Skin Deep: Beauty Box Showdown
Hong Kong is a great city for bandwagons. From froyo shops to “experience” gifts, once someone runs with a good idea, you can safely expect a ton of other people to join in the race. Take beauty subscription boxes for instance. This year, three have entered the market: Glossybox, Glamabox and MyLuxBox.
Hong Kong is a great city for bandwagons. From froyo shops to “experience” gifts, once someone runs with a good idea, you can safely expect a ton of other people to join in the race. Take beauty subscription boxes for instance. This year, three have entered the market: Glossybox, Glamabox and MyLuxBox. Each month, these companies send their subscribers a box of product samples from a selection of beauty brands. So which of these services is the best in the market? I selflessly collected three boxes and decided to pit them against each other. Read my verdict, below.
Glossybox
$120 per month. www.glossybox.hk
Inside: A lemon and sage body butter by Bliss (love), a lip and cheek tint by Becca, a honey-scented day cream by Nuxe, an anti-aging serum by Lancome, and a vial of Moroccan hair oil.
Overall: I’m impressed by the brands and the generosity of the samples. 30ml of Bliss body butter is perfect for my gym bag—the Nuxe face cream is 30ml too. The Becca tint is full retail size and worth $330.
What else? Glossybox is part of an international franchise. You can collect “Glossydots” by filing out product feedback surveys online—you get 20 dots for every survey completed. Get to 1,000 dots (50 surveys!!!) to earn a free box.
Good For: A birthday gift for a friend… or yourself.
Product quality: ★★★★★
Product quantity: ★★★★
MyLuxBox
$95 per month; annual subscriptions (with discount) available. www.myluxbox.hk
Inside: The products for the “Lux Lady” include: a good sized (30ml) foundation primer sample from Laura Mercier, a tiny face cleanser from Chantecaille, a tube of hand and nail cream from Caudalie, a sachet of five brightening masks from Perfective Ceuticals, and a makeup remover and youth serum from Givenchy. Overall: MyLuxBox is the stingiest of the three. The Givenchy youth serum comes in at a paltry TWO ml, and seven grams of Chantecaille face wash ain’t going to give you much incentive to buy a full-sized tube at $580. And what use is a single sachet containing five paper masks unless you’re having a mask party with four friends?
What else? There are online video tutorials to show you how to use the products. MyLuxBox says that you’ll soon be able to buy the full-sized products online, with discounts in exchange for filling out surveys.
Good For: Brand junkies who care more about quality than quantity.
Product quality: ★★★★
Product quantity: ★★
Glamabox
$108 per month. www.glamabox.com