I missed out on the first GlossyBox*, and so was very much looking forward to the second one.  Now I'm not naive - I wasn't expecting them have a repeat of a full sized Nars product like the first box, but I was expecting good things.  I couldn't check if I had received the box this morning, so I relied on twitter reports to let me know what the contents of this month's box are.



There was a lot of disgruntled GlossyBox subscribers on twitter as they found the contents disappointing.  Personally I was thrilled to know there was a 5ml Bioeffect sample in there, as I was going to order either a full sized bottle (£125 for 15ml) or a sample bottle from latestinbeauty.com (£8 for 3.5ml).  There is no doubt the Bioeffect sample is the star sample in this month's box.  I tried it when they first launched in the UK and sent out free samples.  But GlossyBox failed to see that a lot of their subscribers are quite young and simply not interested in anti-ageing skincare - they wanted another makeup item from a well known brand.

If GlossyBox continues to provide skincare samples before they implement the personalised boxes, they need to send out something universal that everyone can use and something that has some presence on beauty blogs or YouTube videos - for example, something like Bioderma Crealine (if they ever come into the UK market).


Anyway, onto what I received.  There was a big hoo-ha because not everyone received the same items.  A lot of people seemed to have received the Mama Mio Omega Body Buff (Mama Mio is known more as a skincare brand for pregnant women) and were not pleased.  Luckily I received the Rouge Bunny Rouge lipgloss instead.  I'm not that fussed about the dry shampoo (cheap), perfume (it's alright but I wouldn't wear it) or the tiny glittery nail polish (meh). 


Overall I'm quite happy with my GlossyBox (after typing it so many times it sounds like an euphemism for something naughty, especially together with the name/colour of the lipgloss).  I think it was a very bad PR move to announce the price increase today, with all the backlash comments on twitter already.

I will continue with GlossyBox for July and August to see what else they can offer, but they definitely need to up their game with more luxe and/or niche brands (eg for the fragrance sample, I'd be impressed if they had something along the lines of Le Labo or Maison Francis Kurkdjian).

I'm interested to see the competition from Boudoir Privé.

p.s.  I have my eye on the French version, Joliebox.  Their first box looks quite good, but not OTT/unsustainable like GlossyBox with the full sized Nars Illuminator.  I'll be keeping an eye to see how they go.  Unfortunately they only cater for France.

*For those not in the UK and not familiar with GlossyBox: Similar to American Birchbox, for £10 you'll receive a box of 5 deluxe beauty samples, the aim being to try something you would not have otherwise known about or tried.  The contents are unknown until you receive the box each month.