i am big Supporter of treating yourself. I believe everyone should eat more small things, all the time. The Monthly Beauty Box subscription guarantees that once a month you'll get a little box of joy delivered to your door. Whether that pleasure focuses on sample sizes, full-size products, makeup, skin care, or bath and body items, it largely depends on the service you choose. But I tried different services for several months and these are the best I found.
Be sure to check out our related guides on Best Subscription Boxes for Kids, best snack boxAnd Best Meal Kit Subscriptions For more recommendations.
Updated December 2024: We've added Ipsy, Boxycharm, and LuxSB to our list of recommended services. We also checked the overall accuracy.
Power up with unlimited access wiredGet best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. This includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe today,
Are beauty boxes worth it?
Wired: Beauty boxes are a great way to discover new products, and they usually offer excellent value compared to buying the items separately. You can't put a price tag on the intense dopamine rush of getting a gift in the mail every month. (Or maybe in the literal sense, you can, but I still think it's invaluable.) Products that don't work for you would make good gifts or donation items.
tired: Some beauty boxes contain lots of small eco-friendly plastic bottles and tubes, which can be bulky and difficult to recycle. You'll probably receive some products that aren't right for your hair or skin type, or don't work. Most beauty boxes don't allow any customization – what you get really is a surprise.
I reached out to popular services and asked to trial the box for at least a month, but ideally three months. I compared the value of the included items to the price of the box. I also looked at the overall variety and likelihood of the average person being able to use them – weighing particular products against those that will work for most people. And yes, I apply all these little potions on my actual face, hair and skin. Please avoid asking me about the condition of my bathroom countertop during this difficult time.
Note that some brands offer one-off boxes that are available for purchase outside of subscription. I did not test these or consider them part of the criteria for this guide.