a handbag. I really love the perfume (although a slightly bigger sample size would have been great) its got a lovely scent, not too flowery or over powering and lasts a fair amount of time, which is really all I ask for in a perfume and again its the perfect handbag size.

1. Philip Kingsley-Smooth cream (RRP £18.00) 2. Janjira-Pomegranate & acai facial scrub cleanser (RRP £24.00) 3. Tan Organic-Self tanning oil (RRP £24.99)

I have received a Philip Kingsley hair product in a previous box and it worked pretty well so I have high hopes for the smooth cream plus what frizzy haired girl doesn't love a good frizz tamer. To be honest I haven't tried either the facial scrub or the tanning oil yet so I can't say how effective they will be but I'm definitely excited to try the tanning oil (which I'll get to this weekend as i have a wedding to go to) as I haven't tried anything like that yet and I do love a good oil whether for my hair or my body. The same can't be said for the facial scrub simply because I do seem to get a fair few facial scrubs and masks in my Birchbox and although most of them work really well I'm not overly keen on constantly changing my face products due to my super sensitive skin.

Benefit Cosmetics-Roller Lash (RRP from £17.50)

 Now this last product is by far the product I LOVE the most and was a the most excited for, not only because I love a good mascara. With Roller Lash you're supposed achieve beautiful looking curled eyelashes without the need for eyelash curlers. And to tell you the truth I just couldn't wait so I have tried this already and although I won't go in to detail as I will do a full review at a later date it has to be said that my lashes do look great :). Now it's time we moved on to Glossybox so that we can see which box came out on top.

This months Glossybox is the classic pink box as opposed to a themed box (next months theme is Hollywood glam) and is packed with the same care and attention to detail as usual, including a cute black ribbon which I usually keep to use in my hair (it makes a great simple accessory to any hairstyle). And again you get a product card with details, prices and how to use each item although unlike Birchbox there aren't any tip cards which could be seen as a negative I suppose. The other downside with the Glossybox this month is that although the Birchbox arrived around the 4th of March I then had to wait until the 19th for my Glossybox to arrive and let me tell you it was one incredibly long wait.

1. Carmex-moisture plus hydrating lip balm (RRP £4.49) 2. NCLA-Los Angeles Nail varnish in shade(RRP £13.00)

Anyway...Lets get on with the goodies, the first thing i pulled out of my little box of treats was this carmen lip balm in the shade Berry. I already own a carmen lip balm and it is super moisturising but its in the pink colour, when I tried out this shade though I instantly fell in love. It adds the perfect hint of colour all while leaving my lips super smooth and soft, definitely a lip balm I would recommend. To be honest I have never even heard of the brand NCLA and have yet to try the polish out but the colour is a lovely shade of green that will be a perfect pop of colour for spring, fingers crossed it'll be nice and opaque but I will keep you posted.

Essence-Lash Princess Mascara (RRP£3.30) 

Now just let me say, I am in love with the packaging it's very much my kind of mascara tube its a unique shape and design and the wand is pretty cool too. the end of the wand is bent in such a way that it fits your eye shape and tapers of to a smaller point at the end to get those pesky lashes in the inner corner of your eye, plus the bristles are dense enough that you should be able to get a decent amount of volume at the base, now I just have to hope that it lives up to my expectations.

1. Dove-Youthful Vitality shampoo and conditioner (RRP £5.99) 2. Naobay-Moisturising Peeling (RRP £13.71)

I've tried Dove shampoo and conditioner before so this wasn't particularly exciting but I mean it's a good shampoo/conditioner, it certainly leaves my hair nice and soft but no more so than other shampoo/conditioner combinations that I have tried. Again Naobay is a product that I have never heard of before, but to be honest thats part of the appeal of these subscription boxes, it's a great way of trying new products and brands without having to make a huge commitment. I was pretty impressed with this product as it did do a great job of leaving my skin feeling nice and clean and smooth, the only downside is that my skin felt a little tight afterwards.

Okay, so now I've gone through the various products that came in my boxes this month it's time to decide which box came out on top. I loved the design of both boxes, they were both completely different, one is eye-catching and colourful and the other is simple and classic yet both of them appealed to me and I'll definitely be able to get some extra use out of them. Price wise when you take into account the RRP price of each box Birchbox seems to come out way on top which is actually pretty rare as they're normally a lot closer in price, but... none of the items in Birchbox were full-sized products whereas 4 out of the 5 products in Glossybox were full-sized which is a massive positive as far as I'm concerned. Pushing that aside if we really get down to it and judge it simply on the basis of the products inside and how much use I would get out of them, for me the clear winner is Glossybox, to be honest the only item in the Birchbox that I was genuinely excited to try was the Benfit Roller Lash. Whereas I would quite happily use all of the products in Glossybox maybe with the exception of the moisturising peeling, so this month despite the fact that the Birchbox contained the higher priced items Glossybox contained the more useful products leaving it the clear winner, pop back next month to see who wins the next Birchbox vs Glossybox (I've seen sneak peeks and its looking promising)

See you next time guys - Alison