Around 2012, Subscription boxes exploded in popularity. Food subs, fashion subs, fitness subs, lifestyle subs, and of course beauty subs! Many subscriptions though, are no new thing. As far back as the 70s there were fruit of the month clubs and meat clubs. Every month you’d get one item, or an assortment of items of what was in season. Not much has changed!
Boxycharm was started in 2013 and I remember the hype surrounding its launch. Full sized products, only 21$ a month, on trend and seasonally appropriate. This was vastly different than the business model of other brands like Birchbox. Birchbox offered mainly sample sizes, or mini sizes like that you’d receive when you place an order at Sephora. This set a new high bar and showed it was possible to add bigger, better items.
I was so excited opening my first box, the July 2013 box shown above, and discovering it had products from collections that I wasn’t able to get my hands on ( like the project runway collection from L’oreal). Drugstores had just started to release limited edition collections and collaborations that would have 3 of each piece and when it was gone, it was gone. Boxycharm gave accessibility that had never before been offered. It wasn’t long before they started to seek out ways to innovate.
Just as subscription boxes were becoming ultra popular, so were influencers or beauty gurus as they were called. One popular guru at the time was Graveyardgirl/Bunny. She had been sent a Boxycharm and described the items as “old” and “explired” and due to her large audience, Boxycharm instantly changed the subscription. Gone were the coveted drugstore brands and in their place were the indie brands we could find in every other subscription.
There were a few years of changes, growth, and evolution. Since their early boxes, which even included NARS, we’ve seen so many new brands added like Farmacy, Laura Geller, PUR cosmetics, Hourglass, and now, the newest addition, Huda Beauty!
The September 2020 Boxycharm is so different from the early aughts in so many ways, but, it truly speaks to the esthetics and trends of this new decade. Versatile products, the inclusion of both skincare and makeup, and the idea that all you need is one box to make or complete a full face look! The best part is the price hasn’t changed all that much either! At only 25$, you receive 5 full sized beauty and skincare items. Each box is worth almost 250$ or more and the products are consistently high quality. Below is a review of my most recent box!
Details:
- Huda Beauty Matte + Metal Shadow
- Farmacy – Cheer Up Brightening Vitamin C Eye Cream
- Blinc Inc – Evening Glamour Palette
- Laura Geller – LashBoss Bold Mascara
- Luna Magic Beauty – Blend it Girl Brushes
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The Cosmeholic 