A CANADIAN'S BOXYCHARM REVIEW. What is Boxycharm and what's it like to be subscribed?

I always thought subscription boxes were REALLY NEAT. I think the first one I ever heard of was Topbox or Birchbox, several years ago. There was a time when being Canadian meant you didn't really have a lot of options when you wanted to be a part of something or buy something. Many places didn't ship to you or offer alternative payment options, such as Paypal. But since I've discovered Boxycharm in October of last year, I wanted to share a bit of my experience with it.

Boxycharm is $21 each month USD, which turns out to be roughly $34-36 CAD. They require a credit card on file to bill you, and you have an option of prepaying for 3, 6, or 12 months, or on a month to month basis. Boxycharm bills subscribers around the 1st-5th of each month as long as the credit card on your account is valid, and send you shipping confirmation several days after. The boxes typically contain 4-6 "full-size" beauty products, which range from mascaras, face and eye palettes, eye and face masks, primers, lip products, false lashes, and some other bits and bobs from time to time. Some brands that I have seen in the last 10 months are PUR Cosmetics, Smashbox, Tarte, CoverFX, Luxie, Colourpop, Becca, Pretty Vulgar, Butter London, Kat Von D Beauty, OFRA, MakeUp Geek, and Girlactik. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but they are popular and trendy brands that many subscribers like to see and can receive.

I put full-size in quotations because one thing I really don't always like about Boxycharm is that they have a few brands they routinely partner with or are "sister" brands of, and sometimes they release products in sizes other than the amount you can buy at beauty retailers. This is something that frequently comes up as a con and complaint from subscribers, and it can be the kind of thing that makes a person decide to stop being subscribed.

Another common issue is that not everyone receives the same products. There are usually at least 2, sometimes 3 items that are "core" to each month's themed box, so all subscribers will have it. But the other products can be variants, and sometimes one variant is much more valuable, popular, or is perceived to be of better quality or value. Many people will get a month or two with a "bad variation" and unsubscribe due to the unfairness of it all.

Boxycharm does not implement profiles or preferences at the current time. It may be something they do with an inventory or survey in the future, so that subscribers may only receive items that suit them and their preferences. Ipsy glam bag is another subscription service that has a beauty quiz that takes the subscriber's preferences into account, from skintone and type and hair colour to favourite colours they like to wear to products they want and don't want to receive. It is a more custom experience. Boxycharm sometimes says they would like to implement this type of personalized experience with their box, but since they don't, it is another deal-breaker for many.

I am Canadian, so my experience has typically been that my boxes are billed on the 1st of the month, the shipping link/confirmation is sent to me by maybe the 10th-15th, and I'll have my box at my address by the 25th-28th of the month. Most US subscribers I see posting are receiving their boxes quite quickly, usually between the 8th-12th of the month. Occasionally, I will get a box very early. For example, October 2018 (this month), I received my box on the 10th. But it isn't consistent, and sometimes this bothers people.

One thing I will note about subscriber complaints that are really a pet peeve of mine - Boxycharm has in plain view on their website:

Boxes normally ship out within 5-10 business days from the date your payment was received for US customers and tracking information is sent via email within 48-72 business hours from the ship date. Prepaid boxes are shipped out within 5-10 business days from the 1st of each month. You will receive your BOXYCHARM approximately 5-10 business days from the time it ships.

Boxes normally ship out within 5-10 business days from the date your payment was received for Canadian customers and tracking information is sent via email within 48-72 business hours from the ship date. You will receive your BOXYCHARM approximately 10-20 business days from the time it ships.

I find it extremely unfair for subscribers to complain about not getting their box when it's only been a day or two since billing or shipping confirmation. You see it very often on their Instagram and on the BeautyBoxes subreddit. 

I haven't seen it happen very often in the past year, but sometimes Boxycharm will have a waiting list. I technically "joined" as a subscriber in October 2017, but I was waitlisted until December 5th 2017. I was not billed and I did not receive a box, I guess I was just waiting for there to be enough "spots" or boxes available. 

Boxycharm has very recently started a "luxury" experience, a quarterly box that is larger and has more products. Their first box was in September, and honestly, it was a disaster. The website crashed, it sold out, people didn't get invited to try and be on a list to receive it.. it was kind of crazy. I am currently on the list to have it for December of this year, so we'll see how it goes this time around. From what I have gathered, it will have most of the core items of the regular box, but will have other exclusive products in addition. 

I have not saved photos of every single box I have received between December 2017 and October 2018, but here are a few. They are not in order, but see captions to acknowledge which month the items were sent. 

August 2018

December 2017

February 2018

July 2018

April 2018

May 2018
NOTE: The palette is not from Boxycharm. I received two packages in the mail together and took photos of them.

October 2018

September 2018

What do I think of Boxycharm? 

I don't really feel like I need it, as someone who owns a lot of beauty products and can afford to buy what I want at pretty much any time. I have only given away one item that I just knew I wouldn't like. I do like the mystery, the little gift/treat that I look forward to each month. I like the variety and the chance to try new brands or colours I might not choose on my own. I am becoming exhausted by eyeshadow palettes, so I think after Decemeber's BoxyLuxe, I will unsubscribe. I have destashed palettes from Janauary 2018 (Crown Cosmetics' Heavy Metal) and March 2018 (PUR and Boxycharm collaboration). You can get overwhelmed pretty quickly, a peek on any beauty subscription community will give you an idea on how annoyed people can be about certain brands or categories of product. But I think it's a lovely choice for a gift or someone who is building a collection! 

FabFitFun Fall 2018 + Add-Ons ☕🍂

Fall 2018 is only my SECOND FabFitFun box I've received, but this is the first season or time that I took advantage of the discounts offered for additional items. 

I guess what typically happens is that "Add-Ons" will go live first for Annual subscribers about a week and a half before the BILL DATE of the box. There are beauty, fitness, fashion, lifestyle, and home items available at HUGE discounts. I'm talking... GlamGlow Supermud that is regularly $75CAD was available for $19USD/~$24CAD. You add whatever you want to your cart, and there is no "checkout" function. There is a day and time that the add-ons are over, and whatever is in your cart will be billed with your box and sent.

 Now, it is a bit of a shitshow. The hot ticket items, like the Mud, sell out very quickly. But the secret to getting the add-ons you want as a Seasonal subscriber is to be quick and have a lot of free time on the last or second last day of the add-ons. I sat and refreshed on the last day for maybe.. 20 minutes. I wasn't staring at the page, I was multi-tasking and having a morning coffee and checking emails and occasionally refreshing to see if anything I wanted was popping up on the page. If you check forums and communities like Reddit's "/r/BeautyBoxes" then you'll know what items are always sold out and you can look out for them (if they're things you want, of course). I managed to snag some of the GlamGlow brand items that were popular that I would NEVER try for full price. I had a hard time deciding what things I wanted otherwise, because there was some nice makeup, skincare, and a purse that tempted me.  

Here's what I decided to add on: 
➣Cover FX Shimmer Veil - Celestial
➣GLAMGLOW #GLITTERMASK
➣GLAMGLOW Supermud
➣GLAMGLOW Waterburst
➣NuMe Fashionista Straightner (turquoise)
➣Sol de Janeiro Açaí Body Power Cream
➣Summer & Rose Throw Blanket - Light Grey

Here's what came in my regular box: 
➣ALFRED Teapot
➣Catherine Maladrino Floral Umbrella
➣GROWN ALCHEMIST POLISHING FACIAL EXFOLIANT: Pink Grapefruit & Glucomannan Extract
➣Farmacy Dew It All Total Eye Cream with Echinacea GreenEnvy
➣beautyblender (nude)
➣GLAMGLOW BUBBLESHEET™ OXYGENATING DEEP CLEANSE MASK (2 Pack)
➣Simply Whimsical Set of 2 Tea Towels
➣SKIN&CO Roma Blue in Capri Shower Gel
➣Vince Camuto Luck Tote (Red Desert)

I did pay an extra $10 to also get the ➣6-Piece Crown brush set, because the option was between brushes and the tote and I really liked both.

I am a skincare hoarder, so I haven't opened all of the items and tried them yet. I am already using a different moisturizer, sponge, body wash, and eye cream.

I did open the GLITTERMASK to try it, and it's so fun and makes my skin feel amazing. I love the smell of the mask. It's vaguely sweet, like licorice root or marshmallow. It doesn't even make that much of a mess, because it peels off in one piece. The Body Power Cream is to DIE FOR. It has microglitter and smells great and really softens the skin. I already have a couple of the CoverFX Shimmer Veils, so I just wanted another colour because they're nice on the eyelid and as a lip topper. I needed a new flat iron desperately, and this one already blows my GHD out of the water. I spent SO MUCH MONEY on my last flat iron, and it didn't hold up or wow me. I have used the teapot every day since I received my box, it's adorable and functional. The blanket is kind of delicate, it's easy to poke little holes through the knit and it sheds a few fuzzies, but it's warm and matches my bedroom well (everything is black and grey). I didn't have an umbrella before, so I put this in my bag since I do a lot of walking at uni. The tea towels are functional and I like that they're a neutral colour and don't have any weird sayings on them (I really hate cutesy stuff that has quotes like, Keep Calm and ______, etc.). I don't have a comment for most of the other stuff, but I'm excited to try everything out. 

Now, even though this box impressed me and I liked my Summer box just as much, I'm not going to stay "subscribed" in the future. I think for someone who really never treats themselves or doesn't have a lot of makeup or skincare or body care, this is a great box to indulge in. But for myself, there's no way I NEEDED the box items or to make extra purchases, and for the add-ons especially.. it's far too tempting and easy to just say to yourself that something is 80% off, so you might as well. I think it's really nice to have a nice teapot and blanket and flat iron, but I would have picked these types of items up eventually from a Marshalls/Winners myself. But having this box subscription, it's a lot of checking your dates.. managing your finances to allow for shopping because it bills all at once.. then getting stuff I don't need or have to have.

FabFitFun has "starter boxes" available for $5 and you can find people online giving those codes out all the time. As I mentioned previously, Reddit's BeautyBoxes community lives for stuff like this and they are always sharing ways to save money or updating on what's going on, sharing spoilers for new seasons, etc. When and if you do decide to subscribe, there are $10 off codes floating around. It's a lovely treat or makes a great gift!