Battle Beauty Box December 2016

Welcome back Beauty Subscription Box lovers! Last month I covered the November boxes between Ipsy, Sephora Play, and Lip Monthly. In case you missed it you can catch up here. This month I will once again be reviewing those three with one more contender. This month the quarterly Wal-Mart Beauty Box came, so it will be reviewed as well. Let's get to it!

To review, Ipsy is $10/mo and comes with five products. This month I received a Beau Gachis concealer brush, a NYX eye shadow in Bedroom Eyes, an Aurora Intensively Precise Eyeliner in Blackberry, Hanalei Lip Treatment, and a Tarte Tartiest Glossy Lip Paint in WCW.

Ipsy December bag

Sephora is also $10 and you get 5 products plus a perfume sample. December's box included Urban Decay's All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray, Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo, Makeup Forever Step 1 Smoothing Base, Bobby Brown Smokey Eye Mascara in black, Sephora Cream Lipstain in Always Red, and a perfume sample of Elizabeth and James Vanilla Bourbon.

December Sephora Play

Lip Monthly is $13.50/mo for me (as I buy 4 month blocks for $54). This month had 4 products (you get 4-5) which included a ChapStick Total Hydration Lips Scrub, City Color Lip Gloss in Wild Child, Crazy Rumors Hibiskiss Hibiscus Flavored Lip Color, and Cougar Mineral Lipstick in Sangria. I was actually very disappointed in this month's products in that it appeared to be very cheap (ChapStick, really?). Typically the card included tells you what the value is. November had a retail value of $98. December didn't tell us. Hmmm, wonder why...

December Lip Monthly

Why aren't you telling us the value this month, Lip Monthly??

Last up is our quarterly box from Wal-Mart Beauty. This box is only $5/quarter and comes with full size products, samples, and coupons. Products include samples of Dove shampoo, conditioner, mask and body wash, a full size Cover Girl Last Blast Volume in Very Black, Ponds Rejuveness Anti-Wrinkle Cream, Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Yogurt, and Curel Hydratherapy Wet Skin Moisturizer.

Winter Wal-Mart Beauty Box

Now that I've told you what was in every box I'm sure you're wondering my thoughts on these (that's why you're here, right? I mean I don't give out cookies or anything). Ipsy and Sephora Play always crush it. Ipsy has clearly built great relationships with beauty brands over the years. I love that you get a mix of prestige brands (like Tarte) and new indy brands. Clearly Sephora also has access to amazing brands. I love that I got Urban Decay, Bobby Brown, and Makeup Forever in one box. Woo!

Wal-Mart also has the marketplace muscle to get good sample sizes of product. I couldn't go to Wal-Mart and buy the Cover Girl Mascara for $5.00, let alone the rest of the travel size samples. I do fly from time to time and having bottles on hand that are TSA approved (under 3.4 oz for carry on) is always a plus.

Now Lip Monthly...we need to have a chat. Did you run out of end-of-year budget or did your buyer just go on vacation? The Chapstick scrub at Target is $4.99. From the City Color website the lip gloss is $5.99. The Crazy Rumors Hibiskiss lip color from their website is $4.99. The Cougar Mineral Lipstick is sold in a 5 pack for $47.80 (It's a UK brand so the conversion isn't a nice number we're used to). Still that makes each lipstick $9.56/ea. Which means this month's has a retail value of $25.53 or 1/4 the value of last month's bag. I was extremely disappointed in this month's December bag. When Wal-Mart's budget-conscious box does a better job you know you've done something wrong.

So dear reader, I will keep subscribing and keep testing beauty boxes for you. Be sure to stay tuned as I will also shortly be launching a YouTube companion page. 2017 holds some exciting things for sure!

Until Next Time, XOXO
Melissa

Battle of the Beauty Subscription Boxes

Lets Get Ready to... I was going to say "Rumble" but that doesn't sound quite right when talking about makeup/beauty subscription boxes. Anyway... (insert long awkward pause)

I love getting beauty subscription boxes. It's a happy surprise each month in the mail. And who doesn't love happy surprises as opposed to bills? Today I am putting Ipsy, Sephora Play, and Lip Monthly up against each other. May the odds be ever in your favor.

First up, Ipsy. I don't even know how long I have subscribed at this point. Three years? Its been a while. Ipsy is $10/mo and you get 5 items.  Here is November's Glam Bag. Included in my bag are Elemis anti-aging day cream, Absolute New York Matte lipstick in Dark Red, Tarte Maracuja Oil, The Balm Mad Lash mascara, and a W20 Angled Eyew20 brush from SLMissGlam.

November Ipsy Glam Bag

I did say five items and you can count, there are six. I had used my points in October to get the eyelashes. You get points for reviewing products, so it pays to review so you can cash in on extra items. Plus it helps to dial in what items you will like (30-40 are available each month) and which ones you aren't a fan of.  An additional Ipsy benefit is items/brands featured each month typically have a coupon code so you can purchase full size items that were featured. Ipsy also does daily offers of beauty items (Monday-Friday). I think this is the biggest feature. I have gotten some crazy deals from this. Most recently I nabbed 2 full-size Besame lipsticks for $20. That's two for the price of one!

Next up in this battle royale is the new kid on the block, Sephora Play. I believe Sephora Play launched three months ago. I signed up after the first month and this is my second box. Just like Ipsy it's $10/mo. It comes with 5 items and a fragrance sample. The bonus of the Sephora Play box is that it comes with a 50 point bonus card that you can redeem with purchase. I don't know about you, but I love Sephora points. Just last month I cashed 1000 in for a really nice bag of deluxe size items from Urban Decay (which will be reviewing in a future blog).

November Sephora Play Box

Included in the November Play box is Pop by Stella McCartney, Glam Glow SuperMud Clearing Treatment, Sephora gel gloss in Pin-Up Pink, Cover FX Illuminating Primer, Dissolve The Drama 2 in 1 Cleaner by Estee Edit, and Caviar Stick Eye color in Rose Gold from Laura Mercier.

Last up is Lip Monthly. It is 4-5 items a month. I buy the four month blocks for $54 ($13.50/mo).  It's a little more expensive but it's a combination of full sized items and deluxe size. Additionally, just last month they started to allow you to select the shades your lip items will be. I like having a little say over what I get beforehand. It's somewhat disappointing when you get a shade you really don't care for.

November Lip Monthly

This month the Lip Monthly bag included a Luna lip gloss in Titania, a lipliner from Ofra in Maya, a lip crayon from Hikari in Duchess, and an anti-aging eye serum from Freeze 24*7.

Do we have a clear winner from these three boxes? In my opinion no. Each has positive qualities. Since Ipsy and Sephora Play are the same amount it's a little easier to compare the two since it's more apples to apples. I like the high end items (and bonus points) from Sephora Play, but I like getting full size items and tools (a girl can never have too many brushes) from Ipsy (plus coupon codes and daily offers). Is the extra $3.50/mo with Lip Monthly worth it? Some months yes, some months not so much. If there was one I was going to stop subscribing to it would be Lip Monthly.  I like that they have added on the shade selection option and they are promising more changes. We will see what the future holds.

All three boxes appeal to my spoonie side. I love having items delivered right to me. Beauty items shipped right to my door at a value price? You are speaking my language!  I also subscribe to the Wal-Mart Beauty Box, but that only comes in quarterly. That is $5/quarter and comes with some great samples and coupons. Oh, and Ulta, if you're listening, Sephora has thrown down. What do you have? Time to get in the ring.

Did my review help you? Are you currently subscribed to any of these? Are you subscribed to a box I didn't mention but I need to? Would you like me to review future months? Let me know dear reader! I love hearing from you.

Until Next Time,
Melissa