After a deluge of local group saving sites comes the flood of luxury beauty sample mailings. Recently I received the media versions of these (recently launched in Canada) monthly beauty box samples: Glymm and GlossyBox. In order to do a comparison – here are my pro’s and cons:
Packaging
Glymm: The shiny pink box made me think girly, but not luxury.
GlossyBox: The box is sweet and sturdy – I now use it to store jewellery.
Quantity
Glymm: each month you’ll receive 4-5 luxury samples in your box – I received 5.
Glossy: each month you’ll receive 5 luxury samples – I received 6, but hey, I’m special (i.e. media!)
Quality
Glymm: in my glymm box I received a sample of Rahua organic shampoo and conditioner (8 and 10 ml packages), Ahava Dead Sea mineral hand cream (20 ml purse-size sample), RGB nail polish (regular size, $16 value), RMS Beauty natural ingredient lip shine (full size, a $25 value) and a miniature YSL Parisienne fragrance.
Glossy: Oscar de la Renta Live in Love 50 ml body lotion, Elizabeth Grant Moisturizing Stick ($12 value), the same Ahava hand cream as in Glymm, Essie nail polish (regular size, $8 value), Prevage Night Anti-aging Restorative Cream (7ml sample), Beauty So Clean Cosmetic Sanitizer Mist (8ml size, $10 value) and 4 Cosmetic Sanitizer Wipes (samples).
Faves
Glymm and Glossy: I love the scent and efficiency of the Ahava hand cream and since I received one in each box – I keep one in two separate handbags. I think it would be worth it to buy the full size version for $21.
Glymm: I love perfume miniatures, so the YSL fragrance has a spot on my vanity. I like the scent, too.
Glossy: Love the Elizabeth Grant Moisturizing Stick – like a chic lip balm, it moisturizes and shines – I’d buy one. Essie polish in Neo Whimsical – nice colour and everyone loves Essie. Live in Love body lotion – it’s a nice size and a luxury that I wouldn’t normally buy. The Prevage night ceam is a perfect trial size for anyone wanting to test the cream before shelling out $132 for the full size.
Fails
Glymm: It’s hard to get excited about the 8ml samples from Rahua, I would’ve rather received 1 or 2 of the 2oz bottles from their jet setter kit. RGB polish in Camel – not fond of the colour or the quality, I wouldn’t spend $16 on these polishes. RMS Beauty natural lip shine – kinda pasty and matte, I would never pay $25 for this product and I’m already tempted to throw it away.
Glossy: Since the Beauty So Clean Cosmetic Sanitizer Mist are only $10 each, I don’t really consider it a luxury item, but it is Canadian-made and a perfect travel size. So, not really a fail, just a tad unexciting.
And the winner is…
Obviously my personal luxury beauty sample box champion is GlossyBox and even though I received mine for free, a few of my friends pay for it each month and are happy with the service. How it works: you sign up with a credit card or through PayPal and then the company sends you a box filled with samples each month. You can cancel the service anytime. GlossyBox is $15/month. Glymm is $10/month (plus $1,50 tax), but I don’t think Glymm is really worth it and neither do my inside sources (beauty product fanatic friends).
If you’d like to try a couple of other Canadian beauty box sample services, aside from GlossyBox, my friends highly recommend these two: Luxe Box by Loose Button and Top Box.
All in all, I think that the Beauty Box idea is a good one – especially for beauty aficionados who like to discover new products without spending too much money on a full size version and without having to beg for samples at beauty counters. Although keep in mind that sometimes you’ll get good stuff and other times you’ll end up with the short end of the beauty stick.
Find GlossyBox and Glymm here:
GlossyBox on Twitter & Facebook | Glymm on Twitter & Facebook
