Favorite Subscription Boxes

How do you feel about subscription boxes these days? With so many to choose from and tons of cross over in terms of products are you over it?

Megan and I still love to receive a great subscription box. Last year at this time, we had boxes coming out of our ears with new ones arriving almost daily. We opened everything from perfume, international snacks, crafts and tons of beauty and lifestyle boxes. Since then we’ve both pared back drastically only keeping what really wows us.

So, today we’re sharing our absolute favorite subscription boxes and where you can get them. We’re also sharing which boxes are really hot, fun or unique right now and giving some alternative boxes to look at for those brands that are no longer in production. Heads up, friends. Some links are affiliate links which means we get a little bit of the action if you decide to purchase. However, this is all non-sponsored and all our opinions are are own.

Beauty Subscription Boxes

I currently subscribe to the Ipsy Glam Bag and Play! by Sephora. Both of these monthly subscriptions are $10 and you receive a handful of deluxe sample size beauty products. Both subscriptions have their perks. I do really like the cosmetic bags Ipsy sends their items in and I have received a couple of really great makeup brushes I use everyday. Sephora sends high-end products in Play! I have been wowed several times over when products from Tarte, Bite, Urban Decay and others are included. Judge for yourself: Ipsy Glam Bag vs. Play! by Sephora

Looking to keep your nails looking great? Megan has been a long time Julep subscriber. Julep costs $24.99/month and includes two nail polishes and one beauty product based on your custom profile. We reviewed Julep and SquareHue back in November. Tell us which one would interest you more.

Are you into fragrances? Megan and I reviewed two subscription scent boxes from ScentBird and Scent Trunk. We liked both because each were so different. One featured fragrances found in the mass market and the other had niche scents from around the world. Read our review here.

Is green your thing? We were lucky to do a ton of reviews with the Glowing Beets box which features organic and natural beauty products and cosmetics. I absolutely loved the products curated for Glowing Beets. I was never disappointed and have discovered so many great new products. See what was inside the Glowing Beets box.

Lifestyle Boxes

Megan and I both have subscribed on-and-off to POPSUGAR and FabFitFun. These are solid options when choosing a box that includes a little bit of everything. Both can include a beauty item, jewelry, books, housewares, health-related products and more. The POPSUGAR Must Have Box is a monthly subscription that costs $39.95 with a $100 value. I have gotten some great POPSUGAR boxes and some not so great ones. The MINI is the newest from POPSUGAR and it sells for $18.95. I would like to see this one up close and personal.

FabFitFun is a quarterly box (in fact, I should be receiving the fall 2016 box soon. Stay tuned for what’s inside!). It costs $49.99/quarter and usually has upwards of a $200 value. The spring 2016 was heavy with personal items that I thought were worth the $50. What I don’t like about this box is that it always includes gift cards that don’t come close to covering anything the brand is selling.

Fashion Forward Subscription Boxes

Boxes from Nina Garcia and Box of Style by The Zoe Report are two fashion sub boxes I would love to see at least once. These skew way more expensive at $100/quarter. Worth it? The Nina Garcia box features items from Bauble Bar, Jules Smith, and Lolobag but also includes a very inexpensive NYX lip product. Don’t get me wrong, I love NYX but at a $100 price point I expect something of a higher caliber. Box of Style has brand names like Ouai Haircare, LUV AJ, YHF Los Angeles and Juice Beauty. Plus each box comes with styling tips from Rachel. Bananas.

Sometimes I feel like I can curate a box like this with one trip to Home Goods.

A fun box jewelry subscription box is Rocksbox. Megan and I both love receiving this one. It’s $19/month and you can send back and swap out items as many times as you can during that month. I usually keep at least one item from each shipment – which can get costly, but I love jewelry – especially from brands like Kendra Scott and Olivia and Grace. Read our review from a few months ago and get your first box free!

Boxes from Your Favorite Retailers

It’s no secret how much we love Target. The $7-$10 Target Beauty Box still remains to be that elusive, sells out fast, not-really-a-monthly-subscription box. We’ve come to learn that this box is available the first week of the month and is typically announced in an email ad. Megan snagged one this month and we’ll be reviewing it soon. Until then, tell us how you feel about the last one.

Don’t feel like scrambling for a box when it goes on sale? Walmart has a seasonal subscription beauty box with well-known favorites like Jergens, Banana Boat, Cover Girl and Cetaphil. It’s only $5 and a pretty great steal.

Gone But Not Forgotten

The subscription box biz is a hard one and many of our favorites have closed up shop. Here are a few alternative suggestions for some of the boxes we used to fancy.

Avery & Austin was an unique monthly subscription box for kids. Alternatives include Kiwi Crate, The Hippie Hobby, Monday Sparkles. Also for kids, the baking box by Kitchen Traditions is no longer available but Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Foodstirs is similar.

We’re definitely on the lookout for new startup boxes or fun monthly subscriptions for the home, pets, desserts, clothing and more. If you know of any and think we should know about it, leave us a comment. We’re hoping to put together a list of boxes you should be asking for this holiday season or giving to someone you love.