I’ve always (secretly) envied those girls that have one neatly stashed makeup bag of “must have” products and make it work. Ladies, I applaud you. I’m just not one of them. Every inch of my kinda-large-for New York City-but small-for-everywhere-else apartment is filled with boxes upon boxes of beauty products. I’ve been a product junkie since the days of black liner all around the eye and frosted lip gloss. The last four months I spent interning at a fashion magazine, which consisted of the most fabulously stocked office beauty closet and an endless array of “before they hit the shelves” products to try out. Needless to say, my collection continues to grow despite all attempts. Although I’ve definitely cut down on the makeup shopping sprees (talking to you, Sephora app) much to the joy of my boyfriend, I love a good subscription beauty box.

I’m a fan of anything that arrives in pretty colored, tissue-filled packaging at the same time every month. I’ve tried everything from healthy snacks boxes to red wine and of course, beauty boxes. I mean hello, It’s basically Christmas every time I find one waiting outside my door. It’s also a great way to get to try out different product that I can’t get myself to buy (or justify that I neeeeeed).

The biggest deal breaker for me about these boxes is whether or not they’re worth the money or if I’m better off saving to shop for individual products themselves. Do I end up giving away half of every box to friends and family or never using what I keep? If so, then it’s time to part ways.

Without further ado, here are a few of the beauty subscription services I’ve tried and tested and whether they’re worth your hard earned dollars.

Birchbox: for the girl that likes to experiment

(& is into a little randomness)

Price: $10 (option to upgrade boxes for a fee to include full size samples)
Month-to-month or yearly option, can cancel anytime
4-5 samples (+ a full size sample once in awhile)

AKA the OG beauty box. This is the first subscription service I knew about and has been around since 2010. To me, Birchbox made the whole “selling sample beauty products in a box” into what it is today. When I first subscribed years ago, the concept was online-only. You got the products (super cute packaging, 4-5 samples with 1 or 2 bonus “lifestyle” items) and if you liked something, you went to the Birchbox site to purchase the full size. They’ve since opened a store in NYC’s Soho (which I haven’t been to.) Clearly they are doing well for themselves.

Birchbox today is customizable, which means that every box you get can be tailored to your specifications. However, I found that despite the attempt to be more personalized, the boxes didn’t really target my needs or wants. You can reviews products on the site for points, which add up as credit to buy on the site. The model is ever changing and definitely smart, but I never actually found myself doing it. It was just an extra step I couldn’t be bothered to learn more about and do.

I was subscribed to Birchbox for a little over six months and generally found the products pretty random. Some months were bath and body-heavy, while fewer were makeup oriented. A few too many of the boxes contained what I like to call “fillers” (think laundry detergent, hand soap, tea bag, pen, a razor), which I didn’t want. While I did use most of the high-end brands (Nars, Stila, Redken), I often found myself tossing aside a lot of the other products from brands that I just was not that into or had never heard of. Don’t get me wrong, I liiiive to be the one to discover and love a product no one’s heard of, but that just didn’t happen. For a company that advertises itself as a box filled with top brands, I would say my boxes included (but by no means were filled with) “top” brands. I also found that the sample sizes varied and were often just sachets. If you like more of the wellness, health and body products as opposed to the cosmetic, I would recommend Birchbox. If you’re not obsessed with the idea of using up and liking everything you get every month but like trying out different, randomish products, you’ll love this. But for me, the boxes were a little too hit or miss. I’d rather save my $10/month and spend it towards a product I really love than 1 product out of 5 that I’ll actually make part of my routine.

My biggest qualm with Birchbox was that I didn’t like the process of having to go to the site to order the products full sized. If I liked something, I’d much rather get it from my local store, having tested out my perfect shade, etc. than order it online. The full sized product (which consisted mostly of lesser known brands) were also often too steep in price for me to commit. I’m also just not that into the whole “points for reviews” thing. I can’t comment on what the in-store shopping experience is like, but if anyone has, I’d be intrigued to know more.

Play! by Sephora: for the makeup-junkie

Price: $10 (plus tax, if applicable)
Month-to-month or yearly option, can cancel anytime
5 sample sizes + fragrance sample
Free in-store tutorial & 50 insider points with every product purchased at the same time

Now apparently this one is a hard(er) box to get your hands on and has a waitlist to get on. I initially got an email from Sephora about this back when it first launched in May and was in. Much like its earlier peers, the Play! box consists of six travel-sized products. Since signing up, I’ve received three boxes filled with a variety of brands I recognized (special shout out to the Bite Beauty lipstick in Kimchi and the Korres Wild Rose Sleeping Facial) and a few I didn’t (the Briogeo Deep Conditioning mask), which is always a nice treat. The thing I love about this box is it’s great to dabble in brands I might not necessarily gravitate to at Sephora. The sizes are also all true sample sizes, just like the ones you find in the dangerous “pre-cash register” line of doom. Bonus points for how easily accessible all the brands are, since all are sold in store. This box also comes with a how-to booklet, link to videos and also the option to go in-store for a “how to use the products” session, making it great for someone who’s a beauty beginner. Being Sephora-based also means that if I buy a full size and don’t like it, I know I can return or exchange. It also gives you the freedom of going in store to try out different colors of a product. I also have this weird notion that in a way, they’ve already gone through the quality filter test. Now by no means do I think everything sold at Sephora is great, but something about the fact that it has the Sephora approval gives me that assurance that I won’t get too many knick knacks that’ll collect dust in my beauty cabinet.

One thing about this box that I don’t love is that it’s not exactly customizable. There is no quiz to fill out your preferences and establish your skin color (I’m just waiting to be sent something three shades too light for me), skin type, or anything of that sort. With that being said, I have yet to receive something that isn’t a “good for everyone” type of product, so I guess it isn’t a deal breaker. For the more seasoned beauty obsessed girl that does like to shop based on her hair/face/skin type, this might not be the best option. On a minor note, I’m also not a huge fan of receiving fragrance samples in my boxes, just because I think scent is such a personal and specific thing. Also not a huge deal though, as my mom doesn’t seem too unhappy about the product hand-me-downs. As far as the whole waitlist situation goes, if you’re a huge Sephora fan, it’s worth it. If not, there are definitely similar boxes out there without the line around the block.

IPSY: for the girl who loves to be FIRST

Price: $10
Month-to-month or yearly option, can cancel anytime
4 samples

Every positive aspect of my Ipsy experience comes with a very big “but.” Like all of the aforementioned boxes, an Ipsy subscription costs less than an NYC weekday lunch. Yet, every time I receive mine in the mail I’m left feeling like I wasted my money. I’m obsessed with packaging and in theory, their concept has the potential to be cool. Each month your subscription arrives in a new makeup bag. Once again in theory, this could be really awesome. Who doesn’t like presents? Oddly enough, though, they manage to produce the most unusable and hideous-looking nylon bags imaginable. Last month, it was graffiti themed and the opposite of cute. Upon signing up, you take a length and in-depth personalization survey, that in my opinion, they don’t actually use. (Seeing as I continuously get nail polish even when I’ve specifically requested they stop sending it). The samples themselves are usually from brands I’ve never heard of, nor really have the desire to find out more about. What I will say that is when it comes to skin products, I really do enjoy this because I’m not as well-versed in that department as I am with cosmetics. However, as mentioned before, sometimes you just want to have Sephora’s seal of approval.

Verdict: Try the boxes out month-by-month, maybe all at the same time. With the option to cancel anytime, see how many items from each box you’re actually using. Give it a couple of months and like everything else, don’t quit after the first month. You never know, you might end up using the random razor a million more times than that high-end bottle of under eye goop.