love it/hate it: birchbox

it seems like there are about a million and one different subscription services these days; everything from cosmetics (BirchBox, GlossyBox, and Ipsy), to clothing (StitchFix), to pet products (BarkBox), and crafting supplies (For The Maker). I love getting mail (that isn't bills) as much as the next girl, but with so many different options available, styles and tastes, it's hard to know just what is worth the price of the subscription (and what isn't). I received a 6 month subscription to BirchBox for my birthday from my bosses, who know I love anything makeup/cosmetic related, and was super psyched to try out the service I had heard so much about. for someone who is a newbie to cosmetics, this may be a great gift for them, but I found myself disappointed with each passing month. with every box there was at least one food related item (tea, mints, a single chocolate) that seemed totally out of place with the cosmetics. the sizes of the samples were hardly ever deluxe sizes, and more often than not featured things that weren't interesting to me. when looking at images of the boxes online, they always feature multiple deluxe sizes and great products from companies that I know and love. unfortunately, my boxes never contained any of these items. even the picture above features a huge sample of Caudalie Cleansing Water, a full size Benefit lipgloss, and four other good sized cosmetic samples! all brands that never made an appearance in any of my six boxes. my bosses were so disappointed that they went ahead and emailed the company to let them know/hopefully hear some feedback from them (long story short- BirchBox couldn't have cared less that a customer was disappointed- which is a major bummer since we work in an industry that is so customer oriented). most of the samples that I received are sitting in my makeup collection, barely touched. and again, as someone who loves cosmetics this was such a disappointment. the idea is brilliant, and the e-commerce tie-in makes it seems like a no brainer (you receive a discount every month to purchase the full size version of the products in your box when purchased through their sight/earn points for every purchase made), but they miss the mark on the execution. would I ever subscribe to BirchBox again? no way. but I have heard good things about GlossyBox, so maybe that one is worth a shot.

have you ever tried any monthly subscription services? which ones have you had good luck with?

xx, marissa