Battle of the Boxes! {February 2016}

This month I received 8 beauty boxes: Birchbox (x2), Ipsy (x2), Beauty Box 5, BeautyCon, Lip Monthly, and Target. And I wanted to give a run down of what my overall comparison of each box is, the good and the bad! 😀

My Other Subscriptions: Treatsie, FabFitFun, & TomBox will NOT be included in this battle.

Battle of the Boxes

February 2016 ‘What’s The Occasion’ Birchbox #1

Box Cost: $10.00
Total Products: 5
Total Retail Value: $32.58
Total Personal Value: $11.48 + $6.00 credit
Full Size Products: 1
Deluxe Samples: 4
One Time Use/Foils: 0
Items I Won’t Use: 2 – 1 body wash, 1 nail polish (have similar)
Favorite From Box: Obliphica Professional Seaberry Serum

February 2016 ‘What’s The Occasion’ Birchbox #2

Box Cost: $10.00 (paid $7.33 w/annual membership)
Total Products: 5
Total Retail Value: $30.90
Total Personal Value: $13.73 + $6.00 credit
Full Size Products: 1
Deluxe Samples: 4
One Time Use/Foils: 0
Items I Won’t Use: 1 perfume
Favorite From Box: 12 Benefits Instant Healthy Hair Treatment
(& Hey Honey Take It Off Exfoliating Honey Peel Off Mask)

February 2016 ‘Pretty In Pink’ Ipsy Bag #1

Box Cost: $10.00
Total Products: 5
Total Retail Value: $49.21 + bag
Total Personal Value: $22.91 + bag
Full Size Products: 2
Deluxe Samples: 3 (1 lip gloss could be full-size in cheaper packaging)
One Time Use/Foils: 0
Items I Won’t Use: 0 (there are items that don’t excite me, but I will use)
Favorite From Box: Luxie Beauty Small Tapered Blending Brush
(& treStiQue Baby Blush Stick in Bora Bora Coral)

February 2016 ‘Pretty In Pink’ Ipsy Bag #2

Box Cost: $10.00
Total Products: 5
Total Retail Value: $54.85 + bag
Total Personal Value: $20.97 + bag
Full Size Products: 2
Deluxe Samples: 3 (cannot confirm if Chella lipstick pencil full size)
One Time Use/Foils: 0
Items I Won’t Use: 0 (there are items that don’t excite me, but I will use)
Favorite From Box: Naked Cosmetics Mica Pigment in Sierra Nevada 002
(& Promise Organic Ultra Moisturizing Argan Creme Facial Lotion)

February 2016 ‘Birthday Sweets’ Beauty Box 5

Box Cost: $12.00 (paid $8.00 w/coupon + quarterly billing)
Total Products: 5
Total Retail Value: $50.48
Total Personal Value: $31.48
Full Size Products: 3
Deluxe Samples: 2
One Time Use/Foils: 0
Items I Won’t Use: 0 (I actually love EVERYTHING in this box)
Favorite From Box: EpicBlend Premium Lip Balm
(& Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer…
…& Starlooks Custom Lip Liner in Sultry Sangria)
* 1 item came broken but was replaced immediately with no hassle.

Winter 2015 ‘Winter Essentials’ BeautyCon Box

Box Cost: $35.99 w/shipping (paid $19.36 w/shipping on sale/annual)
Total Products: 10 + 2 ‘gift’ ($$ off) cards
Total Retail Value: $75.51 + ‘gift’ cards
Total Personal Value: $31.01
Full Size Products: 8
Deluxe Samples: 2
One Time Use/Foils: 0
Items I Won’t Use: 3 – 1 hand creme, 2 accessories; + 1 ‘gift’ card
Favorite From Box: Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama
(& Murad Hydrating Toner)

February 2016 Lip Monthly

Box Cost: $12.95 (paid $9.73 w/deal on quarterly)
Total Products: 4
Total Retail Value: $42.99
Total Personal Value: $10.48
Full Size Products: 3
Deluxe Samples: 1
One Time Use/Foils: 0
Items I Won’t Use: 1 body creme
Favorite From Box: Seraphine Vegan Berry Tint

February 2016 ‘Sweet Treats’ Target Beauty Box

Box Cost: $7.00
Total Products: 10 + $3.00 off $15.00 coupon
Total Retail Value: $35.13
Total Personal Value: $20.93
Full Size Products: 4
Deluxe Samples: 6
One Time Use/Foils: 0
Items I Won’t Use: 4 – 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 bb cushion, 1 hair spray
Favorite From Box: Mayfair Soap Foundry Body Creme in Sea Lily Jasmine

So we’ve got the box breakdowns… how about the products?

Product Breakdown

Winning Products

Biggest Retail Value in a Single Item

Lip Monthly: $22.00 Prim Botanicals Lip & Cheek Glow

Most Used Product

BeautyCon Winter Box: Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama

Most Improved With Use

BeautyCon Winter Box: Murad Hydrating Toner

Most Surprising Like(s)

Ipsy: tre’StiQue Baby Blush Stick in Bora Bora Coral
Birchbox: COOLA Face SPF 30 Unscented Matte Tint

Most Looked Forward To

Beauty Box 5: Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer

Most Effective

Birchbox: Hey Honey, Take It Off Exfoliating Honey Peel Off Mask

Failing Products

Biggest Disappointment(s)

BeautyCon Winter Box: Essie Marshmallow Nail Colour
Birchbox: BOOST Color Enhancing Lip Balm

and then what we’re all reallyyy curious about… and I don’t actually know the answer to this until I think about it!

Box Breakdown

Highest Retail Value

BeautyCon Winter Box: with $75.51 before gift cards

Highest Personal Value

BeautyCon Winter Box: with $43.01 before gift cards

Biggest Discount: Subscription vs Retail Sample Value

Beauty Box 5: 84% off retail value of samples

Biggest Discount: Subscription vs Personal Value

Beauty Box 5: 74% off personal value of samples

Closest Personal Value to Retail Value

Target Sweet Treats: $20.93 Personal vs $35.13 Retail ($14.50 difference)

Most Loved Products

Beauty Box 5: with FOUR 5/5 star products (and ONE 4.5/5 star)

Most Full Sized Products

BeautyCon Winter Box: with EIGHT full sized products.

Most Improved With Product Use

Ipsy (bag #1): with 3 products I thought I’d hate but do use.

And the WINNING BOX:

Most Exciting To Open AND Most Satisfying…

Beauty Box 5! I loved every product. Yeah one’s a body wash and one’s a lip balm, but both of those products feel amazing. Epic Blend has been kept by my bedside and all but replaced my other balms. It even beat out the $14 ARROW BOOST color changing balms. It’s just better quality in my eyes.

If you are interested in any of these boxes, you can sign-up here:

Birchbox (March Box)
Ipsy (April bag – if you get yourself off the wait list before 4/1)
Beauty Box 5 (before 9th: March) use HALFOFF for $6.00 off — pair w/quarterly for $8/box
BeautyCon Box (Spring will ship on the 15th) try bfffreeship for free shipping
Lip Monthly (March or April, not sure!?) use LIPLOVER to get your first bag for $5.00.
Target is NOT a subscription. They become available around the 1st of the month (give or take a few days) and sell out within a few hours.

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