Price
I think price is a good place to start, especially when you are considering joining up to a monthly fee. However, the price of GlossyBox and Birchbox is the same, both boxes are £10 a month plus £2.95 p&p, with discounts for signing up for more months at once.
Delivery
Ok, so you pay £2.95 for postage and packaging for both, but how do they stack up against each other? GlossyBox is delivered by Hermes and I tend to find it on my doorstep, which is useful that I don't need to pick it up from a depot somewhere, because I am usually out at work during delivery times, it is not so useful when it is raining and it gets soaked through! The times between GlossyBox taking the payment and dispatching the box can sometimes feel quite lengthy too. Birchbox is delivered by Royal Mail, which saves the box from the rain but it does mean I will always be making a trip to the delivery depot to pick it up. The length of time between payment and dispatch seems reasonable too.
Packaging
Paying for a beauty box to be delivered each month is a real treat, and so you want it to feel indulgent and worthwhile when you get to unwrapping it. GlossyBox comes in a protective cardboard box for mailing purposes which rips open easily with a perforated tab. Once you open up the outer box there is a shiny box inside that contains the products, it is usually pink with the GlossyBox logo on it but is sometimes with different prints on it to reflect a theme if there is one that month. Inside the glossy box there is tissue paper wrapped around the products, which is sealed with a logo sticker and tied up with ribbon also with the GlossyBox logo on it. Inside the tissue paper you have your products placed on top of shredded, crinkled paper. All in all it provides a nice experience that feels like a real treat. Birchbox also comes in protective cardboard box which rips open easily with a perforated tab. Inside, there is a brown cardboard box with Birchbox printed on it, the box sounds a little boring but I like the basic, pared back, eco feeling of it. Opening the box up there is a fabric drawstring bag that contains the products it, I think the bag is a really nice touch as it can used again.
Brands
It is important when choosing a beauty box that they have brands that you like here is a small selection of the brands for each of the boxes...
GlossyBox; Anatomicals, balance me, caudalie, essie, l'occitane, nip+fab, rimmel, Toni & Guy
Birchbox; benefit, dr brandt, korres, Molton Brown, O.P.I, Rodial, teapigs, urbanveda
Products
I have usually been impressed by the quality of the products I each of the boxes, but there have been the odd product in each that either would not be useful to me or has been below expectations. Each box asks you to fill out a beauty profile so they can tailor your box to your profile, every now and then it feels that isn't the case. In the main though I enjoy the surprise of what is in the boxes and trying out products that I may not know about or wouldn't necessarily have chosen myself.
Points
Both boxes offer points for filling out surveys on the products. GlossyBox gives you 50 points per survey and when you earn 1000 points you get a free box, this works out that every fifth box is free. Birchbox offers 5 points per survey and 1 point for every £1 spent (so you get 12 points a months from buying your box) every 100 points gives you £10 to spend in their online shop where you can buy full size products of the samples in the box.
I have found each box to be great value for money, and a lot of fun to receive. I have a GlossyBox review and a Birchbox review on my blog that goes into the products from February's boxes in more detail. Have fun choosing!
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