 When I tell my friends about beauty box subscriptions I usually get one of two reactions. The first reaction is their faces light up. There is an automatic sense of joy that only beauty products being delivered directly to your door can bring a girl. The second reaction involves a whole lot of confusion. If you find yourself completely bewildered already, allow me to alleviate your worries and introduce you to one of my favorite new beauty trends: the beauty box subscription!
First, there are a couple of things to take note of. Beauty box subscriptions are like the Jelly-of-the-Month Club for the beauty-obsessed. Each month, a box (or bag) is delivered to your door with a handful of beauty samples or travel-sized products that you pay around $10-$30 a month for. The goal is to expose people to as many different products as possible with a budget-friendly point of view. Some of these products are brand new to the market; others are tried and true classics. There are a gazillion subscription services out there so it is important to do your research. The products offered can be different in quality and size so it’s smart to have an idea of what sort of items you are interested in before you sign up for a subscription service. But, unlike a magazine subscription, you can cancel most of these services at any time. If you don’t, your credit card will just be automatically charged for that month. With that, let’s look at few!
Ipsy
Ipsy’s Glam Bags are organized each month by some of the most prominent YouTube beauty bloggers who are referred to as “stylists,” like co-founder Michelle Phan. Each bag has a theme and the website serves as a community for beauty bloggers to post tutorials on how to use the products delivered. If you are looking for a more interactive bag this is the one for you, priced at $10 per month.
Heather Jacques, a second year vocal performance masters student at UA, has been an Ipsy subscriber for a couple of months. “For me, Ipsy was more geared towards products I wanted to get,” Jacques said. Jacques used to subscribe to another service, but cancelled a few months after subscribing to Ipsy. Check it out at www.ipsy.com.
 Julep Maven
Julep is a line of high-quality nail polishes. Their nail colors run at a regular retail price of $14. The Maven program sends subscribers specialized Maven boxes according to their response on Julep’s Style Quiz online. They usually include a couple of nail colors and/or a nail treatment product. Maven Boxes are $19.99 per month.
All Julep Mavens get 20% off anything on the Julep website and are often privy to Maven-only sales. I would recommend trying one of their polishes before you subscribe to the Maven service though; some people love the formula and others don’t. Check it out at www.julep.com
 Glossybox
Glossybox is a luxury brand beauty and hair product box. Because of this, it’s a little more expensive than something like Ipsy. It’s $21 per month for 5 travel-sized (not sample!) products. The packaging alone is so adorable that receiving Glossybox in the mail is like opening up a present every single month. Also, Glossybox offers some really cool foreign products from countries like Korea and Australia that can be really tough (or impossible) to purchase in the States. Check it out at www.glossybox.com
 Birchbox
No beauty box story would be complete without Birchbox, frequently referred to as the original beauty box subscription service. Birchbox is $10 per month for women and $20 for men. It’s marketed as a personalized service, although most products tend to be the same among subscribers. Birchbox also offers a lot of hair products like shampoos and conditioners, but they come in smaller disposable packets. The Birchbox store at birchbox.com features brands like Benefit, Boscia, Elizabeth Arden, Lipstick Queen, Oribe and many more. Check it out at Birchbox.com.