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The Beauty Bite: Glossybox

Friday 24 June 2011

Glossybox

I'm not usually one to get involved with heated debates, especially on the internet, yet after the reactions on Twitter today regarding June's Glossybox, it seems a good time to express thoughts on the beauty programme that seems to have quite firmly split the blogging world in two.


I won't lie. When I opened my box this morning I was a bit disappointed. I fully understood when I signed up that the whole point of the company was to offer luxury miniature samples, and that's what I got (well, apart from the 50ml Batiste can...) - a sample bottle of serum, a sample bottle of perfume, a 3ml OPI polish and a travel sized shower gel. Fair enough, it's not as dazzling as the NARS orgasm but hands up, we all knew deep down that was merely an amazing tactic to build up the launch, and I, being the beauty junkie I am, completely bought into it.

It wasn't until later on today when I logged online that I started to get miffed. £20 Rouge Bunny Rouge glosses? £14 body scrub? £20 foot lotion? Suddenly my £7 shower gel was looking a bit, well, crap. Yes, I guess it's the whole "his toy is bigger than my toy" complex, but when everyone is paying the same amount of money it feels a bit unbalanced that a selected number of customers are being rewarded with not only more expensive products, but full sized ones at that. I guess it's a bit like going to a restaurant with a friend, both paying £5 for a sandwich, only for the waiter to bring one of you a baguette and the other a slice of toast. Besides, if the content is based on your personal survey answers then why did so many people who'd stressed their interest for make up receive a product developed for pregnancy?

In general I think Glossybox is a great idea. Whilst I'm fortunate to live in a city where many beauty brands are stocked, most people aren't a tube ride away from central London and can only do their research online. Being able to test, smell and feel items that would otherwise be unavailable to the masses is a great thing, especially in the unreliable world of cosmetics where almost every product promises to change your life. For me though, I just don't feel comfortable spending £10 (soon to be £12.95) a month on what is essentially a lucky dip of items that I might not even want. For instance, the products I got today: British Beauty Blogger arranged for readers to receive the Bio Effect sample for free last year, the nail polish is a colour I'd never wear, I don't use shower gel and the scent of the perfume just isn't for me. Effectively because of my tastes I've ended up paying £10 for a £1.25 can of Batiste.

I fully understand why some people feel disappointed, yet at the same time I fully understand why others think both this system and its products are great; the items contained are all fantastic quality and sourced from brands that generally aren't widely available (except for you know what)! I also love Glossybox's packaging and in theory the scheme itself, after all, it's a young company and is clearly finding it's feet. But for me, I'd rather invest my £12.95 on items I really want, picking up samples along the way from the likes of SPACE NK, Debenhams and Boots. I guess it just wasn't for me - after all, I'm not really one for surprises - which means I probably should never have signed up anyway. Damn my vulnerability to clever marketing!

How do you feel about your Glossybox? Are you pleased with the items you received or do you feel let down by the selection you were sent?

16 Comments:

At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger My Autistic Adventure said...

No way! The contents have varied and people have RBR lipglosses whilst otehrs have had little shower gels? Even more pleased I didn't sign up now, that's appalling quite frankly!

 
At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger Katie Crunch said...

Exactely how i feel hun, I have just done my post on the whole event! not happy!! and just cancelled my subscription! xxx
pinksugarlump.blogspot.com

 
At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger Ms. Wedgie said...

I agree with Charlie!! I was considering signing up after I saw what people got for the first few months! This has totally put me off now though!

 
At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger Lyuba-chan said...

I'm REALLY disappointed. I got exactly the same box as you did, and I feel exactly the same about polish and perfume. I like the shower gel, but I would have much rather gotten some actual face makeup.

 
At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger Kathryn at Cherries in the Snow said...

I agree completely, it's not worth the money, most good cosmetics companies will provide a sample sample at a counter if you ask nicely so I'd rather do that than pay £10!

 
At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger Daisy said...

I didn't sign up in time for this month's box - I'm awaiting mine for next month! Hopefully things will pick up, it is only the second month of running after all. It's such a shame that so many people have felt the need to cancel their subscriptions today, and I guess that Glossybox have had a lot to live up to in comparison to BirchBox! xxx

 
At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger Hebridean Sprite said...

It's a good idea but if the items aren't things you'll use then you end up with a sad bank account and a bunch of sample packets that you'll never use. It's a shame it didn't work out for you.

 
At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger Unknown said...

I really feel that they need to keep things consistent to be fair. If there are going to be full sized items included one month than everyone should receive one. I just signed up for a similar program in Canada and have yet to receive my first box. I'm frankly a little nervous of being disappointed. Considering how picky I am it may have been a poor decision.

 
At Friday, June 24, 2011 , Blogger Jen said...

This is very disappointing! I am also glad I didn't sign up! x

 
At Saturday, June 25, 2011 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I got the same selection as you and I was pretty disappointed. But any company can have one bad month. I'm planning on giving it 2 more months to see if I'm happy and I'll cancel at the end of the summer if I'm still not happy.

 
At Saturday, June 25, 2011 , Blogger Jen W said...

I agree, I would also be quite disappointed with that. I'm a bit of a control freak though and would have full control over where my money goes.

 
At Sunday, June 26, 2011 , Anonymous Polly said...

Wow, I was quite happy with mine until I read this.. I received the same items as you but didn't realise that some people received £20 lipglosses, especially as I definitely stressed my interest in make up! I'm really surprised that they didn't keep it consistent..

 
At Monday, June 27, 2011 , Blogger Stephanie Gauthier-Bujold said...

I wouldn't mind the products, but their PR failed me totally.

They ignored everyone and deleted comments on their FB page (even banning some, like me)saying "one person" was banned (not true, I heard of others who were as well) and that we were abusive (I was not, I am not a violent person), all of this leaves me with no trust in the company.

 
At Tuesday, June 28, 2011 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think £12.95 is extremely expensive for what this service is. It's quite risky when you aren't sure what you are getting. I love what you have written here, it's very balanced!

 
At Friday, July 01, 2011 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Take a look what germans received in their June box. So jealous :P

http://www.glossybox.de/glossybox-juni-2011

 
At Tuesday, August 02, 2011 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi! I love your blog, it looks absolutely amazing and as someone new to blogging I'm in awe of it!

Never Too Broke To Be Beautiful focuses on budget brands. Do you get any choice in what they send you or is it just a random selection?

 

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