Good morning friends!

Let’s start this week off with a head to head contest to really get our blood flowing on this Monday morning.

Today we’re pitting the $10 Beauty subscription services against each other, Birchbox Vs. Ipsy, in a all out brawl and fight to the death.

Whoa. Sorry about that last bit, I was really getting into my metaphor. Too much caffeine. (I had to wake up at 5:30 this morning for the first time in months, and it hurt. It hurt.)

So without any further mentions of violence, I give you the August Beauty Box Face-Off!

Oh, and there are so many pictures in this post. You’ve been warned.

Birchbox, $10

First up we have Birchbox, the original $10 beauty subscription. A little bit of history on Birchbox and Rebs though, in full disclosure:

I subscribed to Birchbox from November 2011 to May 2013. I canceled at that time because I was tired of 3 things:

1. Getting too many perfume samples*
2. Getting too many samples that did not match my hair and skin profile
3. General decline in samples (ex: “Lotion? Again?”)

**See Below (In all fairness, they now let you select to get no more than 6 samples a year. So I appreciate that Birchbox addressed this issue.)

However, lately some of my good friends and fellow bloggers have convinced me to give Birchbox a try again. And really, when I have I ever said no to forking over $10 for beauty supplies?

So here I am with my first Birchbox in over a year! Let’s see how it went down.

Shipping

Birchbox mailed on the 10th, I got it on the 13th. Nice! +1pt

Packaging

I loved the little touch of adding a descriptor to my name. Of course, I love the actual Birchbox, because I love hoarding things in small containers, OK. And the rest of the packaging was pretty cute. I liked the theme of “Lighten Up”. +1pt 

Products

Neil George Shampoo and Conditioner

Full Size, $9 each. So this set is shampoo and conditioner. That’s about it. I have fine hair that gets oily easily, and this did nothing for it. It may have made it a bit softer? Maybe? The smell was nice, but I felt it was about on par with the samples you get in a nice hotel. +0pts

Nugg Beauty Revitalizing Mask

Key West Lotion: Full size, $12. This smells nice and it seems like its really moisturizing, but it’s essentially just lotion. My skin type is medically classified as “Ridiculously oily”, so this isn’t really a need for me. +0.5pts, (Yes, my rating system has decimals )for smelling nice and fruity.

Nugg Beauty Mask: Pack of 5, $14.99. I took a nice bath and tried this mask. It smelled like peppermint and tingled, but I didn’t see any immediate results.(Maybe because there was only 1 sample?) +0.5pts, for making my bath time smell nice.

Laura Geller, Cream Eyeshadow: Full size, $19. I was most excited about this product because I like Laura Geller, and the color is very pretty. (I love shimmery neutrals.)

However, I’m not the biggest fan of cream eyeshadow. (It makes me really nervous that it’s going to set before I’m ready and I start smearing it on everything and then it’s just a mess.)  While this is not a bad product, I also think the Maybelline Color Tattoos are pretty comparable, but about half the price. +1pt, not a bad product, just not for me.

Point System

Birchbox is always going to get a bonus point here, because their reward program is the bee’s knees. I really did miss this part of their subscription when I quit. I already have 150 points, which is basically 15.00 in their store. Delightful! +1pt

So Birchbox’s total rating on my arbitrary scale: 5pts

Unfortunately, I was kinda disappointed about this box. It was my first one back with Birchbox and I guess I just had my hopes up that it would be amaaazzzing and I would be crying, “Birchbox, why did I ever leave you?” But that didn’t really happen.

I won’t give up yet, but I’m hoping September’s box is better. This could be our awkward makeup stage after all. Maybe Birchbox and I just need to work through this.

Let’s see how Ipsy does!

Shipping

Ipsy emailed me on the 11th, and the bag arrived on the 15th. The tracker showed it was actually shipped on August 8th. They use DHL which means my bag sat in a post office for about 5 days. Just chillin. +0pts, Birchbox wins this one!

Packaging

I do love the pink bag Ipsy comes in. I can’t help that I’m a magpie to shiny things, specifically pink shiny things. I also like the bag this month, although mine showed up a big squished. I’m thinking I’m going to use it to hoard more random things in. One can never have too many bags of lipstick. +1pt for this month’s bag.

Products

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara, Full Size, $22
I know a lot of people are underwhelmed by this mascara, but I actually kind of like it. I think it applies very easily and does make my lashes look darker and thicker. Would I pay $22 bucks for it? Hell, no. But I enjoy this sample! +1pt for enjoyment

J.Cat Flying Solo Eyeshadow in Half Naked, Full Size, $2.99
I was fully prepared to hate this eye shadow. I had never heard of the brand and I expected it to be some chalky crap. It’s actually not bad, especially for $2.99. (Ipsy, why do you not list full size prices like Birchbox! -.5pts for making me look this up.)

And check out that MacGuyver action! I don’t actually use applicators like that, but I still think the mirror underneath the color is pretty genius. +1pt for gimmicky eye shadow holders!

Dr. Brandt, Pores No More Pore Refiner, Full Size, $45.
Okay, I realllllly liked this primer. I was about to give up my Benefit Porefessional for this. It is silky smooth, made my pores look tiny, and no breakouts so far. (My skin HATES primers.) But I can not justify $45 primer. Even with all the Ipsy codes offered. +1 for letting me experience this primer, although I am sad it does not fit in my grad school budget.

Jersey Shore Sun, Mongongo Lip Conditioner, Full Size, $5.50.
I appreciate that this is organic, but that’s about all I appreciate. It has a weird medicinal smell and taste. (I wasn’t eating it, things just happened, OK!) And my lips did not feel moisturized for some reason, but just sad. +0pts

Klorane, Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk, Full Size, $19.50
This dry shampoo is “extra gentle” and apparently I need one that is “extra strict, authoritative, and controlling” because it didn’t do much for my hair. I was able to pull it back into a less greasy ponytail, but that was it. Maybe if you have less evil hair, it will work for you. +1, it doesn’t seem like a bad product, it just isn’t enough for my hair.

Point System
I’ve been using Ipsy since April and I have about 400pts. You can’t buy anything until you have 1000pts. I’m never going to make it. They do offer codes and discounts on the products in that month’s bag, but some of them aren’t that great. +.5 for the random discount codes.

Final Scores
Birchbox: 5pts
Ipsy: 5.5 pts
Ipsy won by a hair, because I enjoyed their products more this month. Birchbox was close because their shipping and points system are better. Also I completely made up my scoring system and I felt like Ipsy was better this month. So you know, math. 

Questions of the Day:
-Who do you think was the real winner? Birchbox or Ipsy?
-Have you ever seen the movie Face/off?
-Do you subscribe to either of these bag/boxes? How was your month?

Love,

Rebs!

PS: I linked up with Agape Love Designs for her Makeup Monday Link up. I’m totally new to linky parties, so I am pretty excited about this!