It’s time for another installment of Battle of the Boxes! In one corner, we’ve got Allure Beauty Box, in the other is Birchbox. Both subscriptions had hits and misses this month, but only one impressed me enough to be crowned the winner. Interested to see which box prevailed? Keep on reading!
Allure Beauty Box (formerly Allure Sample Society)
Price: $15/month
Date of Delivery: August 8th
If you’re not familiar with Allure Beauty Box, here’s a quick rundown. It’s a monthly subscription service that offers five (sometimes six) deluxe samples, that have been hand picked by Allure’s top beauty editors. It features both high end and affordable brands, and it comes packaged in a sleek red box. You’ll also get a mini magazine, which details why each product was included, and often times you’ll receive some sort of coupon as well.
Bumble & Bumble Grooming Creme (full size $30) – Allure loves to feature Bumble & Bumble, and so far I’ve liked everything I’ve tried. But, this product hasn’t really impressed me. It claims to be a lightweight styling cream, yet it weighed down hair and made it feel greasy. It’s possible that I used too much, since I love to glob on products, but so far I’m iffy on this.
Benefit They’re Real Push-Up Liner (full size $24) – I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews on this, so I was pretty excited to finally have the chance to try it, without having to shell out over twenty bucks. It has a strange rubber applicator, and this sample required a lot of work to get product out (which is why I have yet to try it on my actual eyes). But, my arm swatch lasted over 3 days, so I understand why they sell a specialty remover. You’ll see in the swatch below that this sort of skips during application, leaving sparse areas, so it doesn’t seem like the easiest liner to work with.
Malin + Goetz Peppermint Shampoo (full size $20) – This clarifying shampoo has a fantastic peppermint candy cane scent, and a luxurious gel like consistency that glides nicely through hair. It left my scalp feeling clean and build up free, but it didn’t overly cleanse and leave it stripped or dry. I would definitely buy a full size!
Eau Thermale Avene Cleanance Gel Cleanser (full size $20) – This foaming cleanser is geared toward oily and acne prone skin types, so I was hesitant to try it on my dry/sensitive skin, but I actually really like it! It doesn’t overly cleanse, and it has a fantastic oceanic scent. I’m not in the market for a new cleanser, but I’ll definitely enjoy this sample while it lasts.
Butter London Arm Candy Collection Nail Polish in The Sweet Spot (full size $15-$30) – I really like Butter London polishes, so I was happy to see this wearable mauve shade. The formula is 7-free, and the consistency is creamy and easy to apply. It’s opaque after just one coat, though I like to do two for good measure, and it’s super natural so it’s great for the work place.
Nuance Salma Hayek AM/PM Anti-Aging Super Cream (full size $19.99) – This thick cream claims to hydrate and plump the skin, without feeling heavy or greasy. It’s packed with skin protecting anti-oxidants, and Allure suggests it for use at night. A few days after I tried this, my cheeks broke out into an itchy rash, and the formula was hard to blend, so this was definitely a miss for me.
Birchbox
Price: $10/month
Date of Delivery: August 7th
Birchbox is also a monthly subscription service that offers five deluxe samples, from a variety of brands and price points. What sets it apart from other monthly boxes, is its fabulous rewards program. Each month, you’re given an opportunity to rate the products in your box (each review is worth 10 points). Reach 100 points, and you’re able to cash in for a $10 discount on any order, and it can be combined with discount codes. You can also earn points by referring friends, and for shopping the Birchbox store ($1 spent = 1 point earned). Just last week I saved $20 using my reward points, and I used a 20% off coupon, which came to a total of $40 in savings!
This month I chose the Candidly Nicole themed box
Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant (full size $78) – This creamy exfoliant has an amazing lemony scent, and a nice thick texture, but it’s really powerful. It left my cheeks red, and a little irritated, so I’m not sure my face can handle it. If my skin wasn’t so sensitive, I would definitely buy a full size for the scent alone, it’s amazing!
LAQA & Co. Cheeky Lip Tint in Humble Brag (full size $20) – I really like the idea of products that are multi-use for the lips and cheeks, but they are usually better in theory than in reality – and this is no exception. It applies nicely, and feels creamy, but the rose pink it not flattering on me at all. It’s quite 80’s, and it looks pretty bad on my cheeks. What a bummer!
OPI Venice Collection Nail Polish (full size $9.50) – I have no idea what this shade is called (because it doesn’t say on the bottle) but it’s a dull flat black, like a cheap halloween nail polish. The formula is thin and streaky, and it’s nothing like the pretty red shade they advertised in the promo. Another bummer.
Rene Furterer LISSEA Leave-in Smoothing Fluid (full size $31) – This styling cream promises to tame frizz, while also protecting hair from heat. It has a silky texture that applies nicely, and it didn’t leave my hair feeling weighed down or greasy. I really like it!
St. Tropez Gradual In-Shower Tan (full size $25) – This product is pretty much the entire reason I wanted this box! I recently got into self-tanners, so I’m really excited to give this a try. I’m currently testing another line, so I haven’t tried this yet, but I will definitely keep you all posted!
The winner…
Allure Beauty Box
Both subscriptions had pretty mediocre months compared to previous boxes, but the samples in the Allure box definitely outshined Birchbox. The beautiful nail polish, awesome shampoo, and gentle cleanser all won me over. Plus, they once again featured six samples instead of five, which makes the $5 extra bucks each month not seem so bad. Birchbox let me down a bit with this months curated box. The cheeky lip tint is a generic pink, and the black nail polish is all wrong. Here’s hoping next month brings better samples!
Are you surprised by my choice? Which box do you like best?
Check out round one here – Battle of the Boxes: Allure Beauty Box v. Birchbox
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Fun review! There were products in both boxes that I’d like & others I’d pass on. I think the BL polish & the clarifying shampoo would steer me to Allure too. I haven’t subscribed to either one yet
Glad you liked it, Allison! 🙂 If you try one, I say go with Allure!
The peppermint shampoo sounds nice!
it’s so nice, I’m a huge peppermint fan!
I think you got great stuff from both boxes!
Both boxes are always pretty good each month!
LAQA & Co. Cheeky Lip Tint in Humble Brag is gorgeous! I would have been happy with that box for that reason alone! Lovely review!
I wish it looked more flattering on me, because the texture of the lippie is so nice!
Both of these boxes had some good things to try. I’m kind of intrigued by that in shower tanner. I kind of want to try that! 😀
Right?! It sounds so oddly amazing, I can’t wait to try it, hopefully it’s good!
I want to read reviews, see if the shizz really works. lol
The Allure box DEFINITELY trumps Birchbox in this case! It’s sad, because Birchbox used to be so great back in the day.
Last month BB really impressed me, so hopefully next month is better!
I agree with everything you said. Looking at the Allure box is more exciting than the Birchbox one and I’d love the Butter London polish. The worst thing you received (in my opinion) is the Benefit liner. I unfortunately bought it and threw it away – $20 down into the trash bin.
I was really happy to try this sample, there’s no way I’d want to spend that much on it. The rubber applicator is just bizzare!
Allure wins it for me! And the OPI is My Gondola or Yours? 🙂
LOL thank you! I couldn’t find the name on the bottle or the site!
Allure for the win! It has better products
Totally agree! 🙂
The Allure box would be my pick too. Such a great selection!
Allure shines every month!
The Allure Box has some great picks… totally a win for me.
I’m 100% team Allure
I really want to try that Gel Cleanser from your Allure box. I also picked the curated Birchbox and I am happy I got the polish color I did, that black one sounds horrid. 🙁
The cleanser is really nice, I think it would work well on your skin type. It has a really pretty scent – and yeah the black polish, ehhhhh lol
The Allure box looks way better than the Birch this month. To bad that OPI shade is so awful.
http://www.lipstickisalife.com/
I know, I was super bummed with the OPI shade!
Allure definitely has my vote.
They usually are the winner!
Thanks so much for doing these box battles! This was my first month getting the Allure Beauty Box and it slayed every Ipsy bag I ever got when I used to have a sub to it. Give the Bumble & bumble another shot – I had the same meh feeling after the first use but the next few times, I used less and really liked it. I also really dug the Avene cleanser! The lip crayon is definitely a color I couldn’t pull off either! Some people look amazing in that shade, but I can never get it to look like anything other than “80’s tween shopping at Spencer’s”, LOL!
YAY, I’m so glad you find these helpful! 🙂 And yes the lippie was so unflattering on me! I will definitely play around with the B&B grooming creme, I think I just used way too much. I adore their other styling products, so I’m sure its another great one!