Opening the door to find your new subscription box brings excitement and anticipation of what you’ll discover inside. Today, there’s a subscription box for every interest from beauty to fitness to home goods and more. So, how do you find the right box and how do you know if the brand will deliver on its promises?
In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the FabFitFun Box and some of our peers and break down what makes our box unique.
Box By Box
First things first: before you sign up for any subscription, you’ll want to know what to expect and how each box differs. Let’s start with an at-a-glance overview of five different beauty and lifestyle boxes.
Allure – Veteran beauty magazine Allure has a subscription box service of their own that delivers eight products to all of their subscribers on a monthly basis — only three of which are guaranteed to be full-sized. Subscribers can pay each month, every 3 months, or annually. Allure’s prices are the highest of the group, with annual subscriptions costing $250 and quarterly membership coming in at $65.
- Full-sized products: Some (3 of 8)
- Number of products: 8
- Customization options: None
FabFitFun – One of the original subscription boxes filled only with full-sized products with the most customization options. Sustainability, and inclusivity are core to the brand as seen by a commitment to female-founded and BIPOC brands. And each season FabFitFun partners with a charity to support causes their members care about.
Boxes are delivered quarterly and packed with 6-8 of the season’s must-have products. Box values vary depending on which products you pick, but most seasons have curations available that are valued at up to $250+. Members can choose between two plans – Annual and Seasonal. Annual Members get the ability to customize early and can customize everything in their box, while Seasonal Members can customize 4 products. Whether you’re an Annual or Season Member, you get access to incredible discounts on your favorite brands – up to 70% off! And if you don’t love the box that season you can choose to swap it for credit and create your own delivery of products all at discounted prices!
- Full-sized products: All products
- Number of products: 6-8
- Customization options: Yes!
Alltrue – This seasonal box offers 6–8 full-sized consciously-formulated products valued up to $250. It’s one of the few box subscriptions that, like us, offers its members discounts on products sold in their online Essentials Shop. That said, quarterly subscribers aren’t eligible to customize their products — only annual members enjoy this perk. Their membership is on the higher side at $219.80 for the Annual Membership and $59.99 for Seasonal – or quarterly subscribers.
- Full-sized products: Yes
- Number of products: 6-8
- Customization options: only annual members
Birchbox – Birchbox delivers subscribers 4–6 deluxe samples each month. All these products are hand-picked and curated for you, but there’s no customization option. Products are also limited to beauty items, so there’s no stocking up on accessories, lifestyle, or wellness gear if your beauty cache has reached its limit. Members can pay monthly or choose a 3, 6, or 12 month plan. The annual plan will cost you $156.
- Full-sized products: No
- Number of products: 4-6
- Customization options: No
BoxyCharm – Boxycharm offers a few tiers which vary in cost, the number of products, and customizations. With a base or premium tier you’ll receive between five and six full-sized products (for $27.99 and $39.99, respectively) and you’ll get one customization per box. Alternatively, you can enroll in their “Luxe” tier, a quarterly service that delivers eight full-sized beauty products and let’s you customize two items. The Luxe tier will set you back $59.99/month or $179.97 quarterly.
- Full-sized products: Yes
- Number of products: 5-8 (varies by plan)
- Customization options: 1-2 depending on the plan
Ipsy – With Ipsy, you’ll get 5–8 samples or full-sized products monthly, depending on your subscription plan. Unlike other boxes on the list, you’ll receive a drawstring cloth bag. Ipsy offers three plans, Glam Bag – five samples for $13/month, Glam Bag Plus – five full-sized products for $28/month, or the Glam Bag X – a quarterly bag curated by a celebrity for $55/quarter. Subscribers can customize up to three products in the Glam Bag and Glam Bag X plans. What’s inside your bag is based on a beauty quiz and profile you create before joining.
- Full-sized products: Varies by plan
- Number of products: 5-8 (varies by plan)
- Customization options: Up to 3 for mid + top tier plans
Each of these boxes gives their members varying degrees of choices, customization, and product sizes.
We may be biased, but FabFitFun stands out, especially when it comes to value and personalization. But don’t just take our word for it! Media mainstays have noted time and again that our boxes offer some of the richest, most versatile options for all of our members — including The Hollywood Reporter, who voted FabFitFun the best out of 20 other competing subscription boxes in the game for 2022.1,2
How Is FabFitFun Priced?
FabFitFun offers two membership options, both of which include full-sized products and customization options.
Annual Membership – As our best value subscription, members get to fully customize their box and get first dibs during Customization. Paying for the year includes a discount on the per box price. Annual members pay $219.99/year and get early access to personalize, shop the Edit Sales, and more.
Seasonal Membership – Members pay box by box but still get access to exclusive discounts on top brands. Each delivery costs $59.99 and is billed quarterly. Plus, half of your goodies will be completely customizable to your preferences.
Both options give members the choice to swap their box cost for credit. This means members can essentially curate their very own box. And all members get their dollars’ worth — and then some — with year-round discounts on top brands. Find your favorite beauty, hair, skincare, and home products up to 70 percent off! Lastly, members can cancel anytime.
What’s Included?
Whether you’re an Annual or Seasonal Member, all FabFitFun members enjoy the following benefits:
- 6-8 fresh, full-sized, premium products from fashion, beauty, fitness, wellness, and home decor brands.
- The ability to customize your box. We’re here to curate the box but you hand-pick what you receive.
- Flash sales, exclusive offers from brands, and access to the FabFitFun Community.
- FabFitFun’s online and print magazine (delivered with each box). Dive deeper into how to make the most out of your products, meet the founders, discover recipes, style guides, tips, and more!
Are FabFitFun Products Sample or Full-Sized?
At FabFitFun, we want to introduce you to brands and products that will love you back long after you’ve unboxed them. Samples are great but don’t give you enough time to fully test-drive the product and see whether they work for you (and whether they bring you joy).
That’s why every one of our members gets full-sized, premium products with each delivery.
How Often Do I Get A FabFitFun Box?
You’ll receive your FabFitFun Box each season — Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
With quarterly deliveries, you can evaluate how well each item fits into your lifestyle, the mileage you get out of them, and a better understanding of the types of products you sincerely want to receive by the time next season rolls around.
While monthly deliveries of mini products can be fun, there’s not much to look forward to when your sample size runs out quickly. And all those samples start to pile up.
So, Why FabFitFun?
From our perspective, there are four ways (one for every season?) that FabFitFun triumphs over the competition:
Product Count – Up to eight full-sized, name-brand, deluxe products valued at up to $250+ depending on what you pick. With us, you’ll get an experience that closely resembles the shopping you’d do for yourself: straight-off-the-shelf sizes, at prices below retail.
Customizability – All members can customize over 50% of their box (and 100% of their box for Annual Members)! Whether you’re a Seasonal or Annual Member, you’ll be able to handpick from the season’s best products.
Brands – We love curating boxes with the best brands and helping you discover the new up-and-coming brands. Find products from top brands like Kate Spade, Fenty Beauty, Living Proof, West Elm, Sunday Riley, and more!
Community – With 1,000,000+ members strong, we have the richest community of subscribers you’ll find in the subscription box world. Alongside flash sales and member perks, we also help connect you with fellow beauty, cooking, fitness lovers. Discover beauty tips, recipes, stress hacks, and meet incredible people.
FabFitFun: We’re More Than a Subscription Box
While we believe our boxes speak for themselves, it’s our strong and engaged community that delivers the real testimonies.
Join the over 1 million members who love their seasonal box filled with beauty, skincare, wellness, home, and fitness products.
Sources:
1 Byrdie. The Best Beauty Subscription Boxes to Transform Your Routine.
